Correlates of Improvement in Substance Abuse Among Dually Diagnosed Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Specialized Intensive VA Treatment

Substantial rates of substance use comorbidity have been observed among veterans with PTSD highlighting the need to identify patient and program characteristics associated with improved outcomes for substance abuse. Data were drawn from 12,270 dually diagnosed veterans who sought treatment from specialized intensive Veterans Health Administration PTSD programs between 1993 and 2011. The magnitude of the improvement in Addiction Severity Index (ASI) alcohol and drug use composite scores from baseline was moderate, with effect sizes (ES) of -.269 and -.287, respectively. Multivariate analyses revealed that treatment in longer-term programs, being prescribed psychiatric medication, and planned participation in reunions were all associated with slightly improved outcomes. Reductions in substance use measures were associated with robust improvements in PTSD symptoms and violent behavior. These findings suggest not only synergistic treatment effects linking improvement in PTSD symptoms with substance use disorders among dually diagnosed veterans with PTSD but also to improvement in violent behavior. Furthermore, the findings indicate that proper discharge planning in addition to intensity and duration of treatment for dually diagnosed veterans with severe PTSD may result in better outcomes. Further dissemination of evidence-based substance abuse treatment may benefit this population

Methacrolein formation over cesium containing oxidation catalysts

Methyl methacrylate is produced on a large scale for use in the polymer industry. Synthesis of this acrylic monomer occurs almost exclusively via the acetone cyanohydrin process, which has many environmentally hazardous aspects. In particular the reactant HCN and the intermediate acetone cyanohydrin are very toxic and large amounts of ammonium sulfate, contaminated with organic compounds, are produced. Several companies now utilize alternative processes for methyl methacrylate production via methacrolein using molybdenum based heteropoly acids and isobutene oxidation. Improvements in catalytic selectivity and activity for these "green" processes can be achieved by a careful investigation of the kinetics of targeted catalysts. Furthermore, economic improvements can be made using isobutane as the gas-phase reactant. In this paper Keggin-type heteropoly compounds, which possess unique catalytic properties due to their favourable redox and acid properties, are examined