Drug Use and Abuse among Orthopedic Ward Patients—A Revolving Cycle of Menace in Atbuth, Bauchi

Background: The use of drugs for purposes other than those for which they are meant to be used or in excess amounts. Psychoactive drugs are some of the drugs more commonly abused, also, antibiotics and other medications too can be misused. Drug abuse and misuse can lead to serious social, medical and emotional harm to the patients, and antibiotic resistance that makes treatment harder are also likely complications. Method: Patients in both male and female wards of the Orthoepaedics Department of ATBUTH, Bauchi were interviewed using a structured questionnaire and their responses were recorded and data were analyzed using the SPSS version 29. Results: A total of 112 patients were interviewed, 76 males and 36 females. Thirty-two (28.6%) patients had taken various kinds of unprescribed medications while on admission: 9 patients had taken unprescribed tramadol, 4 patients had taken codeine, 6 Ampiclox, 5 flagyl and about 8 patients had taken different kinds of traditional medications while on admission. Among the 32 patients, 23 (72%) are aged less than 30 years, 5 (16%) are aged between 30 and 50 years and 4 (12%) are aged above 50 years. Sixteen (50%) had such medications brought to them by relatives or friends, 10 (30%) were given by other patients on admission, 5 (15%) brought or bought the drugs by themselves while 1 (5%) were given by a non-clinical staff of the hospital. Conclusion: Drug misuse and abuse is a very serious, deleterious practice with destructive consequences in its wake, such consequences as drug dependency with all its antecedent effects, antibiotic resistance and difficulties in controlling/managing infections are but a few. So, it’s very important to both educate patients about these terrible practices and cope with the spread of them in our wards and hospitals.

The Aesthetic Characteristics of Emotional Abuse in The Japanese Movie“0.5mm”

The Japanese movie“0.5mm”connects the life clips between the nursing-care helper Sawa and several old people in the form of a road movie,highlighting many thought-provoking social problems,and revealing how the elements of emotional abuse hidden between the old people and their relatives and friends affect people’s dignity and decency,and at the same time trying to offset the persecution from the emotional abuse with the warm kindness between the elderly and the care workers.The film’s implicit description of emotional abuse and explicit display of good deeds are blended in the quiet and mysterious narrative character,achieving the effect of synchronizing the artistic narrative rhythm with the flow of life,reflecting the unique aesthetic characteristics of Japanese films.

BS-SC Model:A Novel Method for Predicting Child Abuse Using Borderline-SMOTE Enabled Stacking Classifier

For a long time,legal entities have developed and used crime prediction methodologies.The techniques are frequently updated based on crime evaluations and responses from scientific communities.There is a need to develop type-based crime prediction methodologies that can be used to address issues at the subgroup level.Child maltreatment is not adequately addressed because children are voiceless.As a result,the possibility of developing a model for predicting child abuse was investigated in this study.Various exploratory analysis methods were used to examine the city of Chicago’s child abuse events.The data set was balanced using the Borderline-SMOTE technique,and then a stacking classifier was employed to ensemble multiple algorithms to predict various types of child abuse.The proposed approach successfully predicted crime types with 93%of accuracy,precision,recall,and F1-Score.The AUC value of the same was 0.989.However,when compared to the Extra Trees model(17.55),which is the second best,the proposed model’s execution time was significantly longer(476.63).We discovered that Machine Learning methods effectively evaluate the demographic and spatial-temporal characteristics of the crimes and predict the occurrences of various subtypes of child abuse.The results indicated that the proposed Borderline-SMOTE enabled Stacking Classifier model(BS-SC Model)would be effective in the real-time child abuse prediction and prevention process.

Child Abuse during the Pandemic and Trauma-Informed Care: A Review of Evidence-Based Literature

Abuse of infants and children is a public health problem that warrants immediate attention. It is estimated that over 7 million children are affected by child abuse yearly, with the highest rate of abuse in those less than one year of age. Approximately 60% of child abuse victims are children under the age of three years, making infants and young children a particularly vulnerable population. Interventions targeting the perinatal period can be effective in mitigating child abuse, including parent education programs and trauma-informed care services. This paper provides an overview of the current evidence base related to child abuse following the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on prevention and intervention strategies that can be utilized to increase caregiver support and reduce child abuse rates during the perinatal period.

