Correction: Lone pair driven anisotropy in antimony chalcogenide semiconductors

Correction for 'Lone pair driven anisotropy in antimony chalcogenide semiconductors' by Xinwei Wang et al., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2022, 24, 7195-7202, https://doi.org/10.1039/D1CP05373F

Alcohol consumption in young adults: the role of multisensory imagery.

Accepted 19.11.2013Little is known about the subjective experience of alcohol desire and craving in young people. Descriptions of alcohol urges continue to be extensively used in the everyday lexicon of young, non-dependent drinkers. Elaborated Intrusion (EI) Theory contends that imagery is central to craving and desires, and predicts that alcohol-related imagery will be associated with greater frequency and amount of drinking. This study involved 1,535 age stratified 18- 25 year olds who completed an alcohol–related survey that included the Imagery scale of the Alcohol Craving Experience (ACE) questionnaire. Imagery items predicted 12-16% of the variance in concurrent alcohol consumption. Higher total Imagery subscale scores were linearly associated with greater drinking frequency and lower self-efficacy for moderate drinking. Interference with alcohol imagery may have promise as a preventive or early intervention target in young people

Bridging the data gaps in the epidemiology of hepatitis C virus infection in Malaysia using multi-parameter evidence synthesis

BACKGROUND: Collecting adequate information on key epidemiological indicators is a prerequisite to informing a public health response to reduce the impact of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in Malaysia. Our goal was to overcome the acute data shortage typical of low/middle income countries using statistical modelling to estimate the national HCV prevalence and the distribution over transmission pathways as of the end of 2009. METHODS: Multi-parameter evidence synthesis methods were applied to combine all available relevant data sources - both direct and indirect - that inform the epidemiological parameters of interest. RESULTS: An estimated 454,000 (95% credible interval [CrI]: 392,000 to 535,000) HCV antibody-positive individuals were living in Malaysia in 2009; this represents 2.5% (95% CrI: 2.2-3.0%) of the population aged 15-64 years. Among males of Malay ethnicity, for 77% (95% CrI: 69-85%) the route of probable transmission was active or a previous history of injecting drugs. The corresponding proportions were smaller for male Chinese and Indian/other ethnic groups (40% and 71%, respectively). The estimated prevalence in females of all ethnicities was 1% (95% CrI: 0.6 to 1.4%); 92% (95% CrI: 88 to 95%) of infections were attributable to non-drug injecting routes of transmission. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalent number of persons living with HCV infection in Malaysia is estimated to be very high. Low/middle income countries often lack a comprehensive evidence base; however, evidence synthesis methods can assist in filling the data gaps required for the development of effective policy to address the future public health and economic burden due to HCV. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12879-014-0564-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Leave entitlements, time off work and the household financial impacts of quarantine compliance during an H1N1 outbreak

The Australian state of Victoria, with 5.2 million residents, enforced home quarantine during a H1N1 pandemic in 2009. The strategy was targeted at school children. The objective of this study was to investigate the extent to which parents’ access to paid sick leave or paid carer’s leave was associated with (a) time taken off work to care for quarantined children, (b) household finances, and (c) compliance with quarantine recommendations.This project was funded by two NHMRC Strategic Awards: “Call for research on H1N1 influenza 09 to inform public policy” (#628962) and “Changing patterns of work: Impacts on physical and mental health and the mediating role of resilience and social capital” (#375196). JM is supported by a NHMRC Career Development Award; DS is funded by an ARC Federation Fellowship

Concurrent use of prescription drugs and herbal medicinal products in older adults: A systematic review

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.The use of herbal medicinal products (HMPs) is common among older adults. However, little is known about concurrent use with prescription drugs as well as the potential interactions associated with such combinations. Objective Identify and evaluate the literature on concurrent prescription and HMPs use among older adults to assess prevalence, patterns, potential interactions and factors associated with this use. Methods Systematic searches in MEDLINE, PsycINFO, EMBASE, CINAHL, AMED, Web of Science and Cochrane from inception to May 2017 for studies reporting concurrent use of prescription medicines with HMPs in adults (≥65 years). Quality was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute checklists. The Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre (EPPI-Centre) three stage approach to mixed method research was used to synthesise data. Results Twenty-two studies were included. A definition of HMPs or what was considered HMP was frequently missing. Prevalence of concurrent use by older adults varied widely between 5.3% and 88.3%. Prescription medicines most combined with HMPs were antihypertensive drugs, beta blockers, diuretics, antihyperlipidemic agents, anticoagulants, analgesics, antihistamines, antidiabetics, antidepressants and statins. The HMPs most frequently used were: ginkgo, garlic, ginseng, St John’s wort, Echinacea, saw palmetto, evening primrose oil and ginger. Potential risks of bleeding due to use of ginkgo, garlic or ginseng with aspirin or warfarin was the most reported herb-drug interaction. Some data suggests being female, a lower household income and less than high school education were associated with concurrent use. Conclusion Prevalence of concurrent prescription drugs and HMPs use among older adults is substantial and potential interactions have been reported. Knowledge of the extent and manner in which older adults combine prescription drugs will aid healthcare professionals can appropriately identify and manage patients at risk.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Fluorinated phenmetrazine “legal highs” act as substrates for high-affinity monoamine transporters of the SLC6 family

A variety of new psychoactive substances (NPS) are appearing in recreational drug markets worldwide. NPS are compounds that target various receptors and transporters in the central nervous system to achieve their psychoactive effects. Chemical modifications of existing drugs can generate NPS that are not controlled by current legislation, thereby providing legal alternatives to controlled substances such as cocaine or amphetamine. Recently, 3-fluorophenmetrazine (3-FPM), a derivative of the anorectic compound phenmetrazine, appeared on the recreational drug market and adverse clinical effects of the drug have been reported. Phenmetrazine is known to elevate extracellular monoamine concentrations by an amphetamine-like mechanism. Here we tested 3-FPM and its positional isomers, 2-FPM and 4-FPM, for their abilities to interact with plasma membrane monoamine transporters for dopamine (DAT), norepinephrine (NET) and serotonin (SERT). We found that 2-, 3- and 4-FPM inhibit uptake mediated by DAT and NET in HEK293 cells with potencies comparable to cocaine (IC50 values 50 µM). Experiments directed at identifying transporter-mediated reverse transport revealed that FPM isomers induce efflux via DAT, NET and SERT in HEK293 cells, and this effect is augmented by the Na+/H+ ionophore monensin. Each FPM evoked concentration-dependent release of monoamines from rat brain synaptosomes. Hence, this study reports for the first time the mode of action for 2-, 3- and 4-FPM and identifies these NPS as monoamine releasers with marked potency at catecholamine transporters implicated in abuse and addiction