Characterizing Individuals Who Elect and Decline Opioid Overdose Education and Naloxone Distribution to Tailor Programs and Expand Impact.

Background: In response to the opioid epidemic, federal agencies have stressed the importance of targeted naloxone distribution through avenues such as Opioid Overdose Education and Naloxone Distribution (OEND). OEND effectively reduces mortality by training laypersons to respond to overdose situations. Despite demonstrated effectiveness, OEND remains underutilized.

Impact of Nicotine Replacement Therapy Sampling on Cessation-Related Processes.

Objectives: Smoking prevalence remains high among low-income smokers. Understanding processes (eg, withdrawal, craving, motivation) in early smoking cessation is crucially important for designing effective interventions for this population.

Methods: This is a secondary analysis of a novel, in-session sampling intervention (ie, In Vivo) as compared with standard care behavioral smoking cessation counseling (SC) among community-dwelling low-income smokers (n = 83).

Learning Lab:: A Hands-On Way for Future Scientists to Engage with CRISPR.

The Learning Lab serves as a resource for students to come into a laboratory space and work with genomic scientists on cutting-edge CRISPR research. This opportunity was created to reach students with fewer resources in their classroom. We hope to expand this program further in the coming years throughout all of Delaware to further our mission of inclusion and equity in education.

An Open-label Pilot Study of NicoBloc as a Novel Smoking Cessation Intervention.

Introduction: NicoBloc is a viscous fluid applied to the cigarette filter designed to block tar and nicotine. This novel and understudied smoking cessation device presents a nonpharmacological means for smokers to gradually reduce nicotine and tar content while continuing to smoke their preferred brand of cigarette. This pilot study aimed to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and initial efficacy of NicoBloc as compared with nicotine replacement therapy (nicotine lozenge).

Preliminary effectiveness of online opioid overdose and naloxone administration training and impact of naloxone possession on opioid use.

Background: Despite the demonstrated value of opioid overdose education and naloxone distribution (OEND) programs, uptake and utilization remains low. Accessibility to OEND is limited and traditional programs may not reach many high-risk individuals. This study evaluated the effectiveness of online opioid overdose and naloxone administration education and the impact of naloxone possession.

Feasibility and acceptability of online opioid overdose education and naloxone distribution: Study protocol and preliminary results from a randomized pilot clinical trial.

Unlabelled: Drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in the United States, with over 70% of drug related fatalities resulting from the use of opioids. Federal agencies have responded to this crisis with various recommendations including enhancing harm reduction approaches such as training laypersons to administer naloxone through Opioid Overdose Education and Naloxone Distribution (OEND) programs. Several studies have demonstrated that OEND programs effectively reduce opioid overdose mortality and are both safe and cost-effective, however, they are typically implemented in urban areas as part of large medical center research programs, needle exchanges, or drug treatment programs.

Psychiatric Disorders and HIV Drug Risk Behaviors Among Individuals Under Community Correctional Supervision.

The prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is nearly three times higher in the incarcerated population than in the general population in the United States, and over half of the incarcerated population has a psychiatric diagnosis. Individuals under community corrections supervision continue to receive limited attention regarding HIV prevention and surveillance. Anxiety-related, depressive-related, and post-traumatic stress disorders are high in the community corrections population and may be potential correlates of HIV risk behaviors.

Efficacy and Safety of Ertugliflozin in Patients With Diabetes Mellitus Inadequately Controlled by Sulfonylurea Monotherapy: a Substudy of VERTIS CV.

Introduction: Sulfonylureas (SU) are commonly used antihyperglycemic agents. VERTIS CV was the cardiovascular outcome study for the sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor ertugliflozin. Enrollment of patients in VERTIS CV occurred in two sequential cohorts (Cohort 1 and Cohort 2).

A Pilot Study of Nicotine Replacement Therapy Sampling and Selection to Increase Medication Adherence in Low-Income Smokers.

Introduction: Adherence to smoking cessation medications remains suboptimal, particularly among low-income smokers. Guided, experiential sampling of nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) may increase NRT adherence and smoking cessation over gold standard counseling plus NRT. The present pilot study aimed to examine feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a novel experiential intervention.

Examining the neighborhood-level socioeconomic characteristics associated with fatal overdose by type of drug involved and overdose setting.

Background: Fatal drug overdose in the United States is a public health crisis fueled by increased opioid and polysubstance use. Few studies have compared the neighborhood-level socioeconomic characteristics associated with overdoses of various substance classes and, to our knowledge, no investigation has yet assessed these factors in relation to polysubstance overdoses. Further, no study has determined whether socioeconomic conditions predict other contextually relevant aspects of overdoses such as whether they occur at-home or out-of-home.

Pharmacies and features of the built environment associated with opioid overdose: A geospatial comparison of rural and urban regions in Alabama, USA.

Background: Elements of the physical environment have been shown to influence health behaviors including drug use and overdose mortality. Throughout the opioid epidemic in the United States, rural regions have been disproportionately affected by opioid overdose. Although the relationship between the urban built environment and opioid overdose has been established, little is known as to how trends may differ in rural areas.

Naloxone Training From Nonmedical Personnel: Benefits Before, During, and After Overdose Events.

Objectives: Drug overdose death rates in the United States have increased exponentially over the past 2 decades, primarily driven by fatal opioid overdoses. To combat this epidemic, naloxone training programs have become prevalent, but still remain widely underutilized. The purpose of the current study was to assess the benefits of a brief training with differing educational approaches (individual training versus training in dyads) as well as the outcomes following overdose reversals.

Attitudes and availability: A comparison of naloxone dispensing across chain and independent pharmacies in rural and urban areas in Alabama.

Background: Fatal opioid overdoses remain the leading cause of accidental deaths in the United States, which have contributed to implementation of standing order laws that allow pharmacists to dispense naloxone to patients. Although pharmacy distribution of naloxone is a promising approach to increase access to this intervention, understanding barriers preventing greater uptake of this service is needed.

Methods: Data for the current study were collected via telephone survey assessing the availability of various formulations of naloxone at chain and independent pharmacies in rural and urban areas in Birmingham, Alabama (N = 222).

Self-initiated gradual smoking reduction among community correction smokers.

Introduction: Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Many smoking cessation guidelines advise smokers to quit precipitately; however, most quit attempts involve a more gradual cessation. Characteristics of individuals who tend to reduce prior to quitting and the effectiveness of pre-quit reduction are not well understood.

Clinical presentation and course of bleeding events in patients with venous thromboembolism, treated with apixaban or enoxaparin and warfarin. Results from the AMPLIFY trial.

Apixaban, a direct acting oral anticoagulant (DOAC), was found to be non-inferior to and safer as enoxaparin followed by warfarin for treatment of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in the AMPLIFY trial. Information is needed on how bleeding events with DOACs present and develop. In this post-hoc analysis, the clinical presentation and course of all major and clinically relevant non major (CRNM) bleeding events in the AMPLIFY trial were blindly classified by three investigators, using pre-designed classification schemes containing four categories.

Four Forensic Entomology Case Studies: Records and Behavioral Observations on Seldom Reported Cadaver Fauna With Notes on Relevant Previous Occurrences and Ecology.

A yearlong survey of insect taxa associated with human decomposition was conducted at the Southeast Texas Applied Forensic Science (STAFS) facility located in the Center for Biological Field Studies of Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, TX. During this study, four insect-cadaver interactions were observed that represent previously poorly documented yet forensically significant interactions: Syrphidae maggots colonized a corpse in an aquatic situation; Psychodidae adults mated and oviposited on an algal film that was present on a corpse that had been recently removed from water; several Panorpidae were the first insects to feed upon a freshly placed corpse in the autumn; and a noctuid caterpillar was found chewing and ingesting dried human skin. Baseline knowledge of insect-cadaver interactions is the foundation of forensic entomology, and unique observations have the potential to expand our understanding of decomposition ecology.

Maternal Morbidity and Mortality: Identifying Opportunities to Improve Clinical Outcomes.

A better understanding of why women die during pregnancy, childbirth, or postpartum offers valuable insight into strategies aimed at preventing maternal deaths and arresting the progression in the severity of a complication. The rate of severe maternal morbidity and maternal mortality in the United States has been trending upward in recent years and has garnered national attention with concentration on bolstering reviews of maternal deaths and implementing patient safety initiatives. The obstetric nurse is in a unique position to improve maternal outcomes through the anticipation, recognition, and communication of the early warning signs of impending deterioration in maternal condition.

The accuracy of chromosomal microarray testing for identification of embryonic mosaicism in human blastocysts.

Background: Most previous studies of chromosomal mosaicism in IVF embryos were performed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) methods. While there are reports implicating chromosome aneuploidy in implantation failure following transfer and pregnancy loss by spontaneous miscarriage, the significance of mosaicism for the developmental potential of growing embryos is unknown. However, the low prevalence of chromosomal mosaicism in chorionic villus sampling and amniotic fluid specimens suggests the presence of selection against mosaic embryos for implantation and early pregnancy.

Expression of angiogenic chemokines in ovarian clear cell carcinoma.

Aims: The aim of this study was to assess the expression of angiogenic chemokines (CXCR4/CXCL12) and the vascular endothelial growth factor in ovarian clear cell carcinoma, comparing levels against those in ovarian high-grade serous carcinoma.

Material And Methods: Tissue microarray samples from 136 cases of epithelial ovarian carcinoma (108 high-grade serous carcinoma and 28 clear cell carcinoma) were reviewed with World Health Organization histological criteria strictly applied to categorize cases according to histological subtype. Only cases without prior exposure to chemotherapy were included.

Evidence for the involvement of free light chain immunoglobulins in allergic and nonallergic rhinitis.

Background: Allergic rhinitis is characterized by mast cell degranulation induced by antigen cross-linking of IgE. It has been proposed that some patients with rhinitis show nasal allergy in the absence of systemic markers of atopy, termed entopy. Recent murine studies suggest the existence of an IgE-independent hypersensitivity response involving antigen-induced mast cell activation, mediated by immunoglobulin free light chains (FLCs).

Mucosal thickening in allergic and idiopathic rhinitis mucosa and its probable mechanism.

Background: Rhinitis is a prevalent condition characterized by nasal mucosal irritation. Conflicting studies suggest that the mucosa of patients with allergic and nonallergic rhinitis undergoes thickening.

Objectives: To investigate mucosal epithelial thickening in allergic and idiopathic rhinitis and to determine if the mechanism is a consequence of altered proliferation or apoptosis.

[The public-private mix and health service utilization: a study of the therapeutic itineraries of Brazilian supplementary care beneficiaries].

This study analyzes the health-disease-care experience reported by users of the Brazilian supplementary system in cardiovascular, oncological, mental health and obstetric care in Florianópolis, capital of the state of Santa Catarina. It discusses the selection of indicators in these areas such as myocardial infarction, breast cancer, alcoholism and childbirth besides exploring socio-anthropological contributions to the management field. The results show a search for solutions in three interconnected sub-sectors of the system - the professional sector, the popular sector and the folk sector, the two latter being of greatest importance in mental and oncological care.