Managing Prisons Through Extended Solitary Confinement: A Necessary Approach or a Signal of Prison System Failure?

In contemporary American corrections, extended solitary confinement (ESM) as a management tool has emerged as a strategy for avowedly controlling the most violent individuals and, in so doing, creating a safer prison system. We theorize that the emergence of this unique form of housing may also be viewed as a signal of prison system failure. To advance this argument, we identify how different theoretical perspectives can be used to anticipate the effects of ESM on prison system violence and order and then investigate the plausibility of this account by grounding it in analysis of qualitative data from a study of one state's prison system.

Cannabinoid CB receptors mediate the anxiolytic-like effects of monoacylglycerol lipase inhibition in a rat model of predator-induced fear.

The endocannabinoid system is a key regulator of the response to psychological stress. Inhibitors of monoacylglycerol lipase (MGL), the enzyme that deactivates the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoyl-sn-glycerol (2-AG), exert anxiolytic-like effects in rodent models via 2-AG-dependent activation of CB cannabinoid receptors. In the present study, we examined whether the MGL inhibitor JZL184 might modulate persistent predator-induced fear in rats, a model that captures features of human post-traumatic stress disorder.

A Multimedia Educational Module for Teaching Early Medical Neuroanatomy.

Introduction: As the global burden of neurological disorders continues to rise, physicians' need for a solid understanding of neuroanatomy is becoming more important. Traditional neuroanatomy curricula offer a limited approach to educating a diverse profile of learning styles. In an attempt to incorporate recent literature addressing diverse learning formats, we developed and evaluated two new image-based resources for the neuroscience curriculum.

Early identification of struggling learners: using prematriculation and early academic performance data.

Introduction: A perennial difficultly for remediation programmes in medical school is early identification of struggling learners so that resources and assistance can be applied as quickly as is practical. Our study investigated if early academic performance has predictive validity above and beyond pre-matriculation variables.

Methods: Using three cohorts of medical students, we used logistic regression modelling and negative binomial regression modelling to assess the strength of the relationships between measures of early academic performance and outcomes-later referral to the academic review and performance committee and total module score.

A Multimedia Dissection Module for Scalp, Meninges, and Dural Partitions.

Introduction: For students beginning their medical education, the neuroscience curriculum is frequently seen as the most difficult, and many express an aversion to the topic. A major reason for this aversion amongst learners is the perceived complexity of neuroanatomy. By means of a video tutorial, this module aims to help students feel confident with the cadaveric dissection and identification of key anatomical structures as well as improve comprehension of associated clinical correlations presented for the scalp, meninges, and dural partitions.

Effects of fatty acid amide hydrolase inhibitor URB597 in a rat model of trauma-induced long-term anxiety.

Rationale: The endocannabinoid neurotransmitter, anandamide, has been implicated in the central modulation of stress responses. Previous animal experiments have shown that inhibitors of the anandamide-degrading enzyme, fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), enhance the ability to cope with acute and chronic stress.

Objectives: Here, we investigated the effects of the globally active FAAH inhibitor URB597 in a rat model of predator stress-induced long-term anxiety.

Forcible Rape and Adolescent Friendship Networks.

Studies have found that sexual victimization can adversely affect an adolescent's psychological well-being, physical health, and behavior. Little is known, however, about how friendships are influenced by such victimization. Drawing on research on sexual violence and the salience of peers among adolescents, the current study extends prior work by examining the effects of forcible rape on adolescent social networks.

Social Exclusion and Parental Incarceration Impacts on Adolescents' Networks and School Engagement.

Although prior research links parental incarceration to deleterious outcomes for children over the life-course, few studies have examined whether such incarceration affects the social exclusion of children during adolescence. Drawing on several lines of scholarship, we examine whether adolescents with incarcerated parents have fewer or lower quality relationships, participate in more antisocial peer networks, and feel less integrated or engaged in school. The study applies propensity score matching to survey and network data from a national sample of youth.

Network science and the human brain: Using graph theory to understand the brain and one of its hubs, the amygdala, in health and disease.

Over the past 15 years, the emerging field of network science has revealed the key features of brain networks, which include small-world topology, the presence of highly connected hubs, and hierarchical modularity. The value of network studies of the brain is underscored by the range of network alterations that have been identified in neurological and psychiatric disorders, including epilepsy, depression, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and many others. Here we briefly summarize the concepts of graph theory that are used to quantify network properties and describe common experimental approaches for analysis of brain networks of structural and functional connectivity.

Glucose-Dependent Insulin Secretion in Pancreatic β-Cell Islets from Male Rats Requires Ca2+ Release via ROS-Stimulated Ryanodine Receptors.

Glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) from pancreatic β-cells requires an increase in intracellular free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]). Glucose uptake into β-cells promotes Ca2+ influx and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. In other cell types, Ca2+ and ROS jointly induce Ca2+ release mediated by ryanodine receptor (RyR) channels.

THE CODE OF THE STREET AND INMATE VIOLENCE: INVESTIGATING THE SALIENCE OF IMPORTED BELIEF SYSTEMS.

Scholars have long argued that inmate behaviors stem in part from cultural belief systems that they "import" with them into incarcerative settings. Even so, few empirical assessments have tested this argument directly. Drawing on theoretical accounts of one such set of beliefs-the code of the street-and on importation theory, we hypothesize that individuals who adhere more strongly to the street code will be more likely, once incarcerated, to engage in violent behavior and that this effect will be amplified by such incarceration experiences as disciplinary sanctions and gang involvement, as well as the lack of educational programming, religious programming, and family support.

Advanced solid tumors treated with cediranib: comparison of dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging and CT as markers of vascular activity.

Purpose: To assess baseline reproducibility and compare performance of dynamic contrast material-enhanced (DCE) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging versus DCE computed tomographic (CT) measures of early vascular response in the same patients treated with cediranib (30 or 45 mg daily).

Materials And Methods: After institutional review board approval, written informed consent was obtained from 29 patients with advanced solid tumors who had lesions 3 cm or larger and in whom simultaneous imaging of an adjacent artery was possible. Two baseline DCE MR acquisitions and two baseline DCE CT acquisitions 7 days or fewer apart (within 14 days of starting treatment) and two posttreatment acquisitions with each modality at day 7 and 28 (±3 days) were obtained.

The Anx7(+/-) knockout mutation alters electrical and secretory responses to Ca(2+)-mobilizing agents in pancreatic β-cells.

Insulin secretion from the pancreatic β-cell is controlled by changes in membrane potential and intracellular Ca(2+). The contribution of intracellular Ca(2+) stores to this process is poorly understood. We have previously shown that β-cells of mice lacking one copy of the Annexin 7 gene (Anx7(+/-)) express reduced levels of IP(3) receptors and defects in IP(3)-dependent Ca(2+) signaling.

Investigating the relationship between virtual cystoscopy image quality and CT slice thickness.

Objective: To investigate the effect of reconstruction slice thickness on image quality at CT virtual cystoscopy (VC).

Methods: Pelvic CT examinations in bladder cancer patients were reconstructed at different slice thicknesses (0.6-5 mm) and intervals, and resulting VC images assessed.

In vitro profiling of epigenetic modifications underlying heavy metal toxicity of tungsten-alloy and its components.

Tungsten-alloy has carcinogenic potential as demonstrated by cancer development in rats with intramuscular implanted tungsten-alloy pellets. This suggests a potential involvement of epigenetic events previously implicated as environmental triggers of cancer. Here, we tested metal induced cytotoxicity and epigenetic modifications including H3 acetylation, H3-Ser10 phosphorylation and H3-K4 trimethylation.

An inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate (IP3)-IP3 receptor pathway is required for insulin-stimulated glucose transporter 4 translocation and glucose uptake in cardiomyocytes.

Intracellular calcium levels ([Ca2+]i) and glucose uptake are central to cardiomyocyte physiology, yet connections between them have not been studied. We investigated whether insulin regulates [Ca2+]i in cultured cardiomyocytes, the participating mechanisms, and their influence on glucose uptake via SLC2 family of facilitative glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4). Primary neonatal rat cardiomyocytes were preloaded with the Ca2+ fluorescent dye fluo3-acetoxymethyl ester compound (AM) and visualized by confocal microscopy.

Isolation of viable porcine islets by selective osmotic shock without enzymatic digestion.

Islet transplantation is a potential cure for type 1 diabetes, but clinical results have been disappointing. Currently, islet isolation is by enzymatic digestion of the pancreas which has significant pitfalls: warm ischemia exposure, collagenase-induced damage to the islet mass and viability, poor reproducibility, high cost, a relatively low number of islets obtained per whole pancreas, and selection of islets for collagenase resistance rather than for glucose responsiveness. In the present study we performed a series of experiments in a porcine model to demonstrate the feasibility of a new isolation method based on selective osmotic shock (SOS) using very high glucose solutions, doubling or tripling physiological osmotic strength.

THA with a minimally invasive technique, multi-modal anesthesia, and home rehabilitation: factors associated with early discharge?

Unlabelled: Multimodal anesthetic and pain regimens with minimally invasive surgical approaches and rapid rehabilitation protocols are thought to decrease length of stay after hip replacement. We asked whether a program including these three elements could achieve 23-hour discharge in a group of 665 patients and whether the length of hospital stay was influenced by patient age, gender, body mass index, change in hemoglobin or estimated blood loss, duration of surgery (< or = 90 or > 90 minutes), or American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status classification. Of the 665 patients, 259 (38.