•Finland had a different drug profile compared to the other countries.•Opioids were the main cause of death among fatal poisoned drug addicts in all countries.•Cocaine and MDMA deaths increased in ...all countries.•Sweden saw a high number of deaths from fentanyl analogues.•New psychoactive substances have emerged in all countries except Iceland.
This study is the seventh report on fatal poisonings among drug addicts in the Nordic countries. In this report, we analyse data from the five Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Data on gender, number of deaths, places of deaths, age, main intoxicants and substances detected in blood were recorded to obtain national and comparable Nordic data, and to allow comparison with earlier studies conducted in 1984, 1991, 1997, 2002, 2007 and 2012.
The death rate (number of deaths per 100,000 inhabitants) was highest in Iceland (6.58) followed closely by Sweden (6.46) and then lowest in Denmark (4.29). The death rate increased in Finland (5.84), Iceland and Sweden and decreased in Denmark compared to earlier studies. The death rate in Norway, which has decreased since 2002, has stabilised around 5.7 as of 2017. Women accounted for 7–23% of the fatal poisonings. The percentage was lowest in Iceland and highest in Finland and Norway. The age range was 14–70 years. The median age (41 years) was highest in Denmark and Norway. The other countries had a median age between 33 and 35 years.
Opioids were the main cause of death. Methadone remained the main intoxicant in Denmark, while heroin/morphine was still the main intoxicant in Norway, as was buprenorphine in Finland. However, the picture has changed in Sweden compared to 2012, where heroin/morphine caused most deaths in 2017. Sweden also experienced the highest number of deaths from fentanyl analogues (67 deaths) and buprenorphine (61 deaths). Deaths from fentanyl analogues also occurred in Denmark, Finland and Norway, but to a smaller extent. Over the years, the proportion of opioid deaths has decreased in all countries except Sweden, which has experienced an increase. This decline has been replaced by deaths from CNS stimulants like cocaine, amphetamine and methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). Cocaine deaths have occurred in all countries but most frequently in Denmark. MDMA deaths have increased in all countries but mostly in Finland.
Poly-drug use was widespread, as seen in the earlier studies. The median number of detected drugs per case varied from 4–6. Heroin/morphine, methadone, buprenorphine, cocaine, amphetamine, methamphetamine, MDMA, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and benzodiazepines were frequently detected. Pregabalin and gabapentin were detected in all countries, especially pregabalin, which was detected in 42% of the Finnish cases. New psychoactive substances (NPS) occurred in all countries except Iceland.
•Alcohol was the most prevalent substance in impaired drivers, followed by THC.•CNS-stimulants (mostly amphetamine and cocaine) were the second most prevalent DUID.•The proportion of CNS stimulant ...positive drivers has increased.•Few new psychoactive substances were detected above the legal limit.•DUID was evenly spread over the week while drink-driving peaked on weekends.
This study examines the presence of psychoactive drugs and alcohol in blood from apprehended drivers driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) and alcohol in Denmark in a five-year period from 2015 to 2019.
Data were analysed with respect to gender, age, substances with concentrations above the Danish legal limit, arresting time of day and repeat arrest. By request of the police, the blood samples were subjected to analysis for alcohol and/or tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) alone, for “other drugs” (covering all drugs including new psychoactive substances (NPS), except THC, listed in the Danish list of narcotic drugs) or for both THC and other drugs.
About the same number of alcohol traffic cases (37,960) and drug traffic cases (37,818) were submitted for analysis for the five-year period. The number of drug traffic cases per year increased from 5660 cases in 2015 to 9505 cases in 2019, while the number of alcohol traffic cases per year (average, 7600) was unchanged.
Ethanol (89.2%) was the overall most frequent single substance, followed by THC (68.2%). CNS stimulants (46.8%) were the second most prevalent group of non-alcoholic drugs. Cocaine (23.8%) and amphetamine (22.9%) were the most frequent CNS stimulants. The proportion of CNS-stimulant positive drivers more than doubled in ten years. Benzodiazepines/z-hypnotics (12.7%) were the third most prevalent drug group detected, with clonazepam (8%) as the most frequent drug. Opioids were above the legal limit in 9.8% of the cases. NPS was above the legal limit in 128 cases (0.6%). Poly-drug use occurred in 40% of the DUID cases in the requested groups: other drug or other drug/THC.
