Maintenance Of Use Research Articles

Experiences and Perceptions of E-Cigarette Cessation for Young Adults in Rural Communities.

Electronic nicotine delivery systems, also known as e-cigarettes, are the most commonly used tobacco products among young adults in the United States. Young adults in rural areas have a higher prevalence of ENDS use compared to their urban counterparts yet there is limited evidence regarding the in-depth understanding of experiences and perspectives directly from young adults. To explore individual experiences and perspectives about use and cessation of electronic nicotine delivery systems from young adults in rural areas. This was a qualitative study using interpretive description for analysis. Young adults (18-24 years) who used electronic nicotine delivery systems very day but not other tobacco products (cigarettes, smokeless, etc.) in the past month and had an address in a rural county of Wisconsin were eligible; there were nine participants interviewed using Zoom. Interview questions focused on initial use, maintenance of use, experiences of quitting, and social and rural environmental contexts regarding electronic nicotine delivery systems. Three themes emerged with eight categories: (1) addiction to electronic nicotine delivery systems and health; (2) cessation and resources; and (3) rural environment and culture in electronic nicotine delivery systems addiction. Findings have implications for electronic nicotine delivery systems cessation interventions targeting YAs in rural areas.

Development and Validation of Competency Profile in Radio and Television Systems Maintenance for Skills Training by National Directorate of Employment in Nigeria

The absence of a competency profile in radio and television systems maintenance is responsible for the NDE Skills Acquisition Centres in Nigeria using a training manual, which contains a few competencies for the training and assessment of students. Therefore, the objective of this study was to develop and validate a competency profile in radio and television systems maintenance for use as a guide in developing a curriculum for the centres. The study adopted educational research and development design employing DACUM model to develop a draft competency profile. The draft profile was produced by 9 technicians and lecturers through task analysis at a 2-day workshop in Kaduna. Thereafter, it was transformed into an 83-item questionnaire which was content validated by three experts and its internal consistency was determined through a pilot test and the data generated were analysed using Cronbach alpha and found to be 0.91. 40 Copies of the questionnaire were distributed to and retrieved from 40 master craft persons teaching at the NDE Skills Acquisition centres in North Central Nigeria. The Data generated were analysed using percentage and factor analysis. The study found out that 6 major tasks and 83 specific competencies were appropriate for use in training and assessment. Based on these findings, it was recommended that the National Directorate of Employment should organise a workshop to develop a competency-based curriculum and assessment instrument to improve the training in radio and television systems maintenance at the centres.

The Perceptions of Women About Their High Experience of Using Crack Cocaine.

IntroductionThe aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of women about their experience in using crack cocaine, discussing their motivations for using it and the repercussions in their lives.ObjectiveTo investigate these experiences, a qualitative exploratory study was conducted, using the inductive thematic analyses of the content.MethodsEight female crack cocaine users took part in this study. They were assessed by a semi-structured interview, addressing the crack cocaine use experience. Four main themes emerged in the interviews: (1) crack cocaine “high” experience; (2) symptoms related to crack cocaine use; (3) circumstances of crack cocaine use; and (4) crack cocaine use consequences.ResultsThe main perceptions reported by the users were related to a feeling of being disconnected to the world preceded by a pleasant experience, especially during the first moments of use. They revealed that the drug fulfills a key role of coping strategy to handle with negative thoughts, emotions or life experiences. An important influence of social issues was reported in relation to the onset of crack cocaine use. Negative consequences and significant impact on their lives appeared in their reports, regarding the loss of family ties, involvement with prostitution, traumatic experiences and violence.ConclusionTaking together all women's perceptions suggests that beyond the positive immediate rewarding effect, the maintenance of use might be related to the dissociative experience and self-medication role, acting as negative reward by relieving of negative life experiences that, in turn, are both cause and consequence of the drug use.

Adolescent Externalizing Psychopathology and Its Prospective Relationship to Marijuana Use Development from Age 14 to 30: Replication Across Independent Longitudinal Twin Samples.

