Alcohol Behaviors Research Articles

Alcohol Misuse and Sexually Transmitted Infections: Using the CAGE Questionnaire as a Screening Tool.

Background: While the connection between alcohol and risky behavior is well known, a clear correlation between alcohol misuse and contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs) has not been determined. The 4-question CAGE questionnaire-the acronym stands for attitudes and activities related to alcohol use-is often administered at primary care annual visits to screen patients for alcohol abuse. This study assessed the relationship between CAGE scores and STI results to determine if the CAGE questionnaire could help determine the need for STI screening at annual visits. Methods: All patients who received a CAGE screening from 2015 to 2022 at a Gulf South health system were included in the analysis. The primary outcome of the study was the relationship between a positive CAGE score (a score ≥2) and a positive STI result. STIs included in the primary analysis were human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B, syphilis, chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis. The correlation between a positive CAGE score and hepatitis C was examined as a secondary outcome. Results: A total of 40,022 patients received a CAGE screening during the study period, and 757 (1.9%) scored ≥2 on the CAGE questionnaire. Significant associations were found between a positive CAGE score and hepatitis B (odds ratio [OR]=2.69, 95% CI 1.91, 3.80; P<0.001), gonorrhea (OR=5.43, 95% CI 1.80, 16.39; P=0.003), and hepatitis C (OR=2.10, 95% CI 1.57, 2.80; P<0.001). No associations were found between a positive CAGE score and HIV, chlamydia, or trichomoniasis. No patients with a CAGE score ≥2 had a syphilis diagnosis; therefore, no syphilis analysis was possible. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, patients with a CAGE score ≥2 may benefit from screening for hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and gonorrhea at their primary care annual visit. Early STI detection could lead to prompt treatment and prevent further transmission and complications.

LIVER HEALTH IS OVERLOOKED BY ALCOHOL DRINKERS IN BRAZIL.

Chronic excessive use of alcohol is an important risk factor for several health and social conditions. A cross-sectional survey, in a sample representative of the Brazilian population,was conducted to evaluate the frequency of consumption of alcoholic beverages and behaviors concerning liver diseases. Participants were prospectively interviewed using a questionnaire regarding alcohol consumption and actions toward liver health. The study accepted at most one sampling error of ±2 percentage points and considered a 95% confidence interval. One thousand nine hundred ninety-five subjects (1.048 women, mean age 44 years) from all Brazilian regions were interviewed. Most of the Brazilian subjects believe that alcohol abuse (63-87%) is the leading cause of cirrhosis and liver cancer, however, most responders (56%) had never been screened to assess liver damage related to alcohol consumption. A total of 55% of Brazilians drink alcoholic beverages. Among Brazilians who drink alcoholic beverages, 44% consume three or more drinks at a time, 11% consume more than 10 doses a day. Among those who consume 1 to 2 drinks a day, women (42%) consume more than men (32%) and more than the national average (37%). There is a high frequency of alcohol consumption, especially among young people, and individuals from lower social classes, with frequent consumption among women. Despite the knowledge of its adverse impact on liver health, less than half of the Brazilians have been evaluated at least once for liver disease. Education and prevention strategies need to be implemented to reduce theharmful use of alcohol.

Unraveling the Molecular Mechanisms of Alcohol-Mediated Skin Permeation Enhancement: Insights from Molecular Dynamics Simulations.

