Analysis of the Nebraska Intake Risk Assessment Instrument

Under current Nebraska law, a youth in Nebraska should be placed in a secure detention facility for only two reasons: (1) “immediate and urgent necessity for the protection of such juvenile or the person or property of another or (2) if it appears that such juvenile is likely to flee the jurisdiction of the court” (Rev. Stat. § 43-251.01(5)). In the State of Nebraska, the Office of Juvenile Probation Administration screens youth using the Nebraska Juvenile Intake Screening Risk Assessment prior to making a determination whether to detain the youth. The assessment is referred to in this report as the Risk Assessment Instrument (RAI) (Office of Probation Administration, 2013). The Office of Probation contracted with the University of Nebraska Omaha’s Juvenile Justice Institute to assess whether the RAI effectively predicts which youth pose a threat to the community (will commit a new law violation) or fail to attend their scheduled court date (flee the court’s jurisdiction). Data was provided by the Office of Probation Administration and included juvenile intakes for whom a Risk Assessment Instrument was completed between September 1, 2013 and August 31, 2014

Fluctuations and Pinch-Offs Observed in Viscous Fingering

Our experiments on viscous (Saffman-Taylor) fingering in Hele-Shaw channels reveal several phenomena that were not observed in previous experiments. At low flow rates, growing fingers undergo width fluctuations that intermittently narrow the finger as they evolve. The magnitude of these fluctuations is proportional to Ca^{-0.64}, where Ca is the capillary number, which is proportional to the finger velocity. This relation holds for all aspect ratios studied up to the onset of tip instabilities. At higher flow rates, finger pinch-off and reconnection events are observed. These events appear to be caused by an interaction between the actively growing finger and suppressed fingers at the back of the channel. Both the fluctuation and pinch-off phenomena are robust but not explained by current theory.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures; to appear in Proceedings of the Seventh Experimental Chaos Conferenc

Fluctuations and Pinch-Offs Observed in Viscous Fingering

Our experiments on viscous (Saffman-Taylor) fingering in Hele-Shaw channels reveal several phenomena that were not observed in previous experiments. At low flow rates, growing fingers undergo width fluctuations that intermittently narrow the finger as they evolve. The magnitude of these fluctuations is proportional to Ca^{-0.64}, where Ca is the capillary number, which is proportional to the finger velocity. This relation holds for all aspect ratios studied up to the onset of tip instabilities. At higher flow rates, finger pinch-off and reconnection events are observed. These events appear to be caused by an interaction between the actively growing finger and suppressed fingers at the back of the channel. Both the fluctuation and pinch-off phenomena are robust but not explained by current theory.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures; to appear in Proceedings of the Seventh Experimental Chaos Conferenc

Determination of parameters for successful spray coating of silicon microneedle arrays

Coated microneedle patches have demonstrated potential for effective, minimally invasive, drug and vaccine delivery. To facilitate cost-effective, industrial-scale production of coated microneedle patches, a continuous coating method which utilises conventional pharmaceutical processes is an attractive prospect. Here, the potential of spray-coating silicon microneedle patches using a conventional film-coating process was evaluated and the key process parameters which impact on coating coalescence and weight were identified by employing a fractional factorial design to coat flat silicon patches. Processing parameters analysed included concentration of coating material, liquid input rate, duration of spraying, atomisation air pressure, gun-to-surface distance and air cap setting. Two film-coating materials were investigated; hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) and carboxymethylcellulose (CMC). HPMC readily formed a film-coat on silicon when suitable spray coating parameter settings were determined. CMC films required the inclusion of a surfactant (1%, w/w Tween 80) to facilitate coalescence of the sprayed droplets on the silicon surface. Spray coating parameters identified by experimental design, successfully coated 280 μm silicon microneedle arrays, producing an intact film-coat, which follows the contours of the microneedle array without occlusion of the microneedle shape. This study demonstrates a novel method of coating microneedle arrays with biocompatible polymers using a conventional film-coating process. It is the first study to indicate the thickness and roughness of coatings applied to microneedle arrays. The study also highlights the importance of identifying suitable processing parameters when film coating substrates of micron dimensions. The ability of a fractional factorial design to identify these critical parameters is also demonstrated. The polymer coatings applied in this study can potentially be drug loaded for intradermal drug and vaccine delivery

Beam Test of a Segmented Foil SEM Grid

A prototype Secondary-electron Emission Monitor (SEM) was installed in the 8 GeV proton transport line for the MiniBooNE experiment at Fermilab. The SEM is a segmented grid made with 5 um Ti foils, intended for use in the 120 GeV NuMI beam at Fermilab. Similar to previous workers, we found that the full collection of the secondary electron signal requires a bias voltage to draw the ejected electrons cleanly off the foils, and this effect is more pronounced at larger beam intensity. The beam centroid and width resolutions of the SEM were measured at beam widths of 3, 7, and 8 mm, and compared to calculations. Extrapolating the data from this beam test, we expect a centroid and width resolutions of 20um and 25 um, respectively, in the NuMI beam which has 1 mm spot size.Comment: submitted to Nucl. Instr. Meth.

Clinician Perspectives on the Need for Training and Caring for Pregnant Women with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities [poster]

Background: Women with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) experience disparities in obstetric care access and quality, in addition to communication gaps with healthcare providers. Many obstetric providers are untrained and uneducated about critical aspects of providing care to persons with IDD. Objectives: The present study was conducted (1) to describe obstetric clinicians’ training experiences related to providing obstetric care to women with IDD, (2) to assess obstetric clinicians’ perceived need for formalized training, and (3) to identify recommendations for training content and dissemination. Methods: This study involved qualitative individual interviews (n=9) and one focus group (n=8) with obstetric clinicians who self-reported experience caring for women with IDD during pregnancy. Descriptive coding and content analysis techniques were used to develop an iterative codebook related to education and training; codes were applied to the data. Coded data were analyzed for larger themes and relationships. Results: Analysis revealed three main themes: 1. Need for obstetric training and education: No participant reported receiving any training in caring for pregnant women with IDD. Participants expressed a need for formal education. 2. Recommendations for formal training: Participants noted a dearth of clinical practice guidelines, the need for pregnancy-specific training during residency and beyond, and all healthcare staff should be included in training opportunities. 3. Training outcomes should increase knowledge, enhance attitudes, and develop practical skills related to communication and care for pregnant women with IDD. Conclusion: Study results indicate a need for and interest in systematic training efforts regarding obstetric care for women with IDD. Improved training and education may decrease health inequities and improve the quality of obstetric care, and thus pregnancy outcomes, for women with IDD

Nebraska Alternative to Detention Programs 2015 to 2016

The overarching goal of an alternative to detention (ATD) program is to ensure that youth released to the community are adequately supervised instead of being detained. JJI set out to evaluate whether youth would have in fact been detained (that is, are we using the program as an alternative to detention?). Secondarily, we planned to evaluate whether the program ensured that the youth showed up for the scheduled court date and refrained from any new law violations while placed in the community. The research questions that JJI hoped to answer were as follows: 1. How many youth are served in an ATD? 2. How many of those youth would have gone to detention, without the ATD? 3. Are ATDs effective programs for ensuring youth get to their court date? 4. Do ATDs help youth avoid additional charges while the court date is pending? Number of youth served? Programs funded through Community-based Aid, including ATDs, are statutorily required to report data to the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice (Nebraska Crime Commission or NCC) (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-2404.02(4a)). This requirement is fulfilled when programs enter youth information into the Juvenile Case Management System (JCMS). However, many of these programs serve youth at various stages, some pre-adjudicated and others who have been adjudicated to probation. For an accurate count of youth served, programs must enter data on all youth served. The Office of Probation has indicated that they cannot share any information about youth who are on probation because it is a violation of confidentiality. However, the community-based aid statutes are clear regarding confidential records. Neb. Rev. Stat. §43-2404.02(c) specifically states that: ”Providing the commission access to records and information for, as well as the commission granting access to records and information from, the common data set is not a violation of confidentiality provisions under any law, rule, or regulation if done in good faith for purposes of evaluation. Records and documents, regardless of physical form, that are obtained or produced or presented to the commission for the common data set are not public records for purposes of sections 84-712 to 84-712.09. Furthermore, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-2404.02 mandates that the Office of Probation shall share data with the Nebraska Crime Commission, “to ensure that the dataset permits evaluation of recidivism and other measures.” How many of those youth would have gone to detention, without the ATD? In the State of Nebraska, the Office of Juvenile Probation Administration screens youth using the Nebraska Juvenile Intake Screening Risk Assessment prior to making a recommendation on whether a youth should be detained. The data indicates that 26.2% of the youth participating in an ATD were the intended population and scored high enough to be detained, if not for an available ATD. However, once again, in 476 cases the data on RAI score not completed, so we are unable to assess whether youth served in our ATDs would have otherwise been detained. Are ATDs effective programs for ensuring youth get to their court date? JJI sought court data on court dates for the youth served through an alternative to detention from the Court Administrator. Unfortunately, when a youth fails to appear for court that is coded as continued, but the reason the case is continued is not captured. In the future, JJI will build fields to capture information related to court dates and ask programs to track whether the youth appeared in court as scheduled. Do ATDs help youth avoid additional charges while the court date is pending? From the 877 youth examined, only 91 or roughly 10%, had a new law violation between the youth’s date of enrollment in an ATD and the date of discharge. Unfortunately, while these appear to be very promising results, with so much data missing, the results are incomplete and not valid. Overall, the missing data compiled for this report led to an insufficient count of youth participating in ATDs and an inadequate evaluation into how alternatives to detention are being used in Nebraska