They discretely contacted the study coordinator and arranged a time to report to the lab.Since both smokers and non-smokers were included in this study, confidentiality regarding subjects’ use of marijuana, which is currently illegal in the state of Tennessee, was not a concern. Health history, medication, and dietary supplement usage, and physical activity questionnaires were completed by all subjects.Both smokers and non-smokers were highly active and engaged in regular exercise,totaling several hours per week .Subjects were accepted as a marijuana smoker if they had smoked marijuana at least one time per week for the previous three consecutive months. Analysis indicated that smokers used marijuana frequently during the week , although we were unable to verify this or to determine the potency of the plant. Women reported to the lab for their assessment during the first three days of their menstrual cycle, as hormonal fluctuations can influence the desiredout come measures.

Prior to participation, each subject was informed of all procedures, potential risks, and benefits associated with the study through verbal and/or written form in accordance with the procedures approved by the University Institutional Review Board for Human Subjects Research . Subjects provided written informed consent prior to being admitted to participate, by using their unique subject ID number. Subject identity related to their health history and all data was maintained on a password protected computer. Subjects were compensated$20 for their participation, payable in cash at the conclusion of their lab session, within a private office. Participants reported to the lab a single time in the morning hours following a12-hour overnight fast . Participants also refrained from smoking marijuana during the 12 hours prior to the test visit. During this visit,they completed the informed consent form, health history, and physical activity questionnaires. Subjects’ heart rate and blood pressure, height, weight, waist and hip circumference were measured. A blood sample was drawn, the sample processed in a refrigerated centrifuge, and plasma obtained and stored in multiple aliquots at -70 degrees Celsius until analyzed.

We evaluated blood oxidative stress and cardio-metabolic parameters in young,physically active marijuana smokers. In those who regularly smoke marijuana abut who also engage in frequent, moderate volume exercise, there is no elevation in either lipid peroxidation or protein oxidation as compared to non-smokers,nor is there any negative impact on cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, or blood pressure. These data are specific to a sample of men and women who smoke marijuana an average of 4.5 ± 2.3 sessions per week for at least the three month period prior to participating in the study.Endothelial cells exposed to marijuana smoke in vitro exhibited increased ROS production with reduced levels of the intracellular antioxidant glutathione. Overwhelming of the intracellular oxidant buffering system appears to result from rampant mitochondrial ROS formation.These experiments were followed up in vivo by exposing rats to marijuana smoke and staining lung tissue. Rats exposed to marijuana smoke displayed adiminished mitochondrial membrane potential and decreased ATP levels .

Previous data indicates mitochondria with reduced respiratory chain activity and subsequent membrane potential are associated with increased ROS formation though this seems to be the exception rather than the rule, as increased mitochondrial membrane potential is more often associated with increased ROS production.Interestingly, micromolar concentrations of cannabinoids inhibit activity of respiratory chain complexes II, III, and IV . It is important to note, more recent molecular work examines the effects of isolated cannabinoids rather than marijuana smoke as a whole. Additionally, computational modeling suggests THC and CBD may have the potential to act as a free radical scavenger . More importantly,cannabinoid receptors can be found either on the plasma or mitochondrial membranes. That said, molecular mechanisms and effects depend not only on the cannabinoid concentration but also the metabolic state of the cell and method used to induce oxidative stress though this still represents only afraction of marijuana smoke.In addition to the above, chronic exercise training has been show to increase antioxidant enzyme activity, which could help to offset any rise in ROS production. As mentioned previously, cigarette smoke is a similar stimulus for producing ROS. In fact, exercised mice exposed to cigarette smoke experienced reduced oxidative damage to lipids and proteins compared to sedentary smoke-exposed counterparts. Alternatively, postprandial oxidative stress is exacerbated in cigarette smokers. In terms of lipid peroxidation, exercise appears to be an effective counter measure for postprandial oxidative stress incigarette smokers .

Our report wasn’t without limitations. During this admission the patient received only one dose of metoclopramide. The attending physician made this decision based on the fact that the first dose didn’t relieve the patient’s symptoms and in previous admissions for gastroparesis but before the CHS diagnosis metoclo-pramide was effective, that this admission her nausea and vomiting were not due to gastroparesis.Another limitation to consider is that the patient had some confounding conditions such as uncontrolled diabetes with her lastA1C being 10.5 and associated gastroparesis. Even with these confounders we believe our patient experienced CHS because none of the typical medications used to treat gastroparesis such as metoclopramide or erythromycin eliminated her symptoms. Water contamination is one of the most persistent issues for public health. Multidrug-resistant bacteria, also known as superbugs, are being found in wastewater treatment plants.

A report by the United Nations, Interagency Coordination Group estimated that by 2030,the antimicrobial-resistant superbugs not only claimed the lives of 10 million people but would also destabilize the global economy . As the demand for fresh drinking water is increasing, nanotechnology is gaining tremendous impetus in the present century to provide safe and affordable drinking water. The goal of the present research is to remove emerging pathogens from water without intensive use of harsh chemicals or the production of toxic byproducts. Nano materials can be synthesized by different techniques such as precipitation, chemical reduction, thermal decomposition,photo chemistry,and microwave-assisted techniques. However, the major limitation for many of these techniques is the usage of strong reducing and stabilizing chemical reagents that pose a serious threat to the environment and human health .In recent years, environmental and health concerns have stimulated researchers to devise novel and biological approaches to synthesizing nano materials using biological systems like microorganisms and plants, known as “green chemistry”, approaches. In our previous efforts, we have shown the formation of size-tunable silver nanoparticles by photochemical reduction of Ag salts in presence of biologically benign polymer media, as another manifestation of “green chemistry”.

The use of parts of the whole plant for nanoparticle synthesis offers exciting and potential advantages with a great capacity for investigation. Silver is one of the most widely used metals due to its inhibitory effect on bacteria and microorganisms by producing reactive oxygen species and thereby damaging the cell organelles.Silver nanoparticles are considered a novel and probable substitute to standard antibiotic drugs as these pathogenic bacteria exhibit an increased multidrug resistance property.Biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles using the abundant and sustainable plant resources is suitable for accomplishing the great demand for “biocompatible and green-synthesized nanoparticles”,especially for the applications in biomedical and environmental areas. Hydroxyl and carboxyl groups found abundantly in the green plant materials act as a good source of reducing agents in the formation of metal nanoparticles, whereas the strong interaction between biomolecules and nanoparticles contributes to the excellent stability of the AgNPs.Moreover, the presence of phytonutrients in green resources plays an active role as a reducing and stabilizing agent for metal nanoparticles.

Many researchers have reported the synthesis of silver nanoparticles using various natural products, e.g. green tea , leaf broth of Acalypha indica,neemleaf extract Aloe vera leaf extract , starch , and lemongrass leaves extract . Hemp mainly contains cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, and has been widely cultivated in many tropical countries for its fiber content .Hemp has been reported as a good source of food, oil, and fiber. It is also noted as a good source of pharmaceutical ingredient,as it contains various bioactive substances like cannabinoids, terpenes, ketones, fatty acids, and phenolic compounds demonstrated for their antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory,and anticancer properties . Contrasting to the prior work in this field, in the present study, an eco-friendly method for the rapid synthesis of silver nanoparticles using the hemp plant has been developed.No toxic chemicals were used as reducing agents or stabilizing agents during the synthetic protocol. The AgNPs were found to exhibit antibacterial efficacy against selective gram positive and gram-negative bacteria. Two grams of HH were soaked in 100 mL of deionized water and boiled at 60˚Cfor 1 hour. The solution was then filtered. The filtrate, henceforth termed as hemp hurd based carbon extract and was stored at 4˚C to carry out further experiments. Figure 1 showed the changes in physical color both for the concentrated and the diluteHHC solutions. Both Gram-negative and Gram-positive pathogenic waterborne bacteria were tested to investigate the antibacterial activity of so formed HHC stabilized AgNPs.

There are many benefits to the sugarcane crop of le- guminous plants rows in rotation in maize; these include the recycling of nutrients taken up from deep soil layers by the rotational crop, which may prevent or decrease leaching losses, and the addition of N from biological fixation. Leguminous plants can accumulate over 5 t·ha−1 of dry mass during a short period of time during the summer and take up large amounts of N and K. Most of this N comes from the association of legumes with rhizobia. In this way crop rotation with legumes can replace partially or totally N mineral fertilization of maize. This study evaluated and characterized the green manure biomass production, N balance, the biomass mineralization of leguminous green manure and common beans residues in succession with corn and rotation with sugarcane and their effect in the soil. Their effect on stalk and sugar yield on sugarcane cv.

IAC 87-3396 grown subsequently was also studied. As observed in Figure 1, differences occurred between the total soil N amount and concentration that came from the green fertilizer aerial part over time. The aerial part contribution was on average 16.3% compared with 3.5% from roots, indicating that the aerial part participation was four times greater larger than that of the roots, reflecting the greater amount added from the aerial part. Over time the variable described a quadratic curve with the largest contribution at 20 DAE decreasing afterwards to 60 DAE and rising again 100 DAE again, the same was not verified in roots. These results are due, largely, to the uptake of the N that was incorporated by the corn from the green manure where the data described a quadratic curve, but contrary to what was described in Figure 1, with the highest N uptake at 60 DAE sampling and a decrease from that point to 100 DAE. Observed too the constant releasing nitrogen from the roots. In Table 8 the mean data of % NSDGM are observed as a function of sampling time and of the legume plant part that was incorporated, for Eutrudox and Paleudalf soils.

