Publications by authors named "Per Gundersen"

Benzimidazole opioids (nitazenes) are novel synthetic opioid receptor agonists that over the last few years have emerged on recreational drug markets, and their abuse has become a concern worldwide. In particular, limited documentation of their pharmacology and toxicology, along with their unpredictable presence in counterfeit medicines mistaken for established brands, pose significant challenges. Herein, we present a case of fatal intoxication with the nitazene etonitazepyne, after intake of tablets appearing like, and thus mistaken as, oxycodone.

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Afforestation is increasingly recognized as a critical strategy to restore ecosystems and enhance biodiversity on post-agricultural landscapes. However, agricultural legacies, such as altered soil structure, nutrient imbalances, and depleted microbial diversity, can slow down forest establishment or cause ecosystems to deviate from expected successional trajectories. In this opinion paper, we explore the potential of soil inoculations as a tool to overcome these challenges by introducing beneficial microbial communities that can accelerate ecosystem recovery and forest development.

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Systematic retrospective processing of previously analysed biological samples has been proven to be a valuable tool in the search for new drugs (e.g. new psychoactive substances (NPS)) and for quality assessment in clinical and forensic toxicology.

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Article Synopsis
  • The limited knowledge about new psychoactive substances (NPS) creates challenges in treating substance abuse effectively.
  • A man in his thirties underwent detoxification after using flubromazolam, a potent designer benzodiazepine, bought online, but drug tests failed to detect it despite identifying other drugs.
  • The case highlights the unpredictability of NPS use and how treatment plans may be unnecessarily complex for cases that are more typical than initially expected.
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Rocuronium is a neuromuscular blocking agent mainly used in anesthetic procedures. Two patients who died 53 and 76 days, respectively, after their last rocuronium exposure had low (0.002-0.

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The impacts of enhanced nitrogen (N) deposition on the global forest carbon (C) sink and other ecosystem services may depend on whether N is deposited in reduced (mainly as ammonium) or oxidized forms (mainly as nitrate) and the subsequent fate of each. However, the fates of the two key reactive N forms and their contributions to forest C sinks are unclear. Here, we analyze results from 13 ecosystem-scale paired N-labelling experiments in temperate, subtropical, and tropical forests.

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Background And Objectives: Metformin is used to treat gestational diabetes. It is also used to treat women with polycystic ovary syndrome and has been shown to prevent late miscarriage and preterm birth. However, increased renal clearance during pregnancy causes a decline in serum concentrations of metformin.

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The responses of forests to nitrogen (N) deposition largely depend on the fates of deposited N within the ecosystem. Nitrogen-fixing legume trees widely occur in terrestrial forests, but the fates of deposited N in legume-dominated forests remain unclear, which limit a global evaluation of N deposition impacts and feedbacks on carbon sequestration. Here, we performed the first ecosystem-scale N labeling experiment in a typical legume-dominated forest as well as in a nearby non-legume forest to determine the fates of N deposition between two different forest types and to explore their underlying mechanisms.

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Article Synopsis
  • Human activities have disrupted global phosphorus cycling, leading to increased phosphorus (P) inputs in ecosystems, but its effects on plant growth and diversity in tropical forests remained unclear.
  • A decade-long P-addition experiment showed that while phosphorus levels in soil and plant tissues rose significantly, it did not enhance the photosynthesis or growth rates of understory plants.
  • Surprisingly, increased P supply lowered seedling survival rates and reduced species richness and density, suggesting that higher P concentrations may come with increased carbon maintenance costs for plants, highlighting the need for caution when adding P to low P availability ecosystems.
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The effects of nitrogen (N) deposition on forests largely depend on its fate after entering the ecosystem. While several studies have addressed the forest fate of N deposition using N tracers, the long-term fate and redistribution of deposited N in tropical forests remains unknown. Here, we applied N tracers to examine the fates of deposited ammonium ( ) and nitrate ( ) separately over 3 years in a primary and a secondary tropical montane forest in southern China.

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The introduction of new psychoactive substances (NPS) on the illicit drug market has led to major challenges for the analytical laboratories. Keeping screening methods up to date with all relevant drugs is hard to achieve and the risk of missing important findings in biological samples is a matter of concern. Aiming for an extended retrospective data analysis, diagnostic fragment ions from synthetic cannabinoids (n=251), synthetic opioids (n=88) and designer benzodiazepines (n=26) not included in our original analytical method were obtained from the crowdsourced database HighResNPS.

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New psychoactive substances are emerging on the illegal drug market. Synthetic opioids including fentanyl analogues are of special concern due to their high potency. This indicates the possibility of low drug concentrations in vivo and calls for sensitive analytical methods and identification of the most appropriate analytical targets.

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The impacts of anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition on forest ecosystems depend in large part on its fate. However, our understanding of the fates of different forms of deposited N as well as the redistribution over time within different ecosystems is limited. In this study, we used the N-tracer method to investigate both the short-term (1 week to 3 months) and long-term (1-3 yr) fates of deposited NH or NO by following the recovery of the N in different ecosystem compartments in a larch plantation forest and a mixed forest located in northeastern China.

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Nitrogen (N) inputs from atmospheric deposition can increase soil organic carbon (SOC) storage in temperate and boreal forests, thereby mitigating the adverse effects of anthropogenic CO emissions on global climate. However, direct evidence of N-induced SOC sequestration from low-dose, long-term N addition experiments (that is, addition of < 50 kg N ha y for > 10 years) is scarce worldwide and virtually absent for European temperate forests. Here, we examine how tree growth, fine roots, physicochemical soil properties as well as pools of SOC and soil total N responded to 20 years of regular, low-dose N addition in two European coniferous forests in Switzerland and Denmark.

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The extent to which ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi enable plants to access organic nitrogen (N) bound in soil organic matter (SOM) and transfer this growth-limiting nutrient to their plant host, has important implications for our understanding of plant-fungal interactions, and the cycling and storage of carbon (C) and N in terrestrial ecosystems. Empirical evidence currently supports a range of perspectives, suggesting that ECM vary in their ability to provide their host with N bound in SOM, and that this capacity can both positively and negatively influence soil C storage. To help resolve the multiplicity of observations, we gathered a group of researchers to explore the role of ECM fungi in soil C dynamics, and propose new directions that hold promise to resolve competing hypotheses and contrasting observations.

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Synthetic cannabinoids are one of the most significant groups within the category new psychoactive substances (NPS) and in recent years new compounds have continuously been introduced to the market of recreational drugs. A sensitive and quantitative screening method in urine with metabolites of frequently seized compounds in Norway (AB-FUBINACA, AB-PINACA, AB-CHMINACA, AM-2201, AKB48, 5F-AKB48, BB-22, JWH-018, JWH-073, JWH-081, JWH-122, JWH-203, JWH-250, PB-22, 5F-PB-22, RCS-4, THJ-2201, and UR-144) using ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography-quadrupole time of flight-mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS) has been developed. The samples were treated with ß-glucuronidase prior to extraction and solid-phase extraction was used.

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Background: Poor drug adherence in hypertensive patients can lead to treatment failure and increased cardiovascular morbidity, as well as increased costs to society. An analytical method based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MSMS) was developed and validated for use in routine therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM). The method includes 21 antihypertensive drugs or active metabolites from the groups beta blockers (n=5), calcium antagonists (n=5), angiotensin II receptor antagonists (n=4), angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors (n=3) and diuretics (n = 3), in addition to one α1-selective alpha blocker.

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Background: The long-term toxicities after cisplatin-based chemotherapy (CBCT) reveal a remarkable inter-individual variation among testicular cancer survivors (TCSs). Therefore, we assessed long-term platinum (Pt) changes and their associations with CBCT-related late effects in TCSs.

Material And Methods: In 77 TCSs treated with CBCT from 1984 to 1990, blood samples for analyses of Pt and a questionnaire including self-reported neuro- and ototoxicity (NTX) symptoms were collected during two follow-up surveys at median 12 (Survey I; SI) and 20 (Survey II; SII) years after treatment.

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Two young males were hospitalized with miosis and respiratory dysfunction after exposure to a white powder obtained from a foreign source by mail. A few days later, one of the males was found dead at his home. A serum sample from one of the hospitalized patients and a blood sample from the deceased contained ortho-fluorofentanyl in concentrations of 2.

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Anthropogenic increase of nitrogen (N) deposition has threatened forest ecosystem health at both regional and global scales. In N-limited ecosystems, atmospheric N input is regarded as an important nutrient source for plant growth. However, it remains an open question on how elevated N deposition affects plant growth in N-rich forest ecosystems.

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Objective: Evaluate long-term cisplatin-induced ototoxicity in women treated for malignant ovarian germ cell tumors (MOGCT).

Methods: Seventy-four women treated for MOGCT in Norway (1980-2009) were analyzed: 41 had received cisplatin-based chemotherapy (CBCT) ("Cases") and 33 had no CBCT ("Controls"). Median follow-up was 15years.

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The effects of increased reactive nitrogen (N) deposition in forests depend largely on its fate in the ecosystems. However, our knowledge on the fates of deposited N in tropical forest ecosystems and its retention mechanisms is limited. Here, we report the results from the first whole ecosystem N labeling experiment performed in a N-rich old-growth tropical forest in southern China.

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Objective: To evaluate the associations between long-term serum levels of platinum (se-Pt) and neurotoxicity and ototoxicity (NTX), endocrine gonadal function (endocrine-GF), and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in testicular cancer survivors.

Material And Methods: A total of 292 cisplatin-treated testicular cancer survivors (1980-1994) participated in a national follow-up study (2007-2008). Se-Pt was quantified by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and categorized in quartiles.

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