123 research outputs found
The modes of administration of anabolic-androgenic steroid users (AAS): Are non-injecting people who use steroids overlooked?
Introduction: There is increasing public health concern about the use of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS). Understanding of drug use patterns and practices is important if we are to develop appropriate risk-reduction interventions. Yet, much remains unclear about the modes of administration adopted by AAS users.
Methods: We used data from a sub-sample of participants from the Global Drug Survey 2015; males who reported using injectable or oral AAS in their lifetime (n=1008).
Results: Amongst our sample, approximately one third (35.62%) reported using only injectable AAS during their lifetime while 35.84% reported using only oral, with less than one third (28.54%) using both.
Conclusion: These findings suggest there may be a sub-population of individuals who only use AAS orally. Needle and syringe programs (NSPs) are currently the primary point of health service engagement; forming the main healthcare environment for medical and harm reduction advice on steroids. Yet, NSP-based resources are unlikely to reach or be appropriate to those who do not inject AAS. While there is a general need for health services to be more accessible when it comes to AAS use, non-injectors are an overlooked group that require attention
Exploring mortality among drug treatment clients: The relationship between treatment type and mortality
Aims: Studies consistently identify substance treatment populations as more likely to die prematurely compared with age-matched general population, with mortality risk higher out-of-treatment than in-treatment. While opioid-using pharmacotherapy cohorts have been studied extensively, less evidence exists regarding effects of other treatment types, and clients in treatment for other drugs. This paper examines mortality during and following treatment across treatment modalities.
Methods: A retrospective seven-year cohort was utilised to examine mortality during and in the two years following treatment among clients from Victoria, Australia, recorded on the Alcohol and Drug Information Service database by linking with National Death Index. 18,686 clients over a 12-month period were included. Crude (CMRs) and standardised mortality rates (SMRs) were analysed in terms of treatment modality, and time in or out of treatment.
Results: Higher risk of premature death was associated with residential withdrawal as the last type of treatment engagement, while mortality following counselling was significantly lower than all other treatment types in the year post-treatment. Both CMRs and SMRs were significantly higher in-treatment than post-treatment.
Conclusion: Better understanding of factors contributing to elevated mortality risk for clients engaged in, and following treatment, is needed to ensure that treatment systems provide optimal outcomes during and after treatment
Electrochemical properties of micro-batteries with single NCM-111 secondary particles as cathode
Although lithium ion batteries (LIB) are already used in numerous applications, e.g. as power source in portable devices, the optimization of the battery performance, such as life-time, cyclability and energy density, is of large interest for using LIBs in e.g. electrical vehicles or temporary storage systems for renewable energy sources. Typically, the performance of the cathode active material is investigated using composite electrodes. Advanced composite electrodes consist of a complex architecture with comparably large secondary particles (10 ”m - 30 ”m) of the active material built up from nanometer sized primary particles. Furthermore, they also contain additives influencing the electrochemical properties of the composite electrode. To avoid such influences and to further optimize the performance of the cathodeâs active material a detailed understanding of the impact of the cathode architecture on the ionic and electronic transport processes is necessary.
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Low energy measurement of the 7Be(p,gamma)8B cross section
We have measured the cross section of the 7Be(p,gamma)8B reaction for E_cm =
185.8 keV, 134.7 keV and 111.7 keV using a radioactive 7Be target (132 mCi).
Single and coincidence spectra of beta^+ and alpha particles from 8B and 8Be^*
decay, respectively, were measured using a large acceptance spectrometer. The
zero energy S factor inferred from these data is 18.5 +/- 2.4 eV b and a
weighted mean value of 18.8 +/- 1.7 eV b (theoretical uncertainty included) is
deduced when combining this value with our previous results at higher energies.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let
Aggregation and fragmentation dynamics of inertial particles in chaotic flows
Inertial particles advected in chaotic flows often accumulate in strange
attractors. While moving in these fractal sets they usually approach each other
and collide. Here we consider inertial particles aggregating upon collision.
