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Abstract Most large carnivore populations are declining due to anthropogenic activities including direct persecution, prey depletion, habitat loss and degradation. protected areas (PAs) can help maintain viable large carnivore populations; however, anthropogenic activities occurring near and within PA borders or edges can reduce their effectiveness. We investigated the influence of edge effects on abundance of lions (Panthera leo) and spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) in Maswa Game Reserve (MGR), a part of the Serengeti ecosystem in northern Tanzania. We conducted repeated call-ins to attract and enumerate lions and hyenas at 20 stations in MGR during June–July 2017. We used N-mixture models to estimate hyena and lion abundance in relation to land cover and distance from the south-western MGR borders which are adjacent to villages. We found lowest lion and hyena abundances by the south-western border, with abundance of both species increasing toward the eastern border adjacent to Serengeti National Park. Lions were uniformly distributed among land covers whereas hyenas were more abundant in woodlands. We suggest that reduced lion and hyena abundance near human settlements was in response to depleted prey, due to human actions. We recommend ecologically compatible land uses and effective border patrols to mitigate these adverse effects.

Synucleins consist of three proteins exclusively expressed in vertebrates. α-Synuclein (αS) has been identified as the main proteinaceous aggregate in Lewy bodies, a pathological hallmark of many neurodegenerative diseases. Less is understood about β-synuclein (βS) and γ-synuclein (γS), although it is known βS can interact with αS in vivo to inhibit aggregation. Likewise, both γS and βS can inhibit αS’s propensity to aggregate in vitro. In the central nervous system, βS and αS, and to a lesser extent γS, are highly expressed in the neural presynaptic terminal, although they are not strictly located there, and emerging data have shown a more complex expression profile. Synapse loss and astrocyte atrophy are early aspects of degenerative diseases of the brain and correlate with disease progression. Synucleins appear to be involved in synaptic transmission, and astrocytes coordinate and organize synaptic function, with excess αS degraded by astrocytes and microglia adjacent to the synapse. βS and γS have also been observed in the astrocyte and may provide beneficial roles. The astrocytic responsibility for degradation of αS as well as emerging evidence on possible astrocytic functions of βS and γS, warrant closer inspection on astrocyte–synuclein interactions at the synapse.

This study explores the existence and documentation of varsity football player concussions and sport-related traumatic brain injuries at dozens of Florida high schools. The paper explores the legal creation and deference due the Florida High School Athletic Association as a regulatory body for Florida’s student-athletes, the lived experiences of sport-related brain injuries and whether the maintenance and publication of these concussive records implicates student-athletes’ privacy rights. For nearly two years, the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information at the University of Arizona pursued physical copies of redacted concussive documentation at dozens of Florida high schools and verified numerical accounts of how many varsity football players had been concussed in connection with play during the 2017-2018 school year.

We examine and compare the relationship between minimum wage increases and youth homicide rates in three groups: all youth, White youth only, and Black youth only. Using 2001-2019 mortality data from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) for all 50 states and Washington DC, we apply a difference in differences (DD) design to compare the change in youth homicides across states with varying changes in the state-specific minimum wage. With the inclusion of state-specific linear time trends, we find that a $1 increase in minimum wage leads to a significant 4% reduction (RR = 0.96, 95%CI [0.92, 0.99]) in homicides among White youth, but no significant reduction among Black youth (RR = 0.98, 95%CI [0.91, 1.04]). Findings are consistent with research on marginalization-related diminished returns for Black youth. While minimum wage increases are a promising step to reduce youth homicides overall, reducing homicide disparities experienced by Black youth requires additional components. Future research should examine policies with the specific intention to dismantle structural racism.

