Patterns Of Abuse Research Articles

Enhancing HIV Prevention Services: Exploring Psychosocial Associations of HIV Antibody Testing Frequency among Sexually Active Men who have Sex with Men

Despite recommendations of annual HIV testing for high-risk individuals, one-third of infected men who have sex with men (MSM) are unaware of their serostatus. In an effort to improve HIV prevention services and subsequently decrease prevalence, this study aimed to examine the HIV testing patterns and factors associated with testing frequency among MSM. Utilizing eight reliable and validated instruments and a sample of 374 sexually active MSM, this study examined a series of demographic, behavioral and psychosocial associations of antibody testing frequency, including substance use/abuse, depression levels, internalized homophobia, unprotected anal intercourse, sexual regulation and attribution, and HIV knowledge, . MSM who tested for HIV frequently were more likely to be older, have higher levels of educational attainment, and self-identify as gay. Respondents who reported never having been tested and irregularly tested had higher levels of internalized homophobia, depression, and alcohol use and abuse patterns. Respondents who had never been tested or infrequently tested engaged in lower levels of sexual risk, particularly unprotected receptive anal intercourse. Those with no or irregular histories of testing also exhibited greater external sexual loci of control, and were significantly more likely to attribute life events to external, unstable, and pessimistic causes.

Substance Abuse Patterns in Brick Industry Workers Detection and Evaluation

Background: Drug abuse became an alarming problem in the last years in Egypt and many other countries. Some studies had examined the prevalence of substance abuse among school and university students, but few have assessed workers in workplaces which can pose major risks to the health and productivity of workers. The aim of this work is to estimate the prevalence of substance abuse among a sample of workers, to explore various behavioral and psychological manifestations. Methods: This is a cross - sectional study performed in one of the brick industries in Giza governorate in Egypt. It included 481 workers from different sections in the industry. Data were coded and entered using the statistical package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. The mean age of the participants was 34.85 ± 13.50 with a minimum of 6 years and maximum 87 years old. Results: Results showed high prevalence of various psychosocial problems among workers which were highest between 21 and 40 years old. Symptoms included poor concentration, depression, stress, suicidal and guilty thoughts, mood swings, aggressive behavior, anxiety and disturbed social relationships. Concerning abuse pattern, 47.3 % of employees were abusing cannabinoids, 19.2 % were abusing tramadol and 8.3 % were abusing both. Workers performing physical work recorded the highest rate of abuse. In addition, 50.5 % of workers are smokers which was the highest independent variable related to substance abuse. Conclusions: It is important to develop substance abuse policy, raise awareness regarding their health effects and serious impacts on individual’s physical, psychosocial and behavioral integrity. Drug testing in workplace is a must to ensure community safety.

Sociodemographic and psychosocial correlates of substance abuse among street children: A cross-sectional survey in the streets of Kolkata, West Bengal.

Context:India is now witnessing steady increase of substance abuse in younger age group. Street life is a major reason in addition to curiosity, unawareness of harm, migration, peer pressure.Aims:To assess the prevalence, pattern and related factors of substance use and stress among the street living children.Settings and Design:This street-based observational, cross sectional survey included 150 street children living in vicinity of railway stations, business activity centre and major religious places of Kolkata.Methods and Material:A descriptive research was done in 150 street children, aged 6 to 18 years and stayed in the street for at least six months. Respondents and care givers were interviewed with pre designed proforma to obtain information on socio demographic attributes, pattern of substance abuse, psycho social issues, self rated health. Weight and height were recorded by calibrated standardized instrument.Statistical analysis used:Collected data were analyzed with SPSS 22.0(licensed). Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test was done for normally distributed, skewed and categorical variables respectively. The significance level was set at 5%.Results:Two-thirds of participants used substance. Illiteracy was significantly more in females. Perceived positive benefit was commonest reason while feeling happiness and diminished pain was the most common expectation behind substance abuse. Peer group had the biggest influence (92.0%) on their life. Substance abuse was significantly more in males, adolescents, employed, without family attachment, adult as influencer and in those who lived on street without family.Conclusions:Higher prevalence of substance abuse among males, adolescents with adult influencer, employed and without family attachment highlighted the urgent need of intervention to see a better future.

The #MeToo Movement, Sexual Violence, and the Law in Sweden

The #MeToo Movement, Sexual Violence, and the Law in Sweden Caitlin P. Carroll (bio) Introduction In the fall of 2017, the international #MeToo movement engulfed Sweden, a country known for its progressive politics and institutionalized commitment to gender equality. As in many other countries, women publicly disclosed experiences of sexual harassment and violence. The mass disclosures of sexual violence were seen as a "shame" for Swedish society, a country that has shaped an international image as a country committed to gender equality (TV4Nyheterna 2017; see also Martinsson et al. 2016). The #MeToo movement challenged the dominant perception of Swedish gender exceptionalism and clearly illuminated that "yes, it happens in Sweden, #too" (Nordberg 2017). I will analyze how the #MeToo movement unfolded in Sweden, particularly how the movement illuminated the paradox between gender equality and the continued vulnerability and sexual victimization of women. The high number of sexual violence incidents unearthed during the #MeToo movement in Sweden was framed as a stark contrast to the international image of Sweden (and its Nordic neighbors) as a "gender-equal utopia" (Fiig 2008). While a positive and active response to the movement from the government reveals the power of feminist activism in Sweden to influence legislating and policymaking, the use of defamation law against women who named individual offenders literally and symbolically silences survivors of sexual violence. The criticism directed towards anti-violence feminist activist movements like #MeToo—especially these legal consequences of speaking out against individual perpetrators—highlights a tension in Sweden between feminist activism and the law. I argue that the #MeToo movement and its aftermath in Sweden reveals how collective action against sexual violence can overcome strong resistance to feminist legal and social change, but fundamental barriers to speaking out against sexual violence remain. [End Page 281] The data in this article come from forty-eight in-depth interviews I conducted with feminist anti-violence activists and rape crisis advocates, criminal justice professionals, political elites, and state bureaucrats during fifteen months of fieldwork from 2017–2019, in addition to a discourse analysis of parliamentary documents and news media sources focused on the #MeToo movement and political debates around sexual violence and the law. All translations from the original Swedish to English are my own. Saying #MeToo in Sweden The #MeToo movement came to Sweden in October 2017. Like the United States, powerful men were accused of sexual violence they had been perpetrating for years with impunity. In one of the most prominent examples, the husband of a member of the Swedish Academy was accused—and ultimately convicted—of sexual assault1. As a result of the scandal and the evidence that the institution of the Swedish Academy itself enabled Jean-Claude Arnault to commit this abuse, several members of the Academy resigned from their lifetime posts (Anderson 2018). Although high-profile cases were reported widely in the media, much of the Swedish #MeToo movement focused on organizational patterns of abuse and harassment in the workplace rather than on individual men (Pollack 2019). The first widespread movement came from women in the theatre and film industry. The women shared stories under the hashtag #tystnadtagning, or "silent shoot," to emphasize the institutional silencing of victim-survivors of sexual violence. The movement caught on rapidly, as organizers in industries and occupations throughout Sweden—from the legal profession to the medical fields to the media—collected and distributed stories of sexual harassment and violence women experienced within their workplaces. In addition to the individual stories, organizers wrote petitions against sexual harassment and collected thousands of signatures to accompany each petition (Hansson et al. 2020; Pollack 2019). In the end, over 100,000 Swedish women shared a story or signed on to a petition (Hansson et al. 2020). The petitions were printed in the most popular Swedish newspapers, calling on the government and influential leaders within their industries to address sexual harassment in the workplace (Askanius and Møller Hartley 2019). The focus on the workplace as a site of sexual harassment and violence is particularly revealing in the Swedish context. Policy initiatives have focused for decades on women's workforce participation as the main driver of gender equality (Tollin 2011). Through policies like mandatory parental...

Increased Misuse of Alcohol and Drugs among Unemployed during COVID-19 Pandemic

Rampant unemployment in the United States brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic has had an enormous detrimental effect on the financial well-being of millions of Americans and their families. Personal concerns about these financial disruptions and social isolation as a precaution against the pandemic have heighted stress particularly among vulnerable groups like the unemployed. High stress situations are known triggers for maladaptive coping behaviors like use/overuse of alcohol, prescription medications, and street drugs. This study of 600 unemployed individuals found substantial increases in all three categories of mood-altering substances. Using adapted addiction symptom measurement items from the most recent Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5), the researchers established comparative addiction risk profiles for each substance category. Further, the results of the study offer preliminary insights into substance abuse patterns across two and even all three of the substance categories.

