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Introduction: Young adults exhibit high rates of concurrent alcohol and cannabis use, which is associated with more negative alcohol-related consequences. Positive psychological interventions have successfully been leveraged to target alcohol, cannabis, and nicotine use, as well as substance use disorders, and may be a useful harm reduction approach to reduce alcohol-related consequences. This pilot study sought to generate effect sizes for two positive psychological interventions, Savoring and Three Good Things, on frequency of alcohol use, quantity of alcohol use, and alcohol-related consequences., Methods: The current study used data from a pilot study testing positive psychological interventions to reduce cannabis use and cannabis-related consequences in young adults (ages 18 to 25) who used cannabis at least once per week within the prior month (N = 50, M age  = 22.72, 72 % men, 40 % White). Participants reported baseline alcohol and cannabis use and alcohol-related consequences, then the study randomized them to complete a daily Savoring intervention, Three Good Things, or a control exercise, and completed daily text message surveys for two weeks (i.e., the intervention period) and a follow-up survey., Results: Analyses revealed no significant differences across experimental conditions on alcohol use frequency, alcohol use quantity, or alcohol-related consequences at baseline or follow-up. Paired samples t-tests demonstrated that participants in the Savoring group showed large, significant decreases in alcohol-related consequences (t[16] = 2.28, p = .04, g av  = 0.54); no decreases occurred in frequency or quantity of alcohol use. The Three Good Things group showed no significant decreases in alcohol-related consequences, frequency of alcohol use, or quantity of alcohol use., Conclusions: Results suggest that a larger scale clinical trial is warranted to determine whether Savoring and Three Good Things might function as harm reduction interventions to reduce alcohol-related consequences in young adults who concurrently use alcohol and cannabis. Future research should use a larger sample, a longer intervention administration period, and a longer follow-up period to examine these positive psychological interventions more rigorously., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objectives: Patients with COVID-19 may experience a lung injury without presenting clinical symptoms. Early detection of lung injury in patients with COVID-19 is required to enhance prediction and prevent severe progression., Methods: Lung lesions in patients with COVID-19 were defined using the Fleischner Society terminology. Chest computed tomography lesions and their correlation with demographic characteristics and medical variables were identified., Results: Patients with mild and moderate COVID-19 had up to 45% lung injuries, whereas critical patients had 55%. However, patients with mild and moderate COVID-19 typically had low-level lung injuries. Ground-glass (68.1%), consolidation (48.8%), opacity (36.3%), and nodular (6.9%) lung lesions were the most prevalent in patients with COVID-19. Patients with COVID-19 infected with the Delta variant had worse lung injury than those infected with the Alpha and Omicron. People vaccinated with ≥2 doses showed a lower risk of lung injury than those vaccinated with <1 dose. Patients <18 years old were less likely to have a lung injury than patients >18 years old. The treatment outcomes were unaffected by the severity of the lung injury., Conclusion: Patients with mild COVID-19 had a similar risk of lung injury as patients with severe COVID-19. Thus, using chest computed tomography to detect lung injury can enhance the treatment outcomes and reduce the patient's risk of pulmonary complications., Competing Interests: The authors have no competing interests to declare., (© 2024 The Author(s).)

Novel active coating from gelatin/agarose (GA) functionalized with Ocimum gratissimum L. essential oil (OGO) had been developed as a medium to evaluate their properties before being applied for avocado preservation. The resultant coating films showed enhanced mechanical, water-barrier, bactericidal, antioxidant, and UV-shielding properties by adding OGO. The best tensile strength (2.91 MPa) and flexibility (45.82 %) was found in the GA film containing 5 % (w/w) of OGO (GA-OGO-5). Furthermore, this coating formulation presented moderate antibacterial activities against Listeria, Pseudomonas, Salmonella, and Escherichia. The GA-OGO-5 coating film also divulged the highest hydrophobicity and adequate antioxidant function (30.75 μg/mL) and thus, was chosen to coat on 'Booth 7' avocados by dipping method. The GA-OGO-5 coating layers were to be efficient to decline the respiration rate of avocado during 6-day storage at 25 °C and 64 %RH. Peel color, weight loss (5.22 %), total soluble solids (8.14 %), and solution pH (6.79) at the end of storage also indicated that the GA-OGO-5 coating presented the best effectiveness for enhancing the storability of avocado as compared to uncoated and GA-treated fruit. Therefore, the GA-OGO coating has been considered as an alternative post-harvest technique to enhance the avocado storability and could be further commercialized for industry application., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: First Nations peoples experience disproportionate health inequities compared to most non-Indigenous populations. Historical trauma is one factor that has received growing attention in relation to health inequities among First Nations populations. The goal of the present study was to improve understanding of the specific forms, impacts, and mechanisms of transmission of events that lead to historical trauma and the historical trauma response in First Nations peoples., Method: Five focus groups were conducted among adult members of one First Nations community in Canada ( N = 34; 70.4% female)., Results: Conventional content analysis revealed the numerous forms that historical trauma take in this First Nations community; individual-, familial-, community-, and societal-level impacts of historical trauma; and ways in which historical trauma has been transmitted in this community. Loss of culture, alcohol use, and parenting were major themes identified across these domains., Conclusions: Findings provide important information on the experience of historical trauma in one First Nations community, highlighting the roles of loss of culture; alcohol use; and parenting in the forms, impacts, and transmission of historical trauma. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Young adults exhibit high rates of cannabis use and are at heightened risk of experiencing negative cannabis-associated consequences. The purpose of the present study was to replicate and extend to prior work on savoring, the ability to experience positive experiences/emotions, and cannabis use frequency on cannabis-associated consequences. Young adults (18-25 years old, N  = 122, 36.1% women) who reported weekly cannabis use completed self-report surveys. Savoring was significantly associated with cannabis use frequency ( r  = .28, p  < .01) and cannabis-associated consequences ( r  = -.20, p  < .05). Cannabis use frequency was significantly and negatively associated with cannabis-associated consequences ( r  = -.24, p  < .01). However, the interaction between cannabis use frequency and savoring on cannabis-associated consequences was not significant ( b  = 0.0004, p  = .91, 95% CI [-0.007, 0.008]). When the interaction was removed, neither cannabis use frequency ( b  = -0.14, p  = .08, CI [-0.29, -0.02]) nor savoring ( b  = -0.05, p  = .16, CI [-0.13, 0.02]) were associated with cannabis-associated consequences. Results did not replicate previous findings regarding the moderating role of savoring in the relationship between cannabis use frequency and cannabis-associated consequences. Future research may explore why findings did not replicate by using more fine-grained assessment methods and comprehensive measures of cannabis use.

