U.S. Commentary: Implications From the Family Options Study for Homeless and Child Welfare Services

The Family Options Study provides an unprecedented opportunity to investigate the troubling link between family homelessness and child maltreatment. The rigorous design uses multiple methods to probe the impact of housing interventions on family preservation and reunification and the underlying mechanisms. Results show that ending homelessness keeps families together; however, once separated, families continue to struggle to reunify with children. Permanent housing subsidies represent a more efficient approach to promoting family stability among homeless families compared with temporary housing with supportive services. Results introduce a new phase of family homeless research, practice, and policy; further investigation must consider broad scale approaches to keep families affordably housed in inclusive communities that protect child safety and well-being

Housing and Child Well-Being

Safe and stable housing is essential to support healthy child development and promote strong families. Children thrive in secure, stimulating environments, but far too many are exposed to precarious or unsafe housing conditions that threaten their physical, emotional, and cognitive development. Nearly 40% of the homeless population is comprised of families with children, and many more experience inadequate housing conditions such as overcrowding, household chaos, frequent moves, and poor housing quality. This brief discusses the developmental consequences of housing instability and reviews available resources in homeless services, public housing services, and the child welfare system. It also identifies gaps in screening practices, service provision, and systems coordination. The authors offer several recommendations for reducing housing instability and promoting child well-being

Residential Mobility During Adolescence: Even Upward Moves Predict High School Dropout

Racial and economic segregation have long endured as systemic challenges in U.S. metropolitan areas. To combat the inequalities of segregation, two broad policy approaches have emerged: (1) preservation stresses investment in low-income neighborhoods, and (2) mobility stresses moving households in low-income areas to more affluent areas. Our recent study reveals some possible unintended consequences of the latter approach, particularly for adolescents. We find that moving during adolescence is associated with decreased odds of graduating from high school, even when moving to significantly higher income neighborhoods

S33: Prolyl aminopeptidase in GtoPdb v.2023.1

Peptidase family S33 contains mainly exopeptidases that act at the N-terminus of peptides

S33: Prolyl aminopeptidase (version 2019.4) in the IUPHAR/BPS Guide to Pharmacology Database

Peptidase family S33 contains mainly exopeptidases that act at the N-terminus of peptides

Child Maltreatment, Exposure to Violence, and Adolescent Weapon Carrying

This study examined associations between child maltreatment, violence exposure, and gender in predicting subsequent adolescent weapon carrying. Data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well- Being, a nationally representative longitudinal study of families in contact with the child welfare system, were used. Participants included 821 youth who were followed over five years. Results from a logistic regression suggested that male youth who reported physical abuse at baseline were less likely to report carrying a weapon any time across the follow up period, while physical abuse did not predict weapon carrying in females. These counterintuitive findings demonstrated a complex relationship between violence exposure and subsequent risk behaviors among a vulnerable population of youth

Endocannabinoid turnover in GtoPdb v.2023.1

The principle endocannabinoids are 2-acylglycerol esters, such as 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), and N-acylethanolamines, such as anandamide (N-arachidonoylethanolamine, AEA). The glycerol esters and ethanolamides are synthesised and hydrolysed by parallel, independent pathways. Mechanisms for release and re-uptake of endocannabinoids are unclear, although potent and selective inhibitors of facilitated diffusion of endocannabinoids across cell membranes have been developed [29]. FABP5 (Q01469) has been suggested to act as a canonical intracellular endocannabinoid transporter in vivo [17]. For the generation of 2-arachidonoylglycerol, the key enzyme involved is diacylglycerol lipase (DAGL), whilst several routes for anandamide synthesis have been described, the best characterized of which involves N-acylphosphatidylethanolamine-phospholipase D (NAPE-PLD, [75]). A transacylation enzyme which forms N-acylphosphatidylethanolamines has been identified as a cytosolic enzyme, PLA2G4E (Q3MJ16) [66]. In vitro experiments indicate that the endocannabinoids are also substrates for oxidative metabolism via cyclooxygenase, lipoxygenase and cytochrome P450 enzyme activities [5, 24, 77]

