Substance Abuse Research Research Articles

Predicting sexually transmitted infections in sexually transmitted disease clinics in U.S.: A machine learning approach

Aims:Understanding how substance use and sexual risk behaviors are related to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) may help to target HIV risk reduction interventions for substance users. Random forests, a machine learning technique, provide a principled approach to explore a largenumberof effects including interactions to identify replicable sets of predictive factors. Methods:Weused data from Project Aware, a randomized clinical trial conducted among 5012 patients in 9 sexually transmitted disease clinics in the US. Predictive models for prevalence and incidence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) were created. Substance use, sexual risk behaviors, characteristics of sexual networkswere assessed and examined using a random forestmachine learning approach. Results: A total of 48 types of sexual acts and 36 types of substance use behaviors were included in the model. Overall, 30.6% of the participants reported weekly drug use, 6.1% were injection drug users, and 16.3% reported binge drinking in the last 6 months. 24.8% reported DAST-10>3. Results showed that large numbers of predictors (80–90) were useful in predicting STI with about 30% of predictors being sexual risk behaviors and 20% of predictors being substance use indicators. Interactions of these two classes of predictors were evident. High accuracy in predictions (70%) was achieved. Conclusions:These results provide initial support for use of random forests to predict STI. A challenge with these methods is the lack of statistical test for significance of individual variables; nevertheless, these methods are useful for exploratory, model-building in substance abuse research. Financial support: RC2 DA028973 and R21 DA038641.

Novel psychoactive substance use in the European Union

s / Drug and Alcohol Dependence 156 (2015) e102–e182 e165 Novel psychoactive substance use in the European Union Scott P. Novak1, Anders Hakansson2, Jens Reimer5, Jose Martinez-Raga4, Jennifer Lorvick3 1 Behavioral Epidemiology, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, United States 2 Division of Psychiatry, U of Lund, Lund, Sweden 3 RTI International, RTI, San Francisco, CA, United States 4 Teaching Unit of Psychiatry and Psychological Medicine, U of Valencia, Valencia, Spain 5 Centre for Interdisciplinary Addiction Research, Hamburg Medical, Hamburg, Germany Aims: Novel psychoactive substances (e.g., bath salts, Krokodil, synthetic marijuana) are synthetic, semi-synthetic or natural compounds, often advertised and sold as ‘legal’ alternatives to illicit drugs. The current study is among the first population-based studies in the EU to identify their prevalence and characteristics. Methods:General population surveys,modeled after theUnited States’ National Survey of Drug Use and Health, were conducted by RTI International in seven European countries (29 metropolitan strata, sample n=22,057) in 2014. Self-report (in English or native language) surveys among persons aged 12 or older were collected andweighted to achieve country-specific representative estimates. Results: The lifetime estimates for NPS ranged from 0.7% (Denmark) to 2.2% (Great Britain), with a mean of 1.8% and a population estimate of 5.5 million. An estimated 500,000 (0.5%) persons reported past-yearNPS. Controlling for country, latent classmodels indicated six classes of past-year illicit drug use, with NPS present in a homogenous class characterized by males (AOR=2.5, p< .001), whites at higher risk relative to black/African descent (AOR=1.6, p< .05), and Asian (AOR=3.3, p< .001). Youth (ages 18–24) were at higher risk for NPS relative to those ages 12–17 (AOR=1.5, p< .001) and 35+ (AOR=1.6, p< .001). Mood/anxiety disorders conferred higher risk of NPS compared to those with no disorder (AOR=2.5, p< .001), or subthreshold symptom levels (AOR=1.6, p< .001). NPS users also reported a greater use of social media. Conclusions: With the increasing erosion of geographic boundaries and increased increased communication, studies are desperately needed to identify the international landscape of drug use.Additionalwavesareplanned to identify trends in transmission patterns between countries and population sub-groups. Financial support: Shire, NIH, RTI International, the European Drug Union. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2015.07.448 Effects of withdrawal from chronic nicotine on emotional and cognitive behaviors in adult and adolescent mice Paul A. Nucero2, Erica Holliday1, Munir G. Kutlu1, Thomas Gould1, Ellen Unterwald3 1 Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States 2 Center for Substance Abuse Research, Temple University School of Medicine, Ambler, PA, United States 3 Center for Substance Abuse Research, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA,

