Job Training for Youth with Justice Involvement: A Toolkit

Crossing paths with the juvenile justice system kicks off a complex web of bias, racial discrimination and structural barriers that can prevent young people from living healthy and productive lives.One powerful difference maker? Workforce development, and — in particular — approaches that blend education with occupational training while also offering support services, paid work experiences and opportunities to connect with caring adults.Against this backdrop, the National Youth Employment Coalition, with support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, has created a tool kit to foster meaningful collaboration between professionals in the federal workforce development system and the juvenile justice system.This resource offers readers: 1) evidence-based practices in youth workforce development; 2) an overview of the workforce system funded under the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA); 3) advice on improving WIOA-funded services for youth with justice involvement at the local level; and 4) guidance on forming effective interagency partnerships.After using this tool kit, practitioners in both sectors will have the information and steps they need to partner effectively, use public dollars efficiently and help justice-involved youth pursue both economic self-sufficiency and a brighter future

Multi-trait genome-wide association study identifies new loci associated with optic disc parameters.

Funder: All funders per study are acknowledged in the Supplementary FileA new avenue of mining published genome-wide association studies includes the joint analysis of related traits. The power of this approach depends on the genetic correlation of traits, which reflects the number of pleiotropic loci, i.e. genetic loci influencing multiple traits. Here, we applied new meta-analyses of optic nerve head (ONH) related traits implicated in primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG); intraocular pressure and central corneal thickness using Haplotype reference consortium imputations. We performed a multi-trait analysis of ONH parameters cup area, disc area and vertical cup-disc ratio. We uncover new variants; rs11158547 in PPP1R36-PLEKHG3 and rs1028727 near SERPINE3 at genome-wide significance that replicate in independent Asian cohorts imputed to 1000 Genomes. At this point, validation of these variants in POAG cohorts is hampered by the high degree of heterogeneity. Our results show that multi-trait analysis is a valid approach to identify novel pleiotropic variants for ONH

Abiraterone acetate plus prednisolone with or without enzalutamide for patients with metastatic prostate cancer starting androgen deprivation therapy: final results from two randomised phase 3 trials of the STAMPEDE platform protocol

Background: Abiraterone acetate plus prednisolone (herein referred to as abiraterone) or enzalutamide added at the start of androgen deprivation therapy improves outcomes for patients with metastatic prostate cancer. Here, we aimed to evaluate long-term outcomes and test whether combining enzalutamide with abiraterone and androgen deprivation therapy improves survival. Methods: We analysed two open-label, randomised, controlled, phase 3 trials of the STAMPEDE platform protocol, with no overlapping controls, conducted at 117 sites in the UK and Switzerland. Eligible patients (no age restriction) had metastatic, histologically-confirmed prostate adenocarcinoma; a WHO performance status of 0–2; and adequate haematological, renal, and liver function. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) using a computerised algorithm and a minimisation technique to either standard of care (androgen deprivation therapy; docetaxel 75 mg/m2 intravenously for six cycles with prednisolone 10 mg orally once per day allowed from Dec 17, 2015) or standard of care plus abiraterone acetate 1000 mg and prednisolone 5 mg (in the abiraterone trial) orally or abiraterone acetate and prednisolone plus enzalutamide 160 mg orally once a day (in the abiraterone and enzalutamide trial). Patients were stratified by centre, age, WHO performance status, type of androgen deprivation therapy, use of aspirin or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, pelvic nodal status, planned radiotherapy, and planned docetaxel use. The primary outcome was overall survival assessed in the intention-to-treat population. Safety was assessed in all patients who started treatment. A fixed-effects meta-analysis of individual patient data was used to compare differences in survival between the two trials. STAMPEDE is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT00268476) and ISRCTN (ISRCTN78818544). Findings: Between Nov 15, 2011, and Jan 17, 2014, 1003 patients were randomly assigned to standard of care (n=502) or standard of care plus abiraterone (n=501) in the abiraterone trial. Between July 29, 2014, and March 31, 2016, 916 patients were randomly assigned to standard of care (n=454) or standard of care plus abiraterone and enzalutamide (n=462) in the abiraterone and enzalutamide trial. Median follow-up was 96 months (IQR 86–107) in the abiraterone trial and 72 months (61–74) in the abiraterone and enzalutamide trial. In the abiraterone trial, median overall survival was 76·6 months (95% CI 67·8–86·9) in the abiraterone group versus 45·7 months (41·6–52·0) in the standard of care group (hazard ratio [HR] 0·62 [95% CI 0·53–0·73]; p<0·0001). In the abiraterone and enzalutamide trial, median overall survival was 73·1 months (61·9–81·3) in the abiraterone and enzalutamide group versus 51·8 months (45·3–59·0) in the standard of care group (HR 0·65 [0·55–0·77]; p<0·0001). We found no difference in the treatment effect between these two trials (interaction HR 1·05 [0·83–1·32]; pinteraction=0·71) or between-trial heterogeneity (I2 p=0·70). In the first 5 years of treatment, grade 3–5 toxic effects were higher when abiraterone was added to standard of care (271 [54%] of 498 vs 192 [38%] of 502 with standard of care) and the highest toxic effects were seen when abiraterone and enzalutamide were added to standard of care (302 [68%] of 445 vs 204 [45%] of 454 with standard of care). Cardiac causes were the most common cause of death due to adverse events (five [1%] with standard of care plus abiraterone and enzalutamide [two attributed to treatment] and one (<1%) with standard of care in the abiraterone trial). Interpretation: Enzalutamide and abiraterone should not be combined for patients with prostate cancer starting long-term androgen deprivation therapy. Clinically important improvements in survival from addition of abiraterone to androgen deprivation therapy are maintained for longer than 7 years. Funding: Cancer Research UK, UK Medical Research Council, Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research, Janssen, and Astellas

