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Background and ObjectivesResearch on substance use disorder (SUD) among Muslims in the United States (US) is limited. There are several unique factors, including denial and stigma, that make this population at risk of SUD. This study explored the prevalence, treatment utilization, and impact of SUD among Muslims in the US compared with a matched control group from general respondents.MethodsData from 372 self‐identified Muslims were obtained from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions III. A matched non‐Muslim control group (N = 744) were selected based on demographics and other SUD‐related clinical variables. The impact of SUD was assessed using the 12‐Item Short Form Health Survey (SF‐12).ResultsAmong the 372 Muslims, 53 (10.85%) had lifetime alcohol/drug use disorder, while 75 (18.42%) had lifetime tobacco use disorder (TUD). With statistical significance, alcohol use disorder (AUD) was lower while TUD was higher in the Muslim group than in the control group. The rates of all other substances were not statistically different between the Muslim and control groups. The Muslim group have higher help‐seeking and a lower mean score on the SF‐12 emotional scale than the control group.Conclusion and Scientific SignificanceMuslim Americans have higher prevalence of TUD, lower prevalence of AUD, and similar prevalence of other SUD compared to the public. Affected individuals have poor emotional functioning which may be exacerbated by the impact of stigma. This is the first study to estimate prevalence of variety of SUD in American Muslims from a national representative sample.

Simple, lower-cost, selective and highly sensitive methods for the assessment of Selenium (IV) as a critical environmental pollutant are highly desirable, especially under resource limited settings. Therefore, herein we describe the coupling of digital imaging with catalytic analysis for the extremely sensitive determination of Se(IV) using its catalytic effect on the micellar sensitized Methylene blue (MB)hydrosulfide reduction reaction. The initial rate kinetic measurement was applied by following the decolorization of MB within 60 sec of mixing the reactants using a digital camera or spectrophotometrically at 665 nm. The optimum reaction conditions were: 9.0 mol L -1 MB, 10.0 mmol L -1 Na 2 S, 6.3 mmol L -1 Na 2 SO 3 , 8.0 mmol L -1 CTAB, 90.0 mmol L -1 borax, 0.15 v/v% HCHO, 30.0 mmol L -1 of EDTA, 3.0 v/v% triethanolamine, at pH = 9.30±0.10 and 30C. The calibration graphs fitted second order polynomial equations for up to 19.0 and 20.0 ng mL -1 Se(IV) with a detection limit (3S b ) of 0.2 and 0.5 ng mL -1 Se(IV), for the spectrophotometric and digital imaging monitoring respectively. The amended methods were successfully applied to various natural waters and bird feed samples. The analytical data were statistically in excellent agreement with those obtained following the official AOAC 996.16 method.

More than 70% of subjects have excess skin (ES) after bariatric surgery causing physical and psychosocial daily life inconveniences. These negative consequences may be a barrier to the practice of physical activity (PA), which is highly recommended to optimize bariatric surgery results. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of ES on the practice of PA in women who have undergone bariatric surgery. Questionnaires administrated to 26 women (29.1AE0.8kg.m 2), who underwent bariatric surgery 2AE0.2 years before, evaluated daily life inconveniences and mobility limitations caused by ES, the practice of PA, physical self-perception and physical exercise beliefs. We used the 6-min walking test and muscular endurance tests to evaluate the physical fitness and photographs with anatomic markers to quantify ES. Among the subjects, 76.9% declared mobility limitations caused by ES during the practice of PA and 45.2% stated avoiding PA because of ES, which caused sloshing, weightiness, hygiene problems and people staring. The women avoiding PA because of ES had significantly lower physical selfperception, physical fitness and more embarrassment during PA without significant difference in the magnitude of ES (p¼0.06), BMI, daily life inconveniences and energy expenditure compared to women not avoiding PA. ES is a barrier to practice PA in some patients, but does not prevent the regular practice of PA and the magnitude of ES does not seem to be related to the PA avoidance.