"It can never be said that the identity of the patient whose best interests are at stake evaporates (so eliminating the legal or ethical subject) when that person ceases to be conscious. Nor can it be said that the best interests of an unconscious person do not mandate continued biological existence."

J Med Ethics. 2019 Feb 14. pii: medethics-2018-105250. doi: 10.1136/medethics-2018-105250. [Epub ahead of print]

It is never lawful or ethical to withdraw life-sustaining treatment from patients with prolonged disorders of consciousness.

Foster C1,2.

Author information

1

Faculty of Law, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.

2

Green Templeton College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.

Abstract

In English law there is a strong (though rebuttable) presumption that life should be maintained. This article contends that this presumption means that it is always unlawful to withdraw life-sustaining treatment from patients in permanent vegetative state (PVS) and minimally conscious state (MCS), and that the reasons for this being the correct legal analysis mean also that such withdrawal will always be ethically unacceptable. There are two reasons for this conclusion. First, the medical uncertainties inherent in the definition and diagnosis of PVS/MCS are such that, as a matter of medical fact, it can never be established, with the degree of certainty necessary to rebut the presumption, that it is not in the patient's best interest to remain alive. And second (and more controversially and repercussively), that even if permanent unconsciousness can be unequivocally demonstrated, the presumption is not rebutted. This is because there is plainly more to human existence than consciousness (or consciousness the markers of which can ever be demonstrated by medical investigations). It can never be said that the identity of the patient whose best interests are at stake evaporates (so eliminating the legal or ethical subject) when that person ceases to be conscious. Nor can it be said that the best interests of an unconscious person do not mandate continued biological existence. We simply cannot know. That uncertainty is legally conclusive, and (subject to resource allocation questions and views about the relevance of family wishes and the previously expressed wishes of the patient) should be ethically conclusive.

The Alan Parson Project: Time LIVE

The Alan Parson Project: Time LIVE ( publico )

'Medicare for All' would require obesity laws ("The country under single-payer will make former Mayor Michael Bloomberg's soda taxes and food-nannying look like child's play.") #nannystate #GovernmentIsPower

'Medicare for All' would require obesity laws

"It seems impossible for any real iteration of "Medicare for All" to succeed without massive amounts of regulation on lifestyle and health choices, or even effective obesity taxes. If the public owns the risk pool of "Medicare for All," then voters will surely demand to mitigate risk as much as possible.

The country under single-payer will make former Mayor Michael Bloomberg's soda taxes and food-nannying look like child's play. Everything from your sugar consumption to your alcohol would become a matter of public regulation, and the public would not only have the power but also the moral right to regulate how people live."

Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2018 Dec;142(12):1537-1548. doi: 10.5858/arpa.2017-0481-OA. Epub 2018 Apr 30.

Interpathologist Diagnostic Agreement for Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinomas Using Current and Recent Classifications.

Funkhouser WK Jr1, Hayes DN1, Moore DT1, Funkhouser WK 3rd1, Fine JP1, Jo H1, Nikolaishvilli-Feinberg N1, Eeva M1, Grilley-Olson JE1, Banks PM1, Graziano P1, Boswell EL1, Elmberger G1, Raparia K1, Hart CF1, Sholl LM1, Nolan NJ1, Fritchie KJ1, Pouagare E1, Allen TC1, Volmar KE1, Biddinger PW1, Kleven DT1, Papez MJ1, Spencer DV1, Rekhtman N1, Mino-Kenudson M1, Hariri L1, Driver B1, Cagle PT1.

Author information

1

From the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill (Drs Funkhouser Jr and Banks); Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, UNC, Chapel Hill, North Carolina (Drs Funkhouser Jr, Hayes, Nikolaishvilli-Feinberg, and Grilley-Olson; Messrs Moore and Jo; and Ms Eeva); the Department of Medicine, UNC School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina (Drs Hayes and Grilley-Olson); the Department of Computer Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison (Mr Funkhouser III); the Department of Biostatistics, UNC School of Public Health, Chapel Hill, North Carolina (Dr Fine); Medical Affairs, Ventana Medical Systems, Tucson, Arizona (Dr Banks); Unit of Pathology, Scientific Institute for Research and Health Care, San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy (Dr Graziano); the Department of Pathology, VA Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina (Dr Boswell); the Department of Medical Biosciences, Pathology, Umeå University Hospital, Umeå, Sweden (Dr Elmberger); the Department of Pathology, Kaiser-Permanente Hospital, Santa Clara, California (Dr Raparia); the Department of Pathology, Piedmont Medical Center, Rock Hill, South Carolina (Dr Hart); the Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts (Dr Sholl); the Department of Pathology, Suburban Hospital, Bethesda, Maryland (Dr Nolan); the Department of Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota (Dr Fritchie); the Department of Pathology, VA Medical Center, Dayton, Ohio (Dr Pouagare); the Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston (Dr Allen); the Department of Pathology, Rex Hospital, Raleigh, North Carolina (Dr Volmar); the Department of Pathology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta (Drs Biddinger and Kleven); the Department of Pathology, Flagstaff Medical Center, Flagstaff, Arizona (Dr Papez); the Department of Pathology, VA Medical Center, Charleston, South Carolina (Dr Spencer); the Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York (Dr Rekhtman); the Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston (Drs Mino-Kenudson and Hariri); and the Department of Pathology & Genomic Medicine, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas (Drs Driver and Cagle). Dr Allen is currently located at the Department of Pathology at University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson.

Abstract

CONTEXT.—:

Measurement of interpathologist diagnostic agreement (IPDA) should allow pathologists to improve current diagnostic criteria and disease classifications.

OBJECTIVES.—:

To determine how IPDA for pathologists' diagnoses of non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) is affected by the addition of a set of mucin and immunohistochemical (IHC) stains to hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) alone, by recent NSCLC reclassifications, by simplification of these classifications, and by pathologists' practice location, pulmonary pathology expertise, practice duration, and lung carcinoma case exposure.

DESIGN.—:

We used a Web-based survey to present core images of 54 NSCLC cases to 22 practicing pathologists for diagnosis, initially as H&E only, then as H&E plus mucin and 4 IHC stains. Each case was diagnosed according to published 2004, 2011, and 2015 NSCLC classifications. Cohen's kappa was calculated for the 231 pathologist pairs as a measure of IPDA.

RESULTS.—:

Twenty-two pathologists diagnosed 54 NSCLC cases by using 4 published classifications. IPDA is significantly higher for H&E/mucin/IHC diagnoses than for H&E-only diagnoses. IPDA for H&E/mucin/IHC diagnoses is highest with the 2015 classification. IPDA is estimated higher after collapse of stated diagnoses into subhead or dichotomized classes. IPDA for H&E/mucin/IHC diagnoses with the 2015 World Health Organization classification is similar for community and academic pathologists, and is higher when pathologists have pulmonary pathology expertise, have more than 6 years of practice experience, or diagnose more than 100 new lung carcinoma cases per year.

CONCLUSIONS.—:

Higher IPDA is associated with use of mucin and IHC stains, with the 2015 NSCLC classification, and with pathologists' pulmonary pathology expertise, practice duration, and frequency of lung carcinoma cases.

Dancing Inmates: Pointer Sisters Jump (For My Love) #DiscoLives

Dancing Inmates: Pointer Sisters Jump (For My Love)

Ohio hospital to close after 105 years

Belmont Community Hospital, a 99-bed hospital in Bellaire, Ohio, will close April 5.

The hospital opened as Bellaire City Hospital in 1914 and was acquired by Wheeling (W.Va.) Hospital in 1996.

The Tokens - The Lion Sleeps Tonight

"To acknowledge the reality of moral life is to recognize that the world contains such things as kindness, as foolishness, as mean-spiritedness."

Iris Murdoch and the power of love

Anil Gomes considers Murdoch’s view that morality is real and that, with the right conceptual resources, we can perceive it

ANIL GOMES

"What is this alternative picture? In contrast to her opponents, Murdoch stresses the reality of moral life. To acknowledge the reality of moral life is to recognize that the world contains such things as kindness, as foolishness, as mean-spiritedness. These are genuine features of reality, and someone who comes to know that some course of action would be foolish comes to know something about how things are in the world. This view is sometimes thought to be ruled out by a certain scientistic conception of the natural, one that restricts what exists to the things that feature in our best scientific theories. Such a view is too restricted, Murdoch thinks, to capture the reality of our lives – including our lives as moral agents. Goodness is sovereign, which is to say a real, if transcendent, aspect of the world.

Making sense of these ideas requires a metaphysics of morals, one that helps us to make peace with the existence of transcendent goodness. But if morality is to move us, we need not just a metaphysics of morals but also a moral psychology: an account of how we creatures, concrete as we are, are able to know about, and be guided by, the transcendent good. Here Murdoch aims to replace the metaphor of choice which dominated her opponents’ work with the metaphor of vision. We can look carefully, we can attend to people and their situations, and when we do so, we can come to know how things are in the moral realm, to know how people have behaved, and to know what we ought to do."

"...at least some of the origins of psychopathic traits are present in infancy and early childhood, which is consistent with the perspective of psychopathy as a neurodevelopmental disorder."

Infant Ment Health J. 2019 Jan;40(1):39-53. doi: 10.1002/imhj.21757. Epub 2018 Dec 21.

Early life predictors of callous-unemotional and psychopathic traits.

Glenn AL1.

Author information

1

Center for the Prevention of Youth Behavior Problems, Department of Psychology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Abstract

Psychopathy is a disorder that occurs primarily in males. Offenders with psychopathic traits are responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime in society, particularly violent crime. Early childhood is a time when individual differences in empathy and guilt-key indicators of the construct of psychopathy-are first evident. A growing number of longitudinal studies have begun to investigate how factors in infancy and early childhood predict psychopathic-like traits in later childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. These studies have suggested that parenting styles during infancy (parental sensitivity, maternal harsh intrusion, commenting on the emotional state of the child) as well as attachment styles are predictive of later psychopathic-like traits. In addition, child characteristics such as temperament and the functioning of biological systems such as the autonomic nervous system and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis are predictive. Overall, studies have suggested that at least some of the origins of psychopathic traits are present in infancy and early childhood, which is consistent with the perspective of psychopathy as a neurodevelopmental disorder. A recent evolutionary-developmental model provides hypotheses regarding how psychopathy may develop and why it is more common in males than females. This model, and its implications for intervention, is discussed in the context of the longitudinal studies that have been conducted on psychopathy.

Diets consisting of fewer calories improve cell performance

"Obese individuals are much more likely to have age-related diseases. This includes neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, proliferative diseases like cancer, and metabolic diseases themselves, such as Type 2 diabetes, hyperlipidemia, heart attack and CVA. Obese people have a higher incidence of all of these," said the researcher.

By preventing obesity, we can prevent these diseases. However, the worldwide epidemic has not diminished even with constant warnings about the need for balanced nutrition and physical activity.

"Georgiana (Ala.) Medical Center will close March 31, making it the seventh rural hospital in Alabama to close since 2010."

Alabama hospital to close in March

Georgiana (Ala.) Medical Center will close March 31, making it the seventh rural hospital in Alabama to close since 2010.

Ivy Creek Healthcare in Georgiana, which owns the hospital, cited growing costs and reimbursement cuts as the reason for the closure, according to WFSA.

Georgiana Medical Center is one of two hospitals serving Butler County.

J Med Ethics. 2019 Jan 21. pii: medethics-2018-105069. doi: 10.1136/medethics-2018-105069. [Epub ahead of print]

Internal morality of medicine and physician autonomy.

McAndrew S1.

Author information

1

Department of Philosophy, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, New York, USA.

Abstract

Robert Veatch and others have questioned whether there are internal moral rules of medicine. This paper examines the legal regulatory model for governing professions as the autonomous exercise of professional skills and asks whether there is a theoretical basis for this model. Taking John Rawls's distinction between the justification of a practice and justification of the rules internal to the practice, this paper argues that the autonomous exercise of professional skills is justified so long as it benefits society. In opposition to Christopher Boorse, it is argued that medicine is pathocentric and that physicians exercise skills in treating pathologies. The autonomous treatment of pathologies is justified because non-interference with physicians will lead to greater treatment of pathologies and so benefit society. Finally, the analysis of medicine as the autonomous exercise of skills in treating pathologies yields the rule that physicians not be forced to cause pathologies.

More Young Adults are Getting Cancer – and Obesity Might Have Something to Do With It

More Young Adults are Getting Cancer – and Obesity Might Have Something to Do With It

Study finds some obesity-related cancers on the rise in Americans under 50

“Half the obesity-related cancers were increasing in incidence, while most of the other cancers that are not obesity related – like ones that are smoking-related – were actually stable or declining,” Dr. Shepard notes. “And the youngest people are the ones that have the bigger increases.”

"All students oscillated involuntarily between seeing the cadaver as a specimen for learning and seeing the cadaver as a person, with some students intentionally cultivating one of these ways of seeing over the other. These views shaped students' emotional and moral responses to the experiences of dissection."

