Daily associations between sleep and alcohol use among veterans: Acute and cumulative effects.

Background And Aims: Military veterans demonstrate high rates of heavy drinking and insomnia, but few if any studies have tested real-world, daily associations between sleep and alcohol use within this population. Moreover, although daily diary and experimental studies among civilians have found negative associations between alcohol use and sleep, these patterns change with consecutive days of drinking and may differ for those with insomnia. This study measured (a) acute and cumulative day-level associations between sleep and alcohol use among heavy-drinking US veterans and (b) the extent to which insomnia moderates these associations.

An Expanded Registry of Candidate cis-Regulatory Elements for Studying Transcriptional Regulation.

Mammalian genomes contain millions of regulatory elements that control the complex patterns of gene expression. Previously, The ENCODE consortium mapped biochemical signals across many cell types and tissues and integrated these data to develop a Registry of 0.9 million human and 300 thousand mouse candidate cis-Regulatory Elements (cCREs) annotated with potential functions.

Bidirectional links between sleep and pain among heavy-drinking veterans with insomnia.

Study Objectives: Military veterans often suffer from chronic pain and sleep issues at a greater frequency than the general population, leading some to self-medicate with alcohol. While research shows a connection between sleep and pain, few studies have examined bidirectional links between sleep and pain at the daily level-or the extent to which alcohol use may moderate these associations.

Methods: Heavy-drinking veterans seeking treatment for insomnia ( = 109, 82.

Digital phenotyping from wearables using AI characterizes psychiatric disorders and identifies genetic associations.

Psychiatric disorders are influenced by genetic and environmental factors. However, their study is hindered by limitations on precisely characterizing human behavior. New technologies such as wearable sensors show promise in surmounting these limitations in that they measure heterogeneous behavior in a quantitative and unbiased fashion.

Insomnia treatment effects on negative emotionality among veterans in treatment for alcohol use disorder.

Background: Insomnia symptoms are pervasive and persistent in alcohol use disorder (AUD), though little is known about the mechanisms that underlie this association. We previously found that cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) reduced alcohol-related problems among veterans by improving insomnia severity (NCT03806491). In this planned secondary analysis of the same clinical trial data, we tested negative emotionality as one potential mechanism to explain this effect.

Prior Sexual Aggression as a Moderator of an Integrated Alcohol and Sexual Assault Prevention Program for Heavy Drinking College Men: A Brief Report.

Objective: Sexual aggression and heavy drinking are interrelated concerns among college men. As a result, integrated prevention interventions now exist to address co-occurring risk for sexual aggression and heavy drinking. The Sexual Assault and Alcohol Feedback and Education (SAFE) program is a multi-session integrated alcohol and sexual assault prevention program for college men that addresses alcohol use, sexual activity, social norms, alcohol-related sexual consequences, understanding of consent, and engagement in bystander intervention.

Learning & motivational talk in smoking cessation interventions: An examination of session language in two randomized trials.

Objectives: Motivational Interviewing (MI), a client-centered approach that seeks to evoke and resolve ambivalence, and health education (HE), which provides health information and advice, may both provide some benefit to unmotivated smokers. In HE, it is possible that client language reflective of new learning, or "learning talk" (LT), and rejection of health advice, or "rejection talk," (RT), may uniquely reflect intent of subsequent behavior change.

Methods: This project utilized MI and HE sessions from two randomized clinical trials (RCTs), one in a low-income, diverse community civilian sample of 255 unmotivated smokers, and the other in a sample of Veterans with mental illness who were unmotivated smokers (n = 55).

A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial of Primary Care Treatment Integrating Motivation and Exposure Treatment (PC-TIME) in Veterans With PTSD and Harmful Alcohol Use.

Individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often engage in harmful alcohol use. These co-occurring conditions are associated with negative health consequences and disability. PTSD and harmful drinking are typically experienced as closely related-thus treatments that target both simultaneously are preferred by patients.

Behavioral economic and wellness-based approaches for reducing alcohol use and consequences among diverse non-student emerging adults: study protocol for Project BLUE, a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Emerging adults (EAs) who are not 4-year college students nor graduates are at elevated risk for lifetime alcohol use disorder, comorbid drug use, and mental health symptoms, compared to college graduates. There is a need for tailored brief alcohol intervention (BAI) approaches to reduce alcohol risk and to facilitate healthy development in this high-risk population. Most BAIs include a single session focused on discussing risks associated with drinking and correcting normative beliefs about drinking rates.

Behavioral Economic and Wellness-based Approaches for Reducing Alcohol Use and Consequences Among Diverse Non-Student Emerging Adults: Study Protocol for Project BLUE, a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Emerging adults (EAs) who are not 4-year college students nor graduates are at elevated risk for lifetime alcohol use disorder, comorbid drug use, and mental health symptoms, compared to college graduates. There is a need for tailored brief alcohol intervention (BAI) approaches to reduce alcohol risk and to facilitate healthy development in this high-risk population. Most BAIs include a single session focused on discussing risks associated with drinking and correcting normative beliefs about drinking rates.

