Effect of Inactivation of Mst1 and Mst2 in the Mouse Adrenal Cortex.

Recent conditional knockout of core components of the Hippo signaling pathway in the adrenal gland of mice has demonstrated that this pathway must be tightly regulated to ensure proper development and maintenance of the adrenal cortex. We report herein that the most upstream kinases of the pathway, the mammalian STE20-like protein kinases 1 and 2 (MST1and MST2, respectively), are expressed in the mouse adrenal cortex with MST2 expression being restricted to the zona glomerulosa (zG). To further explore the role of Hippo signaling in adrenocortical cells, we conditionally deleted Mst1/2 in steroidogenic cells using an Nr5a1-cre strain (Mst1 flox/flox ; Mst2 flox/flox ; Nr5a1-cre). Our results show that the loss of MST1/2 leads to the premature and progressive accumulation of subcapsular GATA4+, WT1+ adrenal gonadal primordium (AGP)-like progenitor cells starting at 2 months of age without affecting aldosterone and corticosterone secretion. To help us understand this phenotype, microarray analyses were performed on adrenal glands from 2-month-old mutant and control mice. Gene expression analyses revealed that loss of Mst1/2 leads to the overexpression of known downstream target genes (Ajuba, Aqp1, Fn1, Ibsp, Igf1, Igfbp2, Mmp2, Thbs1) of the main effector of Hippo signaling, YAP; and underexpression of genes (Agtr1b, Ecgr4, Hsd3b6, Nr0b1, Tesc, Vsnl1) that are normally specifically expressed in the zG or overexpressed in the zG compared to the zona fasciculata (zF). Together, these results suggest that MST1/2 regulates Hippo signaling activity in the adrenal cortex and that these two kinases are also involved in the fine tuning of zG cell function or differentiation.

Diverting people who use drugs from the criminal justice system: A systematic review of police-based diversion measures.

BACKGROUND: Previous reviews of the effectiveness of measures to divert those who use drugs from the criminal justice system have focused mainly on post-conviction or post-sentence programs and report mixed results. The present systematic review synthesizes evidence on the effectiveness of police-based diversion measures in reducing criminal offenses and other harms related to drug use and then summarizes evidence from qualitative studies to identify facilitators and barriers associated with the implementation of such measures. METHODS: Eight databases were searched to find evaluations of police-based diversion measures for drug-related offenders. Twenty-seven studies were identified. The vote-count method and the Maryland Scientific Method Scale were used to assess the impact of police-based diversion measures. Themes related to barriers or conditions facilitating the implementation of these measures were extracted from qualitative studies. RESULTS: Evidence from quantitative studies indicates that in general police-based diversion measures are effective in preventing criminal offending and show promising results for improving participants' health and diminishing social costs as well as costs associated with processing drug-related offenses. There was insufficient evidence to draw conclusions about the effect of police-based diversion measures on drug use, drug accessibility, or changes in participants' socioeconomic conditions. Findings from qualitative studies suggest that program acceptance by police officers, constructive intersectoral collaboration, clear eligibility criteria, and timely access to services seem to facilitate the implementation and delivery of police-based diversion measures. CONCLUSION: Police-based diversion measures can be effective in preventing drug-related criminal offenses and harm. Additional research is needed to evaluate their effect on participants' socioeconomic conditions and drug use as well as drug accessibility.

Improving police responses to suicide-related emergencies: New evidence on the effectiveness of co-response police-mental health programs.

BACKGROUND: Several police organizations have implemented training programs and co-response police-mental health programs to improve interventions among people in crisis. Some researchers have questioned the "one size fits all" approach of these programs and their ability to improve the management of specific psychosocial emergencies such as suicide-related behaviors. OBJECTIVES: This study evaluates the effect of a co-response police-mental health program introduced by the Laval Police Department to improve interventions in suicide-related calls. METHODS: Propensity score matching techniques were used to match 130 observations of a control group with 251 observations of a treatment group. Average treatment effects (ATEs) were then computed. RESULTS: Results indicate that the co-response program was associated with significant decreases in police use of force (ATE = -0.077; p ≤ 0.05) and transports to hospital (ATE = -0.773; p ≤ .01). Increases were observed in referrals to community resources (ATE = 0.285; p ≤ 0.01), and individuals managed through their social network (ATE = 0.530; p ≤ 0.01). CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that co-response police-mental health programs can improve the management of people showing suicide-related behaviors.

