Heavy Use Research Articles

Temporal stability and assembly mechanisms of gut microbiota in sea cucumbers response to nanoplastics treatment

Aquaculture provides essential food for humans, and the health of farmed species is particularly important for the aquaculture industry. Aquaculture environment could be a sink of plastic debris (PDs) due to the enclosed character and heavy use of plastics. Gut microbiota of aquaculture species could respond to the exogenous pollutants and regulate the health of hosts. Here, variations in gut microbiota of Apostichopus japonicus induced by the ingested nanoplastics (NPs) were investigated by a lab experiment. We selected a NPs concentration gradient of 100 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg to simulate microplastic pollution to A. japonicus, and the significant differences in gut microbiota composition after 21 days of NP exposure were evaluated. According to the high-throughput sequencing from time series samples, a decrease of diversity in gut microbiota of A. japonicus with dietary NPs was observed. In addition, the gut microbiota compositions of sea cucumbers with and without NPs exposure were also distinct, expressing as enrichment of Bacteroidota while reducement of Proteobacteria under NPs stresses. Combined the results of network analysis, the less complexity and stability of gut microbiota in sea cucumbers with dietary NPs were proved. Based on the neutral community model, the ingested NPs elevated the contribution of stochastic processes for the gut microbiota assembly in sea cucumbers. Our study showed that substantial variations in gut microbiota of A. japonicus under NPs stresses, and also explored the underlying mechanisms regulating these changes. This research would offer new meaningful insights into the toxicity of NPs on sea cucumbers, contributing a solid fundament to improve the health of sea cucumbers under NPs stresses.

Sports Journalism Reporting in the Era of Digital Media in Nigeria

The advancement in technology has created a better way of sports reporting in journalistic engagement, which pave way for brand journalism known as specialised reporting, in which sports is one of the beats. Specialised reporting has become a necessary part of the press because of the need to address the inadequacies presented by straightforward news reports. Society is getting more complex with time so are the people. Mere news stories are no longer adequate to address the yearnings of complex human societies for complex angles to stories. Today, the diversity of media audiences has necessitated a variety of reporting beats which gave birth to what is known as specialised reporting. Within this context, the media have been associated with sports for a long time. The paper articulates that the role of the media has always been vital in boosting any activity of sports. The media have got a focal position, particularly in communication of fresh information, sharing the viewpoint of the masses, and bringing live sports and other activities to the consumer. The fusion of sports and the media, and Television, in particular, has helped propel and transform major events such as the FIFA world cup and the Olympic Games. Based on the opportunities offered by digital technologies, sports reporting has opened an opportunity for many hidden talents to come to the limelight and it has helped in improving infrastructures among other merits. The paper concludes that with the arrival of new actors in the journalistic field, the heavy use of social media and its impact on sports consumption patterns is imperative. The search for new business models for news organisations and the disrupting technology that is being explored and applied as innovation in the sports coverage all require new conceptual approaches to better understand the sports news.

Multidimensional Nature of Substance Use Disorder: Explorations in Gangtok

ABSTRACT The study investigates the prevalence of substance use disorder and role of institutions in preventing it in Gangtok, a capital city of the northern Indian state of Sikkim. A survey of 816 respondents was undertaken using a short and easy-to-understand questionnaire. Results reveal that 64% of respondents identified persons with harmful drug use in their immediate families or in their neighborhoods and nearly same percentage of people conceal the actual cause of death in cases where death occurred due to drug overuse. The paper uncovers that cases of substance use disorder have increased and a considerable number of people are reported dying due to it, but families often hide the actual cause of death. The role of institutions is found to be limited in preventing it, as the process of knowledge transmission among families and patients with heavy drug use is abysmally slow. The study argues to empowering society with a potential tool, that is, knowledge transmission, and enabling them to devise meaningful tools to tackle rising cases of substance use disorder.