The contribution of the legume nitrogen in the Paleudalf soil, with the N supply from the velvet bean being was higher. Four velvet bean, out of the 35%, the aerial part con- tributes with 27.8% and the roots only 7.2% in the Paleudalf soil, higher than that in Eutrudox where the contribution of the aerial part that was 11.0% and 2.8% respectively for aerial part and roots. These results are consistent with the higher mineralization rate of the organic matter in soils with less clay, as observed above. The lower C/N ratio in velvet bean aerial part as well as in roots is lower than in sunn hemp favoring its higher mineralization in both soils . The levels of mineral Nin the soil were higher until 40 DAE in the Velvet bean treat- ment followed by the sunn hemp and finally the check. It can be observed that beyond 60 DAE the values were low, smaller than 1.6 mg·kg−1, without differences among treatments . For the sunn hemp, there were differences among the times, with a decline in the green manure contribution to the soil mineral N. However, this did not happen with the velvet bean treatment indicating that, besides the largest contribution of the green manure plants to the soil mineral N, there was also greater mineralization, since the test-plant kept on taking up mineral N from the soil. It is observed in the Table 10 that the Paleudalf had higher mineral N concentration than the Eutrudox soil regardless of the soil sampling time. These results are in agreement with those obtained by who found higher organic matter mineralization in low-N soils.

In that study, the authors observed that 13% of the mineral nitrogen originated from the added plant residue, compared to 5% in the high-N soil. Jans-Hammermeister et al.observed N mineralization rates in two soils after addition of pea aerial part and verified that the higher rates were associated with soils that had lower clay percentages. Similar results were also verified by and other authors cited by. It can be noticed that the percentage of plant nitrogen from the green manure was practically constant during the experiment. This fact is not usually observed when mineral fertilizer or another soluble N source is applied, where a greater proportion of the nitrogen use from the fertilizer happens initially with a reduction in these values in subsequent stages . The amounts of N in the aerial part of the corn plant that was derived from the green fertilizer, for the two legume species, as a function of time can be observed in Table 12. No differences among treatments were observed until 40 DAE, however at 60 DAE the Velvet bean turned out to be the major N supplier to the corn plant, probably due to the largest N concentration in that green manure, and its lower C/N ratio. Despite the higher amounts of N accumulated in the sunn hemp treatments, at the 60 and 100 DAE sampling dates the amount of N from the green manures was higher for the black mucuna, at any given same date, indicating the al for N supply potential of this plant. The reduction in the amounts accumulated at the end of the cycle followed the same pattern verified for the total nitrogen and is likely due to the loss of nitrogenous compounds from mature or pre-senescence leaves, which can happen next to the transpiratory strem.

Finally, a study conducted in Spain among 60 patient-sibling pairs, constituted by subjects with functional psychosis in the first five years of their illness matched with a non-psychotic sibling, demonstrated that after controlling for cannabis use and neuroticism, the odds of suffering psychosis for individuals who were afflicted with a childhood trauma were 7.3 times higher than the odds for persons who did not experience a childhood trauma . Researchers indicated that those effects were independent from confounding factors such as sex, age, socio-economic status, childhood trauma and use of other drugs. This incidence was not irrelevant, as the majority of subjects exposed to both urbanicity and cannabis developed the psychosis outcome because of their co-action . The findings indicate that the interaction between cannabis use and urbanicity may represent not only an underlying mechanism of moderation but also of mediation.

After observing that individuals living in the urban environment were more likely to use cannabis at baseline than subjects from the rural area, the authors suggested than an early exposure, i.e. between the ages of 5 and 15 years, to increased social fragmentation associated with an urban environment may constitute an environmental stressor that, through epigenetic mechanisms, induces a progressive behavioral sensitization which leads ultimately to permanent neurodevelopmental alterations. This in turn may contribute to an enhanced sensitivity,later in life, to the psychotomimetic effects of cannabis . The hypothesis that cannabidiol attenuates the psychotomimetic effects of THC was postulated for the first time in 1982 by Rottanburg et al. who found anincreased prevalence of psychotic symptoms among users of cannabis with a high THC concentration and lack of CBD . At the same period, Zuardi etal. observed that the co-administration of CBD and THC significantly reduced the psychotomimetic symptoms induced by THC .

Indeed, several studies have illustrated that the co-administration of CBD and THC may alter the pharmacological actions of the later, potentiating some beneficial effects, while mitigating some of its negative side effects.Other studies have demonstrated the antipsychotic properties of cannabidiol and suggested that it can antagonize the negative impact of THC on brain functions and have protective effects against psychosis .Different preclinical studies have provided evidence of the antipsychotic activity of cannabidiol,with a pharmacological profile resembling that of haloperidol . Indeed, the effects of CBD were similar to those produced by haloperidol in a rodent model predictive of antipsychotic activity, using different doses of drugs .Interestingly, contrary to haloperidol, CBD was devoid of extrapyramidal side effects, making it a potential candidate to treat different forms of psychosis in humans.Preliminary clinical case reports also suggested that cannabidiol might exertantipsychotic properties in schizophrenic patients.The analysis of hair samples of 140 cannabis smokers demonstrated that those with low CBD/THC ratios predicted high levels of schizophrenia-like symptoms. Similarly, an association was found between the use of cannabis with high THC and low CBD content and a higher risk of developing a first psychotic episode.

