Kentucky Probationers\u27 and Parolees\u27 Perceptions of the Severity of Prison versus County Jail and Probation

This study extends a growing body of research on offenders\u27 perceptions of the punitiveness of criminal sanctions. Specifically, we examine punishment equivalency ratings by Kentucky probationers and parolees (N-588) meant to gauge their perceptions of the severity of prison compared to both probation and county jail. Ratings are analyzed by several demographic characteristics. We find that, in general, survey respondents pereceived county jail as more severe than prison but that probation was rated as less severe

A Developmental Framework for Mentorship in SoTL Illustrated by Three Examples of Unseen Opportunities for Mentoring

Mentoring relationships that form between scholars of teaching and learning occur formally and informally, across varied pathways and programs. In order to better understand such relationships, this paper proposes an adapted version of a three-stage model of mentoring (McKinsey 2016), using three examples of unseen opportunities for mentoring in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) to illustrate how this framework might be operationalized. We discuss how the adapted framework might be useful to SoTL scholars in the future to examine mentorship and how unseen opportunities for mentoring might shape how we consider this subset of mentorship going forward

Assessing water uptake in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) under different watering regimes

Sugar beet yield worldwide is substantially reduced as a result of drought stress. Water uptake may be limited by the plant (e.g. low root density) or by soil physical constraints. An experiment was conducted to assess the ability of sugar beet to produce roots and take up water throughout the soil profile under contrasting water regimes. Sugar beet was grown in columns, 15 cm in diameter and 1 m height in a glasshouse. In situ soil moisture was monitored hourly, and stomatal conductance was measured weekly. Root length and diameter at different depths were assessed destructively at 78 and 94 DAS. Greater water availability resulted in a higher root length and lower water use efficiency. Water uptake was initially from the upper soil layers but, as demand for water increased, there was a strong increase in root length density at depth. However, it was a further 16 days, after roots reached the deep layers, before significant water was taken up. A possible reason for the delay, between presence of roots and water uptake by roots, was the absence of secondary xylem early on, which was supported by a second root anatomy study. Sugar beet can grow roots up to 1 m deep and take up water from depth, however this did not happen until the late stages of drought stress and thus storage root dry weight had already been severely reduced, indicating that prevention of drought is necessary, early on, to minimise yield losses

A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial of \u3cem\u3eN\u3c/em\u3e-Acetylcysteine for Cannabis Use Disorder in Adults

Background—Cannabis use disorder (CUD) is a prevalent and impairing condition, and established psychosocial treatments convey limited efficacy. In light of recent findings supporting the efficacy of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) for CUD in adolescents, the objective of this trial was to evaluate its efficacy in adults. Methods—In a 12-week double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial, treatment-seeking adults ages 18–50 with CUD (N=302), enrolled across six National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network-affiliated clinical sites, were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to a 12-week course of NAC 1200 mg (n=153) or placebo (n=149) twice daily. All participants received contingency management (CM) and medical management. The primary efficacy measure was the odds of negative urine cannabinoid tests during treatment, compared between NAC and placebo participants. Results—There was not statistically significant evidence that the NAC and placebo groups differed in cannabis abstinence (odds ratio = 1.00, 95% confidence interval 0.63 – 1.59; p=0.984). Overall, 22.3% of urine cannabinoid tests in the NAC group were negative, compared with 22.4% in the placebo group. Many participants were medication non-adherent; exploratory analysis within medication-adherent subgroups revealed no significant differential abstinence outcomes by treatment group. Conclusions—In contrast with prior findings in adolescents, there is no evidence that NAC 1200 mg twice daily plus CM is differentially efficacious for CUD in adults when compared to placebo plus CM. This discrepant finding between adolescents and adults with CUD may have been influenced by differences in development, cannabis use profiles, responses to embedded behavioral treatment, medication adherence, and other factors

Setting priorities in health care organizations: criteria, processes, and parameters of success

BACKGROUND: Hospitals and regional health authorities must set priorities in the face of resource constraints. Decision-makers seek practical ways to set priorities fairly in strategic planning, but find limited guidance from the literature. Very little has been reported from the perspective of Board members and senior managers about what criteria, processes and parameters of success they would use to set priorities fairly. DISCUSSION: We facilitated workshops for board members and senior leadership at three health care organizations to assist them in developing a strategy for fair priority setting. Workshop participants identified 8 priority setting criteria, 10 key priority setting process elements, and 6 parameters of success that they would use to set priorities in their organizations. Decision-makers in other organizations can draw lessons from these findings to enhance the fairness of their priority setting decision-making. SUMMARY: Lessons learned in three workshops fill an important gap in the literature about what criteria, processes, and parameters of success Board members and senior managers would use to set priorities fairly