Effects of withdrawal from chronic nicotine on emotional and cognitive behaviors in adult and adolescent mice

s / Drug and Alcohol Dependence 156 (2015) e102–e182 e165 Novel psychoactive substance use in the European Union Scott P. Novak1, Anders Hakansson2, Jens Reimer5, Jose Martinez-Raga4, Jennifer Lorvick3 1 Behavioral Epidemiology, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, United States 2 Division of Psychiatry, U of Lund, Lund, Sweden 3 RTI International, RTI, San Francisco, CA, United States 4 Teaching Unit of Psychiatry and Psychological Medicine, U of Valencia, Valencia, Spain 5 Centre for Interdisciplinary Addiction Research, Hamburg Medical, Hamburg, Germany Aims: Novel psychoactive substances (e.g., bath salts, Krokodil, synthetic marijuana) are synthetic, semi-synthetic or natural compounds, often advertised and sold as ‘legal’ alternatives to illicit drugs. The current study is among the first population-based studies in the EU to identify their prevalence and characteristics. Methods:General population surveys,modeled after theUnited States’ National Survey of Drug Use and Health, were conducted by RTI International in seven European countries (29 metropolitan strata, sample n=22,057) in 2014. Self-report (in English or native language) surveys among persons aged 12 or older were collected andweighted to achieve country-specific representative estimates. Results: The lifetime estimates for NPS ranged from 0.7% (Denmark) to 2.2% (Great Britain), with a mean of 1.8% and a population estimate of 5.5 million. An estimated 500,000 (0.5%) persons reported past-yearNPS. Controlling for country, latent classmodels indicated six classes of past-year illicit drug use, with NPS present in a homogenous class characterized by males (AOR=2.5, p< .001), whites at higher risk relative to black/African descent (AOR=1.6, p< .05), and Asian (AOR=3.3, p< .001). Youth (ages 18–24) were at higher risk for NPS relative to those ages 12–17 (AOR=1.5, p< .001) and 35+ (AOR=1.6, p< .001). Mood/anxiety disorders conferred higher risk of NPS compared to those with no disorder (AOR=2.5, p< .001), or subthreshold symptom levels (AOR=1.6, p< .001). NPS users also reported a greater use of social media. Conclusions: With the increasing erosion of geographic boundaries and increased increased communication, studies are desperately needed to identify the international landscape of drug use.Additionalwavesareplanned to identify trends in transmission patterns between countries and population sub-groups. Financial support: Shire, NIH, RTI International, the European Drug Union. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2015.07.448 Effects of withdrawal from chronic nicotine on emotional and cognitive behaviors in adult and adolescent mice Paul A. Nucero2, Erica Holliday1, Munir G. Kutlu1, Thomas Gould1, Ellen Unterwald3 1 Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States 2 Center for Substance Abuse Research, Temple University School of Medicine, Ambler, PA, United States 3 Center for Substance Abuse Research, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA,

Perceptions of research risk and undue influence: Implications for ethics of research conducted with cocaine users

BackgroundDespite the prominence of human laboratory and clinical trial research in the development of interventions for substance use disorders, this research presents numerous ethical challenges. Ethical principles outlined in the Belmont Report, including respect for persons, beneficence, and justice, have traditionally guided research conduct. Few empirical studies exist examining substance abuse research ethics. The present study examined perceptions of beneficence and respect for persons in substance use research, including relative risk and desired monetary compensation, using an online sample of cocaine users. MethodsThe study was conducted on Amazon.com's Mechanical Turk (mTurk), a crowdsourcing website used for survey-based research. Of 1764 individuals screened, 138 reported past year cocaine use. These respondents completed a battery of standardized and experimenter-designed questionnaires used to characterize each respondent's self-reported attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors about drug use and the relative risks and desired monetary compensation associated with research participation. ResultsRatings of relative risk revealed that most respondents found common research practices as less than or equal to the relative risk of everyday life. Receiving experimental medication outside the hospital was rated as the most risky research activity, but on average was not rated as presenting more risk than everyday life. Desired compensation for research participation was associated with the perceived risk of research activities. Increases in desired compensation for participation were only observed for research perceived as much more risky than everyday activities. ConclusionsThese findings indicate that cocaine users assess risk in a way that is consistent with standard research practice.

The Use of Technology in Participant Tracking and Study Retention: Lessons Learned From a Clinical Trials Network Study

ABSTRACTBackground: The growing use of newer communication and Internet technologies, even among low-income and transient populations, require research staff to update their outreach strategies to ensure high follow-up and participant retention rates. This paper presents the views of research assistants on the use of cell phones and the Internet to track participants in a multisite randomized trial of substance use disorder treatment. Methods: Preinterview questionnaires exploring tracking and other study-related activities were collected from 21 research staff across the 10 participating US sites. Data were then used to construct a semistructured interview guide that, in turn, was used to interview 12 of the same staff members. The questionnaires and interview data were entered in Atlas.ti and analyzed for emergent themes related to the use of technology for participant-tracking purposes. Results: Study staff reported that most participants had cell phones, despite having unstable physical addresses and landlines. The incoming call feature of most cell phones was useful for participants and research staff alike, and texting proved to have additional benefits. However, reliance on participants' cell phones also proved problematic. Even homeless participants were found to have access to the Internet through public libraries and could respond to study staff e-mails. Some study sites opened generic social media accounts, through which study staff sent private messages to participants. However, the institutional review board (IRB) approval process for tracking participants using social media at some sites was prohibitively lengthy. Internet searches through Google, national paid databases, obituaries, and judiciary Web sites were also helpful tools. Conclusions: Research staff perceive that cell phones, Internet searches, and social networking sites were effective tools to achieve high follow-up rates in drug abuse research. Studies should incorporate cell phone, texting, and social network Web site information on locator forms; obtain IRB approval for contacting participants using social networking Web sites; and include Web searches, texting, and the use of social media in staff training as standard operating procedures.

Cocaine-induced locomotor sensitization in rats correlates with nucleus accumbens activity on manganese-enhanced MRI.

A long-standing goal of substance abuse research has been to link drug-induced behavioral outcomes with the activity of specific brain regions to understand the neurobiology of addiction behaviors and to search for drug-able targets. Here, we tested the hypothesis that cocaine produces locomotor (behavioral) sensitization that correlates with increased calcium channel-mediated neuroactivity in brain regions linked with drug addiction, such as the nucleus accumbens (NAC), anterior striatum (AST) and hippocampus, as measured using manganese-enhanced MRI (MEMRI). Rats were treated with cocaine for 5 days, followed by a 2-day drug-free period. The following day, locomotor sensitization was quantified as a metric of cocaine-induced neuroplasticity in the presence of manganese. Immediately following behavioral testing, rats were examined for changes in calcium channel-mediated neuronal activity in the NAC, AST, hippocampus and temporalis muscle, which was associated with behavioral sensitization using MEMRI. Cocaine significantly increased locomotor activity and produced behavioral sensitization compared with saline treatment of control rats. A significant increase in MEMRI signal intensity was determined in the NAC, but not AST or hippocampus, of cocaine-treated rats compared with saline-treated control rats. Cocaine did not increase signal intensity in the temporalis muscle. Notably, in support of our hypothesis, behavior was significantly and positively correlated with MEMRI signal intensity in the NAC. As neuronal uptake of manganese is regulated by calcium channels, these results indicate that MEMRI is a powerful research tool to study neuronal activity in freely behaving animals and to guide new calcium channel-based therapies for the treatment of cocaine abuse and dependence.

“Time for dabs”: Analyzing Twitter data on marijuana concentrates across the U.S.

