Explaining Crime and Criminal Careers: the DEA Model of Situational Action Theory

Funder: University of CambridgeAbstract: Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to outline Situational Action Theory (SAT) and its Developmental Ecological Action Model (DEA model) as applied to the explanation of criminal careers. The DEA model of SAT was first presented by Wikström in 2005, [34]), and subsequently refined in Wikström and Treiber in 2018, [43]), and is further elaborated in this paper. Methods: This paper provides a theoretical analysis of the role of crime causation in the explanation of criminal careers and pathways in crime. The central argument is that if we want to explain stability and change in people’s crime involvement we first have to understand what factors and processes move people to commit acts of crime. Only then can we adequately assess what factors and processes are involved in the explanation of criminal careers and people’s differential pathways (trajectories) in crime. Results: The DEA model of SAT address some of the main limitations of current dominant explanatory approaches in Developmental and Life-Course (DLC) Criminology [39], and champions a general, dynamic and mechanism-based account of the causes of crime [38], and the drivers of criminal careers [47]. It integrates and extends key insights from two great but poorly amalgamated traditions in the study of crime and its causes: the individual/developmental and ecological/environmental traditions. It provides a new approach to the study and explanation of crime and criminal careers with implications for how we approach the problem of crime prevention policy and practise

Bacterial composition in Swedish raw drinking water reveals three major interacting ubiquitous metacommunities

Background Surface raw water used as a source for drinking water production is a critical resource, sensitive to contamination. We conducted a study on Swedish raw water sources, aiming to identify mutually co-occurring metacommunities of bacteria, and environmental factors driving such patterns. Methods The water sources were different regarding nutrient composition, water quality, and climate characteristics, and displayed various degrees of anthropogenic impact. Water inlet samples were collected at six drinking water treatment plants over 3 years, totaling 230 samples. The bacterial communities of DNA sequenced samples (n = 175), obtained by 16S metabarcoding, were analyzed using a joint model for taxa abundance. Results Two major groups of well-defined metacommunities of microorganisms were identified, in addition to a third, less distinct, and taxonomically more diverse group. These three metacommunities showed various associations to the measured environmental data. Predictions for the well-defined metacommunities revealed differing sets of favored metabolic pathways and life strategies. In one community, taxa with methanogenic metabolism were common, while a second community was dominated by taxa with carbohydrate and lipid-focused metabolism. Conclusion The identification of ubiquitous persistent co-occurring bacterial metacommunities in freshwater habitats could potentially facilitate microbial source tracking analysis of contamination issues in freshwater sources

Cerebrovascular reserve in moyamoya disease: relation to cerebral blood flow, capillary dysfunction, oxygenation, and energy metabolism

BackgroundCerebral hemodynamics in moyamoya disease (MMD) is complex and needs further elucidation. The primary aim of the study was to determine the association of the cerebrovascular reserve (CVR) with cerebral blood flow (CBF) disturbances, oxygen extraction fraction (OEFmax), and energy metabolism (CMRO2max) in MMD, using arterial spin label magnetic resonance imaging (ASL-MRI) before and after acetazolamide administration.MethodsThirty-nine ASL-MRI scans with a concurrent acetazolamide challenge from 16 MMD patients at the Uppsala University Hospital, Sweden, 2016–2021, were retrospectively analyzed. CBF was assessed before and 5, 15, and 25 min after acetazolamide administration, and the maximal response CVRmax was used for further analyses. Dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) MRI was performed 30 min after acetazolamide injection, and the data were analyzed using the Cercare Medical Neurosuite to assess capillary transit time heterogeneity (CTTH; indicating microvascular function), OEFmax, and CMRO2max.ResultsIn the ACA territory, a lower CVRmax was associated with lower baseline CBF, higher CTTH, and higher OEFmax but not with CMRO2max in generalized estimating equation models. In the MCA territory, lower CVRmax was associated with lower baseline CBF and higher CMRO2max but not with CTTH and OEFmax..ConclusionAltogether, a compromised CVR in MMD patients reflected disturbances in macro-/microvascular blood flow, oxygenation, and CMRO2. ASL-MRI with acetazolamide challenge is a feasible and radiation-free alternative to positron emission tomography (PET) imaging in MMD

