Episodic future thinking (EFT), an exercise that involves cognitive simulation of future events, has demonstrated proximal effects on alcohol demand and delayed reward discounting (DRD). However, few ...studies have investigated EFT's potential to reduce alcohol use and increase positive behaviors outside of the laboratory. This study is the first to pilot an academic goal-relevant EFT (A-EFT) intervention for heavy drinking college students. The primary goals were to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of A-EFT in this population. A secondary goal was to evaluate between- and within-condition changes from baseline to post-intervention and 1-month assessments. Participants were 45 undergraduates (73% women, 53% White, 27% Black) who reported at least two past-month heavy drinking episodes (4/5 drinks for women/men). Participants were randomized to a brief in-person A-EFT intervention or to a vivid memory task (VMT) control. In support of feasibility and acceptability, recruitment and retention rates were over 80% and participants rated the A-EFT intervention as enjoyable, personally relevant, and interesting. In support of initial efficacy, participants assigned to A-EFT increased the amount of time spent studying compared to controls (d = 1.16) at 1-month assessment. Participants in the A-EFT group reported moderate effect size reductions in alcohol consumption, and a similar size increase in protective drinking strategies. Demand intensity decreased moderately at post-intervention for participants in the A-EFT condition but there was little change in DRD. The current study provides support for the feasibility and acceptability of an academic goal-relevant EFT intervention and for further research to establish treatment efficacy.
Public Health Significance
The current study provides initial support for the feasibility and acceptability of an academic goal-relevant episodic future thinking intervention. Future research should further examine the potential efficacy of episodic future thinking as either a stand-alone intervention or as an element of a more comprehensive brief alcohol intervention approach.
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CEKLJ, FFLJ, NUK, ODKLJ, PEFLJ, UPUK
We report the influence of an Al2O3 shell on the photoluminescence emission of ZnO nanowires. At room temperature, the spectrum of the core-shell nanowires shows a strong reduction of the relative ...intensity of the green defect emission with respect to the near-band-edge emission. At 5 K an increase of the relative intensity of the surface exciton band with respect to the donor-bound exciton emission is observed. Annealing the core-shell nanowires at 500 deg C does not increase the green defect luminescence at 5 K. We propose a model explaining the spectral changes.
Slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE) is the most common hip disorder in adolescents, occurring in 10.8 per 100,000 children. SCFE usually occurs in those eight to 15 years of age and is one of ...the most commonly missed diagnoses in children. SCFE is classified as stable or unstable based on the stability of the physis. It is associated with obesity, growth spurts, and (occasionally) endocrine abnormalities such as hypothyroidism, growth hormone supplementation, hypogonadism, and panhypopituitarism. Patients with SCFE usually present with limping and poorly localized pain in the hip, groin, thigh, or knee. Diagnosis is confirmed by bilateral hip radiography, which should include anteroposterior and frog-leg views in patients with stable SCFE, and anteroposterior and cross-table lateral views in unstable SCFE. The goals of treatment are to prevent slip progression and avoid complications such as avascular necrosis, chondrolysis, and femoroacetabular impingement. Stable SCFE is usually treated using in situ screw fixation. Treatment of unstable SCFE also usually involves in situ fixation, but there is controversy about timing of surgery and the value of reduction. Postoperative rehabilitation of patients with SCFE may follow a five-phase protocol.
•Incubation effect of GaN at 1030, 515 and 343 nm.•Micromachining threshold fluence of GaN.•Fs-laser micromachining of GaN.
