Track A Basic Science

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138319/1/jia218438.pd

Is (poly-) substance use associated with impaired inhibitory control? A mega-analysis controlling for confounders.

Many studies have reported that heavy substance use is associated with impaired response inhibition. Studies typically focused on associations with a single substance, while polysubstance use is common. Further, most studies compared heavy users with light/non-users, though substance use occurs along a continuum. The current mega-analysis accounted for these issues by aggregating individual data from 43 studies (3610 adult participants) that used the Go/No-Go (GNG) or Stop-signal task (SST) to assess inhibition among mostly "recreational" substance users (i.e., the rate of substance use disorders was low). Main and interaction effects of substance use, demographics, and task-characteristics were entered in a linear mixed model. Contrary to many studies and reviews in the field, we found that only lifetime cannabis use was associated with impaired response inhibition in the SST. An interaction effect was also observed: the relationship between tobacco use and response inhibition (in the SST) differed between cannabis users and non-users, with a negative association between tobacco use and inhibition in the cannabis non-users. In addition, participants' age, education level, and some task characteristics influenced inhibition outcomes. Overall, we found limited support for impaired inhibition among substance users when controlling for demographics and task-characteristics

Ecosystem Feedbacks To Climate Change In California: Integrated Climate Forcing From Vegetation Redistribution

Changes in ecosystems due to climate change or from climate mitigation measures may trigger follow-on changes in regional climate. These climate-ecosystem feedbacks are important because they may cause future climate change to be larger or smaller than predicted without considering these feedbacks. They also mean that climate mitigation involving land cover change, such as C sequestration by afforestation, may have local climate effects as well as global ones. This study uses a set of regional climate model (WRF-CLM3) simulations to quantify the climate effects of changes in ecosystem distribution under historical and future climate. The sensitivity of regional climate projections to vegetation change was investigated using three different vegetation distributions (Historic Native, Future Native, and Future Native + Afforestation) and two different global climate scenarios (GFDL 20th century and GFDL A2 Future). Results from 10-year model simulations suggest that vegetation change alone can lead to both increases and decreases in July midday temperatures of -1.5 to +5 °C, depending on subregion and vegetation-type change. Vegetation change accounts for up to 60% of statewide temperature change in snow-free regions due to the combination of large-scale (global) climate forcing and regional vegetation change. Afforestation may have effects on climate as well; the simulations indicate that a shift from shrubland to forest results in local temperature decreases of ~0.5-2 °C in snow-free regions. These temperature effects are the consequence of a complex set of changes to the surface energy budget and lower atmosphere

Journal of Legal Medicine Inaugural Symposium: Solving America\u27s Drug Pricing Problem, Day Two (Jan. 25th, 2019)

This is the inaugural symposium of the Journal of Legal Medicine hosted by the Center for Law Health and Society at Georgia State University College of Law focusing on legal and policy strategies to address spiraling prescription drug costs in the United States. The symposium opens with a keynote address by Michelle Mello, a co-author of the groundbreaking report, Making Medicines Affordable: A National Imperative, published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine in 2017. The keynote address will frame the problem and landscape of legal and policy challenges of unaffordable prescription drugs and therapies. The symposium will then proceed to two sessions featuring state, federal, and academic experts discussing legal strategies to address pharmaceutical prices organized along two themes: (1) state policies to combat drug pricing, such as price transparency, drug importation, or anti-price gouging laws as well as legal challenges to these measures; (2) competition and innovation laws and policies in the market for prescription drugs, including antitrust law, FDA oversight, and patent law. Following the two open sessions, the symposium will adjourn to a session (closed to the public) where the invited speakers will discuss legal and policy strategies and identify priority areas for further research, advocacy, or policy development to contain rising prescription drug prices

Journal of Legal Medicine Inaugural Symposium: Solving America\u27s Drug Pricing Problem, Day Two (Jan. 25th, 2019)

This is the inaugural symposium of the Journal of Legal Medicine hosted by the Center for Law Health and Society at Georgia State University College of Law focusing on legal and policy strategies to address spiraling prescription drug costs in the United States. The symposium opens with a keynote address by Michelle Mello, a co-author of the groundbreaking report, Making Medicines Affordable: A National Imperative, published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine in 2017. The keynote address will frame the problem and landscape of legal and policy challenges of unaffordable prescription drugs and therapies. The symposium will then proceed to two sessions featuring state, federal, and academic experts discussing legal strategies to address pharmaceutical prices organized along two themes: (1) state policies to combat drug pricing, such as price transparency, drug importation, or anti-price gouging laws as well as legal challenges to these measures; (2) competition and innovation laws and policies in the market for prescription drugs, including antitrust law, FDA oversight, and patent law. Following the two open sessions, the symposium will adjourn to a session (closed to the public) where the invited speakers will discuss legal and policy strategies and identify priority areas for further research, advocacy, or policy development to contain rising prescription drug prices