Abstract Craving, defined as the subjective experience of an urge or desire to use substances, has been identified in clinical, laboratory, and preclinical studies as a significant predictor of ...substance use, substance use disorder, and relapse following treatment for a substance use disorder. Various models of craving have been proposed from biological, cognitive, and/or affective perspectives, and, collectively, these models of craving have informed the research and treatment of addictive behaviors. In this article we discuss craving from a mindfulness perspective, and specifically how mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP) may be effective in reducing substance craving. We present secondary analyses of data from a randomized controlled trial that examined MBRP as an aftercare treatment for substance use disorders. In the primary analyses of the data from this trial, Bowen and colleagues (2009) found that individuals who received MBRP reported significantly lower levels of craving following treatment, in comparison to a treatment-as-usual control group, which mediated subsequent substance use outcomes. In the current study, we extend these findings to examine potential mechanisms by which MBRP might be associated with lower levels of craving. Results indicated that a latent factor representing scores on measures of acceptance, awareness, and nonjudgment significantly mediated the relation between receiving MBRP and self-reported levels of craving immediately following treatment. The mediation findings are consistent with the goals of MBRP and highlight the importance of interventions that increase acceptance and awareness, and help clients foster a nonjudgmental attitude toward their experience. Attending to these processes may target both the experience of and response to craving.
Nuclear receptors are a class of transcriptional factors. Together with their co-regulators, they regulate development, homeostasis, and metabolism in a ligand-dependent manner. Their ability to ...respond to environmental stimuli rapidly makes them versatile cellular components. Their coordinated activities regulate essential pathways in normal physiology and in disease. Due to their complexity, the challenge remains in understanding their direct associations in cancer development. Basal-like breast cancer is an aggressive form of breast cancer that often lacks ER, PR and Her2. The absence of these receptors limits the treatment for patients to the non-selective cytotoxic and cytostatic drugs. To identify potential drug targets it is essential to identify the most important nuclear receptor association network motifs in Basal-like subtype progression. This research aimed to reveal the transcriptional network patterns, in the hope to capture the underlying molecular state driving Basal-like oncogenesis. In this work, we illustrate a multidisciplinary approach of integrating an unsupervised machine learning clustering method with network modelling to reveal unique transcriptional patterns (network motifs) underlying Basal-like breast cancer. The unsupervised clustering method provides a natural stratification of breast cancer patients, revealing the underlying heterogeneity in Basal-like. Identification of gene correlation networks (GCNs) from Basal-like patients in both the TCGA and METABRIC databases revealed three critical transcriptional regulatory constellations that are enriched in Basal-like. These represent critical NR components implicated in Basal-like breast cancer transcription. This approach is easily adaptable and applicable to reveal critical signalling relationships in other diseases.
Unlike dream reports around the world, Chinese people's dreams seem to display more pleasant affect and content. In view of this cultural disparity, the present study examined whether the ...predominance of unpleasant dream content revealed by Western studies using the Dream Threat Scale and the Hall and Van de Castle (1966) coding system could be replicated in a sample of dreams reported by Chinese people. The sample consisted of 252 most recently recalled dreams and 228 diary dreams collected from 286 Chinese participants over 3 consecutive nights. The employment of the Hall and Van de Castle system in dream coding was supplemented with the Good Fortune Scale and a neuroscientific-based classification of emotions to equalize the numbers of positive and negative coding categories. The analysis confirmed the results of previous similar research in other countries of a negativity bias in dreaming but did not lend support to the theory of threat simulation as a primary function of dreaming. The inherent limitations of content analysis were discussed in light of the present findings and the Chinese personality characteristics.
Abstract Distress tolerance refers to the degree to which an individual is able to withstand negative psychological and/or physical states. Empirical literature has indicated that lower distress ...tolerance is associated with a number of negative alcohol and other drug (AOD) use outcomes and psychopathology. Mindfulness meditation focuses on enhancing affect regulation, and may be particularly beneficial for individuals with lower distress tolerance. This secondary analysis evaluated the basic psychometric properties of the Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS) in a clinical sample of individuals with AOD-use disorders and tested whether distress tolerance for negative psychological states moderated treatment effects on AOD outcomes in an initial efficacy trial of mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP). It was hypothesized that participants with lower distress tolerance would report fewer AOD use days over the 4-month follow-up if they received MBRP versus treatment as usual (TAU). Participants ( N = 168) in the parent RCT were recruited from a private, nonprofit agency providing inpatient and outpatient care for individuals with AOD-use disorders. Assessments of 60-day frequency of AOD use, as measured by the Timeline Followback, were conducted at baseline, immediately postintervention, and 2 months and 4 months following the intervention. Distress tolerance, as measured by the DTS, was assessed at baseline. Results indicated a one-factor solution, which is consistent with how the DTS has been implemented in other studies. As predicted, DTS was positively associated with all mindfulness subscales, suggesting its convergent validity in this clinical sample. Findings showed the hypothesized time × treatment × distress tolerance interaction, and thereby indicated that participants with lower distress tolerance who received MBRP treatment experienced a greater curvilinear decrease in AOD use days over time than those with lower distress tolerance who received TAU. However, the observed plateau effect suggests that these effects were not maintained at the 4-month follow-up. Findings suggest that distress tolerance is a clinically relevant client characteristic to consider in matching participants to aftercare treatment and that MBRP may be particularly helpful for individuals with lower distress tolerance.