The application of alcohols as permeation enhancers in pharmaceutical and cosmetic formulations has attracted considerable attention, owing to their skin permeation-enhancing effect. Nonetheless, the elucidation of the fundamental mechanisms underlying the skin permeation-enhancing effect remains elusive. In this study, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were employed to investigate the effect of 1,2-propanediol (1,2-PDO), 1,2-butanediol (1,2-BDO), and ethanol (EtOH) on the stratum corneum (SC) model membrane. The results showed that the effect of alcohols on the SC model membrane displayed a concentration-dependent nature. The alcohols can interact with SC lipids and exhibit a remarkable ability to selectively extract free fatty acid (FFA) molecules from the SC model membrane and make the SC looser. Meanwhile, 1,2-BDO and EtOH can penetrate into SC lipid bilayers at higher concentrations, leading to the formation of continuous hydrophilic defects in SC. The FFA extraction and the formation of continuous hydrophilic defects induced ceramide (CER) tail chains to become more disordered and fluid and also weakened the hydrogen bonding (H-bonding) network among SC lipids. Both the FFA extraction and the continuous hydrophilic defect formation endowed alcohols with the permeation-enhancing effect. The constrained simulations revealed that the free energy barriers decreased for the permeation of the hydrophilic model molecule (COL) across the SC model membranes containing alcohols, particularly for 1,2-BDO and EtOH. The possible permeation-enhancing mechanisms of alcohols were proposed correspondingly. This work not only provided a deep understanding of the transdermal permeation-enhancing behavior of alcohols at the molecular level but also provided necessary reference information for designing effective transdermal drug delivery systems in applications.

Understanding the negative permittivity behavior of polyvinyl alcohol based metamaterials under radio frequency

Functional metamaterials that exhibit negative dielectric permittivity through percolative network formation have attracted immense attention due to their significant potential for a wide range of applications in electronic devices. Negative permittivity has taken off as a research topic recent years in percolative composites. The polymer nanocomposites (PVA/H-Pa-G) were prepared using the α-Fe2O3 modified GNP and HCl doped polyaniline (Pani) based nanofillers (H-Pa-G). The as prepared samples were characterized in order to analyze their dielectric response for understanding the negative permittivity behavior. Below the percolation threshold for the polymer nanocomposite with 0.10%, 0.25% H-Pa-G nanofiller weight fraction, an increase in σac conductivity is observed with increase in frequency. The dielectric study confirmed the negative permittivity behavior for the polymer nanocomposite (0.50%, 1.00% and 2.00%) above the percolation threshold. This can be mainly attributed to the presence of the conductive network of H-Pa-G nanofiller in the PVA matrix. On the contrary, the positive permittivity is due to the insulative nature of PVA matrix. The empirical data of real permittivity was fitted using the Drude model that corresponded well with the experimental data with the fp = 1.31 GHz which is further certified by the equivalent circuit model fitting. This proposed work strongly suggest the implication of the as prepared polymer nanocomposite for the negative permittivity materials based applications.

The Causal Association between Alcohol, Smoking, Coffee Consumption, and the Risk of Arthritis: A Meta-Analysis of Mendelian Randomization Studies

Objective: To evaluate the genetic causality between alcohol intake, smoking, coffee consumption, and arthritis. Methods: Mendelian randomization (MR) studies with alcohol, smoking, and coffee consumption behaviors as exposures, and osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) as outcomes were retrieved from up to July 2023. Two researchers with relevant professional backgrounds independently assessed the quality and extracted data from the included studies. Meanwhile, we applied MR analyses of four lifestyle exposures and five arthritis outcomes (two for OA and three for RA) with gene-wide association study (GWAS) data that were different from the included studies, and the results were also included in the meta-analysis. Statistical analyses were performed using Stata 16.0 and R software version 4.3.1. Results: A total of 84 studies were assessed. Of these, 11 were selected for meta-analysis. As a whole, the included studies were considered to be at a low risk of bias and were of high quality. Results of the meta-analysis showed no significant genetic causality between alcohol intake and arthritis (odds ratio (OR): 1.02 (0.94–1.11)). Smoking and arthritis had a positive genetic causal association (OR: 1.44 (1.27–1.64)) with both OA (1.44 (1.22–1.71)) and RA (1.37 (1.26–1.50)). Coffee consumption and arthritis also had a positive genetic causal association (OR: 1.02 (1.01–1.03)). Results from the subgroup analysis showed a positive genetic causality between coffee consumption and both OA (OR: 1.02 (1.00–1.03)) and RA (OR: 1.56 (1.19–2.05)). Conclusion: There is positive genetic causality between smoking and coffee consumption and arthritis (OA and RA), while there is insufficient evidence for genetic causality between alcohol intake and arthritis.