AimsMedia reports suggest increasing popularity of marijuana concentrates (“dabs”; “earwax”; “budder”; “shatter; “butane hash oil”) that are typically vaporized and inhaled via a bong, vaporizer or electronic cigarette. However, data on the epidemiology of marijuana concentrate use remain limited. This study aims to explore Twitter data on marijuana concentrate use in the U.S. and identify differences across regions of the country with varying cannabis legalization policies. MethodsTweets were collected between October 20 and December 20, 2014, using Twitter's streaming API. Twitter data filtering framework was available through the eDrugTrends platform. Raw and adjusted percentages of dabs-related tweets per state were calculated. A permutation test was used to examine differences in the adjusted percentages of dabs-related tweets among U.S. states with different cannabis legalization policies. ResultseDrugTrends collected a total of 125,255 tweets. Almost 22% (n=27,018) of these tweets contained identifiable state-level geolocation information. Dabs-related tweet volume for each state was adjusted using a general sample of tweets to account for different levels of overall tweeting activity for each state. Adjusted percentages of dabs-related tweets were highest in states that allowed recreational and/or medicinal cannabis use and lowest in states that have not passed medical cannabis use laws. The differences were statistically significant. ConclusionsTwitter data suggest greater popularity of dabs in the states that legalized recreational and/or medical use of cannabis. The study provides new information on the epidemiology of marijuana concentrate use and contributes to the emerging field of social media analysis for drug abuse research.

Using the PhenX Toolkit to Add Standard Measures to a Study.

The PhenX (consensus measures for Phenotypes and eXposures) Toolkit (https://www.phenxtoolkit.org/) offers high-quality, well-established measures of phenotypes and exposures for use by the scientific community. The goal is to promote the use of standard measures, enhance data interoperability, and help investigators identify opportunities for collaborative and translational research. The Toolkit contains 395 measures drawn from 22 research domains (fields of research), along with additional collections of measures for Substance Abuse and Addiction (SAA) research, Mental Health Research (MHR), and Tobacco Regulatory Research (TRR). Additional measures for TRR that are expected to be released in 2015 include Obesity, Eating Disorders, and Sickle Cell Disease. Measures are selected by working groups of domain experts using a consensus process that includes input from the scientific community. The Toolkit provides a description of each PhenX measure, the rationale for including it in the Toolkit, protocol(s) for collecting the measure, and supporting documentation. Users can browse measures in the Toolkit or can search the Toolkit using the Smart Query Tool or a full text search. PhenX Toolkit users select measures of interest to add to their Toolkit. Registered Toolkit users can save their Toolkit and return to it later to revise or complete. They then have options to download a customized Data Collection Worksheet that specifies the data to be collected, and a Data Dictionary that describes each variable included in the Data Collection Worksheet. The Toolkit also has a Register Your Study feature that facilitates cross-study collaboration by allowing users to find other investigators using the same PhenX measures.

The Utility of Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy for Understanding Substance Use Disorders: A Systematic Review of the Literature.

The aim of this article is to present a systematic review of magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) studies of substance use disorders. As a noninvasive and nonionizing imaging technique, MRS is being widely used in substance abuse research to evaluate the effects substances of abuse have on brain chemistry. Nearly 40 peer-reviewed research articles that focused on the utility of MRS in alcohol, methamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, cocaine, opiates, opioids, marijuana, and nicotine use disorders were reviewed. Findings indicate inconsistencies with respect to alterations in brain chemistry within each substance of abuse, and the most consistent finding across substances was decreased N-acetylaspartate and choline levels with chronic alcohol, methamphetamine, and nicotine use. Variation in the brain regions studied, imaging technique, as well as small sample sizes might explain the discrepancies in findings within each substance. Future well-designed MRS studies offer promise in examining novel treatment approaches in substance use disorders.

