Remote clinical trial to test mechanisms of 'practice quitting' treatment: Trial design and methodological report.

Background: Tobacco use disorder is a chronic, relapsing health condition that necessitates a chronic care approach. However, there are limited treatment strategies relevant to individuals who smoke across a continuum of motivation to quit. Further, there is no clear understanding of the mechanisms underlying treatment strategies to engage individuals who are not yet ready to quit smoking.

Development of a targeted behavioral treatment for smoking cessation among individuals with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Objective: Smoking cessation for individuals with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is medically critical, but smoking for coping motives is a common barrier.

Method: In this evaluation of three treatment components (Mindfulness, Practice Quitting, and Countering Emotional Behaviors), we conducted two studies guided by the ORBIT model. Study 1 was a single-case design experiment (N = 18); Study 2 was a pilot feasibility study (N = 30).

E-Cigarette Dependence and Weight-Related Attitudes/Behaviors Associated With Eating Disorders in Adolescent Girls.

Although numerous motivations for vaping have been identified in adolescents, no study to date has examined a possible link between vaping and attitudes/behaviors that are associated with eating disorders in adolescent females. Examining this question in adolescent females is especially relevant given the higher prevalence of eating disorders in adolescent girls and women compared to adolescent boys and men. We recruited 299 girls (between 13 to 17 years old) via Facebook advertisement to complete a REDCap survey, which included the Electronic Cigarette Dependence Index (ECDI), Minnesota Eating Behavior Survey (MEBS), and demographic questions.

Early to Midlife Smoking Trajectories and Cognitive Function in Middle-Aged US Adults: the CARDIA Study.

Background: Smoking starts in early adulthood and persists throughout the life course, but the association between these trajectories and midlife cognition remains unclear.

Objective: Determine the association between early to midlife smoking trajectories and midlife cognition.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Trauma exposure, PTSD symptoms, and tobacco use: Does church attendance buffer negative effects?

Traumatic stress and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are overrepresented in urban African American communities, and associated with health risk behaviors such as tobacco use. Support and resources provided by churches may reduce trauma-related health risks. In the current study, we assessed weekly church attendance as a moderator of relations between (a) traumatic event exposure and probable PTSD, and (b) probable PTSD and tobacco use.

Lung function decline in former smokers and low-intensity current smokers: a secondary data analysis of the NHLBI Pooled Cohorts Study.

Background: Former smokers now outnumber current smokers in many developed countries, and current smokers are smoking fewer cigarettes per day. Some data suggest that lung function decline normalises with smoking cessation; however, mechanistic studies suggest that lung function decline could continue. We hypothesised that former smokers and low-intensity current smokers have accelerated lung function decline compared with never-smokers, including among those without prevalent lung disease.

Distress tolerance in relation to cessation history and smoking characteristics among adult daily smokers.

Introduction: Distress tolerance (DT) is linked to smoking initiation, maintenance, and difficulty quitting. However, there is a lack of consistency in prior findings on DT's relations with conceptually linked smoking variables, and few studies have examined differences across DT domains. We examined interrelations between cessation history, smoking characteristics, and a full battery of multimethod DT measures.

Assessment of Self-Management Treatment Needs Among COPD Helpline Callers.

Telephone quitlines are an effective population-based strategy for smoking cessation, particularly among individuals with tobacco-related diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Expanding quitline services to provide COPD-focused self-management interventions is potentially beneficial; however, data are needed to identify specific treatment needs in this population. We conducted a telephone-based survey ( = 5,772) to examine educational needs, behavioral health characteristics, and disease-related interference among individuals with COPD who received services from the American Lung Association (ALA) Lung Helpline.

Multi-method assessment of distress tolerance and smoking-related factors among adult daily smokers.

Although distress tolerance (DT) is associated with smoking lapse and relapse outcomes, few studies have conducted a rigorous assessment of DT across domain and method in the context of acute abstinence. In a human laboratory-based study of 106 adult daily smokers, we examined between multiple indices of DT and smoking lapse, withdrawal processes, and motivation to quit. We expected that low DT would be associated with shorter latency to smoke, greater withdrawal severity, and lower motivation to quit.

Laser-assisted Lentiviral Gene Delivery to Mouse Fertilized Eggs.

Lentiviruses are efficient vectors for gene delivery to mammalian cells. Following transduction, the lentiviral genome is stably incorporated into the host chromosome and is passed on to progeny. Thus, they are ideal vectors for creation of stable cell lines, in vivo delivery of indicators, and transduction of single cell fertilized eggs to create transgenic animals.

Does cessation fatigue predict smoking-cessation milestones? A longitudinal study of current and former smokers.

Objective: Long-term abstinence can be undermined by cessation fatigue-an exhaustion of coping resources attributable to quitting smoking/staying quit. The current study examines the predictive validity of a Cessation Fatigue Scale (CFS; three subscales). Among current smokers, we hypothesized higher fatigue would predict longer latency to both quit initiation and achieving 7-day point prevalence abstinence (7-day PPA).

Extended Nicotine Patch Treatment Among Smokers With and Without Comorbid Psychopathology.