The new particles formed in this process are larger and follow the equation of
motion with a new parameter. These particles can in turn fragment when they
reach a certain size or shear forces become sufficiently large. The resulting
system consists of a large set of coexisting dynamical systems with a varying
number of particles. We find that the combination of aggregation and
fragmentation leads to an asymptotic steady state. The asymptotic particle size
distribution depends on the mechanism of fragmentation. The size distributions
resulting from this model are consistent with those found in rain drop
statistics and in stirring tank experiments.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Short-term changes in nightlife attendance and patron intoxication following alcohol restrictions in Queensland, Australia
Background: This study aims to explore short-term changes following the introduction of alcohol restrictions (most notably 2 am to 3 am last drinks). We examined patterns of nightlife attendance, intoxication, and alcohol use among patrons shortly before and after restrictions were introduced in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane: the largest nighttime entertainment precinct of Queensland. Methods: Street-intercept patron interviews were conducted in Fortitude Valley in June (n = 497) and July (n = 562) 2016. A pre-post design was used to assess changes in time spent out drinking/partying prior to the interview, time of arrival in the precinct, pre-drinking, and blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Results: Regression models indicated that after the policy introduction, the proportion of people arriving at Fortitude Valley before 10:00 pm increased (OR = 1.38; 95% CI = 1.04, 1.82). Participants reported going out, on average, one hour earlier after the intervention (ÎČ = â 0.17; 95% CI = 0.11, 0.22). There was a decrease (RRR = 0.58; 95% CI = 0.43, 0.79) in the proportion of participants who had a high level of intoxication (BAC â„0.10 g/dL) postintervention. No other significant differences were found. Conclusions: Earlier cessation of alcohol sales and stopping the sale of rapid intoxication drinks after midnight was associated with people arriving in Fortitude Valley earlier. Though legislative loopholes allowed some venues to continue trading to 5 am, the proportion of people in the precinct who were highly intoxicated decreased after the restriction. Further measurement will be required to determine whether the reduction has persisted
Alterations of immune response of non-small lung cancer with azacytidine
Innovative therapies are needed for advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). We have undertaken a genomics based, hypothesis driving, approach to query an emerging potential that epigenetic therapy may sensitize to immune checkpoint therapy targeting PD-L1/PD-1 interaction. NSCLC cell lines were treated with the DNA hypomethylating agent azacytidine (AZA - Vidaza) and genes and pathways altered were mapped by genome-wide expression and DNA methylation analyses. AZA-induced pathways were analyzed in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project by mapping the derived gene signatures in hundreds of lung adeno (LUAD) and squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) samples. AZA up-regulates genes and pathways related to both innate and adaptive immunity and genes related to immune evasion in a several NSCLC lines. DNA hypermethylation and low expression of IRF7, an interferon transcription factor, tracks with this signature particularly in LUSC. In concert with these events, AZA up-regulates PD-L1 transcripts and protein, a key ligand-mediator of immune tolerance. Analysis of TCGA samples demonstrates that a significant proportion of primary NSCLC have low expression of AZA-induced immune genes, including PD-L1. We hypothesize that epigenetic therapy combined with blockade of immune checkpoints - in particular the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway - may augment response of NSCLC by shifting the balance between immune activation and immune inhibition, particularly in a subset of NSCLC with low expression of these pathways. Our studies define a biomarker strategy for response in a recently initiated trial to examine the potential of epigenetic therapy to sensitize patients with NSCLC to PD-1 immune checkpoint blockade
Coagulation and fragmentation dynamics of inertial particles
Inertial particles suspended in many natural and industrial flows undergo
coagulation upon collisions and fragmentation if their size becomes too large
or if they experience large shear. Here we study this coagulation-fragmentation
process in time-periodic incompressible flows. We find that this process
approaches an asymptotic, dynamical steady state where the average number of
particles of each size is roughly constant. We compare the steady-state size
distributions corresponding to two fragmentation mechanisms and for different
flows and find that the steady state is mostly independent of the coagulation
process. While collision rates determine the transient behavior, fragmentation
determines the steady state. For example, for fragmentation due to shear, flows
that have very different local particle concentrations can result in similar
particle size distributions if the temporal or spatial variation of shear
forces is similar.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure
The Cross Section of 3He(3He,2p)4He measured at Solar Energies
We report on the results of the \hethet\ experiment at the underground
accelerator facility LUNA (Gran Sasso). For the first time the lowest
projectile energies utilized for the cross section measurement correspond to
energies below the center of the solar Gamow peak (=22 keV). The
data provide no evidence for the existence of a hypothetical resonance in the
energy range investigated. Although no extrapolation is needed anymore (except
for energies at the low-energy tail of the Gamow peak), the data must be
corrected for the effects of electron screening, clearly observed the first
time for the \hethet\ reaction. The effects are however larger than expected
and not understood, leading presently to the largest uncertainty on the quoted
value for bare nuclides (=5.40 MeV b).Comment: 18 pages, 10 postscript figures, Calculations concerning hypothetical
resonanz added, Submitted to Phys. Rev. C., available at this URL:
HTTP://www.lngs.infn.it/lngs/htexts/luna/luna.htm
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