Fear of crime and the role of the police

Social values such as safety and security needs of members of society are necessary to ensure a sustainable quality of life for all; guaranteed and protected by the Constitution. If this envisaged tranquility is disturbed or negatively affected by crime and fear of crime resulting from criminal victimisation, then both crime and fear crime become public concerns. The study presents two focal points: crime and fear of crime as well as the role of the police, which all exert a significant influence on the lives of citizens. Criminal victimisation may cause physical harm, feelings of anxiety, emotional instability, mistrust of the formal control structure, alienation, etc., that promotes fear of crime. Such factors may result in a break of social cohesion, curtailment of daily activities and withdrawal from society. Policing, on the other hand, personifies social order and the guaranteed protection of people in a manner consistent with democratic principles. A non-parametric survey research method, incorporating a closed-structured questionnaire has been implemented to capture data from two arbitrarily selected Eastern Cape samples: Mthatha and Butterworth, primarily to explore and describe perceptions pertaining to crime, fear of crime and the role of the police in terms of gender (N=300). Gender is an appropriate predictor of fear of crime. Having rated seven selected serious crimes, female respondents are significantly more fearful of criminal victimisation than their male counterparts. Cooperation with the police to report and prevent crime, call upon them in emergency situations, etc., is on a sound footing, with females virtually outnumbering the males in all those functions. This finding is further vouched for by the fact that females had more positive and less negative ‘police contact’ compared to male respondents. Improved police-public relations and dedicated police service delivery will become more and more inevitable. Keywords: Crime, Police, South Afric

Full Genome Characterization of the Culicoides-Borne Marsupial Orbiviruses: Wallal Virus, Mudjinbarry Virus and Warrego Viruses

Viruses belonging to the species Wallal virus and Warrego virus of the genus Orbivirus were identified as causative agents of blindness in marsupials in Australia during 1994/5. Recent comparisons of nucleotide (nt) and amino acid (aa) sequences have provided a basis for the grouping and classification of orbivirus isolates. However, full-genome sequence data are not available for representatives of all Orbivirus species. We report full-genome sequence data for three additional orbiviruses: Wallal virus (WALV); Mudjinabarry virus (MUDV) and Warrego virus (WARV). Comparisons of conserved polymerase (Pol), sub-core-shell 'T2' and core-surface 'T13' proteins show that these viruses group with other Culicoides borne orbiviruses, clustering with Eubenangee virus (EUBV), another orbivirus infecting marsupials. WARV shares <70% aa identity in all three conserved proteins (Pol, T2 and T13) with other orbiviruses, consistent with its classification within a distinct Orbivirus species. Although WALV and MUDV share <72.86%/67.93% aa/nt identity with other orbiviruses in Pol, T2 and T13, they share >99%/90% aa/nt identities with each other (consistent with membership of the same virus species - Wallal virus). However, WALV and MUDV share <68% aa identity in their larger outer capsid protein VP2(OC1), consistent with membership of different serotypes within the species - WALV-1 and WALV-2 respectively

LRRK2 BAC transgenic rats develop progressive, L-DOPA-responsive motor impairment, and deficits in dopamine circuit function

Mutations in leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) lead to late-onset, autosomal dominant Parkinson's disease, characterized by the degeneration of dopamine neurons of the substantia nigra pars compacta, a deficit in dopamine neurotransmission and the development of motor and non-motor symptoms. The most prevalent Parkinson's disease LRRK2 mutations are located in the kinase (G2019S) and GTPase (R1441C) encoding domains of LRRK2. To better understand the sequence of events that lead to progressive neurophysiological deficits in vulnerable neurons and circuits in Parkinson's disease, we have generated LRRK2 bacterial artificial chromosome transgenic rats expressing either G2019S or R1441C mutant, or wild-type LRRK2, from the complete human LRRK2 genomic locus, including endogenous promoter and regulatory regions. Aged (18–21 months) G2019S and R1441C mutant transgenic rats exhibit L-DOPA-responsive motor dysfunction, impaired striatal dopamine release as determined by fast-scan cyclic voltammetry, and cognitive deficits. In addition, in vivo recordings of identified substantia nigra pars compacta dopamine neurons in R1441C LRRK2 transgenic rats reveal an age-dependent reduction in burst firing, which likely results in further reductions to striatal dopamine release. These alterations to dopamine circuit function occur in the absence of neurodegeneration or abnormal protein accumulation within the substantia nigra pars compacta, suggesting that nigrostriatal dopamine dysfunction precedes detectable protein aggregation and cell death in the development of Parkinson's disease. In conclusion, our longitudinal deep-phenotyping provides novel insights into how the genetic burden arising from human mutant LRRK2 manifests as early pathophysiological changes to dopamine circuit function and highlights a potential model for testing Parkinson's therapeutics

Risk assessment of exposure to particulate output of a demolition site.

Whilst vehicular and industrial contributions to the airborne particulate budget are well explored, the input due to building demolition is relatively unknown. Air quality is of importance to human health, and it is well known that composition of airborne particles can have a significant influence on both chronic and acute health effects. Road dust (RD) was collected before and after the demolition of a large building to elucidate changes in elemental profile. Rainfall and PM10 mass concentration data aided interpretation of the elemental data. Quantification of Al, As, Ba, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, Rh, S, Si, Sn, Ti, V and Zn was carried out. It was found that only Al, K, Mg, Si and S increased in concentration across all size fractions after the building demolition. Risk assessment was then carried out on elements with applicable reference dose values to assess the potential health risks due to the demolition. Significant risk to children was observed for chromium and aluminium exposure. PM10, monitored 40 metres from the demolition site, indicated no abnormal concentrations during the demolition; however, rainfall data were shown to affect the concentration of PM10. The elemental data observed in this study could possibly indicate the role of increased sulphur concentrations (in this case as a result of the demolition) on the buffer capacity of RD, hence leaching metals into rainwater

Methods, fluxes and sources of gas phase alkyl nitrates in the coastal air

The daily and seasonal atmospheric concentrations, deposition fluxes and emission sources of a few C3-C9 gaseous alkyl nitrates (ANs) at the Belgian coast (De Haan) on the Southern North Sea were determined. An adapted sampler design for low- and high-volume air-sampling, optimized sample extraction and clean-up, as well as identification and quantification of ANs in air samples by means of gas chromatography mass spectrometry, are reported. The total concentrations of ANs ranged from 0.03 to 85 pptv and consisted primarily of the nitro-butane and nitro-pentane isomers. Air mass backward trajectories were calculated by the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model to determine the influence of main air masses on AN levels in the air. The shorter chain ANs have been the most abundant in the Atlantic/Channel/UK air masses, while longer chain ANs prevailed in continental air. The overall mean N fluxes of the ANs were slightly higher for summer than those for winter-spring, although their contributions to the total nitrogen flux were low. High correlations between AN and HNO2 levels were observed during winter/spring. During summer, the shorter chain ANs correlated well with precipitation. Source apportionment by means of principal component analysis indicated that most of the gas phase ANs could be attributed to traffic/combustion, secondary photochemical formation and biomass burning, although marine sources may also have been present and a contributing factor. © 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland