Grain Drying With Supplemental Solar Heat

The use of solar energy for drying shelled corn was investigated. In a three-year field study, energy re-quirements of a conventional low-temperature electric drying installation were compared with those of a similar system supplemented with the output of a simple, inex-pensive solar collector

Evaluating the role of a galanin enhancer genotype on a range of metabolic, depressive and addictive phenotypes

Funded by •ERC. Grant Number: 284167 •NIH. Grant Number: 1RO1DK0921127-01 •NWO. Grant Numbers: 463-06-001, 451-04-034Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Pregnant Smokers Receiving Opioid Agonist Therapy Have an Elevated Nicotine Metabolite Ratio: A Replication Study.

INTRODUCTION: Pregnant women exposed chronically to opioids smoked more cigarettes per day (CPD) and had a higher nicotine metabolite ratio (NMR), 3-hydroxycotinine/cotinine, a biomarker of nicotine metabolism and clearance, than those not receiving opioids. We examined CPD and NMR in a group of pregnant smokers, a quarter of whom were receiving opioid agonist therapy (OAT). AIMS AND METHODS: Pregnant smokers recruited to participate in a placebo-controlled trial of bupropion for smoking cessation provided a blood sample for measurement of NMR. RESULTS: Half (52.4%) of the 124 women with NMR data were African American. OAT-treated women (n = 34, 27.4%; 27 receiving methadone and 7 buprenorphine) were more likely to be white (79% vs. 30%, p \u3c .001) and to have a lower mean PHQ-9 total score (2.91 [SD = 2.83] vs. 4.83 [SD = 3.82], p = .007). OAT-treated women reported smoking more CPD (9.50 [SD = 5.26] vs. 7.20 [SD = 3.65], p = .005) and had higher NMR (0.78 [SD = 0.36] vs. 0.56 [SD = 0.25], p = .001) than the non-OAT-treated group. In a linear regression analysis adjusting for race, depression severity, and CPD, NMR was greater in the OAT group (p = .025), among whom the daily methadone-equivalent dosage correlated with NMR (Spearman\u27s ρ = 0.49, p = .003). CONCLUSIONS: Consistent with the findings of Oncken et al. (2019), we found that OAT smokers smoked more and had higher NMR than non-OAT smokers. As higher NMR is associated with a reduced likelihood of smoking cessation, the effects on NMR of both pregnancy and OAT could contribute to a lower smoking cessation rate in pregnant smokers receiving chronic opioid therapy. IMPLICATIONS: We replicated the finding that the NMR is significantly greater among pregnant smokers receiving OAT than those not receiving this treatment for opioid use disorder. Furthermore, we found that the dosage of the OAT was significantly associated with the NMR level. These findings may contribute to a poorer response to smoking cessation treatment in pregnant women treated with OAT, particularly those receiving high-dose therapy, and raise the question of whether novel approaches are needed to treat smoking in this subgroup of pregnant smokers

Pharmacokinetics, safety, and tolerability of a depot formulation of naltrexone in alcoholics: an open-label trial

BACKGROUND: Naltrexone is an effective medication for treatment of alcohol dependence, but its efficacy is limited by lack of adherence to the oral dosage form. A long-acting depot formulation of naltrexone may increase adherence. METHODS: A single site, 6-week open label study was conducted with 16 alcohol dependent subjects each receiving 300 mg of Naltrexone Depot by intramuscular injection. The main outcomes were safety and tolerability of the Naltrexone Depot formulation, blood levels of naltrexone and its main metabolite 6-beta naltrexol, and self-reported alcohol use. All subjects received weekly individual counseling sessions. RESULTS: The medication was well tolerated with 88% of subjects completing the 6-week trial. The most common side effect experienced was injection site complications. There were no serious adverse events. Subjects had naltrexone and 6-beta-naltrexol concentrations throughout the trial with mean values ranging from 0.58 ng/mL to 2.04 ng/mL and 1.51 ng/mL to 5.52 ng/mL, respectively, at each sampling time following administration. Compared to baseline, subjects had significantly reduced number of drinks per day, heavy drinking days and proportion of drinking days. CONCLUSION: Naltrexone Depot is safe and well tolerated in alcoholics and these findings support the further investigation of its utility in larger double-blind placebo controlled trials

Genome-wide association study of phenotypes measuring progression from first cocaine or opioid use to dependence reveals novel risk genes