SNX10 gene mutation leading to osteopetrosis with dysfunctional osteoclasts

Acknowledgements We sincerely thank the patients and family members who participated in this study. We would also like to thank Stefan Esher, Umeå University, for help with genealogy, and Anna Westerlund for excellent technical assistance. This work was supported by grants from the FOU, at the Umeå university hospital, and the Medical Faculty at Umeå University. The work at University of Gothenburg was supported by grants from The Swedish Research Council, the Swedish Rheumatism Association, the Royal 80-Year Fund of King Gustav V, ALF/LUA research grant from Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg and the Lundberg Foundation. The work at the University of Gothenburg and the University of Aberdeen was supported by Euroclast, a Marie Curie FP7-People-2013-ITN: # 607446.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The multi-faceted Swedish Heureka forest decision support system: context, functionality, design, and 10 years experiences of its use

For several decades, computerized forest decision support systems (DSS) have helped managers and decision makers to analyze different management options and supported the search for preferred management alternatives. In Sweden, a country rich in forests and with a long tradition in intensive forest management, such systems have been developed and available since the 1970s. Changes in societal as well as in forest owners' preferences and objectives in the 1990s led to a need for forest DSS handling broader perspectives compared to precedent single-objective timber-oriented systems. In Sweden, this led to the initiation of a research programme in the beginning of the 2000s aiming at developing a versatile and multi-objective forest DSS, resulting in the first version of the Heureka forest DSS released in 2009. The system handles several forest values, such as timber and biofuel production, carbon sequestration, dead wood dynamics, habitat for species, recreation and susceptibility to forest damages (spruce bark beetle, wind-throw and root rot). It contains a suite of software for different problem settings and geographical scales and uses simulation as well as optimization techniques. Three software handle projections of the forest using a common core of growth and yield models for simulating forest dynamics. A fourth software, built for multi-criteria decision analysis and including a web-version, enables also group decision making and participatory planning. For more than 10 years, the Heureka system has been used in teaching, environmental analysis, research and as decision support in practical forestry. For example, several research groups using the system for analyses in different problem areas have so far published more than 80 scientific papers. The system is used for nation-wide forest impact analysis for policy support and all large and many medium-sized forest owners use it for their long-term forest planning, meaning that it directly influences forest management decisions and activities on more than 50% of the Swedish forest area. Besides presenting the present system and its use, we also discuss lessons learned and potential future development

Risk and promotive effects in the explanation of persistent serious delinquency in boys

Risk and promotive effects were investigated as predictors of persistent serious delinquency in male participants of the Pittsburgh Youth Study (R. Loeber, D. P. Farrington, M. Stouthamer-Loeber, & W. B. van Kammen, 1998), living in different neighborhoods. Participants were studied over ages 13–19 years for the oldest sample and 7–13 years for the youngest sample. Risk and promotive effects were studied in 6 domains: child behavior, child attitudes, school and leisure activities, peer behaviors, family functioning, and demographics. Regression models improved when promotive effects were included with risk effects in predicting persistent serious delinquency. Disadvantaged neighborhoods, compared with better neighborhoods, had a higher prevalence of risk effects and a lower prevalence of promotive effects. However, predictive relations between risk and promotive effects and persistent serious delinquency were linear and similar across neighborhood socioeconomic status. Although advances have been made in the study of predictors of serious delinquency (Hawkins et al., 1998; Lipsey & Derzon, 1998), little is known about predictors of persistent serious offend-ing, which from a societal point of view is of particular concern. Most youth commit some delinquent acts in childhood or adoles