Improving Nitrogen Use Efficiency Through Overexpression of Alanine Aminotransferase in Rice, Wheat, and Barley.

Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for plants, but crop plants are inefficient in the acquisition and utilization of applied nitrogen. This often results in producers over applying nitrogen fertilizers, which can negatively impact the environment. The development of crop plants with more efficient nitrogen usage is, therefore, an important research goal in achieving greater agricultural sustainability.

Development of Decreased-Gluten Wheat Enabled by Determination of the Genetic Basis of Barley.

Celiac disease is the most common food-induced enteropathy in humans, with a prevalence of approximately 1% worldwide. It is induced by digestion-resistant, proline- and glutamine-rich seed storage proteins, collectively referred to as gluten, found in wheat (). Related prolamins are present in barley () and rye ().

Development and field performance of nitrogen use efficient rice lines for Africa.

Nitrogen (N) fertilizers are a major input cost in rice production, and its excess application leads to major environmental pollution. Development of rice varieties with improved nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) is essential for sustainable agriculture. Here, we report the results of field evaluations of marker-free transgenic NERICA4 (New Rice for Africa 4) rice lines overexpressing barley alanine amino transferase (HvAlaAT) under the control of a rice stress-inducible promoter (pOsAnt1).

"Talk with me": perspectives on services for men with problem gambling and housing instability.

Background: Problem gambling and homelessness are recognized as important public health concerns that significantly impact individuals, their friends and families, communities and broader society. We aimed to explore the experiences with health and social services of men who had histories of problem gambling and housing instability in Toronto, Ontario.

Methods: We used a community-based participatory approach with a multi-service agency serving low-income individuals.

Using LC-MS Based Methods for Testing the Digestibility of a Nonpurified Transgenic Membrane Protein in Simulated Gastric Fluid.

The digestibility of a nonpurified transgenic membrane protein was determined in pepsin, as part of the food safety evaluation of its resistance to digestion and allergenic potential. Delta-6-desaturase from Saprolegnia diclina, a transmembrane protein expressed in safflower for the production of gamma linolenic acid in the seed, could not be obtained in a pure, native form as normally required for this assay. As a novel approach, the endoplasmic reticulum isolated from immature seeds was digested in simulated gastric fluid (SGF) and the degradation of delta-6-desaturase was selectively followed by SDS-PAGE and targeted LC-MS/MS quantification using stable isotope-labeled peptides as internal standards.

Gamblers Anonymous as a Recovery Pathway: A Scoping Review.

Given the preponderance of Gamblers Anonymous (GA), there has been relatively little effort to explore the existing evidence base on its effectiveness as a recovery approach for problem gambling. To remedy this gap in the literature we conducted a scoping review of the literature on mutual aid for individuals experiencing problem gambling published between 2002 and 2015. We searched 13 databases and reviewed reference lists and websites of relevant organizations.

Continuing education to go: capacity building in psychotherapies for front-line mental health workers in underserviced communities.

Objective: To address the gaps between need and access, and between treatment guidelines and their implementation for mental illness, through capacity building of front-line health workers.

Methods: Following a learning needs assessment, work-based continuing education courses in evidence-supported psychotherapies were developed for front-line workers in underserviced community settings. The 5-hour courses on the fundamentals of cognitive-behavioural therapy, interpersonal psychotherapy, motivational interviewing, and dialectical behaviour therapy each included videotaped captioned simulations, interactive lesson plans, and clinical practice behaviour reminders.

Illicit drug use and problem gambling.

Problem gambling, substance use disorders, and their cooccurrence are serious public health concerns. We conducted a comprehensive review of the literature to understand the present state of the evidence on these coaddictions. Our main focus was illicit drug use rather than misuse of legal substances.

Development of high amylose wheat through TILLING.

Background: Wheat (Triticum spp.) is an important source of food worldwide and the focus of considerable efforts to identify new combinations of genetic diversity for crop improvement. In particular, wheat starch composition is a major target for changes that could benefit human health.

Negotiating the Relationship Between Addiction, Ethics, and Brain Science.

Advances in neuroscience are changing how mental health issues such as addiction are understood and addressed as a brain disease. Although a brain disease model legitimizes addiction as a medical condition, it promotes neuro-essentialist thinking, categorical ideas of responsibility and free choice, and undermines the complexity involved in its emergence. We propose a 'biopsychosocial systems' model where psycho-social factors complement and interact with neurogenetics.