Patterns of Surveillance, Control, and Abuse Among a Diverse Sample of Intimate Partner Abuse Survivors.

Using a mixed-methods design, the present study examined intimate partner surveillance among a diverse sample of intimate partner abuse (IPA) survivors (n = 246), including women of Mexican (n = 83), Korean (n = 50), Vietnamese (n = 49), and European descent (n = 64). Most survivors (57%) described surveillance in either survey or interview; inductive thematic analysis revealed seven forms of surveillance. Finally, two-step cluster analysis identified two patterns of victimization most clearly differentiated by surveillance, but ethnic group differences in rates and patterns of abuse did not emerge. Implications for both clinicians and researchers are discussed.

A study on the pattern of drug abuse and demographic characteristics of addicts referred to addiction treatment centers of Kermanshah City, Iran, in 2016

BACKGROUND: The problems of drugs and addiction and the consequences of drug into abuse are considered as a phenomenon that affects different aspects of human life and is one of the main problems of modern age. The main goal of performing this investigation was identifying general demographic factors which affect the process of addiction in order to make available the facility of diagnosis and practice of therapeutic programs. METHODS: In this cross-sectional and descriptive study, a number of 500 addicts in Kermanshah, Iran, were selected using sampling method. Data were analyzed using SPSS software and descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage frequency, cumulative frequency, and average). RESULTS: The mean age of the subjects in this study was 36.6 + 8.80 years. Most addicts were in the age category of 31 to 40 years old. 62.8% of them began drug use for the first time in the age range of 10 to 20 years. 47% had primary education and 68.4% were unemployed and had no specific source of income. The top cause of drug use was reported as entertainment and enjoyment (47.6%) and the other cause was curiosity (26.4%). The most common cause of drug cessation was being tired of drug use. CONCLUSION: With regard to the fact that most addicts are unemployed with no source of income, thus it seems that the authorities have to assess effective treatments and find ways to create youth employment and also healthy entertainment activities and source of income on which one can rely.

When subterranean slavery supports sustainability transitions? power, patriarchy, and child labor in artisanal Congolese cobalt mining

Through the critical lenses of “modern slavery,” “dispossession,” and “gendering,” this study examines the contours of power, patriarchy, and child labor in the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) of cobalt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). There, a veritable mining boom for cobalt is underway, driven by rising global demand for batteries and other modern digital devices needed for future sustainability transitions. Based on extensive and original field research in the DRC—including 23 semi-structured expert interviews with a purposive sample, 48 semi-structured community interviews with ASM miners, traders, and community members, and site visits to 17 artisanal mines, processing centers, and trading depots—this study asks: What power relations does ASM cobalt mining embed? What are its effects on patriarchy and gender relations? Critically, what is the extent and severity of child labor? It documents the exploitation of ASM miners by the government, the police, and even at times other mining actors such as traders or local communities. It reveals the often invisible gendered nature of mining, showing how many vulnerabilities—in terms of work, status, social norms, and sexual abuse and prostitution—fall disproportionately on women and girls. It lastly reveals sobering patterns of child labor and abuse, again at times by the government or police, but other times by families or mining communities themselves. These factors can at times make cobalt mining a modern form of slavery and a catalyst for social, economic, and even regional dispossession. However, rather than despair, the study also draws from its empirical data to showcase how mining can in selected situations empower. It also proposes a concerted mix of policy reforms aimed the Congolese government (at all scales, including local and national); suppliers and end-user companies for cobalt; and international governments and trading bodies. In doing so, the study humanizes the plight of Congolese cobalt artisanal miners, reveals the power relations associated with the recent mining boom, and also proposes pathways for positive change.

PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES ABUSE TRENDS AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS OF LAHORE; A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY

Objective: To track the trends and patterns of psychoactive substance abuse among medical students.
 Study Design: Cross-sectional questionnaire based study.
 Place and Duration of Study: Medical Colleges and Universities of Lahore, from Aug to Sep 2019.
 Methodology: Total 200 medical students from Medical Colleges and Universities were included. The data wereanalyzed and computed using SPSS-21. Frequencies and percentages related to all the factors were computed.
 Results: Among study participants, 96 (48%) of males and 104 (52%) of females with 154 (77%) of these students belong to 21-25 years of age group. The observed prevalence of substance abuse among students was 42 (21%). Joy seeking and a friend’s offer was the initiation of psychoactive substance use among these students. Tobacco was the most highly consumed substance among students, followed by marijuana. Besides, the results also revealed that students also consumed cocaine and methamphetamine. Among 21% abusers, 4 (9%) and 5 (11%) of the students experienced side effects and withdrawal symptoms respectively.
 Conclusion: The increasing consumption of tobacco and indulgence in psychoactive drugs are concerning issues because of uncontrolled consumption can cause serious brain damage. Academic burden and stress are the mediators of drug abuse among students. Therefore, stress management training and workshops should be conducted in institutes.

Characterizing Trends in Synthetic Cannabinoid Receptor Agonist Use from Patient Clinical Evaluations during Medical Toxicology Consultation

ABSTRACT Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) are a new class of compounds with profound psychoactive effects and potential toxicity. This study characterizes patterns in SCRA abuse using qualitative interviews with individuals receiving medical toxicology consultation. Patients with suspected exposure to a new psychoactive substance were interviewed by medical toxicologists upon presentation for acute care. Investigators collected clinical and qualitative data including knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and practices related to psychoactive substance use. Responses were categorized by identifying themes, and statistics were generated to describe patterns of use. Overall, 69% (86) of the 124 cases of novel psychoactive substance use entered into the registry were associated with exposure to SCRAs. Most patients (68.8%) had used SCRAs at least once before the presenting episode. 47.7% considered SCRAs to be very easy to obtain, and 44.2% reported paying for the substances while 32.6% acquired it for free. Nearly half (48.8%) of patients reported their primary reason for use was to get high; a small proportion used SCRAs to avoid testing positive on drug screening (6.9%) or as an alternative to marijuana (4.6%). Findings suggest an independent and stable culture is developing around the use of SCRAs separate from their appeal as an “undetectable” alternative to marijuana.

The Pattern of Substance Abuse in the Psychiatry Department of a Tertiary Care of Srinagar Hospital, Jammu and Kashmir, India

Background: Substance-use related disorders (SUD) are a major public health concern worldwide, especially in developing nations. Currently, it is characterized by high rates of mortality and morbidity. Moreover, through increased utilization of healthcare services, it causes both direct and indirect significant medical expenditures. Objectives: The current study aimed to evaluate the pattern of Substance abuse in the department of psychiatry of a Tertiary Care Hospital, Srinagar, Jammu, and Kashmir, India. Methods: This is a descriptive, cross-sectional, and open study conducted in the psychiatry inpatient department of a tertiary care hospital, Srinagar, Jammu, and Kashmir, India, for 7 months (January to May 2020). Results: Over a period of seven months, a total of 135 participants were recruited (105 males and 30 females). Most of them were Muslim (96.29%), married (68.14%), and living as a nuclear family (75.55%). Tobacco (Nicotine) was the most commonly used substance by those admitted to the psychiatry ward (62.96%), followed by cannabis (11.11%) and opioids (11.11%). The most comorbidity associated with substance abuse was psychiatric disorders (36.84%), followed by neurological disorders (21.05%), and gastrointestinal disorders (7.89%). Among those with psychiatric disorders, 14 (10.37%) had mood (bipolar) disorders. A total of 1129 medicines were prescribed for 135 patients. The mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM) of the prescribed medicines was 8.48 ± 3.3. The average number of drugs per encounter was 8.48%. Conclusions: In this study, cigarette smoking (nicotine) was the most commonly abused substance. It can be justified by the fact that Kashmir is a conflict zone, and many people suffer from the post-traumatic stress disorder. Hence, a collaborated effort is necessary to improve the prescribing pattern and to enhance the rational use of medications for better treatment outcomes.

Female Same-Sex Bidirectional Intimate Partner Violence in China.

