Effects of a strategy to improve offender assessment practices: Staff perceptions of implementation outcomes

Background: This implementation study examined the impact of an organizational process improvement intervention (OPII) on a continuum of evidence based practices related to assessment and community reentry of drug-involved offenders: Measurement/Instrumentation, Case Plan Integration, Conveyance/Utility, and Service Activation/Delivery. Methods: To assess implementation outcomes (staff perceptions of evidence-based assessment practices), a survey was administered to correctional and treatment staff (n = 1509) at 21 sites randomly assigned to an Early- or Delayed-Start condition. Hierarchical linear models with repeated measures were used to examine changes in evidence-based assessment practices over time, and organizational characteristics were examined as covariates to control for differences across the 21 research sites. Results: Results demonstrated significant intervention and sustainability effects for three of the four assessment domains examined, although stronger effects were obtained for intra- than inter-agency outcomes. No significant effects were found for Conveyance/Utility. Conclusions: Implementation interventions such as the OPII represent an important tool to enhance the use of evidence-based assessment practices in large and diverse correctional systems. Intra-agency assessment activities that were more directly under the control of correctional agencies were implemented most effectively. Activities in domains that required cross-systems collaboration were not as successfully implemented, although longer follow-up periods might afford detection of stronger effects

Probing the chemistry of CdS paints in The Scream by in situ noninvasive spectroscopies and synchrotron radiation x-ray techniques

The degradation of cadmium sulfide (CdS)-based oil paints is a phenomenon potentially threatening the iconic painting The Scream (ca. 1910) by Edvard Munch (Munch Museum, Oslo) that is still poorly understood. Here, we provide evidence for the presence of cadmium sulfate and sulfites as alteration products of the original CdS-based paint and explore the external circumstances and internal factors causing this transformation. Macroscale in situ noninvasive spectroscopy studies of the painting in combination with synchrotron-radiation x-ray microspectroscopy investigations of a microsample and artificially aged mock-ups show that moisture and mobile chlorine compounds are key factors for promoting the oxidation of CdS, while light (photodegradation) plays a less important role. Furthermore, under exposure to humidity, parallel/secondary reactions involving dissolution, migration through the paint, and recrystallization of water-soluble phases of the paint are associated with the formation of cadmium sulfates

Avaliação da cavidade nasal de camundongos submetidos à exposição ao herbicida ácido 2,4-diclorofenoxiacético

In the last year, Brazil presented a 190% increase in the use of agrochemicals, which implies a serious public health problem. 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid has toxicological classification I (extremely toxic) and because it is very volatile, it favors the contamination of soils, water, animals and humans. Study model: Experimental study. Objective: To analyze the inflammatory infiltrate of mice submitted to acute nebulization to the 2.4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid herbicide at different time intervals and concentrations. Methods: Eighty Swiss male mice were divided into four groups (n=20): saline, low (3.71 x 10-3 grams of active ingredient per hectare), medium (6.19 x 10-3 grams of active ingredient per hectare) and high concentration (9.28 x 10-3 grams of active ingredient per hectare). All animals were exposed to the nebulizations proposed for each group, for 15 minutes, at different time intervals: 24, 48, 72 and 192 hours. The exposure protocol had two boxes attached to an ultrasonic nebulizer and the nasal vestibule of each animal was removed after euthanasia for histological analysis. Results: The mast cell count showed significantly increased values in the high concentration group, in the time interval of 48 hours, when compared to the 24-hour period. Conclusion: The results showed that the acute exposure to the herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid increases the production of mast cells in the nasal cavity of animals exposed to high concentrations, which may be related to the appearance of allergic reactions.No último ano, o Brasil apresentou um aumento de 190% na utilização de agrotóxicos, o que implica em um grave problema de saúde pública. O ácido 2,4-diclorofenoxiacético possui classificação toxicológica I (extremamente tóxico) e por ser muito volátil, favorece a contaminação de solos, águas, animais e seres humanos. Modelo do estudo: Estudo Experimental. Objetivo: Analisar o infiltrado inflamatório de camundongos submetidos à nebulização aguda ao herbicida ácido 2,4-diclorofenoxiacético, em diferentes intervalos de tempo e concentrações. Métodos: Foram utilizados 80 camundongos Swiss machos divididos em quatro grupos (n=20): salina, baixa (3,71 x 10-3 gramas de ingrediente ativo por hectare), média (6,19 x 10-3 gramas de ingrediente ativo por hectare) e alta concentração (9,28 x10-3 gramas de ingrediente ativo por hectare). Todos os animais foram expostos às nebulizações preconizadas para cada grupo por 15 minutos, em diferentes intervalos de tempo: 24, 48, 72 e 192 horas. O protocolo de exposição contou com duas caixas ligadas a um nebulizador ultrassônico e o vestíbulo nasal de cada animal foi retirado após a eutanásia, para a análise histológica. Resultados: A contagem de mastócitos apresentou valores significativamente aumentados no grupo alta concentração, no intervalo de tempo de 48 horas, quando comparado ao de 24 horas. Conclusão: Os resultados mostraram que a exposição aguda ao herbicida ácido 2,4-diclorofenoxiacético aumenta a produção de mastócitos na cavidade nasal de animais expostos a altas concentrações, e que podem estar relacionados ao surgimento de reações alérgicas

