Uses of the ICECAP measure of capability in adults with neurological health conditions: a scoping review.

Purpose: The purpose was to identify how the ICECAP-A and ICECAP-O have been used with adults who have neurological health conditions.

Methods: Following the Joanna Briggs Institute framework, a scoping review was conducted, searching five databases (Scopus, CINAHL, MEDLINE, Embase, and PsycINFO). Studies were included if participants were adults (age 18+ years) with neurological health conditions, and ICECAP-A or ICECAP-O were used in the study.

Clinical Experiences With the Nitazene Class of Synthetic Opioids: A Cohort Study.

Objectives: Nitazenes are illicit novel opioid agonists, and data describing the clinical course, management, and outcome of nitazene opioid poisoning are limited. The aim of this study is to describe our clinical experiences with analytically confirmed nitazene opioid exposures.

Methods: We extracted data on analytically confirmed nitazene opioid exposures in a cohort of prospectively identified cases in a state-based comprehensive surveillance program in New South Wales, Australia.

Co-design of the Australian Prompt Response Network for a public-health focused intersectoral approach to information sharing on emerging drugs of concern.

The rapid emergence of new psychoactive substances (NPS) and other emerging drugs of concern presents a significant global public health challenge, necessitating agile and interconnected drug information systems to identify and communicate risks. In Australia, responses have traditionally been localized, lacking a nationally coordinated system to rapidly share information about emerging drug threats. The National Center for Clinical Research on Emerging Drugs (NCCRED) collaborated with jurisdictional networks, clinicians, scientists, policy-makers, and peer organizations to co-design and co-produce the national Prompt Response Network ("PRN").

Prevalence and risk factors of chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology in Northeast Thailand.

Background: Chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology (CKDu) has been reported mainly in agricultural communities, in hot and humid climates, but whether this is occurring in Thailand has not been fully documented. The prevalence of CKD is higher in Northeast Thailand compared to other parts of the country and this region is hot, tropical, and agriculturally based. Therefore, we evaluated the prevalence of CKDu determined by various criteria and the associated risk factors of CKDu in this region.

Contents and Time-Course of Falsified Alprazolam Detections in New South Wales, Australia.

Introduction: Falsified alprazolam tablets (sometimes called 'counterfeit alprazolam') typically do not contain alprazolam and instead contain novel benzodiazepines or other drugs. We describe temporal changes in the number and contents of falsified alprazolam tablets in New South Wales, Australia.

Methods: We searched a database of analysed police seizures between January 2012 and March 2024 for falsified alprazolam (tablet presenting as Kalma, Mylan, Xanax, Sandoz or Alprax brands, but not containing alprazolam and/or contained other drugs).

Content of selected nutrients and heavy metals in prenatal multivitamins and minerals: an observational study.

Background: Increasing consumer reliance on prenatal multivitamins and minerals (PMVMs) underscores the importance of ensuring their quality and safety. Adequate choline and iodine intakes during pregnancy are crucial for fetal development, yet discrepancies between labeled and actual content in PMVM products pose significant health risks. Additionally, the potential presence of toxic heavy metals, such as arsenic, lead, and cadmium, raises concerns about potential adverse health effects.

Trends in novel opioid use and detections in exposures and police drug seizures in New South Wales.

Introduction: Novel opioids, including non-medical and non-opium-based opioids such as fentanyl analogues and nitazenes, pose a significant risk of harm due to their high potency. There is little published data on novel opioid detections and harms in Australia, yet they are implicated in multiple deaths. This study describes the detections and harms of novel opioids in New South Wales.

Opioid overdoses following use of cocaine and methamphetamine in New South Wales, and the public health responses.

Objective: Recent years have seen sporadic reports in Australia of stimulants being contaminated with opioids. Since late 2023, there has been an increase in opioid overdoses among individuals in New South Wales (NSW) using substances believed to be cocaine or methamphetamine. We analysed the frequency and characteristics of these cases and describe our public health responses.

Early identification of the use of potent benzylbenzimidazoles (nitazenes) through wastewater analysis: Two years of data from 22 countries.

Background And Aims: The use of new synthetic opioids, such as the highly potent 2-benzylbenzimidazoles (i.e. nitazene) drugs, is a global health concern because of their increased risk of fatal overdose.

Mast cells are key mediators in the pulmonary inflammatory response to formaldehyde exposure.

Formaldehyde (FA) is a common chemical linked to respiratory problems such as airway hyperresponsiveness and pulmonary inflammation. Due to its toxicological effects and ease of mass production, FA is also recognized as a significant chemical threat by the U.S.

Modulation of the thiol redox proteome by sugarcane ash-derived silica nanoparticles: insights into chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology.

Introduction: Chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology (CKDu) is an epidemic which is increasingly prevalent among agricultural workers and nearby communities, particularly those involved in the harvest of sugarcane. While CKDu is likely multifactorial, occupational exposure to silica nanoparticles (SiNPs), a major constituent within sugarcane ash, has gained increased attention as a potential contributor. SiNPs have high potential for generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and their accumulation in kidney could result in oxidative stress induced kidney damage consistent with CKDu pathology.

Recurrent oncogenic ZC3H18 mutations stabilize endogenous retroviral RNA.

Endogenous retroviral (ERV) RNA is highly expressed in cancer, although the molecular causes and consequences remain unknown. We found that ZC3H18 (Z18), a component of multiple nuclear RNA surveillance complexes, has recurrent truncating mutations in cancer. We show that Z18 mutations are oncogenic and that Z18 plays an evolutionarily conserved role in nuclear RNA surveillance of ERV RNA.

REMOVED: Content of selected nutrients and potential contaminants in prenatal multivitamins and minerals: an observational study.

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies/article-withdrawal).

Large- and Small-Animal Studies of Safety, Pharmacokinetics, and Biodistribution of Inflammasome-Targeting Nanoligomer in the Brain and Other Target Organs.

Immune malfunction or misrecognition of healthy cells and tissue, termed autoimmune disease, is implicated in more than 80 disease conditions and multiple other secondary pathologies. While pan-immunosuppressive therapies like steroids can offer limited relief for systemic inflammation for some organs, many patients never achieve remission, and such drugs do not cross the blood-brain barrier, making them ineffective for tackling neuroinflammation. Especially in the brain, unintended activation of microglia and astrocytes is hypothesized to be directly or indirectly responsible for multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease.

Polymerization of ZBTB transcription factors regulates chromatin occupancy.

BCL6, an oncogenic transcription factor (TF), forms polymers in the presence of a small-molecule molecular glue that stabilizes a complementary interface between homodimers of BCL6's broad-complex, tramtrack, and bric-à-brac (BTB) domain. The BTB domains of other proteins, including a large class of TFs, have similar architectures and symmetries, raising the possibility that additional BTB proteins self-assemble into higher-order structures. Here, we surveyed 189 human BTB proteins with a cellular fluorescent reporter assay and identified 18 ZBTB TFs that show evidence of polymerization.

'Vitamin B17': Killing more than cancer.

Objective: Vitamin B17 tablets are sold (online) as an alternative cancer therapy medication. Its use however is not benign, given that it is metabolised into hydrogen cyanide. We aimed to measure the number of calls received by the New South Wales Poisons Information Centre (NSW PIC) regarding Amygdalin exposures.

Exposome and Metabolome Analysis of Sugarcane Workers Reveals Predictors of Kidney Injury.

Introduction: Sugarcane workers are exposed to potentially hazardous agrochemicals, including pesticides, heavy metals, and silica. Such occupational exposures present health risks and have been implicated in a high rate of kidney disease seen in these workers.

Methods: To investigate potential biomarkers and mechanisms that could explain chronic kidney disease (CKD) among this worker population, paired urine samples were collected from sugarcane cutters at the beginning and end of a harvest season in Guatemala.

Health burden of sugarcane burning on agricultural workers and nearby communities.

Sugarcane is the most widely cultivated crop in the world, with equatorial developing nations performing most of this agriculture. Burning sugarcane is a common practice to facilitate harvest, producing extremely high volumes of respirable particulate matter in the process. These emissions are known to have deleterious effects on agricultural workers and nearby communities, but the extent of this exposure and potential toxicity remain poorly characterized.