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Involuntary psychiatric treatment may parallel ethnoracial inequities present in the larger society. Prior studies have focused on restraint and seclusion, but less attention has been paid to the civil commitment system because of its diversity across jurisdictions. Using a generalizable framework, this study investigated inequities in psychiatric commitment.A prospective cohort was assembled of all patients admitted to an inpatient psychiatric unit over 6 years (2012-2018). Patients were followed longitudinally throughout their admission; raters recorded legal status each day. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected to adjust for confounding variables by using multivariate logistic regression.Of the 4,393 patients with an initial admission during the study period, 73% self-identified as White, 11% as Black, 10% as primarily Hispanic or Latinx, 4% as Asian, and 3% as another race or multiracial. In the sample, 28% were involuntarily admitted, and court commitment petitions were filed for 7%. Compared with White patients, all non-White groups were more likely to be involuntarily admitted, and Black and Asian patients were more likely to have court commitment petitions filed. After adjustment for confounding variables, Black patients remained more likely than White patients to be admitted involuntarily (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]=1.57, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.26-1.95), as were patients who identified as other race or multiracial (aOR=2.12, 95% CI=1.44-3.11).Patients of color were significantly more likely than White patients to be subjected to involuntary psychiatric hospitalization, and Black patients and patients who identified as other race or multiracial were particularly vulnerable, even after adjustment for confounding variables.

Patients suffering from borderline personality disorder (BPD) are at elevated risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs), but this well-described and clinically important association is not well-understood. Prior research suggests that STBs often function as an attempt to escape aversive affect, and that people with BPD experience stronger emotion reactivity and greater discomfort with emotion than those without BPD. Here, we tested whether negative affective states are more likely to predict suicidal thoughts among those with BPD than those without this disorder. Data on affective states and suicidal thoughts were collected several times per day from 35 psychiatric inpatients using their smartphones to capture real-time associations between negative affect and suicidal thoughts. Results revealed that the association between negative affective states (e.g., abandonment, desperation, guilt, hopelessness, loneliness, rage, self-hatred, and upset), and severity of suicidal thinking was stronger among those with BPD than among those without BPD. This finding has implications for risk assessment and intervention in the clinical setting: for a given degree of reported negative affect, patients with BPD experience more suicidal ideation than those without. Further research needs to be done to elucidate the mechanism of this effect.

Variations in streamflow at falls and cascades can create transitory barriers to upstream passage of adult anadromous salmonids. In this study, we evaluated the ability of six anadromous salmonids (coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch, pink salmon O. gorbuscha, chum salmon O. keta, sockeye salmon O. nerka, Chinook salmon O. tshawytscha, and steelhead O. mykiss) to pass five sets of falls or cascades within Ward Creek, Alaska, a stream regulated by Connell Dam. The study focused on determining suitable instream flow releases to afford passage. Each set of falls was surveyed under three flow conditions (about 0.91, 1.34, and 3.0 m3/s), and access portals were identified. Using computed stage—discharge relationships and published swimming and jumping criteria, we evaluated the falls barrier potential over a range (0.23–11.33 m3/s) of flows. Analysis indicated pink salmon and chum salmon would be relegated to the area below the lower two falls. Flows affording passage over all five falls for the other sp...

Floodwater is often extracted for consumptive purposes from western mountain streams in the United States. The long-term extraction of floodwater may alter the morphological and ecological balance of such streams. Scale model experiments based on eight mountain gravel-bed streams in Idaho were conducted to test the effects of floodwater extraction on stream morphology. The model channel transported a poorly sorted mix of model "gravel," as well as copious amounts of model "sand." The channel had a discontinuous floodplain, developed its own bar morphology, and contained large model colluvium as well as a bedrock platform. A mobile-bed equilibrium was first developed using a repeated hydrograph. The experiment was then repeated using a sliding cutoff discharge. The discharges in the hydrograph that were below a given cutoff discharge were reduced to 30% of bankfull discharge. By raising the cutoff discharge, it was possible to study the effect of increasing severity of floodwater extraction on stream morphology. The experiments indicated an increase in sand content on the bed surface and a decrease in the standard deviation of fluctuations in bed elevation with increasing severity of floodwater extraction.

A study was conducted to develop flushing flow recommendations for maintaining the quantity of salmonid spawning gravels in the North Fork of the Feather River, a regulated stream in California, U.S.A. This required the development of a technique which would prescribe flows to remove sediments from the gravels without removing the gravels themselves, which are in finite supply in the river. Field studies involved the use of a ‘two-point-are’ procedure which allowed depth, velocity, and substrate measurements to be concentrated over spawning gravels at each site. Measurements were repeated at each site at three different flows ranging from 1.7 to 11.3 m3 s−1. The local velocity and depth measurements were used to evaluate hydraulic conditions within areas containing spawning gravels. Four flow levels were derived which would provide varying degrees of sediment transport and flushing; (1) surficial flushing of gravels; (2) mobilization of gravels; (3) surficial flushing of cobbles; and (4) mobilization of cobbles. Results of the study indicated a flushing flow of 56.6 m3 s−1 occurring as a planned release or natural flow for from 1–3 days would be sufficient to transport sediment from spawning gravels. This flow was intermediate to levels which maximize surficial gravel flushing and levels which maximize surficial cobble flushing.