ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Despite previous evidence supporting the use of the Cigarette Purchase Task (CPT) as a valid tool for assessing smoking reinforcement, research assessing how environmental changes affect CPT performance is scarce. AIMS: This study addressed for the first time the differential effect of treatment condition [Cognitive Behavioral Treatment (CBT)â¯+â¯Behavioral Activation (BA) versus CBTâ¯+â¯BAâ¯+â¯Contingency Management (CM)] on cigarette demand among treatment seeking smokers with depressive symptoms. It also sought to assess whether reductions in smoking consumption arranged over the course of an intervention for smoking cessation impact on in-treatment cigarette demand. METHOD: Participants were 92 smokers with depressive symptoms from a randomized clinical trial that received eight weeks of either CBTâ¯+â¯BA or CBTâ¯+â¯BAâ¯+â¯CM. Individuals completed the CPT 8 times; the first during the intake visit and the remaining 7 scheduled once a week in midweek sessions. Cotinine samples were collected in each session. RESULTS: Participants receiving CBTâ¯+â¯BA + CM showed higher reduction in cigarette demand across sessions than participants receiving CBTâ¯+â¯BA, although this comparison was only significant for the intensity index (pâ¯=â¯.004). Cotinine was positively related to cigarette demand (all p valuesâ¯<â¯.001), although this association became less prominent across sessions. In-treatment cotinine decreases were associated with demand reductions (all p valuesâ¯<â¯.001), but this association was not significant for elasticity. CONCLUSIONS: Reductions in nicotine intake arranged over the course of an intervention for smoking cessation impact in-treatment cigarette demand.
Subject(s)
Behavior Therapy/methods , Cognitive Behavioral Therapy/methods , Depressive Disorder/epidemiology , Depressive Disorder/therapy , Patient Acceptance of Health Care/statistics & numerical data , Smoking Cessation/methods , Smoking/epidemiology , Adult , Combined Modality Therapy , Cotinine/blood , Depressive Disorder/psychology , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Motivation , Reinforcement, Psychology , Smoking/psychology , Social Environment , SpainABSTRACT
It is known that expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) as an astrocyte-specific marker can be regulated by levels of circulating gonadal steroids during postnatal development. In addition, astrocytes play an important role in the physiology of the hippocampus, a brain region considered sexually dimorphic at the neuronal level in rodents. To evaluate the contribution of glial cells to gender-related differences in the hippocampus, we estimated the number of GFAP-immunoreactive (GFAP-IR) astrocytes in the hippocampus (CA1 and CA3 areas, dorsal and ventral regions) of male and female rats aged 30 days. Groups of 30-day-old masculinized females (TP-females; injected with testosterone propionate at birth) and feminized males (FLU-males, castrated and treated with flutamide, an androgen receptor antagonist) were included to assess the effects of gonadal hormones on these hippocampal astrocytes. Using the optical fractionator method, the total number of GFAP-IR cells found in CA1 and CA3 areas was significantly higher in males compared to that in age-matched females. This numerical pattern was reversed in TP-females and FLU-males in both hippocampal areas. In addition, more GFAP-IR cells were found in dorsal hippocampus than in the ventral region in the CA1 area from all experimental groups, whereas this result was found in the CA3 area from males and TP-females. Our results suggest an essential contribution of gonadal hormones to gender differences found in the astrocyte population of the rat hippocampus during development.
Subject(s)
Astrocytes/drug effects , Gene Expression Regulation/drug effects , Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein/metabolism , Gonadal Steroid Hormones/pharmacology , Hippocampus/cytology , Analysis of Variance , Animals , Astrocytes/metabolism , Cell Count/methods , Cell Size , Female , Immunohistochemistry/methods , Male , Rats , Rats, Wistar , Sex Factors , Staining and Labeling/methods , Stereotaxic TechniquesABSTRACT
Objetivo: Conocer la prevalencia y el patrón de consumo de tabaco en los profesionales de la sanidad en el Principado de Asturias, así como las actitudes y la predisposición de dicha población para la colaboración en la puesta en marcha de estrategias orientadas a la reducción del uso de tabaco. Material y métodos: Estudio transversal mediante encuesta autoaplicada. Participaron 582 sujetos pertenecientes al personal sanitario del Principado de Asturias (Atención Primaria, Atención Especializada y Salud Mental). Se seleccionaron aleatoriamente mediante un diseño muestral de conglomerados bietápico. Resultados: El 31,83 por ciento de los participantes se declara fumador (28 por ciento de los médicos y 36,2 por ciento del personal de enfermería). La media de cigarrillos consumidos diariamente en el centro de trabajo es de 5,46. El 53,1 por ciento de los fumadores estaría dispuesto a seguir un tratamiento o recibir ayuda para abandonar el hábito. Conclusiones: Los datos son similares a los encontrados en otros trabajos que tienen los mismos grupos de referencia. En general, la población estudiada manifiesta una buena disposición a participar en programas para dejar de fumar (AU)
Subject(s)
Adult , Female , Male , Middle Aged , Humans , Tobacco Use Disorder/epidemiology , Attitude of Health Personnel , Tobacco Use Cessation/methods , Cross-Sectional StudiesABSTRACT
El objetivo de este estudio es analizar la situación del consumo de drogas de síntesis entre la población juvenil del Principado de Asturias, así como identificar las variables relacionadas con el uso de estas sustancias. La muestra se compuso de 1597 estudiantes de educación secundaria de esta Comunidad. Los resultados señalan que el 8% de los jóvenes encuestados había consumido drogas de diseño alguna vez, el 7% había consumido a lo largo del último año y el 4,7% en los últimos 30 días. La prevalencia aumenta con la edad y los hombres consumen más que las mujeres. Las variables relacionadas con el consumo son, entre otras, pobre rendimiento académico, actitudes tolerantes hacia las drogas, vivir solo con uno de los padres, tener mala relación con la familia y consumo de drogas de los amigos y la familia. Estos resultados indican un crecimiento importante del consumo de estas sustancias en Asturias y apuntan la necesidad de la puesta en marcha de estrategias que frenen este incremento entre la población juvenil (AU)
The objective of this study is to analyze the situation of designer drug use in young people in Asturias (northern Spain), and to identify the variables related to the consumption of these substances. The sample was made up of 1597 students from secondary schools in this Autonomous Region. Results show that 8% of the young people interviewed had consumed designer drugs at some time, 7% had taken them during the previous year and 4.7% had used them during the previous 30 days. Prevalence of use increased with age, and males consumed more than females. Variables related to consumption are, among others, poor academic performance, tolerant attitudes towards drugs, living with only one parent, strained relations with family, and drug use by friends and family members. These results point to considerable growth in consumption of these substances among the adolescent population in Asturias, and suggest the need for strategies to halt this increase (AU)
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Adolescent , Designer Drugs/adverse effects , Designer Drugs/analysis , Designer Drugs , Designer Drugs/poisoning , Designer Drugs/toxicity , Adolescent , Risk Factors , Substance-Related DisordersABSTRACT
The independence assumption, although reasonable when examining cross-sectional data using single-factor experimental designs, is seldom verified by investigators. A Monte Carlo type simulation experiment was designed to examine the relationship between true Types I and II error probabilities in six multiple comparison procedures. Various aspects, such as patterns of means, types of hypotheses, and degree of dependence of the observations, were taken into account. Results show that, if independence is violated, none of the procedures control a using the error rate per comparison. At the same time, as the correlation increases, so does the per-comparison power.
Subject(s)
Analysis of Variance , Psychometrics , Humans , Models, StatisticalABSTRACT
Protein synthesis activity in the hepatic lobes in control and end-to-side portacaval shunt rats was studied by assaying one of the argyrophilic components (Ag-NOR) of the hepatocytic nucleolus. The differences found in the area and number of Ag-NOR for each nucleus and in the percentage of Ag-NOR area to nucleus area in each hepatic lobe in control rats as well as in the end-to-side portacaval shunt rats suggest that there are interlobular differences in the control rats related to this parameter that are indicative of protein synthesis and cell proliferation. Furthermore, the changes that occur in these parameters after the deprivation of portal flow produced by an end-to-side portacaval shunt make it possible to hypothesize on the existence of a hepatic lobular functional heterogeneity in the rat liver.