Study of the relationship between the severity of alcoholic cardiomyopathy and the level of alcohol consumption in male and female rats in the model of “home drinking”

Background. Earlier, on the translational model of alcoholic cardiomyopathy (ACMP) developed by us in outbred white rats, which reproduces the main clinical diagnostic signs of this disease, it was shown that in rats of both sexes under conditions of constant 24/7 alcoholization for 24 weeks, AСMP is formed.This study purpose is a comparative assessment of the features of the ACM formation in male and female rats depending on the level of ethanol consumption in model experiments simulating "domestic drunkenness" with periodic alcoholization 24/2 for 24 weeks.Materials and methods. Experiments were performed on outbred white rats randomized into 4 groups: group 1 — control male rats (n=18), group 2 — control female rats (n = 18), group 3 — alcoholized male rats (n = 39) and group 4 — alcoholized female rats (n = 19). Control animals received a normal diet and free access to water. Animals of the 3rd and 4th groups weekly, for 24 weeks, from Friday 22.00 to Monday 8.00, received a 10 % ethanol solution as the only source of liquid with unlimited access to standard food, and the usual diet on the remaining days.Results. In animals of both sexes, after 24 weeks from the consumption start of the ethanol solution, ACM is formed, as evidenced by an increase in the end-systolic and end-diastolic sizes of the left ventricle of the heart (p = 0.0001) and a decrease in its ejection fraction (p = 0.0001), while the degree of pathological myocardial remodeling is more pronounced in females. According to cluster analysis, by the consumption of ethanol (CET), animals of both sexes are divided into 3 subgroups: low, medium and high CET, however, in males, the subgroup with an average CET prevails — 56 %, and in females with a high CET — 47 % (p = 0.0286), the low CET subgroup is minimal (16 %). At the same time, if in males in all subgroups, starting from the 8th week of alcoholization, CET dynamically decreases, then how in females in subgroups with medium and high CET, starting from the 16th week, it increases. It was found that the degree of left ventricular remodeling in females with high and moderate CET was almost 2 times higher than in males (p &lt; 0.05).Conclusion. In model experiments imitating “domestic drunkenness”, it was shown that in females the intensity of the left ventricle heart remodeling is significantly higher than in males, which, apparently, is determined by the identified gender-dependent multidirectional trends in the formation of alcoholic behavior characterized by dynamic growth. consumption of ethanol in female rats as the duration of alcoholization increases.

Income inequality and mental health in adolescents during COVID-19, results from COMPASS 2018-2021.

Understanding the inequitable impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on youth mental health are leading priorities. Existing research has linked income inequality in schools to adolescent depression, however, it is unclear if the onset of the pandemic exacerbated the effects of income inequality on adolescent mental health. The current study aimed to quantify the association between income inequality and adolescent mental health during COVID-19. Longitudinal data were taken from three waves (2018/19 to 2020/21) of the Cannabis, Obesity, Mental health, Physical activity, Alcohol, Smoking, and Sedentary behaviour (COMPASS) school-based study. Latent Growth Curve modelling was used to assess the association between Census District (CD)-level income inequality and depressive symptoms before and after the onset of COVID-19. The study sample included 29,722 students across 43 Census divisions in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec. The average age of the sample at baseline was 14.9 years [standard deviation (SD) = 1.5] and ranged between 12 and 19 years of age. Most of the sample self-reported as white (76.3%) and female (54.4%). Students who completed the COMPASS survey after the onset of COVID reported 0.20-unit higher depressive scores (95% CI = 0.16, 0.24) compared to pre-COVID. The adjusted analyses indicated that the association between income inequality on anxiety scores was strengthened following the onset of COVID-19 (β = 0.02, 95% CI = 0.0004, 0.03), indicating that income inequality was associated with a greater increase in anxiety scores during COVID-19. The adjusted results indicate that the association between income inequality and adolescent anxiety persisted and was heightened at the onset of COVID-19. Future studies should use quasi-experimental methods to strengthen this finding. The current study can inform policy and program discussions regarding the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and pandemic recovery for young Canadians and relevant social policies for improving adolescent mental health.