Background: Young adults experience high rates of cannabis use and consequences. Cross-sectional work has linked positive psychological constructs (e.g., savoring) to less cannabis use and consequences, and positive psychological interventions (PPIs) have shown promise in targeting other substance use behaviors. This pilot study sought to provide an initial test of PPIs to reduce young adult cannabis use and consequences., Methods: Adults (18-25 years old) who endorsed at least weekly past-month cannabis use (N = 59, 69.6% men, 41.1% White) reported their baseline cannabis use and consequences. Participants were randomized to complete one of three daily exercises (Savoring, Three Good Things, or a control) along with daily text message surveys for two weeks, then completed a follow-up survey at the end of the two weeks., Results: Paired samples t-tests indicated that participants in the Three Good Things group showed medium to large reductions in frequency of weekly cannabis use (p = .08, g av  = -0.57) and cannabis-associated consequences (p = .08, g av  = -0.57) from baseline to follow-up. In the Savoring and control groups, there were not significant changes in frequency of weekly cannabis use (Savoring: p = .39, g av  = 0.20; Control: p = .96, g av  = 0.01) nor cannabis-associated consequences (Savoring: p = .84, g av  = 0.05; Control: p = .45, g av  = -0.18). Participants in both positive psychology conditions reported the exercises were easy to complete, providing evidence for acceptability., Discussion: Results provide initial support for the feasibility and potential promise of a text-message based PPI as a harm reduction approach for cannabis users. A larger clinical trial is warranted to test the effects of such interventions with adequate statistical power., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors report no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background: Recovery from substance use disorder requires sustained effort and perseverance. Hence, the resilience factor of grit may be important for people in recovery. Little research has been conducted on grit in patients with substance use disorder (SUD), especially in a large and varied sample. Objectives: To analyze the psychometric properties of the Short Grit Scale (Grit-S) in patients with SUD and to use demographic and clinical characteristics to predict variance in Grit-S scores. Methods: Participants completed the Grit-S and other self-report measures. Psychometric properties of the Grit-S were assessed in outpatients ( N  = 94, 77.7% male) and a hierarchical regression predicted Grit-S variance in inpatients ( N  = 1238, 65.0% male). Results: The Grit-S demonstrated good internal consistency (α=.75) and strong test-retest reliability (adjusted r  = .79, p  < .001). Mean Grit-S score was 3.15, lower than other clinical samples reported in the literature. Regression modeling indicated a moderate, statistically significant association between demographic and clinical characteristics and Grit-S scores (R 2  = 15.5%, p  < .001). Of particular interest, the positive factor of recovery protection showed the strongest association with Grit-S of all variables assessed (β=.185 vs. β = .052-.175 for the remaining significant independent variables). Conclusion: The psychometric properties of the Grit-S in patients with SUD support its use in this population. Moreover, the particularly low grit scores among inpatients with SUDs and the association of grit scores with substance use risk and recovery factors suggest that grit could be useful as a treatment target in this population.

Background and Objectives: Early recovery from substance use disorder (SUD) is often characterized by hopelessness and despair about the future. Optimism, or the expectation that good things will happen, may provide a buffer against despair, and motivate adaptive goal engagement and coping. Study objectives were to (1) compare levels of optimism among individuals in substance use disorder inpatient treatment to other populations and (2) examine correlates of optimism., Methods: This exploratory study utilized a cross-sectional survey design. Participants (n = 355) completed self-report measures assessing sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. The main variable of interest, optimism, was assessed by Life Orientation Test-Revised scores. Multivariate regression was used to examine the association among sociodemographic and clinical variables and optimism., Results: Our sample (n = 342) scored lower on optimism (mean = 11.7) than general population and SUD patients reported in the literature (range = 13.0-18.5). Optimism was higher for SUD inpatients who were college-educated and those with higher scores on the recovery protection factor, while greater anxiety severity was associated with lower optimism scores., Conclusions and Scientific Significance: This study contributes to emerging research on the association between optimism and SUDs. Optimism has not been previously studied among patients in acute, short-term inpatient SUD treatment and doing so may be clinically useful in addressing low optimism as an obstacle to motivation for treatment. Bolstering optimism may be a promising target for intervention and future research., (© 2022 American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry.)