Externalizing psychopathology in early adolescence is a highly heritable risk factor for drug use, yet how it relates to marijuana use development is not well-characterized. We evaluate this issue in independent twin samples from Colorado (N = 2608) and Minnesota (N = 3630), assessed from adolescence to early adulthood. We used a biometric latent growth model of marijuana use frequency with data from up to five waves of assessment from ages 14 to 30, to examine change in marijuana use and its relationship with a factor model of adolescent externalizing psychopathology. The factor structure of adolescent externalizing psychopathology was similar across samples, as was the association between that common factor and early marijuana use (Minnesota r = 0.67 [0.60, 0.75]; Colorado r = 0.69 [0.59, 0.78]), and increase in use (Minnesota r = 0.18 [0.10, 0.26]; Colorado r = 0.20 [0.07, 0.34]). Early use was moderately heritable in both samples (Minnesota h2 = 0.57 [0.37, 0.79]; Colorado h2 = 0.42 [0.14, 0.73]). Increase in use was highly heritable in Minnesota (h2 = 0.82 [0.72, 0.88]), less so in Colorado (h2 = 0.22 [0.01, 0.66]), and shared environmental effects were larger in Colorado (c2 = 0.55 [0.14, 0.83]) than Minnesota (c2 = 0 [0, 0.06]). We found moderate genetic correlations between externalizing psychopathology and early use in both samples. Finally, additional analyses in the Minnesota sample indicated that marijuana use decreased during the late 20s. This decline is strongly heritable (h2 = 0.73 [0.49, 0.91]) and moderately negatively correlated with adolescent externalizing psychopathology (r = - 0.41 [- 0.54, - 0.28]). Adolescent externalizing psychopathology is genetically correlated with change in late adolescent marijuana use (late teens, early 20s), as well as maintenance of use in early adulthood (late 20 s) even after controlling for the effects of early use.

Patient-Specific, Risk-Based Prevention, Maintenance, and Supportive Care: A Need for Action and Innovation in Education.

To develop a competency-based curriculum framework for prevention, supportive care, and maintenance for use in educational and patient care programs and to seek consensus on an overarching competency statement that embraces these critical learning and patient care concepts. A preliminary survey of current preventive and maintenance practices in U.S. dental and prosthodontic programs was completed and summarized with quantitative analysis. The American College of Prosthodontists organized a one-day consensus workshop with 14 participants from various U.S. dental schools with diverse backgrounds to develop a curriculum framework. The curriculum framework was used in the development of a joint competency statement using an iterative, online consensus process of debate and feedback. The preliminary survey helped frame the initiative and identify potential educational needs and gaps. Consensus was achieved for a recommended competency statement: "Graduates must be competent in promoting oral health through risk assessment, diagnosis, prevention, and management of the hard tissue, soft tissue, and prostheses, and as part of professional recall and home maintenance."This competency statement complements the proposed curriculum framework designed around 3 domains-caries prevention, periodontal supportive care, and prosthesis supportive care-with a set of recommended learning objectives. Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) learning standards do not outline patient-customized, evidence-based recall and home maintenance programs that highlight prevention of dental caries, periodontal supportive care, prosthesis maintenance, and patient education.The proposed competency-based curricular framework serves as an initial step in addressing student learning and patient care within the context of a recall system and home maintenance program while offering schools the needed flexibility for implementation within their curriculum.

Changes in cannabis use in emerging adulthood: The influence of peer network, impulsivity, anxiety and depression

IntroductionCannabis is the most commonly used illicit drug with the highest prevalence reported among 15- to 24-year-olds. This specific period of emerging adulthood constitutes a critical age for substance use and for future consumption. Cannabis use patterns change during college or university and the post-college transition; users are at greater risk of adverse health outcomes (especially if they start or maintain a pattern of frequent use). ObjectivesThe overall aim of this study was to highlight psychological and relational factors that might be associated with changes (including cessation and fluctuation) in cannabis use during this specific period, separately for males and females. MethodsThe subjects were 682 first-year college students (69.94% of female), aged between 18 and 25years (M=18.59years, SD=1.56). Four groups were formed according to cannabis consumption: “non-users” (54.64%), “desisting users” (14.04%), “fluctuating users” (16.23%), and “persistent users” (15.07%). A self-report questionnaire was administered to evaluate prevalence, frequency and trajectory of use, number of peer cannabis users, alcohol use, impulsivity, anxiety (trait and social) and depression. ResultsFemales appear more sensitive to the romantic partner's consumption than males. For both sexes, having more friends who use cannabis appears to be a determinant. Depression and anxiety were not related to changes in cannabis use. Impulsivity is a significant factor for the maintenance of cannabis use in emerging adulthood, with higher lack of premeditation for males and higher sensation seeking for females among fluctuating and persistent users. ConclusionsResults are discussed in terms of maintenance of use and the spiral of consumption, including clinical implications for prevention and interventions.

