Cost-effectiveness analysis of the New South Wales adult drug court program

In New South Wales, Australia, a cost-effectiveness evaluation was conducted of an adult drug court (ADC) program as an alternative to jail for criminal offenders addicted to illicit drugs. This article describes the program, the cost-effectiveness analysis, and the results. The results of this study reveal that, for the 23-month period of the evaluation, the ADC was as cost-effective as were conventional sanctions in delaying the time to the first offense and more cost-effective in reducing the frequency of offending for those outcome measures selected. Although the evaluation was conducted using the traditional steps of a cost-effectiveness analysis, because of the complexity of the program and data limitations it was not always possible to adhere to textbook procedures. As such, each step involved in undertaking the cost-effectiveness analysis is discussed, highlighting the key issues faced in the evaluation. © 2004 Sage Publications

Photometry and spectroscopy of faint candidate spectrophotometric standard DA white dwarfs

We present precise photometry and spectroscopy for 23 candidate spectrophotometric standard white dwarfs. The selected stars are distributed in the Northern hemisphere and around the celestial equators and are all fainter than r ~ 16.5 mag. This network of stars, when established as standards, together with the three Hubble Space Telescope primary CALSPEC white dwarfs, will provide a set of spectrophotometric standards to directly calibrate data products to better than 1%. These new faint standard white dwarfs will have enough signal-to-noise ratio in future deep photometric surveys and facilities to be measured accurately while still avoiding saturation in such surveys. They will also fall within the dynamic range of large telescopes and their instruments for the foreseeable future. This paper discusses the provenance of the observational data for our candidate standard stars. The comparison with models, reconciliation with reddening, and the consequent derivation of the full spectral energy density distributions for each of them is reserved for a subsequent paper.Comment: 31 pages, 17 figures, 10 tables, ApJ in press (accepted on December 23rd, 2018

Gene action of blast disease reaction and grain yield traits in finger millet

Gene action of blast reaction, yield and yield associated traits in finger millet were studied using a 4x4 North Carolina Design II mating scheme. The four female and four male parents and their 16 crosses were evaluated at Alupe and Kakamega in western Kenya in a randomized complete block design under both artificially induced and natural disease pressure. General combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) estimates of the traits were calculated to determine the genotypes breeding value. The GCA variance predominated over SCA variance for all traits except finger width hence these traits can be improved through selection. With high, desirable GCA effects, male parent KNE 392 and female parents KNE 744 and IE 11 are suitable for blast resistance breeding while male parent Okhale 1 is suitable for grain yield improvement. The frequency distribution for the segregating F2 generation for the three blast types differed within and between crosses which could be due to differences in gene numbers or gene combinations being expressed in the different parents used. Convergent crossing or gene pyramiding for durable resistance could be possible

Chemo-Sensitive Running Droplet

Chemical control of the spontaneous motion of a reactive oil droplet moving on a glass substrate under an aqueous phase is reported. Experimental results show that the self-motion of an oil droplet is confined on an acid-treated glass surface. The transient behavior of oil-droplet motion is also observed with a high-speed video camera. A mathematical model that incorporates the effect of the glass surface charge is built based on the experimental observation of oil-droplet motion. A numerical simulation of this mathematical model reproduced the essential features concerning confinement within a certain chemical territory of oil-droplet motion, and also its transient behavior. Our results may shed light on physical aspects of reactive spreading and a chemotaxis in living things.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figure

Ruminant Agriculture: A Tool for Climate Change Mitigation

The quest to address and mitigate climate change has been dubbed a “wicked problem” as it involves many interconnected processes requiring a multifaceted, comprehensive approach. Animal agriculture contributes roughly 15% to CO2 equivalent (CO2e) emissions; as a result, a concerted effort is being made to develop and promote more climate-friendly production practices. These practices include species diversification in grasslands, improving grazing rotation, adding nitrogen amendments, and the use of feed additives to reduce enteric fermentation. Successful inter-seeding of legumes and deep-rooted native grasses increases soil organic carbon (SOC) pools in many systems by increasing the biological carbon inputs to the rhizosphere. Rotational grazing increases the concentration of ruminant waste in smaller areas resulting in a more uniform application of nutrients and forage use. The rotational grazed pasture allows for longer pasture recovery, thereby increasing SOC stocks indirectly through increased root and aboveground biomass growth. Fertilization of pasturelands with nitrogen-only fertilizers increases SOC stocks. Enteric methane emission makes up over 44% of animal agriculture’s carbon footprint (Tubiello et al. 2013) and can be reduced using novel feed additives to mixed rations for confined cattle consumption. It’s important to consider that none of these management practices is a silver bullet that works in any situation; instead, these can be effective tools to draw down carbon emissions. Many barriers, particularly financial ones, have kept land managers from implementing these climate-improving practices. To help growers address these barriers to adoption Agoro Carbon™ Alliance is implementing carbon offset projects, which provide both financial incentives and education that facilitate the adoption of multiple, improved agricultural management practices involving animal agriculture

Empirical evidence for discrete neurocognitive subgroups in bipolar disorder: clinical implications

Background. Recent data suggest trait-like neurocognitive impairments in bipolar disorder (BPD), with deficits about 1 S.D. below average, less severe than deficits noted in schizophrenia. The frequency of significant impairment in BPD is approximately 60%, with 40% of patients characterized as cognitively spared. This contrasts with a more homogeneous presentation in schizophrenia. It is not understood why some BPD patients develop deficits while others do not. Method. A total of 136 patients with BPD completed the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery and data were entered into hierarchical cluster analyses to: (1) determine the optimal number of clusters (subgroups) that fit the sample; and (2) assign subjects to a specific cluster based on individual profiles. We then compared subgroups on several clinical factors and real-world community functioning. Results. Three distinct neurocognitive subgroups were found: (1) an intact group with performance comparable with healthy controls on all domains but with superior social cognition; (2) a selective impairment group with moderate deficits on processing speed, attention, verbal learning and social cognition and normal functioning in other domains; and (3) a global impairment group with severe deficits across all cognitive domains comparable with deficits in schizophrenia. Conclusions. These results suggest the presence of multiple cognitive subgroups in BPD with unique profiles and begin to address the relationships between these subgroups, several clinical factors and functional outcome. Next steps will include using these data to help guide future efforts to target these disabling symptoms with treatment

Examining the pathways for young people with drug and alcohol dependence: A mixed-method design to examine the role of a treatment programme

© BMJ Publishing Group. All rights reserved. Introduction: Young people with drug and alcohol problems are likely to have poorer health and other psychosocial outcomes than other young people. Residential treatment programmes have been shown to lead to improved health and related outcomes for young people in the short term. There is very little robust research showing longer term outcomes or benefits of such programmes. This paper describes an innovative protocol to examine the longer term outcomes and experiences of young people referred to a residential life management and treatment programme in Australia designed to address alcohol and drug issues in a holistic manner. Methods and analysis: This is a mixed-methods study that will retrospectively and prospectively examine young people's pathways into and out of a residential life management programme. The study involves 3 components: (1) retrospective data linkage of programme data to health and criminal justice administrative data sets, (2) prospective cohort (using existing programme baseline data and a follow-up survey) and (3) qualitative in-depth interviews with a subsample of the prospective cohort. The study will compare findings among young people who are referred and (a) stay 30 days or more in the programme (including those who go on to continuing care and those who do not); (b) start, but stay fewer than 30 days in the programme; (c) are assessed, but do not start the programme. Ethics and dissemination: Ethics approval has been sought from several ethics committees including a university ethics committee, state health departments and an Aboriginal-specific ethics committee. The results of the study will be published in peer-reviewed journals, presented at research conferences, disseminated via a report for the general public and through Facebook communications. The study will inform the field more broadly about the value of different methods in evaluating programmes and examining the pathways and trajectories of vulnerable young people

Ucma/GRP inhibits phosphate-induced vascular smooth muscle cell calcification via SMAD-dependent BMP signalling

Vascular calcification (VC) is the process of deposition of calcium phosphate crystals in the blood vessel wall, with a central role for vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). VC is highly prevalent in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients and thought, in part, to be induced by phosphate imbalance. The molecular mechanisms that regulate VC are not fully known. Here we propose a novel role for the mineralisation regulator Ucma/GRP (Upper zone of growth plate and Cartilage Matrix Associated protein/Gla Rich Protein) in phosphate-induced VSMC calcification. We show that Ucma/GRP is present in calcified atherosclerotic plaques and highly expressed in calcifying VSMCs in vitro. VSMCs from Ucma/GRP(-/-) mice showed increased mineralisation and expression of osteo/chondrogenic markers (BMP-2, Runx2, beta-catenin, p-SMAD1/5/8, ALP, OCN), and decreased expression of mineralisation inhibitor MGP, suggesting that Ucma/GRP is an inhibitor of mineralisation. Using BMP signalling inhibitor noggin and SMAD1/5/8 signalling inhibitor dorsomorphin we showed that Ucma/GRP is involved in inhibiting the BMP-2-SMAD1/5/8 osteo/chondrogenic signalling pathway in VSMCs treated with elevated phosphate concentrations. Additionally, we showed for the first time evidence of a direct interaction between Ucma/GRP and BMP-2. These results demonstrate an important role of Ucma/GRP in regulating osteo/chondrogenic differentiation and phosphate-induced mineralisation of VSMCs.NWO ZonMw [MKMD 40-42600-98-13007]; FCT [SFRH/BPD/70277/2010]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio