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ObjectiveTo estimate the effect of a handgun purchase waiting period repeal on handgun and firearm suicides in Wisconsin.MethodsData for outcome and predictor variables were obtained for the 1999–2020 study period. Synthetic controls were used to assess the impact of Wisconsin’s waiting period repeal on mean-centred suicide rates. Placebo tests, difference-in-differences regression and augmented synthetic controls supplemented the synthetic control analyses.ResultsPostrepeal suicides were more likely to involve handguns than those in the 5 years immediately preceding the repeal (χ² (1, N=8269) = 49.25, p<0.001). The waiting period repeal resulted in an estimated annual increase of 1.1 handgun suicides per 100 000, or roughly 65 handgun suicide deaths per year. Estimates from difference-in-differences regression and augmented synthetic control analyses indicated similar treatment effects. Relative to the synthetic control, firearm suicides increased 6.5% following the repeal.ConclusionThe waiting period repeal in Wisconsin was associated with increases in both handgun and firearm suicides. The findings suggest that waiting periods may be effective means restriction policies to reduce suicide. Additionally, the synthetic control’s ability to closely approximate preintervention handgun suicide trends despite a limited donor pool has implications for future policy analyses.

Place-based interventions are increasingly implemented to address firearm violence. While research on the social determinants of health and criminological theories suggest that the built environment significantly influences health outcomes and the spatial distribution of crime, little is known about the attraction between urban places and shootings. The present study adds to the literature on firearm violence and micro-place research by exploring the spatial dependence in a Midwest metropolitan area between shootings and bus stops, vacant properties, alcohol outlets, and other locations that have been theoretically or empirically linked to firearm violence. The G-function and Cross-K function are used to characterize the univariate clustering of shootings and bivariate attraction with other locations, respectively. Bus stops, blighted vacant properties, alcohol outlets, and businesses/residential locations participating in a public–private-community initiative to reduce crime exhibited significant locational dependence with shootings at short distances. Attraction between on-premises alcohol outlets and shootings was observed only during the night. No attraction was found between schools and shootings. The findings reaffirm the importance of place-based research—especially at the micro-place level—and suggest that certain urban places may be appropriate targets for interventions that modify existing physical and/or social structures.

Firearm carriage is a key risk factor for interpersonal firearm violence, a leading cause of adolescent (age < 18) mortality. However, the epidemiology of adolescent firearm carriage has not been well characterized. This scoping review examined four databases (PubMed; Scopus; EMBASE; Criminal Justice Abstracts) to summarize research on patterns, motives, and underlying risk/protective factors for adolescent firearm carriage. Of 6156 unique titles, 53 peer-reviewed articles met inclusion criteria and were reviewed. These studies mostly examined urban Black youth, finding that adolescents typically carry firearms intermittently throughout adolescence and primarily for self-defense/protection. Seven future research priorities were identified, including: (1) examining adolescent carriage across age, gender, and racial/ethnic subgroups; (2) improving on methodological limitations of prior research, including disaggregating firearm from other weapon carriage and using more rigorous methodology (e.g., random/systematic sampling; broader population samples); (3) conducting longitudinal analyses that establish temporal causality for patterns, motives, and risk/protective factors; (4) capitalizing on m-health to develop more nuanced characterizations of underlying motives; (5) increasing the study of precursors for first-time carriage; (6) examining risk and protective factors beyond the individual-level; and, (7) enhancing the theoretical foundation for firearm carriage within future investigations.

BackgroundYouth aged 15–24 experience high rates of firearm homicide and suicide, yet there is limited research on the impact of promising preventative policies, such as firearm purchaser licensing (FPL) laws, among this age group. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of adopting or repealing an FPL law on homicide and suicide among those aged 15–24, by age subgroup (ie, 15–17, 18–20, 21–24).MethodsMortality data from 1990 to 2019 were obtained from the National Center for Health Statistics. We used augmented synthetic controls to estimate the effect of FPL law adoption in Connecticut and Maryland and repeal in Missouri and Michigan on youth homicide and suicide rates. Analyses were stratified by age subgroup and firearm involvement.ResultsFPL adoption was associated with decreases in firearm homicide and suicide among those aged 15–24 overall and among most age subgroups in Connecticut. FPL repeal was consistently associated with increases in firearm suicide among each age subgroup, with less consistent results for firearm homicide.Discussion and conclusionsFPL law changes had meaningful impacts on firearm homicide and suicide among youth aged 15–24, with consistent protective effects observed following adoption in Connecticut and consistent harmful effects following repeal in Missouri. Mixed results in Maryland and Michigan highlight the importance of policy features and sociopolitical context in shaping the effectiveness of these laws. These findings reinforce the effectiveness of FPL laws as a strategy to reduce firearm-related mortality among youth.