Comparison of different approaches for direct coupling of solid-phase microextraction to mass spectrometry for drugs of abuse analysis in plasma

The direct coupling of solid-phase microextraction(SPME)to mass spectrometry(MS)(SPME-MS)has proven to be an effective method for the fast screening and quantitative analysis of compounds in complex matrices such as blood and plasma.In recent years,our lab has developed three novel SPME-MS techniques:SPME-microfluidic open interface-MS(SPME-MOI-MS),coated blade spray-MS(CBS-MS),and SPME-probe electrospray ionization-MS(SPME-PESI-MS).The fast and high-throughput nature of these SPME-MS technologies makes them attractive options for point-of-care analysis and anti-doping testing.However,all these three techniques utilize different SPME geometries and were tested with different MS instruments.Lack of comparative data makes it difficult to determine which of these methodologies is the best option for any given application.This work fills this gap by making a comprehensive comparison of these three technologies with different SPME devices including SPME fibers,CBS blades,and SPME-PESI probes and SPME-liquid chromatography-MS(SPME-LC-MS)for the analysis of drugs of abuse using the same MS instrument.Furthermore,for the first time,we developed different desorption chambers for MOI-MS for coupling with SPME fibers,CBS blades,and SPME-PESI probes,thus illustrating the universality of this approach.In total,eight analytical methods were developed,with the experimental data showing that all the SPME-based methods provided good analytical performance with R^(2)of linearities larger than 0.9925,accuracies between 81%and 118%,and good precision with an RSD%≤13%.

Analysis of Capacity Decay, Impedance, and Heat Generation of Lithium-ionBatteries Experiencing Multiple Simultaneous Abuse Conditions

Abuse of Lithium-ion batteries,both physical and electrochemical,can lead to significantly reduced operational capabilities.In some instances,abuse can cause catastrophic failure,including thermal runaway,combustion,and explosion.Many different test standards that include abuse conditions have been developed,but these generally consider only one condition at a time and only provide go/no-go criteria.In this work,different types of cell abuse are implemented concurrently to determine the extent to which simultaneous abuse conditions aggravate cell degradation and failure.Vibrational loading is chosen to be the consistent type of physical abuse,and the first group of cells is cycled at different vibrational frequencies.The next group of cells is cycled at the same frequencies,with multiple charge pulses occurring during each discharge.The final group of cells is cycled at the same frequencies,with a partial nail puncture occurring near the beginning of cycling.The results show that abusing cells with vibrational loading or vibrational loading with current pulses does not cause a significant decrease in operational capabilities while abusing cells with vibrational loading and a nail puncture drastically reduces operational capabilities.The cells with vibration only experience an increase in internal resistance by a factor of 1.09–1.26,the cells with vibration and current pulses experience an increase in internal resistance by a factor of 1.16–1.23,and all cells from each group reach their rated lifetime of 500 cycles without reaching their end-of-life capacity.However,the cells with vibration and nail puncture experience an increase in internal resistance by a factor of 6.83–22.1,and each cell reaches its end-of-life capacity within 50 cycles.Overall,the results show that testing multiple abuse conditions simultaneously provides a better representation of the extreme limitations of cell operation and should be considered for inclusion in reference test standards.

Enhancing User Security on Instagram: A Multifaceted AI System for Filtering Abusive Comments

Social media platforms like Instagram have increasingly become venues for online abuse and offensive comments. This study aimed to enhance user security to create a safe online environment by eliminating hate speech and abusive language. The proposed system employed a multifaceted approach to comment filtering, incorporating the multi-level filter theory. This involved developing a comprehensive list of words representing various types of offensive language, from slang to explicit abuse. Machine learning models were trained to identify abusive messages through sentiment analysis and contextual understanding. The system categorized comments as positive, negative, or abusive using sentiment analysis algorithms. Employing AI technology, it created a dynamic filtering mechanism that adapted to evolving online language and abusive behavior. Integrated with Instagram while adhering to ethical data collection principles, the platform sought to promote a clean and positive user experience, encouraging users to focus on non-abusive communication. Our machine-learned models, trained on a cleaned Arabic language dataset, demonstrated promising accuracy (75.8%) in classifying Arabic comments, potentially reducing abusive content significantly. This advancement aimed to provide users with a clean and positive online experience.

3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine(MDMA)Abuse Markedly Inhibits Acetylcholinesterase Activity and Induces Severe Oxidative Damage and Liperoxidative Damage

Objective To investigate whether 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) abuse produces another neurotoxicity which may significantly inhibit the acetylcholinesterase activity and result in severe oxidative damage and liperoxidative damage to MDMA abusers. Methods 120 MDMA abusers (MA) and 120 healthy volunteers (HV) were enrolled in an independent sample control design, in which the levels of lipoperoxide (LPO) in plasma and erythrocytes as well as the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in erythrocytes were determined by spectrophotometric methods. Results Compared with the average values of biochemical parameters in the HV group, those of LPO in plasma and erythrocytes in the MA group were significantly increased (P<0.0001), while those of SOD, CAT, GPX and AChE in erythrocytes in the MA group were significantly decreased (P<0.0001). The Pearson product-moment correlation analysis between the values of AChE and biochemical parameters in 120 MDMA abusers showed that significant linear negative correlation was present between the activity of AChE and the levels of LPO in plasma and erythrocytes (P<0.0005-0.0001), while significant linear positive correlation was observed between the activity of AchE and the activities of SOD, CAT and GPX (P<0.0001). The reliability analysis for the above biochemical parameters reflecting oxidative and lipoperoxidative damages in MDMA abusers suggested that the reliability coefficient (alpha) was 0.8124, and that the standardized item alpha was 0.9453. Conclusion The findings in the present study suggest that MDMA abuse can induce another neurotoxicity that significantly inhibits acetylcholinesterase activity and aggravates a series of free radical chain reactions and oxidative stress in the bodies of MDMA abusers, thereby resulting in severe neural, oxidative and lipoperoxidative damages in MDMA abusers.

Parental Alcoholism,Adverse Childhood Experiences,and Later Risk of Personal Alcohol Abuse among Chinese Medical Students

Objective To determine the status of adverse childhood experiences （ACEs） and the association of multiple ACEs with both parental alcoholism and later personal alcohol abuse among Chinese medical students with a view of improving adolescent health and reducing alcohol abuse among them. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 2073 Chinese medical students completed a survey on ten categories of ACEs in Anhui province of China. The association of parental alcoholism with ACEs and personal alcohol abuse was assessed by logistic regression analyses. Results The adjusted odds ratio （OR） for each category of ACEs in the subjects whose parents （either fathers or mothers or both） had alcohol abuse was 2 to 14 times higher than that in those with parental alcoholism （P〈0.05）. Subjects with bi-parental alcoholism had the highest likelihood of ACEs. Compared with the subjects without ACEs, therisk of personal alcohol abuse was increased by 2-4-folds in the subjects with ACEs, irrespective of parental alcoholism （P〈0.05）. The total number of ACEs （ACE score） had a graded relationship to 4 categories of personal alcohol abuse with or without parental alcoholism. The prevalence of personal alcohol abuse among the subjects with parental alcoholism was higher, which was independent of ACE scores. Conclusion The prevalence of ACEs is generally serious in China. Efforts should be made to prevent and treat children with ACEs and subsequently to reduce alcohol abuse and later problems.

Ionic Liquid-salt Aqueous Two-phase System, a Novel System for theExtraction of Abused Drugs

A 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride-salt aqueous two-phase system was studied on extraction of abused drugs. The effects of sorts of salts, temperature, concentration of salt and drugs on system were investigated systematically. A satisfactory extraction efficiency of 93% was obtained for papaverine while that of morphine was 65%. The extraction mechanism was primarily discussed.

Prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection and its related risk factors in drug abuser prisoners in Hamedan-Iran

AIM:Recent studies in Iran has shown that prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among Iranian prisoners is high, in spite of low HCV seroprevalence in general population. METHODS: This study was carried out in the central prison of Hamedan - Iran, in year 2002. Inmates were interviewed using a standard questionnaire including demographic, imprisonment history and HCV-related risk behaviors items. Thereafter, the sera drawn from the participants were tested for anti-HIV and anti-HCV antibodies. RESULTS: A total number of 427 drug abuser inmates participated in our study. Three hundred and ninety-seven (93%) were men and 30 (7%) were women. Total number of IV drug abusers (IDA) and non-IV drug abusers (NIDA) was 149 (34.9%) and 278 (65.1%), respectively. The overall rate of antibody positivity among inmates was 0.9% for HIV and 30% for HCV. Of all IDAs, 31.5% and of NIDAs, 29.1% had serological evidence of HCV infection. CONCLUSION: The seroprevalence of HCV infection among drug abuser prisoners in comparison with the general population in Iran, is very high (30% vs in italics 0.2%). Our results indicate the importance of policies to prevent transmission of HCV infection during and following incarceration.

Personality Traits and Self Regulation: A Comparative Study among Current, Relapse and Remitted Drug Abuse Patients

Objective: The current study aimed to investigate the relationship among personality traits and self regulation among different drug abuse cases. The three categories of drug abuse were based on phases of addiction namely current, relapse and remitted cases. Method: The sample consisted of 108 drug abusers taken from different rehabilitation centers of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The selected drug abusers were at current (n = 40), relapsed (n = 42) and remission phase (n =2 7) of drug addiction;with an age range of 20 to 70 years. The data were collected from private rehabilitation centers of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. In this study, Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised EPQR-Short (Eysenck, Eysenck & Barrett, 1985) was used to measure personality traits of the drug abuse cases. Self Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ) developed by Miller and Brown (1991) was used to measure the self regulatory skills. The data were collected from rehabilitation centers. Before collection of data, formal permission was taken from the administration of these centers. Research protocol included an Ethical Proforma explaining rationale of study, ensuring confidentiality of the information to be used for research purpose only and also had personal consent form. In the first phase, pilot study was conducted to check the reliability of translated scale and availability of sample. A sample of 15 drug abusers was selected for pilot study. In the next step (main study);protocol was administered on current, relapsed and remitted cases through individual administration. For remitted cases, the researcher consulted authorities (administration head, and medical doctors) of centers and administered protocol on the days when these participants came for follow-up session. Results: The results of the study indicate strong correlation between self regulation and personality traits (r = 0.27**). Furthermore, most of the participants scored higher on Psychoticism (100%), Introversion (75%) while Neuroticism (58%) trait was found less among drug abuse cases. The study also indicates strong correlation between self regulation and Extraversion-Introversion personality trait (r = 0.20**) while other traits did not have significant correlations with self regulation. Furthermore, the descriptive frequencies reveal that most of the participants scored higher on Psychoticism (100%), Introversion (75%) while Neuroticism (58%) trait was found less among drug abuse cases. Conclusion: From the above mentioned findings, it is concluded that self regulation is associated with personality traits among drug abusers. The comparisons of personality traits and self regulatory skills among the different phases of addiction provide an insight into how these traits interact with self control to regulate impulsive and addictive behaviors.

Altered functional connectivity of prefrontal cortex in chronic heroin abusers

In this study, we investigated alterations in the resting-state functional connectivity of the prefrontal cortex in chronic heroin abusers using functional magnetic resonance imaging. We found that, compared with normal controls, in heroin abusers the left prefrontal cortex showed decreased functional connectivity with the left hippocampus, right anterior cingulate, left middle frontal gyrus, right middle frontal gyrus and right precuneus. However, the right prefrontal cortex showed decreased functional connectivity with the left orbital frontal cortex and the left middle frontal gyrus in chronic heroin abusers. These alterations of resting-state functional connectivity in the prefrontal cortices of heroin abusers suggest that their frontal executive neural network may be impaired, and that this may contribute to their continued heroin abuse and relapse after withdrawal.