A pilot trial of a brief intervention for cannabis use supplemented with a substance-free activity session or relaxation training.

Objective: Cannabis use is increasing among college students and commonly co-occurs with anxiety symptoms in this age group. Interventions that reduce anxiety may also reduce cannabis use. Behavioral economic theory suggests that substance use reductions are most likely when there is an increase in substance-free reinforcement.

Development and Initial Testing of a Brief, Integrated Intervention Aimed at Reducing Heavy Alcohol Use and PTSD among Military Veterans in Primary Care.

There is a need for integrated treatment approaches that address heavy alcohol use and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) concurrently among Veterans as interactions between heavy drinking and PTSD are frequent. Veteran engagement in specialty mental health services after referral is limited with poorer outcomes following empirically-supported, exposure-based PTSD treatments that do not explicitly address alcohol use. The current project aimed to incorporate two evidenced-based interventions: Brief Motivational Intervention (BMI) with Prolonged Exposure for Primary Care (PE-PC) for Veterans with heavy drinking and PTSD.

The Impact of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Substance Use Disorders on Veterans' Interpersonal Difficulties.

Substance use disorders (SUDs) negatively impact veterans and their relationships with others. Although there are several evidence-based treatments for SUD symptoms, there is less research on whether reduction in SUD symptoms coincides with reduction in interpersonal difficulties. In this study we examined the relationship between SUD and relationships in a national sample of 458 veterans who received approximately 12 sessions of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Substance Use Disorders (CBT-SUD) through the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).

Integrated Alcohol Use and Sexual Assault Prevention Program for College Men Who Engage in Heavy Drinking: Randomized Pilot Study.

Background: Sexual assault is prevalent on college campuses and most commonly is perpetrated by men. Problematically, there is a dearth of evidence-based prevention programs targeting men as perpetrators of sexual aggression. The Sexual Assault and Alcohol Feedback and Education (SAFE) program is an integrated alcohol and sexual assault prevention intervention for college men who engage in heavy drinking that aims to address sexual aggression proclivity and alcohol use outcomes by incorporating social norms theory, bystander intervention, and motivational interviewing.

The Intersection between Alcohol use and Sexual Activity among Young Adult Male U.S. Service Members.

Aims: The current study explores drinking habits, preferences for alcohol use before sexual activity, and alcohol-related sexual behavior among young adult male active duty service members in the United States.

Background: Hazardous alcohol use is a significant problem among United States military service members. Whereas the association between alcohol use and sexual assault is well documented in civilian samples, less is known regarding the intersection of alcohol use and sexual activity among soldiers.

Qualitative Analysis of Bystander Intervention Among Young Adult Male Soldiers Who Engage in At-Risk Drinking.

Bystander intervention-when someone intervenes to help in situations that pose a risk for harm-is a promising strategy for sexual violence prevention. In the current study, a sample of U.S.

A Family-Based Mental Health Navigator Intervention for Youth in the Child Welfare System: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Youth in the child welfare system (child welfare-involved [CWI] youth) have high documented rates of mental health symptoms and experience significant disparities in mental health care services access and engagement. Adolescence is a developmental stage that confers increased likelihood of experiencing mental health symptoms and the emergence of disorders that can persist into adulthood. Despite a high documented need for evidence-based mental health services for CWI youth, coordination between child welfare and mental health service systems to increase access to care remains inadequate, and engagement in mental health services is low.

Reducing Alcohol Use Before and After Surgery: Qualitative Study of Two Treatment Approaches.

Background: High-risk alcohol use is a common preventable risk factor for postoperative complications, admission to intensive care, and longer hospital stays. Short-term abstinence from alcohol use (2 to 4 weeks) prior to surgery is linked to a lower likelihood of postoperative complications.

Objective: The study aimed to explore the acceptability and feasibility of 2 brief counseling approaches to reduce alcohol use in elective surgical patients with high-risk alcohol use in the perioperative period.

Governance in the implementation of the UN sustainable development goals in higher education: global trends.

Governance is a key component for implementing sustainable development (SD) initiatives in university teaching, research, and projects. This line of thinking also applies to implementing the United Nations (UN) sustainable development goals (SDGs). Despite the role of governance in guiding processes related to the SDGs, few studies have examined these relations in an integrative manner in higher education.

Toward food waste reduction at universities.

Food waste is a serious problem, which undermines the achievement of many sustainable development goals (SDGs), despite their consideration in the agendas of many countries and companies. Notoriously, food waste (FW) causes different kinds of pollution that affect public health and social justice, while contributing to economic losses. This waste phenomenon has causes, drivers, and impacts that require rigorous assessments and effective approaches to mitigate its noxious effects, which are a serious concern for universities.