In order to understand the molecular epidemiology of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Sri Lanka, since March 2020, we carried out genomic sequencing overlaid on ...available epidemiological data until April 2021.
Whole genome sequencing was carried out on diagnostic sputum or nasopharyngeal swabs from 373 patients with COVID-19. Molecular clock phylogenetic analysis was undertaken to further explore dominant lineages.
The B.1.411 lineage was most prevalent, which was established in Sri Lanka and caused outbreaks throughout the country until March 2021. The estimated time of the most recent common ancestor (tMRCA) of this lineage was June 1, 2020 (with 95% lower and upper bounds March 30 to July 27) suggesting cryptic transmission may have occurred, prior to a large epidemic starting in October 2020. Returning travellers were identified with infections caused by lineage B.1.258, as well as the more transmissible B.1.1.7 lineage, which has replaced B.1.411 to fuel the ongoing large outbreak in the country.
The large outbreak that started in early October, is due to spread of a single virus lineage, B.1.411 until the end of March 2021, when B.1.1.7 emerged and became the dominant lineage.
Abstract Theory and empirical evidence suggest that North American-based measures of self-esteem, which measure individualistic positive self-regard, may be less applicable to Eastern cultures. In ...the present exploratory study, we examined how different conceptualizations of self-esteem, as measured by the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale and the Collective Self-esteem (CSE) Scale, predicted drinking behavior among three groups of American college students ( N = 326) with varying ethnicities: White, Korean, and Chinese/Taiwanese. Hierarchical negative binomial regression was employed to evaluate these relations. Ethnic identity was controlled for in all analyses. Findings indicated that while global self-esteem was positively associated with drinking for the whole sample, ethnicity moderated this relationship such that global self-esteem was related to drinking for White participants but not for their Chinese/Taiwanese counterparts. In addition, while CSE did not associate with drinking for the whole sample, effects emerged for specific ethnicities. Specifically, private CSE was associated with less drinking for Korean and Chinese/Taiwanese participants. Depending on specific Asian ethnicity, public CSE served as a risk (Korean participants) or a protective factor (Chinese/Taiwanese participants) for drinking. Findings suggest that above and beyond ethnic identity, differential relationships between facets of self-esteem and drinking behavior may exist among White, Korean, and Chinese/Taiwanese young adults. Intervention and prevention programs should develop strategies to help Chinese/Taiwanese and Korean American young adults cultivate protective factors within domains of CSE.
Relapse is highly prevalent following substance abuse treatments, highlighting the need for improved aftercare interventions. Mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP), a group-based psychosocial ...aftercare, integrates evidence-based practices from mindfulness-based interventions and cognitive-behavioral relapse prevention (RP) approaches.
To evaluate the long-term efficacy of MBRP in reducing relapse compared with RP and treatment as usual (TAU 12-step programming and psychoeducation) during a 12-month follow-up period.
Between October 2009 and July 2012, a total of 286 eligible individuals who successfully completed initial treatment for substance use disorders at a private, nonprofit treatment facility were randomized to MBRP, RP, or TAU aftercare and monitored for 12 months. Participants medically cleared for continuing care were aged 18 to 70 years; 71.5% were male and 42.1% were of ethnic/racial minority.
Participants were randomly assigned to 8 weekly group sessions of MBRP, cognitive-behavioral RP, or TAU.
Primary outcomes included relapse to drug use and heavy drinking as well as frequency of substance use in the past 90 days. Variables were assessed at baseline and at 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up points. Measures used included self-report of relapse and urinalysis drug and alcohol screenings.
Compared with TAU, participants assigned to MBRP and RP reported significantly lower risk of relapse to substance use and heavy drinking and, among those who used substances, significantly fewer days of substance use and heavy drinking at the 6-month follow-up. Cognitive-behavioral RP showed an advantage over MBRP in time to first drug use. At the 12-month follow-up, MBRP participants reported significantly fewer days of substance use and significantly decreased heavy drinking compared with RP and TAU.
For individuals in aftercare following initial treatment for substance use disorders, RP and MBRP, compared with TAU, produced significantly reduced relapse risk to drug use and heavy drinking. Relapse prevention delayed time to first drug use at 6-month follow-up, with MBRP and RP participants who used alcohol also reporting significantly fewer heavy drinking days compared with TAU participants. At 12-month follow-up, MBRP offered added benefit over RP and TAU in reducing drug use and heavy drinking. Targeted mindfulness practices may support long-term outcomes by strengthening the ability to monitor and skillfully cope with discomfort associated with craving or negative affect, thus supporting long-term outcomes.
clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01159535
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