More than 60% of the world's large carnivore species are threatened with extinction. Enumerating species abundance is critical for assessing their conservation status in response to anthropogenic threats and environmental stochasticity. Track surveys are commonly used to estimate abundance and density of large carnivore species, including lions (Panthera leo), but their suitability for estimating species abundance has been challenged. Recently developed regression models for track surveys of African large carnivores offer improvements over previous density estimators but have not been independently validated. We conducted weekly track surveys for lions in southeastern Serengeti National Park during 2015–2016 and applied one of these recent regression models, comparing corresponding lion densities to an independent density estimate in 2015 derived from a repeated call-in survey conducted during the same season. We surveyed 3289 km for tracks in total with overall lion densities of 41.2 (95% confidence limits [CL] = 31.9–57.9)/100 km2 in 2015 and 34.6 (26.8–46.0)/100 km2 in 2016. Within year point estimates of lion density varied up to 56% among weeks, though 95% CLs overlapped. Overall annual CLs from the track survey in 2015 did not overlap with the 95% credible interval from the estimate of lion density using a repeated call-in survey (14.36 lions/100 km2; 95% CrI = 9.04–29.31), suggesting overestimation of lion densities using track surveys in 2015. High between-year and among-week variation in density estimates from track surveys suggests that lion use of roads for movement varied over time and that other factors (e.g., prey distribution, luminosity) influenced lion movements independent of road distributions. We recommend caution when applying current track survey methods for estimating lion density and support application of survey designs that include direct observation of lions (e.g., call-in surveys), account for imperfect detection in a spatially-explicit framework, and incorporate environmental variables (e.g., prey, land cover) that can influence lion space use and movements.

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to examine associations between homelessness and length of psychiatric hospitalization and to explore the role of mental health conservatorship in determining discharge location for patients who are homeless and have a grave disability from serious mental illness.MethodsThis observational study used administrative data from a safety-net psychiatric hospital in Los Angeles. The sample included 795 adults (≥18 years) who were hospitalized on an involuntary psychiatric hold between 2016 and 2018. The outcome variables were length of stay (days) and discharge location (home, locked psychiatric facility, unlocked psychiatric facility, unhoused). The predictor variables were homelessness status and whether a mental health conservatorship was initiated during hospitalization. Multiple regression models were used to estimate associations between variables.ResultsHomelessness status was associated with 27.5 additional days (SE=3.5 days) of hospitalization in adjusted models. Homeless patients for whom conservatorship was initiated comprised 6% of the sample but 41% of total inpatient days. Among people who were homeless, initiation of a conservatorship was associated with significantly longer length of inpatient stay (mean=154.8 days versus 25.6 days for the whole sample) but also with lower odds of being unhoused at the time of discharge (risk ratio=0.19, 95% confidence interval=0.09-0.34).ConclusionsA mental health conservatorship can be a mechanism for helping homeless people with a grave disability from mental illness to transition from the streets to residential psychiatric treatment, but it requires substantial resources from facilities that initiate such conservatorships and does not guarantee resolution of long-term supportive housing needs.

We examine and compare the relationship between minimum wage increases and youth homicide rates in three groups: all youth, White youth only, and Black youth only. Using 2001–2019 mortality data from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) for all 50 states and Washington DC, we apply a difference in differences (DD) design to compare the change in youth homicides across states with varying changes in the state-specific minimum wage. With the inclusion of state-specific linear time trends, we find that a $1 increase in minimum wage leads to a significant 4% reduction (RR = 0.96, 95%CI [0.92, 0.99]) in homicides among White youth, but no significant reduction among Black youth (RR = 0.98, 95%CI [0.91, 1.04]). Findings are consistent with research on marginalization-related diminished returns for Black youth. While minimum wage increases are a promising step to reduce youth homicides overall, reducing homicide disparities experienced by Black youth requires additional components. Future research should examine policies with the specific intention to dismantle structural racism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to Investigate of Relationship between Job Satisfactions, Job Performance Attitude toward Work and Organizational Effectiveness. The study population comprised all s High School Administrators of Hormozgan Province (429 person) in 2017-2018 academic year. Sample size was 203 people that were stratified random sampling method based on Cochran formula. The study was Descriptive and correlation type. And for collecting data, Job Satisfactions Questionnaire, Job Performance Questionnaire, Attitude toward Work Questionnaire and Organizational Effectiveness Questionnaire were used. The Results showed: There is significant Relationship between Organizational Effectiveness and attitude towards work with Job satisfaction. There is significant Relationship between job satisfaction and job performance. Also there is significant Relationship between Organizational Effectiveness and attitude towards work with Job performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]