Invisible and Incarcerated: Women in a male dominated U.S prison system

This paper investigates how the contemporary U.S. penal system impacts women given that female imprisonment rates have skyrocketed over the last several decades. Notably the U.S. has increased the rate of female incarceration at double the rate of male incarceration. However female prisoners have been rendered largely invisible under the umbrella of the criminal justice system in both scholarly discourse and policy. Drawing on the broad characteristics and trends that encapsulate the female prison population it is examined that women face unique challenges within the system. Pathways of crime illustrate the interlocking nature of poverty abuse mental illness and drug abuse in relation to female criminality. It is noted that in an era defined by the war on drugs and tough-on-crime policy the criminalization of women\u27s survival strategies has become a main symptom of female imprisonment. Through analyzing policy it is evident that the criminal justice system often discounts the societal and institutional forces that influence female criminality. Instead policies have adopted a perspective that is predominantly male- oriented given the lack of research and literature on women in prison. Consequently this so- called gender-neutral framework has not succeeded in its attempt to equalize the male and female prison populations. In designing policy and legislation to prevent crime it is necessary to grasp the context in which female offending and imprisonment originates. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how the use of mass incarceration as a method of control over female criminality has been largely inappropriate when contextual evidence is considered and overall ineffective at ridding society of lawlessness

Robotic-assisted repair of a duodenal diaphragm in a child

AbstractThe retroperitoneal location of the duodenum and the small volume of the peritoneal cavity in pediatric patients make the laparoscopic repair of congenital duodenal anomalies challenging. As a result, robotic-assisted repair of duodenal atresia in a pediatric patient has been reported only once in the literature. This report describes the robotic-assisted laparoscopic repair of a congenital duodenal diaphragm in a 2-year-old, 8 kg patient who presented with vomiting and failure to thrive. An upper gastrointestinal series revealed partial obstruction at the second part of the duodenum with proximal dilatation. These findings are consistent with a duodenal diaphragm. Traditional laparoscopy was utilized to kocherize the first and second parts of the duodenum and to identify a loop of proximal jejunum for the proposed anastomosis. A duodeno-jejunal anastomosis was then performed using intra-corporeal suturing with a daVinci SI robotic system. The patient had a quick and uneventful post-operative course. At 6 month follow-up, she was asymptomatic and the surgical incisions had healed with excellent cosmetic appearance. A combination of laparoscopic and robotic techniques offers a promising alternative to open or purely laparoscopic repair of congenital duodenal anomalies

Habitat-mediated size selection in endangered Atlantic salmon fry: selectional restoration assessment

Preservation of adaptive variation is a top priority of many species restoration programs, but most restoration activities are conducted without direct knowledge of selection that might foster or impair adaptation and restoration goals. In this study, we quantified geographic variation in selection on fry size of endangered Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) during the 6-week period immediately following stocking in the wild. We also used a model selection approach to assess whether habitat variables influence patterns of such selection. We found evidence for significant size-selection in five out of six selection trials. Interestingly, the strength and pattern of selection varied extensively among sites, and model selection suggested that this variation in phenotypic selection was related to geographic variation in the presence of large woody debris and the slope of the stream gradient. The strong selection differentials we observed should be a concern for endangered salmon restoration, whether they reflect natural processes and an opportunity to maintain adaptation, or an indicator of the potentially deleterious phenotypic consequences of hatchery practices

Importance of geographic origin for invasion success: A case study of the North and Baltic Seas versus the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River region

Recently, several studies indicated that species from the Ponto-Caspian region may be evolutionarily predisposed to become nonindigenous species (NIS); however, origin of NIS established in different regions has rarely been compared to confirm these statements. More importantly, if species from certain area/s are proven to be better colonizers, management strategies to control transport vectors coming from those areas must be more stringent, as prevention of new introductions is a cheaper and more effective strategy than eradication or control of established NIS populations. To determine whether species evolved in certain areas have inherent advantages over other species in colonizing new habitats, we explored NIS established in the North and Baltic Seas and Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River regions—two areas intensively studied in concern to NIS, highly invaded by Ponto-Caspian species and with different salinity patterns (marine vs. freshwater). We compared observed numbers of NIS in these two regions to expected numbers of NIS from major donor regions. The expected numbers were calculated based on the available species pool from donor regions, frequency of shipping transit, and an environmental match between donor and recipient regions. A total of 281 NIS established in the North and Baltic Seas and 188 in the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River. Ponto-Caspian taxa colonized both types of habitats, saltwater areas of the North and Baltic Seas and freshwater of the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River, in much higher numbers than expected. Propagule pressure (i.e., number of introduced individuals or introduction effort) is of great importance for establishment success of NIS; however in our study, either shipping vector or environmental match between regions did not clarify the high numbers of Ponto-Caspian taxa in our study areas. Although we cannot exclude the influence of other transport vectors, our findings suggest that the origin of the species plays an important role for the predisposition of successful invaders

Evolutionary origins of invasive populations

What factors shape the evolution of invasive populations? Recent theoretical and empirical studies suggest that an evolutionary history of disturbance might be an important factor. This perspective presents hypotheses regarding the impact of disturbance on the evolution of invasive populations, based on a synthesis of the existing literature. Disturbance might select for life-history traits that are favorable for colonizing novel habitats, such as rapid population growth and persistence. Theoretical results suggest that disturbance in the form of fluctuating environments might select for organismal flexibility, or alternatively, the evolution of evolvability. Rapidly fluctuating environments might favor organismal flexibility, such as broad tolerance or plasticity. Alternatively, longer fluctuations or environmental stress might lead to the evolution of evolvability by acting on features of the mutation matrix. Once genetic variance is generated via mutations, temporally fluctuating selection across generations might promote the accumulation and maintenance of genetic variation. Deeper insights into how disturbance in native habitats affects evolutionary and physiological responses of populations would give us greater capacity to predict the populations that are most likely to tolerate or adapt to novel environments during habitat invasions. Moreover, we would gain fundamental insights into the evolutionary origins of invasive populations

In Vitro Characterization of Fluorogenic Chemical Tools to Study Human Carboxylesterases (CESs)

Human carboxylesterases (CESs) are enzymes that are responsible for the metabolism of many important pharmaceuticals. Although CESs are key players in the hydrolysis of many ester-containing drugs, they remain understudied. Our group hypothesizes that this is primarily because there are few methods capable of reporting activity in live cells. Here, I report a new series of fluorogenic chemical tools to study the CES activity of one of the two major CESs in humans, CES1, in live cells. MCP-Me, MCP-Et, and MCP-iPr utilize the same carbonate group of a previously developed chemical tool in our group, FCP-1, and work to mimic the substrates of common drugs to study CES1 activity in vitro. By improving methods used to study CES1 activity, we can improve the individual efficacy of pharmaceuticals by ensuring prescribed drugs are compatible with the patient’s metabolic enzymes activity

Undergraduate, 2nd Place: In Vitro Characterization of Fluorogenic Chemical Tools to Study Human Carboxylesterases (CESs)

Human carboxylesterases (CESs) are enzymes that are responsible for the metabolism of many important pharmaceuticals. Although CESs are key players in the hydrolysis of many ester-containing drugs, they remain understudied. Our group hypothesizes that this is primarily because there are few methods capable of reporting activity in live cells. Here, I report a new series of fluorogenic chemical tools to study the CES activity of one of the two major CESs in humans, CES1, in live cells. MCP-Me, MCP-Et, and MCP-iPr utilize the same carbonate group of a previously developed chemical tool in our group, FCP-1, and work to mimic the substrates of common drugs to study CES1 activity in vitro. By improving methods used to study CES1 activity, we can improve the individual efficacy of pharmaceuticals by ensuring prescribed drugs are compatible with the patient’s metabolic enzymes activity

Size-Dependent Synthesis, Characterization and Biomedical Applications of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a chemically and thermally stable n-type semiconducting material with many applications including solar cells, piezoelectrics, and fuel cell devices due to their flexible use in chemical sensing. ZnO has a wide band gap and fast electron transfer that makes it a promising candidate for a supporting matrix in the fabrication of biosensors. ZnO\u27s high isoelectric point facilitates its binding with many enzymes proteins, DNA, and RNA providing potential use in biomedical applications. Here, we hydrothermally synthesized ZnO nanoparticles at low temperature conditions. Solvent, precursor, and reaction temperatures as well as reaction times were varied resulting in controlling the size, morphology and properties of the particles. These ZnO nanoparticles were characterized extensively by employing the use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), infrared spectroscopy (IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) among other techniques. These nanoparticles were coupled with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNT) to fabricate hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and glucose sensors. ZnO is also demonstrated to potentially increase enzyme activity using luciferase as a model system