Anat Sci Educ. 2019 Feb 10. doi: 10.1002/ase.1868. [Epub ahead of print]

Not just a specimen: A qualitative study of emotion, morality, and professionalism in one medical school gross anatomy laboratory.

Goss AL1, Viswanathan V2, DeLisser HM3,4.

Author information

1

Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California.

2

Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

3

Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

4

Academic Programs Office, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Abstract

Medical schools are increasingly integrating professionalism training into their gross anatomy courses, teaching ethical behavior and humanistic attitudes through the dissection experience. However, many schools continue to take a traditional, technical approach to anatomical education while teaching professionalism in separate courses. This interview-based study explored how students viewed the body donor and the professional lessons they learned through dissection at one such medical school. All students oscillated involuntarily between seeing the cadaver as a specimen for learning and seeing the cadaver as a person, with some students intentionally cultivating one of these ways of seeing over the other. These views shaped students' emotional and moral responses to the experiences of dissection. The "specimen" view facilitated a technical, detached approach to dissection, while the "person" view made students engage emotionally. Further, students who intentionally cultivated a "specimen" view generally felt less moral distress about dissection than students who intentionally cultivated a "person" view. The concept of respect gave students permission to perform dissections, but "person-minded" students developed more complex rules around what constituted respectful behavior. Both groups of students connected the gross anatomy experience to their professional development, but in different ways. "Specimen-minded" students intentionally objectified the body to learn the emotional control physicians need, while "person-minded" students humanized the body donor to promote the emotional engagement required of physicians. These findings support efforts to integrate professionalism teaching into gross anatomy courses, particularly content addressing the balance between professional detachment and concern.

Baylor Scott & White, Memorial Hermann end merger talks

"Dallas-based Baylor Scott & White Health and Houston-based Memorial Hermann Health System have decided to discontinue merger discussions roughly four months after signing a letter of intent to combine their organizations."

Quintessential 80s. A-ha's Take On Me

a-ha - Take On Me (Official Music Video)

J Altern Complement Med. 2018 Sep/Oct;24(9-10):862-871. doi: 10.1089/acm.2018.0175.

Complementary and Integrative Medicine in Lung Cancer: Questions and Challenges.

Frenkel M1,2, Slater R1, Sapire K3, Sierpina V1.

Author information

1

1 Department of Family Medicine, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston , Galveston, Texas.

2

2 Integrative Medicine Program, Institute of Oncology Meir Medical Center , Kfar Saba, Israel .

3

3 Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center , Houston, Texas.

Abstract

Lung cancer represents 13% of all cancers, making it the second most common type of malignancy in the United States. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in men and women in the United States and accounts for nearly 18% of all deaths from cancer. Because of its high mortality rate, lung cancer is associated with an increased rate of distress. Patients use various strategies to cope with this distress during and after cancer treatments, and complementary and integrative medicine (CIM) has become a common coping strategy. This reviewcovers major questions and challenges of incorporating CIM during and beyond treatment for lung cancer. The questions revolve around determining the value of nutrition and nutritional supplements, assessing the role of exercise, addressing the mind-body connection, enhancing the benefit of immunotherapy, and determining the benefit of incorporating complementary therapies such as acupuncture and homeopathy. This review may provide a basis for discussion that can enhance patient-doctor dialogue regarding the use of CIM during and after treatment for lung cancer.

J Occup Health. 2019 Jan;61(1):10-18. doi: 10.1002/1348-9585.12031.

Update of occupational lung disease.

Suganuma N1,2, Natori Y1,3, Kurosawa H1,4, Nakano M1,5, Kasai T1,6, Morimoto Y1,7; Japan Society for Occupational Health Occupational Lung Disease Study Group.

Author information

1

Japan Society for Occupational Health (JSOH) Occupational Lung Disease Study Group, Tokya, Japan.

2

Department of Environmental Medicine, Kochi Medical School, Kochi Univeristy, Nankoku, Japan.

3

Hirano-Kameido Himawari-Clinic, Koto-ku, Japan.

4

Department of Occupational Health, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.

5

Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Keio University School of Medicine, Shinjuku, Japan.

6

Department of Pathology, Kinki-Chuo Chest Medical Center, Sakai, Japan.

7

University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, Kitakyushu, Japan.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

Occupational Lung Disease is an oldest but still a biggest problem in occupational health.

