93 research outputs found

    CONCEALED CARRY OF FIREARMS IN THE UNITED STATES: A PUBLIC HEALTH LAW ANALYSIS OF STATE POLICY AND STATE SUICIDE MORTALITY

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    Although research has shown that some laws governing the concealed carry of firearms are associated increased violent crime, the relationship between these laws and suicide mortality has not been rigorously evaluated. This dissertationā€™s three studies sought to examine this relationship. The first study gathered and analyzed concealed carry laws for all 50 states from 1980ā€“2017, revealing trends toward deregulation of concealed carry. The results describe state concealed carry policy, concluding that while broader access to firearms facilitated by concealed carry laws may increase suicide risk, specific permitting requirements may provide opportunities for preventive interventions. The second study sought to determine whether shall issue and permitless lawsā€”the laws that make it easiest to carry a concealed firearmā€”affect suicide mortality. Suicide mortality data from 1980ā€“2015 were collected from the National Center for Health Statistics. The primary independent variables were shall issue laws and permitless laws. The statistical analysis consisted of negative binomial models with state fixed effects and synthetic control methods. The analysis found no relationship between shall issue laws and suicide. Laws allowing permitless carry had a harmful effect on suicide, but this result it limited by the small number of states with permitless laws before 2015. The third study sought to determine whether specific elements of concealed carry permitting laws are associated with suicide mortality. The data were identical to the second study, but the independent variables were laws requiring training, a good cause for a permit, and applicant suitability. The statistical analysis consisted of negative binomial models with state fixed effects and synthetic control methods. States requiring training saw decreased suicide. This effect may, however, be limited to states with the most restrictive concealed carry laws. Good cause and suitability requirements had no consistent relationship with suicide. Overall, this dissertation research found that concealed carry is being increasingly deregulated in the United States. Though the loosest permitting laws are not broadly associated with suicide mortality, states allowing permitless carry may see increased suicide. Training may help prevent deaths by suicide in certain contexts. These courses represent a promising point of intervention for suicide prevention efforts

    Concealed Carry of Firearms: Facts vs. Fiction

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    arrying a concealed handgun in public has the potential to enable would-be victims of violent crime to thwart attempted acts of violence, but also poses potential threats to public safety. Because of these potential threats, states have historically regulated the carrying of concealed firearms. These regulations have included requiring a permit to carry a concealed weapon and basing the issuance of these permits on whether applicants met training, safety, and even personal character requirements. Additionally, states have limited the places in which the permit holder could carry a concealed firearm

    Structural Origins of Chiral Second-Order Optical Nonlinearity in Collagen: Amide I Band

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    AbstractThe molecular basis of nonlinear optical (NLO) chiral effects in the amide I region of type I collagen was investigated using sum-frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy; chiral and achiral tensor elements were separated using different input/output beam polarization conditions. Spectra were obtained from native rat tail tendon (RTT) collagen and from cholesteric liquid crystal-like (LC) type I collagen films. Although RTT and LC collagen both possess long-range order, LC collagen lacks the complex hierarchical organization of RTT collagen. Their spectra were compared to assess the role of such organization in NLO chirality. No significant differences were observed between RTT and LC with respect to chiral or achiral spectra. These findings suggest that amide I NLO chiral effects in type I collagen assemblies arise predominantly from the chiralĀ organization of amide chromophores within individual collagen molecules, rather than from supramolecular structures. The study suggests that sum-frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy may be uniquely valuable in exploring fundamental aspects of chiral nonlinearity in complex macromolecular structures

    A Year in Review: 2020 Gun Deaths in the U.S.

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    This report illustrates the enormous toll gun violence has in the U.S. The report provides an in-depth analysis of the 2020 CDC firearm fatality data, which was made public in December 2021; a look at demographic and state-level geographic differences; and a comparison of other injury fatalities. The report also highlights evidence-based policy recommendations states can implement to help curb gun violence in all its forms

    PEDF and VEGF-A Output from Human Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells Grown on Novel Microcarriers

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    Human retinal pigment epithelial (hRPE) cells have been tested as a cell-based therapy for Parkinson's disease but will require additional study before further clinical trials can be planned. We now show that the long-term survival and neurotrophic potential of hRPE cells can be enhanced by the use of FDA-approved plastic-based microcarriers compared to a gelatin-based microcarrier as used in failed clinical trials. The hRPE cells grown on these plastic-based microcarriers display several important characteristics of hRPE found in vivo: (1) characteristic morphological features, (2) accumulation of melanin pigment, and (3) high levels of production of the neurotrophic factors pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) and vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A). Growth of hRPE cells on plastic-based microcarriers led to sustained levels (>1ā€‰ng/ml) of PEDF and VEGF-A in conditioned media for two months. We also show that the expression of VEGF-A and PEDF is reciprocally regulated by activation of the GPR143 pathway. GPR143 is activated by L-DOPA (1ā€‰Ī¼M) which decreased VEGF-A secretion as opposed to the previously reported increase in PEDF secretion. The hRPE microcarriers are therefore novel candidate delivery systems for achieving long-term delivery of the neuroprotective factors PEDF and VEGF-A, which could have a value in neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson's disease

    Processing adjunct control: Evidence on the use of structural information and prediction in reference resolution

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    The comprehension of anaphoric relations may be guided not only by discourse, but also syntactic information. In the literature on online processing, however, the focus has been on audible pronouns and descriptions whose reference is resolved mainly on the former. This paper examines one relation that both lacks overt exponence, and relies almost exclusively on syntax for its resolution: adjunct control, or the dependency between the null subject of a non-finite adjunct and its antecedent in sentences such as Mickey talked to Minnie before ___ eating. Using visual world eyetracking, we compare the time course of interpreting this null subject and overt pronouns (Mickey talked to Minnie before he ate). We show that when control structures are highly frequent, listeners are just as quick to resolve reference in either case. When control structures are less frequent, reference resolution based on structural information still occurs upon hearing the non-finite verb, but more slowly, especially when unaided by structural and referential predictions. This may be due to increased difficulty in recognizing that a referential dependency is necessary. These results indicate that in at least some contexts, referential expressions whose resolution depends on very different sources of information can be resolved approximately equally rapidly, and that the speed of interpretation is largely independent of whether or not the dependency is cued by an overt referring expression

    Blood pressure self-monitoring in pregnancy: examining feasibility in a prospective cohort study

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    Background: Raised blood pressure (BP) affects approximately 10% of pregnancies worldwide, and a high proportion of affected women develop pre-eclampsia. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of self-monitoring of BP in pregnancy in women at higher risk of pre-eclampsia. Methods: This prospective cohort study of self-monitoring BP in pregnancy was carried out in two hospital trusts in Birmingham and Oxford and thirteen primary care practices in Oxfordshire. Eligible women were those defined by the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines as at higher risk of pre-eclampsia. A total of 201 participants were recruited between 12 and 16 weeks of pregnancy and were asked to take two BP readings twice daily three times a week through their pregnancy. Primary outcomes were recruitment, retention and persistence of self-monitoring. Study recruitment and retention were analysed with descriptive statistics. Survival analysis was used to evaluate the persistence of self-monitoring and the performance of self-monitoring in the early detection of gestational hypertension, compared to clinic BP monitoring. Secondary outcomes were the mean clinic and self-monitored BP readings and the performance of self-monitoring in the detection of gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia compared to clinic BP. Results: Of 201 women recruited, 161 (80%) remained in the study at 36 weeks or to the end of their pregnancy, 162 (81%) provided any home readings suitable for analysis, 148 (74%) continued to self-monitor at 20 weeks and 107 (66%) at 36 weeks. Self-monitored readings were similar in value to contemporaneous matched clinic readings for both systolic and diastolic BP. Of the 23 who developed gestational hypertension or pre-eclampsia and self-monitored, 9(39%) had a raised home BP prior to a raised clinic BP. Conclusions: Self-monitoring of BP in pregnancy is feasible and has potential to be useful in the early detection of gestational hypertensive disorders but maintaining self-monitoring throughout pregnancy requires support and probably enhanced training
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