The association between alcohol use and sexual assault victimization among college students differs by gender identity and race

PurposeAlcohol use and sexual assault (SA) are common on college campuses. The purpose of this study is to examine if the association between alcohol use and SA differs by gender identity, sexual orientation, race, or ethnicity. MethodsA total of 3,243 college students aged 18–25 at two large, minority-serving, public universities in the southwest and southeast United States completed an online survey about alcohol and sexual behaviors. Two negative binomial regressions were conducted to examine main effects and interaction effects. ResultsAlmost half of the sample reported a SA victimization history. The main effects negative binomial regression indicated that more drinks per week, older age, identifying as a cisgender woman (vs. cisgender man), identifying as a gender minority (vs. cisgender man), and identifying as a sexual minority (vs. heterosexual) were associated with more severe SA victimization. Participants who identified as Latine (vs. non-Latine White) reported less severe SA. The negative binomial regression assessing interactions indicated that the association between alcohol use and SA severity was stronger among cisgender women and gender minority identities than cisgender men, and Black identities than non-Latine White identities. ConclusionFindings suggests that alcohol use is an important factor for SA severity among all students, but that the association is stronger among some with marginalized identities. Given that perpetrators target people who hold some marginalized identities, prevention programming could address cisnormative, heteronormative, and White normative ideas about alcohol and sex to attain social justice and health equity.

Knowledge, safety, and impact of alcohol consumption in young adults with type 1 diabetes mellitus: a qualitative study

PurposeTo explore the lived experiences of alcohol consumption among young adults with type 1 diabetes.MethodsFourteen semi-structured interviews were conducted amongst young adults aged between 18 and 25 years, inclusive, with type 1 diabetes and experience consuming alcohol. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed to identify common themes regarding their experiences.ResultsThe interviews confirmed that young adults with type 1 diabetes engage in social, and occasionally excessive, drinking behaviour. Furthermore, the interviews revealed four key themes: (i) Several sources contribute to a widely inconsistent understanding of the impact and management of alcohol consumption; (ii) Perceived inconvenience of maintaining healthy glycaemic control whilst drinking socially; (iii) Engagement in proactive strategies for harm reduction occurred when convenient; and (iv) Impact of modern diabetes technology in overcoming previous burdens and promoting glycaemic safety.ConclusionYoung adults with type 1 diabetes continue to need anticipatory education surrounding safe alcohol consumption and behaviours, as well as ongoing support and encouragement to ensure engagement with traditional self-management tasks. Significant alcohol-diabetes related safety issues, particularly hypoglycaemia do occur, and were captured within this small sample and study. Diabetes technology has an important complementary role along with education and tailored support strategies to support health and safe glucose control during alcohol consumption.

Energy Poverty and Alcohol Consumption

The impact of energy poverty on alcohol consumption has not received much attention in the literature, yet it is of policy significance. We present the first study that examines the impact of energy poverty on alcohol consumption. We use 17 annual waves of data from a large Australian panel survey (2005–2021) and apply fixed-effects regression models to analyse the relationship between energy poverty and the likelihood of alcohol consumption. We found evidence of a negative relationship. Thus, being energy poor is associated with a decline in the likelihood of alcohol use. Separate analyses focused on different indicators of energy poverty and alcohol use demonstrate that the negative relationship is reinforced. However, energy poverty has a positive but statistically insignificant effect on risky alcohol behaviour.

Adolescent alcohol disrupts development of noradrenergic neurons in the nucleus of the tractus solitarius and enhances stress behaviors in adulthood in mice in a sex specific manner

Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) are common mental health issues worldwide and can lead to other chronic diseases. Stress is a major factor in the development and continuation of AUDs, and adolescent alcohol exposure can lead to enhanced stress-responsivity and increased risk for AUD development in adulthood. The exact mechanisms behind the interaction between adolescence, stress, and alcohol are not fully understood and require further research. In this regard, the nucleus of the tractus solitarius (NTS) provides dense norepinephrine projections to the extended amygdala, providing a key pathway for stress-related alcohol behaviors. While NTS norepinephrine neurons are known to be alcohol sensitive, whether adolescent alcohol disrupts NTS-norepinephrine neuron development and if this is related to altered stress-sensitivity and alcohol preference in adulthood has not previously been examined. Here, we exposed male and female C57Bl/6J mice to the commonly used adolescent intermittent ethanol (AIE) vapor model during postnatal day 28-42 and examined AIE effects on: 1) tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) mRNA expression in the NTS across various ages (postnatal day 21-90), 2) behavioral responses to acute stress in the light/dark box test in adulthood, 3) NTS TH neuron responses to acute stress and ethanol challenges in adulthood, and 4) ethanol conditioned place preference behavior in adulthood. Overall the findings indicate that AIE alters NTS TH mRNA expression and increases anxiety-like behaviors following acute stress exposure in a sex-dependent manner. These mRNA expression and behavioral changes occur in the absence of AIE-induced changes in NTS TH neuron sensitivity to either acute stress or acute alcohol exposure or changes to ethanol conditioned place preference.

