Worldwide, there are plants known as psychoactive plants that naturally contain psychedelic active components. They have a high concentration of neuroprotective substances that can interact with the nervous system to produce psychedelic effects. Despite these plants' hazardous potential, recreational use of them is on the rise because of their psychoactive properties. Early neuroscience studies relied heavily on psychoactive plants and plant natural products (NPs), and both recreational and hazardous NPs have contributed significantly to the understanding of almost all neurotransmitter systems. Worldwide, there are many plants that contain psychoactive properties, and people have been using them for ages. Psychoactive plant compounds may significantly alter how people perceive the world.
1. Transl Lung Cancer Res. 2024 Oct 31;13(10):2787-2801. doi: 10.21037/tlcr-24-795. Epub 2024 Oct 28. Association of concomitant H1 antihistamine and immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy on survival outcome and safety in patients with advanced primary lung cancer: a cohort study. Zhang WH(#)(1), Li BX(#)(1), Ma CX(1), Wang J(1), Yang F(1), Xiong YJ(1), Li SZ(1), Zhang JL(1), Du WJ(1), Hui ZZ(1), Shen M(1), Zhou L(1), Li RM(1), Tian X(1), Han Y(1), Ren BZ(1), Ichiki Y(2), Lee SC(3), Zhang XW(1), Cao S(1), Ren XB(1), Liu L(1). Author information: (1)Department of Immunology and Biotherapy, Key Laboratory of Cancer Immunology and Biotherapy, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin's Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, China. (2)Department of General Thoracic Surgery, Saitama Medical Center, Hidaka, Japan. (3)Division of Pulmonology and Allergy, Department of Internal Medicine, National Health Insurance Service Ilsan Hospital, Goyang-si, South Korea. (#)Contributed equally BACKGROUND: Antihistamines alleviate the side effects of antitumor drugs and exert antitumor effects. This study aimed to investigate the potential impact of short-term concomitant use of antihistamines with immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy on the efficacy and immune-related adverse events (irAEs) of immunotherapy for patients with advanced lung cancer. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 211 patients diagnosed with advanced primary lung cancer and treated with immunotherapy at Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital between January 1, 2018, and January 1, 2022. Among these patients, 109 who received H1 antihistamine during the infusion of anti-programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) and anti-programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) antibodies were assigned to the experimental group; meanwhile, the remaining 102 patients who did not receive H1 antihistamines were assigned to the control group. Balancing was achieved through inverse probability of treatment weight (IPTW) estimation. The data were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression analyses. RESULTS: The median progression-free survival (mPFS) was 12.7 months in the experimental group and 4.3 months in the control group, while the median overall survival (mOS) was 32.8 months in the experimental group and 18.1 months in the control group. In the experimental group, patients treated with only H1 antihistamines had longer mPFS and mOS compared with those who received H1 plus H2 antihistamines. Similarly, in the control group, patients who did not receive antihistamines had a longer mPFS and mOS than those who only received H2 antihistamines. After conducting multivariate analyses, we found that H1 and H2 antihistamines were respectively identified as good and poor independent prognostic factors for both progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). The rates of irAEs in the experimental and control groups were 52.4% and 69.2%, respectively, and grade ≥3 irAEs occurred in 4.5% and 25.9% of patients, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Concomitant use of H1 antihistamines can improve immunotherapy efficacy and reduce irAEs. Meanwhile, concomitant use of H2 antihistamines is associated with reduced PFS and OS time. 2024 AME Publishing Company. All rights reserved. DOI: 10.21037/tlcr-24-795 PMCID: PMC11535825 PMID: 39507043 Conflict of interest statement: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://tlcr.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/tlcr-24-795/coif). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. 2. Langmuir. 2024 Nov 7. doi: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.4c02268. Online ahead of print. Fluorous and Organic Extraction Systems: A Comparison from the Perspectives of Coordination Structures, Interfaces, and Bulk Extraction Phases. Ueda Y(1), Micheau C(1), Akutsu-Suyama K(2), Tokunaga K(3), Yamada M(4), Yamada NL(4), Bourgeois D(5), Motokawa R(1). Author information: (1)Materials Sciences Research Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Tokai, Ibaraki319-1195, Japan. (2)Neutron Science and Technology Center, Comprehensive Research Organization for Science and Society, Tokai, Ibaraki319-1106, Japan. (3)Ningyo-toge Environmental Engineering Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Tomata, Okayama 708-0698, Japan. (4)Institute of Materials Structure Science, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0801, Japan. (5)Institut de Chimie Séparative de Marcoule, ICSM, CEA, CNRS, ENSCM, Univ Montpellier, BP 13 17171, Marcoule, 30207 Bagnols-sur-Cèze, France. Microscopic structures in liquid-liquid extraction, such as structuration between extractants or extracted complexes in bulk organic phases and at interfaces, can influence macroscopic phenomena, such as the distribution behavior of solutes, including extraction efficiency and selectivity. In this study, we correlated the macroscopic behavior of the Zr(IV) extraction from nitric acid solutions with microscopic structural information to understand at the molecular level the key factors contributing to the higher metal ion extraction performance in the fluorous extraction system as compared to the analogous organic extraction system. The fluorous and organic extraction systems consist of tris(4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7,7-nonafluoroheptyl) phosphate (TFP) in perfluorohexane and tri-n-heptyl phosphate (THP) in n-hexane, respectively. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure, neutron reflectometry (NR), and small-angle neutron scattering revealed the structural information around the central metal ion of the complex, at the interface, and in the bulk extraction phase, respectively. NR results showed that extractant molecules did not accumulate much at the interface in both extraction system. In the fluorous extraction system, extractant aggregates with a 1.46 nm radius of gyration (Rg) were formed after contact with nitric acid, and remained even after Zr(IV) extraction through the form of a 1:3 (Zr(IV):TFP) complex. In contrast, in the organic extraction system, only extractant dimers with Rg of 0.70 nm were formed and Zr(IV) is extracted through the form of a 1:2 (Zr(IV):THP) complex. We speculate that differences in the local coordination structure around the Zr(IV) ion and the structuration of the extractant molecules in the bulk extraction phase contribute to the high Zr(IV) extraction performance in the fluorous extraction system. In particular, the size of the aggregates hardly changed with increasing Zr(IV) concentration in the fluorous phase, which may be closely related to the absence of phase splitting in the fluorous extraction system. DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.4c02268 PMID: 39506552 3. Cureus. 2024 Oct 5;16(10):e70890. doi: 10.7759/cureus.70890. eCollection 2024 Oct. Prevalence of Substance Use Among Students in Health Colleges in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study. Aljerian K(1), Alamri R(1), Althomali A(1), Aljamili L(1), Alkhalaf L(1), Alsultan Z(1), Alenezi S(2), Alarabi M(2). Author information: (1)Pathology, King Saud University, Riyadh, SAU. (2)Psychiatry, King Saud University, Riyadh, SAU. BACKGROUND: Substance misuse is a global and substantial health concern that includes the inappropriate use of illicit substances or prescription and over-the-counter medications, which subsequently leads to poor outcomes such as a mental health disorder, financial distress, work malfunction, and academic failure. AIM: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of substance use, identify associated risk factors, explore potential complications within this specific demographic, and investigate the relationship between sociodemographic/lifestyle variables such as age, gender, marital status, family income, smoking, physical activity, and academic variables including grade point averages (GPAs), study hours, and the parental educational level with substance use history among students in health colleges in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: This quantitative, descriptive cross-sectional study employed a questionnaire-based approach to collect data from students in health colleges across the regions of Saudi Arabia in the year 2022. RESULTS: The study found the prevalence of the use of various substances among students in health colleges to be 20.2%. Multiple factors were found to be associated with substance abuse. Smoking habits were the strongest predictor of substance misuse, with 49.1% of smokers reporting a history of substance use, compared to only 15.5% of non-smokers. This makes smoking the most impactful lifestyle factor related to substance use. Sleep patterns also played a significant role. A notable 43.6% of those who took up to two hours to fall asleep reported substance use, followed by 32.4% of those with sleep disorders and 25.5% with poor sleep quality. Unpredictable sleep patterns and a history of sleep disorders further strengthened the link between disrupted sleep and substance misuse. Academic performance, specifically GPA, showed that individuals with lower academic achievement were more likely to report substance use. Among those with a GPA below 3.0, 43.5% had a history of substance use, while only 16.7% of those with a GPA above 4.5 did so. CONCLUSIONS: The findings underscored the high prevalence of substance use, even among students in health colleges, and shed light on its connection to specific determinants. This poses a serious public health concern, as substance use is associated with poorer GPA, diminished knowledge acquisition, and overall academic performance. This, in turn, may negatively impact their future roles as healthcare providers, compromising both the quality of patient care and their personal well-being. These results emphasize the need for further investigations to unravel the underlying mechanisms of substance misuse and formulate innovative strategies to address this pressing issue effectively. Copyright © 2024, Aljerian et al. DOI: 10.7759/cureus.70890 PMCID: PMC11534087 PMID: 39497861 Conflict of interest statement: Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Institutional Review Board of King Saud University issued approval E-22-7066. I am pleased to inform you that your above-mentioned research project submitted to the IRB was reviewed and approved on 29 August 2022 (02-Sffar-1444). You are now granted permission to conduct this study as approved by the IRB. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work. 4. Influenza Other Respir Viruses. 2024 Nov;18(11):e70027. doi: 10.1111/irv.70027. Effectiveness of Original Monovalent and Bivalent COVID-19 Vaccines Against COVID-19-Associated Hospitalization and Severe In-Hospital Outcomes Among Adults in the United States, September 2022-August 2023. DeCuir J(1), Surie D(1), Zhu Y(2), Lauring AS(3), Gaglani M(4), McNeal T(5), Ghamande S(5), Peltan ID(6), Brown SM(6), Ginde AA(7), Steinwand A(7), Mohr NM(8), Gibbs KW(9), Hager DN(10), Ali H(10), Frosch A(11), Gong MN(12), Mohamed A(12), Johnson NJ(13), Srinivasan V(14), Steingrub JS(15), Khan A(16), Busse LW(17), Duggal A(18), Wilson JG(19), Qadir N(20), Chang SY(20), Mallow C(21), Kwon JH(22), Exline MC(23), Shapiro NI(24), Columbus C(25), Vaughn IA(26), Ramesh M(27), Safdar B(28), Mosier JM(29), Casey JD(30), Talbot HK(31), Rice TW(30), Halasa N(32), Chappell JD(32), Grijalva CG(33), Baughman A(34), Womack KN(35), Rhoads JP(35), Swan SA(2), Johnson C(2), Lewis N(1), Ellington S(1), Dawood FS(1), McMorrow M(1), Self WH(36); Investigating Respiratory Viruses in the Acutely Ill (IVY) Network. Author information: (1)National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia, USA. (2)Department of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. (3)Departments of Internal Medicine and Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. (4)Baylor College of Medicine, Baylor Scott & White Health, Temple and Dallas, Texas, Temple, Texas, USA. (5)Baylor College of Medicine, Baylor, Scott & White Health, Temple, Texas, USA. (6)Department of Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine, Intermountain Medical Center, Murray, Utah and University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. (7)Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Colorado, Aurora, USA. (8)Departments of Emergency Medicine, Anesthesia Critical Care, and Epidemiology, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa, USA. (9)Department of Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA. (10)Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. (11)Department of Emergency Medicine, Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute, Hennepin Healthcare System, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. (12)Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA. (13)Department of Emergency Medicine and Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. (14)Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. (15)Department of Medicine, Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA. (16)Department of Medicine, Oregon Health and Sciences University, Portland, Oregon, USA. (17)Department of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. (18)Department of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA. (19)Department of Emergency Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA. (20)Department of Medicine, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA. (21)Department of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA. (22)Department of Medicine, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA. (23)Department of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA. (24)Department of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. (25)Baylor, Scott & White Health, Texas A&M University College of Medicine, Dallas, Texas, USA. (26)Department of Public Health Sciences, Henry Ford Health, Detroit, Michigan, USA. (27)Division of Infectious Diseases, Henry Ford Health, Detroit, Michigan, USA. (28)Department of Emergency Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. (29)Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA. (30)Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. (31)Departments of Medicine and Health Policy, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. (32)Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. (33)Department of Health Policy, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. (34)Department of Emergency Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. (35)Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. (36)Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research and Department of Emergency Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. BACKGROUND: Assessments of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness are needed to monitor the protection provided by updated vaccines against severe COVID-19. We evaluated the effectiveness of original monovalent and bivalent (ancestral strain and Omicron BA.4/5) COVID-19 vaccination against COVID-19-associated hospitalization and severe in-hospital outcomes. METHODS: During September 8, 2022 to August 31, 2023, adults aged ≥ 18 years hospitalized with COVID-19-like illness were enrolled at 26 hospitals in 20 US states. Using a test-negative case-control design, we estimated vaccine effectiveness (VE) with multivariable logistic regression adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, admission date, and geographic region. RESULTS: Among 7028 patients, 2924 (41.6%) were COVID-19 case patients, and 4104 (58.4%) were control patients. Compared to unvaccinated patients, absolute VE against COVID-19-associated hospitalization was 6% (-7%-17%) for original monovalent doses only (median time since last dose [IQR] = 421 days [304-571]), 52% (39%-61%) for a bivalent dose received 7-89 days earlier, and 13% (-10%-31%) for a bivalent dose received 90-179 days earlier. Absolute VE against COVID-19-associated invasive mechanical ventilation or death was 51% (34%-63%) for original monovalent doses only, 61% (35%-77%) for a bivalent dose received 7-89 days earlier, and 50% (11%-71%) for a bivalent dose received 90-179 days earlier. CONCLUSION: Bivalent vaccination provided protection against COVID-19-associated hospitalization and severe in-hospital outcomes within 3 months of receipt, followed by a decline in protection to a level similar to that remaining from previous original monovalent vaccination by 3-6 months. These results underscore the benefit of remaining up to date with recommended COVID-19 vaccines. Published 2024. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. DOI: 10.1111/irv.70027 PMCID: PMC11534416 PMID: 39496339 [Indexed for MEDLINE] Conflict of interest statement: The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. Samuel Brown reports that ReddyPort pays royalties for a patent, outside the submitted work. Steven Chang reports consulting fees from PureTech Health and Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, outside the submitted work. Abhijit Duggal reports participating on an advisory board for ALung Technologies, outside the submitted work. Manjusha Gaglani reports grants from CDC, CDC‐Abt Associates, CDC‐Westat, and served as co‐chair of the Infectious Diseases and Immunization Committee for the Texas Pediatric Society (TPS) and received an honorarium serving as a TPS Project Firstline webinar speaker panelist for “Respiratory Virus Review: Clinical Considerations and IPC Guidance,” outside the submitted work. Michelle N. Gong reports a grant from NHLBI and CDC, fees for serving on Scientific Advisory Panel for Philips Healthcare, travel to ATS conference as board member, outside the submitted work. Carlos Grijalva reports grants from NIH, CDC, AHRQ, FDA, and Syneos Health and receipt of compensation for participation in an advisory board for Merck, outside the submitted work. Natasha Halasa reports receiving grants from Sanofi, Merck, and Quidel, outside the submitted work. Adam Lauring reports receiving grants from CDC, FluLab, NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, and MDHHS and consulting fees from Roche related to baloxavir, outside the submitted work. Christopher Mallow reports Medical Legal Consulting, outside the submitted work. Ithan D. Peltan reports grants from NIH and Janssen Pharmaceuticals and institutional support Regeneron, outside the submitted work. Mayur Ramesh reports participating in a non‐branded Speaker Program supported by AstraZeneca and MD Briefcase and participating on an advisory board for Moderna, Pfizer, and Ferring, outside the submitted work. No other potential conflicts of interest were disclosed. 5. ACS Omega. 2024 Oct 15;9(43):43557-43569. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.4c05459. eCollection 2024 Oct 29. Exploring the Antibacterial and Antibiofilm Efficacy of Psammogeton biternatum Edgew and Identification of a Novel Quinoline Alkaloid using X-ray Crystallography. Masood F(1), Khan W(2), Khan I(3), Khan U(1), Majid A(1), Khan SU(1), Sahin O(4), Alqathama A(5), Riaz M(6), Ahmad R(7), Alam MM(8)(9). Author information: (1)Department of Botany, Hazara University, Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 21300, Pakistan. (2)Department of Environmental SciencesCOMSAT, Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 22060, Pakistan. (3)Department of Botany, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University, Dir Upper, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 18050, Pakistan. (4)Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Occupational Health and Safety, Sinop University, Sinop 57000, Turkey. (5)Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pharmacy College, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia. (6)Department of Pharmacy, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University, Dir Upper, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 18050, Pakistan. (7)Department of Natural Products, College of Clinical Pharmacy, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O Box #1982, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia. (8)Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Applied Medical Science, King Khalid University, Abha 61421, Saudi Arabia. (9)Central Laboratories, King Khalid University, P.O. Box 960, Abha 61421, Saudi Arabia. The prevalence of resistance to harmful human pathogens is steadily rising, emphasizing the urgent need to identify novel antimicrobial compounds. For this purpose, plants stand out as a significant source of bioactives worthy of exploration. Among these, alkaloids, a vast and structurally diverse category of plant secondary metabolites, have emerged as a foundation for crucial antibacterial medications such as metronidazole and the quinolones. In the current work, the crude methanol leaf extract of Psammogeton biternatum Edgew collected from District Bannu, Pakistan, was subjected to TLC (indirect) bioautography and X-ray crystallography for the isolation of potential antibacterial agents. From the crude extract, a novel quinoline alkaloid called quinoline dione ((3R,3aS,5aR)-3,5a,9-trimethyl-3a,4,5,5a-tetrahydro-2H-isoxazolo[2,3-a] quinoline-2,8(3H)-dione (C14H17NO3)) was isolated. The crystal information (M = 247.296 g/mol) is as follows: orthorhombic, P212121, a = 7.7339(14) Å, b = 10.7254(19) Å, c = 15.730(2) Å, V = 1304.8(4) Å3, Z = 4, T = 296 K, μ(Mo Kα) = 0.088 mm-1, ρ calc = 1.259 g/cm3, 13928 reflections measured (5.86° ≤ 2Θ ≤ 51.98°), 2478 unique (R int = 0.1613, R σ = 0.1335). The final R 1 was 0.1098 (I ≥ 2u(I)), and wR 2 was 0.2183. The antibacterial activity for both crude extract of leaves and quinoline dione was determined by a well diffusion method. The quinoline dione alkaloid demonstrated excellent inhibition zones against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (18 mm), Bacillus subtills (17 mm), Escherichia coli (20 mm), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (23 mm) compared to the crude extract. The antibiofilm potential was recorded against Pseudomonas aeruginosa by the 96-well microtiter plate method. A dose-dependent biofilm inhibition response was recorded, which increased with the increase in concentration. Moreover, quinoline dione showed a greater antibiofilm effect as compared to the crude extract, which may be linked to the presence of a particular active functional group positioned on the compound isolated in its pure form. Through in silico studies, i.e., molecular docking, quinoline dione shows strong binding energies with the LasR transcriptional regulator (6MVN) at -9.3 and LasR transcriptional activator (3IX4) at -9.2 kcal/mol, as well as moderate affinities with other targets such as AHL synthase LasI (PDB ID 1RO5) and OprM channel (PDB ID 3D5K), indicating its potential as a quorum sensing inhibitor. Thus, the antibacterial and antibiofilm potential of quinoline dione was confirmed. © 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society. DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.4c05459 PMCID: PMC11525522 PMID: 39494018 Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no competing financial interest.