Background: Several studies suggest suicidal motivation may contribute to opioid overdose fatalities in people with opioid use disorder. In this study, we sought to replicate and extend prior findings suggesting that a desire to die is common prior to nonfatal opioid overdose in people with opioid use disorder., Methods: Adults receiving inpatient detoxification and stabilization who reported a history of opioid overdose (N = 60) completed questions about suicidal cognition prior to their most recent overdose., Results: Approximately 45% reported some desire to die prior to their most recent overdose, with 20% reporting they had some intention to die. The correlation between these ratings was of a moderate magnitude (ρ = 0.58). Almost 40% of the sample perceived no risk of overdose prior to their most recent overdose event, suggesting a significant underestimation of risk in this population., Conclusions: Desire to die was common in adults with opioid use disorder prior to nonfatal opioid overdose events, and 1 in 5 people with a history of opioid overdose reported intention to die prior to their most recent opioid overdose. Careful assessment of suicidal cognition in this population may improve prevention of opioid overdose deaths., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Coping with pain is a commonly reported motive for opioid misuse. Opioids also provide relief of stress and negative affect and thus are often misused to cope with these emotional states. Although several studies have investigated coping motives in people who misuse opioids, it remains unclear whether pain coping and negative affect coping are distinct or overlapping motives for misuse. Objectives: In this study, we examined opioid use motives (enhancement, social, negative affect coping, and pain coping) in a sample of 52 adults seeking treatment for opioid use disorder. We used an adaptation of the Drug Use Motives Questionnaire that included an additional 5 items to assess pain coping motives for use. Results: Results indicated that pain coping was not significantly associated with other motives for use, including negative affect coping. Pain coping motives were strongly correlated with both pain severity (r = .51) and pain interference (r = .39), but not anxiety severity. Conversely, negative affect coping motives were strongly correlated with anxiety severity (r = .45), but not pain severity or interference. Conclusions: These results suggest that pain coping motives may be distinct from negative affect coping motives and should be assessed separately.

Background and Objectives: The rapid scale-up of telehealth services for substance use disorders (SUDs) during the COVID-19 pandemic presented a unique opportunity to investigate patient experiences with telehealth. This study examined patient perceptions of telehealth in an outpatient SUD treatment program offering individual therapy, group therapy, and medication management., Methods: Two hundred and seventy adults receiving SUD outpatient treatment were eligible to complete a 23-item online survey distributed by clinicians; 58 patients completed/partially completed the survey. Data were summarized with descriptive statistics., Results: Participants were predominately male, White, and well-educated. The majority (86.2%) were "very satisfied" or "satisfied" with the quality of telehealth care. "Very satisfied" ratings were highest for individual therapy (90%), followed by medication management (75%) and group therapy (58%). Top reasons for liking telehealth included the ability to do it from home (90%) and not needing to spend time commuting (83%). Top reasons for disliking telehealth were not connecting as well with other members in group therapy (28%) and the ability for telehealth to be interrupted at home or work (26%)., Discussion and Conclusions: Telehealth visits were a satisfactory treatment modality for most respondents receiving outpatient SUD care, especially those engaging in individual therapy. Challenges remain for telehealth group therapy., Scientific Significance: This is the first study examining patients' perceptions of telehealth for outpatient SUD treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic by treatment service type. Importantly, while many participants found telehealth more accessible than in-person treatment, there was variability with respect to the preferred mode of treatment delivery., (© 2021 American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry.)

Valid and reliable measures of craving are essential for both clinical practice and research. Brief measures are particularly valuable for clinical and research settings in which assessment burden needs to be minimized. The Craving Scale is a 3-item measure of craving that has been previously validated in cocaine-dependent samples. This brief measure has also demonstrated predictive validity in both alcohol and opioid use disorder; however, its psychometric properties in these disorders are not well characterized. The aim of this paper was to extend prior psychometric analyses of the Craving Scale to a large sample of adults seeking treatment for substance use disorders (N = 1,283). Analyses of readability indicated that the Craving Scale was written between a 7-8th grade reading level and had minimal grammatical complexity. The Craving Scale demonstrated strong internal consistency reliability (omega = 0.81), a single-factor latent structure, and adequate concurrent and discriminant validity. Importantly, results were similar when analyses were run separately for alcohol and opioid craving and in men and women, supporting measure invariance across these key groups. Our results provide further support for the reliability and validity of the Craving Scale for use in people with substance use disorders., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic prompted healthcare professionals to implement service delivery adaptations to remain in compliance with safety regulations. Though many adaptations in service delivery were reported throughout the literature, a wide variety of terminology and definitions were used. Methods: To address this, we conducted a PRISMA review to identify service delivery adaptations across behavioral healthcare services in the United States from March 2020 to May 2022 and to identify variations in terminology used to describe these adaptations. We identified 445 initial articles for our review across eight databases using predetermined keywords. Using a two-round screening