Publications by authors named "Howland J"

Our understanding of the implications of gestational Cannabis exposure (GCE) remains unclear as Cannabis use increases worldwide. Much of the existing knowledge of the effects of GCE has been gained from preclinical experiments using injections of isolated Δ-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) at relatively high doses. Few investigations of the effects of GCE to smoke from the whole Cannabis flower have been conducted, despite this being the most common mode of human consumption.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study reviewed state policies on reimbursement for the removal and reinsertion of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) across the U.S.
  • - Out of 50 states, only 26 had public policies regarding LARC removal reimbursement, and only 14 of those coordinated reimbursement for reinsertion as well.
  • - The findings highlight that many states lack clear policies, emphasizing the need for unrestricted access to LARC services to support reproductive choice and autonomy.
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Male and female rodents display unique search strategies when exploring new and familiar environments. Sex differences are well-documented in the literature and may be observed in tasks that rely on spontaneous exploration (e.g.

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Schizophrenia is a complex neuropsychiatric disorder with significant morbidity. Treatment options that address the spectrum of symptoms are limited, highlighting the need for innovative therapeutic approaches. Gamma Entrainment Using Sensory Stimulation (GENUS) is an emerging treatment for neuropsychiatric disorders that uses sensory stimulation to entrain impaired oscillatory network activity and restore brain function.

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The anterior retrosplenial cortex (aRSC) integrates multimodal sensory information into cohesive associative recognition memories. Little is known about how information is integrated during different learning phases (i.e.

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The odor span task (OST) infers working memory capacity (WMC) by requiring rodents to discriminate between previously presented and session-novel odors to obtain a hidden food reward. Here, rats' responses to session-novel odors and food rewards were assessed to determine whether rats use mitigating strategies in the OST. Rats accurately responded to session-novel odors but also reliably responded to the food reward alone and performed at chance when both a session-novel odor and food reward were presented in separate locations.

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Rationale: The nucleus accumbens (NAc) core gates motivationally relevant behavioral action sequences through afferents from cortical and subcortical brain regions. While the role of the NAc core in reward and effort-based decision making is well established, its role in working memory (WM) processes is incompletely understood. The odor span task (OST) has been proposed as a measure of non-spatial working memory capacity (WMC) as it requires rodents to select a novel odor from an increasing number of familiar odors to obtain a food reward.

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Background: Fall deaths in the USA almost tripled in the twenty-first century. While various interventions have been effective in reducing fall deaths, they have failed to make a substantial impact at a population level.

Main Body: An overarching factor that has been relatively neglected in fall injury prevention is the need for more and better data.

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Cannabis sativa has gained popularity as a "natural substance", leading many to falsely assume that it is not harmful. This assumption has been documented amongst pregnant mothers, many of whom consider Cannabis use during pregnancy as benign. The purpose of this study was to validate a Cannabis smoke exposure model in pregnant rats by determining the plasma levels of cannabinoids and associated metabolites in the dams after exposure to either Cannabis smoke or injected cannabinoids.

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Working memory is an executive function that orchestrates the use of limited amounts of information, referred to as working memory capacity, in cognitive functions. exposure impairs working memory in humans; however, it is unclear whether facilitates or impairs rodent working memory and working memory capacity. The conflicting literature in rodent models may be at least partly because of the use of drug exposure paradigms that do not closely mirror patterns of human use.

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Because of the legalization of in many jurisdictions and the trend of increasing Δ-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content in products, an urgent need exists to understand the impact of use during pregnancy on fetal neurodevelopment and behavior. To this end, we exposed female Sprague Dawley rats to smoke daily from gestational day 6 to 20 or room air. Maternal reproductive parameters, offspring behavior, and gene expression in the offspring amygdala were assessed.

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Background: Omadacycline is an aminomethylcycline antibiotic in the tetracycline class that was approved by the US FDA in 2018 for the treatment of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia and acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections. It is available in both IV and oral formulations. Omadacycline has broad-spectrum activity and clinical efficacy against infections caused by Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens.

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Objective: To determine whether nativity is associated with abdominal wall defects among births to Mexican-American women.

