Findings from the DUMA program: internet access, and frequency and nature of use among police detainees

Examining access to and the extent of engagement with the Internet in illicit drug-using populations may provide an indication of the extent to which the online illicit drug market is usurping the physical illicit drug market, according to this report. Summary The advent of the Internet has created opportunities for the global exchange of information and purchase of goods and services. However, it has also facilitated the creation of online illicit drug markets and forums in which drug-related information can be exchanged between users. Bruno, Poesiat & Matthews (2013) reported that illicit drug-specific search terms (such as cocaine, ecstasy, hallucinogens and high) were used, on average, 39,700 times per month in the Google search engine in Australia. Examining access to and the extent of engagement with the Internet in illicit drug-using populations may provide an indication of the extent to which the online illicit drug market is usurping the physical illicit drug market. In 2006, Cunningham, Selby, Kypri & Humphreys examined Internet access in a sample of smokers, drinkers and illicit drug users (n=2,584) derived from the general population in Canada, through a random digit dialling technique. Restricting the findings to illicit drug users, 77 percent of cannabis users and 75 percent of cocaine users reported having Internet access. It would be anticipated that current Internet access rates would be considerably higher in all subgroups of the population, including illicit drug users, than those recorded in 2006

Findings from the DUMA program: impact of reduced methamphetamine supply on consumption of illicit drugs and alcohol

This paper presents an analysis of retrospective self-reports from methamphetamine users (police detainees) on the impact that periods of reduced methamphetamine supply had on reported consumption of methamphetamine, alcohol and other illicit drugs. Introduction Changes in illicit drug availability have been shown to impact users’ alcohol and other drug consumption. In late 2000 and early 2001, Australia experienced a sudden and dramatic reduction in the supply of heroin which has continued to the present date. This shortage has been attributed to, at least in part, supply-side reduction strategies undertaken by law enforcement. However, the benefits associated with this shortage were to some degree offset by the unintended consequence of displacement in illicit drug use, reflected in an increase in the use of other drugs, such as cocaine. Research into the impact of the heroin shortage on illicit drug users has resulted in an awareness of the need to understand potential unintended outcomes of supply-side drug law enforcement strategies

Findings from the DUMA program: methamphetamine drug market trends

Introduction Methamphetamine is a drug of national concern, with the Australian Crime Commission assessing it to be the illicit drug posing the greatest risk to the Australian community. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s (AIHW) 2013 National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS) reported that approximately 400,000 Australians had used meth/amphetamines in the previous 12 months. The NDSHS reported a stable rate of meth/amphetamine use in the general community from 2010 to 2013 of 2.1 percent. However, there was a shift in the type of meth/amphetamine used, from powder to purer forms like ice or crystal methamphetamine. Specifically, powder meth/amphetamine use among recent users decreased from 51 percent to 29 percent, while ice use more than doubled from 22 percent to 50 percent. In line with this, the frequency of methamphetamine use among injecting drug users in Melbourne remained consistent from 2008 to 2014, but users reported transitioning from powder to crystal forms of methamphetamine. Frequency of use of methamphetamine has also changed across the 2010 to 2013 period. In 2013, 15.5 percent of recent meth/amphetamine users reported daily or weekly use, compared with 9.3 percent in the 2010 survey. When examining use by form, approximately a quarter of users who mainly used ice reported using it at least weekly, compared with 2.2 percent of powder users who reported weekly use. Scott et al.’s study of injecting drug users in Melbourne found that those already using methamphetamine were starting to purchase the drug more frequently in 2013 compared with 2011

Findings from the DUMA program: drink and drug driving among police detainees

This paper finds that detainees do perceive a risk related to drink and drug driving, in terms of impairment in driving ability and potential detection by police. These conditions are likely to result in deterrence from drink and drug driving for some detainees. Introduction In Australia, random breath testing (RBT) was introduced in the mid-1970s to detect drivers under the influence of alcohol. This resulted in a reduction in fatal crashes and alcohol-related traffic accidents across Australia. The success of RBT can be explained through the classic deterrence doctrine, which suggests that decision-making is influenced by the perception of whether the benefits of the crime outweigh the risks of being caught. The introduction of RBT arguably increased the perceived and real risk of being caught, which positively influenced individuals’ decisions to refrain from driving while intoxicated. Following the successful implementation of RBT, between 2004 (in Victoria) and 2011 (in the Australian Capital Territory), random roadside drug testing (RRDT) was introduced across Australia. The aim of RRDT was to deter drug driving, decreasing both the prevalence of drug driving and the associated harms. In 2013, data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) indicated that drug driving and drink driving had been engaged in by more than one in 10 Australians (16% and 12% respectively) surveyed during the previous 12 months. Rates of drug driving are even higher in populations where illicit drug use is common, such as among police detainees, where 65 percent of detainees surveyed reported driving while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs in the previous 12 months. Examining perceptions of risk of drug driving, in terms of both being caught and legitimacy (perceptions of impairment to driving ability), will identify whether the preconditions exist to support drug driving deterrence through RRDT

