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Research demonstrates that asteroid deflection can be enhanced by different neutron energies

Original post: Newswise - Drug and Drug Abuse Research demonstrates that asteroid deflection can be enhanced by different neutron energies

A research collaboration between Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Air Force Institute of Technology investigates how the neutron energy output from a nuclear device detonation can affect the deflection of an asteroid.

Scientists compared the resulting asteroid deflection from two different neutron energy sources, representative of fission and fusion neutrons, allowing for side-by-side comparisons. The goal was to understand which neutron energies released from a nuclear explosion are better for deflecting an asteroid and why, potentially paving the way for optimized deflection performance.

corals carefully organize proteins to form rock hard skeletons

Original post: Newswise - Drug and Drug Abuse corals carefully organize proteins to form rock hard skeletons

Charles Darwin, the British naturalist who championed the theory of evolution, noted that corals form far-reaching structures, largely made of limestone, that surround tropical islands. He didn’t know how they performed this feat. Now, Rutgers scientists have shown that coral structures consist of a biomineral containing a highly organized organic mix of proteins that resembles what is in our bones. Their study, published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, shows for the first time that several proteins are organized spatially – a process that’s critical to forming a rock-hard coral skeleton.

Hacked again

Original post: Newswise - Substance Abuse Hacked again

For patients undergoing spinal surgery, the diagnosis of cannabis use disorder is associated with higher complication rates, including substantially increased risks of stroke and respiratory complications, reports a study in Spine. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

Medication Access for Opioid Use Disorder Lower Among Those Involved with Criminal Justice System

Among people with opioid use disorder (OUD), more than half have reported contact with the criminal justice system. A new study published today in Health Affairs reveals that Medicaid expansion is associated with substantial improvements in access to medications for OUD. However, the study also reveals that individuals referred for treatment by the criminal justice system were substantially less likely to receive medications for OUD as part of the treatment plan.

Carrying Naloxone Can Save Lives but Newly Abstinent Opioid Users Resist

Opioids are the main driver of fatal drug overdoses in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, resulting in 46,802 deaths in 2018, usually because the person stops breathing.

Naloxone — a Food and Drug Administration-approved medication used to reverse overdoses from opioids, such as heroin, morphine and oxycodone — works by restoring normal respiration to a person whose breathing has slowed or stopped.

“Opioid overdoses cause the largest number of accidental and avoidable deaths,” said Peter Davidson, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Medicine at University of California San Diego School of Medicine. “The human toll of drug addiction is devastating. Using naloxone to prevent opiate overdoses can and has saved many lives.”

In a study published in the March 23, 2021 online edition of the International Journal of Drug Policy, Davidson and an international group of researchers, found that opioid users who participate in a 12-step abstinence program and recently stopped using drugs refused to take home naloxone, even if having it on hand might save lives.

For the study, trained interviewers visited areas known for high drug use in three Southern California counties: San Diego, Orange and Ventura. Forty-four participants were asked questions about drug use initiation, overdose experiences, both their own and observed and past treatments.

“In our research, individuals who were newly abstinent from opioid use believed that carrying naloxone symbolically tied them to a drug-use identity that they were trying to leave behind,” said first author Jeanette Bowles, DrPH, who is now a postdoctoral fellow with the Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation in Toronto, Canada, but was a UC San Diego School of Medicine postdoctoral fellow at the time of the study.

“Twelve-step programs promote abstinence through social behaviors that include staying away from people, places and things considered to be tied to drug use. Naloxone was seen as an item linked to their drug use and clashing with these sober behaviors and their goal of abstinence.”

To reduce the stigma associated with naloxone, researchers suggest reframing the meaning of carrying naloxone to represent a commitment to group safety and the wellbeing of those “who still suffer” and relabeling naloxone training programs in substance use disorder treatment settings as “overdose first aid.”

In addition, researchers propose focusing on the lifesaving impact those trained to administer naloxone can have on their peers, and re-targeting naloxone distribution efforts to include persons at any phase of their drug use, including abstinence.

“It is very important that people understand that after periods of abstinence, the body is less tolerant if an individual resumes drug use, making them physiologically more vulnerable to overdose and death,” said Davidson, co-corresponding author and principal investigator. “If someone is experiencing an opioid overdose, it is important to recognize the signs and respond quickly to prevent death.”

In the United States, laws now allow people to access and use naloxone to respond to overdose with protection from liability.

The Addiction Recovery and Treatment Program at UC San Diego Health provides patients with outpatient behavioral treatment for substance use, such as cannabis, alcohol and opioids.

Starting Smoking Cessation in Hospitalized Patients Would Reduce Many Premature Deaths

Newswise imageEach year in the U.S., about 30 million hospitalizations occur in individuals 18 and older. Of these, more than 7 million are current cigarette smokers whose average hospital stay is several days. Researchers say that starting smoking cessation therapy during hospitalization and maintaining high adherence post-discharge can markedly improve permanent quit rates in these patients with minimal to no side effects. Cessation therapy also should include long-term counseling and at least 90 days of a prescription drug, specifically, varenicline.