Baton Rouge Collective Healing Initiative: Final Report

In response to recent and historic traumatic events that caused distrust and strained relationships between law enforcement and their communities, the U. S. Department of Justice, Office of Victims of Crime (OVC), selected five demonstration sites to invest in restorative and healing activities to repair community-police relationships. The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) worked closely with the sites over the three-year grant period to improve relations through evidence-based interventions, technical assistance, and peer learning. The program, Law Enforcement and the Communities They Serve: Supporting Collective Healing in the Wake of Harm began in the selected cities, which included 1) Baton Rouge, Louisiana; 2) Houston, Texas; 3) Minneapolis, Minnesota; 4) Oakland, California; and 5) Rapid City, South Dakota. The purpose of Collective Healing was to foster meaningful dialogue and reconciliation among law enforcement agencies and the communities of color they serve, to increase the capacity of victim services programs, and to address officer health and wellness. Collective Healing programs were led by police departments and supported by victim assistance programs, behavioral health agencies, grassroots organizations, and academic partners. IACP provided technical assistance and training and conducted site visits to monitor accountability and effectiveness. The Baton Rouge Collective Healing Initiative was conducted from October 1, 2017, through September 30, 2020. The Baton Rouge Police Department (BRPD) served as the lead and fiscal agent for the project. BRPD hired a program manager to coordinate the partnership and complete grant activities. The original core members of the Baton Rouge Collective Healing Initiative included community partners who were vested in improving community-police relationships. The core partners included 100 Black Men of Metro Baton Rouge, the Baton Rouge Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Capital Area Human Services, LSU Social Research and Evaluation Center, and the Southern University, Center for Social Research

Isolation of a wide range of minerals from a thermally treated plant: Equisetum arvense, a Mare’s tale

Silica is the second most abundant biomineral being exceeded in nature only by biogenic CaCO3. Many land plants (such as rice, cereals, cucumber, etc.) deposit silica in significant amounts to reinforce their tissues and as a systematic response to pathogen attack. One of the most ancient species of living vascular plants, Equisetum arvense is also able to take up and accumulate silica in all parts of the plant. Numerous methods have been developed for elimination of the organic material and/or metal ions present in plant material to isolate biogenic silica. However, depending on the chemical and/or physical treatment applied to branch or stem from Equisetum arvense; other mineral forms such glass-type materials (i.e. CaSiO3), salts (i.e. KCl) or luminescent materials can also be isolated from the plant material. In the current contribution, we show the chemical and/or thermal routes that lead to the formation of a number of different mineral types in addition to biogenic silica

Observation of Bernstein Waves Excited by Newborn Interstellar Pickup Ions in the Solar Wind

A recent examination of 1.9 s magnetic field data recorded by the Voyager 2 spacecraft in transit to Jupiter revealed several instances of strongly aliased spectra suggestive of unresolved high-frequency magnetic fluctuations at 4.4 AU. A closer examination of these intervals using the highest resolution data available revealed one clear instance of wave activity at spacecraft frame frequencies from 0.2 to 1 Hz. Using various analysis techniques, we have characterized these fluctuations as Bernstein mode waves excited by newborn interstellar pickup ions. We can find no other interpretation or source consistent with the observations, but this interpretation is not without questions. In this paper, we report a detailed analysis of the waves, including their frequency and polarization, that supports our interpretation

Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome Risk and Escherichia coli O157:H7

We reviewed medical records of 238 hospitalized patients with Escherichia coli O157:H7 diarrhea to identify risk factors for progression to diarrhea-associated hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Data indicated that young age, long duration of diarrhea, elevated leukocyte count, and proteinuria were associated with HUS

Symbiotic starburst-black hole AGN -- I. Isothermal hydrodynamics of the mass-loaded ISM

Compelling evidence associates the nuclei of active galaxies and massive starbursts. The symbiosis between a compact nuclear starburst stellar cluster and a massive black hole can self-consistently explain the properties of active nuclei. The young stellar cluster has a profound effect on the most important observable properties of active galaxies through its gravity, and by mass injection through stellar winds, supernovae and stellar collisions. Mass injection generates a nuclear ISM which flows under gravitational and radiative forces until it leaves the nucleus or is accreted onto the black hole or accretion disc. The radiative force exerted by the black hole--accretion disc radiation field is not spherically symmetric. This results in complex flows in which regions of inflow can coexist with high Mach number outflowing winds and hydrodynamic jets. We present two-dimensional hydrodynamic models of such nISM flows, which are highly complex and time variable. Shocked shells, jets and explosive bubbles are produced, with bipolar winds driving out from the nucleus. Our results graphically illustrate why broad emission line studies have consistently failed to identify any simple, global flow geometry. The real structure of the flows is _inevitably_ yet more complex.Comment: 51 pages, 85 postscript figures, Latex, using MNRAS macros, to be published in MNRAS. Postscript will full resolution pictures and mpeg simulations available via http://ast.leeds.ac.uk/~rjrw/agn.htm

JC and BK virus sequences are not detectable in leukaemic samples from children with common acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

Epidemiological evidence suggests that childhood leukaemia, and possibly common acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in particular, may have an infectious aetiology. Smith (1997 J Immunother20: 89–100) recently suggested that the critical infectious event occurs during pregnancy, and identified the polyoma virus JC as a candidate agent. In the present study we investigated whether genomes from the JC virus, and closely related BK virus, could be detected in leukaemic cells. No positive results were obtained suggesting that JC virus is unlikely to play a direct role in leukaemogenesis. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig

Control of primary productivity and the significance of photosynthetic bacteria in a meromictic kettle lake.

During 1986 planktonic primary production and controlling factors were investigated in a small (A0 = 11.8 · 103 m2, Zmax = 11.5 m) meromictic kettle lake (Mittlerer Buchensee). Annual phytoplankton productivity was estimated to ca 120 gC · m–2 · a–1 (1,42 tC · lake–1 · a–1). The marked thermal stratification of the lake led to irregular vertical distributions of chlorophylla concentrations (Chla) and, to a minor extent, of photosynthesis (Az). Between the depths of 0 to 6 m low Chla concentrations (< 7 mg · m–3) and comparatively high background light attenuation (kw = 0,525 m–1, 77% of total attenuation due to gelbstoff and abioseston) was found. As a consequence, light absorption by algae was low (mean value 17,4%) and self-shading was absent. Because of the small seasonal variation of Chla concentrations, no significant correlation between Chla and areal photosynthesis (A) was observed. Only in early summer (June–July) biomass appears to influence the vertical distribution of photosynthesis on a bigger scale. Around 8 m depth, low-light adapted algae and phototrophic bacteria formed dense layers. Due to low ambient irradiances, the contribution of these organisms to total primary productivity was small. Primary production and incident irradiance were significantly correlated with each other (r2 = 0.68). Although the maximum assimilation number (Popt) showed a clear dependence upon water temperature (Q10 = 2.31), the latter was of minor importance to areal photosynthesis