While federal law prohibits firearm possession by individuals who have been convicted of a disqualifying offense and those who are subject to certain domestic violence restraining orders (DVROs), it does not explicitly require prohibited persons to surrender firearms they already own. Some states have adopted relinquishment laws to enforce firearm possession restrictions among prohibited persons following a disqualifying status or conviction. Research on these laws includes a legal analysis that detailed state DVRO relinquishment laws and longitudinal regression analyses that have estimated protective effects of these provisions on intimate partner homicide (IPH). The present study sought to build on this work in two ways: (1) by assessing DVRO and conviction-based relinquishment statutes, including legislative changes over time; and (2) quantitatively analyzing the effects of relinquishment provisions on suicide, homicide, and IPH using negative binomial regression models and augmented synthetic controls. Legal research revealed that many states still lack statutory elements that are expected to increase the likelihood of firearm surrender, such as requiring the court to order relinquishment, strict standards for providing proof of firearm transfer or some form of compliance verification, and provisions that authorize law enforcement to recover unrelinquished firearms. Results from the two quantitative approaches did not collectively provide strong evidence that relinquishment laws reduce firearm-specific and overall violent death. The study did find support for firearm policies more broadly—and purchaser licensing and extreme risk protection order laws in particular—as potential tools to reduce firearm violence. Future research that examines the implementation of relinquishment laws among multiple jurisdictions is needed to better understand potential barriers that may limit the effectiveness of relinquishment policies.

Significance Ricin toxin (RT) is a CDC-designated select agent that can be dispersed as an aerosol. In mammals, aerosolized RT causes rapid and irreversible necrosis of the lung epithelium, multifocal hemorrhagic edema, and death within 24–36 h. A safe and effective recombinant subunit vaccine (RiVax) has been developed and formulated as a thermostable, lyophilized, adjuvant-containing “powder.” This formulation of RiVax elicited neutralizing antibodies against RT, which protected macaques from the lethality of aerosolized RT. The epitope-specific antibody responses in macaques revealed a distinctive profile that was also observed in vaccinated humans. This profile might represent a signature of protection in both species. Ricin toxin (RT) is the second most lethal toxin known; it has been designated by the CDC as a select agent. RT is made by the castor bean plant; an estimated 50,000 tons of RT are produced annually as a by-product of castor oil. RT has two subunits, a ribotoxic A chain (RTA) and galactose-binding B chain (RTB). RT binds to all mammalian cells and once internalized, a single RTA catalytically inactivates all of the ribosomes in a cell. Administered as an aerosol, RT causes rapid lung damage and fibrosis followed by death. There are no Food and Drug Administration-approved vaccines and treatments are only effective in the first few hours after exposure. We have developed a recombinant RTA vaccine that has two mutations V76M/Y80A (RiVax). The protein is expressed in Escherichia coli and is nontoxic and immunogenic in mice, rabbits, and humans. When vaccinated mice are challenged with injected, aerosolized, or orally administered (gavaged) RT, they are completely protected. We have now developed a thermostable, aluminum-adjuvant–containing formulation of RiVax and tested it in rhesus macaques. After three injections, the animals developed antibodies that completely protected them from a lethal dose of aerosolized RT. These antibodies neutralized RT and competed to varying degrees with a panel of neutralizing and nonneutralizing mouse monoclonal antibodies known to recognize specific epitopes on native RTA. The resulting antibody competition profile could represent an immunologic signature of protection. Importantly, the same signature was observed using sera from RiVax-immunized humans.

The genome of the japonica subspecies of rice, an important cereal and model monocot, was sequenced and assembled by whole-genome shotgun sequencing. The assembled sequence covers 93% of the 420-megabase genome. Gene predictions on the assembled sequence suggest that the genome contains 32,000 to 50,000 genes. Homologs of 98% of the known maize, wheat, and barley proteins are found in rice. Synteny and gene homology between rice and the other cereal genomes are extensive, whereas synteny with Arabidopsis is limited. Assignment of candidate rice orthologs to Arabidopsis genes is possible in many cases. The rice genome sequence provides a foundation for the improvement of cereals, our most important crops.