The Relationship Between Marijuana Policy and Prejudice Regarding Adult Black Americans

Marijuana policy has been a crucial debate for many years in America. Even with the legalization of marijuana in many states, Black people are still being arrested at an unjustified rate in contrast to white people. These differences have led to the overrepresentation of Black people incarcerated for this low-level crime as a direct result of the aftermath of the War on Drugs. This paper will analyze the effects of the overcriminalization of marijuana, more specifically among Black people. It will question the extent of marijuana policy on the outcomes of Black people versus white people and will discuss what steps can be taken to mend the marijuana policies in place to express more equality

Associations Between Drinking, Condom Use Resistance, and Condom Use Among College Students

Alcohol use and sexual intercourse are common behaviors among young adults in college. Drinking is considered a risk factor for unprotected sexual intercourse. Having condomless sex is associated with increased risk of contracting an STI or becoming pregnant unintentionally. Although correct and consistent condom use protects against such consequences, many individuals may resist condom use during sexual intercourse. As such, condom use resistance beliefs may be the factor through which alcohol reduces condom use. Evidence from Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), Alcohol Expectancy Theory, and a body of evidence supports individual beliefs to be predictive of condom use intentions and behavior. However, limited research has explored the belief-behavior relationship within condom use resistance. Resistance beliefs and sex-specific alcohol expectancies may contribute to risky condom use. Thus, a theoretical model was proposed whereby the relationship between drinking and condom use behavior may be explained by both belief components (i.e., sex-related alcohol expectancies, condom use resistance norms, and condom use resistance self-efficacy) and intentions to resist condoms. Specifically, the aims of this study were to 1) examine the correlations between all model variables, 2) examine the direct effects in the conceptual model, 3) test each sequential mediation pathway from alcohol consumption to condom use and compare the relative strength of each mediation pathway from alcohol use to condom use, 4) examine potential gender differences in each sequential mediation pathway from alcohol consumption to condom use, and compare the relative strength of each mediation pathway from alcohol consumption to condom use within each gender. Results supported the application of TPB constructs in the context of condom use resistance and condom use. Sex-related alcohol expectancies, condom use resistance norms, and resistance self-efficacy were not supported as mediators. Additionally, the theoretical model was not found to differ based on gender. These results addressed gaps in the literature and contributed to the understanding of drinking as a risk factor for condom use resistance and thus, decreased condom use. Future research on the relationship between alcohol and condom use may benefit from event-level or ecological momentary assessment to parse apart belief and intoxication effects on condom use

Exploration of sexuality and the sexual lives of adults with intellectual disabilities using interpretative phenomenological analysis and thematic synthesis

Adults with intellectual disabilities have historically faced various challenges and barriers in developing romantic or sexual relationships despite expressing their desire to have these connections (Arias et al., 2009). Family members and staff play an instrumental role in enabling individuals with intellectual disabilities to have access to opportunities to meet others and impart sexual knowledge and help fulfill their sexual and romantic needs (Rushbrooke et al., 2014). The importance of the role of family members and staff has resulted in growing interest and body of research on their perceptions, attitudes, and views when supporting individuals with intellectual disabilities (Rushbrooke et al., 2014). As adults with intellectual disabilities often report feelings of loneliness and isolation, the internet is a powerful tool to meet others and fulfill sexual, romantic, and intimate needs. However, some individuals with intellectual disabilities may need support from family members or staff to access the internet. A systematic review was conducted to explore, collate, and critically apprise qualitative research regarding internet use for sexual purposes. Thematic synthesis (Thomas & Harden, 2008) was utilised to analyse the included studies. Three superordinate themes were identified: (a) ‘Navigating the online world: Norms and Netiquettes’, (b) ‘Exploring and expressing intimacy’, and (c) ‘My identity and the internet: The Digital Me’. The current literature is discussed alongside these findings. Recommendations are made for future clinical and research practice. The sexual lives of adults with intellectual disabilities who identify as LBGTQ+ were explored by understanding the perspectives, attitudes, and views of paid (support staff) and unpaid (family members) carers. The study interviewed six carers, with the data analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (Smith & Osborne, 2008). Four themes were identified: (a) ‘Journey of coming out’, (b) ‘Minority in a minority, (c) ‘Protection and possibilities’, and (d) ‘Access to similar others’. The findings emphasised the importance of adults with intellectual disabilities having access to others with similar experiences and queer friendly spaces. The results highlighted the importance of sexual education for adults with intellectual disabilities around sexuality and identity, and training for both staff and family members to improve knowledge and confidence in supporting sexuality and sexual expression. Suggestions for future research are discussed alongside clinical implications, such as the impact of LGBTQ+ groups for adults with intellectual disabilities on psychological well-being and identity