Situating agency within structure: the influence of autonomy and opportunity structure on drug users' routes of administration

Ronet BachmanCurrent drug treatment services largely neglect the importance of how people administer drugs as a central component of the drug-using process. With the exception of intravenous drug use, which has been studied primarily in terms of the risk it poses for blood-borne disease transmission, research on routes of drug administration is virtually absent from the extensive literature on drug use, abuse, and treatment in the United States. This study examines the relationship between individual autonomy and the availability of opportunities to use drugs on drug users' preferred route of administration. This project uses secondary data from the Drug Abuse Treatment Outcome Studies (DATOS) to investigate factors that influence which route of administration -- inhalation, smoking, or injecting -- is preferred by cocaine and heroin users.University of Delaware, Department of SociologyM.A

Patient perspectives of transitioning from prescription opioids to heroin and the role of route of administration

Abstract Background As the availability of prescription opioids decreases and the availability of heroin increases, some prescription opioid users are transitioning to heroin. This study seeks to explore factors associated with respondents’ transition from prescription opioid use to heroin. Methods In-depth, semi-structured qualitative interviews (n = 20) were conducted with buprenorphine patients in an opioid treatment program. Respondents were predominantly White (n = 13) and male (n = 13), with a range of treatment tenure (4 days to 2 years). Results A vast majority of respondents in this study (n = 15) initiated opioid use with either licit (n = 8) or illicit (n = 7) prescription opioids (e.g. hydrocodone, oxycodone, morphine). Of these respondents, all but two transitioned from prescription opioids to heroin (n = 13). For those respondents who transitioned to heroin, most initiated heroin use intranasally (n = 12), after using prescription opioids in the same manner (n = 9), but before using heroin intravenously (n = 9). Respondents attributed this transition between substances to common explanations, such as “it’s cheaper” and “the same thing as pills.” However, respondents also dispel these myths by describing: 1) heroin quality is always uncertain, often resulting in spending more money over time; 2) dramatic increases in tolerance, resulting in spending more money over time and transitioning to intravenous use; 3) more severe withdrawal symptoms, especially when respondents transitioned to intravenous use. Conclusions Understanding how route of administration and common myths shape key transition points for opioid users will allow practitioners to develop effective harm reduction and prevention materials that target individuals already using prescription opioids

Synchrotron radiation Ca K-edge 2D-XANES spectroscopy for studying the stratigraphic distribution of calcium-based consolidants applied in limestones

Abstract In Heritage Science, the evaluation of stone consolidation treatments by investigating the nature of in situ newly formed products and their penetration depth within the consolidated matrix is a grand challenge. A number of analytical methods have been proposed, but, currently, most of them are not able to supply a full overview of the spatial, structural and compositional information of the newly formed crystalline and amorphous phases with a submicrometric lateral resolution. Here, we examined, the capabilities of synchrotron radiation (SR)-based two-dimensional X-ray absorption near-edge structure (2D-XANES) spectroscopy at Ca K-edge for determining the structural and compositional properties of the compounds formed after the application of a calcium acetoacetate-based consolidant on a porous carbonatic stone (limestone) and for investigating their stratigraphic distribution at the submicrometric scale length. We evaluated advantages and drawbacks of three Ca K-edge 2D-XANES-based approaches: (i) transmission mode full-field-XANES (FF-XANES) imaging; (ii) micro-X-ray fluorescence (μ-XRF) mapping above the Ca K-edge combined with the acquisition of XRF mode μ-XANES spectra at a limited number of spots; (iii) full-spectral µ-XANES (FS µ-XANES) mapping in XRF mode and its variant called selectively induced X-ray emission spectroscopy (SIXES) mapping. Overall, Ca K-edge 2D-XANES spectroscopy provided accurate qualitative and semi-quantitative information on the newly formed calcium carbonates (i.e., amorphous calcium carbonate, vaterite and calcite) and their stratigraphic distribution at the submicrometric scale, thus opening a new scenario to study the carbonatation process of calcium-based consolidants in limestones