Murder and Motivation: A Qualitative Study

1Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Yasuj University of Medical Sciences, Yasuj, IR Iran 2Department of Health Education and Promotion, School of Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, IR Iran 3Behavioral Disorders and Substance Abuse Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, IR Iran 4Substance Abuse Prevention Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, IR Iran 5Applied Research Bureau of the Police, Kermanshah, IR Iran

"Sub is a weird drug:" A web-based study of lay attitudes about use of buprenorphine to self-treat opioid withdrawal symptoms.

Illicit use of buprenorphine has increased in the U.S., but our understanding of its use remains limited. This study aims to explore Web-forum discussions about the use of buprenorphine to self-treat opioid withdrawal symptoms. PREDOSE, a novel Semantic Web platform, was used to extract relevant posts from a Web-forum that allows free discussions on illicit drugs. First, we extract information about the total number of buprenorphine-related posts per year between 2005 and 2013. Second, PREDOSE was used to identify all posts that potentially contained discussions about buprenorphine and opioid withdrawal. A total number of 1,217 posts that contained these terms were extracted and entered into NVivo data base. A random sample of 404 (33%) posts was selected and content analyzed. Buprenorphine-related posts increased over time, peaking in 2011. The posts were about equally divided between those that expressed positive and negative views about the effectiveness of buprenorphine in relieving withdrawal symptoms. Web-forum participants emphasized that buprenorphine's effectiveness may become compromised because of the "size of a person habit," and/or when users repeatedly switch back and forth between buprenorphine and other illicit opioids. Most posts reported use of significantly lower amounts of buprenorphine (≤2 mg) than doses used in standard treatment. Concomitant use of other psychoactive substances was also commonly reported, which may present significant health risks. Our findings highlight the usefulness of Web-based data in drug abuse research and add new information about lay beliefs about buprenorphine that may help inform prevention and policy measures.

(432) Predictors of prescription opioid therapy in patients with chronic pain and a history of substance use disorder

Patients with a history of substance use disorder (SUD) are frequently prescribed opioid medications for chronic pain, yet it is not clear what factors affect prescribing practices for this population. This study examined correlates of receipt of prescription opioid therapy in 214 patients with a SUD history receiving care at one Veterans Health Administration (VHA) medical center. Participants had one or more recent chronic non-cancer pain diagnoses documented in their VHA electronic medical records. Participants completed psychosocial questionnaires assessing pain impact, emotional distress, pain self-efficacy, pain catastrophizing, and pain severity. In addition, historical medical diagnoses and opioid pharmacy data were abstracted from their VHA electronic medical records. Participants were divided into three groups based on opioid prescriptions in the past 90 days: (1) no opioid therapy (n=134), (2) short-term opioid therapy (<90 days; n=31), or (3) chronic opioid therapy (90 days; n=49). Relative to participants with no or short-term opioid therapy, participants prescribed chronic opioid therapy had a greater number of pain diagnoses (p<0.01); higher levels of pain severity (p<0.01), interference (p<0.01), and catastrophizing (p<0.01); and lower chronic pain self-efficacy (p<0.01). Depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and active SUD were unrelated to opioid therapy in bivariate analyses. In a multivariate logistic regression model, only self-reported pain interference remained a significant predictor of any opioid therapy (p<0.05, OR=1.38), after controlling for demographic and clinical characteristics. Findings highlight the occurrence of poor pain-related functioning in patients with SUD histories who are prescribed opioid therapy. Prescribing clinicians may consider adjuvant analgesic therapies and psychosocial interventions for these patients to further improve pain-related functioning and quality of life. This study was funded in part by grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (to B.J.M.) and VA Health Services Research & Development (to T.I.L.).

Neural Network-Based Drug Abuse Treatment Optimization

Abstract In 2009, 2.6 million people in the United States over 12 years of age received treatment for substance abuse at a “specialty facility”. The direct cost of substance abuse treatment was estimated to be $22 billion in 2005, up from $11 billion in 1991. With recent federal health care reform, more clients may seek treatment, but it is unclear how this would affect clinics’ costs per client. Although past studies on substance abuse costs find some evidence of economies of scale, they also find wide variation in the average costs of treatment, the reasons for which require further investigation. As a result, state substance abuse agencies and other payers face difficulty in determining how to pay providers, in fact, very often funding is inadequate or wasted. The drug abuse treatment process can be viewed as a complex adaptive system in which system inputs such as workers, physical capital and other materials are converted into outputs such as treatment completions and outcomes. Treatment clinics desire the most cost efficient input mix to generate desired outputs. Although substance abuse researchers are ahead of many other fields in developing and refining instruments such as the Drug Abuse Treatment Cost Analysis Program, many of these instruments are restricted by the fact that databases have many omissions making it difficult to answer research questions that might otherwise be informed by economic analysis. Additionally, due to the large numbers of variables involved, trade-offs are difficult to explore. Questions such as “what are the relationships between costs and case-mix?” or “what are reasonable reimbursement rates for substance abuse treatment and how do they differ for specialized populations such as heroin users?” are difficult to answer. The work reported in this paper provides significant insight that can help policymakers to decide where to focus funding through 1) prediction of missing treatment data and 2) identification of critical variables.

Process evaluation of a community collaborative board: Using community-based participatory research to create a substance abuse/health intervention

Aims: To evaluate the structure and dynamic process of a CCB whose goal was to create an evidence-based substance abuse/health intervention for ex-offenders and to provide lessons learned to enhance future CBPR endeavors. Methods: Meeting notes, attendance, video recordings, and indepth interviews with 13 CCB members at baseline (Baseline: two weeks after the CCB’s first meeting) and elevenmembers at twelve months follow-up were used to conduct an independent process evaluation. Open coding identified themes and patterns across answers regardingmembership engagement, retention, and power distribution. Results: Results showed member retention (73.3% retention rate) was due to strong personal commitment to the targeted problem. Analysis also revealed an unequal power distribution between members. Nevertheless, the development of an innovative, community-based health intervention manual was accomplished within one year. Aspects of the process, such as, incentives, sub-committees and trainings, enhanced the Board’s ability to integrate the community and scientific knowledge to accomplish its research agenda. Conclusions:CBPRwasauseful framework inenhancingquality and efficiency in the development of an innovative, communitybased substance abuse/health intervention manual for distressed communities. The use of a structured format, incentives, subcommittees, and trainings proved critical in the success of this process. Overall, this article sheds light on a process that illustrates the integration of community-based and scientific knowledge to address the health, economic and societal marginalization of lowincome, minority communities. Financial Support: The studywas supported by Award Number P30MH079920 from the National Institute of Mental Health. The authorswere supported as postdoctoral andpre-doctoral fellows in the Behavioral Sciences Training in Drug Abuse Research Program sponsored by Public Health Solutions and National Development and Research Institutes with funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (5T32DA007233).

Query and test for synthetic cannabinoids in drug treatment and research

Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists, also known as syn-thetic cannabinoids (SCs) and collectively known as Spice, arechemicals either structurally similar to or acting on the same braincenters as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (Auwarter, Dargan,& Wood, 2013). SCs are sprayed on herbal mixtures and are oftensold as “not for human consumption” potpourri or incense inhead shops, convenience stores, gas stations, and on the inter-net (Vandrey, Dunn, Fry, & Girling, 2012). Unlike THC, however,many SCs are high efficacy, full agonists of the cannabinoid (CB1)receptor (Atwood,Huffman,Straiker,MAtwood,Lee,Straiker, Widlanski, & Mackie, 2011) and have been reported to beimplicated in a number of significant health problems, includingpsychosis and seizures (Spaderna, Addy, & D’Souza, 2013). Calls topoison control centers regarding SC use grew from 14 in 2009 to2821 in 2010. Between January 2011 and April 2012 there were11,561 calls to poison control centers for complications due to theuse ofSCs(Wood,2013).AsthedangersofSCshavegrown,multiplecountries have enacted legislation prohibiting the sale, manufac-ture, and distribution of SCs. However, in order to circumvent suchlegislation, SCmanufacturershavereplacedbannedchemicalswithother novel, as-of-yet unregulated SCs.There are specific issues of concern regarding SC use in sub-stance abuse clinical treatment research as well as in substanceuse treatment facilities that warrant particular attention. Recentresearch in the United States (U.S.), Australia, and New Zealandhas indicated that individuals report using SCs as a way to avoidtesting positive on routine urine drug test panels (Barratt, Cakic, L Bonar, Ashrafioun, & Ilgen, 2014; Castellanos, Singh,

Missing data in substance abuse research? Researchers’ reporting practices of sexual orientation and gender identity

BackgroundLesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals are at higher risk for substance use and substance use disorders than heterosexual individuals and are more likely to seek substance use treatment, yet sexual orientation and gender identity are frequently not reported in the research literature. The purpose of this study was to identify if sexual orientation and gender identity are being reported in the recent substance use literature, and if this has changed over time. MethodThe PsycINFO and PubMed databases were searched for articles released in 2007 and 2012 using the term “substance abuse” and 200 articles were randomly selected from each time period and database. Articles were coded for the presence or absence of sexual orientation and gender identity information. ResultsParticipants’ sexual orientation was reported in 3.0% and 4.9% of the 2007 and 2.3% and 6.5% of the 2012 sample, in PsycINFO and PubMed sample articles, respectively, while non-binary gender identity was reported in 0% and 1.0% of the 2007 sample and 2.3% and 1.9% of the 2012 PsycINFO and PubMed sample articles. There were no differences in rates of reporting over time. ConclusionsSexual orientation and gender identity are rarely reported in the substance abuse literature, and there has not been a change in reporting practices between 2007 and 2012. Recommendations for future investigators in reporting sexual orientation and gender identity are included.

William L Woolverton.

Dr William L Woolverton, Billy S Guyton Distinguished Professor and Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the University of Mississippi Medical Center died after a brief illness at the age of 62 on 13 June 2013. Professor Woolverton, a member of ACNP, was a leading scientist and educator in the behavioral pharmacology of drugs of abuse. An Alabama native, Bill attended the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1972. He did graduate work at the University of Chicago, studying pharmacology under the mentorship of Dr Charles R Schuster, graduating with a PhD in 1977. Although Bill received his formal training as a pharmacologist, he was strongly influenced by the behavioral sciences, conducting his doctoral research in the Psychiatry Department with a psychologist. Thus, many of Bill's major scientific contributions were on the behavioral determinants of the abuse-related effects of drugs. He did most of his research using nonhuman primates. From 1977 to 1980 Bill did postdoctoral work at Virginia Commonwealth University primarily in the laboratories of Dr Robert Balster in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. Bill wanted to understand better how the reinforcing effects of drugs were altered by the context of their availability. This led him to a series of complex choice studies in which rhesus monkeys were given opportunities to select cocaine or food reinforcement and how various manipulations, such as concurrent drug treatment, altered this choice behavior. The results of this line of work convinced Bill that drug-taking behavior was not “impulsive” and “out of control” as has often been proposed, but rather is directly determined by the context of its availability, providing a nuanced understanding of drug–behavior interactions. In 1980, Bill returned to the University of Chicago as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry in the research group headed by Charles R Schuster. When Bob Schuster left to become NIDA Director in 1986, Bill replaced him as the Director of the Drug Abuse Research Center. While in Chicago, Bill showed that activation of both D1-like and D2-like dopamine receptors were involved in the reinforcing effects of cocaine. He also continued his studies with drug choice and drug–food choice paradigms with the purpose of studying the reinforcing efficacy of stimulant drug administration. He utilized these models for studying potential pharmacotherapies that might reduce the strength of cocaine reward, but of equal importance, he found that he could reduce cocaine-reinforced behavior just as easily by manipulating environmental variables, such as the value of alternative reinforcers. This work is consistent with the view that combined pharmacotherapies and behavioral therapies may offer the best hope for stimulant abuse treatment. In 1993, Bill was recruited to the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) at the rank of Professor and served as Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior. In 2010, he was awarded the Billy S Guyton Distinguished Professorship, the highest honor that is bestowed upon researchers at UMMC. While at UMMC, Bill's long-standing interest in how environmental circumstances shape the choice to take drugs gave rise to some of his most innovative work, including a foray into behavioral economics. He investigated the effects of delay of reinforcement on the choice to self-administer cocaine when non-drug alternatives were available. In 2007, Bill and his colleagues demonstrated hyperbolic discounting of delayed drug injections. He followed this study with others examining delay discounting of non-drug reinforcers in monkeys and found that monkeys discounted delayed drug injections less steeply than non-drug reinforcers providing further insight into how drugs can come to control behavior. Bill Woolverton was much admired by his colleagues and students. He had a very inquisitive mind and liked to challenge accepted scientific beliefs. He had a gentle way of guiding the development of his trainees and in engaging his research peers in the field. He loved to play and sing in the ever-shifting band of friends and colleagues that he cultivated primarily during his Mississippi years. He will be greatly missed. He is survived by his loving wife Candy Woolverton, and his son Chris and daughter Lucy.

Nancy Kishlar Mello.

Nancy Kishlar Mello.

Harry L June.

Dr Harry L June, a Member of the College since 2004, succumbed to cancer on 7 June 2014. A native of South Carolina, Dr June received his PhD from Howard University in 1990 under Dr Michael Lewis. Following a postdoctoral fellowship in human psychopharmacology at Johns Hopkins University, Dr June held a dual appointment as assistant professor in the Psychology Department at Indiana University–Purdue University in Indianapolis (IUPUI) and the Medical Neurobiology Program at Indiana University School of Medicine. He was promoted to the rank of associate professor in 1998 and full professor in 2003. Dr June left Indiana in 2005 to join the faculty at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where he held the rank of professor in both the Department of Psychiatry and the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. In 2011, he was appointed Director of Substance Abuse Research and Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Howard University College of Medicine. First, as a student with Michael Lewis, and later with colleagues at IUPUI, the University of Maryland, and finally at Howard University, Harry addressed fundamental questions about how GABAA receptor form and function relate to alcohol-driven behaviors. Harry employed a multidisciplinary approach to address these questions. Both Harry's enthusiasm and outgoing personality enabled him to enlist collaborators in disciplines ranging from organic chemistry (James Cook) in order to synthesize GABAA receptor subtype-selective agents to molecular biology (Laura Aurelian) in order to construct amplicons containing siRNAs that could be delivered to specific brain regions. Throughout his career, Harry always had an eye toward translational research, and one of his last studies demonstrated that amitifadine, a triple reuptake inhibitor, reduced binge drinking as well as some of the negative behaviors associated with withdrawal in rats. NIAAA subsequently replicated these data, and amitifadine, currently in development for depression, is slated for an NIAAA-sponsored clinical study in alcoholism. This study would never have gotten off the ground without Harry's vision of finding better agents to treat alcohol use disorders. Given his enthusiasm for science, it is no surprise that Harry was a gifted teacher and a dedicated, patient mentor. Harry was always grateful to NIAAA for supporting his work, and served on multiple NIH study sections during his distinguished career. Harry is survived by his wife, Terri White, and two sons, Leon and James. He will be greatly missed by his family, friends, and an extended scientific family of former students and collaborators.

Conversation with Walter Ling.

In this occasional series, we record the views and personal experiences of people who have especially contributed to the evolution of ideas in the journal's field of interest. Dr Walter Ling is a neurologist and psychiatrist, and is Director of the Integrated Substance Abuse Programs (ISAP) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), one of the foremost substance abuse research groups in the world. Dr Ling led pivotal clinical trials in the United States for all three of the only US Food and Drug Administration-approved opiate pharmacotherapies, levo-acetylmethadol (LAAM), buprenorphine and naltrexone, and is leading ongoing efforts for approval for sustained-release buprenorphine.