Intersectional Discrimination Is Associated with Housing Instability among Trans Women Living in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Trans women face numerous structural barriers to health due to discrimination. Housing instability is an important structural determinant of poor health outcomes among trans women. The purpose of this study was to determine if experiences of intersectional anti-trans and racial discrimination are associated with poor housing outcomes among trans women in the San Francisco Bay Area. A secondary analysis of baseline data from the Trans *National study (n = 629) at the San Francisco Department of Public Health (2016-2018) was conducted. Multivariable logistic regression was used to analyze the association between discrimination as an ordered categorical variable (zero, one to two, or three or more experiences) and housing status adjusting for age, years lived in the Bay Area, and gender identity. We found that the odds of housing instability increased by 1.25 for every categorical unit increase (1-2, or 3+) in reported experiences of intersectional (both anti-trans and racial) discrimination for trans women (95% CI = 1.01-1.54, p-value < 0.05). Intersectional anti-trans and racial discrimination is associated with increased housing instability among trans women, giving some insight that policies and programs are needed to identify and address racism and anti-trans stigma towards trans women. Efforts to address intersectional discrimination may positively impact housing stability, with potential for ancillary effects on increasing the health and wellness of trans women who face multiple disparities

The Temporal Relationship between Stress and Spasticity, a Comparison between Subjects with and without Intact Thyroid Function

Purpose/Hypothesis: Stress has been studied as a credible trigger of spasticity, but evidence is limited concerning temporal relationships. Case studies of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) and fibromyalgia (FM) have established a ten-day delay between psychogenic stress and episodic pain flares. This is explained by a stress induced release of thyroxine (T4) from the thyroid gland via the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis, which reaches its peak effect by day 10. Models suggest that T4 may increase peripheral nerve excitability, which could increase sensitivity in 1A fibers from muscle spindles, leading to hyper-excitability in motor neuron pools. The purpose of our study is to explore the temporal relationship between stress & spasticity, to see if subjects experience latent increases in spasticity due to stress. Subjects: Subjects ranged from 48-84 years old, including one male with CVA history & one female with CVA history s/p thyroidectomy. Materials/Methods: Every day for 12 weeks, participants completed stress and spasticity inventories. Stress was measured with a visual analog stress scale (VASS) and spasticity with a visual analog functional scale (VAFS) assessing the degree of difficulty to execute a standard daily task due to spasticity severity. Quantitative criteria were established defining days of peak stress and days of peak spasticity. Final temporal relationship results between stress and spasticity were analyzed with serial lag correlations for 0-12 day lags. Results: After 12 weeks of data collection, the male manifested a significant correlation to spasticity related function ten days after criterion peak stress days. Serial lag analysis on peak stress days for this person revealed a 70% correlation supporting a 10-day impact on peak spasticity. The female subject revealed one event in spasticity-related function 10 days after peak stress event, which yields an insignificant 10-day lag correlation of 9.1%. This subject, with history of thyroidectomy, reports taking daily administration of levothyroxine. Consequently, her results are not surprising, since her HTP pathway cannot be influenced by stress. Conclusions: Based on results, evidence supports an increase in CVA-related spasticity ten days after high stress episodes. This relationship was not observed in our female subject s/p thyroidectomy, lending inverse support to the hypothesis that latent ten-day effects may be due to the HPT axis. Clinical Relevance: Patients and therapists frequently are at a loss to explain episodic elevations in spasticity severity. If a consistent temporal relationship between stress and spasticity is confirmed, it would give caregivers, patients, and therapists insight into understanding and predicting episodes of decreased function following high stress days