This paper presents a study on the incubation effect during fs-laser ...micromachining of gallium nitride films with three different wavelengths (1030, 515 and 343 nm) by varying the number of laser pulses applied per sample surface area and measuring the damage threshold fluence using the zero damage method. As we implemented the exponential defect accumulation model to the experimental incubation data, we determined the value of the incubation parameter of (0.02 ± 0.01) for 1030 nm, (0.07 ± 0.01) for 515 nm and (0.4 ± 0.1) for 343 nm. This shows that for excitation in the green and infrared spectral region, GaN requires approximately 100 overlapping pulses in order for the incubation to take place while, for ultraviolet excitation, the incubation was achieved faster, with the overlap of about 10 pulses. Furthermore, we compared our data for the single pulse damage threshold with a theoretical model that takes into account multiphoton and avalanche ionization. Our results indicate that at 343 nm and 515 nm, micromachining is dominated by multiphoton ionization, while at 1030 nm other effects, such as tunneling ionization, must also be contributing. Finally, we believe this paper brings relevant information on the fs-laser micromachining of GaN.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
We report the influence of an Al(2)O(3) shell on the photoluminescence emission of ZnO nanowires. At room temperature, the spectrum of the core-shell nanowires shows a strong reduction of the ...relative intensity of the green defect emission with respect to the near-band-edge emission. At 5 K an increase of the relative intensity of the surface exciton band with respect to the donor-bound exciton emission is observed. Annealing the core-shell nanowires at 500 °C does not increase the green defect luminescence at 5 K. We propose a model explaining the spectral changes.
Semiconductors thin films are the foundation of modern technology. While the nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of bulk semiconductors have been systematically studied in the last three decades, it ...is still a great challenge to obtain them for semiconductors thin films, as the high laser irradiance in NLO experiments tends to irreversibly damage the thin films. In addition, tuning the NLO response of semiconductor thin films by alloying and doping has not been explored yet. Here, we study the influence of the Aluminum content in AlxGa1-xN thin films and the n-type doping concentration in GaN thin films on their two-photon absorption (2PA) coefficients. For this, we investigate five different GaN-based thin films: an unintentionally doped one with no Al as a reference, two n-type doped GaN films with distinct concentrations of silicon impurities, and two AlxGa1-xN alloys with an aluminum content of 5.5% and 9.0%, respectively. The femtosecond 2PA spectra reveal that doping impurities reduce the non-linear coefficients (∼10%), while alloying with Al enhances the 2PA coefficient up to 30%. We use the model of Brandi and Araujo to determine Kane’s energy parameter related to the transition matrix element for each sample and compare them with recent theoretical studies based on the k·p theory where an excellent agreement is found.
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•GaN and AlxGa1-xN thin films were epitaxially grown.•2PA spectra were obtained from the femtosecond Z-scan technique.•2PA coefficient increases up to 30% for the alloy Al0.09Ga0.91N as compared to the pure GaN.•2PA coefficient decreases between 10 and 20% for the incorporation of Si impurities.•Kane’s energy parameter was obtained from the fitting of the 2PA experimental data.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Abstract Background We sought to define the frequency of falls in early PD and assess potential risk factors for falls in this population. Methods We analyzed the data from two randomized, placebo ...controlled trials (NET-PD FS1 and FS-TOO) of 413 individuals with early PD over 18 months of follow-up in FS1 and 12 months in FS-TOO. Falls were defined as any report of falls on the UPDRS or the adverse event log. We assessed the frequency of falls overall and by age. The relationship between prespecified fall risk markers and the probability of falling was assessed using logistic and multiple logistic regression. A hurdle Poisson model was used to jointly model the probability of remaining fall-free and the number of falls. Results During the follow-up period, 23% of participants fell, and 11% were habitual fallers. In a multiple logistic regression model, age, baseline UPDRS Falling score, and baseline PDQ-39 scores were associated with subsequent fall risk ( p < 0.001). Similarly, in a hurdle Poisson regression model, age, baseline UPDRS falling item, and baseline PDQ-39 were all significantly related to the probability of falling, but only UPDRS falling >0 was associated with the number of falls. Conclusion Falls are frequent and are associated with impaired quality of life, even in early PD. Current standard rating scales do not sufficiently explain future fall risk in the absence of a prior fall history. New assessment methods for falls and postural instability are required to better evaluate this important problem in clinical trials and clinical practice.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
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