Police Department

People and communities in Vancouver, British Columbia (BC) have been profoundly impacted by the toxic drug crisis, which has driven a province-wide public health emergency since 2016. In 2023, BC implemented a "Decriminalization Pilot," which temporarily removed criminal sanctions for the possession of small amounts of certain substances. In May 2024, the Decriminalization Pilot was amended to exclude its application in almost any urban outdoor space; a reform colloquially referred to as "Recriminalization." This study sought to address gaps in understanding how law enforcement practices towards people who use criminalized drugs may have changed during the Decriminalization Pilot and subsequent Recriminalization periods. We undertook a community-based, qualitative study. We conducted 21 interviews with people who use criminalized drugs and who interacted with law enforcement in Vancouver between January and May 2025. We employed combined reflexive thematic and interpretative phenomenological analyses. We derived five main themes: 1) confusion over the Decriminalization Pilot; 2) selective enforcement and pervasiveness of policing; 3) police interference with overdose response and other public health interventions; 4) seizures of belongings, including government-supplied resources; and 5) displacement from public space. Our findings illustrate how harmful law enforcement practices that target people who use criminalized drugs, particularly those relying on public spaces for survival, persisted during the evolving drug policy periods. Together, these law enforcement practices along with the lack of understanding regarding the shifting Decriminalization Pilot, may have undermined the potential success of a policy dedicated to decriminalizing drug possession in BC.

In challenging environments, there often exist problems of false alarms and missed detections in real-time kinematic (RTK) ambiguity resolution, which significantly reduce the reliability and availability of position information. To address these issues, a machine-learning method is proposed to conduct a correctness check on RTK ambiguity fixing, aiming to reduce the occurrences of false alarms and missed detections. The inter-system differential RTK model is adopted. Compared with the traditional RTK model, this model can provide an effective feature, namely the differential inter-system biases (DISB), to improve the accuracy of machine-learning classification. This is because when the RTK ambiguity is correctly fixed, the DISB usually appears as a stable constant. In addition to DISB, features that are strongly related to ambiguity fixing, such as the ratio value, DOP value, and residuals, are also comprehensively utilized. This method is verified by an open-source, large-scale, and diverse GNSS/SINS dataset-SmartPNT-POS. The experimental results show that, compared with the traditional method of relying solely on the empirical ratio value for ambiguity fixing verification, the missed detection probability of this method is reduced by 2%, the false-alarm probability is decreased by 29%, and the positioning accuracy is improved by approximately 7%. Moreover, compared with other features, the DISB feature provides the highest contribution rate in the machine-learning classification model.

As a large genus in Rosaceae, Rubus contains approximately 863 species worldwide, which distributed in the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The number of species in China accounts for approximately one quarter of the total, so China is the diversity distribution center of Rubus in the world. Given this, in this study, the chloroplast genomes and their characteristics of Chinese Rubus species were sequenced, assembled, and analyzed to provide molecular evidence for the Rubus systematic classification. The results indicated that the chloroplast genomes of Rubus exhibited a typical circular quadripartite structure, which consists of a large single-copy region (LSC), a small single-copy region (SSC), and a pair of inverted repeat regions (IR). Its size ranged from 155,472 to 156,886 base pairs (bp). It contained 131 genes, including 88 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 35 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. The Rubus chloroplast genome showed a high degree of conservation in gene arrangement, in the occurrence frequencies of different types of long repeat sequences, in simple sequence repeats (SSRs), in codon usage patterns, and in selection pressures on PCG s. Differences were mainly manifested in subtle expansion and contraction changes in the inverted repeat (IR) regions, as well as variations in the number of SSRs and long repeat sequences. In some branches, certain genes underwent enhanced or relaxed purifying selection. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Chinese endemic Rubus species could be divided into eight evolutionary branches, which corresponding to the eight subgenera of Rubus . These data not only clarify the phylogenetic relationships among the Chinese Rubus species, but also provide the basic data for the taxonomic revision under the level of Chinese Rubus subgenera.

Cross site scripting (XSS) attacks are still one of the key threats to the security of web applications. With the increasingly evolving attack methods, traditional detection methods have a high false positive rate of detection results. This article proposes a new model: a cascaded detection architecture that combines Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) networks with Large Language Models (LLM) for detecting XSS malicious code attacks. This method first uses Word2vec for code vectorization, turning the malicious code into vector data predictable by LSTM. Then, LSTM detects the vectorized malicious code and classifies the samples as malicious , benign , or suspicious. The malicious code samples classified as suspicious will be sent to LLM for detailed analysis again. The experimental results obtained show that compared to independent LSTM for malicious code detection, the cascaded method of LSTM and LLM has an accuracy rate of up to 97.8% and a 42% reduction in false positive rate, especially for some Base64 and URL encoded malicious code detection with higher accuracy. At the same time, to ensure detection speed, only 8.3% of the malicious code samples were extracted for detection.

The pangenome initiative marks a major shift from reliance on a single human reference that undersamples global diversity. Building phased, diploid assemblies from specific regions reveals population haplotypes and structural variants. This review outlines core pangenome concepts and surveys initiatives across Middle Eastern countries, long underrepresented in genomic resources. We summarize advances in long-read sequencing and graph-based bioinformatics that now enable high-quality diploid assemblies and reference graphs. National genome programs exist in six countries, and some have launched pangenome efforts, revealing sequence and variant content absent from GRCh38 and CHM13. We examine how founder effects, consanguinity, and tribe-based endogamy shape the region's genetic architecture, producing runs of homozygosity and concentrated rare alleles that aid gene discovery yet challenge clinical interpretation. Finally, we argue for coordinated, region-wide pangenome initiatives, spanning ethnolinguistic and tribal groups, to create equitable genome references, improve mapping and variant calling for Middle Eastern haplotypes, and accelerate precision medicine across the region.

To investigate the adhesion characteristics of different asphalt-aggregate (A-A) interfaces under salt solution erosion. Clean water and 8% saline solution were selected, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation was performed to establish a model of rubber powder-modified asphalt (CR)/SBS modified asphalt (SBS)-water/salt solution-steel slag/basalt interface. Study on the mechanism of interaction between asphalt molecules and aggregate minerals through diffusion coefficient, RDF and interfacial adhesion energy density. Based on the surface energy theory, the adhesion work between different asphalt and aggregate was calculated to verify its rationality. The results show that the degradation effect of Cl− and Na+ in salt solution on the interfacial adhesion of A-A system is much stronger than that of water molecules. The denser molecular aggregation makes the A-A system have better adhesion characteristics. Regardless of water or salt solution, the adhesion of the A-A interface is CR-steel slag > SBS-steel slag > CR-basalt > SBS-basalt.

The article examines judicial protection in disputes regarding public procurement as a tool for ensuring the economic security of the state. It is substantiated that public procurement, being one of the largest channels for distributing budget funds, belongs to the areas of increased corruption risks, and therefore requires effective control and appeal mechanisms. It is shown that the national model of protecting the rights of procurement participants combines extrajudicial (administrative) appeal in the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine and judicial control as the final guarantee of legality. The quasi-judicial nature of the procedures for considering complaints by the appeal body and their practical effectiveness due to integration with the electronic system "Prozorro" are highlighted, in particular through the automatic suspension of procurement actions during the consideration of the complaint. At the same time, the emphasis is placed on the limited integration of judicial control with the electronic procurement infrastructure, which complicates the execution of decisions to secure the claim and sometimes leads to the formal nature of judicial protection. A comparative analysis of appeal mechanisms in Ukraine and EU countries (in particular, on the example of Poland) was conducted, which confirmed the compliance of the Ukrainian model with European approaches according to the general architecture of “quasi-judicial body – court”, but at the same time revealed a significantly higher intensity of appeals to the appeal body in Ukraine and differences in the rates of satisfaction of complaints. It was concluded that judicial protection in the field of public procurement performs a preventive and restorative function: it deters abuse, creates legal certainty, supports competition and business confidence, and also promotes the rational use of public finances. It is proposed to direct further improvement of the system to increasing the efficiency of the execution of court decisions and strengthening the procedural and technical interaction of courts with the electronic procurement system.

HRMARS - Democracy remains a dominant governance framework, shaping political participation, leadership selection, and public policy formulation worldwide. Despite its normative appeal, democratic governance continues to face persistent challenges in producing ethical, inclusive, and sustainable public policies, particularly in pluralistic and rapidly evolving societies. This study conducts a narrative review of scholarly literature on democracy and sustainable policy to examine how democratic principles such as participation, representation, deliberation, and accountability facilitate or constrain sustainability-oriented governance. Guided by an interpretivist paradigm and a qualitative design, the review analyses books and peer-reviewed journal articles identified through thematic keyword searches and snowball sampling. The findings indicate that while democracy enhances legitimacy, transparency, and citizen engagement in policymaking, it is often undermined by short-term electoral incentives, majoritarian dominance, policy volatility, and ethical deficits within leadership and institutions. The review further highlights deliberative democracy as a promising pathway to strengthen democratic capacity for sustainable policymaking through inclusive dialogue, evidence-based decision-making, and institutional continuity. This study contributes by synthesising theoretical and empirical insights and proposing directions for rethinking democratic governance toward more sustainable policy paradigms.

This study examined the barriers to family planning (FP) service delivery as perceived by health workers in selected health centers in District 2, Marikina City. The study is anchored on the WHO Health Systems Framework (WHO, 2007) and the Socio-Ecological Model (Bronfenbrenner, 1979), which explain how systemic, organizational, and socio-cultural factors interact to influence health service delivery. Specifically, it identified organizational, technical, resource-related, and socio-cultural factors that influence the implementation of FP programs and explored strategies to improve service delivery. A descriptive quantitative research design was employed, utilizing a structured self-administered questionnaire distributed to health workers involved in FP service provision. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including frequency, percentage, and weighted mean, with limited qualitative inputs from respondents’ perspectives used to support interpretation of the results. Findings revealed that organizational challenges such as staffing shortages, high workload, and policy-related issues significantly affected FP service delivery. Technical and resource-related barriers included inconsistent supply of contraceptives, limited training opportunities, and inadequate infrastructure. Socio-cultural factors, particularly misconceptions about FP methods, cultural beliefs, and religious influences, were also perceived as major barriers to FP utilization among clients. Despite these challenges, health workers identified capacity-building activities, improved supply chain management, strengthened community education, and sustained policy support as key strategies for enhancing FP service delivery.