Endocannabinoid turnover in GtoPdb v.2021.3

The principle endocannabinoids are 2-acylglycerol esters, such as 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), and N-acylethanolamines, such as anandamide (N-arachidonoylethanolamine, AEA). The glycerol esters and ethanolamides are synthesised and hydrolysed by parallel, independent pathways. Mechanisms for release and re-uptake of endocannabinoids are unclear, although potent and selective inhibitors of facilitated diffusion of endocannabinoids across cell membranes have been developed [28]. FABP5 (Q01469) has been suggested to act as a canonical intracellular endocannabinoid transporter in vivo [17]. For the generation of 2-arachidonoylglycerol, the key enzyme involved is diacylglycerol lipase (DAGL), whilst several routes for anandamide synthesis have been described, the best characterized of which involves N-acylphosphatidylethanolamine-phospholipase D (NAPE-PLD, [70]). A transacylation enzyme which forms N-acylphosphatidylethanolamines has been identified as a cytosolic enzyme, PLA2G4E (Q3MJ16) [62]. In vitro experiments indicate that the endocannabinoids are also substrates for oxidative metabolism via cyclooxygenase, lipoxygenase and cytochrome P450 enzyme activities [5, 23, 72]

Endocannabinoid turnover (version 2019.4) in the IUPHAR/BPS Guide to Pharmacology Database

The principle endocannabinoids are 2-acylglycerol esters, such as 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), and N-acylethanolamines, such as anandamide (N-arachidonoylethanolamine, AEA). The glycerol esters and ethanolamides are synthesised and hydrolysed by parallel, independent pathways. Mechanisms for release and re-uptake of endocannabinoids are unclear, although potent and selective inhibitors of facilitated diffusion of endocannabinoids across cell membranes have been developed [19]. FABP5 (Q01469) has been suggested to act as a canonical intracellular endocannabinoid transporter in vivo [12]. For the generation of 2-arachidonoylglycerol, the key enzyme involved is diacylglycerol lipase (DAGL), whilst several routes for anandamide synthesis have been described, the best characterized of which involves N-acylphosphatidylethanolamine-phospholipase D (NAPE-PLD, [49]). A transacylation enzyme which forms N-acylphosphatidylethanolamines has recently been identified as a cytosolic enzyme, PLA2G4E (Q3MJ16) [43]. In vitro experiments indicate that the endocannabinoids are also substrates for oxidative metabolism via cyclooxygenase, lipoxygenase and cytochrome P450 enzyme activities [4, 16, 51]

Effects of Pramipexole on Impulsive Choice in Male Wistar Rats

This article may not exactly replicate the final version published in the APA journal. It is not the copy of record.Clinical reports, primarily with Parkinson’s patients, note an association between the prescribed use of pramipexole (and other direct-acting dopamine agonist medications) and impulse control disorders, particularly pathological gambling. Two experiments examined the effects of acute pramipexole on rats’ impulsive choices where impulsivity was defined as selecting a smaller-sooner over a larger-later food reward. In Experiment 1, pramipexole (0.1 to 0.3 mg/kg) significantly increased impulsive choices in a condition in which few impulsive choices were made during a stable baseline. In a control condition, in which impulsive choices predominated during baseline, pramipexole did not significantly change the same rats’ choices. Experiment 2 explored a wider range of doses (0.01 to 0.3 mg/kg) using a choice procedure in which delays to the larger-later reinforcer delivery increased across trial blocks within each session. At the doses used in Experiment 1, pramipexole shifted choice toward indifference regardless of the operative delay. At lower doses of pramipexole (0.01 & 0.03 mg/kg), a trend toward more impulsive choice was observed at the 0.03 mg/kg dose. The difference in outcomes across experiments may be due to the more complex discriminations required in Experiment 2; i.e., multiple discriminations between changing delays within each session