Marijuana Use Counseling During Pregnancy

Penobscot County, Maine has among the highest rates of marijuana use in the country, and Maine has recently voted to legalize recreational use of marijuana. Research has shown that pregnant women frequently seek out and are dissatisfied with information regarding the safety of marijuana use during pregnancy. We surveyed Family Medicine providers at the Center for Family Medicine at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor Maine regarding their counseling of pregnant patients on the topic of marijuana use. From the results, we created an information sheet to aid providers in marijuana use counseling with pregnant women.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/fmclerk/1262/thumbnail.jp

Urban Emergency Food Center Clients: Characteristics, Coping Strategies and Needs

The clients of emergency hunger centers in an urban area were studied to assess the problem of hunger from the clients\u27 vantage point. The findings indicate that hunger remains a problem even among those who have availed themselves of emergency food services. A great deal of time and effort is spent in activities to cope with hunger. The adequacy of the present system for meeting the needs of the hungry and implications for policy are discussed

Addressing the Opioid Crisis in Vermont: Lessons Learned from Primary Care Physicians

Background: Opioid Misuse in Vermont: The number of Vermonters seeking treatment for opioid abuse is increasing, particularly in Chittenden County. Emergency department visits and deaths related to opioid misuse continue to increase, both locally and nationally. Opioid Addiction Treatment: The Drug Addiction Treatment Act (2000) was passed to allow physicians to prescribe buprenorphine-naloxone for opioid addiction, termed Office-Based Opioid Therapy (OBOT). OBOT has been shown to be a highly effective treatment for opioid addiction. The Hub and Spoke model was implemented in Vermont to connect specialty treatment centers with outpatient OBOT providers. Project Goal: To identify barriers to providing OBOT that primary care physicians (PCPs) face in Chittenden County, Vermont.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1221/thumbnail.jp

Economics of gas to wire technology applied in gas flare management

Our environment is increasingly being endangered by the introduction of greenhouse gases which are continuously produced from gas flaring processes. Currently, total volume of gas flared globally amounts to 100 billion cubic meters (BCM) annually. Nigeria flares about 18.27 BCM and loses approximately $2 billion yearly. This statistics indicates the urgent need to conduct research aimed at addressing both the environmental impact of gas flaring and the economic implications. This research studies the economic viability of using gas to wire (GTW) technology as an integral component of gas flare management. The investigation critically evaluates the cost implications and impact of the GTW technology. The research method involves the interview of key experts and practitioners in the field. The interviews are structured to obtain information on the total volume of gas produced, utilised and flared in two major gas and electricity producing firms in Nigeria. The data obtained show that the gas producing company flares about 8.33% of its total production which is in excess of the 6.6 million cubic meters (MCM) utilised daily. This study demonstrates that in the Nigerian oil and gas sector, one unit of gas turbine having 0.93 MCM gas consumption capacity generates 150 MW of electricity daily. It is found in result evaluation that 50 turbines are sufficient to consume an average of 46.5 MCM of gas daily to generate 7500 MW of electricity. Economic analysis shows that there is an annual net profit of £2.68 billion gained from flare prevention and overall environmental protection

Effects of school-based interventions on mental health stigmatization: a systematic review

Stigmatizing, or discriminatory, perspectives and behaviour, which target individuals on the basis of their mental health, are observed in even the youngest school children. We conducted a systematic review of the published and unpublished, scientific literature concerning the benefits and harms of school-based interventions, which were directed at students 18 years of age or younger to prevent or eliminate such stigmatization. Forty relevant studies were identified, yet only a qualitative synthesis was deemed appropriate. Five limitations within the evidence base constituted barriers to drawing conclusive inferences about the effectiveness and harms of school-based interventions: poor reporting quality, a dearth of randomized controlled trial evidence, poor methods quality for all research designs, considerable clinical heterogeneity, and inconsistent or null results. Nevertheless, certain suggestive evidence derived both from within and beyond our evidence base has allowed us to recommend the development, implementation and evaluation of a curriculum, which fosters the development of empathy and, in turn, an orientation toward social inclusion and inclusiveness. These effects may be achieved largely by bringing especially but not exclusively the youngest children into direct, structured contact with an infant, and likely only the oldest children and youth into direct contact with individuals experiencing mental health difficulties. The possible value of using educational activities, materials and contents to enhance hypothesized benefits accruing to direct contact also requires investigation. Overall, the curriculum might serve as primary prevention for some students and as secondary prevention for others

Seeking Common Grounds: Analysis of the draft proposals for the international coffee agreement

The International Coffee Agreement (ICA) establishes the only dedicated intergovernmental forum for coffee-related matters: the International Coffee Organization (ICO). The ICO brings together various stakeholders -- including coffee-importing and coffee-exporting countries, the private sector, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) -- to discuss, negotiate, and cooperate on shared strategies and policies regarding the global coffee economy