Although there exists a growing body of research on female same-sex intimate partner violence (FSSIPV) as well as bidirectional intimate partner violence (BIPV) among lesbian women, much of this literature focuses on the IPV experience of women living in Western societies such as the United States. The current study represents the very first to explore BIPV among lesbian women in China. In this study, we analyze a survey sample of 225 self-identified lesbian women in China to examine FSSBIPV patterns, pattern-specific rates, and risk factors of FSSBIPV. Using the Latent Class Analysis technique, we discover three main patterns of partner abuse, including bidirectional psychological violence (60%), bidirectional violence multiple types with physical abuse (79.1%), and minimal violence (20.9%). Logistic regressions show that there is no significant demographic, socioeconomic, or attitudinal difference between the bidirectional psychological violence group and the minimal violence group while being younger, cohabitating, and holding pro-IPV attitudes significantly predicted higher odds of experiencing multiple types of bidirectional violence. Contributions to the literature, as well as policy implications, are also discussed.

Suicide attempt and factors associated with patterns of alcohol use and abuse

Objetivo: el presente estudio tuvo como objetivo relacionar el patrón de uso abusivo y problemas relacionados con el alcohol entre pacientes que intentaron suicidarse en Recife en 2015. Método: este es un estudio transversal, prospectivo, del tipo descriptivo, epidemiológico de abordaje cuantitativo en el municipio de Recife-PE, realizado en las residencias de los pacientes que intentaron suicidio, con nombres em notificaciones obligatorias, enviadas para Vigilancia de Atención a Enfermedad no Transmisibles de la Secretaría Municipal de Recife. Para coletar los datos, se aplicó la prueba AUDIT, por entrevistas, organizando los datos en el programa EPI-7 y analizando en el programa SPSS®, versión 21.0. Resultados: se presentó una prevalencia mayor en mujeres jóvenes, con edad media de 38 años, con 1 grado de escolaridad, pardas, solteras, desempleadas y pertecentes a la clase social C. En la prueba AUDIT 41,4% de los entrevistados se encuentran en la zona I, necesitando asesoramiento a los riesgos del consumo de alcohol y 24,1% de los pacientes que beben. Conclusion: los comportamientos suicidas se acentuan con el uso abusivo del alcohol y deben ser encarados por los equipos de salud con seriedad y compromiso, pues las consecuencias de esas complicaciones se vuelven más difíciles cuando descuidadas.

1,1-Difluoroethane Detection Time in Blood after Inhalation Abuse Estimated by Monte Carlo PBPK Modeling.

(1) Background: Inhalant abuse and misuse are still widespread problems. 1,1-Difluoroethane abuse is reported to be potentially fatal and to cause acute and chronic adverse health effects. Lab testing for difluoroethane is seldom done, partly because the maximum detection time (MDT) is unknown. We sought to reliably estimate the MDT of difluoroethane in blood after inhalation abuse; (2) Methods: MDT were estimated for the adult male American population using a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model and abuse patterns detailed by two individuals. Based on sensitivity analyses, variability in huffing pattern and body mass index was introduced in the model by Monte Carlo simulation; (3) Results: With a detection limit of 0.14 mg/L, the median MDT was estimated to be 10.5 h (5th–95th percentile 7.8–12.8 h) after the 2-h abuse scenario and 13.5 h (10.5–15.8 h) after the 6-h scenario. The ranges reflect variability in body mass index and hence amount of body fat; (4) Conclusions: Our simulations suggest that the MDT of difluoroethane in blood after abuse ranges from 7.8 to 15.8 h. Although shorter compared to many other drugs, these MDT are sufficient to allow for testing several hours after suspected intoxication in a patient.

Childhood Abuse Classes for Incarcerated Men and Women: Are There Unique Gender Patterns in Abuse Classes?

Childhood adversity is predictive of poorer health and behavioral health outcomes in adulthood. Males and females are known to experience different types of childhood adversity, with females experiencing more sexual and emotional harm in childhood. Latent class analysis (LCA) has been used to identify patterns among types of childhood adversity. These studies have constructed class structures using single gender or blended gender samples. Class structures based on blended gender samples, however, may misrepresent the nuances of gender-specific adversity histories through averaging, potentially distorting the relative need for gender-specific types of intervention. This study investigated whether latent class structures of childhood abuse are equivalent for incarcerated males and females. Our sample included 4,204 residents (3,986 males, 218 females) drawn from a single prison system. Residents completed an hour-long audio computer-assisted self-interview that included questions on 10 types of childhood abuse, depression, and anxiety symptoms, the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire, and Criminal Sentiments Scale-Modified (CSS-M). Overall, female residents were both more likely to experience childhood abuse and have more extensive victimization experiences. Small subgroups of males, however, had even more extensive victimization experiences. Abuse patterns for males and females, while optimally clustering in four classes, are rather unique, especially for higher abuse classes, in terms of distribution of membership and types of abuse. These differences may matter in terms of identifying the relative need for therapeutic intervention among incarcerated males and females and targeting those interventions in ways that reflect the gradient and density of therapeutic need. The next step is to test whether using blended or gendered latent class structures matters in terms of predicting outcomes, such as prison-based behavioral health problems, suicidality, and victimization.

Blackface, Bullying and Freedom of Expression: What Legal Education Means for Law Student Welfare

Today, law student safety is a serious but often missed objective in American law schools. According to a recent survey, the typical American family wants to know their law student is safe even more than they want their law student to acquire a first-rate legal academic experience. Despite the importance of law student mental health to student performance, and cultural objectives unique to legal education, law students are not only highly vulnerable to acquiring mental health challenges during law school but are prone to be overlooked, and perhaps blamed or condemned for their mental health challenges, albeit unintentionally. My work asserts that despite the chief objective of law schools being to educate knowledgeable, competent, legal professionals, and provide them with the necessary skills to resolve complex legal essentials for corporations and government, as well as advance social justice, and to promote equal treatment for all, inherent in the nature of legal education, is a seemingly widely accepted risk of compromising law student mental health. Relying on qualitative studies and journalistic reports, my work will demonstrate that law students experience high incidents of personal depression, anxiety, extreme sadness, loss of interest or desire, feelings of guilt or low self-esteem, disturbed sleep or appetite, low energy, poor concentration, and a myriad of other mental and physical calamities, all of which greatly exceeds that of the law faculty, and surpasses levels experienced by medical and graduate students at American schools of higher education. My work further acknowledges that law student anxiety and depression are inextricably linked to the rigorous academic demands of legal education. Still it argues and set forth that law student mental health is related to avoidable conditions and patterns in the law school environment that enable or fail to account for the law student’s inexperience with coping with intense stress, emotional uncertainty, geographical isolation from loved ones, strained financial resources, poor job prospects, family strife, drug or alcohol abuse, homelessness, or lack of a culturally responsive learning environment. Granted, the legal profession is not for everyone. My work argues that law schools cannot turn a blind eye to the plight of law students as if no degree of accountability and responsibility lies with the law school. Indeed, law schools, albeit unintentionally, may be some of the chief investors in patterns of conduct that compromise the physical, emotional, and mental safety of law students. Recognition of a law school’s duty to students, in my view, requires law schools to resist the rhetoric of self-exceptionalism. Law schools, have an obligation, reluctantly or not, to concretely curtail repeated patterns of professional abuse, neglect, dereliction of academic duties, social domination, and student exploitation, that are uniquely embedded in the culture of legal education. Simply put, law student safety needs, coupled with the intricacies and unforgiving consequences of today’s competitive legal job market and high cost of legal education, warrant that law schools resist the impulses that prioritize institutional-preservation and subordinate student mental health under the guise of teaching students the harsh realities of the legal profession and preparing them for legal practice. My work argues that student physical, emotional, mental and academic safety should, and must become a critical component of legal education.

Quantification of Classic, Prescription and Synthetic Opioids in Hair by LC-MS-MS.

The current use and misuse of synthetic and prescription opioids in the USA has reached epidemic status. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, every day more than 130 people in the USA die after overdosing on opioids, and 2.1 million had an opioid use disorder in 2018. Hair is becoming an alternative matrix of increasing interest in forensic toxicology to investigate drug use and abuse patterns due to its long window of detection. The focus of this project was to develop and validate a method that simultaneously detects and quantifies 27 classic, prescription and synthetic opioids in hair by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS). Hair samples were decontaminated and pulverized in a bead mill. Twenty-five milligrams of hair powder were incubated in a buffer overnight. Mixed mode cation exchange solid phase extraction was carried out before undergoing reversed-phase chromatographic separation, successfully resolving isobaric opioids. We used two multiple reaction monitoring transitions in positive mode to identify each analyte. The linearity range was 1-500 pg/mg for fentanyl and synthetic opioids and 10-500 pg/mg for prescription and classic opioids. Imprecision was <17.5% and bias ranged from -13.6 to 12.0%. Majority of compounds showed extraction efficiency >50%, and ion suppression from -89.2 to -26.6% (CV < 19%, n = 10). This method was applied to 64 authentic cases, identifying 13 compounds from our panel. A sensitive and specific method was developed for the identification and quantification of 27 classic, prescription and synthetic opioids in hair by LC-MS-MS.