Assessing the early influence of COVID-19 in an analysis of the immediate implementation of Minimum Pricing for Alcohol on drinkers in Wales.

Background: The Welsh Government has commissioned a number of projects to consider the influence their implementation of Minimum Pricing for Alcohol (MPA) legislation in March 2020 had on the alcohol consumption and related behaviours of drinkers. Given the MPA's overlap with the COVID-19 pandemic and its related lockdown measures and restrictions, this rapidly became a story about the early impact of COVID-19 as it did MPA. This paper captures the core thematic messages from this specific strand of work, and in doing so reflects on (1) how early experiences of COVID-19 and the first lockdown influenced consumption and purchasing of alcohol behaviours and, in turn, (2) how relevant the introduction of MPA was for any of these. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted by telephone with 32 drinkers 9 months after the implementation of the legislation in March 2020. The sample was recruited from three sources: the National Survey for Wales; a third sector organisation offering housing support to the homeless; and through an online survey on MPA. Results: COVID-19 had more relevance than MPA to drinkers. Furthermore, when MPA did have an influence on their behaviour, it was felt most keenly by the harmful drinkers in the study. These drinkers described spending more on alcohol, switching to other potentially more harmful substances, such as crack cocaine and synthetic cannabinoids, and more involvement in acquisitive crime and begging after the price increase. While our results might be an early indication of the influence of MPA on harmful drinkers, the small sample of this group in our study limits the generalisability of the findings. Conclusion: To date, the implementation of MPA has had little influence on the drinking patterns or lives of the drinkers in our sample. It is important that future research examines the longer-term influences of MPA before any conclusions on its effectiveness can be drawn.

Characterization and efficacy of lifestyle behavior change interventions among adult rural cancer survivors: a systematic review.

Little is known about the intersection between age and rurality as characteristics that impact lifestyle behavior change for cancer survivors. This review aims to summarize the current literature on lifestyle behavior change interventions conducted among rural survivors of cancer, with an emphasis on older survivors. A systematic search of five databases identified randomized controlled trials and controlled clinical trials that targeted diet, physical activity, alcohol consumption, or tobacco use change in adult cancer survivors living in rural areas of the world. Eight studies met the inclusion criteria. Most studies were conducted in either Australia or the USA, included survivors at least 6weeks post-treatment, and half included only breast cancer survivors, while the other four included a mix of cancer types. All but one had a physical activity component. No articles addressed changes in alcohol or tobacco behavior. Seven (87.5%) had a fully remote or hybrid delivery model. Most of the physical activity interventions showed significant changes in physical activity outcomes, while the dietary interventions showed changes of clinical but not statistical significance. Few studies have been conducted to implement and evaluate the effectiveness of lifestyle behavior change interventions among older rural survivors of cancer. Future research should evaluate the acceptability and relevancy of adapted, evidence-based intervention with this population. Effective diet and physical activity interventions exist, albeit limited in terms of effective lifestyle behavior change intervention tailored to older, rural survivors of cancer, particularly in relation to alcohol and tobacco behaviors.

Lifestyle and Sense of Coherence: A comparative analysis among university students in different areas of knowledge.

