Circles of support and accountability (CoSA): a review of the development of CoSA and its international implementation

Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) was initially developed in Canada as a community-based program designed to assist in the community reintegration of individuals who are deemed a high or very high risk of sexual recidivism. This article outlines the historical foundations and frameworks of the CoSA model and examines the recruitment and training of CoSA volunteers. It reviews the impact that CoSA has on recidivism, as well as the psychosocial implications of the model on the former offenders participating in CoSA (the ‘Core Members’), volunteers, and the community at large. International implementation of CoSA is addressed by a review of project initiatives undertaken around the world. This article concludes by addressing the future directions of CoSA, both within Canada and internationally

Primary and secondary prevention of child sexual abuse

The high prevalence rates and numerous consequences associated with child sexual abuse makes preventing these offences a societal priority. Prevention strategies have traditionally involved only tertiary interventions, implemented by the criminal justice system after an offence has occurred. More recently, some have argued for a public health approach to preventing child sexual abuse, which includes interventions at the primary and secondary levels. Secondary prevention aims to provide treatment and support to those at-risk of sexually offending before any involvement with the legal system. Increased demand for secondary prevention services and early results from current initiatives demonstrate that at-risk individuals are willing to seek treatment without external pressure from the legal system, and often report numerous treatment-related benefits. These findings support the need for wide-spread implementation of primary and secondary prevention initiatives. The safety of children requires that we, as a society, stop merely reacting to sexual offences, and instead begin implementing proactive evidence-based strategies that can prevent even initial incidents of child sexual abuse. This article explores some of the many benefits and barriers associated with primary and secondary prevention, as well as strategies for overcoming these barriers. Recommendations for the development and implementation of prevention initiatives are also included

Особенности создания импульсных магнитных полей для магнитоуправляемой электрошлаковой плавки

Рассмотрены некоторые особенности создания импульсных магнитных полей для воздействия на кристаллизацию металла в процессе магнитоуправляемой электрошлаковой плавки. Предложены способы интенсификации электромагнитного воздействия на металлургическую ванну, основанные на использовании энергии электрических разрядов емкостных накопителей на внешний магнитный контур. Разработана экспериментальная аппаратура, включающая источник питания для генерирования электрических разрядов энергией до 1850 Дж, и магнитный контур в виде соленоида с дисковыми обмотками, охватывающими кристаллизатор. Изучены характеристики электрических разрядов при различном количестве витков магнитного контура. Показана целесообразность комплексного подхода к интенсификации электромагнитного воздействия посредством оптимизации параметров как источника разрядов, так и соответствующих магнитных контуров. Проведены экспериментальные исследования влияния импульсных магнитных полей на режимы плавки и кристаллизацию металла в процессе выплавки слитков титановых сплавов. Показана возможность при достаточной энергии разрядов и оптимальном количестве витков магнитного контура управлять порционными тепловложениями в процессе плавки, а также кристаллизацией металла слитков. При этом для улучшения качества поверхности слитков предложено воздействие осуществлять сериями импульсов, чередующихся с паузами.Some features of inducing pulsed magnetic fields for acting on metal solidification during magnetically-controlled electroslag melting are considered. Methods of intensification of electromagnetic impact on metallurgical bath are proposed, which are based on application of energy of capacitive storage electric discharges to external magnetic circuit. Experimental system has been developed, including a power source for generation of electric discharges with up to 1850 J energy, and a magnetic circuit in the form of a solenoid with disc windings enclosing the mould. Characteristics of electric discharges at different number of magnetic circuit turns have been studied. The paper shows the rationality of an integrated approach to electromagnetic impact intensification through optimization of parameters of both the discharge source and the respective magnetic circuits. Experimental investigations of the influence of pulsed magnetic fields on metal melting and solidification modes during melting of titanium alloy ingots have been performed. Ability to control discrete heat input during melting, as well as ingot metal solidification at sufficient discharge energy and optimum number of magnetic circuit turns, is demonstrated. To improve ingot surface quality, it is proposed to apply the impact in the form of series of pulses alternating with pauses

A Minimal Model of Signaling Network Elucidates Cell-to-Cell Stochastic Variability in Apoptosis

