Smoking marijuana in public: the spatial and policy shift in New York City arrests, 1992–2003

Background  

During the 1990s, the New York Police Department (NYPD) greatly expanded arrests for smoking marijuana in public view (MPV). By 2000, MPV accounted for 15% of all arrests. The NYPD's supporters report this arrest activity is just part of quality-of-life (QOL) policing, which seeks to promote order in public locations by aggressively patrolling for behaviors that offend the general population. The NYPD's critics contend the NYPD has disproportionately targeted poor, black and Hispanic communities.     

A 'safe-site' for Salmonella typhimurium is within splenic cells during the early phase of infection in mice

Salmonella typhimurium infection in mice is focused on the spleen and liver, and prolonged infection can lead to sepsis and death. After intravenous infection with a moderate dose of S. typhimurium, the few bacteria that survive in the spleen and liver grow in a 'safe-site' where they are protected from immune destruction. In this study, we demonstrated that the lack of killing of resident salmonella in the spleen and liver was not because the salmonella were transformed within the host and became resistant to killing, or because the infected mice lost the ability to kill salmonella. We showed that the salmonella were within an intracellular 'safe-site' that protected them from killing. Brief treatment of salmonella-infected mice with gentamicin reduced the numbers of salmonella in the blood but had no effect on the numbers in the liver and spleen, suggesting an intracellular location of the salmonella. After dissociation of spleen cells from recently infected mice, 60% of the salmonella remained cell associated. These cell-associated salmonella, unlike cell-free salmonella, were resistant to killing by gentamicin. The cell-associated salmonella were rendered susceptible to gentamicin after sonication, providing confirmation of their previous intracellular location.     

Pharmacological discrimination of N-type from L-type calcium current and its selective modulation by transmitters.

GABA and norepinephrine inhibit high voltage-activated calcium current in chick sensory neurons. Using specific pharmacological tools, we have dissected this current into two components: the major one is omega-conotoxin sensitive and dihydropyridine resistant (N-type) while the minor one is dihydropyridine sensitively and omega-conotoxin resistant (L-type). The ability to selectively eliminate these two components has allowed us to determine whether the transmitters target the same or different channel types. Both GABA and norepinephrine modulate the N-type component as evidenced by their lack of effect on (1) omega-conotoxin-resistant current and (2) pure L-type tail current, prolonged by a dihydropyridine calcium channel agonist. This simple pharmacological profile will allow future tests of the significance of the two channel types in regulating sensory neuron functions.     

Motion-induced alterations in 2-deoxyglucose uptake in brainstem nuclei of squirrel monkeys: autoradiographic and liquid scintillation studies

Each of 8 young adult female squirrel monkeys were injected via a femoral vein cannula with 167 microCi/100 g body weight of 2-(1,2-3H)-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) (New England Nuclear, 37.3 Ci/mmol) in 0.5 ml sterile saline. 4 additional female squirrel monkeys were injected in the same manner with 100 microCi/100 g body weight of the (3H)-2-DG. 2 h after this initial injection the original 8 animals were injected with 16.7 microCi/100 g body weight of 2-(1-14C)-deoxy-D-glucose (51.3 mCi/mmol) in 0.5 ml sterile saline. The 4 additional animals were injected with 25 microCi/100 g body weight of the (14C)-2-DG. Half of the animals each dose level were restrained in the upright position with Velcro straps and a nontraumatic moulded plastic head holder on a modified animal restraint board [Withrow and Devine, 1972] with the head in the sagittal plane but tilted forward about 20 degrees. They were then subjected to horizontal rotary motion at 25 rpm together with a vertical movement of 6 inches at 0.5 Hz for 1 h in a lighted room. The other half of the animals at each dose were restrained in the same manner and maintained in a quiescent state. At the end of this period each animal was anesthetized with ketamine, and the brain was quickly dissected out and frozen in isopentane cooled to -60 degrees C with dry ice. Transverse cryostat sections (-15 degrees C) of the brainstem were cut alternately at 200 and 20 microns from the nucleus gracilis caudally through the superior vestibular nucleus rostrally. Micropunch samples of the individual vestibular nuclei, and other brainstem nuclei and areas were obtained from the 200-microns sections with a modification of the method of Eik-Nes and Brizzee with a small stainless steel punch measuring 850 microns in diameter. The frozen punch samples were prepared for liquid scintillation counting (Beckman LS7500 system). Differential (3H) and (14C) counts (cpm) were made employing external standards. The 20-microns sections were prepared for 14C autoradiography by standard methods employing Kodak SB-5 X-ray film. The (14C) autoradiographs from the motion-stimulated animals revealed a selectively high uptake of 2-DG in all of the vestibular nuclei, the lateral cuneate nucleus and the lateral reticular nucleus as compared with the corresponding structures in the control animals.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)