How New York City Reduced Mass Incarceration: A Model for Change?

In this report, leading criminologists examine the connection between New York City's shift in policing strategies and the dramatic decrease in the City's incarcerated and correctional population

Transitioning from wild collection to forest cultivation of indigenous medicinal forest plants in eastern North America

Paper presented at the 11th North American Agroforesty Conference, which was held May 31-June 3, 2009 in Columbia, Missouri.In Gold, M.A. and M.M. Hall, eds. Agroforestry Comes of Age: Putting Science into Practice. Proceedings, 11th North American Agroforestry Conference, Columbia, Mo., May 31-June 3, 2009.The forest flora of eastern North America includes many herbaceous plant species traded in domestic and international medicinal markets. Conservation concerns surrounding wild-collection exist and transitioning to cultivation in agroforestry systems has potential economic and ecological benefits. Costs and revenues associated with adopting forest cultivation were modeled for eight North American medicinal forest plants. Sensitivity analysis examined profit potential in relation to (1) discount rates; (2) propagation methods; (3) prices; (4) growing period; (5) production costs; and (6) yields. Results indicate that intensive husbandry of six of eight species would be unprofitable at recent (1990-2005) price levels. Exceptions are American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.), and under certain circumstances (e.g., maximum historic prices, low production costs) goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis L.). Direct marketing to consumers and retailers might improve grower profits, but is undermined by the availability of cheaper, wild-collected product. We suggest that the North American medicinal plant industry could play a key role in facilitating any transition from wild to cultivated product, perhaps through development of a certification and labeling program that brands "forest cultivated" products. This could generate price premiums, to be passed along to growers, but must be accompanied by aggressive consumer education. A "forest cultivated" certification and labeling program has potential to benefit industry and consumers if assurances regarding product identity and quality are a central feature. Plant species that are not viable candidates for commercial cultivation due to limited consumer demand (i.e., species with "shallow," erratic markets) are best addressed through proactive government and industry initiatives involving targeted harvester education programs.Eric P. Burkhart (1) and Michael G. Jacobson (2) ; 1. Shaver's Creek Environmental Center, the Pennsylvania State University, Petersburg, PA 16669, USA. 2. School of Forest Resources, the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.Includes bibliographical references

Thermodynamic Studies of High Temperature Materials Via Knudsen Cell Mass Spectrometry

The Knudsen Cell technique is a classic technique from high temperature chemistry for studying condensed phase/vapor equilibria. It is based on a small enclosure, usually about 1 cm in diameter by 1 cm high, with an orifice of well-defined geometry. This forms a molecular beam which is analyzed with mass spectrometry. There are many applications to both fundamental and applied problems with high temperature materials. Specific measurements include vapor pressures and vapor compositions above solids, activities of alloy components, and fundamental gas/solid reactions. The basic system is shown. Our system can accommodate a wide range of samples, temperatures, and attachments, such as gas inlets. It is one of only about ten such systems world-wide

ANTIGENIC MODULATION IN VITRO : I. Fate of Thymus-Leukemia (TL) Antigen-Antibody Complexes Following Modulation of TL Antigenicity from the Surfaces of Mouse Leukemia Cells and Thymocytes

The modulation or loss of thymus-leukemia (TL) antigenicity from the surfaces of mouse RADA1 leukemia cells and normal thymocytes during incubation with TL antibody in vitro at 37°C was investigated by cytotoxicity, immunofluorescence, and immunoelectron microscopy. The fate of bivalent and monovalent antibody during modulation was visualized by fluorescence microscopy. Considerable antibody remained bound to the cell surface after modulation, bivalent antibody being displaced topographically into "patches" and "caps" while monovalent antibody was only slightly aggregated on the cell surface. Some antibody was internalized, presumably by pinocytosis, and was sequestered into the Golgi region of the cell. Capping usually occurred over the pole of the cell opposite from the Golgi region, which may explain the lack of extensive pinocytosis of modulating bivalent antibody. Since modulation with monovalent antibody occurs without patch or cap formation, gross topographical redistribution of TL antigen-antibody complexes is not required for modulation, although more subtle displacement of these complexes may be involved. Modulation was demonstrable by cytotoxicity with guinea pig C' but not with absorbed rabbit C', indicating that modulated TL antigens remain bound to the cell surface. A heat-labile factor in TL antiserum and in mouse serum in general is responsible for "blocking" the cytolytic interaction of guinea pig C' with modulated TL antigen-antibody complexes

Inhibitor binding mode and allosteric regulation of Na+-glucose symporters.

Sodium-dependent glucose transporters (SGLTs) exploit sodium gradients to transport sugars across the plasma membrane. Due to their role in renal sugar reabsorption, SGLTs are targets for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Current therapeutics are phlorizin derivatives that contain a sugar moiety bound to an aromatic aglycon tail. Here, we develop structural models of human SGLT1/2 in complex with inhibitors by combining computational and functional studies. Inhibitors bind with the sugar moiety in the sugar pocket and the aglycon tail in the extracellular vestibule. The binding poses corroborate mutagenesis studies and suggest a partial closure of the outer gate upon binding. The models also reveal a putative Na+ binding site in hSGLT1 whose disruption reduces the transport stoichiometry to the value observed in hSGLT2 and increases inhibition by aglycon tails. Our work demonstrates that subtype selectivity arises from Na+-regulated outer gate closure and a variable region in extracellular loop EL5

Measurement errors in body size of sea scallops (Placopecten magellanicus) and their effect on stock assessment models

Body-size measurement errors are usually ignored in stock assessments, but may be important when body-size data (e.g., from visual sur veys) are imprecise. We used experiments and models to quantify measurement errors and their effects on assessment models for sea scallops (Placopecten magellanicus). Errors in size data obscured modes from strong year classes and increased frequency and size of the largest and smallest sizes, potentially biasing growth, mortality, and biomass estimates. Modeling techniques for errors in age data proved useful for errors in size data. In terms of a goodness of model fit to the assessment data, it was more important to accommodate variance than bias. Models that accommodated size errors fitted size data substantially better. We recommend experimental quantification of errors along with a modeling approach that accommodates measurement errors because a direct algebraic approach was not robust and because error parameters were diff icult to estimate in our assessment model. The importance of measurement errors depends on many factors and should be evaluated on a case by case basis

International Retrovirology Association brings together scientists and clinicians to bridge discoveries about human T-lymphotropic viruses from the laboratory to clinical trials

Human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) and HTLV-2 were among the first human retroviruses discovered in the early 1980's. The International Retrovirology Association is an organized effort that fostered the efforts of scientists and clinicians to form interdisciplinary groups to study this group of retroviruses and their related diseases. The Association promotes excellent science, patient education, and fosters the training of young scientists to promote "bench-to-bedside" research. The International Conference on Human Retrovirology: HTLV and Related Viruses sponsored by the Association supports clinicians and researchers in the exchange of research findings and stimulation of new research directions. This years conference will be held from June 22 to 25, in Montego Bay, Jamaica . Since its inception in 1988, these conferences have provided a highly interactive forum for the global community of HTLV scientists. This is of particular importance as HTLV research enters its third decade and a new generation of scientists takes over this important work. Many of the scientists attending the meeting will be from developing countries where HTLV is endemic, consistent with the history of international collaborations that have characterized HTLV research. The International Conference on Human Retrovirology provides a unique opportunity for researchers of all disciplines interested in HTLV infections to meet their peers and to address the questions facing clinicians and scientists who study retroviruses, like HTLV

Sonography of Fat Necrosis Involving the Extremity and Torso With Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Histologic Correlation

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/135699/1/jum200827121751.pd