Specific, Measurable, Action-Oriented, Realistic, and Timed Goals and the Personal Health Inventory in a Wellness Group for Veterans With GWI.

Background: Interventions based on the Veterans Health Administration's (VHA) Whole Health (WH) initiative may be beneficial for veterans with Gulf War Illness (GWI) through specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic, and timed (SMART) goal setting and monitoring of perceived goal attainment with the Personal Health Inventory (PHI).

Objectives: This secondary analysis of 2 randomized controlled trials focused on (1) categorizing SMART goals set during a wellness intervention based on the VHA's WH approach to identify goals most relevant for veterans with GWI and chronic pain and (2) descriptively examining the PHI over a course of treatment to assess its preliminary sensitivity to change. Also, changes in PHI for those who engaged in the intervention in-person versus remotely were compared.

Protocol for remote Tai Chi and wellness for PTSD and pain in veterans.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating psychological disorder that is associated with a host of psychosocial and health ailments, including chronic pain. Although evidence-based psychological therapies are recommended as first-line PTSD treatments, a large proportion of individuals either drop out and/or do not achieve a therapeutic response. PTSD is increasingly recognized as a systemic disorder that impacts both physical and mental health, and mind-body approaches, such as Tai Chi, have shown promise.

Assessment of the application of selected metal-organic frameworks as advanced sorbents in passive extraction used in the monitoring of contaminants of emerging concern in surface waters.

Water pollution has become a critical global concern requiring effective monitoring techniques and robust protection strategies. Contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) are increasingly detected in various water sources, with their harmful effects on humans and ecosystems continually evolving. Based on literature reports highlighting the promising sorption properties of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), the aim of this study was to evaluate the suitability of NH-MIL-125 (Ti) and UiO-66 (Ce) as sorbents in passive sampling devices (MOFs-PSDs) for the collection and extraction of a wide group of CECs.

Approximation method for fast calculation of transmission in multi-mode waveguides.

Freeform dielectric waveguides connect optical chips made of different materials in fully integrated photonic devices. With a spatial extent in the order of 100 µm, they constitute a computational challenge and make Maxwell full-wave solvers unhandy for the accelerated design. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to have tools that permit the fast prediction of waveguide loss to enable the rapid optimization of waveguide trajectories.

Reusable passive sampler with carbon nanotubes for monitoring contaminants in wastewater: Application, regeneration and reuse.

Progress in excogitation suitable strategies for monitoring chemical compounds in wastewater is an essential step for further research into the occurrence, impact, and fate of the pollutants in the aquatic environment. At present, it is desirable to advance and use economical, environmentally friendly and non-labour intensive methods of environmental analysis. In this study, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were successfully applied, regenerated, and reused as a sorbent in passive samplers for monitoring contaminants in treated and untreated wastewater at three wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) located in different urbanization areas in northern Poland.

Transformation-optics modeling of 3D-printed freeform waveguides.

Multi-photon lithography allows us to complement planar photonic integrated circuits (PIC) by in-situ 3D-printed freeform waveguide structures. However, design and optimization of such freeform waveguides using time-domain Maxwell's equations solvers often requires comparatively large computational volumes, within which the structure of interest only occupies a small fraction, thus leading to poor computational efficiency. In this paper, we present a solver-independent transformation-optics-(TO-) based technique that allows to greatly reduce the computational effort related to modeling of 3D freeform waveguides.

Ionic liquid-based functionalized materials for analytical chemistry.

Inherent in the use of almost any analytical technique is the need to improve the separation efficiency and extract purity. One possibility for enhancing analytical methods is the application of substances / materials that functionalize components of the separation system. They interact with the material to be modified, either permanently or temporarily.

Carbon nanotube-passive samplers as novel tools for sampling and determining micropollutants in the aquatic environment.

Passive sampling is an interesting and cost-effective strategy for the quantification of micropollutants in the aquatic environment. When combined especially with a sensitive analytical method such as liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), the use of passive sampling devices (PSDs) enables long-term and reliable determination of a wide range of chemicals. In this study, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were used as an innovative sorbent in POCIS-like samplers (Polar Organic Chemical Integrative Sampler).

Co-occurrence of adult abuse and child abuse: analysis of the phenomenon.

Background: The purpose of this study was to analyze the co-occurrence of adult and child abuse based on the reports collected from the Polish police and social welfare institutions.

Methods: The study involved data concerning 468 households in Szczecin (Poland) inhabited by children where acts of violence between adults took place. The presented data refer to the years 2012-2103.

Impact of environmental factors on the sampling rate of β-blockers and sulfonamides from water by a carbon nanotube-passive sampler.

Passive techniques are a constantly evolving approach to the long-term monitoring of micropollutants, including pharmaceuticals, in the aquatic environment. This paper presents, for the first time, the calibration results of a new CNTs-PSDs (carbon nanotubes used as a sorbent in passive sampling devices) with an examination of the effect of donor phase salinity, water pH and the concentration of dissolved humic acids (DHAs), using both ultrapure and environmental waters. Sampling rates (R) were determined for the developed kinetic samplers.

Stabilisation of tri-valent ions with a vacant coordination site at a corrole-metal interface.

By exploiting an established on-surface metallation strategy, we address the ability of the corrolic macrocycle to stabilise transition metal ions in high-valent (III) oxidation states in metal-supported molecular layers. This approach offers a route to engineer adsorbed metal complexes that cannot be easily fabricated by organic synthesis methods and bear a vacant axial coordination site for catalytic conversions.

Anti-inflammatory drugs in the Vistula River following the failure of the Warsaw sewage collection system in 2019.

At the end of August 2019, in Warsaw, the sewage collection system of the Wastewater Treatment Plant malfunctioned. During the subsequent 12 days, over 3.6 million m of untreated sewage was introduced from the damaged collector directly into the Vistula River.

How thermal stability of ionic liquids leads to more efficient TiO-based nanophotocatalysts: Theoretical and experimental studies.

Ionic liquids (ILs) containing distinct nitrogen-bearing organic cations (pyridinium, pyrrolidinium, imidazolium, ammonium, morpholinium) were first used for the preparation of 23 IL-TiO types of composites by ionic liquid assisted solvothermal synthesis. These 23 optimal ILs structures (i.e.

Application of the Polar Organic Chemical Integrative Sampler for Isolation of Environmental Micropollutants - A Review.

Aquatic passive samplers have been extensively tested and deployed in the field over the past two decades. Among these devices is relatively recently developed the Polar Organic Chemical Integrative Sampler (POCIS) for isolation of hydrophilic organic micropollutants in aquatic environment. The use of POCIS allows the measurement of low and fluctuating trace concentrations of such micropollutants, which is often troublesome using classical sampling.

On-Surface Activation of Trimethylsilyl-Terminated Alkynes on Coinage Metal Surfaces.

The controlled attachment of protecting groups combined with the ability to selectively abstract them is central to organic synthesis. The trimethylsilyl (TMS) functional group is a popular protecting group in solution. However, insights on its activation behavior under ultra-high vacuum (UHV) and surface-confined conditions are scarce.

Quantum Tunneling Mediated Interfacial Synthesis of a Benzofuran Derivative.

Reaction pathways involving quantum tunneling of protons are fundamental to chemistry and biology. They are responsible for essential aspects of interstellar synthesis, the degradation and isomerization of compounds, enzymatic activity, and protein dynamics. On-surface conditions have been demonstrated to open alternative routes for organic synthesis, often with intricate transformations not accessible in solution.

Impact of Tetrazolium Ionic Liquid Thermal Decomposition in Solvothermal Reaction on the Remarkable Photocatalytic Properties of TiO Particles.

