•17 non-fentanyl novel synthetic opioids detected on EmpireMarket (06/2020-08/2020).•Non-fentanyl novel synthetic opioids represented 2.9 % of all opioids advertised.•587 items sold during the study ...period for an average weight between 858 g and 2.7 kg.•45.5 % of non-fentanyl novel synthetic opioids were advertised as shipped from China.
Novel synthetic opioids are fueling the overdose deaths epidemic in North America.Recently, non-fentanyl novel synthetic opioids have emerged in forensic toxicological results. Cryptomarkets have become important platforms of distribution for illicit substances. This article presents the data concerning the availability trends of novel non-fentanyl synthetic opioids listed on one cryptomarket.
Listings from the EmpireMarket cryptomarket "Opiates" section were collected between June 2020 and August 2020. Collected data were processed using eDarkTrends Named Entity Recognition algorithm to identify novel synthetic opioids, and to analyze their availability trends in terms of frequency of listings, available average weights, average prices, quantity sold, and geographic indicators of shipment origin and destination information.
35,196 opioid-related listings were collected through 12 crawling sessions. 17 nonfentanyl novel synthetic opioids were identified in 2.9 % of the collected listings for an average of 9.2 kg of substance available at each data point. 587 items advertised as non-fentanyl novel synthetic opioids were sold on EmpireMarket for a total weight of between 858 g and 2.7 kg during the study period. 45.5 % of these listings were advertised as shipped from China.
Fourteen of the 17 non-fentanyl novel synthetic opioids were identified for the first time on one large cryptomarket suggesting a shift in terms of novel non-fentanyl synthetic opioids availability. This increased heterogeneity of available novel synthetic opioids could reduce the efficiency of existing overdose prevention strategies. Identification of new opioids underpins the value of cryptomarket data for early warning systems of emerging substance use trends.
Highlights • We analyze Twitter data on the emerging trend of marijuana concentrate use in the U.S. • eDrugTrends platform was used to collect and process Twitter data. • Adjusted percentages of ...dabs-related tweets were significantly greater in states that allow recreational and/or medicinal cannabis use. • The study contributes to the emerging field of social media analysis for drug abuse research.
Sorafenib is an oral anticancer agent targeting Ras-dependent signaling and angiogenic pathways. A phase I trial demonstrated that the combination of gemcitabine and sorafenib was well tolerated and ...had activity in advanced pancreatic cancer (APC) patients. The BAYPAN study was a multicentric, placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized phase III trial comparing gemcitabine/sorafenib and gemcitabine/placebo in the treatment of APC.
The patient eligibility criteria were locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma, no prior therapy for advanced disease and a performance status of zero to two. The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS). The patients received gemcitabine 1000 mg/m2 i.v., weekly seven times followed by 1 rest week, then weekly three times every 4 weeks plus sorafenib 200 mg or placebo, two tablets p.o., twice daily continuously.
Between December 2006 and September 2009, 104 patients were enrolled on the study (52 pts in each arm) and 102 patients were treated. The median and the 6-month PFS were 5.7 months and 48% for gemcitabine/placebo and 3.8 months and 33% for gemcitabine/sorafenib (P = 0.902, stratified log-rank test), respectively. The median overall survivals were 9.2 and 8 months, respectively (P = 0.231, log-rank test). The overall response rates were similar (19 and 23%, respectively).
The addition of sorafenib to gemcitabine does not improve PFS in APC patients.
