Life in the Atacama — Year 2: Geologic reconnaissance through long-range roving and implications on the search for life

The Life in the Atacama-2004 project, which included geological, morphological, and mineralogical mapping through combined satellite, field-based, and microscopic perspectives and long-range roving, led to the localization of potential habitats

Cost-of-illness analysis reveals potential healthcare savings with reductions in type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease following recommended intakes of dietary fiber in Canada

Background: Consumption of fibre-rich diets is associated with favourable impacts on type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular disease (CVD), two of the most costly ailments worldwide, however the economic value of altered fibre intakes remains poorly understood. Methods: A cost-of-illness analysis was conducted to identify the percentage of adults expected to consume fibre-rich diets in Canada, estimate fibre intakes in relation to T2D and CVD reductions, and assess the potential annual savings in healthcare costs with reductions in rates of these two epidemics. Results: Non-trivial healthcare and related savings of CAD$35.9-$718.8 million in T2D costs and CAD$64.8-$1,295.7 million in CVD costs were calculated under a scenario where cereal fibre was used to increase current intakes of dietary fibre to the recommended levels of 38 g per day for men and 25 g per day for women. Each 1 g per day increase in fibre consumption resulted in annual CAD$2.6-$51.1 and $4.6-$92.1 million savings for T2D and CVD, respectively. Conclusions: Strategies to increase consumers’ knowledge of the recommended dietary fibre intakes, as part of healthy diet, and to facilitate stakeholder synergy are warranted to enable better management of costs associated with T2D and CVD in Canada

Spectroscopic results from the Life in the Atacama (LITA) project 2004 field season

Analysis of spectroscopy datasets from rover field tests in the Atacama Desert (Chile), focusing on the composition of the surface and identification of potential habitats for life

Searching for life with rovers: exploration methods and science results from the 2004 field campaign of the “Life in the Atacama” project and applications to future Mars Missions

LITA develops and field tests a long-range automated rover and a science payload to search for microbial life in the Atacama. The Atacama's evolution provides a unique training ground for designing and testing exploration strategies and life detection methods for the search for life on Mars

Opioid Misuse: A Review of the Main Issues, Challenges, and Strategies

In the United States, from 1999 to 2019, opioid overdose, either regularly prescribed or illegally acquired, was the cause of death for nearly 500,000 people. In addition to this pronounced mortality burden that has increased gradually over time, opioid overdose has significant morbidity with severe risks and side effects. As a result, opioid misuse is a cause for concern and is considered an epidemic. This article examines the trends and consequences of the opioid epidemic presented in recent international literature, reflecting on the causes of this phenomenon and the possible strategies to address it. The detailed analysis of 33 international articles highlights numerous impacts in the social, public health, economic, and political spheres. The prescription opioid epidemic is an almost exclusively North American problem. This phenomenon should be carefully evaluated from a healthcare systems perspective, for consequential risks and harms of aggressive opioid prescription practices for pain management. Appropriate policies are required to manage opioid use and prevent abuse efficiently. Examples of proper policies vary, such as the use of validated questionnaires for the early identification of patients at risk of addiction, the effective use of regional and national prescription monitoring programs, and the proper dissemination and translation of knowledge to highlight the risks of prescription opioid abuse

Opioid Misuse: A Review of the Main Issues, Challenges, and Strategies

In the United States, from 1999 to 2019, opioid overdose, either regularly prescribed or illegally acquired, was the cause of death for nearly 500,000 people. In addition to this pronounced mortality burden that has increased gradually over time, opioid overdose has significant morbidity with se-vere risks and side effects. As a result, opioid misuse is a cause for concern and is considered an epidemic. This article examines the trends and consequences of the opioid epidemic presented in recent international literature, reflecting on the causes of this phenomenon and the possible strat-egies to address it. The detailed analysis of 33 international articles highlights numerous impacts in the social, public health, economic, and political spheres. The prescription opioid epidemic is an almost exclusively North American problem. This phenomenon should be carefully evaluated from a healthcare systems perspective, for consequential risks and harms of aggressive opioid prescrip-tion practices for pain management. Appropriate policies are required to manage opioid use and prevent abuse efficiently. Examples of proper policies vary, such as the use of validated question-naires for the early identification of patients at risk of addiction, the effective use of regional and national prescription monitoring programs, and the proper dissemination and translation of knowledge to highlight the risks of prescription opioid abuse

Hydrothermal Alteration of Ultramafic Rocks in Ladon Basin, Mars—Insights From CaSSIS, HiRISE, CRISM, and CTX

The evolution of the Ladon basin has been marked by intense geological activity and the discharge of huge volumes of water from the Martian highlands to the lowlands in the late Noachian and Hesperian. We explore the potential of the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter/Color and Stereo Surface Imaging System color image data set for geological interpretation and show that it is particularly effective for geologic mapping in combination with other data sets such as HiRISE, Context, and Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars. The study area displays dark lobate flows of upper Hesperian to early Amazonian age, which were likely extruded from a regional extensional fault network. Spectral analysis suggests that these flows and the underlying rocks are ultramafic. Two distinct altered levels are observed below the lobate flows. The upper, yellow-orange level shows hundreds of structurally controlled narrow ridges reminiscent of ridges of listwanite, a suite of silicified, fracture-controlled silica-carbonate rocks derived from an ultramafic source and from serpentine. In addition to serpentinite, the detected mineral assemblages may include chlorite, carbonates, and talc. Kaolin minerals are detected in the lower, white level, which could have formed by groundwater alteration of plagioclase in the volcanic pile. Volcanism, tectonics, hydrothermal activity, and kaolinization are interpreted to be coeval, with hydrothermal activity and kaolinization controlled by the interactions between the aquifer and the hot, ultramafic lobate flows. Following our interpretations, East Ladon may host the first listwanite ridges described on Mars, involving a hydrothermal system rooted in a Hesperian aquifer and affecting ultramafic rocks from a magmatic source yet to be identified