VPD

• In this context, voice pathology detection (VPD) has received much attention as a non-invasive way to automatically detect voice problems.
• It consists of two processing modules: a feature extraction module to characterize normal voices and a voice detection module to detect abnormal ones.
• Machine learning methods like support vector machines (SVM) and convolutional neural networks (CNN) have been successfully utilized as pathological voice detection modules to achieve good VPD performance.
• Herein, they incorporated adversarial regularization during the continual learning process.

• International Overdose Awareness Day, an annual campaign to end overdose and drug poisonings while also remembering those who have died, is Aug. 31.
• Events are being held in communities across Canada, a sign of a worsening crisis that has taken more than 36,000 lives since 2016.
• The decriminalization of people who use drugs has long been one of the proposed solutions, an approach that is currently being piloted in British Columbia.

Depenalization in Vancouver

• Seventeen years ago, the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) launched its drug policy to promote the depenalization of simple possession offences.
• Local communities of people who use drugs and public health advocates in Vancouver expressed concern about the harm created by this policing behaviour.
• We undertook surveys involving more than 1,800 people who used drugs on a daily basis in Vancouver to investigate this often undocumented discretionary policing practice.

Police drug seizures without arrest

• For example, it can put people at a higher risk of drug market violence by creating drug debts.
• Amid the ongoing drug toxicity crisis, increasing the frequency of buying drugs in the unregulated drug market, especially through an unknown source, increases risk of drug poisoning.
• This is contrary to a belief held among some police officers that seizing drugs would prevent harms, including drug poisoning.

The role of police in the toxic drug crisis

• A broader question is: Are there any circumstances where police drug seizures are beneficial in preventing drug poisoning?
• A recent study from the United States highlighted that police efforts to reduce the unregulated drug supply may worsen the drug toxicity crisis by showing a consistent pattern.
• Several scholars noted that police drug seizures would not address the toxic drug supply, that the narrow mission of police may exacerbate drug-related harms and that more harm reduction interventions to address the toxic drug supply are needed.
• The annual International Overdose Awareness Day compels us to reckon with ongoing toxic drug deaths and what we can do to reverse this worsening crisis.

• VANCOUVER, Wash., April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Hawthorne Gardening Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, has announced the Gavita EL3 LED Controller and corresponding patent-pending innovations.
• “The Gavita EL3 LED Controller and its patent-pending features demonstrate our commitment to innovation and industry leadership,” said Chris Hagedorn, president of The Hawthorne Gardening Company.
• I’m proud of Hawthorne’s continuous R&D that benefits growers of all sizes.”
  The Gavita EL3 LED Controller was introduced in 2022 and is the next iteration of Hawthorne’s successful EL controller series.
• For more information about the Gavita EL3 LED Controller and other Hawthorne solutions, visit https://www.hawthornegc.com/ .

• MARYSVILLE, Ohio, March 03, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Hawthorne Gardening Company has launched the highly efficient Gavita® Pro RS 2400e LED light for growers in controlled environment settings.
• The Gavita Pro RS 2400e offers the highest efficacy of any full spectrum DLC-listed LED fixture.
• Embedded sensors in the Gavita Pro RS 2400e can monitor fixture parameters, including power usage and temperature, when combined with the Gavita EL3 LED Controller.
• Assembled in Temecula, California, the Gavita Pro RS 2400e LED has an IP66 waterproof rating, is ANSI/CAN/UL 8800 compliant and includes a 5-year limited warranty.