In a British study conducted on 120 current cannabis smokers, 66 daily users and 54 recreational users, investigators performed hair analysis to objectively quantify levels of THC and CBD. Researchers found lower psychosis-like symptoms in subjects whose hair had CBD compared with those without CBD. However,this was observed only in recreational users who had higher levels of THC in their hair .High THC recreational cannabis users with no CBD present in their hair showed much greater levels of psychosis proneness than all other groups. They were also associated with increased depression, anxiety and recall impairments.While analysing their results, researchers indicated that a growing body of evidence suggests that cannabidiol may modulate the psychotomimetic effects of THC not only acutely in laboratory settings giving CBD and THC to healthy volunteers but also chronically in cannabis users .Considering that CBD does not interact directly with the pharmacokinetics of THC, the authors suggested that the mechanism of CBD’s modulation of the effects of THC is that CBD chronically counteracts the induction of psychotic-like symptoms by THC .

It has been demonstrated that cannabidiol modulates powerfully theme solimbic dopamine system and normalizes both acute and neuro developmentally-induced dysregulation of dopaminergic activity states associated with both positive and negative schizophrenia-like psychopathology . This ability of CBD to reverse THC induced hyperactivity of mesolimbic dopaminergictransmission confers to CBD its promising antipsychotic properties .In fact, growing pre-clinical and clinical evidence supports the therapeutic efficacy of cannabidiol in a broad range of neuropsychiatric disorders. Indeed, CBD attenuates brain damage caused by ischemic and/or neurodegenerative conditions. It also facilitates neurogenesis by acting on synaptic plasticity.

Unrefined corn oil was found to stimulate germination of C. truncatum spores .One method to achieve this has been to combine a bioherbicide with an herbicide to possibly produce either an additive, or synergistic effect on weed control.Use of an herbicide for possible synergistic interactions with a bioherbicide could be realized as generally occurring in two ways, i.e. , through direct action of the herbicide on its specific biochemical target site, or via secondary herbicidal effects that may weaken weed biochemical defenses against pathogen attack.However, many herbicides exhibit toxicity towards bioherbicides, caused by either the active ingredient and/or the various adjuvants, surfactants, etc. formulated in the commercial products. Combinations of glyphosate and several bioherbicides have resulted in additive or synergistic action on the control of weeds.

Synergistic interactions of the herbicide glyphosate and Myrothecium verrucaria on several weeds have been documented and C. truncatum combined with glyphosate interacted synergistically to control hemp sesbania . Glyphosate and the bioherbicide, Alternaria cassiae applied to sicklepod resulted in a synergistc interaction . Synergy of two bacterial plant pathogens with glufosinate was also demonstrated in greenhouse and field studies , but results of synergy studies of glufosinate and Pyricularia setariae were variable . Furthermore,some commercial glyphosate products are toxic to certain bioherbicides.The enzyme glutamine synthetase plays a pivotal role in nitrogen metabolism and is responsible for the condensation of ammonium ion and glutamate to produce glutamine. This metabolic reaction is vital for glutamine synthesis and for ammonia re-assimilation and detoxification in plants. Glufosinate,originally isolated from Streptomyces species as phosphinothricin, inhibits GS and causes toxic levels of ammonia to accumulate in plants.

Plant injury symptoms caused by glufosinate action develop more rapidly in light-grown plants than in dark-grown plants.In our early research with hemp sesbania seedlings treated with C. truncatum,an odor was noted during the late stages of the disease progression cycle .This was especially apparent when working with plants in small environmental cabinets, and it occurred when plants were treated under either continuous light or dark growth conditions. Because, 1) glufosinate can control hemp sesbania ,2) C. truncatum causes ammonia-like odors in hemp sesbania, and 3)bioherbicide interactions with herbicides may possibly result in beneficial additive or synergistic action for weed control, our working hypothesis for this project evolved into: “Does C. truncatum affect nitrogen metabolism in hemp sesbania through inhibition of GS ; and if so, it is possible that glufosinate and C. truncatum would act synergistically with respect to control of this weed”. Thus, our objectives were to test for these possible interactions by a series of growth, GS assay, and ammonia analysis experiments using hemp sesbania treated with C. truncatum, glufosinate, and their combination under controlled environmental conditions. C. truncatum treatment of hemp sesbania did not cause significant effects on GS activity until after 40 h, a time when hypocotyls lose their structural integrity during the initial stages of collapse .This effect has been previously described in another study .

At 64 h after treatment, the pathogen lowered GS activity by about 10%, but at 88 h, GS was inhibited by ~65%. Glufosinate and the glufosinate plus C. truncatum treatments both caused substantial inhibition of GS throughout the 16 to 88 h period.However, GS activity in the herbicide/pathogen combination treatment was slightly higher than the glufosinate alone treatment at most time points.Electrophoretic separation of the hemp sesbania proteins after the various treatments offered the chance to visually localize GS activity on the gels and to qualitatively compare the activity and mobility of GS with that of other proteins-4). Figure 4 depicts a color image of GS activity as affected by the various treatments. Activity was present in the 0-time control, the 30-hcontrol and in the C. truncatum-treated hypocotyls, 30 h after treatment. However,no activity was present in the glufosinate- or in the glufosinate plus C.truncatum-treated tissue, which indicated the enzyme was inhibited. As expected,no other proteins exhibited activity and Figure 4). These red-brown color bands that fade rapidly, were subsequently imaged, to corroborate results. Amatching gel, stained with protein stain showed the location of the GS protein , as well as the profiles of other proteins from the treatments. Generally, ammonia levels in hemp sesbania tissues under these various treatments were inversely correlated with the GS activity . The untreated control tissues contained much lower ammonia levels at 24, 64, and 88h after treatment than the C. truncatum, glufosinate or the combination of the herbicide and bioherbicide treatments. C. truncatum alone caused elevated ammonia levels only at 64 and 88 h after treatment, and this is during tissue collapse.

Some success for its control has been achieved using a bioherbicidal agent, MV. Spore and mycelial formulations of MV tested alone and in combination with glyphosate for control of kudzu under greenhouse and field conditions demonstrated important synergistic actions between herbicide and this bioherbicide on kudzu.Palmer amaranth, originally native to the North American southwest, is an invasive species that has spread rapidly to eastern North America and in some other countries. Now widely distributed in the southeastern United States , this major weed has evolved resistance to several herbicides, including triazine, acetolactate-synthase inhibitor, and dinitroaniline herbicides use . Originally it was controlled with glyphosate,but the first glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth population was reported in Georgia in 2006 . Its rapid evolved resistance to glyphosate has now resulted in a major epidemic in the southern US and nearly 40 cases of resistance in this weed are now reported.

Initial host range studies of MV indicated that some phytotoxicity to redroot pig weed , and more recently tests on Palmeramaranth demonstrated bioherbicidal activity on plants that were sensitive or resistant to glyphosate .Hemp sesbania is an aggressive, nodulating legume weed that infests several majorcrops: rice , soybean , cotton and sunflower . It occurs in ditches, on stream banks, fallow areas and waste places in the US coastal plain of Virginia to Florida to Texas and rated as one in the top 10 most troublesome weeds in Arkansas, Louisiana,and Mississippi . Some single or multiple applications of herbicide treatments can provide control of hemp sesbania, but it exhibits some tolerance to glyphosate . MV was shown to be efficacious on hemp sesbania in host range tests and later field studies demonstrated its effectiveness on control of this weed in rice .It has also been reported as a pest in cotton, corn, and soybeans, reduced cotton yield by ~3% per weed per each 9 m row , and was classified as one of the world’s worst weeds.

Full-season interference by sickle pod was shown to reduce peanut yield by70%. Various herbicides have been evaluated of control of this weed, and some were highly efficacious. Although generally not currently a major problematic weed, sickle pod was the original host from which MV was isolated and this weed has been a target of several bioherbicide studies using MV .In early studies with MV, formulations of fungal spores were used as the bioherbicidal agent. However, more recent research showed that my celial formulations of MV were equally efficacious, easier to handle and lacked significant levels of trichothecenes . Very recently, we observed a fungal sector growing on a Petri plate during maintenance culture of MV. Preliminary examination of this spontaneous sector showed it to be a white and non-sporulating mutant. The objectives of further studies on this sector were to isolate and culture it, and to characterize its efficacy compared with MV-parent. To achieve this,greenhouse and bioassay tests were performed on several weeds with demonstrated susceptibility to MV as outlined above, i.e. , hemp sesbania, sickle pod, kudzu and glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth. Sicklepod and hemp sesbania seeds were obtained from field-grown plants in a weed nursery at Stoneville, MS.

Seeds of Palmer amaranth were collected from a population in Washington Co., MS and confirmed via bioassays to be resistant to this herbicide . Kudzu seeds were obtained from Adams-Briscoe Seed Co.,Jackson, GA 30233, USA. Silwet L-77 was procured from OSi Specialties, Inc., Danbury, CT, USA. Potato dextrose agar, were purchased from Difco Laboratories, Inc. . All other chemicals used in these studies were of reagent grade or higher purity. When MV is grown on PDA under alternating 12 h light/12 h dark cycles, concentric rings are produced. MV-Sector BSH formed during routine maintenance culture of MV and the sector was isolated and grown on PDA under the alternating light/dark regime as above. No rings or dark pigmented areas corresponding to spore production were observed during growth for several days. Microscopic examination of the white biomass of the sector confirmed that only mycelial growth occurred and that no spores were formed. Over several months of subculture, the sector remained genetically stable, retained high virulence and exhibited no genetic reversion to the wild-type parent . Growth of MV and MV-Sector BSH were very similar when grown on PDA or in shake-culture on soy flour: cornmeal: sucrose as described in the Material and Methods. This is the first report of a non-spore-producing mutant derived from this bioherbicidal strain of MV. Spray application of MV and MV-Sector BSH mycelial preparations on intact hemp sesbania and sickle pod seedlings generally demonstrated equal visual bioherbicidal activity on both species, 72 h after treatment. Injury symptoms were growth reduction, chlorosis, necrosis and desiccation.