Immune biomarkers in non-treatment-seeking heavy drinkers who used a probiotic supplement for 30 days: An open-label pilot study

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is associated with significant psychological and economic burdens, as well as physical comorbidities that can lead to death. Previous research has found that probiotics may reduce inflammatory biomarkers in persons with AUD and comorbid conditions such as cirrhosis of the liver. This relationship has not been explored in heavy drinkers without comorbid conditions. In a proof-of-concept study, individuals who were heavy drinkers without known comorbidities received a 30-day course of a daily probiotic supplement in an open-label pilot trial. Eligible participants (N = 16) met NIAAA guidelines for heavy alcohol use and did not report any preexisting medical problems. Blood samples were taken at four timepoints: prior to the probiotic course, at the midpoint, at the end, and after a washout period of at least one month. Immunoassays were conducted on plasma samples to quantify the following inflammatory biomarkers: IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, LBP, MCP-1, sCD14, sCD163, and TNF-α. Linear mixed models were used to test within-subjects changes in biomarker concentrations over the study period, with alcohol use included as a time-varying covariate. Biomarker concentrations did not change significantly. A higher number of heavy drinking days was statistically associated with higher concentrations of IL-6 (F(1,8) = 6.66, p = 0.0326) and IL-8 (F(1,17) = 6.38, p = 0.0218). Greater days since last drink was associated with a lower concentration of MCP-1 (F(1,17) = 5.77, p = 0.028). In summary, biomarker trajectories were associated with alcohol consumption variables, but not probiotic use, in this open-label pilot study. Randomized controlled trials are needed to evaluate fully the potential benefits of probiotics in heavy drinkers without known comorbidities and under conditions of non-abstinence.

Research on the Reconditioning of Injection Moulds by LASER Welding

An important problem for plastic injection moulding companies is the deterioration of mould nests due to several factors such as wear and tear caused by heavy use, corrosion, misuse, etc. These defects, even small ones, can affect the injection moulded product. To reduce the cost of making a new mould, damaged areas are repaired. TIG welding or laser welding is commonly used. For areas with small defects, laser welding is preferred due to its advantages. The paper presents research on the choice of wire when reconditioning a mould using laser welding.

Genetic associations between alcohol phenotypes and life satisfaction: a genomic structural equation modelling approach

Alcohol use (i.e., quantity, frequency) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) are common, associated with adverse outcomes, and genetically-influenced. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) identified genetic loci associated with both. AUD is positively genetically associated with psychopathology, while alcohol use (e.g., drinks per week) is negatively associated or NS related to psychopathology. We wanted to test if these genetic associations extended to life satisfaction, as there is an interest in understanding the associations between psychopathology-related traits and constructs that are not just the absence of psychopathology, but positive outcomes (e.g., well-being variables). Thus, we used Genomic Structural Equation Modeling (gSEM) to analyze summary-level genomic data (i.e., effects of genetic variants on constructs of interest) from large-scale GWAS of European ancestry individuals. Results suggest that the best-fitting model is a Bifactor Model, in which unique alcohol use, unique AUD, and common alcohol factors are extracted. The genetic correlation (rg) between life satisfaction-AUD specific factor was near zero, the rg with the alcohol use specific factor was positive and significant, and the rg with the common alcohol factor was negative and significant. Findings indicate that life satisfaction shares genetic etiology with typical alcohol use and life dissatisfaction shares genetic etiology with heavy alcohol use.

The collaborative study on the genetics of alcoholism: Brain function.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) and related health conditions result from a complex interaction of genetic, neural and environmental factors, with differential impacts across the lifespan. From its inception, the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA) has focused on the importance of brain function as it relates to the risk and consequences of alcohol use and AUD, through the examination of noninvasively recorded brain electrical activity and neuropsychological tests. COGA's sophisticated neurophysiological and neuropsychological measures, together with rich longitudinal, multi-modal family data, have allowed us to disentangle brain-related risk and resilience factors from the consequences of prolonged and heavy alcohol use in the context of genomic and social-environmental influences over the lifespan. COGA has led the field in identifying genetic variation associated with brain functioning, which has advanced the understanding of how genomic risk affects AUD and related disorders. To date, the COGA study has amassed brain function data on over 9871 participants, 7837 with data at more than one time point, and with notable diversity in terms of age (from 7 to 97), gender (52% female), and self-reported race and ethnicity (28% Black, 9% Hispanic). These data are available to the research community through several mechanisms, including directly through the NIAAA, through dbGAP, and in collaboration with COGA investigators. In this review, we provide an overview of COGA's data collection methods and specific brain function measures assessed, and showcase the utility, significance, and contributions these data have made to our understanding of AUD and related disorders, highlighting COGA research findings.