AIM: Substance use disorders (SUD) result in substantial morbidity and mortality worldwide. Opioids, and to a lesser extent cocaine, contribute to a large percentage of this health burden. Despite their high heritability, few genetic risk loci have been identified for either opioid or cocaine dependence (OD or CD, respectively). A genome-wide association study of OD and CD related phenotypes reflecting the time between first self-reported use of these substances and a first DSM-IV dependence diagnosis was conducted. METHODS: Cox proportional hazards regression in a discovery sample of 6,188 African-Americans (AAs) and 6,835 European-Americans (EAs) participants in a genetic study of multiple substance dependence phenotypes were used to test for association between genetic variants and these outcomes. The top findings were tested for replication in two independent cohorts. RESULTS: In the discovery sample, three independent regions containing variants associated with time to dependence at CONCLUSIONS: Although the two GWS variants are not in genes with obvious links to SUD biology and have modest effect sizes, they are statistically robust and show evidence for association in independent samples. These results may point to novel pathways contributing to disease progression and highlight the utility of related phenotypes to better understand the genetics of SUDs

Genome-wide association study of opioid cessation

The United States is experiencing an epidemic of opioid use disorder (OUD) and overdose-related deaths. However, the genetic basis for the ability to discontinue opioid use has not been investigated. We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of opioid cessation (defined as abstinence from illicit opioids for \u3e1 year or \u3c6 months before the interview date) in 1130 African American (AA) and 2919 European ancestry (EA) participants recruited for genetic studies of substance use disorders and who met lifetime Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) criteria for OUD. Association tests performed separately within each ethnic group were combined by meta-analysis with results obtained from the Comorbidity and Trauma Study. Although there were no genome-wide significant associations, we found suggestive associations with nine independent loci, including three which are biologically relevant: rs4740988 i

International meta-analysis of PTSD genome-wide association studies identifies sex- and ancestry-specific genetic risk loci.

The risk of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following trauma is heritable, but robust common variants have yet to be identified. In a multi-ethnic cohort including over 30,000 PTSD cases and 170,000 controls we conduct a genome-wide association study of PTSD. We demonstrate SNP-based heritability estimates of 5-20%, varying by sex. Three genome-wide significant loci are identified, 2 in European and 1 in African-ancestry analyses. Analyses stratified by sex implicate 3 additional loci in men. Along with other novel genes and non-coding RNAs, a Parkinson's disease gene involved in dopamine regulation, PARK2, is associated with PTSD. Finally, we demonstrate that polygenic risk for PTSD is significantly predictive of re-experiencing symptoms in the Million Veteran Program dataset, although specific loci did not replicate. These results demonstrate the role of genetic variation in the biology of risk for PTSD and highlight the necessity of conducting sex-stratified analyses and expanding GWAS beyond European ancestry populations

Risk factors for alcohol and other drug use by healthcare professionals

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Given the increasingly stressful environment due to manpower shortages in the healthcare system in general, substance induced impairment among some healthcare professions is anticipated to grow. Though recent studies suggest that the prevalence of substance abuse is no higher in healthcare professionals (HPs) than the general population, given the responsibility to the public, any impairment could place the public at increased risk for errors. Few studies have ever reported predictors or risk factors for alcohol and other drug use (AOD) across a sample of HPs.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study used a cross-sectional, descriptive self-report survey in a small northeastern state. A 7-page survey was mailed to a stratified random sample of 697 dentists, nurses, pharmacists and physicians registered in a northeastern state. The main outcome measures were demographic characteristics, lifetime, past year and past month prevalence of AOD use, the frequency of use, drug related dysfunctions, drug misuse and abuse potential. Six contacts during the summer of 2002 resulted in a 68.7% response rate (479/697).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Risk factors contributing to any reported past year AOD use, as well as significant (defined as the amount of AOD use by the top 25% of respondents) past year AOD use by HPs were examined using logistic regression. Risk factors of any self-reported past year AOD use included moderate or more frequency of alcohol use, being in situations when offered AODs, feeling immune to the addictive effects of drugs (pharmaceutical invincibility) and socializing with substance abusers. Risk factors of significant past year AOD use were HPs with younger licensees, a moderate pattern of alcohol use and not socializing with substance abusers.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>National and state organizations need to develop policies that focus on prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of alcohol and other drug-using healthcare professionals. The results of this study may help to delineate the characteristics of HPs abusing drugs, leading to the development of more effective policies designed to protect the public, and move toward more tailored and effective intervention strategies for HPs.</p

The Relationship Between Alcohol Symptoms and Consumption Among Older Drinkers

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66310/1/j.1530-0277.1996.tb01104.x.pd