Some studies suggest that age of onset is an important determinant of the magnitude of the consequences of drug use, in that younger individuals suffer greater health consequences . In recent decades, health agencies and university authorities have expressed concerns over increasing alcohol consumption and other drugs of abuse such as cannabis and amphetamines among university students . These students are at risk of substance abuse behaviors due to changes in lifestyle, reduced parental support, and stressful situations . In this line, nursing students are also at risk for problems related to substance use . The nursing profession is not immune to the impacts of substance misuse; in fact, rates of substance misuse among nurses are thought to mirror that of the general population . Alcohol and other substance use by nurses potentially place patients, the public, and nurses themselves at risk for serious injury or death . It is critical that rates of substance use in this population are elucidated and that risk factors are understood .

In addition, education studies offered by universities in health sciences should provide knowledge about the harmful health and social consequences of the use and abuse of drugs . The knowledge of the toxic and social effects of drugs abuse is well known by university students; however, the ability to self-care for proper and good health may vary among people . Thus, the high prevalence of illicit drug use among young people , as well as the fatal consequence of this use in health professionals, such as nurses who are in constant contact with patients , highlights the importance of preventing it in this target group. Therefore, it is important to assess students’ consumption at the beginning of university period. While some studies evaluating illegal drug use in university populations have evaluated the prevalence of specific substances, such as cannabis or psycho stimulants, it would be advantageous to consider consumption more generally in this target group . The objective of this study was to understand the pattern of illicit drug use of nursing students from various world universities.In this paper, the pattern of illicit drug use of nursing students from various world universities was tested. For young people entering university for the first time, this stage is a period of maturation and change in health-related habits and lifestyles, including illicit drug use.

The nursing students are not immune to the impacts of substance misuse ; therefore, it is important to assess student consumption at the beginning of this period . Regarding illicit drug patterns, this study is in line with other works carried out in Spain and Europe, where illicit drug shows positive representation among adolescents and young people . In this sense, we found that 36.1% had consumed illicit drugs ever in life. Furthermore, 35.9% had consumed cannabis, 5.8% had consumed cocaine, 6.9% had consumed ecstasy, and 4% had consumed amphetamines ever in life. Besides, 18.1% had consumed cannabis, 2% had consumed cocaine, 2.2% had consumed ecstasy, and 1.4% had consumed amphetamines in the last 30 days. Currently, the effects of illicit drugs, both in the short and long term, are known . In our study, most of participants reported that they have never had problems with their family, friends, schools, or fights as a result of drugs use, emerging as a statistically significant variable in the bivariate analysis. However, some studies highlight that the use of cannabis and cocaine was related to problems in school, unjustified absences, and repetition of a grade, as well as polyconsumption.

Characteristics of illicit drug patterns by gender are also in line with previous studies, whereby illicit drug use was associated with males in a higher proportion . We found that boys had a higher use of illicit drugs, although at later ages than girls, such as cannabis use ever in life, cannabis use in the last 30 days, and cocaine use ever in life, which emerged as a significant association. This is a relevant finding considering that most of the students in the study sample were women studying nursing, and that the opposite was expected, as in the previous study by Colomer-Perez et al. . This suggests that female students possibly faced a perceived higher risk than males for all substances , or instead they may be more knowledgeable and practice healthy habits, in contrast to other studies, which suggest that male students had more heathy habits than girls , i.e., sedentary and overweight lifestyles which are more prevalent among female students compared to male students .Influencing factors were cultural differences between students .

Individual and contextual socioeconomic conditions affect the lifestyle and health status of individuals, leading to social inequalities in health. Evaluating social inequalities in health with respect to socioeconomic context is complicated by variations in the conceptual frameworks, methodological heterogeneity and differences in the interpretation guidelines of related indexes and indicators.Some studies have investigated the social differences between rural and urban populations by exclusively using the number of inhabitants as an indicator . Such a methodof classification may limit the findings generated by those studies as it does not consider other properties specific to the studied populations.Research on social inequalities in health has been mainly centred in large populations , while only a few studies have reported poorer access to social services, health care facilities or medically inappropriate behaviours in populations considered as rural in comparison with other larger populations .

