Critical Overview of Current Drug Abuse in Puerto Rico based on Governmental Data.

The abuse of psychoactive substances poses a critical public health challenge in Puerto Rico, with far-reaching implications for both individuals and society as a whole. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the patterns and trends associated with drug abuse in Puerto Rico, focusing on alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, benzodiazepines, opioids, and methadone. Recent statistics reveal a concerning increase in substance abuse, particularly among young adults.

Cells and circuits for amygdala neuroplasticity in the transition to chronic pain.

Maladaptive plasticity is linked to the chronification of diseases such as pain, but the transition from acute to chronic pain is not well understood mechanistically. Neuroplasticity in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) has emerged as a mechanism for sensory and emotional-affective aspects of injury-induced pain, although evidence comes from studies conducted almost exclusively in acute pain conditions and agnostic to cell type specificity. Here, we report time-dependent changes in genetically distinct and projection-specific CeA neurons in neuropathic pain.

Population-level gene expression can repeatedly link genes to functions in maize.

Transcriptome-wide association studies (TWAS) can provide single gene resolution for candidate genes in plants, complementing genome-wide association studies (GWAS) but efforts in plants have been met with, at best, mixed success. We generated expression data from 693 maize genotypes, measured in a common field experiment, sampled over a 2-h period to minimize diurnal and environmental effects, using full-length RNA-seq to maximize the accurate estimation of transcript abundance. TWAS could identify roughly 10 times as many genes likely to play a role in flowering time regulation as GWAS conducted data from the same experiment.

A combination crown lengthening and implant placement guide.

Surgical procedures, including crown lengthening and implant placement, have become more predictable and less invasive because of the use of digital planning tools. A method combining a cone beam computed tomography and a digital scan with a virtual planning software program is described to fabricate a combination guide for both surgical esthetic crown lengthening and guided implant placement.