In what settings and social contexts do young adults vape or smoke cannabis? Findings from a web-based diary pilot study.

Background: Vaping is an increasingly common mode of cannabis use among young adults. Despite potential to inform targeted prevention, settings and social contexts where young adults vape and/or smoke cannabis have rarely been investigated. We addressed this question in a diverse young adult sample.

Casino Gambling in Adolescents: Gambling-Related Attitudes and Behaviors and Health and Functioning Relationships.

Recreational and problem gambling have been linked with adverse health and functioning outcomes among adolescents. Youth may gamble and engage in other risk-taking behaviors in casinos. There are limited data available regarding casino gambling in high-school students, and factors linked to adolescent gambling in casinos have yet to be systematically investigated.

Importance of Defective and Nonsymmetric Structures in Silver Nanoparticles.

Scanning transmission electron microscopy experiments indicate that face-centered cubic (FCC) is the predominant ordered structure for Ag309 ± 7 nanoclusters, synthesized in vacuum. Historically, experiments do not present a consensus on the morphology at these sizes, whereas theoretical studies find the icosahedral symmetry for Ag309 and the decahedral shape for nearby sizes. We employ density functional theory calculations to rationalize these observations, considering both regular and defective Ag nanoparticles (281-321 atoms).

Cannabis use, problem-gambling severity, and psychiatric disorders: Data from the National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions.

Cannabis use and related disorders are common in adults and frequently co-occur with subsyndromal and pathological gambling. However, understanding how cannabis use may moderate relationships between problem-gambling severity and psychiatric disorders remains poorly understood. Data from the National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions ( = 43,093 adults) were examined to investigate how cannabis use moderated associations between problem-gambling severity (with gambling groups based on the 10 inclusionary criteria for pathological gambling) and Axis I and Axis II psychiatric disorders.

Community health workers to improve uptake of maternal healthcare services: A cluster-randomized pragmatic trial in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Background: Home delivery and late and infrequent attendance at antenatal care (ANC) are responsible for substantial avoidable maternal and pediatric morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. This cluster-randomized trial aimed to determine the impact of a community health worker (CHW) intervention on the proportion of women who (i) visit ANC fewer than 4 times during their pregnancy and (ii) deliver at home.

Methods And Findings: As part of a 2-by-2 factorial design, we conducted a cluster-randomized trial of a home-based CHW intervention in 2 of 3 districts of Dar es Salaam from 18 June 2012 to 15 January 2014.

The effect of a community health worker intervention on public satisfaction: evidence from an unregistered outcome in a cluster-randomized controlled trial in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Background: There is a dearth of evidence on the causal effects of different care delivery approaches on health system satisfaction. A better understanding of public satisfaction with the health system is particularly important within the context of task shifting to community health workers (CHWs). This paper determines the effects of a CHW program focused on maternal health services on public satisfaction with the health system among women who are pregnant or have recently delivered.

The role of drinking motives and perceived controllability of events in the association between college women's sexual assault victimization and binge drinking.

Women with a history of sexual assault are at elevated risk for engaging in binge drinking. The aims of the current study are to investigate two types of drinking motives (coping and social) that potentially underlie the sexual assault-binge drinking link in a sample of female college drinkers (N = 691; 37.6% sexual assault prevalence), and to determine the extent to which the relationships between sexual assault history and each type of drinking motive depend on women's assumptions about the controllability of events.

Drinking goals and attainment in a naltrexone trial of young adult heavy drinkers.

Objective: Drinking goals set at treatment onset predict treatment outcome in patients with alcohol use disorders. Yet the cognitive constructs of goal setting and goal attainment are understudied in young adult drinkers. This study sought to examine how the interplay of goal setting and goal attainment during treatment impacts treatment outcome in a sample of young adult heavy drinkers.

Ultrafast Heat Flow in Heterostructures of Au Nanoclusters on Thin Films: Atomic Disorder Induced by Hot Electrons.

We study the ultrafast structural dynamics, in response to electronic excitations, in heterostructures composed of size-selected Au nanoclusters on thin-film substrates with the use of femtosecond electron diffraction. Various forms of atomic motion, such as thermal vibrations, thermal expansion, and lattice disordering, manifest as distinct and quantifiable reciprocal-space observables. In photoexcited supported nanoclusters, thermal equilibration proceeds through intrinsic heat flow between their electrons and their lattice and extrinsic heat flow between the nanoclusters and their substrate.

The Self-Report Habit Index: Assessing habitual marijuana, alcohol, e-cigarette, and cigarette use.

Background: Substance use is partially driven by habitual processes that occur automatically in response to environmental cues and may be central to users' identities. This study was designed to validate the Self-Report Habit Index (SRHI) for assessing habitual marijuana, alcohol, cigarette, and e-cigarette use.

Methods: We examined the SRHI's psychometrics in separate samples of adult marijuana (Ns = 189;170), alcohol (Ns = 100;133), cigarette (Ns = 58;371), and e-cigarette (N = 239) users.

Mechanisms Underlying Sex Differences in Cannabis Use.

Purpose Of The Review: Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit substance worldwide. In recent decades, highly concentrated products have flooded the market, and prevalence rates have increased. Gender differences exist in cannabis use, as men have higher prevalence of both cannabis use and cannabis use disorder (CUD), while women progress more rapidly from first use to CUD.

Longitudinal Associations Between Alcohol-Related Cognitions and Use in African American and European American Adolescent Girls.