Mass‑Spring‑Damping Theory Based Equivalent Mechanical Model for Cylindrical Lithium‑ion Batteries under Mechanical Abuse

An equivalent mechanical model with the equivalent physical meaning of mass-spring-damping is proposed for cylindrical lithium-ion batteries through experiments and theory.The equivalent mechanical model of a cylindrical lithium-ion battery consists of a spring-damping parallel unit.Therefore,a spring-damping parallel unit connecting a damping unit in series is selected to construct the constitutive characteristics of the battery under mechanical abuse.Comparison results show that the equivalent mechanical model can more effectively describe the mechanical properties of the batteries than most cubic fitting models,of which the average relative error of the equivalent mechanical model under different states-of-charge is less than 6.75%.Combined with the proposed equivalent mechanical model,the failure process of the batteries was simulated and analyzed using LS-Dyna and HyperWorks.Under rigid rod tests,failure occurred at the core and bottom of the batteries;under hemispherical punch tests,failure occurred at the core and top,consistent with the experimental results.The average prediction error for the failure displacement under different abuse conditions is less than 4%in the simulations.The equivalent mechanical model requires only a few parameters and can be recognized easily.In the future,the model can be used in safety warning devices based on mechanical penetration.

Epidemiological, Clinical Aspects and Treatment of Victims of Sexual Abuse in the Gynecology and Obstetrics Department of Pikine National Hospital in 183 Cases

Introduction: Sexual abuse or sexual assault is part of violence against women, as is physical violence, female genital mutilation and forced marriage. According to the Criminal Code, this is any sexual offense committed with violence, coercion, threat or surprise on the person of others. It is a criminal act punishable by the laws in force in almost every country in the world. Study Objectives: 1) draw up an epidemiological profile of female victims of sexual abuse;2) develop the treatment protocol. Methodology: This is a 7-year descriptive retrospective study from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2016 at the Center Hospitalier National de Pikine (Dakar). Included in this study were all of the patients admitted during our investigation period who were the victims of suspected or certain sexual abuse, with or without requisition. For each case, the following parameters were studied: the epidemiological characteristics (age, gestation, parity and place of residence), the circumstances of the attack (time and place), the characteristics of the aggressor (age, link with the victim, number of aggressor), the type of sexual contact, the possible lesions found during the physical examination (genital and extra-genital), the mode of admission, the delay of the consultation, the attitude after the sexual abuse, the gynecological and obstetrical status of the victim, the repercussions and psychological follow-up, the paraclinical assessment, the treatments administered. Data were collected using a survey form and analyzed with SPSS software. Results: During the study period, 183 victims of sexual abuse were received and treated at the level of our structure out of a total of 39,760 patients, representing a frequency of 0.46%. The age of the victims varied between 2 and 36 years with an average of 13 years. The 11 to 15 age group was the most represented. Students were the most represented among victims of sexual abuse (87.4%). Workers represented 9.3% of the victims. Infants made up 3.3% of the victims;the average age of the alleged attackers was 31 when they were known to their victim. Half of the victims (50.3%) were in the pre-pubertal stage. Among those who were in genital activity (91 cases or 49.7%), 16 cases of pregnancy were reported;which represented 8.7% of cases. Only 20.2% of victims had genital trauma. Prescription of emergency contraception was carried out for 47% of the victims who were in genital activity. After the clinical examination, 17% of the victims had received antibiotic prophylaxis. Conclusion: Sexual abuse is currently a real socio-cultural drama. Preventing them involves raising public awareness. Their management must be early and adapted in order to prevent sexually transmitted infections and psychological consequences.