Chromatographic and Spectral Analysis of Two Main Extractable Compounds Present in Aqueous Extracts of Laminated Aluminum Foil Used for Protecting LDPE-Filled Drug Vials.

Laminated aluminum foils are increasingly being used to protect drug products packaged in semipermeable containers (e.g., low-density polyethylene (LDPE)) from degradation and/or evaporation.

Changing spousal roles and their effect on recovery in gamblers anonymous: GamAnon, social support, wives and husbands.

This paper examines changing spousal roles and their effects upon recovery in Gamblers Anonymous (GA). It is based upon a qualitative study designed to gage uniformity as well as variations in approaches to recovery in GA. Interviews were conducted with 39 GA members (26 men, 13 women; mean age 56.

Chiral HPLC analysis of formoterol stereoisomers and thermodynamic study of their interconversion in aqueous pharmaceutical formulations.

A chiral HPLC method was validated and successfully applied for the determination of formoterol stereoisomers and their inversion products in an aqueous matrix stored at 5-70 degrees C up to 3 weeks. Analysis was performed on a Chiral-AGP column (100 x 4-mm, 5-microm) using a variable mixture of mobile phase A (50-mM sodium phosphate buffer, pH 7.0) and B (10% v/v IPA) at a flow rate of 1.

Randomized control trial of an integrated therapy for comorbid anger and gambling.

This study evaluated an integrated treatment for comorbid problem gambling, anger, and substance use. Problem gamblers with comorbid anger problems (N=42), half of whom also had substance use disorders, were randomized to either a 14-week integrated treatment targeting anger and addictions (i.e.

"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference": reflection techniques for addiction psychiatry training.

Objective: The authors aim to incorporate educational reflection techniques in an addiction psychiatry postgraduate core rotation in order to increase critical self-awareness of attitudes, values, and beliefs related to working with people with substance use and other addictive disorders.

Methods: Reflection discussion times, reflection journaling, and mandatory end-of-rotation reflection papers were embedded into a core addiction psychiatry postgraduate training block. Qualitative analysis of 28 reflection papers was performed to determine key factors and constructs that impacted on the development of attitudes and professionalism.

Problem gambling and intimate partner violence.

This study examined the prevalence and severity of intimate partner violence (IPV) among 248 problem gamblers (43 women, 205 men) recruited from newspaper advertisements. The main outcome measures used were the Canadian Problem Gambling Index, the Conflicts Tactics Scale-2, the State Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2, the drug and alcohol section of the Addiction Severity Index and the substance use section of the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV. In this sample, 62.

Minimal treatment approaches for concerned significant others of problem gamblers: a randomized controlled trial.

The goal of this study was to examine the efficacy of minimal treatment interventions for concerned significant others (CSOs) of problem gamblers. One hundred and eighty-six participants (82% females, 56% spouses) were randomly assigned to one of three groups: the first minimal intervention group received a self-help workbook [based on behavioral principles, modified from the Community Reinforcement and Family Therapy (CRAFT) model] and the second minimal intervention group received the workbook plus telephone support. The control condition received a treatment resource information package.

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Concurrent Disorders Screener.

Objectives: To review the characteristics of psychiatric screening tools currently available in addiction treatment services for rapid assessment of comorbid pathology and to introduce the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health Concurrent Disorders Screener (CAMH-CDS), a computer-administered questionnaire that screens for the occurrence of 11 Axis I disorders plus all substance use disorders, as well as for a history of conduct disorder.

Methods: We describe the structure, contents, and application of the CAMH-CDS. We undertook a sensitivity and specificity trial involving 171 subjects, a test-retest reliability study with 301 participants, and an open-label concordance study with 656 respondents.

Large-volume injection gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for automated broad-spectrum drug screening in horse urine.

A rapid, sensitive, and rugged method for detecting drugs and drug metabolites in extracts of horse urine is described. The use of large-volume injection (LVI) gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for analysis of horse urine extracts allowed automation of the derivatization procedure and reduction of the sample volume from 5 mL to 1 mL of urine. An autosampler and temperature-programmable inlet were used to automatically dissolve the sample extract and form trimethylsilyl derivatives of over 200 analytes.

Patterns of substance use in treatment-seeking problem gamblers: impact on treatment outcomes.

Accumulating evidence suggests that treatment-seeking problem gamblers have high rates of substance abuse. However, relatively little is known about the relation between gambling problems and specific psychoactive substances apart from alcohol and methadone-treated opiate addicts. In this study of 169 individuals seeking outpatient treatment for problem gambling, lifetime drug use and medication use were very high.