Counting the New York Homeless: An Ethnographic Perspective

Significant ambiguities inhere in the operational definitions of site and selected components of the homeless population used in the 1990 S-Night Count. Ethnographic methods offer a useful corrective. This article, covering research that was part of a larger project evaluating the S-Night count, describes a brief ethnographic inquiry into the ecology of public spaces occupied by the homeless poor in New York City. Problems in implementation, surprising ease of access, patterns of mobility and prevailing norms from site to site, and the tenuous character of the street sites are reviewed, as are implications for future enumeration efforts

First-Episode Incarceration: Creating a Recovery-Informed Framework for Integrated Mental Health and Criminal Justice Responses

The number of people diagnosed with serious mental illness in the U.S. criminal justice system has reached unprecedented levels. Increasingly, people recognize that the justice system is no substitute for a well-functioning community mental health system. Although a range of targeted interventions have emerged over the past two decades, existing approaches have done little to reduce the overall number of incarcerated people with serious mental illness. This report, modeled on promising approaches in the mental health field to people experiencing a first episode of psychosis, outlines a new integrated framework that encourages the mental health and criminal justice fields to collaborate on developing programs based on early intervention, an understanding of the social determinants that underlie ill health and criminal justice involvement, and recovery-oriented treatment. The analysis, observations, and recommendations in this report are based on an extensive review of the literature in both the mental health and criminal justice fields, as well as on interviews with 11 national and local practitioners, policymakers, academics, and others involved in responses to people with mental illness who are at risk of running afoul of the criminal justice system.a The authors examined peer-reviewed journals, white papers, and reports from government, professional organizations, and nonprofits. After compiling information on national practices, they interviewed 11 stakeholders chosen for their leadership capacity at a variety of organizations that serve people with behavioral health needs affected by the justice system. Although the interviewees' specialties differed, they all answered questions about:emerging practices or programs that merit more evaluation and attention;opportunities for applying mental health service models to clients in criminal justice settings;promising programs using peer counseling;the potential application of mental health recovery frameworks to people in the criminal justice system; andthe promise of interventions attuned to environment-based and place-based frameworks

The Work of Recovery on Two Assertive Community Treatment Teams

The compatibility of recovery work with the Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) model has been debated; and little is known about how to best measure the work of recovery. Two ACT teams with high and low recovery orientation were identified by expert consensus and compared on a number of dimensions. Using an interpretive, qualitative approach to analyze interview and observation data, teams differed in the extent to which the environment, team structure, staff attitudes, and processes of working with consumers supported principles of recovery orientation. We present a model of recovery work and discuss implications for research and practice

Genomes of the Hymenoptera

Hymenoptera is the second-most sequenced arthropod order, with 52 publically archived genomes (71 with ants, reviewed elsewhere), however these genomes do not capture the breadth of this very diverse order (Figure 1, Table 1). These sequenced genomes represent only 15 of the 97 extant families. Although at least 55 other genomes are in progress in an additional 11 families (see Table 2), stinging wasps represent 35 (67%) of the available and 42 (76%) of the in progress genomes. A more comprehensive catalog of hymenopteran genomes is needed for research into the evolutionary processes underlying the expansive diversity in terms of ecology, behavior, and physiological traits within this group. Additional sequencing is needed to generate an assembly for even 0.05% of the estimated 1 million hymenopteran species, and we recommend premier level assemblies for at least 0.1% of the \u3e150,000 named species dispersed across the order. Given the haplodiploid sex determination in Hymenoptera, haploid male sequencing will help minimize genome assembly issues to enable higher quality genome assemblies

Timed-Release and Key-Insulated Public Key Encryption

In this paper we consider two security notions related to Identity Based Encryption: Key-insulated public key encryption, introduced by Dodis, Katz, Xu and Yung; and Timed-Release Public Key cryptography, introduced independently by May and Rivest, Shamir and Wagner. We first formalize the notion of secure timed-release public key encryption, and show that, despite several differences in its formulation, it is equivalent to strongly key-insulated public key encryption (with optimal threshold and random access key updates). Next, we introduce the concept of an authenticated timed-release cryptosystem, briefly consider generic constructions, and then give a construction based on a single primitive which is efficient and provably secure

Design and Characterization of a High Resolution Microfluidic Heat Flux Sensor with Thermal Modulation