Signaling networks are designed to sense an environmental stimulus and adapt to it. We propose and study a minimal model of signaling network that can sense and respond to external stimuli of varying strength in an adaptive manner. The structure of this minimal network is derived based on some simple assumptions on its differential response to external stimuli. We employ stochastic differential equations and probability distributions obtained from stochastic simulations to characterize differential signaling response in our minimal network model. We show that the proposed minimal signaling network displays two distinct types of response as the strength of the stimulus is decreased. The signaling network has a deterministic part that undergoes rapid activation by a strong stimulus in which case cell-to-cell fluctuations can be ignored. As the strength of the stimulus decreases, the stochastic part of the network begins dominating the signaling response where slow activation is observed with characteristic large cell-to-cell stochastic variability. Interestingly, this proposed stochastic signaling network can capture some of the essential signaling behaviors of a complex apoptotic cell death signaling network that has been studied through experiments and large-scale computer simulations. Thus we claim that the proposed signaling network is an appropriate minimal model of apoptosis signaling. Elucidating the fundamental design principles of complex cellular signaling pathways such as apoptosis signaling remains a challenging task. We demonstrate how our proposed minimal model can help elucidate the effect of a specific apoptotic inhibitor Bcl-2 on apoptotic signaling in a cell-type independent manner. We also discuss the implications of our study in elucidating the adaptive strategy of cell death signaling pathways.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure

Radically Rethinking Agriculture for the 21st Century

Population growth, arable land and fresh water limits, and climate change have profound implications for the ability of agriculture to meet this century’s demands for food, feed, fiber, and fuel while reducing the environmental impact of their production. Success depends on the acceptance and use of contemporary molecular techniques, as well as the increasing development of farming systems that use saline water and integrate nutrient flows

Safe uses of Hill's model: an exact comparison with the Adair-Klotz model

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Hill function and the related Hill model are used frequently to study processes in the living cell. There are very few studies investigating the situations in which the model can be safely used. For example, it has been shown, at the mean field level, that the dose response curve obtained from a Hill model agrees well with the dose response curves obtained from a more complicated Adair-Klotz model, provided that the parameters of the Adair-Klotz model describe strongly cooperative binding. However, it has not been established whether such findings can be extended to other properties and non-mean field (stochastic) versions of the same, or other, models.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this work a rather generic quantitative framework for approaching such a problem is suggested. The main idea is to focus on comparing the particle number distribution functions for Hill's and Adair-Klotz's models instead of investigating a particular property (e.g. the dose response curve). The approach is valid for any model that can be mathematically related to the Hill model. The Adair-Klotz model is used to illustrate the technique. One main and two auxiliary similarity measures were introduced to compare the distributions in a quantitative way. Both time dependent and the equilibrium properties of the similarity measures were studied.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A strongly cooperative Adair-Klotz model can be replaced by a suitable Hill model in such a way that any property computed from the two models, even the one describing stochastic features, is approximately the same. The quantitative analysis showed that boundaries of the regions in the parameter space where the models behave in the same way exhibit a rather rich structure.</p

Different Localization Patterns of Anthocyanin Species in the Pericarp of Black Rice Revealed by Imaging Mass Spectrometry

Black rice (Oryza sativa L. Japonica) contains high levels of anthocyanins in the pericarp and is considered an effective health-promoting food. Several studies have identified the molecular species of anthocyanins in black rice, but information about the localization of each anthocyanin species is limited because methodologies for investigating the localization such as determining specific antibodies to anthocyanin, have not yet been developed Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization imaging mass spectrometry (MALDI-IMS) is a suitable tool for investigating the localization of metabolites. In this study, we identified 7 species of anthocyanin monoglycosides and 2 species of anthocyanin diglycosides in crude extracts from black rice by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) analysis. We also analyzed black rice sections by MALDI-IMS and found 2 additional species of anthocyanin pentosides and revealed different localization patterns of anthocyanin species composed of different sugar moieties. Anthocyanin species composed of a pentose moiety (cyanidin-3-O-pentoside and petunidin-3-O-pentoside) were localized in the entire pericarp, whereas anthocyanin species composed of a hexose moiety (cyanidin-3-O-hexoside and peonidin-3-O-hexoside) were focally localized in the dorsal pericarp. These results indicate that anthocyanin species composed of different sugar moieties exhibit different localization patterns in the pericarp of black rice. This is the first detailed investigation into the localization of molecular species of anthocyanins by MALDI-IMS