Disengagement from street gangs: a systematic review of the literature

Many studies identify the risk factors for joining street gangs, but few explore disengagement. This article provides a systematic review of the factors which contribute to disengagement from gangs. Understanding this area is of paramount importance to developing policy and guiding practitioners working with this population, given the impact this lifestyle has on gang members and society as a whole. Seven academic databases, reference lists of relevant publications, an online search engine and a government database were used to identify relevant studies. Inclusion and exclusion criteria and quality assessment methods were employed. Data were then extracted and synthesised. Of 2515 citations, seven were found to have methodological rigour. The findings suggest there is not one definitive reason for gang exit but rather that multiple factors contribute. Variability was found in the quality scores. The limitations of this review are discussed, along with clinical implications and suggestions for future research.     

Exploring healthcare professionals’ perceptions of medication errors in an adult oncology department in Saudi Arabia: A qualitative study

Objective

Adverse events which result from medication errors are considered to be one of the most frequently encountered patient safety issues in clinical settings. We undertook a qualitative investigation to identify and explore factors relating to medication error in an adult oncology department in Saudi Arabia from the perspective of healthcare professionals.

Ultrasound-Assist Extrusion Methods for the Fabrication of Polymer Nanocomposites Based on Polypropylene/Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotubes

Isotactic polypropylenes (iPP) with different melt flow indexes (MFI) were used to fabricate nanocomposites (NCs) with 10 wt % loadings of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) using ultrasound-assisted extrusion methods to determine their effect on the morphology, melt flow, and electrical properties of the NCs. Three different types of iPPs were used with MFIs of 2.5, 34 and 1200 g/10 min. Four different NC fabrication methods based on melt extrusion were used. In the first method melt extrusion fabrication without ultrasound assistance was used. In the second and third methods, an ultrasound probe attached to a hot chamber located at the exit of the die was used to subject the sample to fixed frequency and variable frequency, respectively. The fourth method is similar to the first method, with the difference being that the carbon nanotubes were treated in a fluidized air-bed with an ultrasound probe before being used in the fabrication of the NCs with no ultrasound assistance during extrusion. The samples were characterized by MFI, Optical microscopy (OM), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electrical surface resistivity, and electric charge. MFI decreases in all cases with addition of MWCNTs with the largest decrease observed for samples with the highest MFI. The surface resistivity, which ranged from 10¹³ to 10⁵ Ω/sq, and electric charge, were observed to depend on the ultrasound-assisted fabrication method as well as on the melt flow index of the iPP. A relationship between agglomerate size and area ratio with electric charge was found. Several trends in the overall data were identified and are discussed in terms of MFI and the different fabrication methods.