METHODS:

Steering Committee members of the Japan Society for Occupational Health (JSOH) Occupational Lung Disease Study Group selected and summarized current topics on occupational lung diseases based on expert opinion, as informed by governmental regulation, public health concerns, and frequently discussed in related academic conferences.

RESULTS:

The topics included in this review are professional education in medical screening skills, 2014 update of Helsinki Criteria, respiratory diseases found in the earthquake and tsunami affected regions, newly recognized occupational lung diseases, and potential respiratory health hazards.

DISCUSSIONS:

Although occupational lung diseases seem to stay as one of the major concerns in occupational health, screening tools and control measures are standardized for the better prevention of the diseases. As this health problem usually occurs in where the most actively economically developing area is, the patients tend to increase in emerging economic powers with huge population.

"Pizza chain's website and app are incompatible with screen reading software, so blind man can't order online. A violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act?"

Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions

• Pizza chain's website and app are incompatible with screen reading software, so blind man can't order online. A violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act? District court: No, the Act doesn't mention the internet, and the feds have failed to provide formal guidance on how it applies—despite promising to do so. Ninth Circuit: Reversed. The feds have said that websites must comply; there's no need for the gov't to produce a blueprint detailing how to do it.

arcinogenesis. 2019 Jan 10. doi: 10.1093/carcin/bgz004. [Epub ahead of print]

Prognostic Factors of Survival in Patients with Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma; an analysis of the National Cancer Data Base.

van Gerwen M1, Alpert N1, Wolf A2, Ohri N3, Lewis E2, Rosenzweig KE4, Flores R2,5, Taioli E1,2,5.

Author information

1

Institute for Translational Epidemiology and Department of Population Health Science and Policy, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA.

2

Department of Thoracic Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA.

3

Department of Radiation Oncology, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, USA.

4

Department of Radiation Oncology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA.

5

Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA.

Abstract

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a rare disease with a very poor prognosis. Previous studies have indicated that women experience longer survival compared to men. We analyzed 16,267 eligible patients (21.3% females) in the National Cancer Data Base to evaluate which clinical factors are independently predictive of longer survival. After adjusting for all covariates, survival was significantly better in females compared to males (HRadj: 0.81, 95% CI: 0.77-0.85). Other factors significantly associated with better survival were younger age at diagnosis, higher income, lower comorbidity score, epithelial histology, earlier stage, and receipt of surgical or medical treatment. After propensity matching, survival was significantly better for females compared to males (HR: 0.86, 95% CI: 0.80-0.94). After propensity matching within the epithelial group, survival remained significantly better for females compared to males (HR: 0.85, 95% CI: 0.74-0.97). This study adds information to the known significant gender survival difference in MPM by disentangling the effect of gender from the effect of age and histology, two known independent factors affecting survival. Circulating estrogen, present in young but not older women, and higher expression of the estrogen receptor beta in epithelial mesothelioma have been suggested to play a role in gender survival differences. These findings may lead to exploring new therapeutic options such as targeting estrogen receptor beta, and considering hormonal therapy including estrogens for patients with otherwise limited prognosis.

"Liberal states had higher past-year cannabis use, but lower cannabis use disorder prevalence among users, compared to conservative states."

Int J Drug Policy. 2019 Jan 16. pii: S0955-3959(18)30272-X. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2018.10.010. [Epub ahead of print]

Associations between state-level policy liberalism, cannabis use, and cannabis use disorder from 2004 to 2012: Looking beyond medical cannabis law status.

Philbin MM1, Mauro PM2, Santaella-Tenorio J3, Mauro CM4, Kinnard EN5, Cerdá M6, Martins SS7.

Author information

1

Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, 722 West 168th St., New York, NY, 10032, USA. Electronic address: mp3243@columbia.edu.

2

Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, 722 West 168th St., New York, NY, 10032, USA. Electronic address: pm2838@columbia.edu.

3

Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, 722 West 168th St., New York, NY, 10032, USA. Electronic address: js4222@columbia.edu.

4

Department of Biostatistics, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, 722 West 168th St., New York, NY, 10032, USA. Electronic address: cmm2212@columbia.edu.

5

Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, 722 West 168th St., New York, NY, 10032, USA. Electronic address: ek3003@columbia.edu.

6

Department of Emergency Medicine, University of California Davis, 4150V Street Patient Support Services Bldg, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA. Electronic address: cerda@ucdavis.edu.

