Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Grant, Nebraska Strategic Plan, 2012-2015

The Consortium for Crime and Justice Research (CCJR) at the University of Nebraska at Omaha was tasked by the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice to facilitate the development of a three-year strategic plan for the use of Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistant Grant (JAG) funds. The Crime Commission serves as the State Administering Agency that is responsible for funding projects that fit into one or more of the seven JAG purpose areas: law enforcement programs; planning, evaluation, and technology improvement programs; prevention and education programs; drug treatment and enforcement programs; corrections and community corrections programs; prosecution and court programs; and crime victim and witness programs

Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program: Evaluation Report

The Consortium for Crime and Justice Research (CCJR) at the University of Nebraska – Omaha is conducting an evaluation of projects supported by Nebraska’s 2012 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne JAG) Program funds. The primary goal of the evaluation is to provide the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice (Crime Commission) a summary of the law enforcement, training, prevention, and associated activities occurring as a direct or indirect result of the infusion of Bryne JAG funds. In other words, the intent of the evaluation is to provide a summary of the funded activities and resulting products from Byrne JAG dollars. A subsidiary goal is to track the use of evidence-based practices (EBPs) supported by JAG funds. Because federal funding agencies continue to emphasize the use of practices that are supported by research evidence, we are tracking the use of EBPs, as well as fidelity to the model of the practices that have been adopted. This report provides an overview of activities and products of funded agencies based on required performance indicator data submitted for October to December 2012 and January to March 2013. Because the funded task forces report similar data, their feedback is included in one section. In addition to the task forces, information is provided to summarize the activities of Banister’s Leadership Academy, the Nebraska Crime Commission, The Indian Center, the Law Enforcement Training Center, the Nebraska Department of Corrections, the Douglas County Attorney’s Office, and the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office

Anisotropy in Nucleation and Growth of Two-Dimensional Islands during Homoepitaxy on Hex Reconstructed Au(100)

We present results of a comprehensive scanning tunneling microscopy study of the nucleation and growth of Au islands on Au(100). It is shown that the reconstruction of the substrate produces strong anisotropic effects. Rate equation analysis of the experimental flux and temperature dependence of the island density suggests: (i) a critical size of i=3 for T=315−380 K, but i\u3e3 above 400 K; and (ii) strongly anisotropic diffusion, preferentially parallel to the reconstruction rows (activation energy ∼0.2 eV). We comment on energetic and kinetic aspects of the observed island shape anisotropy

Patients’ Perceptions of Pharmacist Intervention Through Pre-Screened Medication Therapy Management Service

Background: The continued challenge of time commitment in a community pharmacy setting is reported by pharmacists as the single largest setback in providing quality patient care. Additionally, when efforts are made by pharmacists to intervene on a patient’s therapy through medication therapy management (MTM), patient “no shows” further challenge an already busy community pharmacy world. Many studies show the value of a pharmacist-patient relationship. However, continued barriers prevent the value of this relationship to take full effect. While numerous methods of comprehensive medication review take place, the issue of establishing a model that best suits the needs of community pharmacy patients still exists. Statement of the Problem: To assess patients’ perceptions of pharmacist intervention through a pre-screened medication therapy management service at prescription pick-up. Description of Methodology: This study utilized a nonprobability convenience sampling of MTM participants at a local community pharmacy pickup for research. A questionnaire was designed to assess patients’ perceptions prior to and after the pharmacist intervention. All adult patients willing to participate in MTM services were included. After the MTM intervention, participants were encouraged to complete the questionnaire at home and mail it back to the pharmacy. The questionnaires were then collected from the pharmacy for review and data was analyzed with SPSS software. Results: Reported increased patient satisfaction and knowledge by survey following the MTM intervention. Unfortunately, the results were insignificant and the study did not achieve ideal power. Conclusions: The descriptive statistical results enumerated in this study do not reveal any applicable trends relating to the use of MTM services at-large. Despite these findings, however, all patients who commented on the intervention provided positive feedback. Further research is encouraged to appropriately assess the value of pharmacist-delivered MTM at prescription pick-up

Heterodera glycines Infection Increases Incidence and Severity of Brown Stem Rot in Both Resistant and Susceptible Soybean

Growth chamber experiments were conducted to investigate whether parasitism by Heterodera glycines, the soybean cyst nematode, increases incidence and severity of brown stem rot (BSR) of soybean, caused by Phialophora gregata, in both resistant and susceptible soybean cultivars. Soybean genotypes with various combinations of resistance and susceptibility to both pathogens were inoculated with P. gregata alone or P. gregataplus H. glycines. In most tests of H. glycines-susceptible genotypes, incidence and severity of internal stem discoloration, characteristic of BSR, was greater in the presence than in the absence of H. glycines, regardless of susceptibility or resistance to BSR. There was less of an increasing effect of H. glycines on stem symptoms in genotypes resistant to both BSR and H. glycines; however, P. gregata colonization of these genotypes was increased. Stems of both a BSR-resistant and a BSR-susceptible genotype were colonized earlier by P. gregata in the presence than in the absence of H. glycines. Our findings indicate that H. glycines can increase the incidence and severity of BSR in soybean regardless of resistance or susceptibility to either pathogen

Comparison of the effects of different foam rolling durations on knee extensors function

Foam rolling (FR) intervention has recently attracted attention in sports and rehabilitation settings. However, the effects of FR using different rolling durations have not been fully clarified. Thus, this study focused on FR durations and examined the acute and prolonged (i.e., 20-min; 40-min, 60-min) effects of different FR intervention durations on maximal voluntary concentric contractions (MVC-CON), knee flexion range of motion (ROM), pain pressure threshold (PPT), and tissue hardness. The participants were 10 male university students (22.5 ± 1.0 years), and the target muscles were the dominant leg knee extensors. Three sets of 60-seconds FR interventions were performed in the randomized crossover trials in each condition. The three intervention conditions were fast (1 rolling/2 s, 30-repetition × 3 sets, 90 repetitions), medium (1 rolling/6 s, 10-repetition × 3 sets, 30 repetitions), and slow speed (1 rolling/12 s, 5-repetition × 3 sets, 15 repetitions). Before as well as immediately, 20-min, 40-min, and 60-min after the interventions, MVC-CON, ROM PPT, and tissue hardness were measured. The results showed no interaction effect in the acute effect but a main effect of time for all variables (p < 0.05). Also, no interaction was observed in prolonged effect, but main effects of time were observed in knee flexion ROM, PPT, and tissue hardness (p < 0.01) but not for MVC-CON. Post-hoc tests showed significant PPT (p < 0.05) and knee flexion ROM (p < 0.01) increases up to 20- and 60-minutes respectively after all interventions. Tissue hardness was significantly (p < 0.01) decreased up to 60-minutes after all interventions. This study showed that the FR intervention changed ROM, PPT, tissue hardness, and MVC-CON regardless of rolling duration and that the effects persisted up to 20–60 minutes

Comparison of acute and prolonged effects of short-term foam rolling and vibration foam rolling on the properties of knee extensors

Recently, Foam Rolling (FR) and Vibration Foam Rolling (VFR) have attracted attention in sports and rehabilitation fields. Previous studies have shown that FR and VFR acute interventions effectively increase the range of movement (ROM) and decrease tissue hardness. For application to sports and rehabilitation, it is necessary to compare the acute and prolonged effects of short duration FR and VFR. Therefore, this study aimed to compare and investigate the acute and prolonged (15 minutes) effects of short duration (30-s) FR and VFR interventions on knee extensors. The subjects were 14 male university students (22.4±1.0 years old), in which the knee extensors of the dominant leg were tested. In a cross-over trial, 30-s of FR or VFR were performed with 2-s rolling of the anterior thigh (15 rolls). The frequency of VFR was 35 Hz. Measurements included knee flexion ROM, pain pressure threshold (PPT), tissue hardness, and countermovement jump height. The results of this study showed no interaction effects for all variables, but main time effects were observed for knee flexion ROM, PPT, and tissue hardness. Post-hoc tests showed that knee flexion ROM increased up to 10 minutes after the intervention. PPT significantly increased, and tissue hardness significantly decreased up to 15 minutes after intervention. This study showed that 30-s FR and VFR interventions effectively increased ROM, PPT, and decreased tissue hardness. The effects were prolonged up to 10–15 minutes after the intervention. The results of this study show no advantage of VFR over FR with acute short-term interventions

Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program: Evaluation Report

The Consortium for Crime and Justice Research (CCJR) at the University of Nebraska – Omaha is conducting an evaluation of projects supported by Nebraska’s 2012 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne JAG) Program funds. The primary goal of the evaluation is to provide the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice (Crime Commission) a summary of the law enforcement, training, prevention, and associated activities occurring as a direct or indirect result of the infusion of Bryne JAG funds. In other words, the intent of the evaluation is to provide a summary of the funded activities and resulting products from Byrne JAG dollars. A subsidiary goal is to track the use of evidence-based practices (EBPs) supported by JAG funds. Because federal funding agencies continue to emphasize the use of practices that are supported by research evidence, we are tracking the use of EBPs, as well as fidelity to the model of the practices that have been adopted. This report provides an overview of activities and products of funded agencies based on required performance indicator data submitted for October to December 2012 and January to March 2013. Because the funded task forces report similar data, their feedback is included in one section. In addition to the task forces, information is provided to summarize the activities of Banister’s Leadership Academy, the Nebraska Crime Commission, The Indian Center, the Law Enforcement Training Center, the Nebraska Department of Corrections, the Douglas County Attorney’s Office, and the Nebraska Attorney General’s Offic