Secure and Efficient Key Coordination Algorithm for Line Topology Network Maintenance for Use in Maritime Wireless Sensor Networks.

There has been a significant increase in the proliferation and implementation of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) in different disciplines, including the monitoring of maritime environments, healthcare systems, and industrial sectors. It has now become critical to address the security issues of data communication while considering sensor node constraints. There are many proposed schemes, including the scheme being proposed in this paper, to ensure that there is a high level of security in WSNs. This paper presents a symmetric security scheme for a maritime coastal environment monitoring WSN. The scheme provides security for travelling packets via individually encrypted links between authenticated neighbors, thus avoiding a reiteration of a global rekeying process. Furthermore, this scheme proposes a dynamic update key based on a trusted node configuration, called a leader node, which works as a trusted third party. The technique has been implemented in real time on a Waspmote test bed sensor platform and the results from both field testing and indoor bench testing environments are discussed in this paper.

Systemic model of chronic benzodiazepine use among mature adults

Objectives: Our goal was to build a systemic model of chronic use among community-dwelling mature benzodiazepine (BZD) users. BZDs are commonly prescribed for symptoms of anxiety and/or insomnia despite their documented side effects over time.Method: We conducted in-depth interviews with 23 mature (50 years and over) users, 14 women and 9 men, as well as 9 general practitioners and 11 pharmacists. We chose the grounded theory approach for our analysis.Results: Results yielded a systemic model of chronic BZD use, illustrating onset and maintenance of use, and taking into account individual life context, intervening conditions (e.g. family and doctor--patient interactions) and structural factors (medicalization, ageism, influence of the media and pharmaceutical industry, etc.). Based on our findings, we suggest that intervention should go beyond medical issues and extend to the individual's perception of aging in the modern society, as well as attitudes of families and health professionals regarding long-term BZD use. Family members should be involved in the weaning process and adoption of new life habits. General practitioners should be better trained regarding geriatric psychosocial issues and offer alternatives to prescribe psychotropic drugs such as cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia. Also, as a society, we should reconsider the highly medicalized stance we take to compensate for age-related losses. The influential role of the pharmaceutical industry in the process is discussed.Conclusion: We conclude that a predominantly biomedical perspective on human development diminishes patient-centered care within a socially contextualized, individual perspective.

Pattern of Caffeine Use among Teenagers in Bangalore, India: An Exploration.

DEAR EDITOR, There has been an increase in the usage of energy drinks and other caffeinated products among teenagers. Its usages have increased up to 70% in the past 30 years.[1] High caffeine users (>50 mg/day) used for staying awake. Whereas boys use it more for getting a rush, energy or to improve athletic performance.[2] Consuming common caffeinated beverages like sodas may enhance the preference for sweet foods throughout the lifespan when regularly taken during childhood. It can contribute to excess caloric intake and have a negative impact on one's nutrition intake.[3] There is dearth of work to assess the pattern of its usage among teenagers in India. Totally, 106 users in the age group of 16–18 years were approached through survey design. They were assessed using semistructured interview schedule. They were taken from the community (school and colleges after obtaining their informed consent) based in Bangalore, Karnataka, India, with the inclusion criteria of usage of caffeinated products in last 1-month. Table 1 showed that Dairy Milk chocolate was the most frequently consumed caffeinated products (68%), and Espresso was the least consumed caffeinated product (3.77%). 54.5% expressed a strong desire to consume caffeinated products. 9.4% experienced withdrawals in the form of headache, irritability, and fatigue after cessation of caffeine use in the last 24 h. 15.1% experienced the loss of control in relation to use of caffeinated products. 71.1% were aware of the harmful effects of excessive caffeine use in the form of headache, irritability, fatigue, and problem in sleep. 63.3% expressed a desire to continue its usages despite having awareness about negative consequences are shown in Table 2. It includes disturbing social functioning (5.7%), family functioning (7.5%), and academic performance (7.5%). 6.6% had a life time abstinence from caffeine products, which includes tea (4.7%), coffee, chocolate and energy drinks (18%). They attributed its maintenance of use to personal reasons and stress (64.3%), interpersonal disturbance (30.2%), and media (7.5%). 14.6% also had the history of use of other substances like tobacco and alcohol are seen in Table 3. The present work document the presence of caffeine withdrawal as per Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders V[4] in the form presence of fatigue, irritability, headache (criterion B) and disturb social, family, and academic functioning (criteria C). The finding was corroborated by the available works. 30–50% of the energy drinks were consumed by the adolescents and young adults.[5] 41.7% subjects reported tolerance to caffeine and 77.8% experienced withdrawal symptoms after cessation or reduction of caffeine intake. 38% made unsuccessful attempts to control use, and 16% (n = 6) endorsed its use despite knowledge of physical and psychological problems associated with caffeine use.[6] 23.8% teenagers had caffeine dependence. The dependent teenager experienced withdrawal symptoms such as feeling drowsy/tired, fatigued, or sluggish/slowed down (83.3%), and headaches (75%).[7] It has implications for raising awareness about the addictive characteristic of caffeine products. Table 1 Pattern of caffeine product use among teenagers Table 2 Variables related to addictive use of caffeine Table 3 Reasons associated with the use of caffeine products