Protective Effects of Curcumin Against Alcoholic Fatty Liver.

Alcoholism is a global health concern. Due to its role as the principal site of ethanol metabolism, the liver endures the most significant amount of tissue damage from heavy drinking. Numerous liver lesions can result from chronic and heavy alcohol use, including steatosis, hepatitis, and fibrosis/cirrhosis. Fatty liver is caused by a redox shift from the oxidized to the reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) caused by the ethanol oxidation reaction. The other molecular mechanisms related to the progression of alcohol-induced liver injury are increasing sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1 (SREBP-1) and decreasing PPAR-α activity, cell signaling pathway impairment, reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, and lipid peroxidation. Curcuma longa L. rhizomes contain a substance called curcumin, which is naturally yellow in color and is also known as turmeric yellow. Curcumin has powerful biological and pharmacological properties, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, antibacterial, antitumor, and anticancer effects. It's been employed as a hepatoprotective substance. Current studies have demonstrated the ability of curcumin to prevent the activation of NF-κB in Kupffer cells via endotoxins, to suppress the expression of various cytokines, chemokines, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and iNOS, as well as to modulate immune responses. The present study has shown the vital role of curcumin in a variety of hepatotoxic procedures, and summarizes those effects, focusing on the molecular insights they provide.

Mechanisms of damage and fracture of aramid fibers: Focus on the role of microfibril cooperativity in fracture toughness

AbstractPushing the limits of synthetic polymers in terms of stiffness and strength, aromatic polyamide fibers–like Kevlar®–are used for demanding applications in the form of fiber assemblies as ropes. The unique mechanical performance of aramid fiber is intimately linked to its hierarchical structure and orientation, induced during the spinning process. Surprisingly, after nearly 60 years of heavy use, very little is known about damage mechanisms and rational explanation of such high resistance. We report an experimental investigation of the fiber damage mechanisms at the single fiber scale (diameter ≅ 10 μm) with the aim to establish a link with the microstructure. Damage mechanisms and crack propagation are observed in situ for the first time and unveil a widespread damage over the entire length of the fiber in the form of a network of transverse and longitudinal cracks. These observations make it possible to draw a novel scenario of fracture that mitigates the small strain failure hypothesis. To shed light on the crucial role of microfibril cooperativity in fracture toughness, a slight twist is applied to the single fiber to promote tortuosity and frictional contacts between microfibrils. Statistical fracture analysis demonstrated the beneficial impact of such torsion on early failure events, since lowest fracture stresses are shifted to higher stresses.

Independent and combined effects of methamphetamine use disorders and APOEε4 allele on cognitive performance and brain morphometry.

Prior studies showed that methamphetamine (METH) users had greater than normal age-related brain atrophy; whether having the apolipoprotein E (APOE)-ε4 allele may be a contributory factor has not been evaluated. We aimed to determine the independent and combined effects of chronic heavy METH use and having at least one copy of the APOE-ε4 allele (APOE-ε4+) on brain morphometry and cognition, especially in relation to aging. We compared brain morphometry and cognitive performance in 77 individuals with chronic heavy METH use (26 APOE-ε4+, 51 APOE-ε4-) and 226 Non-METH users (66 APOE-ε4+, 160 APOE-ε4-), using a 2 × 2 design (two-way analysis of co-variance). Vertex-wise cortical volumes, thickness and seven subcortical volumes, were automatically measured using FreeSurfer. Linear regression between regional brain measures, and cognitive scores that showed group differences were evaluated. Group differences in age-related decline in brain and cognitive measures were also explored. Regardless of APOE-ε4 genotype, METH users had lower Motor Z-scores (P = 0.005), thinner right lateral-orbitofrontal cortices (P < 0.001), smaller left pars-triangularis gyrus volumes (P = 0.004), but larger pallida, hippocampi and amygdalae (P = 0.004-0.006) than nonusers. Across groups, APOE-ε4+ METH users had the smallest volumes of superior frontal cortical gyri bilaterally, and of the smallest volume in left rostral-middle frontal gyri (all P-values <0.001). Smaller right superior-frontal gyrus predicted poorer motor function only in APOE-ε4+ participants (interaction-P < 0.001). Cortical volumes and thickness declined with age similarly across all participants; however, APOE-ε4-carriers showed thinner right inferior parietal cortices than noncarriers at younger age (interaction-P < 0.001). Chronic heavy use and having at least one copy of the APOE-ε4 allele may have synergistic effects on brain atrophy, particularly in frontal cortices, which may contribute to their poorer cognitive function. However, the enlarged subcortical volumes in METH users replicated prior studies, and are likely due to METH-mediated neuroinflammation.

Heavy social media use and posting regret are associated with lower self-esteem among middle and high school students.

Social media use has become ubiquitous among schoolchildren. This study examined the association of social media use and posting regret with self-esteem among middle and high school students, and tested whether school type (i.e., middle vs. high school) could moderate these associations. Data on 6944 schoolchildren (mean age: 15.2 ± 1.8years) were derived from the 2019 cycle of the Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey, a biennial repeated cross-sectional survey of students in grades 7 through 12 across Ontario, Canada. Students self-reported time spent using social media, regret of posting on social media, and their self-esteem. Ordinal logistic regression analyses were adjusted for age, sex, subjective socioeconomic status, ethnoracial background, and body mass index z-score. The proportional odds model showed that middle (OR: 2.36; 95% CI: 1.65-3.36) and high school (OR: 1.72; 95% CI: 1.44-2.06) students with daily social media use of 5h or more have higher odds of lower self-esteem across the categories of self-esteem. However, daily use of 3 to 4h was associated with lower self-esteem among middle school students (OR: 1.52; 95% CI: 1.14-2.04), but notamong their high school counterparts (OR: 1.13; 95% CI: 0.94-1.35). Posting regret was associated with lower self-esteem in high school students, but not inmiddle school students. Results suggest that heavy social media use and posting regret are associated with lower self-esteem among adolescents, and that younger students could be more vulnerable than their older counterparts.

Operational Considerations for Using Deer-Targeted 4-Poster Tick Control Devices in a Tick-borne Disease Endemic Community.

In the northeastern United States, recommendations to prevent diseases spread by black-legged ticks ( Ixodes scapularis ) and lone star ticks ( Amblyomma americanum ) often rely on individuals to use personal protection or yard-based strategies. The 4-Poster deer treatment stations (4-Posters) suppress tick populations by treating deer hosts with acaricide, potentially offering a community-wide approach for reducing tick-borne diseases in endemic areas. The 4-Poster deployment logistics in mainland community settings are not well documented but are needed for future public health tick control efforts. As part of a public health research effort to design a population-based 4-Poster effectiveness study aimed at reducing tick-borne disease incidence, TickNET researchers partnered with the Town of Ridgefield (Connecticut) to understand the feasibility and operational logistics of deploying 4-Posters on public land within a residential community to inform future public health interventions by municipalities or vector control agencies. We deployed three 4-Posters on a municipal property from July to December 2020 and used motion-activated cameras to record wildlife activity nearby. We documented per-device operational details, costs, materials consumed, and animal activity. Operation of 4-Posters was feasible, and device challenges were easily remedied. Deer visitation and heavy nontarget animal use were documented at all devices. Unexpectedly, monthly corn consumption was not correlated with monthly deer-view days. The monthly cost per device was US $1279 or US $305 per hectare with an average 21 minutes of weekly service time. Use of 4-Posters by communities, public health agencies, or vector control programs may be a practicable addition to tick management programs in tick-borne disease endemic areas in the Northeast. Such programs should carefully consider local and state regulations, follow manufacturer and pesticide label guidelines, and include wildlife monitoring. High labor costs incurred in this project could be mitigated by training vector control agency or municipality staff to service 4-Posters.

Abstract P3108: Mouse In Utero Plus Neonatal Sertraline Exposure May Result In A Sex-dependent Risk Of Myocardial Infarction In Adulthood

Background: We previously reported that sertraline reduced left ventricular size, acutely slowed down mouse pup growth, and significantly reduced calcium oscillations in cardiomyocytes (p&lt;0.05), and that the sertraline-induced up-regulations of certain miRNAs might epigenetically modulate cardiac functional gene expression of serotonin signaling pathway with down-regulation of Htr2a, Htr2b and Slc6a4 mRNAs and corresponding proteins (p&lt;0.05). Here we hypothesize that sertraline effect is gender related when subjected to a stress at adult. Method: C57BL/6 adult female mice received sertraline (5 mg/kg/d IP) or saline 5 days before mating, throughout pregnancy until time of delivery, and the pups were given 1/3 adult dose before weaning. At age of 10 weeks, offspring mice were subjected to echocardiograms before myocardial infarction (MI) induced by left anterior descending coronary artery ligation. Mice were divided into groups according to sex, and treatments (saline vs sertraline, &amp; MI vs sham). Ten weeks post-MI, echocardiograms were performed again for the survived mice. Results: Female mice before MI had significantly reduced heart rates (649±18 vs 691±7 bmp), increased end systolic volumes (4.5±0.6 vs 3.2±0.1 μL), and decreased ejection fractions (EF) (80.6±0.7% vs 83.9±0.6%) (n=34, p&lt;0.05). Male mice did not show the significant effects on baseline. Two weeks post-MI, Females had survival rates reduced by sertraline (74.3% vs saline 100%, p=0.0833). Males exhibited MI intolerance with lower survival rates (66.8% vs saline 67.2%), and ODD ratio was deteriorated (24.35 vs female 1.00, p=0.0317). At the end point, the survived mice showed variable MI-induced ischemia zones (47.5±13.2%) corresponding to variable EF (30.0±14.9%). The cardiac functions became not significant different in both male and female survived mice. Concluding Remarks: The cardiac potential risk was observed in the baseline and in the earlier MI phase of female mice with in utero plus neonatal sertraline exposure, while male mice showed different pattern of sertraline effect. Such sex-dependent cardiac effects of maternal SSRI exposure in adult offspring deserve to be detailly studied by using mouse models for heavy use of SSRIs in pregnant women.

High-performance Li4SiO4 sorbents prepared from solid waste for CO2 capture

Li4SiO4 shows great promise for cyclic high-temperature CO2 capture due to its excellent stability, high capacity, and low regeneration temperature. However, the practical application of Li4SiO4 is mainly limited by the high cost of raw materials, particularly lithium resources. Additionally, the heavy use of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) in developing renewable energy sources raises concerns about the disposal of many waste LIBs. This article synthesized Li4SiO4 sorbent (BR-Li4SiO4) using spent lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) cathodes and rice husk ash for CO2 capture. Meanwhile, we also prepared R-Li4SiO4/P-Li4SiO4 using commercial Li2CO3 and rice husk ash/commercial crystalline SiO2 as a comparison. The results show that the BR-Li4SiO4 sorbent exhibited excellent CO2 capture capacity and cycling stability at 675 °C, maintaining a stable capacity of 0.28 g/g under 100% CO2 after 30 cycles. BR-Li4SiO4 also demonstrated significantly reduced costs and a superior microstructure compared to R-Li4SiO4 and P-Li4SiO4. Furthermore, the impact of a simulated flue gas containing 15% CO2 and 10% H2O on Li4SiO4 adsorption was investigated. It was found that the adsorption of CO2 was decreased at low CO2 concentrations, but the addition of 10% H2O showed a slight enhancement in CO2 adsorption. Under a mixture of 15% CO2 + 10% H2O (balanced with N2), the maximum adsorption capacity of BR-Li4SiO4 was 0.17 g/g, and its optimal adsorption temperature decreased by 50 °C to 625 °C compared to 15% CO2. Therefore, this study will provide valuable insights into the industrial application of Li4SiO4 in CO2 adsorption.

Risk and protective factors of social networks on alcohol, cannabis, and opioid use among urban American Indian/Alaska Native emerging adults.

Assess associations between social networks and urban American Indian/Alaska Native emerging adults' alcohol, cannabis, and opioid use and intentions. American Indian/Alaska Native participants ages 18-25 (N = 150; 86% female) were recruited across the United States from 12/20 to 10/21 via social media. Participants named up to 15 people whom they talked with most over the past 3 months and reported who (a) used alcohol and cannabis heavily or used other drugs (e.g., opioid use), (b) engaged in traditional practices, and (c) provided support. They also reported past 3-month alcohol, cannabis, and opioid use and intentions to use. Having a higher proportion of network members engaging in regular cannabis and heavy alcohol use (but not other drugs) was associated with more frequent cannabis use and stronger cannabis use intentions. Participants with higher proportions of members engaging in heavy alcohol use, regular cannabis use, or other drug use and who did not engage in traditional practices were more likely to report cannabis use and greater intentions to use cannabis and drink alcohol. In contrast, participants with higher proportions of network members engaging in traditional practices and who did not report heavy alcohol use, regular cannabis use, or other drug use were less likely to report intentions to use cannabis or drink alcohol. Findings emphasize what many studies have shown among various racial/ethnic groups-having network members who use substances increases the chance of use. Findings also highlight that traditional practices may be an important part of the prevention approach for this population. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi as a Plant Growth Stimulant in a Tomato and Onion Intercropping System

Climate change has challenged large-scale crop production at a global level. Global temperature increases, water scarcity, and a further reduction in cultivable land resources due to anthropogenic impacts have resulted in the need to redesign agricultural systems such as intercropping to maximize the efficient use of natural resources. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) represent an underexplored area, not only in terms of an alternative to the heavy use of chemical fertilizers, but also as a natural resource used to enhance physiological processes and mitigate the variations in biotic and abiotic factors in plants. On the other hand, the combined use of AMF with suitable but cheaper and environmentally friendly growth substrates is another way to maximize crop production. A study was carried out in a tomato and onion intercropped pattern system to analyze the above- and belowground implications of two AMF commercial products containing Rhizophagus irregularis, propagated in soil and with an in vitro technique addition, with two different mixed growth substrates (river sand and compost) under greenhouse conditions. Overall, both AMF products overall showed significant promoting effects on plant growth (15–30%) and root parameters (50%) in the tomato and onion plants on the sand-mixed substrate. Moreover, the soil-propagated AMF also showed significant positive effects on chlorophyll content (35%), photosynthetic activity, and the accumulation of macro- and micronutrients, especially the Fe and Mn contents (60–80%) in the tomato plants. We present evidence of the benefits to plant performance due to the interactive effects between AMF and the growth substrate, and these positive effects might be due to the intercropping system. Hence, soil-propagated Rhizophagus irregularis is represented here as a promising candidate for enhancing growth, sustainability, and productivity under greenhouse conditions.

Revisiting controlled mixture sampling for rendering applications

Monte Carlo rendering makes heavy use of mixture sampling and multiple importance sampling (MIS). Previous work has shown that control variates can be used to make such mixtures more efficient and more robust. However, the existing approaches failed to yield practical applications, chiefly because their underlying theory is based on the unrealistic assumption that a single mixture is optimized for a single integral. This is in stark contrast with rendering reality, where millions of integrals are computed---one per pixel---and each is infinitely recursive. We adapt and extend the theory introduced by previous work to tackle the challenges of real-world rendering applications. We achieve robust mixture sampling and (approximately) optimal MIS weighting for common applications such as light selection, BSDF sampling, and path guiding.

Daily Cannabidiol Administration for 10 Weeks Modulates Hippocampal and Amygdalar Resting-State Functional Connectivity in Cannabis Users: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Open-Label Clinical Trial.