Background: African American (AA) girls initiate alcohol use later and drink less than European American (EA) girls, potentially reflecting differences in the development of drinking behaviors. This study examined alcohol-related cognitions: expectancies, attitudes, and intention to drink, as possible sources of variation by race in alcohol use. The aim of this study was to characterize the nature and degree of association between cognitions and use over time and by race in EA and AA girls.

Correlates of cannabis vape-pen use and knowledge among U.S. college students.

Introduction: The proliferation of electronic devices, such as vape-pens, has provided alternative means for cannabis use. Research has found cannabis-vaping (i.e.

Longitudinal associations between marijuana-related cognitions and marijuana use in African-American and European-American girls from early to late adolescence.

This study examined marijuana-related cognitions and marijuana use in African-American (AA) and European-American (EA) girls, with the aim of characterizing their interrelationships from early to late adolescence. Identifying differences by race in these relationships would have implications for tailoring interventions to specific subgroups. Data were drawn from the Pittsburgh Girls Study, an urban community sample (56.

Acculturative stress as a moderator of the effect of drinking motives on alcohol use and problems among young adults.

Background: Research has demonstrated a strong relationship between drinking motives and alcohol use among young adult populations. Further, there is substantial evidence of the association between psychosocial stressors and greater alcohol consumption. In the present study, we examined whether acculturative stress would moderate the relationship between major drinking motives and alcohol use behaviors and alcohol-related problems, and whether this relationship differs by racial/ethnic group.

Testing the nicotine dependence measure mFTQ for adolescent smokers: A multinational investigation.

Background And Objectives: As a measure of nicotine dependence among adolescent smokers, the modified Fagerström Tolerance Questionnaire (mFTQ; seven items), has been successfully used in the United States (USA). Nonetheless, the validity and reliability of mFTQ at the international level is still needed. The current study is the first to test the validity and reliability of mFTQ in four countries: Thailand, Spain, the USA, and Russia.

Perceived injunctive norms and cannabis-related problems: The interactive influence of parental injunctive norms and race.

Cannabis use among college students is associated with negative consequences, including those that can negatively affect academic functioning. Perceived descriptive and injunctive norms are among the strongest predictors of college cannabis use and related problems, and perceived norms differentially relate to cannabis outcomes depending on the reference group (e.g.

Youth Drug Offenders: An Examination of Criminogenic Risk and Juvenile Recidivism.

Understanding the criminogenic risk factors and treatment needs of juvenile drug offenders is important because of the myriad negative outcomes that befall juveniles that are involved in drugs. A widely used juvenile risk assessment tool, the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) was utilized to explore criminogenic risk factors and treatment needs to predict recidivism. Demographic differences between drug and nondrug offenders were also examined.

I Want You to Like Me: Extraversion, Need for Approval, and Time on Facebook as Predictors of Anxiety.

Although social networking sites such as Facebook have been touted as creating a global village, there may be a downside to such computer-mediated interactions on user's well-being. One such consequence is that stimuli via computer-mediated interactions may be anxiety-provoking for some users. As such, recent studies have tried to ascertain personality factors and individual differences that are associated with higher anxiety in connection with extensive Facebook use.

Predictors of Adult E-Cigarette Users Vaporizing Cannabis Using E-Cigarettes and Vape-Pens.

Background: Given limited extant research, we assessed the use of portable, battery-powered cannabis vaporizers by adult e-cigarette users.

Methods: 522 adult vapers completed an online survey. Demographics; lifetime and past-month cannabis vaporization via e-cigarettes/vape-pens; preferences for hash oil, D-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) wax, or dried buds; and cannabis vaporization beliefs and motives were examined.

Marijuana Use, Marijuana Expectancies, and Hypersexuality among College Students.

Research supports links between marijuana effect expectancies and risky sexual behaviors among marijuana users, but associations between marijuana expectancies and hypersexuality have yet to be investigated. The current study examined links between marijuana lifetime use and hypersexuality among university students. A hierarchical regression adjusting for gender and alcohol use was used to determine the degree to which marijuana use and expectancies accounted for variance in hypersexuality.

Perceived safety and controllability of events: Markers of risk for marijuana use in young adults?

Drawing on constructs from the trauma literature, the current study evaluated perceptions of safety and controllability of events as potential markers of risk for marijuana use. In addition, we characterized these perceptions in relation to individual level substance abuse risk factors (marijuana expectancies, impulsivity, depression, and anxiety), gender, and race. Data were collected via web survey from college students at two northeastern universities (n=228, 82.

The influence of drinking motives on hookah use frequency among young multi-substance users.

Purpose: The present work examined the influence of drinking motives on hookah use frequency among individuals reporting both alcohol and hookah use (multi-substance users). Despite growing documentation of cross-substance effects between motives and substance use, limited research has examined these relationships specifically with respect to hookah use.

Methods: Participants were 134 (75.

Compounding risk: An examination of associations between spirituality/religiosity, drinking motives, and alcohol-related ambivalence among heavy drinking young adults.

Objectives: The present study assessed combinations of spirituality/religiosity (S/R), a known protective factor against heavy drinking, with drinking motives, and alcohol-related ambivalence to better understand how these factors interrelate and are associated with drinking and alcohol-related problems.

Methods: Participants were 241 heavy drinking undergraduate students (81.74% female; Mage=23.

The Interactive Influence of Cannabis-Related Negative Expectancies and Coping Motives on Cannabis Use Behavior and Problems.

Objectives: The present study tested whether coping motives for cannabis use moderate the effect of negative expectancies on cannabis use.

Methods: Participants were 149 (36.2% female, 61.