The concept of health has undergone profound changes. Lifestyle Medicine consists of therapeutic approaches that focus on the prevention and treatment of diseases. It follows that the quality of life of university students directly affects their health and educational progress. Socioeconomic, lifestyle (LS), and Salutogenesis Theory/sense of coherence (SOC) questionnaires were administered to college students from three different areas. The results were analyzed for normality and homogeneity, followed by ANOVA variance analysis and Dunn and Tukey post hoc test for multiple comparisons. Spearman's correlation coefficient evaluated the correlation between lifestyle and sense of coherence; p values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. The correlation between LS and SOC was higher among males and higher among Medical and Human sciences students compared to Exact sciences. Medical students' scores were higher than Applied sciences and Human sciences students on the LS questionnaire. Exact science students' scores on the SOC questionnaire were higher than Human sciences students. In the LS areas related to alcohol intake, sleeping quality, and behavior, there were no differences between the areas. However, women scored better in the nutrition domain and alcohol intake. The SOC was also higher in men compared to women. The results obtained demonstrate in an unprecedented way in the literature that the correlation between the LS and SOC of college students varies according to gender and areas of knowledge, reflecting the importance of actions on improving students' quality of life and enabling better academic performance.

Decreasing alcohol use among young adults presenting for service in the U.S. Air Force: An epidemiological surveillance study

ABSTRACT U.S. surveys demonstrate recent decreases in the prevalence of alcohol use and binge drinking among young adults. The current study aims to determine whether similar trends are evident in a similarly aged cohort of service members in the US Air Force to inform ongoing prevention efforts. Participants were 103,240 Air Force personnel in entry-level training between 2016 and 2019. Participants anonymously completed the AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test) regarding their pre-service drinking. Logistic regression analyses and the Cochran-Armitage test were conducted to measure population trends over the study duration with stratification by age (<21 vs. ≥21) and evaluation of specific alcohol behaviors. Between 2016 and 2019, the proportion of young service members endorsing any alcohol use significantly decreased for both the <21 group (i.e. from 38.9% to 32.6%) and the ≥21 group (i.e. from 80.6% to 77.5%). Among those who endorsed drinking, a decrease over time in binge use was also observed from 46.6% to 37.8% for the <21 group and from 34.2% to 27.5% for the ≥21 group. Responses to other specific alcohol risk items and total AUDIT scores also demonstrated decreases. Binge use and risky drinking remained disproportionately common among those under the legal drinking age. It is encouraging to observe a shift toward abstinence and decreased binge use among this population of young military recruits. However, given the risk for many adverse health and legal consequences in this population, more work is needed to prevent problematic drinking, especially among those under the legal drinking age.

Assessment of alcohol consumption in Mexican pregnant women by hair testing of ethyl glucuronide.

There are no studies that would have utilized both biomarkers and self-reported data to evaluate maternal alcohol use during pregnancy in Mexico. Therefore, we aimed to describe the prevalence of alcohol consumption in a cohort of 300 Mexican pregnant women. We used a validated ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) method to measure hair ethyl glucuronide (EtG) in hair segments that corresponded to the first and the second half of the pregnancy. We compared the hair EtG values to a self-reported questionnaire on maternal drinking habits and evaluated whether the gestational alcohol use was associated with psychotropic drug use. Based on the EtG measurements, 263 women (87.7%) were abstinent the whole pregnancy while 37 (12.3%) had used alcohol at least at some time during the pregnancy. Of these, only two women found to have problematic alcoholic behaviour during whole pregnancy. No significant differences in socio demographic characteristics were observed between abstinent women and women with drinking habits. The self-reporting data and hair EtG gave heterogeneous results: Although, 37 women had self-reported alcohol use during pregnancy, only 54.1% of those tested positive for hair EtG had done so. Of the women positive for hair EtG, 54.1% resulted positive for psychoactive substances. In our cohort, the use of drugs of abuse was independent of gestational drinking. This study provided a first objective evidence of prenatal ethanol consumption in a cohort of Mexican pregnant women.

Situačno-motivačné faktory tabakového správania: predstavenie a pilotné overenie dotazníka

Problem and objective: The use of tobacco products by youths is social and health problem, while a current trend of the spread of other products besides cigarettes is registered, which appear to be less dangerous, but the opposite is true. Practice points out that group interventions do not have demonstrable effectiveness, and it is necessary to focus attention on situational multifactorial research. The paper aims to present the original Questionnaire on situational-motivational factors (SMF) of tobacco behavior (smoking), and the results of the pilot verification of its reliability and factor structure. It is a modified version of the questionnaire for SMF created for alcohol behavior (Rojková, Vavrová, 2017).