Young males dominated the DUID cases (median age 26). Drink-drivers (median age 39) were also mainly men, but the age distribution was equally spread over the age groups.
Re-arrest occurred more often in DUID drivers (18–29%) than in drinking drivers (6–12%). DUID was evenly spread over the week, while drink-driving was most frequent on weekends.
This study is an important supplement to the knowledge of drug use in Denmark. It was the well-known psychoactive substances that were detected. Only a few NPS occurred. However, the abuse pattern has changed, and CNS stimulants now account for a much higher proportion than earlier. Our results indicate a drug use problem among DUID drivers. This gives rise to concern because of a risk of traffic accidents. Treating the underlying abuse problem is therefore recommended, rather than focusing solely on prosecuting.
Arctic terrestrial ecosystems are generally considered to be species poor, fragile and often isolated. Nonetheless, their intricate complexity, especially that of the invertebrate component, is ...beginning to emerge. Attention has become focused on the Arctic both due to the importance of this rapidly changing region for the Earth and also the inherent interest of an extreme and unique environment. The three archipelagoes considered here, Svalbard, Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya, delineate the Barents Sea to the west, north and east. This is a region of convergence for Palearctic and Nearctic faunas re-colonising the Arctic following the retreat of the ice after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Despite the harsh Arctic environment and the short period since deglaciation, the archipelagoes of the Barents Sea are inhabited by diverse invertebrate communities. But there is an obvious imbalance in our knowledge of many taxa of each archipelago, and in our knowledge of many taxa. Research effort in Svalbard is increasing rapidly while there are still few reports, particularly in the western literature, from Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya. Nevertheless, there appears to be a surprising degree of dissimilarity between the invertebrate faunas, possibly reflecting colonization history. We provide a baseline synthesis of the terrestrial and freshwater invertebrate fauna of the Barents Sea archipelagoes, highlight the taxa present, the characteristic elements of fauna and the complexity of their biogeography. In doing so, we provide a background from which to assess responses to environmental change for a region under increasing international attention from scientific, industrial and political communities as well as non-governmental organizations and the general public.
•Synthesize the terrestrial invertebrate biodiversity of the Barents Sea archipelagoes.•Describe each invertebrate taxon and compare diversity between the archipelagoes.•Discuss history of colonisation, paleocommunities and environmental change.•Provide a benchmark for the terrestrial ecology of a High Arctic region.•Highlight the need for continuing integrated research especially in phylogeography.
Magnesium-rich silicate chondrules and calcium-, aluminum-rich refractory inclusions (CAIs) are fundamental components of primitive chondritic meteorites. It has been suggested that concentration of ...these early-formed particles by nebular sorting processes may lead to accretion of planetesimals, the planetary bodies that represent the building blocks of the terrestrial planets. In this case, the size distributions of the particles may constrain the accretion process. Here we present new particle size distribution data for Northwest Africa 5717, a primitive ordinary chondrite (ungrouped 3.05) and the well-known carbonaceous chondrite Allende (CV3). Instead of the relatively narrow size distributions obtained in previous studies (Ebel et al., 2016; Friedrich et al., 2015; Paque and Cuzzi, 1997, and references therein), we observed broad size distributions for all particle types in both meteorites. Detailed microscopic image analysis of Allende shows differences in the size distributions of chondrule subtypes, but collectively these subpopulations comprise a composite “chondrule” size distribution that is similar to the broad size distribution found for CAIs. Also, we find accretionary ‘dust’ rims on only a subset (∼15–20%) of the chondrules contained in Allende, which indicates that subpopulations of chondrules experienced distinct histories prior to planetary accretion. For the rimmed subset, we find positive correlation between rim thickness and chondrule size. The remarkable similarity between the size distributions of various subgroups of particles, both with and without fine grained rims, implies a common size sorting process. Chondrite classification schemes, astrophysical disk models that predict a narrow chondrule size population and/or a common localized formation event, and conventional particle analysis methods must all be critically reevaluated. We support the idea that distinct “lithologies” in NWA 5717 are nebular aggregates of chondrules. If ≥cm-sized aggregates of chondrules can form it will have implications for planet formation and suggests the sticking stage is where the preferential size physics is operating.
•All measured particle size distributions are significantly broader than previously reported.•In Allende ∼85% of particles are unrimmed and in direct contact with meteorite host matrix.•When present, rim thicknesses appear correlated to underlying particle size.•All particle size distributions measured are very similar in shape after scaling to a common mean size.•Size-selective aerodynamics allow particle sticking to proceed to larger aggregation sizes.
Malaspina Glacier, located on the coast of southern Alaska, is the world's largest piedmont glacier. A narrow ice‐cored foreland zone undergoing rapid thermokarst erosion separates the glacier from ...the relatively warm waters of the Gulf of Alaska. Glacier‐wide thinning rates for Malaspina are greater than 1 m/yr, and previous geophysical investigations indicated that bed elevation exceeds 300 m below sea level in some places. These observations together give rise to the question of glacial stability. To address this question, glacier evolution models are dependent upon detailed observations of Malaspina's subglacial topography. Here, we map 2,000 line‐km of the glacier's bed using airborne radar sounding data collected by NASA's Operation IceBridge. When compared to gridded radar measurements, we find that glaciological models overestimate Malaspina's volume by more than 30%. While we report a mean bed elevation 100 m greater than previous models, we find that Malaspina inhabits a broad basin largely grounded below sea level. Several subglacial channels dissect the glacier's bed: the most prominent of these channels extends at least 35 km up‐glacier from the terminus toward the throat of Seward Glacier. Provided continued foreland erosion, an ice‐ocean connection may promote rapid retreat along these overdeepened subglacial channels, with a global sea‐level rise potential of 1.4 mm.
Plain Language Summary
At the corner of southern Alaska, Malaspina Glacier spills out onto a broad coastal plain from the St. Elias Mountains. A thin land barrier separates Malaspina Glacier from the relatively warm waters of the Gulf of Alaska. Clean ice is exposed beneath vegetation at the edges of numerous water bodies across this barrier. Historical satellite imagery show these water bodies expanding over time, with a lagoon system even forming directly in front of the glacier over the past few decades. Airborne radar sounding allows us to map the glacier's bed in detail, demonstrating that the glacier sits largely below sea level and is cut by several channels at its bed that extend at least 35 km up‐glacier. The continued loss of Malaspina's coastal barrier may provide pathways for ocean waters to access large areas of the glacier's bed along these channels. Assuming this leads to large‐scale calving and the glacier's retreat, Malaspina has the potential to contribute 560 km3 of ice, or 1.4 mm, to global sea‐level rise.
Key Points
Two‐thirds of Malaspina Glacier is grounded below sea level, and the piedmont's ice volume contains a sea‐level rise potential of 1.4 mm
The glacier's bed is cut by several subglacial channels where elevation reaches more than 350 m below sea level
Bed topography is likely influenced by regional faulting, and drives surface topography, subglacial water drainage, and ice discharge
Hydrothermal high sanidine and specular hematite are found within ferric‐rich and gray‐colored cemented basaltic breccia occurring within horizontal, weathering‐resistant strata exposed in an ...erosional gully of the Pu'u Poliahu cinder cone in the summit region of Maunakea volcano (Hawai'i). The cone was extensively altered by hydrothermal, acid‐sulfate fluids at temperatures up to ~400 °C, and, within strata, plagioclase was removed by dissolution from progenitor Hawaiitic basalt, and sanidine and hematite were precipitated. Fe2O3T concentration and Fe3+/∑Fe redox state are ~12 wt.% and ~0.4 for progenitor basalt and 46–60 wt.% and ~1.0 for cemented breccias, respectively, implying open‐system alteration and oxic precipitation. Hydrothermal high sanidine (adularia) is characterized by full Al,Si structural disorder and monoclinic unit‐cell (Rietveld refinement): a = 8.563(19) Å, b = 13.040(6) Å, c = 7.169(4) Å, β = 116.02(10)°, and V = 719.4(19) Å3. Hematite (structure confirmed by Rietveld refinement) is the predominant Fe‐bearing phase detected. Coarse size fractions of powdered hematite‐rich breccia (500–1000 μm) are dark and spectrally neutral at visible wavelengths, confirming specular hematite, and SEM images show platy to polyhedral hematite morphologies with longest dimensions >10 μm. Smectite and 10‐Å phyllosilicate, both chemically dominated by Mg as octahedral cation, are additional diagenetic hydrothermal alteration products. By analogy and as a working hypothesis, high sanidine (Kimberly formation) and specular hematite (Mt. Sharp group at Hartmann's Valley and Vera Rubin ridge) at Gale crater are interpreted as diagenetic alteration products of Martian basaltic material by hydrothermal processes.
Plain Language Summary
A layer of weathering‐resistant material is located within the walls of an erosional gully of the Pu'u Poliahu cinder cone in the summit region of Maunakea volcano (Hawai'i). The volcanic cone, initially composed of unaltered basaltic material (tephra), was extensively altered throughout by hot, sulfuric‐acid solutions. The layer is a location where the alteration by hot water was particularly aggressive, cementing the volcanic sediment and causing extensive chemical and mineralogical changes. Instead of basaltic chemical and mineralogical compositions, altered tephra was enriched in iron from aqueous precipitation of the mineral hematite (Fe2O3) and was characterized by high sanidine with full structural disorder as the feldspar (instead of plagioclase, which was removed by dissolution) and by Mg‐rich phyllosilicates as additional precipitation products. Hematite, often present as a red pigment in geologic materials, was precipitated from the hot water as specular (i.e., gray) hematite. By analogy, high sanidine and specular hematite at Gale crater (Mars) can be interpreted as alteration products of preexisting Martian basaltic sediment by hot‐water solutions.
Key Points
High sanidine (full Al,Si structural disorder) and specular hematite hydrothermally precipitated on basaltic Maunakea volcano, Hawai'i
Smectite and 10‐Å phyllosilicate (both Mg‐rich) also hydrothermally precipitated as diagenetic phases
High sanidine and specular hematite at Gale crater can result from diagenetic alteration of basaltic compositions by hydrothermal fluids
Vegetation plays an important role in regulating global carbon cycles and is a key component of the Earth system models (ESMs) that aim to project Earth's future climate. In the last decade, the ...vegetation component within ESMs has witnessed great progress from simple “big-leaf” approaches to demographically structured approaches, which have a better representation of plant size, canopy structure, and disturbances. These demographically structured vegetation models typically have a large number of input parameters, and sensitivity analysis is needed to quantify the impact of each parameter on the model outputs for a better understanding of model behavior. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive sensitivity analysis to diagnose the Community Land Model coupled to the Functionally Assembled Terrestrial Simulator, or CLM4.5(FATES). Specifically, we quantified the first- and second-order sensitivities of the model parameters to outputs that represent simulated growth and mortality as well as carbon fluxes and stocks for a tropical site with an extent of 1×1∘. While the photosynthetic capacity parameter (Vc,max25) is found to be important for simulated carbon stocks and fluxes, we also show the importance of carbon storage and allometry parameters, which determine survival and growth strategies within the model. The parameter sensitivity changes with different sizes of trees and climate conditions. The results of this study highlight the importance of understanding the dynamics of the next generation of demographically enabled vegetation models within ESMs to improve model parameterization and structure for better model fidelity.
The final step of ethylene biosynthesis in plants is catalyzed by the enzyme 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) oxidase (ACCO). In addition to ACC, Fe(II), O(2), CO(2), and ascorbate are ...required for in vitro enzyme activity. Direct evidence for the role of the Fe(II) center in the recombinant avocado ACCO has now been obtained through formation of enzyme(.)(substrate or cofactor)(.)NO complexes. These NO adducts convert the normally EPR-silent ACCO complexes into EPR-active species with structural properties similar to those of the corresponding O(2) complexes. It is shown here that the ternary Fe(II)ACCO(.)ACC(.)NO complex is readily formed, but no Fe(II)ACCO(.)ascorbate(.)NO complex could be observed, suggesting that ascorbate and NO are mutually exclusive in the active site. The binding modes of ACC and the structural analog alanine specifically labeled with (15)N or (17)O were examined by using Q-band electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR). The data indicate that these molecules bind directly to the iron through both the alpha-amino and alpha-carboxylate groups. These observations are inconsistent with the currently favored mechanism for ACCO, in which it is proposed that both ascorbate and O(2) bind to the iron as a step in O(2) activation. We propose a different mechanism in which the iron serves instead to simultaneously bind ACC and O(2), thereby fixing their relative orientations and promoting electron transfer between them to initiate catalysis.
Background/Aims: Increasing rates of overdose deaths involving opioid maintenance treatment (OMT) medications and particularly methadone have been observed concurrently with the implementation of ...liberal OMT strategies (i.e. minimum of control and high doses prescribed). This study examined methadone-related overdose deaths in a liberal OMT programme. Methods: Drug-overdose deaths (n = 130) with detection of methadone in Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense Municipality, Denmark, during the period 2008-2011 were identified from a registry. Cases with and without prescribed methadone as OMT were compared. Treatment delivery strategy among OMT-prescribed methadone cases was investigated. Results: Methadone was detected in 130 overdose deaths (71.4% of all overdose deaths). Among these, 63.1% were receiving methadone maintenance treatment. Of these, 79.3% had co-detection of benzodiazepines. Concomitant detection of heroin, non-prescribed benzodiazepines, and younger age were associated with having non-prescribed methadone in the toxicological findings (adjusted OR 3.1, 4.0 and 9.5, respectively). Of the decedents, 43.8% were prescribed a higher methadone dose than recommended (>120 mg daily), of which 80.0% did not have supervised intake of methadone. Conclusions: Liberal OMT access does not necessarily prevent overdose deaths overall. Prescription of higher doses of methadone combined with benzodiazepines may result in an increased risk of overdose for individuals in as well as outside OMT.
Objective: The objectives of the study were to describe the distribution of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-influenced drivers in a new Danish 3-level offense system and discuss the consequences of the ...changed legislation.
Methods: By request of the police, blood of individuals suspected of driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) in Funen and Southern Jutland was sampled by medical staff and shipped to the Section of Forensic Toxicology of the University of Southern Denmark in Odense. Samples from individuals suspected for driving under the influence of cannabis (DUIC) were stored at 5 °C prior to immediate analysis, and THC content in whole-blood samples was established by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. Quantitative results for blood THC levels were available from 2017 and 2018, resulting in 2,206 eligible cases. Data before and after the legal change on December 15, 2017, were extracted from the department's laboratory information management system.
Results: With the new graduated sanctions introduced in December 2017, 70% of the DUIC suspects faced milder sanctions. The number of DUIC cases has been increasing and has almost doubled in the last 4 years, from 648 cases in 2015 to 1,206 in 2018. Correspondingly, the total number of DUID cases increased by 80% from 898 cases in 2015 to 1,614 cases in 2018. The concentration of THC in blood was above the legal limit of 0.001 mg/kg in 73% of the cases; 18% had concentrations categorized as low, 32% as medium, and 22% as high.
Conclusion: We found that more than two-thirds of the THC offenders faced milder sanctions compared to before the new legislation, suggesting that the new graduated legislation has had a significant impact. The current trend is a steadily increasing number of DUID cases. We believe that the continual increase is caused by a combination of factors, including increased police awareness and training of police personnel along with improved roadside screening abilities.
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