Optimization of a goal maintenance task for use in clinical applications.

We sought to develop a Dot Pattern Expectancy task (DPX) to assess goal maintenance for use in clinical trials. Altering the standard task created 5 versions of the DPX to compare-a standard version and 4 others. Alterations in the interstimulus interval (ISI) length and the strength of a learned prepotent response distinguished the different tasks. These adjustments were designed to decrease administration time and/or improve reliability of the data. We determined participant eligibility in an initial session (the first of 3) using clinical interviewing tools. The initial session also included a demographic assessment and assessments of community functioning and symptom severity. All versions of the DPX were administered, across 3 sessions. Specific deficits on the context processing compared with difficulty control condition were evaluated using mixed-effects logistic regression within a hierarchical linear model. We analyzed the data from 136 control participants and 138 participants with schizophrenia. Relative to a difficulty control condition, patients performed worse than controls on context processing conditions that required goal maintenance. ISI did not predict errors. Stronger prepotency was associated with increased errors in the difficulty control relative to context processing condition for controls, which improved the interpretability of findings for patients. Reliability was acceptable for a version of the task with a 10-minute running time. The best compromise between task duration and interpretability occurred on a version with a short ISI and a strong prepotency.

Ethnopharmacological survey among migrants living in the Southeast Atlantic Forest of Diadema, São Paulo, Brazil

BackgroundUnderstanding how people of diverse cultural backgrounds have traditionally used plants and animals as medicinal substances during displacements is one of the most important objectives of ethnopharmacological studies. An ethnopharmacological survey conducted among migrants living in the Southeast Atlantic Forest remnants (Diadema, São Paulo, Brazil) is presented herein.MethodsEthnographical methods were used to select and interview the migrants, and botanical and zoological techniques were employed to collect the indicated resources.ResultsWe interviewed five migrants who described knowledge on 12 animals and 85 plants. Only 78 plants were present in Diadema, they belong to 37 taxonomic families; 68 were used exclusively for medicinal purposes, whereas 10 were reported to be toxic and/or presented some restriction of use. These taxa were grouped into 12 therapeutic categories (e.g., gastrointestinal disturbances, inflammatory processes or respiratory problems) based on the 41 individual complaints cited by the migrants. While the twelve animal species were used by the migrants to treat nine complaints; these were divided into six categories, the largest of which related to respiratory problems. None of the animal species and only 57 of the 78 plant species analysed in the present study were previously reported in the pharmacological literature; the popular knowledge concurred with academic findings for 30 of the plants. The seven plants [Impatiens hawkeri W. Bull., Artemisia canphorata Vill., Equisetum arvensis L., Senna pendula (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) H.S. Irwin & Barneby, Zea mays L., Fevillea passiflora Vell. and Croton fuscescens Spreng)] and the two animals (Atta sexdens and Periplaneta americana) that showed maintenance of use among migrants during their displacement in Brazilian territory, have not been studied by pharmacologists yet.ConclusionsThus, they should be highlighted and focused in further pharmacology and phytochemical studies, since the persistence of their uses can be indicative of bioactive potentials.

Tobacco marketing in California and implications for the future

BackgroundTobacco marketing influences tobacco use initiation, maintenance of use, and it undermines comprehensive tobacco control programmes. Policies to ban the impact of tobacco marketing are most likely to be more...

Dorsal Suspension Stitch: An Alternative Stabilization After Flexor Tenotomy for Flexible Hammer Digit Syndrome

The focus of this communication is to share an alternative form of positional maintenance for use after correction of flexible hammer digits via flexor tenotomy. The toe is maintained in a corrected position by means of a wide, horizontal mattress stitch with the suture passing through the extensor apparatus both proximal and distal to the interphalangeal joints. This suture prevents recurrence of plantarflexion contracture of the toe during the postoperative period without the use of Kirschner wire fixation. We have noted satisfactory maintenance and healing with this technique.

