Focused Deterrence and the Prevention of Violent Gun Injuries: Practice, Theoretical Principles, and Scientific Evidence

Focused deterrence strategies are a relatively new addition to a growing portfolio of evidence-based violent gun injury prevention practices available to policy makers and practitioners. These strategies seek to change offender behavior by understanding the underlying violence-producing dynamics and conditions that sustain recurring violent gun injury problems and by implementing a blended strategy of law enforcement, community mobilization, and social service actions. Consistent with documented public health practice, the focused deterrence approach identifies underlying risk factors and causes of recurring violent gun injury problems, develops tailored responses to these underlying conditions, and measures the impact of implemented interventions. This article reviews the practice, theoretical principles, and evaluation evidence on focused deterrence strategies. Although more rigorous randomized studies are needed, the available empirical evidence suggests that these strategies generate noteworthy gun violence reduction impacts and should be part of a broader portfolio of violence prevention strategies available to policy makers and practitioners

Solution Structure and Dynamics of the I214V Mutant of the Rabbit Prion Protein

Background: The conformational conversion of the host-derived cellular prion protein (PrPC) into the disease-associated scrapie isoform (PrPSc) is responsible for the pathogenesis of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). Various single-point mutations in PrP(C)s could cause structural changes and thereby distinctly influence the conformational conversion. Elucidation of the differences between the wild-type rabbit PrPC (RaPrPC) and various mutants would be of great help to understand the ability of RaPrPC to be resistant to TSE agents. Methodology/Principal Findings: We determined the solution structure of the I214V mutant of RaPrPC (91-228) and detected the backbone dynamics of its structured C-terminal domain (121-228). The I214V mutant displays a visible shift of surface charge distribution that may have a potential effect on the binding specificity and affinity with other chaperones. The number of hydrogen bonds declines dramatically. Urea-induced transition experiments reveal an obvious decrease in the conformational stability. Furthermore, the NMR dynamics analysis discloses a significant increase in the backbone flexibility on the pico- to nanosecond time scale, indicative of lower energy barrier for structural rearrangement. Conclusions/Significance: Our results suggest that both the surface charge distribution and the intrinsic backbone flexibility greatly contribute to species barriers for the transmission of TSEs, and thereby provide valuable hints for understanding the inability of the conformational conversion for RaPrPCNational Natural Science Foundation of China [30730026, 30570352]; National Science & Technology, China [2009ZX09301-001

(1)H, (13)C, (15)N backbone and side-chain resonance assignments of the human Raf-1 kinase inhibitor protein

Raf-1 kinase inhibitor protein (RKIP) plays a pivotal role in modulating multiple signaling networks. Here we report backbone and side chain resonance assignments of uniformly (15)N, (13)C labeled human RKIP.Natural Science Foundation of China[30900233, 30730026]; Program of Shanghai Subject Chief Scientist[09XD1405100

Sodium current of neurosecretory cells in the eyestalk from the shrimp Penaeus japonicus

The properties of the inward current of medulla terminalis-X-organ (MTXO) cells isolated from the Penaeus japonicus eyestalk were studied with the whole-cell clamp technique in the presence of Ca2+ and K+ channel blockers. The inward currents had a threshold at about -50 mV and peaked at -10 mV. The reversed potential (V-rev) was very close to V-Na, the theoretical Nernst equilibrium potential for Na+. V-rev followed V-Na when the external Na+ concentration was varied and the currents were entirely suppressed by 30 nM tetrodotoxin (TTX), indicating that it was carried by Na+. The smooth line of concentration-dependent inhibition of sodium currents by TTX represented the best. t with the Hill equation, yielding an IC50 of 2.1 +/- 0.1 nM. The values of the half-maximal activation voltage V-h were -20.6 +/- 0.5 and -19.3 +/- 0.5 mV, respectively, in the absence and presence of 2 nM TTX. TTX had no significant effect on the voltage dependence of steady-state activation and inactivation of I-Na. Taken together, the results suggest that the inward current recorded under our experimental conditions was carried by sodium ions. owing through fast voltage-dependent Na+ channels. (C) 2009 National Natural Science Foundation of China and Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier Limited and Science in China Press. All rights reserved.National Natural Science Foundation of China [30300269]; Technical Innovation Project of Fujian [2003J018

