A Report On People Under Criminal Justice Supervision In Alameda County

Over the past decade, the number of adults in the US incarcerated by State or Federal authorities grew from 1,585,586 in 1995 to 2,135,901 in 2004, an average increase of 3.4% annually and a period increaseof one-third.1 In California, the prison population has grown over the last 10 years from 135,133 peoplein prison in 1995 to 163,939 by 2004 for an average of 2.75% annually and a period increase of over 21%.One of the realities of this massive increase in incarceration is that "they all come back." Over the last 10 years, the number of adults on parole from State or Federal prisons increased from 679,421 in 1995 to 765,355 in 2004, for an average annual rate of 2.7% and a period increase of 17%. Following the national pattern, the number of adults on parole in California increased by from 90,450 in 1995, to 110,130 in 2004, for an average annual rate of 2.3% and a period increase of over 21%. California leads the nation in the number of adults on parole; at the end of 2004 over 14% of people on parole in the US had been released from California prisons

Sub pixel analysis and processing of sensor data for mobile target intelligence information and verification

This dissertation introduces a novel process to study and analyze sensor data in order to obtain information pertaining to mobile targets at the sub-pixel level. The process design is modular in nature and utilizes a set of algorithmic tools for change detection, target extraction and analysis, super-pixel processing and target refinement. The scope of this investigation is confined to a staring sensor that records data of sub-pixel vehicles traveling horizontally across the ground. Statistical models of the targets and background are developed with noise and jitter effects. Threshold Change Detection, Duration Change Detection and Fast Adaptive Power Iteration (FAPI) Detection techniques are the three methods used for target detection. The PolyFit and FermiFit are two tools developed and employed for target analysis, which allows for flexible processing. Tunable parameters in the detection methods, along with filters for false alarms, show the adaptability of the procedures. Super-pixel processing tools are designed, and Refinement Through Tracking (RTT) techniques are investigated as post-processing refinement options. The process is tested on simulated datasets, and validated with sensor datasets obtained from RP Flight Systems, Inc

High School Science Teachers\u27 Perceptions of Teaching Content-Related Reading Comprehension Instruction

In order to achieve academic success, students must be able to comprehend written material in content-area textbooks. However, a large number of high school students struggle to comprehend science content. Research findings have demonstrated that students make measurable gains in comprehending content-area textbooks when provided quality reading comprehension instruction. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of how high school science teachers perceived their responsibility to provide content-related comprehension instruction and 10 high school science teachers were interviewed for this study. Data analysis consisted of open, axial, and selective coding. The findings revealed that 8 out of the 10 participants believed that it is their responsibility to provide reading comprehension. However, the findings also revealed that the participants provided varying levels of reading comprehension instruction as an integral part of their science instruction. The potential for positive social change could be achieved by teachers and administrators. Teachers may use the findings to reflect upon their own personal feelings and beliefs about providing explicit reading comprehension. In addition to teachers\u27 commitment to reading comprehension instruction, administrators could deliberate about professional development opportunities that might improve necessary skills, eventually leading to better comprehension skills for students and success in their education

Patient and clinician factors associated with prehospital pain treatment and outcomes: cross sectional study

Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Objective: We aimed to identify how patient (age, sex, condition) and paramedic factors (sex, role) affected prehospital analgesic administration and pain alleviation. Methods: We used a cross-sectional design with a 7-day retrospective sample of adults aged 18 years or over requiring primary emergency transport to hospital, excluding patients with Glasgow Coma Scale below 13, in two UK ambulance services. Multivariate multilevel regression using Stata 14 analysed factors independently associated with analgesic administration and a clinically meaningful reduction in pain (≥2 points on 0–10 numerical verbal pain score [NVPS]). Results: We included data on 9574 patients. At least two pain scores were recorded in 4773 (49.9%) patients. For all models fitted there was no significant relationship between analgesic administration or pain reduction and sex of the patient or ambulance staff. Reduction in pain (NVPS ≥2) was associated with ambulance crews including at least one paramedic (odds ratio [OR] 1.52, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.14 to 2.04, p < 0.01), with any recorded pain score and suspected cardiac pain (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.02 to 4.75). Intravenous morphine administration was also more likely where crews included a paramedic (OR 2.82, 95% CI 1.93 to 4.13, P < 0.01), attending patients aged 51 to 64 years (OR 2.04, 95% CI 1.21 to 3.45, p = 0.01), in moderate to severe (NVPS 4–10) compared with lower levels of pain for any clinical condition group compared with the reference condition. Conclusion: There was no association between patient sex or ambulance staff sex or grade and analgesic administration or pain reduction.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Uniquely human CHRFAM7A gene increases the hematopoietic stem cell reservoir in mice and amplifies their inflammatory response.

A subset of genes in the human genome are uniquely human and not found in other species. One example is CHRFAM7A, a dominant-negative inhibitor of the antiinflammatory α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR/CHRNA7) that is also a neurotransmitter receptor linked to cognitive function, mental health, and neurodegenerative disease. Here we show that CHRFAM7A blocks ligand binding to both mouse and human α7nAChR, and hypothesized that CHRFAM7A-transgenic mice would allow us to study its biological significance in a tractable animal model of human inflammatory disease, namely SIRS, the systemic inflammatory response syndrome that accompanies severe injury and sepsis. We found that CHRFAM7A increased the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) reservoir in bone marrow and biased HSC differentiation to the monocyte lineage in vitro. We also observed that while the HSC reservoir was depleted in SIRS, HSCs were spared in CHRFAM7A-transgenic mice and that these mice also had increased immune cell mobilization, myeloid cell differentiation, and a shift to inflammatory monocytes from granulocytes in their inflamed lungs. Together, the findings point to a pathophysiological inflammatory consequence to the emergence of CHRFAM7A in the human genome. To this end, it is interesting to speculate that human genes like CHRFAM7A can account for discrepancies between the effectiveness of drugs like α7nAChR agonists in animal models and human clinical trials for inflammatory and neurodegenerative disease. The findings also support the hypothesis that uniquely human genes may be contributing to underrecognized human-specific differences in resiliency/susceptibility to complications of injury, infection, and inflammation, not to mention the onset of neurodegenerative disease

A qualitative case study of child protection issues in the Indian construction industry: investigating the security, health, and interrelated rights of migrant families

Background: Many of India’s estimated 40 million migrant workers in the construction industry migrate with their children. Though India is undergoing rapid economic growth, numerous child protection issues remain. Migrant workers and their children face serious threats to their health, safety, and well-being. We examined risk and protective factors influencing the basic rights and protections of children and families living and working at a construction site outside Delhi. Methods: Using case study methods and a rights-based model of child protection, the SAFE model, we triangulated data from in-depth interviews with stakeholders on and near the site (including employees, middlemen, and managers); 14 participants, interviews with child protection and corporate policy experts in greater Delhi (8 participants), and focus group discussions (FGD) with workers (4 FGDs, 25 members) and their children (2 FGDs, 9 members). Results: Analyses illuminated complex and interrelated stressors characterizing the health and well-being of migrant workers and their children in urban settings. These included limited access to healthcare, few educational opportunities, piecemeal wages, and unsafe or unsanitary living and working conditions. Analyses also identified both protective and potentially dangerous survival strategies, such as child labor, undertaken by migrant families in the face of these challenges. Conclusions: By exploring the risks faced by migrant workers and their children in the urban construction industry in India, we illustrate the alarming implications for their health, safety, livelihoods, and development. Our findings, illuminated through the SAFE model, call attention to the need for enhanced systems of corporate and government accountability as well as the implementation of holistic child-focused and child-friendly policies and programs in order to ensure the rights and protection of this hyper-mobile, and often invisible, population

Producing “Society-Ready” Foresters: A Research-Based Process to Revise the Bachelor of Science in Forestry Curriculum at Stephen F. Austin State University

“Society-ready” foresters are capable of dealing effectively with the complex economic, ecological, and social issues involving forestry in the 21st century. To assess the knowledge areas, skill sets, abilities, and behaviors needed by society-ready, entry-level foresters today, we surveyed 800 forestry employers and forestry alumni from Stephen F. Austin State University (SFASU), and we also conducted focus group sessions with a total of 58 forestry employers. Important areas of knowledge on emerging issues for society-ready Bachelor of Science in Forestry (BSF) graduates included climate change, water availability and quality, and dealing with invasive plants, pathogens, and insects. However, the skill sets and abilities that involve dealing effectively with people were ranked highest in terms of areas in which the BSF curriculum at SFASU should be strengthened. This basic message—the need to improve people skills while maintaining strength and relevance in technical skills—is consistent with reports, studies, and conferences on forestry education in the United States since the early 1900s. At SFASU, we are revising the BSF curriculum to address the results of our research-based process, and we are also targeting research and outreach to address the century-old, chronic issue of how to measurably improve the knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors needed for foresters to work most effectively with people. In our research and application of results, we learned that the process of curriculum revision is just as important as the product: learning from our process will help guide other program leaders in forestry and natural resources to evaluate and revise undergraduate curricula. When done well, we believe work of this type will strengthen both the rigor and relevance in a curriculum, and the process will also strengthen relationships with alumni, employers, and other key constituents