Relying on population size exclusively in studying the social inequalities in health would lead to generalizing findings of numerous indicators that could differ between settings, even in regions with a similar number of inhabitants. The characteristics of the environment where people live, as one of the potential determinants in health, could affect the health behaviors of the population. For instance, studies carried out in Spain have suggested that behaviors such as eating habits differ between populations living in north and east Spain, pointing out, therefore, the need for surveillance of different risk factors for health in these populations . The prevalence of other risky behaviors such as substance consumption also differs between regions in Spain . These variations could be related to the different socioeconomic status between regions and might affect the physical and mental health status . Accordingly, we hypothesize that these populations, despite sharing certain socioeconomic characteristics and belonging to the same country and public health system, could present differences in factors that may influence health behaviors. Evaluating those factors could allow a better management of social and health services and resources. Extrapolating the findings of contextual socioeconomic conditions that are routinely used to explain the health status or health behaviour of another population that shares similar characteristics to the population under study, may introduce important biases.

This is particularly relevant in small municipalities . In addition to the contextual socioeconomic factors, other indicators such as family income, access to social and health services, public transport, leisure options , or demographic density may play an important role in explaining the health status or health behaviours of adolescents . Evaluating the association of population characteristics other than the number of inhabitants will help prevent misclassifying a population. The misclassification of populations can lead to erroneously associating a determinant or a characteristic with a specific outcome in the population. To study the health determinants and improve the health level of a population, it is crucial to adequately allocate it in the correct socioeconomic and sociodemographic categories, otherwise, health behaviors and health outcomes in different populations will be erroneously generalized, and fundamental determinants for the design and success of health interventions will be ignored. Accordingly, healthcare professionals must consider the contextual determinants of health that are specific to each population in order to design population-specific preventive strategies. In Europe, including Spain, most of the research on the association of socioeconomic context with health status and behaviour has focused on comparing mortality and comorbidity rates between large municipalities.

However, to-date, none have compared the health status and health behaviours between small municipalities while taking into account the factors related to inequalities in health, such as ethnicity, gender and social class. Health behaviours acquired in adolescence can have implications on health status in adulthood. Mental health problems during adolescence lead to increased morbidity and mortality. Suffering from bullying during adolescence affects physical and mental health . Moreover, risky behaviors such as the initiation of substance consumption, e.g., cannabis dependence in youth, are related to great psychological distress . In the Galician population, which forms a part of this study, an association was found between the following variables: negative mood, alcohol, tobacco and cannabis consumption, and having suffered bullying. Therefore, it is relevant to check if these associations are maintained across populations with similar socioeconomic characteristics.This study was carried out in Spain, Southern Europe.

Consistent with a previous approach , negative behavioral beliefs have been treated as a discrete construct in the current study resulting in four constructs to be evaluated against intention; negative behavioral beliefs, positive behavioral beliefs, normative beliefs, and perceived control. Response items were then evaluated by four third-party volunteers who gave their interpretation of each item including whether they considered the behavioral beliefs to be a positive or negative attribute of hemp food, and this was compared to the researchers’ transcript for confirmation. Once it was agreed that the interpretation was consistent with intended meanings, the items were transposed into the phase 2 questionnaire. Items to measure intention were developed in accordance with guidelines for measuring intention in TPB surveys .The use of TPB as a theoretical framework for the evaluation of acceptance of a novel food is not a new concept, however, evaluating the behavioral beliefs that form attitudes toward the food as discrete positive and negative entities is a new approach.

Negative attitudes toward factors related to a novel food have been previously reported as significant to their acceptance . For example, included negative attitude as a discrete construct in their study of acceptance of insects as a novel food. The current study accepted empirical evidence of the importance of negative factors in the evaluation of novel foods and developed discrete positive and negative attitudinal constructs from qualitative surveys of consumer behavioral beliefs. This approach proved beneficial to understanding the acceptance of hemp food as the negative attitude items while loading onto a single factor and correlating positively with each other, had differential effects on the construct associated with the psychological benefits of Cannabidiol oil. Originally developed as a component of positive attitudes, anomalies detected early in the analysis of the data led to the construct defined as relating to CBD being identified as a potential mediator between negative attitudes and intention to consume under the TPB framework. While the negative association of the CBD constructs with three of the items was theoretically and statistically supported, the positive association with two of the items was counterintuitive and is discussed below. In the qualitative phase of the study, a perception of an association between hemp food and CBD oil provided an impetus for the development of the items relating to the psychological benefits of CBD oil.

Reduced anxiety and increased relaxation were perceived by survey participants as a positive aspect of hemp food through this association. While these benefits are not promoted as applicable to hemp food, it is the perception of the benefits through association with CBD oil that contributes to a consumer’s intention to consume the food. What has been revealed through the application of SEM, however, is a differential influence of the perception of CBD on intention to consume hemp food, dependent upon which negative aspect of attitude is being addressed. On further examination, there appear to be three possible interpretations of the findings. The first is that despite the association of hemp food with CBD oil being perceived as a positive aspect of the product, there remains a belief that; a: There remains an association with both THC and CBD and a subsequent belief that potential for testing positive to THC after consumption of hemp food exists, and b: That not enough is known about the effects of eating hemp food. This association would be potentially problematic for the hemp food industry as it may suggest that despite assurances from industry and government sources that THC in hemp food is below detectable levels , consumer acceptance of this assertion appears to be low. The overall mediating effect of the association of hemp food with CBD oil, however, has a positive effect on the intention to consume hemp foods and can therefore be viewed as benefitting hemp food acceptance.