Introduction: Individuals with psychiatric conditions smoke at higher rates than the general population and may need more intensive treatment to quit. We examined whether or not extended treatment with nicotine patch, combined with behavior counseling, would disproportionally benefit smokers with versus without a lifetime psychiatric condition.

Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of data from an effectiveness trial of treatment with 12 counseling sessions (48 weeks) and 21-mg nicotine patch (8, 24, or 52 weeks) among 525 adult daily smokers.

Production of Hymenolepis diminuta in the Laboratory: An Old Research Tool with New Clinical Applications.

Hymenolepis diminuta, the rat tapeworm, was first described in 1819 by Rudolphi and was studied extensively in several laboratories during the mid to latter part of the twentieth century. More recently, the primary use of the organism had been for educational purposes. The organisms require an intermediate insect host to complete their life cycle, making them non-transmissible to other rats or to humans under typical laboratory or educational environments.

Psychological Functioning in Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Preliminary Study of Relations With Smoking Status and Disease Impact.

Introduction: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a tobacco-related disease associated with several comorbid conditions, including elevated rates of depression and anxiety. Psychological factors that commonly underlie nicotine dependence, depression, and anxiety may represent novel treatment targets, but have not yet been examined among patientswith COPD. We assessed three psychological factors-anxiety sensitivity (AS; fear of anxiety-related sensations), distress intolerance (DI; inability to withstand distressing states), and anhedonia (Anh; diminished sense of pleasure or interest)-in relation to smoking status, COPD symptom impact, and negative response to COPD symptoms.

En masse lentiviral gene delivery to mouse fertilized eggs via laser perforation of zona pellucida.

Lentiviruses are highly efficient vehicles for delivering genes into cells. They readily transduce primary and immortalized cells in vivo and in vitro. Genes delivered by lentiviruses are incorporated and replicated as part of their host genome and therefore offer a powerful tool for creation of stable cell lines and transgenic animals.

Negative mood-induced alcohol-seeking is greater in young adults who report depression symptoms, drinking to cope, and subjective reactivity.

Acute negative mood powerfully motivates alcohol-seeking behavior, but it remains unclear whether sensitivity to this effect is greater in drinkers who report depression symptoms, drinking to cope, and subjective reactivity. To examine these questions, 128 young adult alcohol drinkers (ages 18-25) completed questionnaires of alcohol use disorder symptoms, depression symptoms, and drinking to cope with negative affect. Baseline alcohol choice was measured by preference to enlarge alcohol versus food thumbnail images in two-alternative forced-choice trials.

Production and Use of Hymenolepis diminuta Cysticercoids as Anti-Inflammatory Therapeutics.

Helminthic therapy has shown considerable promise as a means of alleviating some inflammatory diseases that have proven resistant to pharmaceutical intervention. However, research in the field has been limited by a lack of availability to clinician scientists of a helminth that is relatively benign, non-communicable, affordable, and effectively treats disease. Previous socio-medical studies have found that some individuals self-treating with helminths to alleviate various diseases are using the rat tapeworm (cysticercoid developmental stage of ; HDC).

Development and initial validation of a cessation fatigue scale.

Background: Smoking cessation fatigue, or tiredness of attempting to quit smoking, has been posited as a latent construct encompassing loss of motivation, loss of hope in cessation success, decreased self-efficacy, and exhaustion of self-control resources. Despite the potential clinical impact of characterizing cessation fatigue, there is currently no validated measure to assess it. Using a rational scale development approach, we developed a cessation fatigue measure and examined its reliability and construct validity in relation to a) smokers' experience of a recently failed quit attempt (QA) and b) readiness to engage in a subsequent QA.

Current major depression is associated with greater sensitivity to the motivational effect of both negative mood induction and abstinence on tobacco-seeking behavior.

Background: Although depression and smoking commonly co-occur, the mechanisms underpinning this association are poorly understood. One hypothesis is that depression promotes tobacco dependence, persistence and relapse by increasing sensitivity to acute negative mood and abstinence induced tobacco-seeking behavior.

Methods: Twenty nine daily smokers of >10 cigarettes per day, nine with major depression and 20 without, completed two laboratory sessions one week apart, smoking as normal prior to session 1 (sated session), and 6h abstinent prior to session 2 (abstinent session).

One-Year Smoking Trajectories Among Established Adult Smokers With Low Baseline Motivation to Quit.

Introduction: The majority of smokers do not intend to quit in the near term, making unmotivated smokers a key group to target in public health efforts. Although it is often assumed that continuing smokers will have stable rates of smoking over time, limited research has addressed this issue, particularly among smokers not seeking treatment. In the current study, the aims were to (1) characterize the trajectory of naturalistic smoking among unmotivated smokers and (2) examine relationships between naturalistic smoking trajectories and other smoking-related variables.

Cigarette smoking and depression comorbidity: systematic review and proposed theoretical model.

Background And Aims: Despite decades of research on co-occurring smoking and depression, cessation rates remain consistently lower for depressed smokers than for smokers in the general population, highlighting the need for theory-driven models of smoking and depression. This paper provides a systematic review with a particular focus upon psychological states that disproportionately motivate smoking in depression, and frame an incentive learning theory account of smoking-depression co-occurrence.

Methods: We searched PubMed, Scopus, PsychINFO and CINAHL to December 2014, which yielded 852 papers.