Introduction: Cannabis use is associated with brain functional changes in regions implicated in prominent neuroscientific theories of addiction. Emerging evidence suggests that cannabidiol (CBD) is neuroprotective and may reverse structural brain changes associated with prolonged heavy cannabis use. In this study, we examine how an ∼10-week exposure of CBD in cannabis users affected resting-state functional connectivity in brain regions functionally altered by cannabis use. Materials and Methods: Eighteen people who use cannabis took part in a ∼10 weeks open-label pragmatic trial of self-administered daily 200 mg CBD in capsules. They were not required to change their cannabis exposure patterns. Participants were assessed at baseline and post-CBD exposure with structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and a functional MRI resting-state task (eyes closed). Seed-based connectivity analyses were run to examine changes in the functional connectivity of a priori regions-the hippocampus and the amygdala. We explored if connectivity changes were associated with cannabinoid exposure (i.e., cumulative cannabis dosage over trial, and plasma CBD concentrations and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) plasma metabolites postexposure), and mental health (i.e., severity of anxiety, depression, and positive psychotic symptom scores), accounting for cigarette exposure in the past month, alcohol standard drinks in the past month and cumulative CBD dose during the trial. Results: Functional connectivity significantly decreased pre-to-post the CBD trial between the anterior hippocampus and precentral gyrus, with a strong effect size (d=1.73). Functional connectivity increased between the amygdala and the lingual gyrus pre-to-post the CBD trial, with a strong effect size (d=1.19). There were no correlations with cannabinoids or mental health symptom scores. Discussion: Prolonged CBD exposure may restore/reduce functional connectivity differences reported in cannabis users. These new findings warrant replication in a larger sample, using robust methodologies-double-blind and placebo-controlled-and in the most vulnerable people who use cannabis, including those with more severe forms of Cannabis Use Disorder and experiencing worse mental health outcomes (e.g., psychosis, depression).

Time Spent on Mobile Apps Matters: A Latent Class Analysis of Patterns of Smartphone Use among Adolescents.

The aims of the present study are: (1) to determine classes of adolescents with homogeneous patterns of smartphone or social media use; and (2) to examine the level of distress across the empirically derived profiles. Three hundred and forty adolescents (Mage = 15.61, SD = 1.19; 38.2% females) participated in a cross-sectional survey. Participants provided objective trace data on time spent on smartphones and applications, as well as self-reported social media addiction, social media use intensity, online social comparison, emotion dysregulation, and psychological distress. Latent class analysis (LCA) with total smartphone use categorized participants into three classes. Participants in Class 3 (19%) showed a more impaired functioning profile, with a tendency towards social media addiction and greater levels of distress. LCAs with the amount of time devoted to specific applications are more heterogeneous, and results showed that heavy use of social media apps was not consistently connected to the most impaired psychosocial profiles. Although the amount of mobile screen time can be a characteristic of problematic users, the link between social media usage and an adolescent's psychological characteristics is mixed. More research is needed to explore the interplay between mobile screen time and social media usage among adolescents.

Disordered alcohol and substance use in Irish farmers: A cross-sectional survey.

Farming is a high-pressure occupation. Populations of farmers face significant health risks, including injury, mental illness, and in some cases, heavy alcohol use. However, there is little research on farmers' use of substances beyond alcohol. This study examines factors relating to Irish farmers' disordered alcohol and substance use. In accordance with STROBE guidelines for cross-sectional research and reporting, we examined disordered alcohol and substance use in 351 Irish farmers using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Tool (AUDIT) and Drug Use Disorders Identification Tool (DUDIT). While 28% of farmers did not drink, 40% of those who did drink exceeded the AUDIT threshold for disordered use. Similarly, while 95% of farmers did not use substances, 78% of farmers who did use substances exceeded the DUDIT threshold for disordered use. Age was the most important risk factor for disordered alcohol and substance use and correlated with other main risk factors: lower income, no children, part-time farmer, and full-time off-farm roles. Disordered drinking was highest in farmers engaged in full-time education. This population of Irish farmers report broadly healthy alcohol and substance use behaviors. Irish farmers may serve as a model group whose strengths can be utilized in interventions within and beyond the Irish farming community. Our results confirm the importance of analyzing demographic factors in farmers' drinking and identify younger farmers as especially at-risk for harmful alcohol and substance use.