EFFECTS OF INSULIN ON EARLY OA CHANGES

Objective. Obesity is a state of chronic inflammation that is associated with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), as well as an increased risk of osteoarthritis (OA). This study was undertaken to define the links between obesity-associated inflammation, insulin resistance, and OA, by testing the hypotheses that 1) tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is critical in mediating these pathologic changes in OA, and 2) insulin has direct effects on the synovial joint that are compromised by insulin resistance. Methods. The effects of TNF and insulin on catabolic gene expression were determined in fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) isolated from human OA synovium. Synovial TNF expression and OA progression were examined in 2 mouse models, high-fat (HF) diet–fed obese mice with type 2 DM and TNF-knockout mice. Insulin resistance was investigated in synovium from patients with type 2 DM. Results. Insulin receptors (IRs) were abundant in both mouse and human synovial membranes. Human OA FLS were insulin responsive, as indicated by the dose-dependent phosphorylation of IRs and Akt. In cultures of human OA FLS with exogenous TNF, the expression and release of MMP1, MMP13, and ADAMTS4 by FLS were markedly increased, whereas after treatment with insulin, these effects were selectively inhibited by >50%. The expression of TNF and its abundance in the synovium were elevated in samples from obese mice with type 2 DM. In TNF-knockout mice, increases in osteophyte formation and synovial hyperplasia associated with the HF diet were blunted. The synovium from OA patients with type 2 DM contained markedly more macrophages and showed elevated TNF levels as compared to the synovium from OA patients without diabetes. Moreover, insulin-dependent phosphorylation of IRs and Akt was blunted in cultures of OA FLS from patients with type 2 DM. Conclusion. TNF appears to be involved in mediating the advanced progression of OA seen in type 2 DM. While insulin plays a protective, antiinflammatory role in the synovium, insulin resistance in patients with type 2 DM may impair this protective effect and promote the progression of OA

Newborn Sequencing in Genomic Medicine and Public Health

The rapid development of genomic sequencing technologies has decreased the cost of genetic analysis to the extent that it seems plausible that genome-scale sequencing could have widespread availability in pediatric care. Genomic sequencing provides a powerful diagnostic modality for patients who manifest symptoms of monogenic disease and an opportunity to detect health conditions before their development. However, many technical, clinical, ethical, and societal challenges should be addressed before such technology is widely deployed in pediatric practice. This article provides an overview of the Newborn Sequencing in Genomic Medicine and Public Health Consortium, which is investigating the application of genome-scale sequencing in newborns for both diagnosis and screening

Baseline T cell immune phenotypes predict virologic and disease control upon SARS-CoV infection in Collaborative Cross mice

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed that infection with SARS-CoV-2 can result in a wide range of clinical outcomes in humans. An incomplete understanding of immune correlates of protection represents a major barrier to the design of vaccines and therapeutic approaches to prevent infection or limit disease. This deficit is largely due to the lack of prospectively collected, pre-infection samples from indiviuals that go on to become infected with SARS-CoV-2. Here, we utilized data from genetically diverse Collaborative Cross (CC) mice infected with SARS-CoV to determine whether baseline T cell signatures are associated with a lack of viral control and severe disease upon infection. SARS-CoV infection of CC mice results in a variety of viral load trajectories and disease outcomes. Overall, a dysregulated, pro-inflammatory signature of circulating T cells at baseline was associated with severe disease upon infection. Our study serves as proof of concept that circulating T cell signatures at baseline can predict clinical and virologic outcomes upon SARS-CoV infection. Identification of basal immune predictors in humans could allow for identification of individuals at highest risk of severe clinical and virologic outcomes upon infection, who may thus most benefit from available clinical interventions to restrict infection and disease

Mapping genetic variations to three- dimensional protein structures to enhance variant interpretation: a proposed framework

The translation of personal genomics to precision medicine depends on the accurate interpretation of the multitude of genetic variants observed for each individual. However, even when genetic variants are predicted to modify a protein, their functional implications may be unclear. Many diseases are caused by genetic variants affecting important protein features, such as enzyme active sites or interaction interfaces. The scientific community has catalogued millions of genetic variants in genomic databases and thousands of protein structures in the Protein Data Bank. Mapping mutations onto three-dimensional (3D) structures enables atomic-level analyses of protein positions that may be important for the stability or formation of interactions; these may explain the effect of mutations and in some cases even open a path for targeted drug development. To accelerate progress in the integration of these data types, we held a two-day Gene Variation to 3D (GVto3D) workshop to report on the latest advances and to discuss unmet needs. The overarching goal of the workshop was to address the question: what can be done together as a community to advance the integration of genetic variants and 3D protein structures that could not be done by a single investigator or laboratory? Here we describe the workshop outcomes, review the state of the field, and propose the development of a framework with which to promote progress in this arena. The framework will include a set of standard formats, common ontologies, a common application programming interface to enable interoperation of the resources, and a Tool Registry to make it easy to find and apply the tools to specific analysis problems. Interoperability will enable integration of diverse data sources and tools and collaborative development of variant effect prediction methods