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The Viability of Classic Psychedelics as a Treatment for Substance Use Disorder: Emerging Evidence
No full textThis review is a holistic examination of classic psychedelics’ viability for treating substance use disorder (SUD). Classic psychedelics are a group of psychoactive drugs characterized by their agonism of the 5-HT2A receptor and include LSD, psilocybin, DMT, and mescaline. Though research has been limited, many studies indicate that classic psychedelics may have clinical applications for treating SUD by increasing cognitive flexibility and interrupting maladaptive thought processes. These effects, along with accompanying psychotherapy, create the foundation for clinical psychedelic therapy. Included is an examination of the substances’ potential therapeutic benefits for treating substance use disorder, a description of practical and political barriers that stand in the way of psychedelic therapy becoming a standard treatment option, and a discussion of empirical research that evaluates the outcomes of psychedelic use on SUD. This review determines that classic psychedelics demonstrate safety and efficacy in the treatment of SUD in clinical trials, indicating that they are a promising treatment method. As this research is still in its preliminary stages, future steps are discussed
Phenological mismatch and specialist pollinators: a comparison of current hypotheses and case studies
No full textPsychedelics as Rapid Relief for Psychiatric Symptoms in Terminal Palliative Care Patients
No full textPalliative care, or care optimized to provide the best quality of life for those with complex and often terminal medical conditions, has grown significantly as a field in recent years, especially in the earlier phases of the treatment process for patients with terminal illness. Despite exceptional growth in the field, methods to decrease negative psychological experiences, primarily death anxiety, are limited and often not effective in the time frame some patients have. Early research with psychedelics such as psilocybin and ketamine in palliative care has produced rapid and sustained positive results in regards to negative symptom control. These results bring light to the further implementation of psychedelics for people with terminal illness. As palliative care continues to expand, psychedelics potentially offer an immediate and effective treatment for the depression, anxiety, and chronic pain associated with impending death
Genomic Plasticity in Prokaryotes and its Benefits in Dynamic Environments
No full textProkaryotes were the first and are now the most diverse life forms on earth. Through horizontal gene transfer, prokaryotes have the capacity to evolve rapidly to meet the demands of changing environments. This paper discusses the evolutionary theory that explains horizontal gene transfer\u27s beneficial effects on microbes living in changing environments
Third Language Acquisition: Investigating the Roles of L2 Proficiency, The Typological Primacy Model, and the L2 Status Factor Model on German Vowel Perception in L1 English, L2 French Individuals
No full textThe present study examines the predictions made by the Dynamic Model of Multilingualism (DMM) (Jessner, 2008), which states that increased metalinguistic awareness aids in language learning, the Typological Primacy Model (TPM) (Rothman, 2011), which posits that whichever language is more typologically similar to the target language will provide the most influence, and the L2 Status Factor model (L2SF) (Williams & Hammarberg, 1998; Falk & Bardel, 2007) which claims that one’s L2 is the greatest source of influence on learning an L3. Fourteen L1 English, L2 French undergraduates were recruited from Carleton College; vowels of interest were /y:/, /œ/, /ø:/, /ɪ/, and /ʊ/, which were compared to /i/, /ε/, /e/, and /u/. It was hypothesized that if participants perform with greater accuracy on English-German and not French vowels, the TPM would be supported, as English and German are more related. If better performance was achieved on French-German and not English vowels, the L2 Status Factor would be supported, because French as the L2 would be affecting L3 perception. If the high-proficiency L2 group performed better, the metalinguistic awareness hypothesis would be supported. The descriptive results provide preliminary support for the DMM and the L2 Status Factor Model, as the high proficiency group outperformed the low proficiency group and were more accurate on vowels which exist in German and French over German and English. Taking into account its small sample size, this study is framed as a pilot designed to provide information that may be valuable for constructing a larger-scale follow up
Live or Die: Survival Strategies of Organizations Promoting Clean Cooking
No full textIt is widely recognized that traditional biomass-fueled stoves and open fires used for cooking and heating are detrimental to human health, forests, and climate change. While clean cookstoves are known to address these problems, limitations persist in designing, manufacturing, and distributing cookstoves to meet the global demand. Much of this effort traditionally was carried out by both government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). More recently, there has been a push to use a market-based approach to address these problems by encouraging the establishment of private enterprises to engage in the household energy sector in developing countries. While a large number of such enterprises have emerged to address these problems since at least 2010, many of them were unsuccessful and unable to go beyond the startup stage. One explanation for this failure is the low purchasing power of the target market. Another explanation is known as the “death valley” curve, which is the period in the life of a startup company where it has begun operations but has not yet generated revenue, leading to its eventual failure due to a lack of cash flow. While these cases have proved to be insightful, they only focus on the downsides. In other words, they tell us nothing about why other organizations survive despite facing the same set of constraints as those who fail. Understanding the factors that made it possible for these organizations to survive is important not only because it helps identify the type of organizations worthy of support, but also provides lessons for others who may be interested in engaging in this area. We sought to explore this issue by undertaking an in-depth analysis of three clean cookstove organizations of varying ages and scales of operations (Anega Energies, Aprovecho Research Center, and Prakti Design). This helps us understand and ultimately establish critical characteristics that allow them to survive under exceedingly difficult internal and external environments. We mapped and analyzed key aspects of the organization’s genesis, operations, and current status. While the long-term viability of organizations largely depends on revenue, we found that the effectiveness of these three organizations is a function of having a clear structure for managing projects, the ability to be flexible regarding the organization\u27s operations and customer base, and management from one authoritative and transformational leader. These common characteristics are what allow these organizations to survive and ultimately sustain their impacts on human health and the environment
Local Zoning Laws: The Cause or The Cure to The Affordable Housing Crisis
No full textAffordable housing has been a major problem in the United States for decades. Despite America’s growing economy, the affordable housing crisis has only increased in magnitude in recent years. This housing shortage impacts millions of people a year, disproportionately affecting low-income individuals and minorities. To target this problem, state and local governments have often used zoning policies to attempt to create more affordable housing. However, zoning has also been used in many areas to prevent the creation of affordable housing and to preserve high housing prices. This makes zoning and its relationship to affordable housing quite complex. Using existing economic literature, this paper breaks down the different types of zoning and their effects both in theory and in practice, evaluating the pros and cons to each type of zoning. Additionally, this paper includes an interview with California real estate developer, Jeff Lee, and solicits his opinion on the problem with affordable housing, zoning, and where the solution lies. Taking into account these various perspectives and statistical results, I attempt to provide a strategy for improving zoning policy in order to better address the affordable housing crisis. In my opinion, I find that the best way to improve the affordable housing crisis would be through extensive upzoning. Results may take time, but I believe the increased supply will lead to more housing and lower prices, especially if the government can improve public transportation
Global Warming and Its Effects on Astronomical Observations
No full textWhen astronomers are taking data, there is a lot to consider. The atmosphere has crucial effects on the quality of astronomical observations. Factors like atmospheric water vapor, atmospheric turbulence, temperature and specific humidity need to be considered. Through the last several years, climate change has become an increasing concern as a result of rising temperatures, increased frequency and severity of natural disasters and more. These factors that astronomers already have to take into account are going to get worse as a result of rising temperatures. Climate change has and will likely continue to have a worsening detrimental effect on astronomy, the opportunities to make observations and the accuracy of the data