Diagnosing Adolescent Substance Use and Co-Occurring Disorders Using the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs Quick Version-4.

Objective: Early identification of substance use during adolescence is imperative to reduce the risk of morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to determine the utility of the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs-Quick Version 4 (GAIN-Q4) at diagnosing substance use disorders (SUDs) in adolescents.

Methods: The GAIN-Q4 was developed from the GAIN-Quick Version 3 by adding items from the original measure (GAIN-I) to diagnose SUDs and provide level of care recommendations.

Narrative review: Revised Principles and Practice Recommendations for Adolescent Substance Use Treatment and Policy.

Objective: In 2014, the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse released the "Principles of Adolescent Substance Use Disorder Treatment," summarizing previously established evidence and outlining principles of effective assessment, treatment, and aftercare for substance use disorders (SUD).

Temporal Analysis of Effective Population Size and Mating System in a Social Wasp.

Highly social species are successful because they cooperate in obligately integrated societies. We examined temporal genetic variation in the eusocial wasp Vespula maculifrons to gain a greater understanding of evolution in highly social taxa. First, we wished to test if effective population sizes of eusocial species were relatively low due to the reproductive division of labor that characterizes eusocial taxa.

Allogeneic Umbilical Cord Blood Infusion for Adults with Ischemic Stroke: Clinical Outcomes from a Phase I Safety Study.

Stroke is a major cause of death and long-term disability, affecting one in six people worldwide. The only currently available approved pharmacological treatment for ischemic stroke is tissue plasminogen activator; however, relatively few patients are eligible for this therapy. We hypothesized that intravenous (IV) infusion of banked unrelated allogeneic umbilical cord blood (UCB) would improve functional outcomes in patients with ischemic stroke.

Applying community ecological theory to maximize productivity of cultivated biocrusts.

Degraded rangelands around the world may benefit from the reestablishment of lost biological soil crusts (biocrusts, soil surface cryptogamic-microbial communities). Cultivation of biocrust organisms is the first step in this process, and may benefit from harnessing species interactions. Species interactions are a dominant force structuring ecological communities.

Autologous Cord Blood Infusions Are Safe and Feasible in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Results of a Single-Center Phase I Open-Label Trial.

Despite advances in early diagnosis and behavioral therapies, more effective treatments for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are needed. We hypothesized that umbilical cord blood-derived cell therapies may have potential in alleviating ASD symptoms by modulating inflammatory processes in the brain. Accordingly, we conducted a phase I, open-label trial to assess the safety and feasibility of a single intravenous infusion of autologous umbilical cord blood, as well as sensitivity to change in several ASD assessment tools, to determine suitable endpoints for future trials.

Willingness to communicate organ donation intention.

Objective: The study tested an intervention exposing people who planned to donate organs to written information about communicating with family their intention to donate organs.

Design: A pretest posttest double-blind experiment compared participants given written information about communicating with family and basic organ donation information, with participants given written information about only basic organ donation information.

Sample: Participants included 109 adults who had not yet communicated their plans with family.

TNFerade Biologic: preclinical toxicology of a novel adenovector with a radiation-inducible promoter, carrying the human tumor necrosis factor alpha gene.

TNFerade Biologic (TNFerade) is a second-generation (E1-, E3-, and E4-deleted) replication-deficient adenovector carrying the transgene encoding for human tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha), regulated by the radiation-sensitive promoter Early Growth Response (Egr-1). We hypothesized that intratumoral injection of TNFerade followed by radiation would result in potentially therapeutic levels of TNFalpha with minimal toxicity. Three preclinical studies were conducted, the purpose of which was to characterize the toxicity and pharmacokinetics of TNFerade in conjunction with radiation in nude as well as immune-competent (Balb/c) mice.

Looking into anti-angiogenic gene therapies for disorders of the eye.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (DR) are the most common causes of visual impairment in the developed world. Because the key factor in AMD and DR is aberrant neovascularization in the retina (DR) or in the choroid (AMD), strategies to inhibit abnormal neovascularization represent a compelling therapeutic approach. Here we review various anti-angiogenic strategies for the treatment of ocular neovascular diseases with special emphasis on gene transfer as a way of achieving high, sustained concentrations of anti-angiogenic proteins in the back of the eye without concomitant systemic toxicity.