Chronic stress plays an important role in the development and exacerbation of symptoms in functional gastrointestinal disorders. To better understand the mechanisms underlying this relationship, we ...aimed to characterize changes in visceral and somatic nociception, colonic motility, anxiety-related behavior, and mucosal immune activation in rats exposed to 10 days of chronic psychological stress. Male Wistar rats were submitted daily to either 1-h water avoidance (WA) stress or sham WA for 10 consecutive days. The visceromotor response to colorectal distension, thermal somatic nociception, and behavioral responses to an open field test were measured at baseline and after chronic WA. Fecal pellets were counted after each WA stress or sham WA session as a measure of stress-induced colonic motility. Colonic samples were collected from both groups and evaluated for structural changes and neutrophil infiltration, mast cell number by immunohistochemistry, and cytokine expression by quantitative RT-PCR. Rats exposed to chronic WA (but not sham stress) developed persistent visceral hyperalgesia, whereas only transient changes in somatic nociception were observed. Chronically stressed rats also exhibited anxiety-like behaviors, enhanced fecal pellet excretion, and small but significant increases in the mast cell numbers and the expression of IL-1beta and IFN-gamma. Visceral hyperalgesia following chronic stress persisted for at least a month. Chronic psychological stress in rats results in a robust and long-lasting alteration of visceral, but not somatic nociception. Visceral hyperalgesia is associated with other behavioral manifestations of stress sensitization but was only associated with minor colonic immune activation arguing against a primary role of mucosal immune activation in the maintenance of this phenomenon.
Cannabis-related tweets were collected between January and April 2022 to estimate the availability and characteristics of cannabis products advertised on Twitter amid the legalization of recreational ...cannabis in Thailand. The Twitter API was called using the tweepy Python library to collect cannabis-related tweets in the Thai language. A total of 185,558 unique tweets were collected over the duration of the data collection period based on 83 search terms. Twenty thousand random tweets were manually coded by four Thai native speakers to assess the volume and characteristics of tweets proposing cannabis. 72.6% of collected tweets from the 20,000 random samples were coded as relevant to the study. 54.6% of relevant tweets were advertising cannabis products, 29.8% were personal communications, and 15.6% were related to news or media content. Among the tweets that advertised cannabis products, 94.4% proposed cannabis flower, 2.4% cannabis edibles and 1.8% cannabis concentrates. Consumption of potent forms of cannabis such as cannabis edibles and concentrates increase the risk of harmful side-effects, especially in a population with limited knowledge about these products. Our findings call for additional monitoring efforts and for increasing the public awareness on potent cannabis products emerging in Thailand.Cannabis-related tweets were collected between January and April 2022 to estimate the availability and characteristics of cannabis products advertised on Twitter amid the legalization of recreational cannabis in Thailand. The Twitter API was called using the tweepy Python library to collect cannabis-related tweets in the Thai language. A total of 185,558 unique tweets were collected over the duration of the data collection period based on 83 search terms. Twenty thousand random tweets were manually coded by four Thai native speakers to assess the volume and characteristics of tweets proposing cannabis. 72.6% of collected tweets from the 20,000 random samples were coded as relevant to the study. 54.6% of relevant tweets were advertising cannabis products, 29.8% were personal communications, and 15.6% were related to news or media content. Among the tweets that advertised cannabis products, 94.4% proposed cannabis flower, 2.4% cannabis edibles and 1.8% cannabis concentrates. Consumption of potent forms of cannabis such as cannabis edibles and concentrates increase the risk of harmful side-effects, especially in a population with limited knowledge about these products. Our findings call for additional monitoring efforts and for increasing the public awareness on potent cannabis products emerging in Thailand.
From 2018 to 2021, seizures of counterfeit oxycodone pills containing non-pharmaceutical fentanyl or other novel synthetic opioids increased significantly contributing to continuing increases in ...overdose mortality in Northern America. Evidence suggests that counterfeit pills are distributed through cryptomarkets. This article presents data regarding the availability and characteristics of oxycodone pills advertised on one major cryptomarket between January and March 2022. Collected data were processed using a dedicated Named Entity Recognition algorithm to identify oxycodone listings and categorized them as either counterfeit or pharmaceutical. Frequency of listings, average number of pills advertised, average prices per milligram, number of sales, and geographic indicators of shipment origin and destination were analyzed. In total, 2,665 listings were identified as oxycodone. 48.2% (1,285/2,665) of these listings were categorized as counterfeit oxycodone, advertising a total of 652,699 pills (93,242.7 pills per datapoint) offered at a lower price than pharmaceutical pills. Our data indicate the presence of a large volume of counterfeit oxycodone pills both in retail- and wholesale-level amounts mostly targeting US and Canadian customers. These exploratory findings call for more research to develop epidemiological surveillance systems to track counterfeit pill and other drug availability on the Dark web environment.
•33 Novel Synthetic Opioids identified on DreamMarket from 03/2018 to 01/2019.•Novel Synthetic Opioids represented 3.3 % of all opioid listings advertised.•On average 2.8 kgs of fentanyl and fentanyl ...analogs were proposed at each crawl.•High availability of Novel Synthetic Opioids from within and to the US.
The United States is facing a "triple wave" epidemic fueled by novel synthetic opioids. Cryptomarkets, anonymous marketplaces located on the deep web, play an increasingly important role in the distribution of illicit substances. This article presents the data collected and processed by the eDarkTrends platform concerning the availability trends of novel synthetic opioids listed on one cryptomarket.
Listings from the DreamMarket cryptomarket "Opioids" and "Research Chemicals" sections were collected between March 2018 and January 2019. Collected data were processed using eDarkTrends Named Entity Recognition algorithm to identify opioid drugs, and to analyze their availability trends in terms of frequency of listings, available average weights, average prices, and geographic indicators of shipment origin and destination information.
95,011 opioid-related listings were collected through 26 crawling sessions. 33 novel synthetic opioids were identified in 3.3 % of the collected listings. 44.7 % of these listings advertised fentanyl (pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical) or fentanyl analogs for an average of 2.8 kgs per crawl. "Synthetic heroin" accounted for 33.2 % of novel synthetic opioid listings for an average 1.1 kgs per crawl with 97.7 % of listings advertised as shipped from Canada. Other novel synthetic opioids (e.g., U-47,700, AP-237) represented 22 % of these listings for an average of 6.1 kgs per crawl with 97.2 % of listings advertised as shipped from China.
Our data indicate consistent availability of a wide variety of novel synthetic opioids both in retail and wholesale-level amounts. Identification of new substances highlights the value of cryptomarket data for early warning systems of emerging substance use trends.
Digital technologies continue to facilitate drug trading. Televend was an innovative combination of multiple digital technologies, with its backend hosted on the darknet, while purchases were made ...through the messaging app Telegram. Here, we provide an initial characterisation of this nascent market.
Televend and White House Market (WHM) were scraped (Jun–Jul 2021) and a global cross-sectional web survey of 15,513 drug buyers (Global Drug Survey; GDS) was conducted (Dec 2020–Mar 2021).
Televend was 10% of the size of WHM, the largest drug cryptomarket (4515/44,830 listings per week). Both markets predominantly contained drug-related listings covering similar drug categories, with similar country of origin and destination. Very few GDS drug buyers reported use of Televend (0.73%). Most Televend buyers (68/114) reported buying cannabis, then cocaine (20), MDMA (17), and LSD (12). The Televend and darknet groups had similar demographic and drug use characteristics; whereas compared with app purchasers, older age increased the odds of Televend use (aRRR = 1.06, p < .001), identifying as a cisgender woman decreased the odds (aRRR=0.43, p = .004), while last-year use of a greater number of drug types (aRRR = 1.20, p < .001) and less frequent drug use (aRRR=0.998, p = .032) increased the odds of Televend purchase.
While smaller, Televend was not noticeably different in its drug offerings to its largest cryptomarket competitor, and it attracted a cohort more similar to darknet than to app drug buyers. Future Televend-like markets may be attractive to people with less specialised technical knowledge who already routinely scroll through social media feeds.
•The Televend drug market innovatively combined darknet and app structures.•Televend was 10% of the size of the largest drug cryptomarket with similar offerings.•Televend attracted a cohort more similar to cryptomarket than to app drug buyers.•New digital market forms may attract different groups with complex effects on harm.
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