Habitats regulations for stage 3 assessments radioactive substance authorisations

This is the Habitats regulations for stage 3 assessments: radioactive substances authorisations report from the Environment Agency, published on October 2003. The report focuses on the stage 3 assessments of radioactive substances authorisations in UK (to take place over the next five years, starting in 2003), which may have a potential impact on European designated Natura 2000 sites such Special Protection Areas (SPA), Special Areas of Conservation (SAC); and thus require further detailed assessment. This Environment Agency R&D project was commissioned to ERC, University o f Liverpool, in conjunction with Westlakes Scientific Consulting and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, as part o f the agency's preparation for the Stage 3 Assessments o f radioactive substances authorisations. The aim was to prepare site information sheets containing all data relevant for individual Natura 2000 sites needing Stage 3 Assessment and to stylise and represent species that require protection under the Habitats Regulations by the reference organism geometries listed in R&D Publication 128 (Copplestone et al., 2001).

Isolatin [sic] the bacteria produced biactive [sic] metabolits [sic] cytotoxic compound in order to prduction [sic] anticancer substance in the coral regin [sic] the Persian Gulf (Larak Island)

In the present investigation the marine bacteria isolated from corals, sponges sea water and sediments of coral regions in the larak Island located in the Persian Gulf and were examined for ability to produce cytotoxic metabolits in order to use as an anticancer compounds. Cytotoxic effect were isolated bacteria from different samples and were examined by Artemia Cytotoxic Bioassay test, in which 4.5 percent of sea waters, 12 percent of sediments and 28 percent of marine invertebrat showed cytotoxic activity, using Brine Shrimp Bioassay test. Streptomyces S-2004 isolated from soft coral specified as Sinularia erecta had LC50=0.5mg/m1 in Brine Shrimp Bioaassay test. The streptomyces S-2004 produced cytotoxic metabolits in low nutrient condition and sea water medium after 7 days on 250 rpm shaken in vitro condition. The extract partially were semipurified. Then ethyl acetate extraction from aceton extracted of bacterial plate had cytotoxic effect (LC50=4.19ktg/m1) in Human epidermoid carcinoma of mouth cells (KB) by using neutral red assay. Morphological effects of this extract on KB cells showed turgescence, cellular blebs and apoptosis which was a proof for anticancer compounds of the extract. It is seems that streptomyces S-2004 is a new strain and could be introduced as a talented bacteria, which produced cytotoxic metabolits.

Three dimensional fluorescence excitation-emission on matrix spectrum of dissolved organic substance in marine microalgaes growth process

The three-dimensional fluorescence spectrum was used to detect the changes in dissolved organic substances from the cultured Skeletonema costatum, Alexandrium tamarense, Alexandrium mimutum, Scrippsiella trochodea, Prorocentrum donghaiense and Prorocentrum micans. The result indicates that all of the microalgaes can produce FDOM in the growth courses. Diatom such as Skeletonema costatum can produce humic-like FDOM. However dinoflagellate can produce protein-like FDOM at exponential growth phase. When the algae grows into decadency phase, the intensity of humic-like and protein-like fluorescence augments rapidly, which may be due to a mass of FDOM realeased by the old or dead cell fragmentation and the degradation of bacteria by using non-FDOM. The fluorescent intensity of Alexandrium tamarense, Alexandrium mimutum, Prorocentrum donghaiense and Prorocentrum micans can reduce at anaphase of decadency phase because of the degradation of bacteria and light. The same genus of algae can produce similar FDOM, for example: Alexandrium tamarense, and Alexandrium mimutum, Prorocentrum donghaiense and Prorocentrum micans, but the positions of the fluorescence peaks are different.

The Substance of a Sermon

The Substance of a Sermon, by Elijah Hedding

Missions the chief end of the Christian Church; also, the qualifications, duties, and trials, of an Indian Missionary: being the substance of services held on the 7th March, in St. Andrew's Church, Edinburgh, at the ordination of the Rev. Thomas Smith.

http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC55772204

Substance misuse in young people in Ireland - a focus on benzodiazepines

Benzodiazepines are a class of drugs that are prescribed for the treatment of anxiety and insomnia. Due to the powerful tolerance that can develop as a result of sustained use, benzodiazepines can also be dependence-forming. Benzodiazepine dependence can occur from prescribed and from recreational use, and is a significant issue for young people. The consequences of benzodiazepine dependence include cognitive and learning impairment, depressive symptoms, and increased suicide risk. Despite these risks, the nature of youth benzodiazepine use has not been explored to the same extent as other drugs. A review of existing Irish literature revealed that benzodiazepines are one of the five most recreationally-used drugs among young people. Analyses of young people attending a treatment centre indicated that young attendees from urban areas were more likely to be referred to the centre because of benzodiazepines than rural attendees. Further examination of the centre’s attendees showed that regular benzodiazepine users experienced more paranoia, loss of interest in sport, and pallor than non-regular users. Analysis of benzodiazepine prescribing to young people revealed that approximately one in seven young people were prescribed benzodiazepines for periods greater than recommended by national guidelines. Young benzodiazepine users discussed in interviews that they took benzodiazepines to escape from negative feelings and that they are generally taken in a social setting. Further interviews with youth counsellors and general practitioners highlighted that both family and community attitude to benzodiazepine use can impact on a young person’s benzodiazepine usage. Suggestions for reducing benzodiazepine use such as psychological alternatives to medication, public awareness campaigns and prescribing restrictions are provided. Future research can elaborate upon this work to determine other methods of reducing youth benzodiazepine use and the damage that it causes to the young people themselves, but also to their families, their community, and society at large.

A cross-site, comparative effectiveness study of an integrated HIV and substance use treatment program.

Co-occurrence of HIV and substance abuse is associated with poor outcomes for HIV-related health and substance use. Integration of substance use and medical care holds promise for HIV patients, yet few integrated treatment models have been reported. Most of the reported models lack data on treatment outcomes in diverse settings. This study examined the substance use outcomes of an integrated treatment model for patients with both HIV and substance use at three different clinics. Sites differed by type and degree of integration, with one integrated academic medical center, one co-located academic medical center, and one co-located community health center. Participants (n=286) received integrated substance use and HIV treatment for 12 months and were interviewed at 6-month intervals. We used linear generalized estimating equation regression analysis to examine changes in Addiction Severity Index (ASI) alcohol and drug severity scores. To test whether our treatment was differentially effective across sites, we compared a full model including site by time point interaction terms to a reduced model including only site fixed effects. Alcohol severity scores decreased significantly at 6 and 12 months. Drug severity scores decreased significantly at 12 months. Once baseline severity variation was incorporated into the model, there was no evidence of variation in alcohol or drug score changes by site. Substance use outcomes did not differ by age, gender, income, or race. This integrated treatment model offers an option for treating diverse patients with HIV and substance use in a variety of clinic settings. Studies with control groups are needed to confirm these findings.

Substance use disorders and co-morbidities among Asian Americans and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders

© Cambridge University Press 2014.Background Asian Americans (AAs) and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders (NHs/PIs) are the fastest growing segments of the US population. However, their population sizes are small, and thus AAs and NHs/PIs are often aggregated into a single racial/ethnic group or omitted from research and health statistics. The groups' substance use disorders (SUDs) and treatment needs have been under-recognized. Method We examined recent epidemiological data on the extent of alcohol and drug use disorders and the use of treatment services by AAs and NHs/PIs. Results NHs/PIs on average were less educated and had lower levels of household income than AAs. Considered as a single group, AAs and NHs/PIs showed a low prevalence of substance use and disorders. Analyses of survey data that compared AAs and NHs/PIs revealed higher prevalences of substance use (alcohol, drugs), depression and delinquency among NHs than among AAs. Among treatment-seeking patients in mental healthcare settings, NHs/PIs had higher prevalences of DSM-IV diagnoses than AAs (alcohol/drug, mood, adjustment, childhood-onset disruptive or impulse-control disorders), although co-morbidity was common in both groups. AAs and NHs/PIs with an SUD were unlikely to use treatment, especially treatment for alcohol problems, and treatment use tended to be related to involvement with the criminal justice system. Conclusions Although available data are limited by small sample sizes of AAs and NHs/PIs, they demonstrate the need to separate AAs and NHs/PIs in health statistics and increase research into substance use and treatment needs for these fast-growing but understudied population groups.

Mental Health and Substance Use Among Patients in a North Carolina HIV Clinic.

BACKGROUND: The HIV/AIDS epidemic is a significant public health concern in North Carolina, and previous research has pointed to elevated mental health distress and substance use among HIV-infected populations, which may impact patients' adherence to medications. The aims of this study were to describe the prevalence of mental health and substance use issues among patients of a North Carolina HIV clinic, to examine differences by demographic characteristics, and to examine factors associated with suboptimal adherence to HIV medications. METHODS: This study was a secondary analysis of clinical data routinely collected through a health behavior questionnaire at a large HIV clinic in North Carolina. We analyzed data collected from February 2011 to August 2012. RESULTS: The sample included 1,398 patients. Overall, 12.2% of patients endorsed current symptomology indicative of moderate or severe levels of depression, and 38.6% reported receiving a psychiatric diagnosis at some point in their life. Additionally, 19.1% had indications of current problematic drinking, and 8.2% reported problematic drug use. Nearly one-quarter (22.1%) reported suboptimal adherence to HIV medications. Factors associated with poor adherence included racial/ethnic minority, age less than 35 years, and indications of moderate or severe depression. LIMITATIONS: The questionnaire was not completed systematically in the clinic, which may limit generalizability, and self-reported measures may have introduced social desirability bias. CONCLUSION: Patients were willing to disclose mental health distress, substance use, and suboptimal medication adherence to providers, which highlights the importance of routinely assessing these behaviors during clinic visits. Our findings suggest that treating depression may be an effective strategy to improve adherence to HIV medications.

Using electronic health record data for substance use Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment among adults with type 2 diabetes: Design of a National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network study.

BACKGROUND: The Affordable Care Act encourages healthcare systems to integrate behavioral and medical healthcare, as well as to employ electronic health records (EHRs) for health information exchange and quality improvement. Pragmatic research paradigms that employ EHRs in research are needed to produce clinical evidence in real-world medical settings for informing learning healthcare systems. Adults with comorbid diabetes and substance use disorders (SUDs) tend to use costly inpatient treatments; however, there is a lack of empirical data on implementing behavioral healthcare to reduce health risk in adults with high-risk diabetes. Given the complexity of high-risk patients' medical problems and the cost of conducting randomized trials, a feasibility project is warranted to guide practical study designs. METHODS: We describe the study design, which explores the feasibility of implementing substance use Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) among adults with high-risk type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) within a home-based primary care setting. Our study includes the development of an integrated EHR datamart to identify eligible patients and collect diabetes healthcare data, and the use of a geographic health information system to understand the social context in patients' communities. Analysis will examine recruitment, proportion of patients receiving brief intervention and/or referrals, substance use, SUD treatment use, diabetes outcomes, and retention. DISCUSSION: By capitalizing on an existing T2DM project that uses home-based primary care, our study results will provide timely clinical information to inform the designs and implementation of future SBIRT studies among adults with multiple medical conditions.

Recent national trends in Salvia divinorum use and substance-use disorders among recent and former Salvia divinorum users compared with nonusers.

CONTEXT: Media and scientific reports have indicated an increase in recreational use of Salvia divinorum. Epidemiological data are lacking on the trends, prevalence, and correlates of S. divinorum use in large representative samples, as well as the extent of substance use and mental health problems among S. divinorum users. OBJECTIVE: To examine the national trend in prevalence of S. divinorum use and to identify sociodemographic, behavioral, mental health, and substance-use profiles of recent (past-year) and former users of S. divinorum. DESIGN: Analyses of public-use data files from the 2006-2008 United States National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (N = 166,453). SETTING: Noninstitutionalized individuals aged 12 years or older were interviewed in their places of residence. MAIN MEASURES: Substance use, S. divinorum, self-reported substance use disorders, criminality, depression, and mental health treatment were assessed by standardized survey questions administered by the audio computer-assisted self-interviewing method. RESULTS: Among survey respondents, lifetime prevalence of S. divinorum use had increased from 0.7% in 2006 to 1.3% in 2008 (an 83% increase). S. divinorum use was associated with ages 18-25 years, male gender, white or multiple race, residence of large metropolitan areas, arrests for criminal activities, and depression. S. divinorum use was particularly common among recent drug users, including users of lysergic acid diethylamide (53.7%), ecstasy (30.1%), heroin (24.2%), phencyclidine (22.4%), and cocaine (17.5%). Adjusted multinomial logistic analyses indicated polydrug use as the strongest determinant for recent and former S. divinorum use. An estimated 43.0% of past-year S. divinorum users and 28.9% of former S. divinorum users had an illicit or nonmedical drug-use disorder compared with 2.5% of nonusers. Adjusted logistic regression analyses showed that recent and former S. divinorum users had greater odds of having past-year depression and a substance-use disorder (alcohol or drugs) than past-year alcohol or drug users who did not use S. divinorum. CONCLUSION: S. divinorum use is prevalent among recent or active drug users who have used other hallucinogens or stimulants. The high prevalence of substance use disorders among recent S. divinorum users emphasizes the need to study health risks of drug interactions.