Thermoelectric performance of Na-doped GeSe

Recently, hole-doped GeSe materials have been predicted to exhibit extraordinary thermoelectric performance owing largely to extremely low thermal conductivity. However, experimental research on the thermoelectric properties of GeSe has received less attention. Here, we have synthesized polycrystalline Na-doped GeSe compounds, characterized their crystal structure, and measured their thermoelectric properties. The Seebeck coefficient decreases with increasing Na content up to x = 0.01 due to an increase in the hole carrier concentration and remains roughly constant at higher concentrations of Na, consistent with the electrical resistivity variation. However, the electrical resistivity is large for all samples, leading to low power factors. Powder X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive spectrometry results show the presence of a ternary impurity phase within the GeSe matrix for all doped samples, which suggests that the optimal carrier concentration cannot be reached by doping with Na. Nevertheless, the lattice thermal conductivity and carrier mobility of GeSe is similar to those of polycrystalline samples of the leading thermoelectric material SnSe, leading to quality factors of comparable magnitude. This implies that GeSe shows promise as a thermoelectric material if a more suitable dopant can be found

Increasing thermoelectric performance using coherent transport

We show that coherent electron transport through zero-dimensional systems can be used to tailor the shape of the system's transmission function. This quantum-engineering approach can be used to enhance the performance of quantum dots or molecules in thermal-to-electric power conversion. Specifically, we show that electron interference in a two-level system can substantially improve the maximum thermoelectric power and the efficiency at maximum power by suppressing parasitic charge flow near the Fermi energy, and by reducing electronic heat conduction. We discuss possible realizations of this approach in molecular junctions or quantum dots.Comment: 4+ pages, 4 figure

Global Medicine, Parasites, and Tasmania

Until the 1970s, infectious disease training in most medical schools was limited to those diseases common in the area of instruction. Those wishing to explore a more globalised curriculum were encouraged to undertake specialist postgraduate training at schools or institutes of tropical medicine. However, the increase in global trade and travel from the 1970s onward led to dramatic changes in the likelihood of returning travellers and new immigrants presenting with tropical infections in temperate regions. Furthermore, population growth and the changing relationships between animals, the environment, and man in agriculture accentuated the importance of a wider understanding of emerging infectious diseases, zoonotic diseases and parasitic infections. These epidemiological facts were not adequately reflected in the medical literature or medical curriculum at the time. The orientation on tropical infections needed specialised attention, including instruction on diagnosis and treatment of such infections. We describe key global health events and how the changing field of global medicine, from the 1970s to early 2000, impacted on medical education and research. We describe the impact of global health changes in the Tasmanian context, a temperate island state of Australia. We retrospectively analysed data of patients diagnosed with parasites and present a list of endemic and non-endemic parasites reported during this period. Finally, we reflect on the new approaches to the changing needs of global health and challenges that medical programmes, learners and educators face today

Use of the Enterotest Duodenal Capsule in the Diagnosis of Giardiasis

The Enterotest was compared with stool examination and jejunal aspirate obtained at jejunal biopsy from the Crosby capsule, as a method for finding Giardia lamblia. Twentysix patients under investigation for malabsorption, as a cause of megaloblastic anaemia, were studied. Giardia lamblia was found on 6 occasions in 4 patients. The Enterotest was positive on 5 of 6 occasions, the Crosby capsule on 4 of 7, the first stool on 2 occasions, the second stool twice, and the remaining 2 had 3 negative stools. The Enterotest is a convenient and safe way of looking for Giardia lamblia and gave more positives than the Crosby capsule and stool examinations

Concept study for a high-efficiency nanowire-based thermoelectric

Materials capable of highly efficient, direct thermal-to-electric energy conversion would have substantial economic potential. Theory predicts that thermoelectric efficiencies approaching the Carnot limit can be achieved at low temperatures in one-dimensional conductors that contain an energy filter such as a double-barrier resonant tunneling structure. The recent advances in growth techniques suggest that such devices can now be realized in heterostructured, semiconductor nanowires. Here we propose specific structural parameters for InAs/InP nanowires that may allow the experimental observation of near-Carnot efficient thermoelectric energy conversion in a single nanowire at low temperature