Study Design: Using a cross-sectional, population-based design, stratified and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed on the 2014-2017 National Center for Health Statistics live-birth cohort dataset of infants of US-born (n = 1 398 719) and foreign-born (n = 1 221 411) Mexican-American women.

Results: The incidence of gastroschisis was greater among births to US-born compared with Mexico-born Mexican-American women: 36.

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Objective: To determine whether paternal early-life socioeconomic position (defined by neighborhood income) modifies the association of maternal economic mobility and infant small for gestational age (weight for gestational age < 10th percentile, SGA) rates.

Methods: Stratified and multilevel binomial regression analyses were executed on the Illinois transgenerational dataset of parents (born 1956-1976) and their infants (born 1989-1991) with appended U.S.

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T-type Ca channels (Ca3) represent emerging therapeutic targets for a range of neurological disorders, including epilepsy and pain. To aid the development and optimisation of new therapeutics, there is a need to identify novel chemical entities which act at these ion channels. A number of synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) have been found to exhibit activity at T-type channels, suggesting that cannabinoids may provide convenient chemical scaffolds on which to design novel Ca3 inhibitors.

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This cross-sectional study describes knowledge, perceived competence, and behaviors relative to intimate partner violence (IPV)-related brain injury (BI) among staff in residential domestic violence shelter programs across a New England state. A 23-item questionnaire was administered to registrants of an online IPV-related BI training series. Within this sample, knowledge about IPV-related BI was high, but relative to providing screening, accommodations, and specialized referrals to survivors with BI, perceived competence was low, and behaviors were infrequent.

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Evidence-based practices in concussion management (CM) have been codified into legislation. However, legislation is varied, and implementation is narrowly evaluated. School nurses hold a unique position to assess the implementation of health policies.

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Objective: To determine the whether a greater percentage of deaths of infants born at term among US-born (vs foreign-born) women is attributable to paternal nonacknowledgement.

Study Design: Using a cross-sectional population-based design, stratified and multivariable binomial regression analyses were performed on a subset of the 2017 National Center for Health Statistics linked live birth-infant death cohort dataset of singleton infants born at term (37-42 weeks) of US-born (N = 2 127 243) and foreign-born (N = 334 664) women.

Results: Infants of US-born women had a prevalence of paternal nonacknowledgement of 11.

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Memories allow past experiences to guide future decision making and behavior. Sparse ensembles of neurons, known as engrams, are thought to store memories in the brain. Most previous research has focused on engrams supporting threatening or fearful memories where results show that neurons involved in a particular engram ("engram neurons") are both necessary and sufficient for memory expression.

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Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) can cause the life-threatening acute respiratory disease called COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) as well as debilitating multiorgan dysfunction that persists after the initial viral phase has resolved. Long COVID or Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) is manifested by a variety of symptoms, including fatigue, dyspnea, arthralgia, myalgia, heart palpitations, and memory issues sometimes affecting between 30% and 75% of recovering COVID-19 patients. However, little is known about the mechanisms causing Long COVID and there are no widely accepted treatments or therapeutics.

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During chronic infection, the single celled parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, can migrate to the brain where it has been associated with altered dopamine function and the capacity to modulate host behavior, increasing risk of neurocognitive disorders. Here we explore alterations in dopamine-related behavior in a new mouse model based on stimulant (cocaine)-induced hyperactivity. In combination with cocaine, infection resulted in heightened sensorimotor deficits and impairment in prepulse inhibition response, which are commonly disrupted in neuropsychiatric conditions.

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Article Synopsis
  • Two invasive Asian earthworm species have established themselves in North American forests, causing substantial ecological damage, which may be partly due to their unique genetic and reproductive traits.
  • A study analyzed 216 and 196 individuals of these species from multiple Vermont locations, revealing that while the worms were mainly hermaphroditic, many lacked male reproductive structures, leading to clonal reproduction.
  • Despite the dominance of clonal reproduction, genetic diversity was observed, with numerous genotypes at different sites, suggesting that these earthworms may occasionally reproduce sexually, contributing to their adaptability and spread.
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