Impact of Provider Incentives on Quality and Value of Health Care

The use of financial incentives to improve quality in health care has become widespread. Yet evidence on the effectiveness of incentives suggests that they have generally had limited impact on the value of care and have not led to better patient outcomes. Lessons from social psychology and behavioral economics indicate that incentive programs in health care have not been effectively designed to achieve their intended impact. In the United States, Medicare's Hospital Readmission Reduction Program and Hospital Value- Based Purchasing Program, created under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), provide evidence on how variations in the design of incentive programs correspond with differences in effect. As financial incentives continue to be used as a tool to increase the value and quality of health care, improving the design of programs will be crucial to ensure their success. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Public Health Volume 38 is March 20, 2017. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates

Thiol-Functionalized Mesoporous Silica for Effective Trap of Mercury in Rats

The chance of exposure to heavy metal for human being rises severely today due to the increasing water contamination and air pollution. Here, we prepared a series of thiol-functionalized mesoporous silica as oral formulation for the prevention and treatment of heavy metal poisoning. The successful incorporation of thiol was verified by the FTIR spectra. SBA15-SH-10 was used for the study as it is of uniform mesopores and fine water dispersibility. In simulated gastrointestinal fluid, the thiol-functionalized mesoporous silica can selectively capture heavy metal, showing a very high affinity for inorganic mercury (II). The blood and urine mercury levels of rats fed with a diet containing Hg (II) and material were significantly lower than those of rats fed with the metal-rich diet only. On the contrary, the mercury content in fecal excretion of the treatment group increased more than twice as much as that of the control group. This result indicated that SBA15-SH-10 could effectively remove mercury (II) in vivo and the mercury loaded on SBA15-SH-10 would be excreted out. Hence, SBA15-SH-10 has potential application in preventing and treating heavy metal poisoning via digestive system

Problems and Prospects: Public Health Regulation of Dietary Supplements

Dietary supplements are a global business worth more than US$100 billion annually. These supplements are taken by up to 50% of adults and perhaps one-third of children in economically advanced economies. Definitions of dietary supplements differ from country to country, and regulation is generally lax and often seems to be directed more toward promoting commerce than protecting public health. Supplements may directly cause toxic reactions or may interact with other supplements or pharmaceuticals. Some supplements are found to have been contaminated with heavy metals, and others do not contain the expected quantities of active ingredients. In general, supplements are not needed except in cases of established deficiencies, and excess of some nutrients can increase cancer rates. There are important public health reasons for taking some supplements, including folate and iodine in pregnancy. This review discusses the public health concerns associated with dietary supplements and suggests directions for further regulation

1H NMR-Based Metabonomic Analysis of Metabolic Changes of Serum and Liver in Zucker Obese Rats

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is characterized by insulin resistance, which is the inability of tissues to respond properly to normal circulating concentrations of insulin in the body. As an extensively used model of insulin resistance and obesity, the Zucker obese rat exhibits an abnormal regulation of glucose, lipids, and other substances metabolized. In this present work, we applied a 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabonomic approach to establish metabolic profiles of both sera and liver extracts from Zucker obese rats and addressed the pathological features of T2DM. Principal component analysis (PCA) demonstrated that Zucker obese rats were separated from the control rats in the levels of sera and aqueous soluble liver extracts, indicating that the metabolic characteristics of the two groups are markedly different. Compared with Zucker lean rats, Zucker obese rats displayed higher sera levels of lactate, N-acetylglycoprotein (NAC), trimethylamine, 3-hydrobutyrate (3-HB), acetoacetate, and lipid. Moreover, Zucker obese rats also showed increased levels of alanine, lactate, creatinine, and decreased levels of betaine, glutamate, acetoacetate, 3-HB, and creatine in aqueous soluble liver extracts. Our results reveal significant alterations of both lipid and energy metabolisms, which reflect the pathological features of T2DM. This work may be of benefit to the understanding of the detailed molecular mechanism of T2DM.Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)[KSCX2-YW-R-118]; National Science & Technology Major Project[2009ZX09301, 2009ZX09501-001