Ionic liquids (ILs) could serve as a structuring agent, a solvent, or a source of dopant during solvothermal synthesis of semiconductors particles. To understand the role of IL during formation of TiO particles, it is necessary to study the stability of this IL in solvothermal synthesis conditions, as well as studying the surface properties of formed TiO particles. In view of this, the effect of the 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride IL ([TPTZ][Cl]) thermal decomposition during the solvothermal reaction and IL content in the reaction system on photoactivity of TiO microparticles has been systematically investigated.

Local adsorption structure and bonding of porphine on Cu(111) before and after self-metalation.

We have experimentally determined the lateral registry and geometric structure of free-base porphine (2H-P) and copper-metalated porphine (Cu-P) adsorbed on Cu(111), by means of energy-scanned photoelectron diffraction (PhD), and compared the experimental results to density functional theory (DFT) calculations that included van der Waals corrections within the Tkatchenko-Scheffler approach. Both 2H-P and Cu-P adsorb with their center above a surface bridge site. Consistency is obtained between the experimental and DFT-predicted structural models, with a characteristic change in the corrugation of the four N atoms of the molecule's macrocycle following metalation.

Psychosocial aspects of participation of the Polish Armed Forces in combat missions.

Objectives: The military service of Polish soldiers on missions abroad began in 1953. Many years of experience of the Polish army as well as the armed forces of other countries show that being in a mission area has a significant impact on soldiers' mental health. Soldiers experience problems with anxiety disorders, depression and posttraumatic stress, which is associated with a difficult return to family life.

Unraveling the Oxidation and Spin State of Mn-Corrole through X-ray Spectroscopy and Quantum Chemical Analysis.

The interplay between Mn ions and corrole ligands gives rise to complex scenarios regarding the metal centers' electronic properties expressing a range of high oxidation states and spin configurations. The resulting potential of Mn-corroles for applications such as catalysts or fuel cells has recently been demonstrated. However, despite being crucial for their functionality, the electronic structure of Mn-corroles is often hardly accessible with traditional techniques and thus is still under debate, especially under interfacial conditions.

Helical Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes as an Efficient Material for the Dispersive Solid-Phase Extraction of Low and High Molecular Weight Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons from Water Samples: Theoretical Study.

The differences in effectiveness of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as the dispersive solid-phase extraction (dSPE) sorbent for the selective extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were explained on the basis of theoretical study. It was observed that for low molecular weight PAHs, the recoveries using non-helical and helical MWCNTs were similar. In contrary, for PAHs containing five or more aromatic rings, the extraction efficiency was higher using HMWCNTs than for non-helical ones.

The analysis of the phenomenon of violence in psychiatric patients.

Objectives: Domestic violence is a phenomenon stemming from various social issues. One of such issues, which arouses much interest, is the behavior of psychiatric patients using violence in their family. The aim of the following work was the analysis of the phenomenon of violence with reference to perpetrators-psychiatric patients from the Szczecin area in the years 2012-2013.

Device-Compatible Chiroptical Surfaces through Self-Assembly of Enantiopure Allenes.

Chiroptical methods have been proven to be superior compared to their achiral counterparts for the structural elucidation of many compounds. To expand the use of chiroptical systems to everyday applications, the development of functional materials exhibiting intense chiroptical responses is essential. Particularly, tailored and robust interfaces compatible with standard device operation conditions are required.

Preliminary evaluation of the application of carbon nanotubes as potential adsorbents for the elimination of selected anticancer drugs from water matrices.

The presence of anticancer drugs in the environment raises a major concern due to their potentially negative impact on living organisms, as they cause, inter alia, teratogenic, mutagenic, carcinogenic effects on growing cells. The main source of these pharmaceuticals in the environment is the ineffectively treated wastewaters, hence the efficient methods for their removal are required. In this study, we have evaluated for the first time the applicability of different Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNTs) as alternative adsorbents for the removal of three popular anticancer drugs from water matrices, which are detected in waste/hospital waters at the concentrations even up to μg L: cyclophosphamide (CP), ifosfamide (IF) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU).