Youth in Gangs: Who Is at Risk?

Youth gangs pose a significant challenge for communities across the United States, in urban, suburban, and rural areas alike. Nationwide, 23% of students report the presence of gangs at their schools (Dinkes, Kemp, & Baum, 2009), and approximately 35% of law enforcement agencies indicate gang problems (such as gang-related crime) in their jurisdictions (Egley & O'Donnell, 2009).(see footnote 1) Self-reported youth surveys show varying estimates of gang membership, from single digits among a national sample of students to about 30% among high-risk youth in large cities (Howell & Egley, 2009).For this Focus, NCCD analyzed data from national, state, and local youth surveys and drew on the results of previous gang research to provide a snapshot of youth gangs. This includes a summary of risk factors for gang membership and selected characteristics of gang-involved youth. California, which has faced significant and disproportionate levels of gang membership for decades, serves as a state case study. The local data highlight the San Francisco Bay Area cities of Oakland and Richmond; both Oakland and Richmond have entrenched gang problems and very high homicide rates.(see footnote 2

Shoring Up Shortfalls: Women, Retirement and the Growing GigSupp Economy

In recent years, high-profile Silicon Valley firms have engineered billion-dollar IPOs through developing online and app-based platforms that connect service providers and sellers with customers and process their payments (the “online platform economy”). Today, millions of Americans earn income using platforms developed by Uber, Etsy, and Airbnb; and research has identified the limitations of existing federal tax rules to facilitate tax compliance of these workers and considered the consequences of their failure to pay self-employment taxes. However, questions remain as to the changing demographics and motivations of online platform economy workers and their retirement income security. Titled, Shoring Up Shortfalls: Women, Retirement and the Growing Gig Economy, we propose to identify and analyze: (i) the existing demographic data on this workforce; (ii) their economic motivations and retirement income needs; and (iii) the federal tax, retirement policy, and financial literacy proposals that would enable the gig economy workforce to support itself in retirement

Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate: Developing Technology to Protect America

In response to a congressional mandate and in consultation with Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), the National Academy conducted a review of S&T's effectiveness and efficiency in addressing homeland security needs. This review included a particular focus that identified any unnecessary duplication of effort, and opportunity costs arising from an emphasis on homeland security-related research. Under the direction of the National Academy Panel, the study team reviewed a wide variety of documents related to S&T and homeland security-related research in general. The team also conducted interviews with more than 200 individuals, including S&T officials and staff, officials from other DHS component agencies, other federal agencies engaged in homeland security-related research, and experts from outside government in science policy, homeland security-related research and other scientific fields.Key FindingsThe results of this effort indicated that S&T faces a significant challenge in marshaling the resources of multiple federal agencies to work together to develop a homeland security-related strategic plan for all agencies. Yet the importance of this role should not be underestimated. The very process of working across agencies to develop and align the federal homeland security research enterprise around a forward-focused plan is critical to ensuring that future efforts support a common vision and goals, and that the metrics by which to measure national progress, and make changes as needed, are in place

Ionogel-biosensor: novel ionogels based on ionic liquids as a platform to measure enzyme activity of glucose oxdase in real time

It is estimated that there are 170 million diabetics worldwide, and the number continues to rise alarmingly. The management of diabetes is therefore critical to future society, and this is driving demand for point-of-care (POC) glucose biosensors, and they play a central role in the management blood sugar levels in patients with diabetes. Glucose Oxidase (GOx) is a biorecognition enzyme, which recognises the glucose molecule and acts as a catalyst to produce gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide in the presence of glucose and oxygen.[1] Ionic Liquids are organic salts, which are liquid at ambient temperature. Their non-volatile character and thermal stability makes them an attractive alternative to conventional organic solvents. We are interested in studying the characteristics of GOx in ionic liquids, and in polymer materials incorporating ionic liquids known as ionogels. Herein we report the enzyme activity of GOx in a biosensor fabricated using a novel hybrid ionogel. This approach potentially offers several advantages over conventional materials. For example, the ionogels can be chemically and physically tailored for a particular requirement. [3] The design of these ionogels ensures that the enzyme is effectively retained in the polymer, thus preventing leaching. The ionogel-biosensor has been incorporated into a compact, portable and low cost device, which allows the real time monitoring of enzyme activity of GOx. Based on this model, we project that this device will provide the platform for measuring the enzyme activity of a wide range of enzymes

The Use of Harmonic Scalpel for Free Flap Dissection in Head and Neck Reconstructive Surgery

Surgeons conventionally use electrocautery dissection and surgical clip appliers to harvest free flaps. The ultrasonic Harmonic Scalpel is a new surgical instrument that provides high-quality dissection and hemostasis and minimizes tissue injury. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and advantages of the ultrasonic Harmonic Scalpel compared to conventional surgical instruments in free flap surgery. This prospective study included 20 patients who underwent head and neck reconstructive surgery between March 2009 and May 2010. A forearm free flap was used for reconstruction in 12 patients, and a fibular flap was used in 8 patients. In half of the patients, electrocautery and surgical clips were used for free flap harvesting (the EC group), and in the other half of the patients, ultrasonic dissection was performed using the Harmonic Scalpel (the HS group). The following parameters were significantly lower in the HS group compared to the EC group: the operative time of flap dissection (35% lower in the HS group), blood loss, number of surgical clips and cost of surgical materials. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of the Harmonic Scalpel in forearm and fibular free flap dissections that may be extended to other free flaps

Pain in malignant pleural mesothelioma: a prospective characterisation study.

INTRODUCTION: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is associated with severe pain. The underlying neurobiology of this is complex. The primary aim of this study was to characterize pain in MPM. METHODS: This study was undertaken as part of a trial examining radiotherapy for the treatment of pain in MPM (ISRCTN 10644347). Patients had MPM with associated pain for which radiotherapy was planned and a worst pain score ≥ 4/10. The following assessments were undertaken: clinical neuropathic pain assessment, Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs (LANSS), Short form of the McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ), and Quantitative Sensory Testing (QST). The relationship of these characteristics and response to radiotherapy was assessed. Unless stated, medians and interquartile range (IQR) are used. RESULTS: Thirty-seven patients were recruited. Average pain and worst pain was 4 (4-6) and 8 (6-8), respectively. Higher average pain and higher worst pain scores were associated with higher interference scores on the BPI, P < 0.001 and P < 0.0005. Twenty patients (54%) had a clinical diagnosis of neuropathic pain, and of these, only six patients (40%) screened positively for neuropathic pain using the LANSS. Patients with a high LANSS also had higher BPI and SF-MPQs. The presence of neuropathic pain (clinically or by LANSS) did not predict response to radiotherapy, P < 0.05. The SF-MPQ scores were higher in those with abnormal cool sensation on QST (P = 0.016). CONCLUSION: Pain in mesothelioma varies among patients and may have neuropathic components. An adequate pain assessment is necessary to guide the clinician in the appropriate choice of analgesics

The UK Paediatric Ocular Trauma Study 1 (POTS1):development of a global standardized protocol for prospective data collection in pediatric ocular trauma

Freda Sii,1,2 Robert J Barry,1 Richard J Blanch,1 Joseph Abbott,3 Caroline J MacEwen,4 Peter Shah1,2,5,6 1Department of Ophthalmology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, 2Birmingham Institute for Glaucoma Research, Institute of Translational Medicine, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, 3Department of Ophthalmology, Birmingham Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, 4Department of Ophthalmology, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Dundee, 5National Institute of Health Research Biomedical Research Centre, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, London, 6Centre for Health and Social Care Improvement, School of Health and Wellbeing, University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, UK Background: Ocular trauma is an important cause of visual morbidity in children worldwide. Pediatric ocular trauma accounts for up to one third of all ocular trauma admissions, with significant economic implications for health care providers. It is estimated that 90% of all ocular trauma is preventable. Development of strategies to reduce the incidence and severity of pediatric ocular trauma requires an understanding of the epidemiology of these injuries and their characteristics. This will enable appropriate targeting of resources toward prevention and allow effective service planning. At present, there is no standardized methodology for the collection of global cross-sectional data in pediatric ocular trauma, and the ability to undertake detailed epidemiological and health-economic analyses is limited. Furthermore, it is difficult to draw international comparisons in incidence, etiology, and outcomes of pediatric ocular trauma due to the range of published reporting criteria. This study describes two novel questionnaires for standardized data collection in pediatric ocular trauma, which can be adopted across a range of health care settings internationally.Methods: Two standardized data collection questionnaires have been developed from previously reported templates. The first enables collection of demographic and incident data on serious pediatric ocular trauma requiring hospitalization, and the second enables follow-up outcome data collection. Both the questionnaires are designed to collect primarily categorical data in order to increase ease of completion and facilitate quantitative analysis. These questionnaires enable acquisition of standardized data on the incidence, etiology, and outcomes of pediatric ocular trauma.Discussion: These questionnaires enable collection of standardized data and are designed for global use across all health care settings. Through prospective data collection, epidemiological trends can be determined, allowing health care providers to develop collaborative global preventive strategies. Furthermore, the same questionnaires may be used in future studies to draw comparisons with baseline data, allowing assessment of the efficacy of targeted preventative interventions. Keywords: childhood eye injury, epidemiology, health economic analyses, international standardization, penetrating eye injury, perforating eye injury, preventio

Ionic liquids for enzymatic sensing

The key challenges currently faced in lab-on-a-chip biochemical sensor developments are device reliability and power consumption. The major issues faced in terms of device reliability are liquid handling over extended periods of time, as the micro-dimensioned fluidic channels are prone to blockage, and unreliable micro pumps/valves. The overall aim of this proposal is to develop a biocompatible molecular sensor that will address these key issues which are holding back biocompatible sensors technologies, and thus to develop an innovative class of sensing technology at the forefront of molecular sensing. [1] Over the past decade conducting polymer electrodes have played an important role in bio-sensing and actuation. [2] Recent developments in the field of organic electronics have made available a variety of devices that bring unique capabilities at the interface with biology. [3,4] One example is organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) that are being developed for a variety of bio-sensing applications, including the detection of ions, [5] and metabolites, such as glucose [6] and lactate [7]. Room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) are organic salts, which are liquid at ambient temperature. Their non-volatile character and thermal stability makes them an attractive alternative to conventional organic solvents. [8] To this end, we propose to exploit enzymatic doped ionogels - new materials for inherently biocompatible molecular sensors. These particular sensors are hybrid materials that consist of monomeric components polymerised within biocompatible ionic liquids, thus allowing various platforms for modification. Further investigation shows that these sensing platforms can be incorporated into flexible materials such as carbon cloth and can be utilised for bio-sensing. Furthermore, we envisage that the proposed sensing devices can be incorporated into fabrics for “wearable” health care devices thus providing clear benefits the public health service. Long term ambitions are to build a research career with a focus on academia and industrial research collaborations. The proposed time in DCU would allow myself to demonstrate adaptability and diversity and to highlight the transferable nature of my skills through the publication of peer review articles and the securing of patents. It is hoped that the research and project management experience gained through collaborations and contacts will allow me to further my career through more senior positions and grants. Through current collaborations, engineering and chemistry support from members of the Adaptive Sensor Group has already been secured for the proposed project. Expanding my research profile through further publications and both domestic and international presentations of the research. Existing collaborations held by myself (Doug MacFarlane’s / Ekaterina Izgorodina’s group, Monash University, Gloria Elliott’s group, UNCC, North Carolina and George Malliaras & Róisín Owens at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Saint Etienne) will be of considerable benefit to the project