7

Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, 722 West 168th St., New York, NY, 10032, USA. Electronic address: ssm2183@columbia.edu.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Medical cannabis laws (MCL) have received increased attention as potential drivers of cannabis use (CU), but little work has explored how the broader policy climate, independent of MCL, may impact CU outcomes. We explored the association between state-level policy liberalism and past-year cannabis use (CU) and cannabis use disorder (CUD).

METHODS:

We obtained state-level prevalence of past-year CU and CUD among past year cannabis users for ages 12-17, 18-25, and 26+ from the 2004-2006 and 2010-2012 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health. States were categorized as liberal, moderate, or conservative based on state-level policy liberalism rankings in 2005 and 2011. Linear models with random state effects examined the association between policy liberalism and past-year CU and CUD, adjusting for state-level social and economic covariates and medical cannabis laws.

RESULTS:

In adjusted models, liberal states had higher average past-year CU than conservative states for ages 12-17 (+1.58 percentage points; p = 0.03) and 18-25 (+2.96 percentage points; p = 0.01) but not for 26+ (p = 0.19). CUD prevalence among past year users was significantly lower in liberal compared to conservative states for ages 12-17 (-2.87 percentage points; p = 0.045) and marginally lower for ages 26+ (-2.45 percentage points; p = 0.05).

CONCLUSION:

Liberal states had higher past-year CU, but lower CUD prevalence among users, compared to conservative states. Researchers and policy makers should consider how the broader policy environment, independent of MCL, may contribute to CU outcomes.

"For the contemporary right, universities are supposedly bent on undermining traditional norms and hierarchies, teaching the young to resent religion, reject family, and hate capitalism."

How the Right Learned to Loathe Higher Education

Conservative dislike of the academy isn’t new. But it is alarming.

By Kim Phillips-Fein January 31, 2019 

For the contemporary right, universities are supposedly bent on undermining traditional norms and hierarchies, teaching the young to resent religion, reject family, and hate capitalism. As a result, the young are going crazy. ("Education is child abuse," as McInnes puts it.) Yet at the same time, conservatives portray the university as the institution that more than any other acts as a gateway to social power. The university’s function as a subversive gatekeeper is what marks it as especially dangerous.

"...obesity is threatening to overtake smoking as the 'number one risk factor for cancer' within decades."

Study: Cutting bacon, booze out of diet could reduce cancer by 40%

The World Cancer Research Fund study, which sampled data from 51 million people, found that even the smallest amounts of processed meats and booze increased the risk of a number of cancers, according to the Evening Standard.

According to the study, obesity is threatening to overtake smoking as the "number one risk factor for cancer" within decades.

"Whether ethics is 'computable' depends on how programmers understand ethics in the first place..."

Sci Eng Ethics. 2019 Jan 30. doi: 10.1007/s11948-019-00084-5. [Epub ahead of print]

Building Moral Robots: Ethical Pitfalls and Challenges.

Gordon JS1,2.

Author information

1

Department of Philosophy and Social Critique, Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy, Vytautas Magnus University, V. Putvinskio g. 23 (R 403), 44243, Kaunas, Lithuania. jostgo76@gmail.com.

2

Research Cluster for Applied Ethics, Faculty of Law, Vytautas Magnus University, V. Putvinskio g. 23 (R 403), 44243, Kaunas, Lithuania. jostgo76@gmail.com.

Abstract

This paper examines the ethical pitfalls and challenges that non-ethicists, such as researchers and programmers in the fields of computer science, artificial intelligence and robotics, face when building moral machines. Whether ethics is "computable" depends on how programmers understand ethics in the first place and on the adequacy of their understanding of the ethical problems and methodological challenges in these fields. Researchers and programmers face at least two types of problems due to their general lack of ethical knowledge or expertise. The first type is so-called rookie mistakes, which could be addressed by providing these people with the necessary ethical knowledge. The second, more difficult methodological issue concerns areas of peer disagreement in ethics, where no easy solutions are currently available. This paper examines several existing approaches to highlight the ethical pitfalls and challenges involved. Familiarity with these and similar problems can help programmers to avoid pitfalls and build better moral machines. The paper concludes that ethical decisions regarding moral robots should be based on avoiding what is immoral (i.e. prohibiting certain immoral actions) in combination with a pluralistic ethical method of solving moral problems, rather than relying on a particular ethical approach, so as to avoid a normative bias.