XO-2b: a hot Jupiter with a variable host star that potentially affects its measured transit depth

The transiting hot Jupiter XO-2b is an ideal target for multi-object photometry and spectroscopy as it has a relatively bright ($V$-mag = 11.25) K0V host star (XO-2N) and a large planet-to-star contrast ratio (R$_{p}$/R$_{s}\approx0.015$). It also has a nearby (31.21") binary stellar companion (XO-2S) of nearly the same brightness ($V$-mag = 11.20) and spectral type (G9V), allowing for the characterization and removal of shared systematic errors (e.g., airmass brightness variations). We have therefore conducted a multiyear (2012--2015) study of XO-2b with the University of Arizona's 61" (1.55~m) Kuiper Telescope and Mont4k CCD in the Bessel U and Harris B photometric passbands to measure its Rayleigh scattering slope to place upper limits on the pressure-dependent radius at, e.g., 10~bar. Such measurements are needed to constrain its derived molecular abundances from primary transit observations. We have also been monitoring XO-2N since the 2013--2014 winter season with Tennessee State University's Celestron-14 (0.36~m) automated imaging telescope to investigate stellar variability, which could affect XO-2b's transit depth. Our observations indicate that XO-2N is variable, potentially due to {cool star} spots, {with a peak-to-peak amplitude of $0.0049 \pm 0.0007$~R-mag and a period of $29.89 \pm 0.16$~days for the 2013--2014 observing season and a peak-to-peak amplitude of $0.0035 \pm 0.0007$~R-mag and $27.34 \pm 0.21$~day period for the 2014--2015 observing season. Because of} the likely influence of XO-2N's variability on the derivation of XO-2b's transit depth, we cannot bin multiple nights of data to decrease our uncertainties, preventing us from constraining its gas abundances. This study demonstrates that long-term monitoring programs of exoplanet host stars are crucial for understanding host star variability.Comment: published in ApJ, 9 pages, 11 figures, 3 tables; updated figures with more ground-based monitoring, added more citations to previous work

A survey to evaluate the association of COVID-19 restrictions on perceived mood and coping in Australian community level athletes

Australian community level athletes faced unprecedented changes to their training andcompetition options as the global COVID-19 pandemic took a stronghold. This disruptionwas predicted to have a negative impact on emotional well-being as communitiesbraced through periods of social isolation and physical distancing requirements. Thisstudy provides an Australian perspective on the emotional well-being of communitylevel athletes and the extent to which they coped during the COVID-19 pandemic.Emotional well-being and coping were measured using the Brief Emotional ExperienceScale and the 28-item Brief Cope Scale. Both instruments were administered alongwith other questions pertaining to participant demographics and training status via anonline survey between April and June 2020. The survey was disseminated to communityathletes through word-of-mouth and social media platforms. No significant differencesin emotional well-being were observed between athlete groups as a result of COVID-19and its associated restrictions. Coping scores also appeared to be preserved in Australiancommunity athletes, which contrasts the impact expected asa result of the COVID-19pandemic. While tentative, the observed preservation in coping may have bufferedpotential declines in emotional well-being, which has beendocumented in professionaland semi-professional athletes and the general population. These unexpected findingsand tentative suppositions warrant further investigationand highlight the importance ofconducting a country- or region-specific approach to examining the impact of COVID-19on community athletes, as responses to COVID-19 are undoubtedly not consistentthroughout the world

Symptoms of COPD in the absence of airflow obstruction are more indicative of pre-COPD than overdiagnosis