While this may indicate that an association withCDB oil has thus far influenced the acceptance of hemp food, the long-term outcome from such an association would not be beneficial. It has been demonstrated that knowledge of hemp food may be lacking within the marketplace but as consumer education increases and the distinction between CBD oil and hemp food becomes more apparent, any positive influence the misperception has had to that point may be reversed. The second interpretation is that a perception of anxiolytic and relaxation benefits in hemp food is attributed to a direct association with THC and purported side effects of illicit and “medicinal” use of marijuana. However, while this would explain the relationship between each of the negative attitudes and the CBD construct, it would only account for the increase in intention to consume hemp food if consumers were hopeful of and actively seeking THC in hemp food. While this may potentially apply to a particular subset of the population it is less likely to be discerned in a sample that has been deemed representative of the Australian population. The third interpretation may simply be that for at least some consumers, there is confusion surrounding the differences between CBD oil, THC, and hemp oil and food which results in the anomalies in the way that the CBD related survey items were interpreted by the consumer, the perception of it as a positive or negative aspect dependent upon whether the two entities are viewed as having different or similar properties.

However, the consideration of assertive behavior as a substance use protection factor is contradicted in some empirical observations . Therefore, this study aims to confirm whether assertiveness predicts cannabis use by adding extra empirical evidence when considering it as a central element in clinical and educational interventions. Over the last two decades, interest in studying Emotional Intelligence has increased. EI is understood as “the ability to recognize, understand and regulate one’s own emotions and those of others, discriminate between them and use the information as a guide to thoughts and actions” . It should be noted that the scientific literature distinguishes two EI constructs that can be differentiated on the basis of the measurement method used to operationalize it . On the one hand, self-reports measure trait EI through the perception of the person’s own emotional skills. On the other hand, the maximum performance tests of EI measure the cognitive ability to give correct or incorrect responses to emotional tasks. The trait EI construct belongs to the field of personality, while the second refers to cognitive ability, thus the scientific literature has been developed independently.

The EI self-report measures have been widely used in research. However, maximum performance tests have been barely used athough the literature highlights theimportance of applying them to assess the real capacity of people when solving emotional tasks . In the fifield of drug use, data from a systematic review confirmed the association between lower EI and a more problematic use of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, and other illegal substances mostly in adults . Some research that evaluated trait EI found that university students who used cannabis were less able to understand and repair their negative emotional states and started consumption at an earlier age . A higher perceived ability to regulate emotions was related to a lower frequency of cannabis use in other studies with adolescents . On the other hand, a high level of attention to emotions has been linked to a higher level of stress, which hinders the ability to understand and regulate emotions and increases the probability of cannabis use in adolescents . In terms of EI evaluated through maximum performance tests, the few existing studies such as the one carried out by Brackett, Mayer, and Warner , showed significant negative relations between the components of emotional perception, emotional facilitation, emotional understanding, and emotional regulation regarding the frequency of cannabis use in university students.

The authors concluded that EI was a protective factor against cannabis consumption, which also reduced the influence to use exerted by the peer group. This research aims to analyse the involvement of EI with respect to cannabis use in adolescence, and combines the assessment of trait and ability EI factors in order to provide a complete understanding of their role in the use of this substance. In addition, this study is one of the first to analyze the incremental and predictive validity of trait and ability EI with respect to other classical variables of protection, such as coping styles and assertiveness in relation to the cannabis use habit in adolescents . Finally, this research adds relevant information on the youngest consumers’ habits in order to guide future preventive interventions.The results of this study show that the prevalences of cannabis use in adolescents broadly coincide with the data reported in the last Spanish Survey on Drug Use in Secondary School Students . This fact has important implications at the prevention level and exalts the need for intensive work at the beginning of Compulsory Secondary Education and even in the the last years of Primary Education. The present research analysed the influence of coping styles and assertiveness together with the effects of trait EI and ability EI on cannabis consumption habits in adolescence. First, it should be noted that the first working hypothesis was completely fulfilled.

Based on the data obtained, it is observed that the style of active and social coping, as well as assertiveness and the factors of trait EI and ability EI appear to protect against some cannabis consumption behaviors; on the other hand, avoidant coping style and high emotional attention are shown as risk factors. Considering the size of the effect of the correlations between the predictor and the dependent variables, it should be noted that these correlations were weak , as has been observed in previous studies on drug use in adolescents . Secondly, the second hypothesis of the study was partially fulfilled. Once the age and gender of the participants were taken into consideration, all the factors of trait EI and only the ability EI factors of emotional perception and emotional facilitation helped explain the consumption habits alongside coping styles and assertiveness. Taking into account the age groups , the results showed that the perceived ability to repair negative emotional states and the ability to perceive one’s own and other’s emotions adequately explained cannabis use at some point in life in both age groups. On the other hand, assertiveness and avoidant coping styles predicted higher probability of consumption in the older group.