Male Victims of Female-Perpetrated Partner Violence: A Qualitative Analysis of Men's Experiences, the Impact of Violence, and Perceptions of Their Worth.

There has been a recent increase in the amount of research on male victims of female-perpetrated partner violence (PV) but research needs to be conducted to understand how the patterns of abuse persist in these relationships. In the current study, the experiences of 59 male PV victims in the USA, recruited through online advertisements in professional networks and websites (e.g., agencies that specialize in male victims of PV), were explored through a thematic analysis. Analyses suggested that the help seeking process of male PV victims is complex and heterogeneous and can often lead to further negative consequences due to various structural, cultural, social, and organizational factors. The findings also highlight the potential societal issues that male victims perceived as contributing to male victimization and lack of available resources for them. The results are discussed in terms of its implications for agencies, service providers, and general societal attitudes that are relevant to raising awareness about this phenomenon.

Domestic Work and the Gig Economy in South Africa: Old wine in new bottles?

Based on innovative, mixed-methods research, this article examines the entry of on-demand platform models into the domestic work sector in South Africa. This sector has long been characterised by high levels of informality, precarity, and exploitation, though recent regulatory advances have provided labour and social protections to some domestic workers. We locate the rise of the on-demand economy within the longer-term trajectory of domestic work in South Africa, identifying the ‘traditional’ sector as a key site of undervalued labour. On-demand domestic work platforms create much-needed economic opportunities in a context of pervasive un(der)-employment, opportunities that come with some incremental improvements over traditional working arrangements. Yet we contend that platform models maintain the patterns of everyday abuse found elsewhere in the domestic work sector. These models are premised on an ability to navigate regulatory contexts to provide clients with readily available, flexible labour without longer-term commitment, therefore sidestepping employer obligations to provide labour rights and protections. As a result, on-demand companies reinforce the undervalued and largely unprotected labour of marginalised women domestic workers.

Evaluation of Drug Abuse in Patients With Lifelong Premature Ejaculation: A Cross-Sectional Study.

IntroductionMost studies investigate sexual dysfunction in drug abusers; however, there are no data available about the pattern of drug abuse in patients with lifelong premature ejaculation (PE).AimTo assess the pattern of drug abuse in patients with lifelong PE and to evaluate its potential effect on their hormonal profile.MethodsA cross-sectional study included patients with lifelong PE (n = 76) with no prescribed medications for 1 month and age-matched control without PE (n = 48). Participants were evaluated by history, examination, Arabic index of PE, and hormonal profile. A urine sample was screened by dipstick kits for the following drug abuse tramadol, opiate, tetrahydrocannabinol (cannabis), amphetamine, barbiturate, cocaine, and benzodiazepines. Positive results were confirmed with a immunoassay drug analyzer.Main outcome measuresThe outcomes of this study are positive and negative drug abuse and hormonal profile changes.ResultsControl patients and patients with PE showed median (interquartile range) of age 43 (33–46.8) and 38.5 (31–45) years, respectively. Drug abuse testing results showed significantly high positive drug abuse in patients with PE, 26 of 76 (34.2%), in comparison with control, 9 of 48 (19.1%) (P = .05). The most commonly abused drug was tetrahydrocannabinol in control, 3 of 9 (33.3%), and tramadol, 12 of 26 (46.2%), in patients with PE. Control patients and patients with PE with positive drug abuse had significantly higher smoking percent (P < .0001) and higher positive drug abuse history (P < .0001). However, there was no relationship between drug abuse and PE severity, and there were no significant changes in their hormonal profile.ConclusionsDrug abuse is high among patients with lifelong PE in Upper Egypt, with tramadol being the comment drug. Drug abuse is common among smokers. However, no hormonal disturbance could be shown in drug abuse patients. Drug abuse might be considered in the evaluation of patients with PE.Mohammed SA, Abdelhamed A, El Sayed RM. Evaluation of Drug Abuse in Patients With Lifelong Premature Ejaculation: A Cross-Sectional Study. Sex Med 2020;8:608–614.