Peer Intervention to Link Overdose Survivors to Treatment (PILOT): Protocol for a Multisite, Randomized Controlled Trial Conducted Within the National Institute on Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network.

Background: The increase in opioid-related overdoses has caused a decrease in average life expectancy, highlighting the need for effective interventions to reduce overdose risk and prevent subsequent overdoses. Peer support specialists (PSSs) offer an appealing strategy to engage overdose survivors and reduce overdose risk, but randomized controlled trials are needed to formalize peer-led interventions and evaluate their effectiveness.

Objective: This National Institute on Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network (CTN) study is a multisite, prospective, pilot randomized (1:1) controlled trial (CTN protocol 0107) that aims to evaluate the effectiveness of an emergency department (ED)-initiated, peer-delivered intervention tailored for opioid overdose survivors (Peer Intervention to Link Overdose survivors to Treatment [PILOT]), compared with treatment as usual (TAU).

Characterization of peer support services for substance use disorders in 11 US emergency departments in 2020: findings from a NIDA clinical trials network site selection process.

Introduction: Emergency departments (ED) are incorporating Peer Support Specialists (PSSs) to help with patient care for substance use disorders (SUDs). Despite rapid growth in this area, little is published regarding workflow, expectations of the peer role, and core components of the PSS intervention. This study describes these elements in a national sample of ED-based peer support intervention programs.

A study protocol for Project I-Test: a cluster randomized controlled trial of a practice coaching intervention to increase HIV testing in substance use treatment programs.

Background: People with substance use disorders are vulnerable to acquiring HIV. Testing is fundamental to diagnosis, treatment, and prevention; however, in the past decade, there has been a decline in the number of substance use disorder (SUD) treatment programs offering on-site HIV testing. Fewer than half of SUDs in the USA offer on-site HIV testing.

A study protocol for Project I-Test: a cluster randomized controlled trial of a practice coaching intervention to increase HIV testing in substance use treatment programs.

People with substance use disorders are vulnerable to acquiring HIV. Testing is fundamental to diagnosis, treatment, and prevention; however, in the past decade, there has been a decline in the number of substance use disorder (SUD) treatment programs offering on-site HIV testing. Fewer than half of SUDs in the United States offer on-site HIV testing.

Differential Effects of Patient Navigation across Latent Profiles of Barriers to Care among People Living with HIV and Comorbid Conditions.

Engaging people living with HIV who report substance use (PLWH-SU) in care is essential to HIV medical management and prevention of new HIV infections. Factors associated with poor engagement in HIV care include a combination of syndemic psychosocial factors, mental and physical comorbidities, and structural barriers to healthcare utilization. Patient navigation (PN) is designed to reduce barriers to care, but its effectiveness among PLWH-SU remains unclear.

Targeted Oral Naltrexone for Mild to Moderate Alcohol Use Disorder Among Sexual and Gender Minority Men: A Randomized Trial.

Objective: The authors sought to determine the efficacy of targeted naltrexone in sexual and gender minority men (SGM) who binge drink and have mild to moderate alcohol use disorder.

Methods: In a double-blind placebo-controlled trial, a total of 120 SGM who binge drink and have mild to moderate alcohol use disorder were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to receive targeted oral naltrexone (50 mg) or placebo with weekly counseling for 12 weeks. The study's primary endpoints were binge-drinking intensity, defined as 1) number of drinks in the past 30 days; 2) any binge drinking in the past week; 3) number of binge-drinking days in the past week; and 4) number of drinking days in the past week.

Australian pre-service primary teachers' knowledge, attitudes, and skills regarding stuttering.

Exploring Australian pre-service primary teachers' knowledge, attitudes, and classroom strategies regarding stuttering provides speech-language pathologists (SLPs) with information that can facilitate enhanced outcomes for school-aged children who stutter. In this exploratory descriptive cross-sectional study, 51 final-year Bachelor of Education (Primary) students enrolled at an Australian university completed an online survey about stuttering. Responses demonstrated positive and negative beliefs.

Cost of Hepatitis C care facilitation for HIV/Hepatitis C Co-infected people who use drugs.

Background: Using data from a randomized trial, we evaluated the cost of HCV care facilitation that supports moving along the continuum of care for HIV/HCV co-infected individuals with substance use disorder.

Methods: Participants were HIV patients residing in the community, initially recruited from eight US hospital sites. They received HCV care facilitation (n = 51) or treatment as usual (n = 62) for up to six months.

Care Facilitation Advances Movement Along the Hepatitis C Care Continuum for Persons With Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Hepatitis C, and Substance Use: A Randomized Clinical Trial (CTN-0064).

Background: Direct-acting antivirals can cure hepatitis C virus (HCV). Persons with HCV/HIV and living with substance use are disadvantaged in benefiting from advances in HCV treatment.

Methods: In this randomized controlled trial, participants with HCV/HIV were randomized between February 2016 and January 2017 to either care facilitation or control.

Pilot study of extended-release lorcaserin for cocaine use disorder among men who have sex with men: A double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial.

Objective: To determine if men who have sex with men (MSM) with cocaine use disorder (CUD) and actively-using cocaine could be enrolled and retained in a pharmacologic intervention trial of lorcaserin-a novel 5-HT2cR agonist-and determine the degree to which participants would adhere to study procedures.

Methods: This was a phase II randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study with 2:1 random parallel group assignment to daily extended-release oral lorcaserin 20 mg versus placebo (clinicaltrials.gov identifier-NCT03192995).

First draft genome assembly of the desert locust, .

: At the time of publication, the most devastating desert locust crisis in decades is affecting East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and South-West Asia. The situation is extremely alarming in East Africa, where Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia face an unprecedented threat to food security and livelihoods. Most of the time, however, locusts do not occur in swarms, but live as relatively harmless solitary insects.

Self-efficacy as a mediator of patient navigation interventions to engage persons living with HIV and substance use.

Background: People living with HIV who report substance use (PLWH-SU) face many barriers to care, resulting in an increased risk for poor health outcomes and the potential for ongoing disease transmission. This study evaluates the mechanisms by which Patient Navigation (PN) and Contingency Management (CM) interventions may work to address barriers to care and improve HIV outcomes in this population.

Methods: Mediation analysis was conducted using data from a randomized, multi-site trial testing PN interventions to improve HIV care outcomes among 801 hospitalized PLHW-SU.

Bridging the Digital Divide Among Racial and Ethnic Minority Men Who Have Sex With Men to Reduce Substance Use and HIV Risk: Mixed Methods Feasibility Study.

Background: Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) is a promising data collection tool for mobile health interventions targeting episodic health behaviors. For substance-using men who have sex with men (SUMSM), EMA is becoming more widely utilized in efforts to characterize substance use and sexual risk factors for HIV transmission. However, recent literature demonstrates emerging concerns over compliance and lower EMA engagement and data concordance among racial and ethnic minority SUMSM.

Effects of Mirtazapine for Methamphetamine Use Disorder Among Cisgender Men and Transgender Women Who Have Sex With Men: A Placebo-Controlled Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Methamphetamine use is increasingly prevalent and associated with HIV transmission. A previous phase 2a study of mirtazapine demonstrated reductions in methamphetamine use and sexual risk behaviors among men who have sex with men.

Objective: To determine the efficacy of mirtazapine for treatment of methamphetamine use disorder and reduction in HIV risk behaviors.

Evaluation of linear and non-linear activation dynamics models for insect muscle.

In computational modelling of sensory-motor control, the dynamics of muscle contraction is an important determinant of movement timing and joint stiffness. This is particularly so in animals with many slow muscles, as is the case in insects-many of which are important models for sensory-motor control. A muscle model is generally used to transform motoneuronal input into muscle force.

Enhancing patient navigation with contingent financial incentives for substance use abatement in persons with HIV and substance use.

Substance use can interfere with HIV treatment. A previous multisite clinical trial (Metsch et al., 2016) tested 2 behavioral interventions designed to improve treatment engagement in people with comorbid HIV and drug or heavy alcohol use.

Aimed limb movements in a hemimetabolous insect are intrinsically compensated for allometric wing growth by developmental mechanisms.

For aimed limb movements to remain functional, they must be adapted to developmental changes in body morphology and sensory-motor systems. Insects use their limbs to groom the body surface or to dislodge external stimuli, but they face the particular problem of adapting these movements to step-like changes in body morphology during metamorphosis or moulting. Locusts are hemimetabolous insects in which the imaginal moult to adulthood results in a sudden and dramatic allometric growth of the wings relative to the body and the legs.

Randomized feasibility trial of directly observed versus unobserved hepatitis C treatment with ledipasvir-sofosbuvir among people who inject drugs.

Aims: The advent of direct-acting antivirals for hepatitis C virus (HCV) and limited effectiveness of prevention have generated interest in "Treatment as Prevention" (TasP), in which those most likely to transmit HCV (i.e. people who inject drugs [PWID]) are treated to reduced secondary transmission.

Perceived Causes of Personal versus Witnessed Overdoses among People who Inject Opioids.

Studies show that people who inject drugs (PWID) underestimate their overdose risk. We sought to explore this phenomenon by comparing how PWID perceive causes of personal overdoses compared to witnessed overdoses. We analyzed 40 interviews from participants enrolled in a randomized-controlled behavioral intervention to reduce overdose among at-risk PWID in San Francisco from 2014 to 2016.

Acceptability of pharmacotherapy for hazardous alcohol use among men who have sex with men: Findings from a qualitative study.

Introduction: Men who have sex with men (MSM) experience high rates of binge drinking, alcohol use disorder (AUD), and alcohol-related health issues. Pharmacotherapy for AUD can reduce hazardous drinking, yet remains underutilized among MSM. This qualitative study examined knowledge and perceptions regarding AUD medications among MSM, with an emphasis on naltrexone.

How patient navigators view the use of financial incentives to influence study involvement, substance use, and HIV treatment.

Background And Aims: While patient navigation has been shown to be an effective approach for linking persons to HIV care, and contingency management is effective at improving substance use-related outcomes, Project HOPE combined these two interventions in a novel way to engage HIV-positive patients with HIV and substance use treatment. The aims of this paper are to examine patient navigator views regarding how contingency management interacted with and affected their navigation process.

Design: Semi-structured qualitative interviews.

Enhancing Patient Navigation with Contingent Incentives to Improve Healthcare Behaviors and Viral Load Suppression of Persons with HIV and Substance Use.

This secondary analysis compares health behavior outcomes for two groups of HIV+ substance users randomized in a 3-arm trial [1] to receive Patient Navigation with (PN+CM) or without (PN) contingent financial incentives (CM). Mean age of participants was 45 years; the majority was male (67%), African American (78%), unemployed (35%), or disabled (50%). Behaviors incentivized for PN+CM were (1) attendance at HIV care visits and (2) verification of an active HIV medication prescription.