An Examination of Alcohol Use Disorder Among the Characters of Patricia Highsmith

Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is a chronic disease with specific traits that connect to behavior, psychology, and physiology. This disease is especially prevalent among those within creative professions, which prompted further study into the effects of AUD on an alcoholic’s creative work. An examination of the incorporation of AUD within a female alcoholic author's work, particularly through the lens of Patricia Highsmith’s fictional characters, to cope with behaviors associated with AUD has yet to be accomplished, leading to this study’s purpose. A content analysis was conducted utilizing four indicating behaviors of AUD–codependency, neuroticism, binge drinking, and alcoholic terminology usage–that served as coding categories for 30 short stories analyzed. Data analysis showed that AUD was noticeably projected onto the fictional characters of Patricia Highsmith, with a total of 270 indicators identified. Implicit indicators–codependency and neuroticism–were projected within general written situations, and explicit indicators–binge drinking and alcoholic terminology usage–were projected within written situations that naturally trigger alcoholic behavior. Thus, it was suggested that AUD was projected onto the fictional characters of Patricia Highsmith in varying ways so as to cope with her alcoholic tendencies.

Alumina microspheres for the adsorption of fatty alcohols containing oxygenates in Fischer-Tropsch synthetic oils

The efficient and economical removal of oxygenated compounds from Fischer-Tropsch synthetic oil is vital to the promotion of high-quality chemical development in the coal chemical industry. In this study, alumina microspheres with high specific surface area, high pore capacity, and small particle size were prepared. The adsorption thermodynamics, adsorption kinetics, and column adsorption experiments were systematically conducted on various fatty alcohols bearing different carbon numbers, in mixtures of α-olefins and alkanes with different carbon numbers. The competitive adsorption behavior between weakly polar, oxide-containing methyl acetate and 12-alcohols on an alumina surface was investigated to better reduce the actual system. The Freundlich model exhibited a better fit than the Langmuir model. The adsorption kinetics and proposed first-order kinetic equations fitted better to the Crank model. Comparing the adsorption effect of commercial alumina and the alumina microspheres prepared in this study, it was observed that a smaller particle size and larger pore volume reduced the internal and external diffusion resistance of adsorption, and a larger specific surface area provided more adsorption sites for the adsorption of the oxide-containing compounds. The competitive adsorption behavior of fatty alcohols and methyl acetate on the surface of γ-alumina was explored using a combination of density functional theory (DFT) calculations and experimental techniques. The results of this study can prove to be extremely useful for the efficient removal of oxide-containing compounds from Fischer-Tropsch synthetic oils.

Evaluation of the Daily Sessions, Frequency, Age of Onset, and Quantity of Cannabis Use Questionnaire and its Relations to Cannabis-Related Problems.

Cannabis use and the prevalence of cannabis use disorder (CUD) among emerging adults are on the rise. Several indicators of cannabis use (e.g., quantity, frequency) as they relate to negative outcomes have been posited in the extant literature. Despite research examining links between indicators and cannabis outcomes, few assessments of cannabis use indicators exist. The Daily Sessions, Frequency, Age of Onset, and Quantity of Cannabis Use Inventory (DFAQ-CU) was developed to assess cannabis use across a range of factors. However, the factor structure of the DFAQ-CU has not been replicated. Further, the DFAQ-CU was modeled using reflective strategies despite formative strategies being conceptually appropriate. The present study utilized principal components analyses (PCA) and principal axis factoring (PAF) to evaluate the structure of the DFAQ-CU. PCA yielded a four-component solution; PAF resulted in a five-factor solution. Linear regression found significant relations between PCA components and PAF factors with CUD symptoms and cannabis-related problems; however, effect sizes were larger for the PAF suggesting possible misdisattenuation. The PCA components demonstrated evidence of discriminant and convergent validity with measures of cannabis and alcohol behavior. The study informs research and clinical work through the refinement of cannabis use assessment and enhancing our understanding of the importance of model selection.