Development of an Assessment Tool for Domestic Elder Abuse: Creation of Items from a Literature Review

Background: With the “super-aging” of society, the prevalence of elder abuse can be expected to come under greater scrutiny. It will be important, therefore, to evaluate the presence and severity of elder abuse so as to prevent abuse and provide greater support for families. Aim: The aim of this study is to identify acts of elder abuse from a literature review in order to develop items for an assessment tool for domestic elder abuse. Methods: For the literature search, ICHUSHI Web, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and PubMed were utilized with the keywords “elder abuse” and “elderly abuse”. A search limited to original articles over the last five years containing descriptions of elder abuse was used in this study. In addition, through hand search, books and websites concerning elder abuse were also studied. Descriptions of the acts of elder abuse from the materials were extracted and categorized by content analysis based on seven subtypes of elder abuse (physical abuse, neglect, psychological abuse, sexual abuse, economical abuse, self-neglect, and social abuse). Results & Conclusions: The final analysis included 18 original articles, two books, and eight websites on elder abuse prevention. A total of 38 acts were extracted as items for the assessment tool, which can be used to evaluate the presence and severity of elder abuse. Further research will be needed to examine the validity and reliability of the assessment tool.

Mental health of mothers and their premature infants for the prevention of child abuse and maltreatment

Birth of preterm infants is a stressful event for their parents, particularly for mothers. The mothers of preterm infants often feel hard to relate their infants because they have separated since their first days after delivery. Long term separation and less attractive, less responsive appearance of preterm infants also make it difficult to build mother-child relationships. In addition, the mothers of preterm infants are likely to have mood disorders such as depression, anxiety, and stress-related disorders. The mothers’ psychiatric illnesses affect the psychosocial development of preterm infants and are often regarded as a risk factor for child abuse and maltreatment in later life. Child abuse and maltreatment are also prevalent among preterm infants than the full term infants. Intervention from the early period of preterm birth is an important issue for both preterm infants and their mothers. Medical and co-medical professionals should pay attention to developmental outcome of preterm as well as psychosocial conditions of their mothers for the improvement of their mental health.

The Use of Dried Blood Spot Samples in Screening Drugs of Abuse

The present article will provide an overview of use of dried blood sampling method for analysis of drug of abuse. Relatively short half life and instability in blood, calls for alternative sampling method for determination of drugs of abuse. Dried blood spot (DBS) method has many advantages over the conventional sampling methods. The available method for DBS sample collection, storage and transport are described here. The techniques involved in and the factors that may influence the accuracy and reproducibility of the DBS methods for determination of drugs of abuse are presented. The DBS sampling has the potential to be a useful technique to detect drugs of abuse. The use of DBS for any drug should be judged against the potential error involved with the method.

Child maltreatment, abuse and neglect in a Nigerian adolescent boy, the common but unheard menace: A case report form Southwest, Nigeria

Child abuse is a global problem. It includes all forms of physical and emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect, and exploitation that result in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, development or dignity. Child abuse and neglect are common in Nigeria, yet poorly reported. We herein report a case of child abuse and neglect in a 14-year-old boy, complicated by severe malnutrition, human immunodeficiency virus infection and gross under achievement of educational goal. The social and economic factors that play major roles are highlighted with the aim of sensitizing health care professionals, child advocacy groups, policy makers and other stakeholders on the impact of child abuse. We also hope that this would remind all concerned organisations and individuals of child protection which is integrated in the child right act 2003 adopted by Nigeria.

Acute temporal lobe infarction in a young patient associated with marijuana abuse: An unusual cause of stroke

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular or cerebrovascular events associated with drug abuse have been frequently reported, particularly in young patients. The drugs include generally cocaine, heroin, and amphetamines. Although marijuana is among the widely used narcotics in the world, stroke associated with the marijuana use is infrequently reported.METHODS: Stroke caused by the use of marijuana was investigated in a 23-year-old man and the importance of inquiry of drug abuse in case of stroke was emphasized.RESULTS: The patient was treated for 7 days in a follow-up, but he was not recovered. The patient was discharged in his existing condition and was directed for physiotherapy and rehabilitation.CONCLUSION: Ischemic stroke is associated with drug abuse and/or substance use, mainly cannabinoids and amphetamines, particularly in young patients.