Graduated driver licensing and differential deterrence: The effect of license type on intentions to violate road rules.

In keeping with the differential deterrence theory, this article assesses the moderating effect of license type on the relationship between social control and intention to violate road rules. More precisely, the article has two objectives: (1) to assess the effect of license type on intentions to infringe road rules; and (2) to pinpoint mechanisms of social control affecting intentions to violate road rules based on one's type of driver license (a restricted license or a full license). This effect is examined among a sample of 392 young drivers in the province of Quebec, Canada. Drivers taking part in the Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) program have limited demerit points and there is zero tolerance for drinking-and-driving. Propensity score matching techniques were used to assess the effect of the license type on intentions to violate road rules and on various mechanisms of social control. Regression analyses were then conducted to estimate the moderating effect of license type. Average treatment effects from propensity score matching analyses indicate that respondents with a restricted license have lower levels of intention to infringe road rules. While moral commitment and, to a lesser extent, the perceived risk of arrest are both negatively associated with intentions to violate road rules, the license type moderates the relationship between delinquent peers and intentions to violate road rules. The effect of delinquent peers is reduced among respondents with a restricted driver license. Finally, a diminished capability to resist peer pressure could explain the increased crash risk in months following full licensing.

Isomorphous crystal structures of chlorodi-acetyl-ene and iododi-acetyl-ene derivatives: simultaneous hydrogen and halogen bonds on carbon-yl.

The crystal structures of tert-butyl (5-chloro-penta-2,4-diyn-1-yl)carbamate, C10H12ClNO2 (II), and tert-butyl (5-iodo-penta-2,4-diyn-1-yl)carbamate, C10H12INO2 (IV), are isomorphous to previously reported structures and accordingly their mol-ecular and supra-molecular structures are similar. In the crystals of (II) and (IV), mol-ecules are linked into very similar two-dimensional wall organizations with anti-parallel carbamate groups involved in a combination of hydrogen and halogen bonds (bifurcated N-H⋯O=C and C≡C-X⋯O=C inter-actions on the same carbonyl group). There is no long-range parallel stacking of diynes, so the topochemical polymerization of di-acetyl-ene is prevented. A Cambridge Structural Database search revealed that C≡C-X⋯O=C contacts shorter than the sum of the van der Waals radii are scarce (only one structure for the C≡C-Cl⋯O=C inter-action and 13 structures for the similar C≡C-I⋯O=C inter-action).

Improving the safety effect of speed camera programs through innovations: Evidence from the French experience.

PROBLEM: This study investigates the effect of the French Automated Speed Enforcement Program (ASEP) on casualties involving different types of road users. METHOD: Interrupted time-series analyses were conducted to estimate the effect of the ASEP. RESULTS: Overall, the ASEP was associated with a decrease of 19.7% in traffic fatalities and crashes with injuries. Significant diminutions were observed for passenger vehicles/light SUVs (−25.4%), motorcyclists (−39.0%), and trucks (−15.7%). Adding red light cameras and devices taking pictures of both ends of the vehicle produced, in some cases, additional gains among specific categories of road users. CONCLUSION: Traffic fatalities, crashes with injuries and the severity of crashes significantly declined following the introduction of the ASEP in November 2003. Practical applications: ASEPs are an effective strategy to prevent traffic casualties. Innovations such as red light cameras and devices taking pictures of both ends of the vehicle can improve an ASEP.

Effects of introducing an administrative .05% blood alcohol concentration limit on law enforcement patterns and alcohol-related collisions in Canada.

Except for Quebec, all Canadian provinces have introduced administrative laws to lower the permitted blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to .05% or .04% for driving-or having the care of-a motor vehicle. Using linear mixed effects models for longitudinal data, this study evaluates the effect of administrative BAC laws on fatal alcohol related crashes and law enforcement patterns in Canada from 1987 to 2010. Results reveal a significant decrease of 3.7% (95% C.I.: 0.9-6.5%) in fatally injured drivers with a BAC level equal or greater than .05% following the introduction of these laws. Reductions were also observed for fatally injured drivers with BAC levels greater that .08% and .15%. The introduction of administrative BAC laws led neither to significant changes in the rate of driving while impaired (DWI) incidents reported by police officers nor in the probability of being charged for DWI under the Criminal Code.

An assessment of the safety effects of the French speed camera program.

This article presents the results of an evaluation of the speed camera program implemented in France in November 2003. The effects of this program on traffic casualties were estimated using interrupted time-series analyses. Various parametizations were attempted in order to capture changes in the constant and the slope of our traffic injury series. Results of the study reveal significant decreases in both fatal and non-fatal traffic injuries on the whole road network following deployment of the speed camera program. The fatality rate per 100,000 vehicles fell by 21% whereas the decrease in non-fatal traffic injuries displayed a decay function: a 26.2% reduction was recorded in the first month but dropped to 0.8% for the last observation of the series.

[The impact of opening a heroin-assisted treatment clinic on the surrounding neighborhood]. / Effet de l'implantation d'une clinique de prescription médicale d'héroïne sur l'environnement communautaire.

OBJECTIVES: Heroin-assisted treatment clinics are currently the focus of a social debate. In spite of the clinics' effectiveness in reducing illicit opiate use, some decision-makers refuse to set them up because of their possible negative impact. These clinics could attract new drug users into the neighbourhood which could lead to an accumulation of injection debris and to a decrease in the sense of security in the community. This study assesses the impact on some elements observed in the surrounding community following the opening of the Montreal heroin-assisted treatment clinic. METHODS: Ethnographical walks were taken in order to collect data on the amount of injection debris, street debris and deviant activities. Data were then aggregated on a daily basis and our interrupted time series were analyzed using the segmented regression methodology. RESULTS: Results show that the opening of the clinic was followed by a significant drop in the amount of injection and street debris. This reduction appears proportional to the number of clinic participants. CONCLUSION: The Montreal heroin-assisted treatment clinic did not produce any negative impact on the surrounding community. In fact, implementation of this kind of clinic was followed by a positive effect on the neighbourhood. In addition to the ethnographical walks, further studies should include surveys in order to estimate the impact of heroin-assisted treatment clinics on residents' sense of security. Even if there appears to be a positive impact, it is possible that the mere presence of these clinics negatively affects community members' sense of security.

[Evaluation of a police strategy for road safety in Quebec: the strategy of the Quebec Association of Police Chiefs]. / Evaluation d'une stratégie policière de sécurité routière au Québec: la stratégie de l'Association des directeurs de police du Québec.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the effect on collisions of a police traffic safety strategy carried out between January and December 2007, in the province of Quebec, Canada. CONTEXT: This strategy was implemented by several key players (Société de I'Assurance Automobile du Québec, Sûreté du Québec, Montreal Police Department and 34 other municipal police organizations) and targeted the leading causes of traffic casualties such as drinking and driving, speeding and not wearing a seat belt. The strategy has two main components: 1) joint law enforcement operations in which all the police organizations take part, and 2) police organizations targeting local traffic safety problems. Media campaigns supported all operations. INTERVENTION: Over the intervention period, traffic citations issued for speed limit violations, not fastening the seat belt and running the red light or a stop sign increased from 2006 rates by 27, 33 and 8%, respectively. The Société de I'Assurance Automobile du Québec spent more than $5 million in mass media campaigns. RESULTS: According to our results, the strategy was associated with decreases varying between 14 and 36% in collisions with serious injuries. In spite of evidence of downward trends for the period under investigation, neither fatal nor minor injury collisions were significantly affected by introduction of the strategy. CONCLUSION: Police programs characterized by a substantial increase in the distribution of traffic citations and supported by mass media campaigns represent an effective strategy to prevent traffic casualties.

The effect on collisions with injuries of a reduction in traffic citations issued by police officers.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect on collisions with injuries of a 61% reduction in the number of traffic citations issued by police officers over a 21-month period. METHODS: Using descriptive analyses as well as ARIMA intervention time-series analyses, this study estimated the impact of this reduction in citations issued for traffic violations on the monthly number of collisions with injuries. RESULTS: Simple descriptive analysis reveals that the 61% reduction in the number of citations issued for traffic violations during the experimental period coincided with an increase in collisions with injuries. Results from the interrupted time-series analyses reveal that, on average, eight additional collisions with injuries occurred every month during which the number of tickets issued for traffic violations was lower than normal. As this pressure tactic was applied for 21 months, it is estimated that this situation was associated with approximately 184 additional collisions with injuries: equivalent to 239 traffic injuries (either deaths, minor or serious injuries). CONCLUSION: In the province of Quebec, police officers are an important component of road safety policy. Issuing citations prevents drivers from adopting reckless driving habits such as speeding, running red lights and failing to fasten their seat belt.