Marketing: You must be Joking

Marketing, in its bid to be a serious discipline, has largely avoided theorising about humour in the marketplace. This is especially surprising given the increase in humorous ads over the last two decades or so. This paper seeks to address this omission by analysing humour in advertising with particular reference to Budweiser’s series of Lizards' advertisements. The paper considers the phenomenon at different levels of analysis. We argue that humorous advertisements are suited to contemporary media and advertising environments, and that such advertisements are a natural offshoot of the prevailing postmodernist mood. Humour possesses many traits of postmodernity–fun, irony and parody, and is therefore in step with this mood. Finally, humour is considered as an alternative to postmodernity, in so far as it reaches parts that other discourses, such as the discourse of postmodernity, cannot reach

Advertising and the Organizational Production of Humour

This chapter discusses humour as it is deliberately produced by organizations through advertising. Using beer advertisements as an example, our aim is to explain the increasing prevalence of advertising-based organizational humour during the period that has come to be known as late capitalism. Drawing on the literature on humour in advertising, the chapter explores the irony of how such advertisements provide a comedic critique of the code that acts to control and construct consumers, while also being a constitutive part of that process.Publisher when granting permission required that page numbers be put in - MEL 08/09/201

Freshwater crustaceans

Freshwater aquaculture is basically concerned with fish species; crustaceans play only a minor role. Total production of freshwater crustaceans is very low compared with fish, and many fewer species are involved. Nevertheless, the species' biology and methods of production have unique characteristics that make them a particularly interesting group. Although national production of mitten crabs (Eriochier sinensis) is a substantial aquaculture industry in China (177,955 mt in 1999) (FAO, 2001 b), international aquaculture of freshwater crustaceans comprises almost entirely prawns and crayfish (some species of which are known as crawfish in southern USA). This chapter will consider prawns and crayfish. These freshwater crustaceans generally have a broader diet and simpler life cycle than brackish-water and marine shrimp and, consequently, may be reared with cheaper feeds, and culture methods that are less technically demanding. Freshwater prawns have free-living larval stages, which often require brackish-water, necessitating specialised hatchery facilities. Freshwater crayfish, however, have no free-living larval stages, and complete their entire life cycle in freshwater. Their aquaculture is relatively simple. Unfortunately, technical simplicity often leads to negligent practice and the benefits of simple biology of the species involved are lost due to a lack of commitment to basic aquaculture principles. This is not an issue if extensive aquaculture practices are used, but the future for freshwater crustacean aquaculture is in intensified culture techniques, and the potential for significant growth in production will be realised only through application of professional and industrial practices like those used for marine crustaceans. The two groups are dealt with separately below. Freshwater crayfish and prawns differ in morphology and life history, but they also have much in common. Consequently, the future development of culture techniques will no doubt involve some cross-fertilisation of ideas between the two groups

Editorial

8 page(s