Wildlife Response to more than 50 Years of Vegetation Maintenance on a Pennsylvania, U.S., Right-of-Way

The State Game Lands 33 Research and Demonstration Project (or the Bramble and Byrnes Study) was initiated in Pennsylvania, U.S., in 1952, which makes this project the longest continuous study documenting the effects of mechanical and herbicidal maintenance on wildlife and plants along an electric transmission right-of-way (ROW). The project has provided hands-on, scientific information on the effects of ROW maintenance for use by the scientific community, public, and utility companies. This paper briefly describes treatments, vegetation, and wildlife studies conducted on this ROW. In addition, the possible impact of highway development on the future of this study is discussed.

Predicting Use and Maintenance of Use of Substances in Scottish Adolescents

It was aimed firstly to investigate prevalence rates and consumption patterns of smoking, alcohol use, and drug use in a sample of Scottish adolescents, and secondly to study the role of demographic (grade, gender, parental socioeconomic and educational status), school (Quality of School Life (Q.S.L.), school stress), nonschool (well-being) and personality (affectivity, self-esteem, locus of control) factors in predicting use and maintenance of use of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs. For the purposes of the study, a set of measures was distributed to secondary school pupils (n = 425), in the Stirling area of Scotland. Differences and predictive values of these factors were investigated for users versus nonusers and regular versus occasional users for smoking, alcohol, and drugs separately. It was found that having tried smoking or alcohol could be predicted at best from school stress but having tried drugs from peer self-esteem. Maintenance of smoking was predicted at best from Q.S.L. and of drinking from peer self-esteem. None of the factors studied in the present research were found to predict significantly maintenance of drug use. Implications of these findings for decreasing prevalence of substance use are discussed.

Solar Photochemical Detoxification and Disinfection for Water Treatment in Tropical Developing Countries

AbstractClean and sterile water is scarce in developing tropical countries and the goal of universal access to water and sanitation has not yet been achieved. Standard water treatment techniques are often too expensive both in capital investment and operation and maintenance for use in developing countries. Since most technology, historically, has been developed in the temperate zone, it may not be the most appropriate for the tropical climate. The solar photochemical process has proven effective against organic chemical pollutants, including agricultural pesticides, which pose a growing threat to water sources in the tropics. Research conducted at the University of Florida has shown this technology to be effective for bacterial decontamination, which is often the primary concern in water supplies of developing countries. The use of solar energy as the primary driver serves to make this technology economically viable. Screening experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of pH and concentration on the simultaneous disinfection and detoxification of water using TiO

Patterns of condom use and sexual behavior among never-married women.

Use of condoms is one of the main methods sexually active persons may choose to prevent infection with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Little is known about patterns of condom use among women in the United States. We provide a conceptualization of patterns of condom use and factors associated with these patterns. To examine patterns of condom use and associated characteristics among sexually active, never-married women in the United States. Analysis of data from the 1988 National Survey of Family Growth, which is a nationally representative sample of women in their childbearing years. Only a minority of sexually active, never-married women report using condoms, and even fewer report using them consistently. Women with characteristics traditionally associated with increased risk of infection with STD and HIV appear to be less likely to report using condoms and to report using them consistently. Women who report use of condoms to prevent STDs are more likely to report consistent condom use; less likely to cease using condoms; and more likely to initiate consistent condom use. Findings suggest the need for innovative programming targeted for specific sexually active populations to promote both initiation and maintenance of use of condoms.

The automation of curriculum development using the Authoring Instructional Materials (AIM) system

The Authoring Instructional Materials (AIM) program is a set of software tools for curriculum design and maintenance for use in the Navy. Several Navy test sites are conducting cooperative development and testing of the AIM software. This paper describes the rationale for the AIM system, the development process and products, and some possibilities for further development.

Smokeless tobacco use among rural high school students in Arkansas.

This study determined the prevalence of smokeless tobacco use among high school students in selected rural communities in Arkansas, and identified factors associated with initiation and maintenance of use. A questionnaire was distributed to 1,237 students in 13 rural high schools in different educational service regions of Arkansas during spring 1985. Results indicated 34.5% of males and 2.5% of females reported regular use of smokeless tobacco. The factor contributing most to initiation of this practice was the influence of a parent who used smokeless tobacco products. Comparisons to other recent studies and implications for health educators are discussed.