Explore the vast range of titles available.

Background The use of psychoactive substances is a key public health issue due to its impact on mental, physical, and social health. Integrated drug checking is a well-known harm reduction and addiction prevention measure and is currently implemented in four federal states in Austria. The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of drug checking use among a web-survey sample of people who use drugs (PWUD) in Austria and to examine differences in socio-demographic and substance use characteristics between individuals with and without drug checking experience. In addition, reasons for not using these services are explored. Methods A secondary data analysis of the Austrian data from the European Web Survey on Drugs (EWSD), a targeted survey conducted between March and May 2021 was performed. Based on reported drug checking experience, the data set was divided into two groups - those with and without drug checking experience – and compared. Results In this web-survey sample of PWUD ( n  = 1113), 20.1% reported prior use of a drug checking service in Austria. The groups with drug checking experience ( n  = 224) and those without ( n  = 889) differed significantly in both univariate and multivariate analyses. Univariate analysis revealed significant differences in terms of age, household composition, highest level of education, employment status, region of residence, substance use prevalences and treatment experience. Participants who used cannabis only had significantly less experience with drug checking. No significant differences were found regarding gender and income. While logistic regression analysis showed a significant relationship between sociodemographic predictors and drug checking experience, this relationship was relatively weak. The main reasons for not having used the services yet included a high level of trust in the source of supply (68%), confidence in receiving high quality of substances (64%), and a lack of service availability near the place of residence (62%). Conclusions The results indicate that drug checking services are well-accepted and trusted but not equally accessed by and accessible to all PWUD. Specifically, people who use only cannabis and those residing with parents or in rural or small-town areas access services less. In conclusion, there is considerable potential for expanding the availability and accessibility of drug checking services in Austria, particularly to reach underserved groups of PWUD who could benefit from this intervention.

Um dieser Herausforderung entgegentreten zu können, wurde „Drink Smart“, eine Active & Assisted Living- Lösung, entwickelt. Das zweite Ziel — ebenfalls unter Performanz fallend — war die Kommunikation des Drink Smart Systems mit einer elektronischen Pflegedokumentation bzw. das Angebot einer Stand-Alone-Lösung mithilfe einer Smartphone Applikation. Für die Evaluation der Projektziele wurden den Überkategorien Forschungsfragen zugeordnet, beispielsweise _ Welche technische Performanz erreicht das Drink Smart System im Alltag und in der Nutzung durch die Zielgruppen? _ Welche Funktionalitäten konnten bzw. konnten nicht umgesetzt werden? _ Welche technische Performanz erreicht das System in einer praxisnahen Anwendung? _ Welche Probleme können in der Gebrauchstauglichkeit während des Pre-Trails identifiziert werden? _ Welche Usability-Probleme bzw. Während der Pre-Trials fand eine heuristische Evaluation durch eine Expertin in Bezug auf die Usability sowie eine Testung auf Stabilität, Funktionalität und Einsatzsicherhit durch Projektmitarbeiter der Fachhochschule Campus Wien (FHCW) und der MIK — mobile, individuelle Krankenpflege -OG statt.

Background Succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) has been associated with carcinogenesis in pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma. In the present study we investigated components of the oxidative phosphorylation system in human neuroblastoma tissue samples. Methods Spectrophotometric measurements, immunohistochemical analysis and Western blot analysis were used to characterize the aerobic mitochondrial energy metabolism in neuroblastomas (NB). Results Compared to mitochondrial citrate synthase, SDH activity was severely reduced in NB (n = 14) versus kidney tissue. However no pathogenic mutations could be identified in any of the four subunits of SDH. Furthermore, no genetic alterations could be identified in the two novel SDH assembly factors SDHAF1 and SDH5. Alterations in genes encoding nfs-1, frataxin and isd-11 that could lead to a diminished SDH activity have not been detected in NB. Conclusion Because downregulation of other complexes of the oxidative phosphorylation system was also observed, a more generalized reduction of mitochondrial respiration seems to be present in neuroblastoma in contrast to the single enzyme defect found in hereditary pheochromocytomas.

Background The human placenta, a tissue with a lifespan limited to the period of pregnancy, is exposed to varying shear rates by maternal blood perfusion depending on the stage of development. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of fluidic shear stress on the human trophoblast transcriptome and metabolism. Results Based on a trophoblast cell line cultured in a fluidic flow system, changes caused by shear stress were analyzed and compared to static conditions. RNA sequencing and bioinformatics analysis revealed an altered transcriptome and enriched gene ontology terms associated with amino acid and mitochondrial metabolism. A decreased GLUT1 expression and reduced glucose uptake, together with downregulated expression of key glycolytic rate-limiting enzymes, hexokinase 2 and phosphofructokinase 1 was observed. Altered mitochondrial ATP levels and mass spectrometry data, suggested a shift in energy production from glycolysis towards mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. This shift in energy production could be supported by increased expression of glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase variants in response to shear stress as well as under low glucose availability or after silencing of GLUT1. The shift towards amino acid metabolic pathways could be supported by significantly altered amino acid levels, like glutamic acid, cysteine and serine. Downregulation of GLUT1 and glycolytic rate-limiting enzymes, with concomitant upregulation of glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase 2 was confirmed in first trimester placental explants cultured under fluidic flow. In contrast, high fluid shear stress decreased glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase 2 expression in term placental explants when compared to low flow rates. Placental tissue from pregnancies with intrauterine growth restriction are exposed to high shear rates and showed also decreased glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase 2, while GLUT1 was unchanged and glycolytic rate-limiting enzymes showed a trend to be upregulated. The results were generated by using qPCR, immunoblots, quantification of immunofluorescent pictures, padlock probe hybridization, mass spectrometry and FRET-based measurement. Conclusion Our study suggests that onset of uteroplacental blood flow is accompanied by a shift from a predominant glycolytic- to an alternative amino acid converting metabolism in the villous trophoblast. Rheological changes with excessive fluidic shear stress at the placental surface, may disrupt this alternative amino acid pathway in the syncytiotrophoblast and could contribute to intrauterine growth restriction.