The Case of Ditto Block: A Study of Special Weapons and Tactics, Antisocial Personality, Mental Illness and Barricade Offenders

Comprehensive analysis of a repeat barricade offender as part of a Sanity at the Time of Offense evaluation is presented. Sources of information included law enforcement, legal, medical, mental health, and correctional documents from before, during, and after both barricades. Analysis included triangulation of validity interviews from multiple sources against multiple barricade offender databases and research. Incident and offender characteristics at time of barricade one is compared against barricade two. After the first barricade, the offender completed Fitness to Stand Trial restoration, found fit to stand for a jury trial, found not guilty and released. One year later, he was involuntarily admitted to a mental health hospital. Within one week after court-ordered release, the second barricade occurred. During barricade two, the Special Weapons and Tactics team had no intelligence regarding the first barricade. The offender foresaw negotiation strategies and cut off communication. He predicted Special Weapons and Tactic team tactics; he ambushed the team, stalled the entry, retreated, and created a standoff that concluded in a failed suicide by cop incident. Different Third-Party Intermediaries participated in both barricades. During barricade one, the Third-Party Intermediary (his sister) provided intelligence. During barricade two, the Third-Party Intermediary (ex-girlfriend) did not provide intelligence until after the dynamic entry failed, and a team member gathered intelligence from her. Mental health providers never provided intelligence to law enforcement. Analysis reveals Special Weapons and Tactical Teams cannot operate without behavioral specialists. Community leaders' continuous comprehensive oversight of Special Weapons and Tactical Teams is required for appropriate communication among professionals and policy decisions derived from pattern analysis of Post Incident Reports. Offender risk assessment require law enforcement, corrections, and mental health contributions. Repeat barricade offender scenarios are required components of professional development for Special Weapons and Tactics teams, mental health providers, attorneys, judges, and community leaders

Benefits and Risks of Weight-Loss Treatment for Older, Obese Women

Background: A key issue in the treatment of obesity in older adults is whether the health benefits of weight loss outweigh the potential risks with respect to musculoskeletal injury. Objective: To compare change in weight, improvements in metabolic risk factors, and reported musculoskeletal adverse events in middle-aged (50-59 years) and older (65-74 years), obese women. Materials and methods: Participants completed an initial 6-month lifestyle intervention for weight loss, comprised of weekly group sessions, followed by 12 months of extended care with biweekly contacts. Weight and fasting blood samples were assessed at baseline, month 6, and month 18; data regarding adverse events were collected throughout the duration of the study. Results: Both middle-aged (n = 162) and older (n = 56) women achieved significant weight reductions from baseline to month 6 (10.1 +/- 0.68 kg and 9.3 +/- 0.76 kg, respectively) and maintained a large proportion of their losses at month 18 (7.6 +/- 0.87 kg and 7.6 +/- 1.3 kg, respectively); there were no significant differences between the two groups with respect to weight change. Older women further experienced significant reductions in systolic blood pressure, HbA(1c), and C-reactive protein from baseline to month 6 and maintained these improvements at month 18. Despite potential safety concerns, we found that older women were no more likely to experience musculoskeletal adverse events during the intervention as compared with their middle-aged counterparts. Conclusion: These results suggest that older, obese women can experience significant health benefits from lifestyle treatment for obesity, including weight loss and improvements in disease risk factors. Further investigation of the impact of weight loss on additional health-related parameters and risks (eg, body composition, muscular strength, physical functioning, and injuries) in older adults is needed.National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute R18HL73326University of FloridaDivision of Statistics and Scientific Computatio

Terrorist Use of Smuggling Tunnels

This article examines terrorists' use of smuggling tunnels to finance terrorism and/or launch terrorist operations. Israel's Operation Pillar of Cloud and Hamas' Operation Stones of Shale are used to illustrate both the physical structure of smuggling tunnels and social networks of the people who build and use smuggling tunnels. The sociological factors of terrorists and criminals engaged in smuggling in the same country, such as the Gaza Strip and Egypt during peaceful times and the Gaza Strip and Israel during a state of war, is examined. The article proposes the application of open-source social-network models applicable to regional and transnational tunnel analysis during times of peace and war, employing intelligence from law enforcement and national security sources to improve border security

Three years field trials to assess the effect of kaolin made particles and copper on olive-fruit fly (B.oleae Gmelin) infestations in Sicily

In most countries of Mediterranean Basin, Bactrocera oleae (Gmel), the olive fruit fly, is the key pest insect on olives. In Sicily this pest causes losses of fruits and a poor quality olive oil. Many researchers have recently carried out some field studies which were based on the use of kaolin and copper against the olive-fruit fly. In the last years these products have been effective several times in reducing olive fly infestation. Kaolin had, also, some important effect in reducing heat-stress in fruit crops and olive-trees. The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of kaolin and copper treatment on olive infestations in Sicily and to evaluate chemical and sensory parameters of oils extracted. For this reason, within 2003-2005, the IX Servizio of Assessorato Regionale Agricoltura e Foreste, selected some olive groves where to carry out trials with kaolin and copper and to realize information and divulgation activities

What are the most promising conduits for foreign knowledge inflows? Innovation networks in the Chinese pharmaceutical industry

We study innovation networks in emerging markets, where foreign actors have been identified as key sources of knowledge spillovers as well as progenitors of industry clusters. Focusing on connectivity as a channel for international knowledge sourcing, we widen our lens beyond multinational enter- prises (MNEs) to include critical innovative actors such as research institutions (i.e. universities and research centers). We examine the geographic dispersion of co-inventor networks generated by US patents associated with the Chinese pharmaceutical industry. Previous research has highlighted the role of organizationally driven MNE networks as enablers of foreign knowledge inflows to less de- veloped countries. However, our results emphasize the critical role of individually motivated networks arising from advanced economy research institutions in connecting China to global knowledge networks

The deepest X-ray look at the Universe

The origin of the X-ray background, in particular at hard (2-10 keV) energies, has been a debated issue for more than 30 years. The Chandra deep fields provide the deepest look at the X-ray sky and are the best dataset to study the X-ray background. We searched the Chandra Deep Field South for X-ray sources with the aid of a dedicated wavelet-based algorithm. We are able to reconstruct the Log N-Log S source distribution in the soft (0.5-2 keV) and hard (2-10 keV) bands down to limiting fluxes of 2x10^{-17} erg s^{-1} cm^{-2} and 2x10^{-16} erg s^{-1} cm^{-2}, respectively. These are a factor ~5 deeper than previous investigations. We find that the soft relation continues along the extrapolation from higher fluxes, almost completely accounting for the soft X-ray background. On the contrary, the hard distribution shows a flattening below ~2x10^{-14} erg s^{-1} cm^{-2}. Nevertheless, we can account for >68% of the hard X-ray background, with the main uncertainty being the sky flux itself.Comment: Accepted for publication on ApJL. Two figures, requires emulateapj5 (included