Life Events and Treatment Outcomes Among Individuals with Substance use Disorders: A Narrative Review

Substance use disorders are characterized by a variable course, in which multiple treatment attempts and relapses are typical. Consistent with conceptualizations of substance use and relapse, life events have been implicated in contributing to poor substance use disorders treatment outcomes. However, inconsistencies in empirical findings regarding the life events-substance use disorders outcome literature have been previously observed. This review provides an updated critique of the literature since the previous review published in 1987 (O\u27Doherty & Davies, 1987), examining the relationship between life events and substance use disorders treatment outcome among clinical samples of individuals. Review of 18 peer-reviewed articles suggested that data on the life events-outcome relationship continue to be inconclusive. Inconsistencies across studies in the operationalization of life events and substance use treatment outcomes and lack of theoretically driven designs may be contributing to differences in findings. Recommendations for future research that will increase the clinical utility of the life events construct are provided

Decomposizione di lettiere singole e miste di Quercus ilex L., Pistacia lentiscus L., Phillyrea angustifolia L., e Cistus spp. in un area a macchia bassa della Riserva di Castel Volturno (Sud Italia)

La maggior parte dei lavori sulla decomposizione riguardano lettiera di foglie di singole specie; pochissimi sono gli studi su lettiere miste più adeguati a rappresentare gli effetti della diversità delle comunità vegetali su questo processo. In questa ricerca la decomposizione di Quercus ilex L., Pistacia lentiscus L., Phillyrea angustifolia e Cistus spp., è stata studiata utilizzando sacchetti di lettiera di una sola specie e sacchetti di lettiere miste per un totale di 10 tipologie di sacchetti. Le proporzioni delle singole specie nelle miscele erano 33:33:33 e 50:25:25. I sacchetti di lettiera sono stati incubati nella macchia bassa della Riserva Naturale di Castel Volturno, nella stessa area nella quale era stata effettuata la raccolta di lettiera. La decomposizione e la colonizzazione fungina sono state determinate dopo 96 giorni di incubazione. La lettiera pura di cisto in circa 3 mesi perde il 25 % del peso iniziale; in miscela con fillirea e con lentisco presenta valori significativamente più bassi di decomposizione e di colonizzazione fungina. Nello stesso periodo la fillirea perde il 23 % del suo peso iniziale. Le lettiere di leccio e di lentisco, caratterizzate da un più alto contenuto iniziale di lignina presentano una decomposizione più lenta e perdono rispettivamente il 18% ed il 14% del peso iniziale. Non sono state evidenziate per fillirea, leccio e lentisco effetti delle miscele sulla decomposizione

Criterion Intervals for Pretreatment Drinking Measures in Treatment Evaluation

Drinking during a 30-day pretreatment period was found not to be representative of longer pretreatment intervals, especially in a population of seriously impaired inpatient alcoholic

Plant cover and management practices as drivers of soil quality

Human activities intensively modify soil properties and quality according to land-use and management practices. In Mediterranean areas, pollution and fires may directly alter some soil abiotic properties as well as the steady-state condition of soil microbiota. The aim of this study was to evaluate if the chemical and biological characteristics of two kinds of soil, Arenosols and Andosols, of a natural reserve and an urban park respectively, were affected by the same or different plant covers (trees and grasses). At each site, five sub-samples of surface soils (0–10 cm) were collected under maquis (trees) and gap of grasses. The soils were analyzed for physico-chemical parameters (organic matter and water contents, pH, C, N, Cr, Cu, Ni and Pb concentrations) and biological parameters (microbial and fungal biomass, respiration, metabolic quotient and coefficient of endogenous mineralization). The soil quality was evaluated through an integrated index, calculated taken into account all the investigated parameters. The results highlighted that soils under trees inside the urban park, with the highest amount of organic matter, showed higher microbial biomass and activity as compared to soils under grasses. The high concentration of Cu and Pb in these latter soils inhibited the microbial biomass and activity that were not exclusively affected by litter quality. Soil quality would seem to be strongly affected by the pedogenetic derivation and the management practices more than plant covers

Driving Records of Persons Convicted of Driving under the Influence of Alcohol

The average interval between convictions of driving under the influence decreases from 2 years between first and second convictions to 17, 11 and 8 months, respectively, between the second and third, the third and fourth and the fourth and fifth convictions

Decomposition and temperature sensitivity of fine root and leaf litter of 43 mediterranean species

Aims: Data on the decomposition of fine roots are scarce for the Mediterranean basin. This work aims to compare chemical traits, decomposition rate, and temperature sensitivity (Q10) for root and leaf litter of 43 Mediterranean species. Methods: We carried out a two-years litterbag decomposition experiment using 43 fine roots litter and leaf litter types incubated in laboratory conditions at three different temperatures, i.e. 4 °C, 14 °C, and 24 °C. Litter was characterized for carbon (C), nitrogen (N), lignin and cellulose concentration, C/N, and lignin/N ratios. Results: Fine root litter had lower N content but higher lignin concentration, lignin/N, and C/N ratios compared to leaf litter. The decay rate of fine root litter was slower than leaf litter. For both tissues, the decay rate was negatively associated with lignin concentration, lignin/N, and C/N ratios but positively with N concentration. Q10 was higher for fine root than leaf litter, with a positive correlation with lignin while negative with N concentration. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate a higher Q10 accompanied by a slower decomposition rate of fine root litter compared to leaf litter in Mediterranean ecosystems. These results must be considered in modeling organic C at the ecosystem scale

Variation of the chemical and biological properties of a Technosol during seven years after a single application of compost

Technosols are composed of natural soils mixed with artificial materials and can be an inhospitable environment for the soil microbial community. The main goal of the current research was to evaluate temporal variations of Technosol quality through an integrated approach, considering all of the evaluated chemical, physical and biological characteristics for a period of seven years after a single application of compost. The soil samples were evaluated using the following parameters: pH; water content; water holding capacity; bulk density; porosity; organic matter and N contents; C/N ratio; fungal biomass; microbial biomass; respiration; metabolic quotient (qCO 2 ); and endogenous mineralisation coefficient (CEM). The overall evaluation showed that a single application of compost improved the soil quality in the short term. A decrease in Technosol quality over the long term appears to be due to deterioration of the physical and chemical properties, rather than a change in biological properties