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This brief highlights the challenges that the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic posed for community supervision organizations, how they adapted to those challenges, and a discussion of which adaptations might hold promise after the pandemic.

In this report, the authors focus on common needs that apply to all three sections of the justice system: law enforcement, the courts, and corrections agencies. Starting with the deep pool of feedback and input collected from the practitioner community across the five-year Priority Criminal Justice Needs Initiative project, the authors abstracted insights about innovation needs for the justice system as a whole.

Jails produce vast amounts of data because of the expanding scope of services they are expected to provide. However, most jails are not using these data to improve operations or outcomes. An expert panel of administrators, researchers, and representatives from national organizations discussed the challenges related to using data in jails and identified ways to overcome these obstacles.

Prison systems are highly complex, are often underresourced, and might lack the internal capacity to effectively implement evidence-based risk and needs assessments (RNAs) in their operations. Furthermore, it can be difficult to change institutional culture to accept an evidence-based approach in an environment in which custody objectives are paramount. A panel of experts identified ways to address and improve the use of RNA tools in prisons.

The influence of a series of Ethomeens (ethoxylated alkylamine organic friction modifiers) on the durability and friction of tribofilms formed by a commercial blend of primary and secondary ZDDP in sliding/rolling contact has been studied. When pre-formed ZDDP tribofilms are rubbed in Ethomeen solution, boundary friction is reduced and some of the ZDDP film is removed. Ethomeens having just two ethoxy groups give lower boundary friction on ZDDP than those with 15 ethoxy groups, but result in much greater removal of the tribofilm itself. Based on XANES analysis, the film removed by both types of Ethomeen consists primarily of nanocrystalline orthophosphate. The level of boundary friction and its dependence on sliding speed, coupled with the dimensions of the molecules, suggests that the Ethomeens with two ethoxy groups may form quite closely packed vertical monolayers on ZDDP tribofilm surfaces, but that those with fifteen ethoxy groups cannot be close packed; yet they still reduce boundary friction significantly. The study shows that selection of an appropriate aminic friction modifier for use with ZDDP is a balance between its ability to reduce friction and its potentially harmful effect on a ZDDP tribofilm.

Tribofilm formation by several zinc dialkyl- and diaryldithiophosphate (ZDDP) solutions in thin film rolling-sliding conditions has been investigated. A primary, a secondary alkyl and a mixed alkyl ZDDP show similar rates of film formation and generate films typically 150 nm thick. Another secondary ZDDP forms a tribofilm much faster and the film is partially lost after extended rubbing. An aryl ZDDP forms a tribofilm much more slowly. The films all have a pad-like structure, characterised by flat pad regions separated by deep valleys. Three different techniques have been used to analyse the thickness and morphology of the tribofilms: spacer layer imaging (SLIM), scanning white light interferometry (SWLI) of the gold-coated film and contact mode atomic force microscopy (AFM). The SLIM method measures considerably thicker films than the other two techniques, probably because of lack of full conformity of a glass disc loaded against the rough tribofilm. No evidence of a highly viscous layer on top of the solid tribofilm is seen. SWLI and contact mode AFM measure similar film thicknesses. The importance of coating the tribofilm with a reflective layer prior to using SWLI is confirmed. As noted in previous work, the formation of a ZDDP tribofilm is accompanied by a marked shift in the Stribeck friction curve towards higher entrainment speed. For a given ZDDP this shift is found to correlate with the measured tribofilm roughness, proving that it results from the influence of this roughness on fluid entrainment in the inlet.

This report presents challenges and needs associated with threats to correctional institution safety and security, including violence, contraband, and compromised staff members. In light of the ongoing challenges the corrections sector faces in countering these threats, RAND researchers convened an expert workshop to better understand the challenges and identify the high-priority needs associated with threats to institutional security.

An expert workshop of correctional administrators and researchers explored how technology can be used to address key challenges faced by community corrections agencies. Participants recommended developing best practices for leveraging technology to improve officer safety, improve officer competencies, facilitate positive offender behaviors, hold offenders accountable, and improve agencies' operational effectiveness.

Some jurisdictions are making great strides with respect to how the criminal justice system deals with individuals with serious mental illness (SMI), but significant challenges and opportunities remain. This report presents the results of an expert workshop convened to identify the needs associated with how individuals with SMI become justice-involved and how to achieve better outcomes before and after they come under correctional control.

Focussed ion beam milling (FIB) followed by TEM has been used to study ZDDP tribofilms on rubbed steel surfaces. It has been found that the impact of high energy platinum and gallium ions during FIB causes significant morphological and structural changes to the uppermost 30–50 nm of a ZDDP tribofilm. This can be prevented by the low energy deposition of a quite thick gold layer prior to installation of the sample in the FIB facility. This problem, and its solution, have been quite widely reported in the non-tribology literature but have not previously been highlighted in the application of FIB to study tribological surfaces. It has also been found, using this gold pre-deposition method, that the bulk of the ZDDP tribofilm studied has a polycrystalline structure.

Correctional staff must protect the public from those convicted of crimes and prepare convicted people for successful, law-abiding lives in the community through the reentry process. It is thus critically important for the corrections sector to develop a high-quality workforce. This report presents the results of an expert panel discussion focused on identifying and prioritizing ways to address workforce concerns in the corrections sector.

Correctional facilities have a constitutional obligation to provide for the health and well-being of those under their charge, but maintaining inmate health and safety is a significant challenge. This report presents the results of an expert panel convened to consider these challenges and identify a series of needs that, if addressed, could significantly reduce inmate mortality rates.

ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS. Ostrinia nubilalis, Zea mays, prediction maps, spatial mapping, integrated pest management SUMMARY. Infestation of sweet corn (Zea mays) at harvest by european corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis) was examined in 16 hybrid/harvest date combinations from 1994 through 1996 in central Pennsylvania. Two general periods of sweet corn ear infestation levels were observed. Infestations, expressed as proportion of ears infested, were 0.11 (11%) or lower in 10 of 11 plots harvested from 21 July to 23 Aug., whereas they were noticeably higher (30%–88%) in September and early October. Infestations expressed as larvae per ear showed the same temporal pattern. A nonlinear (sigmoidal) relationship was found between degree-days from 1 Jan. and proportion of ears infested. The higher infestations were caused by the secondgeneration larvae of the bivoltine ecotype. Based on these relationships, a riskprediction system is proposed that anticipates, at planting, harvest infestation by using predicted harvest dates of sweet corn, european corn borer life stages, and infestation levels. Examples are presented for multiple plantings and hybrids for a specific site and a landscape (Pennsylvania). The risk prediction system we propose will allow growers to anticipate the risk of ear infestations at planting time, thus providing predictions that would help with management decisions.

Transmembrane domains (TMDs) of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) have very low water solubility and often aggregate during purification and biophysical investigations. To circumvent this problem many laboratories add oligolysines to the N -a ndC-termini of peptides that correspond to a TMD. To systematically evaluate the effect of the oligolysines on the biophysical properties of a TMD we synthesized 21 peptides corresponding to either the second (TPIFIINQVSLFLIILHSALYFKY) or sixth (SFHILLIMSSQSLLVPSIIFILAYSLK) TMD of Ste2p, a GPCR from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Added to the termini of these peptides were either Lysn (n = 1,2,3) or the corresponding native loop residues. The biophysical properties of the peptides were investigated by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy in trifluoroethanol-water mixtures, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) micelles and dimyristoylphosphocholine (DMPC)-dimyristoylphosphoglycerol (DMPG) vesicles, and by attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) in DMPC/DMPG multilayers. The results show that the conformation assumed depends on the number of lysine residues and the sequence of the TMD. Identical peptides with native or an equal number of lysine residues exhibited different biophysical properties and structural tendencies. Copyright  2006 European Peptide Society and John Wiley &S ons, Ltd.

Rationale and Objectives To evaluate the outcome of diagnostic breast MR imaging followed by MR guided needle localization for mammographically and sonographically occult breast lesions in a community-based hospital. Materials and Methods Records of the initial 50 consecutive patients who underwent MR guided needle localizations at our institution from November 2001 to January 2003 were reviewed. Sixty-two lesions were localized by MR and were mammographically and sonographically occult. Pathology following excision was reviewed and correlated with the MR findings. Results Cancer was present in 15 % (9/62) of lesions or 18 % (9/50) of the women localized. Five of the lesions (56%) were invasive carcinoma and four (44%) were ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). High-risk lesions, including atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH) and atypical lobular hyperplasia (ALH), were found in 6.5 % (4/62) of the lesions, while 3 % (2/62) of the lesions contained lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS). Cancer plus high risk lesions were found in 15/62 (24%) lesions or 14/50 (28%) of women who underwent biopsy. Conclusion The data in this study supports findings from other studies conducted by large research institutions. In this regard, it is important that community-based hospitals, such as the one operating this breast MR program, can achieve the same positive predictive values as those found in data emanating from academic institutions.

Candida albicans genes involved in mating have been identified previously by homology to Saccharomyces cerevisiae mating pathway components. The C. albicans genome encodes CaSte2p, a homolog of the S. cerevisiae alpha-mating pheromone receptor Ste2p, and two potential pheromones, alpha-F13 (GFRLTNFGYFEPG) and alpha-F14 (GFRLTNFGYFEPGK). The response of several C. albicans strains to the synthesized peptides was determined. The alpha-F13 was degraded by a C. albicans MTLa strain but not by S. cerevisiae MATa cells. The CaSTE2 gene was cloned and expressed in a ste2-deleted strain of S. cerevisiae. Growth arrest and beta-galactosidase activity induced from a FUS1-lacZ reporter construct increased in a dose-dependent manner upon exposure of transgenic S. cerevisiae to alpha-F13. Mating between the strain expressing CaSTE2 and an opposite mating type was mediated by alpha-F13 and not by the S. cerevisiae alpha-factor. The results indicated that CaSte2p effectively coupled to the S. cerevisiae signal transduction pathway. Functional expression of CaSte2p in S. cerevisiae provides a well-defined system for studying the biochemistry and molecular biology of the C. albicans pheromone and its receptor.

Climate change presents problems for risk assessment procedures due to the difficulty of assigning a measure of probability to any future scenario. Grey systems theory provides an alternative means of quantifying uncertainty based on interval numbers. Within a mathematical programming model, grey systems theory provides a means for working with uncertainties that are not amenable to stochastic or fuzzy quantification. An example of forestry and agricultural expansion in the Mackenzie River Basin is used to illustrate grey mathematical programming in a hop, skip and jump formulation. In this example, climatic constraints are implicitly contained in other parameters which did not incorporate the different components of uncertainty associated with meteorological observations. These components can be combined into a numerical interval that can be used in determining a grey number. However, most of these uncertainties are negligible in climatic data sets due to the number of observations. Nevertheless, these uncertainties point to some of the problems in assessing the risks of climate change, and a grey mathematical programming algorithm is useful for assessing the sensitivity of a decision to climatically sensitive parameters.

To evaluate the outcome of diagnostic breast MR imaging followed by MR guided needle localization for mammographically and sonographically occult breast lesions in a community-based hospital.Records of the initial 50 consecutive patients who underwent MR guided needle localizations at our institution from November 2001 to January 2003 were reviewed. Sixty-two lesions were localized by MR and were mammographically and sonographically occult. Pathology following excision was reviewed and correlated with the MR findings.Cancer was present in 15 % (9/62) of lesions or 18 % (9/50) of the women localized. Five of the lesions (56%) were invasive carcinoma and four (44%) were ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). High-risk lesions, including atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH) and atypical lobular hyperplasia (ALH), were found in 6.5 % (4/62) of the lesions, while 3 % (2/62) of the lesions contained lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS). Cancer plus high risk lesions were found in 15/62 (24%) lesions or 14/50 (28%) of women who underwent biopsy.The data in this study supports findings from other studies conducted by large research institutions. In this regard, it is important that community-based hospitals, such as the one operating this breast MR program, can achieve the same positive predictive values as those found in data emanating from academic institutions.

Peptide models have been widely used to investigate conformational aspects of domains of proteins since the early 1950s. A pioneer in this field was Dr. Murray Goodman, who applied a battery of methodologies to study the onset of structure in homooligopeptides. This article reviews some of Dr. Goodman's contributions, and reports recent studies using linear and constrained peptides corresponding to the first extracellular loop and linear peptides corresponding to the sixth transmembrane domain of a G-protein coupled receptor from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Peptides containing 30–40 residues were synthesized using solid-phase methods and purified to near homogeneity by reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography. CD and NMR analyses indicated that the first extracellular loop peptides were mostly flexible in water, and assumed some helical structure near the N-terminus in trifluoroethanol and in the presence of micelles. Comparison of oligolysines with native loop residues revealed that three lysines at each terminus of a peptide corresponding to the sixth transmembrane domain of the α-factor receptor resulted in better aqueous solubility and greater helicity than the native loop residues. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers (Pept Sci), 2005

The International Geosphere-Biosphere Program — Biological Aspects of the Hydrological Cycle (IGBP-BAHC) is concerned with the role of the biosphere in the hydrological cycle over a range of space and time scales. One crucial emphasis in this exercise involves ‘upscaling’ or aggregating the processes in the soil-vegetation-atmosphere interface from the patch scale of ecology to the mesoscale, larger regional scales and the continental scale. In time the upscaling must move from hours to decades and even longer time periods. A second emphasis involves the ‘downscaling’ of low-resolution climatic and meteorological data to high-resolution grids that are suitable for ecological and hydrological research. These two emphases are described along with prototype models for upscaling and downscaling. Other issues such as the incorporation of land surface heterogeneity in upscaling and the classification of atmospheric circulation patterns in downscaling are discussed along with other aspects related to these emphases are presented in greater detail. In particular the discussion of the downscaling component in BAHC summarizes the results of the most recent workshops (BAHC, 1993a and b).