process, authors used a team approach to identify the most appropriate articles for this review. Results: Our results suggested that a total of 14 different terms were used to describe service modality changes, with the most frequent term being telehealth (63%). Each term found in our review and the frequency of use across identified articles is described in detail. Discussion: Implications of this review such as understanding modality changes during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond are discussed. Our findings illustrate the importance of standardizing terminology to enhance communication and understanding among professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) is available, but patient engagement is central to achieving care outcomes. We conducted a scoping review to describe patient and provider-reported strategies that may contribute to patient engagement in outpatient OUD care delivery. We searched PubMed and Scopus for articles reporting patient and/or provider experiences with outpatient OUD care delivery. Analysis included: (1) describing specific engagement strategies, (2) mapping strategies to patient-centered care domains, and (3) identifying themes that characterize the relationship between engagement and patient-centered care. Of 3,222 articles screened, 30 articles met inclusion criteria. Analysis identified 14 actionable strategies that facilitate patient engagement and map to all patient-centered care domains. Seven themes emerged that characterize interpersonal approaches to OUD care engagement. Interpersonal interactions between patients and providers play a pivotal role in encouraging engagement throughout OUD treatment. Future research is needed to further evaluate promising engagement strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present research, nano-sized copper oxide particles (CuO) were synthesized from the bio-hydrometallurgical leachate of electronic waste (e-waste) using chemical and green mediated approaches. Glycine nitrate precursor (GNP) method was adopted to synthesize cCuO and Eichhornia crassipes leaves extract was used to prepare gCuO. Further, to ensure their nano-sized forms, the optical and structural properties were examined. Then, a set of batch trials were planned to compare their removal efficiencies of the cationic dye, crystal violet (CV). The maximum percent removal of 93.8% and 91.3% were observed for gCuO and cCuO, respectively, at pH0 of 8.0 with the initial concentration of 10 mg/L. The acquired batch trial data revealed the maximum adsorptive capacity for gCuO (200.00 mg/g) than cCuO (142.86 mg/g). This enhanced removal can be attributed due to the augmentation of surface functional moieties derived from the various phyto-constituents of E. crassipes. Also, the present study developed regression models predicting the CV adsorption process with high degree of statistical accuracy using artificial neural network (5-5-1 model; <0.5 MSE, R2 >0.99) and response surface methodology (3-3 BBD model, p<0.05, C.I>95%). Conclusively, the desorption results showed that the nano-adsorbents can be efficiently regenerated for the minimum of three successive adsorption-desorption cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a significant public health problem that is associated with opioid misuse and use disorder. Despite limited evidence for the efficacy of opioids in the management of chronic pain, they continue to be prescribed and people with CLBP are at increased risk for misuse. Identifying individual difference factors involved in opioid misuse, such as pain intensity as well as reasons for using opioids (also known as motives), may provide pertinent clinical information to reduce opioid misuse among this vulnerable population. Therefore, the aims of the current study were to examine the relationships between opioid motives-to cope with pain-related distress and pain intensity, in terms of anxiety, depression, pain catastrophizing, pain-related anxiety, and opioid misuse among 300 (Mage= 45.69, SD = 11.17, 69% female) adults with CLBP currently using opioids. Results from the current study suggest that both pain intensity and motives to cope with pain-related distress with opioids were associated with all criterion variables, but the magnitude of variance explained by coping motives was larger than pain intensity in terms of opioid misuse. The present findings provide initial empirical evidence for the importance of motives to cope with pain-related distress with opioids and pain intensity in efforts to better understand opioid misuse and related clinical correlates among adults with CLBP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a lack of report of conscious sedation used as a last resort therapy for alleviating severe symptoms. To achieve this goal, dexmedetomidine appears to be a promising option. We report a case of successful two-month long treatment of intravenous (IV) dexmedetomidine added to hydromorphone for intractable cancer pain, restlessness, severe sleep disorder, anxiety, and craving symptoms in a 40-year-old man with active polysubstance use, receiving escalating doses of opioids for intractable abdominal cancer pain together with benzodiazepines. Under dexmedetomidine infusion at 1.2 μg/kg/hour, his symptoms markedly decreased. He could sleep at night and find respite during the day while continuing walking, eating, and other activities. Long-term conscious sedation with IV dexmedetomidine was well tolerated. We did not observe anxiety or agitation rebound during short periods of discontinuation of the infusion. Neither side effects nor tolerance were observed over time. Further research is needed to investigate the indications for conscious sedation and analgesia with dexmedetomidine in palliative patients with a prognosis that is longer than few weeks or uncertain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: The COVID‐19 pandemic disrupted health‐care provision in the United States and prompted increases in telehealth‐delivery of care. This study measured alcohol use disorder (AUD) treatment trends across visit modalities before and during COVID‐19. Design, Setting, Participants and Measurements: We conducted a national, retrospective cohort study with interrupted time‐series models to estimate the impact of COVID‐19 on AUD treatment in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) in the United States during pre‐COVID‐19 (March 2019 to February 2020) and COVID‐19 (March 2020 to February 2021) periods. We analyzed monthly trends in telephone, video and in‐person visits for AUD treatment and compared patient and treatment characteristics of patients receiving AUD treatment between the pre‐COVID‐19 and COVID‐19 periods. AUD was defined using International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD‐10) codes for alcohol abuse (F10.1) and alcohol dependence (F10.2), which have previously been used to study AUD in VHA. Findings: The predicted percentage of VHA patients with an AUD diagnosis receiving any AUD treatment at the beginning of the pre‐COVID period was 13.8% (n = 49 494). The predicted percentage decreased by 4.3% (P = 0.001) immediately at the start of the COVID‐19 period due to a decline in AUD psychotherapy. Despite an increase of 0.3% per month (P = 0.026) following the start of COVID‐19, the predicted percentage of VHA patients with an AUD diagnosis receiving any AUD treatment at the end of the study period remained below the pre‐COVID‐19 period. In February 2021, AUD psychotherapy visits were primarily delivered by video (50%, 58 748), followed by in‐person (36.6%, 43 251) and telephone (13.8%, 16 299), while AUD pharmacotherapy visits were delivered by telephone (38.9%, 3623) followed by in‐person (34.3%, 3193) and video (26.8%, 2498) modalities. Characteristics of VHA patients receiving AUD treatment were largely similar between pre‐COVID‐19 and COVID‐19 periods. Conclusions: Despite increased telehealth use, the percentage of United States Veterans Health Administration patients with an alcohol use disorder (AUD) diagnosis receiving AUD treatment declined during COVID‐19 (March 2020 to February 2021) mainly due to a decrease in psychotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Alcohol use disorder (AUD) treatments, including medications, are increasingly offered via telehealth. Objective: This study characterizes 90-day treatment retention and changes in objectively measured blood alcohol concentration (BAC) in a large cohort receiving AUD telehealth. Methods: Patients received AUD treatment through Ria, a virtual (telehealth) program offering AUD treatment that is tailored to patient goals (e.g. abstinence or controlled drinking). Patients were encouraged to complete breathalyzer readings twice daily for measurement-based care. We characterized rates of 90-day treatment retention (i.e. completing a BAC reading or medical/coaching encounter on the 90th day or later) and used growth curve analyses to model changes in daily estimated peak BAC over 90 days. Results: Of 4121 patients (51.5% women), 50.1% had 90-day treatment retention (n = 2066, 52.2% women). Most patients received prescriptions for AUD medications (84.6%) and completed encounters with medical providers (86.7%) and coaches (86.1%). Patients with 90-day retention provided 184,817 BAC readings in the first 90 days. Growth curve analyses revealed significant reductions in daily estimated peak BAC (p <.001) from a mean of 0.092 (day 1) to 0.038 (day 90). Similar magnitudes of BAC reduction were observed for men and women and for patients with abstinence and controlled drinking goals. Conclusion: Telehealth appears to be a viable approach to delivering AUD treatments in a manner that promotes drinking reductions. Telehealth approaches can yield reductions in objectively measured BAC, including for some patient subgroups that have historically faced greater stigma in AUD treatment settings, such as women and people with non-abstinence drinking goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Telemedicine plays a vital role in patient-centered healthcare delivery in the diagnosis, management, and development of future treatment plans for chronic diseases. Results: This study revealed that attitude toward telemedicine was high among the studied mental healthcare providers, while it was average among the other studied variables (awareness, knowledge, and skills). Psychiatrists had a high percentage in the studied variables (awareness, attitude, knowledge, and skills). There were statistically significant differences in the dimensions of the telemedicine questionnaire according to age, profession, and academic degree. There was a statistically significant relation between the levels of awareness, knowledge, and attitude toward telemedicine. Conclusions: This study concluded that the studied mental healthcare providers had high attitudes while the other studied variables (awareness, knowledge, and skills) were average. Psychiatrists had a high percentage in the studied variables (awareness, attitude, knowledge, and skills), followed by psychologists, while nurses had the lowest level in all studied variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is a degree of affective interdependence that is considered normal and only becomes pathological if it causes excessive suffering, both for the subject and for those close to them. Our objective was to introduce and psychometrically validate a short and effective affective dependency scale, the Affective Dependence Scale (ADS-9). Methods: We used a sample of 762 participants (clinical: emotional dependent subjects n = 212, comparison: non-emotionally-dependent addicted subjects n = 272, and general population n = 278) to assess the factor structure, the psychological construct validity and the measurement invariance for the ADS-9 by means of independent exploratory factor analyses for each sample group and subsequent multigroup confirmatory factor analyses. Results: Our results confirm that ADS-9 is a psychometrically consistent instrument, with construct and clinical validity, as well as configural, metric and scalar invariance across different sample groups (clinical, comparison and general population). A hypothesized two-dimensional structure was confirmed by means of factor analyses. Both sub-scales of this abbreviated form, Submission and Craving, showed a good agreement with the previously validated Relationships and Sentimental Dependencies Inventory (IRIDS-100). Conclusion: The ADS-9 is a brief instrument that appears to reliably detect the dependent and pathological components of affective dependence. It consists of two sub-scales, describing Submission (adaptation, accommodation, and subjugation) and Craving (imperative need for the other with the presence of disturbing states). We suggest that it is a versatile scale that may be useful for clinicians and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: People with opioid use disorder (OUD) face barriers to entering and remaining in life-saving treatment (e.g., stigma, detrimental interactions with health care, and privacy concerns). Telehealth and related technology can reduce barriers to entering and staying in care. Patient feedback is critical to the development of these newer treatment approaches to ensure they are usable and do not inadvertently recreate treatment barriers. Purpose: Evaluate the perceived usability of existing and planned features of a mobile application (app) that facilitates delivery of OUD treatment via telehealth. Methods: People with current or prior experience with OUD treatment were eligible for the study. Participants (n = 31; 55% women) provided feedback on an interactive prototype demonstration via individual qualitative interviews and completed a quantitative survey on the app's perceived usability. Descriptive statistics summarized the usability survey. We analyzed qualitative interview transcripts to elicit common themes. Results: Participants were primarily white (77%) with a mean age of 42.2 years (range 22–69). Participants rated the six major features of the current app as helpful (median response 5 out of 5) and appreciated the flexibility of conducting a visit from a place of their choosing. Participants regarded the five proposed components of the app, such as daily affirmations and medication treatment-related reminders (e.g., pick up medication at pharmacy, medication schedule), as useful features with medians 5 out of 5, and reported they would recommend the app to others for OUD care. Participant qualitative interviews provided additional information on perceived usability of existing and proposed app features. Conclusion: Our study suggests that an appealing, easy-to-use app—with tools and features that effectively support care—could circumvent existing barriers and foster sustained recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cellulose diacetate (CDA) is a bio-based polymer of high hydrophilicity and low crystallinity for intrinsic moisture conductor. However, strong hydrogen bond induces interactions and close arrangement of CDA chains, which not only induces the difficulties for their thermal processing, but also restricts their water vapor permeability (WVP) properties. In this paper, diacetin (DA) and triacetin (TA) were chosen as green and effective plasticizers for CDA. The plasticizing CDA blends were evaluated by rheology, melt flow rate, mechanical test, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR). The WVP of plasticized CDA film was monitored by a moisture-permeable cup. The biodegradability of CDA materials is indicated with molecular weight analyzed by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) after hydrolysis process in cellulase solution. The red shift of stretching vibrational band of carbonyl bond in FTIR demonstrates the interaction between plasticizer and CDA. The melt fluidity of CDA material increases with the increasing amount of plasticizers. The modulus and tensile strength decrease, and the elongation at break increases as a whole by blending plasticizers. DA has one more hydroxyl than TA with better compatibility with CDA. Therefore, DA brings better chain mobility of CDA chain and accordingly better improvement in moisture permeability than TA on the same load. For the CDA-DA, with the DA content increasing, the WVP is raised from 18.2 × 10–13 g·cm−1·s−1·Pa−1 to 23.6 × 10–13 g·cm−1·s−1·Pa−1. This study suggests an effective way to increase WVP of films by enhancing the chain mobility and hydrophilicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is much evidence that good management practice is an important factor that positively affects firms' productivity around the world. However, little evidence on effect of management practices on Vietnamese firms has been drawn. This paper provides results of such a study. The quality of management activities is found to be poor and be positively related to the turnovers of firms, the ages of firms, the numbers of employees, investment capital, and human capital. Also, management practice scores change significantly according to the influencing factors including level of competition, degree of decentralization, types of ownership, types of customer firms are serving, advancement of export market, and types of product firms are selling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: Craving is central in the definition of addictive disorders because of its diagnostic and prognostic value. Its measurement is essential in clinical practice. Previous reviews provided a better overview of existing instruments; however, they do not consider emerging substances and behaviors such as sexual addictions. Our objectives were threefold: (1) to provide a systematic review of craving assessment instruments and their psychometric characteristics within a transdiagnostic approach, (2) to highlight and map their conceptual relationships and (3) to identify potential sexual craving assessment instruments., Methods: The review was conducted using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology. The PubMed, Embase, PsychInfo and Cochrane/Central databases were searched for publications that met the following inclusion criterion: validation studies of craving assessment instruments, regardless of target substance or behavior. The original search identified 4561 references and included 147 articles. Each selected study was a peer-reviewed publication., Results: This review provides a synthesis of the psychometric properties of 36 original instruments and identified 93 variations of these instruments (e.g. translations). We were able to highlight five transdiagnostic families of instruments, each corresponding to a conceptual model. Only one instrument for assessing craving in the domain of compulsive sexual behavior, focused on pornography use, has been identified: the Pornography Craving Questionnaire., Conclusion: This review mapped all craving assessment instruments from a transdiagnostic perspective, finding 36 original instruments and 93 variations. The evolution of instruments to measure craving mirrors the evolution of the concept of craving which has progressively integrated cognitive, conditioning and sensory dimensions, and attests to the importance of the context of assessment. Development of an instrument to measure 'sexual craving' is needed and could be based on the data from our review., (© 2023 The Authors. Addiction published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society for the Study of Addiction.)

Lateral root organogenesis is a key process in the development of a plant's root system and its adaptation to the environment. During lateral root formation, an early phase of cell proliferation first produces a four-cell-layered primordium, and only from this stage onwards is a root meristem-like structure, expressing root stem cell niche marker genes, being established in the developing organ. Previous studies reported that the gene regulatory network controlling lateral root formation is organized into two subnetworks whose mutual inhibition may contribute to organ patterning. PUCHI encodes an AP2/ERF transcription factor expressed early during lateral root primordium development and required for correct lateral root formation. To dissect the molecular events occurring during this early phase, we generated time-series transcriptomic datasets profiling lateral root development in puchi-1 mutants and wild types. Transcriptomic and reporter analyses revealed that meristem-related genes were expressed ectopically at early stages of lateral root formation in puchi-1 mutants. We conclude that, consistent with the inhibition of genetic modules contributing to lateral root development, PUCHI represses ectopic establishment of meristematic cell identities at early stages of organ development. These findings shed light on gene network properties that orchestrate correct timing and patterning during lateral root formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review analyses the account of biological (microalgae) and synthetic (bio-polymeric adsorbents) elements to compass the treatment efficiencies of various water pollutants and mechanisms behind them. While considering pollutant removal, both techniques have their own merits and demerits. Microalgal-based methods have been dominantly used as a biological method for pollutant removal. The main limitations of microalgal methods are capacity, scale, dependence on variables of environment and duration of the process. Biopolymers on the other hand are naturally produced, abundant in nature, environmentally safe and biocompatible with cells and many times biodegradable. Algal immobilization in biopolymers has promoted the reuse of cells for further treatment and protected cells from toxic environment monitoring and controlling the external factors like pH, temperature and salinity can promote the removal process while working with the mentioned technologies. In this review, a mechanistic view of both these techniques along with integrated approaches emphasizing on their loopholes and possibilities of improvement in these techniques is represented. In addition to these, the review also discusses the post-treatment effect on algal cells which are specifically dependent on pollutant type and their concentration. All these insights will aid in developing integrated solutions to improve removal efficiencies in an environmentally safe and cost-effective manner. Novelty statement The main objective of this review is to thoroughly understand the role of micro-algal cells and synthetic adsorbents individually as well as their integrative effect in the removal of pollutants from wastewater. Many reviews have been published containing information related to either removal mechanism by algae or synthetic adsorbents. While in this review we have discussed the agents, algae and synthetic adsorbents along with their limitations and explained how these limitations can be overcome with the integration of both the moieties together in process of immobilization. We have covered both the analytical and mechanistic parts of these technologies. Along with this, the post-treatment effects on algae have been discussed which can give us a critical understanding of algal response to pollutants and by-products obtained after treatment. This review contains three different sections, their importance and also explained how these technologies can be improved in the future aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the recent years, rice farmers in the Mekong River Delta (MRD) have faced increased risks of weather and pestilence, both of which directly impact the sustainability of their livelihoods. In this regard, the objective of this paper is to investigate the risk facing rice farmers and the impact of risk mitigation strategies on profit of the farmers in the Mekong Delta. The results, estimated from a sample of 342 farmers, show that 80 percent of the farmers faced two types of risk, namely weather risk, risk of crop pests and diseases. Mitigation strategies of the farmers are (1) adjusting planting schedules and growing techniques, (2) water resource management, (3) rice protection products, and (4) reducing production scale. The results of regression analysis showed that the first and second strategy are found to be positively correlated with farmer's profit. It is also revealed that farmers who actively respond to risks have higher profit than passive farmers, consistent with a common perception of "prevention is better than cure". The policy implication to be drawn from the study for the government and the MRD agricultural sector is to guide farmers in risk identification and prevention. At the same time, it is necessary to invest in upgrading the risk forecasting system in agriculture and to invest in completing irrigation infrastructure allowing actively regulate water for production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its discovery by F.A.L Clowes, extensive research has been dedicated to identifying the functions of the quiescent center (QC). One of the earliest hypotheses was that it serves a key role in regeneration of the root meristem. Recent works provided support for this hypothesis and began to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon. There are two scenarios to consider when assessing the role of the QC in regeneration: one, when the damage leaves the QC intact; and the other, when the QC itself is destroyed. In the first scenario, multiple factors are recruited to activate QC cell division in order to replace damaged cells, but whether the QC has a role in the second scenario is less clear. Both using gene expression studies and following the cell division pattern have shown that the QC is assembled gradually, only to appear as a coherent identity late in regeneration. Similar late emergence of the QC was observed during the de novo formation of the lateral root meristem. These observations can lead to the conclusion that the QC has no role in regeneration. However, activities normally occurring in QC cells, such as local auxin biosynthesis, are still found during regeneration but occur in different cells in the regenerating meristem. Thus, we explore an alternative hypothesis, that following destruction of the QC, QC-related gene activity is temporarily distributed to other cells in the regenerating meristem, and only coalesce into a distinct cell identity when regeneration is complete. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, a facile method to develop luminescent PS/AA/Rare-Earth-doped composites was presented. The PS/AA microspheres were first carried out via one-pot dispersion polymerization. Then, the PS/AA microspheres bearing free carboxyl groups were used as templates for surface chemical deposition of rare earth ions forming lanthanide-based nanocrystal-doped PS/AA composites. The morphologies and structures of resulting composites were characterized by SEM, TEM, FT-IR, TGA, and XPS. The photoluminescence properties of the composite microspheres were also investigated. By adjusting the amount of AA, the fluorescence intensity could be well-controlled. After blending with PVA into ink, the obtained PS/AA/Rare-Earth-doped composites possessed good fluorescence stability. The facile synthesis method introduced here has the advantages of mass production of security ink with fluorescent stability for anti-counterfeiting purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In vitro culture has been recognized as a potential plant clonal propagation tool for a broad variety of commercial, ornamental, and medicinal species, with applications in both industrial and academic laboratories. In this study, we describe somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration protocol for "peperina" plants (Minthostachys verticillata (Griseb.) Epling). In vitro shoots developed via shoot apex extracted from greenhouse-grown plants were cultured on shoot elongation medium (ShM) consisting of Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal salts supplemented with myoinositol, thiamine, and benzyladenine. Shoot apexes were disinfected with 70% ethanol for 5 min and 0.26 sodium hypochlorite (w/v) for 5 min, before the initiation of in vitro culture. For somatic embryo (SE) induction, leaves collected from 2-mo-old in vitro raised shoots were cultured on MS basal medium supplemented with benzyladenine and two different concentrations of coconut water (CW) until SE developed. Using 2.5% CW-supplemented medium, 100% of cultured leaves developed SE and 89.3% of the leaf explants developed plantlets. The resulting embryos germinated on the same medium, and the plantlets obtained were transferred onto ShM until they developed 3 to 4 leaves. To increase the low root development, shoots were transferred into fully hydrated perlite for rooting and then transplanted into soil-perlite containing pots for hardening. This protocol provides the first step to supply the demand and simultaneously protect the natural populations of Minthostachys verticillata from overexploitation. Furthermore, this protocol provides the first step for crop improvement by genetic modification (editing or transgenesis). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces the configuration of the MEMS tuning fork gyroscope with the connecting diamond-shaped frame to achieve the anti-phase mode in the driving direction. The connecting frame is an important element to compensate for the phase deviation in two major directions in case of appearing elements that cause the phase deviation in operating such as driving force, geometric error,... The matching phase between the two tines of the TFG with this configuration is 89% and 93.67% in the driving and sensing mode, respectively. Even, the phase compensation ability of the system reaches up to 95.6% in the driving mode with increasing the equivalent stiffness of the connecting frame to four times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: An increasing number of individuals are taking buprenorphine for management of opioid use disorder (OUD). Pain control can be challenging when these patients develop acute pain requiring supplemental analgesia. Buprenorphine's pharmacokinetic profile can render supplemental opioid-based analgesia ineffective. There is limited guidance on the optimal management of buprenorphine when acute pain is anticipated. Although there is growing acceptance that the risk of OUD relapse with buprenorphine discontinuation overshadows the risks of increased opioid utilization and difficult pain control with buprenorphine continuation, perioperative courses comparing buprenorphine dose reduction and full dose buprenorphine continuation have yet to be investigated. Here, we describe the protocol for our randomized controlled, prospective trial investigating the effect of buprenorphine continuation compared to buprenorphine dose reduction on pain control, post-operative opioid use, and OUD symptom management in patients on buprenorphine scheduled for elective surgery., Methods and Analysis: This is a single institution, randomized trial that aims to enroll 80 adults using 12 mg buprenorphine or greater for treatment of OUD, scheduled for elective surgery. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive 8mg of buprenorphine on the day of surgery onwards until postsurgical pain subsides or to have their buprenorphine formulation continued at full dose perioperatively. Primary outcome will be a clinically significant difference in pain scores 24 hours following surgery. Secondary outcomes will be opioid consumption at 24, 48, and 72 hours postoperatively, opioid dispensing up to 30 days following surgery, changes in mood and withdrawal symptoms, opioid cravings, relapse of opioid misuse, and continued use of buprenorphine treatment postoperatively., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2022 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

In order to realize maneuver combat in the modern warfare, some special military vehicles require the ability of determining their position and orientation rapidly and accurately, and the position and orientation system should be highly autonomous and have strong anti-jamming capability. So a high-accuracy independent position and orientation method for vehicles that utilizes strapdown inertial navigation system/Doppler radar is presented in this article. Laser gyroscopes in strapdown inertial navigation system and Doppler radar are adopted to develop a dead-reckoning system for vehicles. Subsequently, the attitude, velocity,and position-updating algorithms of dead-reckoning system are designed. The error sources of dead-reckoning system are analyzed to establish the system error model, including the attitude error equations of the mathematical platform, velocity error equations, and position error equations. The errors of strapdown inertial navigation system and deadreckoning system are selected as system states of the integrated position and orientation method. The difference between the attitude output of strapdown inertial navigation system and that of dead-reckoning system, and the difference between the position output of strapdown inertial navigation system and that of dead-reckoning system are chosen as the measurements of integrated position and orientation. Then, Kalman filter is adopted to design the filtering algorithm of integrated position and orientation. In the end, the integrated position and orientation method is validated by simulation experiment and vehicular experiment. The experimental results show that strapdown inertial navigation system/Doppler radar integration can realize accurate positioning and orientation for a long time, and the accuracy of attitude/position integration mode is significantly higher than that of velocity/position integration mode. Therefore, the former integration mode is more suitable for accurate position and orientation for vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Postembryonic organogenesis is a critical component in plant root and shoot development and its adaptation to the environment. Decades of scientific analyses have yielded a wealth of experimental data about the cellular and molecular processes orchestrating the postembryonic formation of new shoot and root organs. Among these, distribution and signaling of the plant hormone auxin play a prominent role. Systems biology approaches are now particularly interesting to study the emerging properties of such complex and dynamic regulatory networks. To fully explore the precise kinetics of these organogenesis processes, efficient protocols for the synchronized induction of shoot and root organogenesis are extremely valuable. Two protocols for shoot and root organ induction are detailed., (© 2022. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

After the restoration of the Le dynasty, the Red River delta region was flooded with military men who set up and controlled irregular departments from the end of the sixteenth to the first half of the seventeenth century. The imperial administration became a shell during the Le-Trinh period, with the Trinh Lords as de facto rulers who constructed their own parallel government on the basis of these local departments. This analysis of contemporary inscriptions indicates that the Trinh Lords subsequently expanded their administration and secured their rule by absorbing large numbers of Red River delta literati, while retaining many eunuchs in influential financial and military roles. Overall, the Trinh bureaucracy, comprising of the Luc Phien and Luc Cung, was a kind of financial organisation combined with a military district system because it harnessed the existing military organisation., Introduction The Le dynasty, which was established in 1428, reached its peak during the reign of Le Thanh Tong (r.1460-1497) when it introduced the centralised administrative system of the Ming [...]