Pipe Distribution as a Harm Reduction Service for People Who Use Methamphetamine.

Background: Methamphetamine use is disproportionately high in rural settings, with rates increasing during the COVID-19 pandemic. While syringe service programs reduce disease transmission among people who inject drugs, limited research exists around the value of smoking equipment, specifically pipes, in minimizing harms associated with rural methamphetamine use.

Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with people who use methamphetamine in rural southern Illinois.

Chronic carbendazim exposure disrupts behavioral responses and redox-regulatory mechanisms in non-target detritivore Nauphoeta cinerea nymphs.

Carbendazim is widely applied in agriculture to control various fungal diseases during pre-harvest and post-harvest processes owing to its efficacy and cost-effectiveness. However, environmental and food contamination by carbendazim has become a global health issue. Indeed, the declining biodiversity of beneficial insects owing to agricultural intensification is currently of keen concern to the scientific community.

Mechanistic exploration of 6-shogaol's preventive effects on azoxymethane and dextran sulfate sodium -induced colorectal cancer: involvement of cell proliferation, apoptosis, carcinoembryonic antigen, wingless-related integration site signaling, and oxido-inflammation.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) poses a significant global health burden, being the third most prevalent cancer and the second most significant contributor to cancer-related deaths worldwide. Preventive strategies are crucial to combat this rising incidence. 6-shogaol, derived from ginger, has shown promise in preventing and treating various cancers.

Utility of zebrafish-based models in understanding molecular mechanisms of neurotoxicity mediated by the gut-brain axis.

The gut microbes perform several beneficial functions which impact the periphery and central nervous systems of the host. Gut microbiota dysbiosis is acknowledged as a major contributor to the development of several neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders including bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism spectrum disorder. Thus, elucidation of how the gut microbiota-brain axis plays a role in health and disease conditions is a potential novel approach to prevent and treat brain disorders.

Opioid use, prescribing and fatal overdose patterns among racial/ethnic minorities in the United States: A scoping review and conceptual risk environment model.

Issues: To date, there has been no synthesis of research addressing the scale and nuances of the opioid epidemic in racial/ethnic minority populations in the United States that considers the independent and joint impacts of dynamics such as structural disadvantage, provider bias, health literacy, cultural norms and various other risk factors.

Approach: Using the "risk environment" framework, we conducted a scoping review on PubMed, Embase and Google Scholar of peer-reviewed literature and governmental reports published between January 2000 and February 2024 on the nature and scale of opioid use, opioid prescribing patterns, and fatal overdoses among racial/ethnic minorities in the United States, while also examining macro, meso and individual-level risk factors.

Key Findings: Results from this review illuminate a growing, but fragmented, literature lacking standardisation in racial/ethnic classification and case reporting, specifically in regards to Indigenous and Asian subpopulations.