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• Analysis of interlocking directorate networks provides evidence that a civic elite is emerging in U.S. cities. • Civic elites are increasingly hierarchically integrated in Cleveland, OH and Austin, TX. • In both cities the most central organizations are more traditionalist and less technocratic than previously thought. • Community analysis also reveals power sharing among elite groups, indicating as situation of "elitist pluralism". • Important differences emerge between the two cities studied, but trends invite comparative and inferential research. Is an elite consolidating among the leadership of community-based organizations (CBOs) in U.S. cities? Ethnographers identify a privatized turn in urban governance, with some nonprofit civic leaders becoming a cohesive group with enormous influence in local affairs. However, while researchers propose elite consolidation has occurred and created a more hierarchical, technocratic, and unipolar civic field, these structural changes have not been directly assessed. In this paper, I reintroduce an interorganizational network perspective to elite consolidation and evaluate how interlocking directorates among CBOs in Cleveland, OH, and Austin, TX constitute relationships among civic leaders over twenty years. Results indicate boards of directors are constituting a new civic elite, and that hierarchical interlock tendencies doubled in both cities between 1998 and 2016. The core of the networks appear to be organizations traditionally important in urban governance, though, and community analysis reveals power sharing among elite groups in the cities rather than singular dominant communities, indicating as situation of "elitist pluralism." These findings offer a new perspective on the problem of elite consolidation in civil society, and offer a benchmark for future analysis of civic elites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A body of evidence has implicated dietary deficiency in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids ( n -3 PUFA), including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), in the pathophysiology and etiology of recurrent mood disorders including major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder. Cross-national and cross-sectional evidence suggests that greater habitual intake of n -3 PUFA is associated with reduced risk for developing mood symptoms. Meta-analyses provide strong evidence that patients with mood disorders exhibit low blood n -3 PUFA levels which are associated with increased risk for the initial development of mood symptoms in response to inflammation. While the etiology of this n -3 PUFA deficit may be multifactorial, n -3 PUFA supplementation is sufficient to correct this deficit and may also have antidepressant effects. Rodent studies suggest that n -3 PUFA deficiency during perinatal development can recapitulate key neuropathological, neurochemical, and behavioral features associated with mood disorders. Clinical neuroimaging studies suggest that low n -3 PUFA biostatus is associated with abnormalities in cortical structure and function also observed in mood disorders. Collectively, these findings implicate dietary n -3 PUFA insufficiency, particularly during development, in the pathophysiology of mood dysregulation, and support implementation of routine screening for and treatment of n -3 PUFA deficiency in patients with mood disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: Sensitivity to the skin flush effect of niacin is reduced in a portion of patients with schizophrenia. Though this peripheral physiological abnormality has been widely replicated, its relevance to neuropsychiatric manifestations of the illness has been unclear. The goal of this study was to determine if the niacin response abnormality in schizophrenia is associated with functional impairment. Methods: Following psychiatric assessment, a Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) score was assigned to each of 40 volunteers with schizophrenia. For each subject, the blood flow responses to several concentrations of topical methylnicotinate were recorded. Blood flow was measured objectively, using laser Doppler flowmetry. From the dose–response data, EC50 values were derived. GAF scores were assigned without knowledge of the participants'' niacin response data. Results: There was a significant negative correlation between GAF scores and EC50 values for methylnicotinate (Pearson r=−0.42; p=0.007). Conclusions: Reduced niacin sensitivity is associated with greater functional impairment among patients with schizophrenia. These findings raise the possibility that a subset of schizophrenia patients possesses a biochemical abnormality that reduces niacin sensitivity in the skin and contributes to functional impairment from the disease. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Bedinvetmab, a native canine anti-NGF monoclonal antibody, was well tolerated in dogs. • No effects in long bone joints or immune morphology/function with bedinvetmab. • No effects from short-term concurrent use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. • Anti-drug antibodies to bedinvetmab were not detected. Nerve growth factor (NGF), a critical mediator of nociception, is a novel analgesic therapeutic target. Bedinvetmab, a canine monoclonal antibody (mAb), binds NGF and inhibits its interaction with tropomyosin receptor kinase A (trkA) and p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) receptors. The objective of three integrated laboratory studies was to demonstrate the safety of bedinvetmab in adult laboratory Beagle dogs. Daily health, veterinary, clinical pathology, systemic exposure, and anti-drug antibody evaluations were performed. Study 1 additionally included electrocardiography, neurologic, and ophthalmic assessments, and radiographic monitoring of joints of the appendicular skeleton. Study 2 evaluated T-lymphocyte-dependent immune function. Study 3 evaluated the safety of short-term concurrent administration of carprofen, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), with bedinvetmab. Studies 1 and 3 included terminal pathology and histopathology evaluations. Study designs and procedures included directed complementary morphologic and functional evaluations of a literature- and in vitro-based list of potential safety issues related to the NGF signaling pathway and characteristics engineered into this mAb. Screening-level general procedures evaluated effects associated with mAbs that target and inhibit soluble agonist cytokines. There were no treatment-related adverse changes in clinical evaluations, clinical neurological and ophthalmic examinations, joints, immune morphology or function, and no effects of short-term concurrent NSAID usage. Treatment-emergent immunogenicity was not observed. Bedinvetmab (1 mg/kg SC monthly; 3× and 10× dose multiples) was well tolerated in normal laboratory Beagle dogs for 6 months and with 2 weeks' concurrent NSAID administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]