A complementary metal-oxide semiconductor-compatible process was used in the design and fabrication of a suspended membrane microfluidic heat flux sensor with a thermopile for the purpose of measuring the heat flow rate. The combination of a thirty-junction gold and nickel thermoelectric sensor with an ultralow noise preamplifier, a low pass filter, and a lock-in amplifier can yield a resolution 20 nW with a sensitivity of 461 V/W. The thermal modulation method is used to eliminate low-frequency noise from the sensor output, and various amounts of fluidic heat were applied to the sensor to investigate its suitability for microfluidic applications. For sensor design and analysis of signal output, a method of modeling and simulating electro-thermal behavior in a microfluidic heat flux sensor with an integrated electronic circuit is presented and validated. The electro-thermal domain model was constructed by using system dynamics, particularly the bond graph. The electro-thermal domain system model in which the thermal and the electrical domains are coupled expresses the heat generation of samples and converts thermal input to electrical output. The proposed electro-thermal domain system model is in good agreement with the measured output voltage response in both the transient and the steady state

Mass spectrometry of B. subtilis CopZ: Cu(I)-binding and interactions with bacillithiol

CopZ from Bacillus subtilis is a well-studied member of the highly conserved family of Atx1-like copper chaperones. It was previously shown via solution and crystallographic studies to undergo Cu(I)-mediated dimerisation, where the CopZ dimer can bind between one and four Cu(I) ions. However, these studies could not provide information about the changing distribution of species at increasing Cu(I) levels. To address this, electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry using soft ionisation was applied to CopZ under native conditions. Data revealed folded, monomeric CopZ in apo- and Cu(I)-bound forms, along with Cu(I)-bound dimeric forms of CopZ at higher Cu(I) loading. Cu4(CopZ)2 was the major dimeric species at loadings >1 Cu(I)/CopZ, indicating the cooperative formation of the tetranuclear Cu(I)-bound species. As the principal low molecular weight thiol in B. subtilis, bacillithiol (BSH) may play a role in copper homeostasis. Mass spectrometry showed that increasing BSH led to a reduction in Cu(I)-bound dimeric forms, and the formation of S-bacillithiolated apo-CopZ and BSH adducts of Cu(I)-bound forms of CopZ, where BSH likely acts as a Cu(I) ligand. These data, along with the high affinity of BSH for Cu(I), determined here to be β2(BSH) = ∼4 × 1017 M−2, are consistent with a role for BSH alongside CopZ in buffering cellular Cu(I) levels. Here, mass spectrometry provides a high resolution overview of CopZ–Cu(I) speciation that cannot be obtained from less discriminating solution-phase methods, thus illustrating the potential for the wider application of this technique to studies of metal–protein interactions

Is there a potential of misuse for venlafaxine and bupropion?

© 2018 Schifano and Chiappini. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.Objective: Traditionally, studies on the nonmedical use of pharmaceutical products have focused on controlled substances; e.g. opiates/opioids; and benzodiazepines. Although both bupropion and venlafaxine have been reported as being misused, only anecdotal reports have been made available so far. Hence, the European Monitoring Agency (EMA) Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs), misuse/abuse/dependence and withdrawal, venlafaxine- and bupropion-related, database was here analyzed. Methods: All EMA spontaneous reports relating to venlafaxine (2005-2016) and bupropion (2003-2016) notifications were here analyzed, to provide a descriptive analysis by source, gender, age, and type of report. The UK-based, 2000-2016, Yellow Card Scheme pharmacovigilance database, bupropion and venlafaxine withdrawal reports were compared as well with those pertaining to fluoxetine and paroxetine. Results: Out of 20,720 (bupropion) and 47,516 (venlafaxine) total number of ADRs, some 2,232 (10.8%), and 4,071 (8.5%) misuse/abuse/dependence ADRs were respectively associated with bupropion and venlafaxine. Conversely, bupropion withdrawal-related ADRs were here reported in 299/20,720 (1.44%) cases and in 914/47,516 (1.92%) cases for venlafaxine. Overall, all bupropion and venlafaxine misuse-/abuse-/dependence- and withdrawal-ADRs were related to a respective number of 264 and 447 patients. According to the Proportional Reporting Ratio (PRR) computation, in comparison with venlafaxine bupropion resulted to be more frequently misused/abused (PRR: 1.50), but less frequently associated with both dependence (PRR: 0.92) and withdrawal (PRR: 0.77) issues. Yellow Card Scheme data suggested that paroxetine and venlafaxine, in comparison with fluoxetine and bupropion, were associated with higher number of withdrawal-related reports. Conclusions: The dopaminergic, stimulant-like, bupropion activities may be associated with its possible recreational value. Present data may confirm that the occurrence of a withdrawal syndrome may be a significant issue for venlafaxine-treated patients.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio