Hunting for \u27Paper Gangsters\u27: An Institutional Analysis of Intelligence-led Policing in a Canadian Context

Contemporary police departments are facing immense pressure to preserve public safety while also remaining fiscally accountable. As a response to economic pressures, police services are turning to intelligence led policing (ILP). ILP promises ‘smarter’ and more efficient policing with the use of advanced technologies and data analysis for decision-making. The present study examines ILP implementation in one urban Canadian police department. Through in-depth interviews with fifteen patrol and middle-management members, fifty-five hours of observation, and an analysis of organizational documents, I examine how ILP reform has been understood and enacted by patrol officers on the ground. From this analysis, I uncover how officers’ perceptions and practices are loosely coupled from organizational claims surrounding ILP. I argue that this loose coupling allows the organization to acquire social legitimation while allowing patrol work to remain largely unchanged. Further, I argue that patrol officers’ perceptions and practices of ILP can perpetuate the policing of usual suspects and raise a number of concerns about implications of ‘intelligence’ practices involving citizens

Nicotine exploits a COPI-mediated process for chaperone-mediated up-regulation of its receptors

Chronic exposure to nicotine up-regulates high sensitivity nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in the brain. This up-regulation partially underlies addiction and may also contribute to protection against Parkinson’s disease. nAChRs containing the α6 subunit (α6* nAChRs) are expressed in neurons in several brain regions, but comparatively little is known about the effect of chronic nicotine on these nAChRs. We report here that nicotine up-regulates α6* nAChRs in several mouse brain regions (substantia nigra pars compacta, ventral tegmental area, medial habenula, and superior colliculus) and in neuroblastoma 2a cells. We present evidence that a coat protein complex I (COPI)-mediated process mediates this up-regulation of α6* or α4* nAChRs but does not participate in basal trafficking. We show that α6β2β3 nAChR up-regulation is prevented by mutating a putative COPI-binding motif in the β3 subunit or by inhibiting COPI. Similarly, a COPI-dependent process is required for up-regulation of α4β2 nAChRs by chronic nicotine but not for basal trafficking. Mutation of the putative COPI-binding motif or inhibition of COPI also results in reduced normalized Förster resonance energy transfer between α6β2β3 nAChRs and εCOP subunits. The discovery that nicotine exploits a COPI-dependent process to chaperone high sensitivity nAChRs is novel and suggests that this may be a common mechanism in the up-regulation of nAChRs in response to chronic nicotine

Regulation of Coronary Blood Flow

The heart is uniquely responsible for providing its own blood supply through the coronary circulation. Regulation of coronary blood flow is quite complex and, after over 100 years of dedicated research, is understood to be dictated through multiple mechanisms that include extravascular compressive forces (tissue pressure), coronary perfusion pressure, myogenic, local metabolic, endothelial as well as neural and hormonal influences. While each of these determinants can have profound influence over myocardial perfusion, largely through effects on end-effector ion channels, these mechanisms collectively modulate coronary vascular resistance and act to ensure that the myocardial requirements for oxygen and substrates are adequately provided by the coronary circulation. The purpose of this series of Comprehensive Physiology is to highlight current knowledge regarding the physiologic regulation of coronary blood flow, with emphasis on functional anatomy and the interplay between the physical and biological determinants of myocardial oxygen delivery. © 2017 American Physiological Society. Compr Physiol 7:321-382, 2017

Expanding the diversity of mycobacteriophages: insights into genome architecture and evolution.

Mycobacteriophages are viruses that infect mycobacterial hosts such as Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. All mycobacteriophages characterized to date are dsDNA tailed phages, and have either siphoviral or myoviral morphotypes. However, their genetic diversity is considerable, and although sixty-two genomes have been sequenced and comparatively analyzed, these likely represent only a small portion of the diversity of the mycobacteriophage population at large. Here we report the isolation, sequencing and comparative genomic analysis of 18 new mycobacteriophages isolated from geographically distinct locations within the United States. Although no clear correlation between location and genome type can be discerned, these genomes expand our knowledge of mycobacteriophage diversity and enhance our understanding of the roles of mobile elements in viral evolution. Expansion of the number of mycobacteriophages grouped within Cluster A provides insights into the basis of immune specificity in these temperate phages, and we also describe a novel example of apparent immunity theft. The isolation and genomic analysis of bacteriophages by freshman college students provides an example of an authentic research experience for novice scientists

The Science Performance of JWST as Characterized in Commissioning

This paper characterizes the actual science performance of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), as determined from the six month commissioning period. We summarize the performance of the spacecraft, telescope, science instruments, and ground system, with an emphasis on differences from pre-launch expectations. Commissioning has made clear that JWST is fully capable of achieving the discoveries for which it was built. Moreover, almost across the board, the science performance of JWST is better than expected; in most cases, JWST will go deeper faster than expected. The telescope and instrument suite have demonstrated the sensitivity, stability, image quality, and spectral range that are necessary to transform our understanding of the cosmos through observations spanning from near-earth asteroids to the most distant galaxies.Comment: 5th version as accepted to PASP; 31 pages, 18 figures; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1538-3873/acb29

Recent updates on the Maser Monitoring Organisation

The Maser Monitoring Organisation (M2O) is a research community of telescope operators, astronomy researchers and maser theoreticians pursuing a joint goal of reaching a deeper understanding of maser emission and exploring its variety of uses as tracers of astrophysical events. These proceedings detail the origin, motivations and current status of the M2O, as was introduced at the 2021 EVN symposium

Pseudosarcoma – massive localized lymphoedema in morbidly obese – a rare entity: Case report

AbstractINTRODUCTIONMassive localized lymphoedema (MLL) first described in 1998 by Farshid and Weiss. Usually MLL present like huge pedunculated mass and appear like sarcoma hence called Pseudosarcoma. Morbid obesity is a growing epidemic in our society. Morbid obesity is usually associated with hypertension, Diabetes mellitus, dermatological complications like Acanthosis nigricans, skin tags, leg ulcers, edema, lymphoedema, plantar hyperkeratosis and massive localized lymphoedema (MLL) is one of the complications of morbid obesity.Pseudosarcoma is due to derangement of lymphatic channels secondary to excessive deposition of adipose tissue.PRESENTATION OF CASEWe report a patient afflicted with this unique disorder presented with huge mass arising from monspubis in morbidly obese individual with body mass index (BMI) 55.DISCUSSIONMassive localized lymphedema presenting like pseudosarcoma in morbidly obese individuals is rare. Awareness of this disease is essential to avoid misdiagnosis as soft tissue neoplasm. It is a term used to describe a benign over growth of lymhoproliferative tissue in morbidly obese patients. Because of its size patients have difficult to do daily activities. Histopathologically characterized by dilated lymphatic channels with fibrotic and edematous tissue, without evidence of malignancy. Patient seeks treatment only if there is huge swelling causing discomfort, complications like excoriation, wound break down occur. The treatment of choice is complete excision.CONCLUSIONSurgical treatment is effective if done along with bariatric surgery. Functional rehabilitation was achieved. No recurrence was observed within the follow up period of twenty months and BMI was reduced to 28

Constructing Crime in a Database: Big Data and the Mangle of Social Problems Work

This paper argues for programmatic change within social constructionist approaches to social problems by attending to materiality in the theoretical conception of social context. To illustrate how this might be done, we place the interplay between social problems construction and technology (what we refer to as the mangle of social problems work) at its center by examining how the advent of “big data” is impacting the construction of social problems. Using the growing field of intelligence-led policing (ILP) as our illustrative example, we will examine four effects the large scale collection and analysis of data has on the way social problems claims are made. We begin by arguing that big data offers a new method by which putative problems are discovered and legitimized. We then explore how large data sets and algorithmic data analysis are increasingly used for predicting future problems. Following this, we illustrate how big data is used to construct and implement solutions to future problems. Lastly, we use the interplay between big data and those who use it to illustrate “the mangle of social problems work,” where data is made meaningful and actionable through the interpretive and analytic processes of analysts and police officers