Dysfunction of the small airways is a precursor of COPD but is not detectable on standard spirometric testing until significant destruction has occurred. A proportion of COPD patients have an FEV1/FVC less than 0.7 which is greater than the lower limit of normal (LLN), when adjusted for their age and sex. It is not understood whether this group of patients, known as “discordant COPD” are representative of “early COPD” or overdiagnosis. We sought to characterise discordant COPD (disCOPD), using radiology, lung function, serum biomarkers, activity monitoring and quality of life scores, comparing with COPD patients with an FEV1/FVC<0.7 and <LLN and healthy, age-matched controls. Six out of 8 serum biomarkers were significantly different in the disCOPD group versus healthy controls, as were the scores of all 4 QoL questionnaires. Activity monitoring revealed similar levels of sedentary time between the disCOPD group and concordant COPD (conCOPD). CT analysis showed less involvement of small airway dysfunction and emphysema in the disCOPD group versus conCOPD. Collectively, our findings support the hypothesis that disCOPD is a clinically relevant phenomenon that represents a pre-COPD state. Identification of such patients is important for early intervention and management before progression to fully established COPD

Symptoms of COPD in the absence of airflow obstruction are more indicative of pre-COPD than overdiagnosis

Dysfunction of the small airways is a precursor of COPD but is not detectable on standard spirometric testing until significant destruction has occurred. A proportion of COPD patients have an FEV1/FVC less than 0.7 which is greater than the lower limit of normal (LLN), when adjusted for their age and sex. It is not understood whether this group of patients, known as “discordant COPD” are representative of “early COPD” or overdiagnosis. We sought to characterise discordant COPD (disCOPD), using radiology, lung function, serum biomarkers, activity monitoring and quality of life scores, comparing with COPD patients with an FEV1/FVC<0.7 and <LLN and healthy, age-matched controls. Six out of 8 serum biomarkers were significantly different in the disCOPD group versus healthy controls, as were the scores of all 4 QoL questionnaires. Activity monitoring revealed similar levels of sedentary time between the disCOPD group and concordant COPD (conCOPD). CT analysis showed less involvement of small airway dysfunction and emphysema in the disCOPD group versus conCOPD. Collectively, our findings support the hypothesis that disCOPD is a clinically relevant phenomenon that represents a pre-COPD state. Identification of such patients is important for early intervention and management before progression to fully established COPD

International incidence of psychotic disorders, 2002-17: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The last comprehensive systematic review of the incidence of psychotic disorders was published in 2004. New epidemiological data from different settings now permit a broader understanding of global variation. We examined the variation in psychosis by demographic characteristics and study method. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and bibliographies, and directly contacted first authors. We sought to obtain citations of original research published between Jan 1, 2002, and Dec 31, 2017, on incidence of non-organic adult-onset psychotic disorder. We included papers that were published or in grey literature and had no language restrictions. Data were extracted from published reports, where possible, by sex, age, and ethnic group. Quality of yield was assessed. Data were assessed using univariable random-effects meta-analysis and meta-regression. We registered our systematic review on PROSPERO, number CRD42018086800. FINDINGS: From 56 721 records identified, 177 met inclusion criteria. The pooled incidence of all psychotic disorders was 26·6 per 100 000 person-years (95% CI 22·0-31·7). Heterogeneity was high (I2≥98·5%). Men were at higher risk of all psychotic disorders (incidence rate ratio 1·44 [1·27-1·62]) and non-affective disorders (1·60 [1·44-1·77]) than women, but not affective psychotic disorders (0·87 [0·75-1·00]). Ethnic minorities were also at excess risk of all psychotic disorders (1·75 [1·53-2·00]), including non-affective disorders (1·71 [1·40-2·09]). Meta-regression revealed that population registers reported higher rates of non-affective disorders (9·64 [2·72-31·82]), schizophrenia (2·51 [1·24-5·21]), and bipolar disorder (4·53 [2·41-8·51]) than first contact study designs. INTERPRETATION: We found marked variation in incidence of psychotic disorders by personal characteristics and place. Some geographical variation could be partially explained by differences in case ascertainment methods. FUNDING: None