Correctional Settings Research Articles

Simulations of a tornadic supercell event in the south of Spain: Sensitivity to initial and boundary conditions and microphysics parameterizations

A tornadic supercell near the village of Campillos (Malaga province) occurred on 26 August 2019 with several associated damages. In this study, we analyze the sensitivity of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to initial and boundary conditions and microphysics parameterizations when reproducing this particular event. A total of 20 cases were simulated with four initial and boundary conditions (ERA5, GDAS/FNL, GFS, HRES-IFS) and five microphysics parameterizations (WDM6, Goddard, Morrison, Thompson, WSM6). Forecasts are quantitatively compared with 10-min observations at 153 weather stations for the following variables: temperature at 2 m (T2), relative humidity at 2 m (RH2), wind speed at 10 m (U10) and accumulated precipitation in 3 h (PCP3h). Similarly, the spatial verification method MODE (Method for Object-Based Diagnostic Evaluation) has been used to evaluate the reproduction of convective storms by high-resolution numerical simulations. Our results indicate that microphysics plays a key role in this event, being more relevant than initial and boundary conditions. In particular, Goddard configuration combined with ERA5 or IFS initial and boundary conditions has shown the best overall performance. Simulation based on Goddard and ERA5 captured features to diagnose the development of severe convection. Therefore, WRF model, with the correct parameter sets, was able to reproduce the environmental conditions for supercell formation. The spatial resolution used in the simulations was appropriate to explicitly generate a supercellular storm, although it was not sufficiently high to resolve the formation of tornadoes. Nevertheless, the model showed signs of an environment favourable to tornadogenesis.

A Quantization of the Loday-Ronco Hopf Algebra

We propose a quantization algebra of the Loday-Ronco Hopf algebra k[Y∞]\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$k[Y^\\infty ]$$\\end{document}, based on the Topological Recursion formula of Eynard and Orantin. We have shown in previous works that the Loday-Ronco Hopf algebra of planar binary trees is a space of solutions for the genus 0 version of Topological Recursion, and that an extension of the Loday Ronco Hopf algebra as to include some new graphs with loops is the correct setting to find a solution space for arbitrary genus. Here we show that this new algebra k[Y∞]h\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$k[Y^\\infty ]_h$$\\end{document} is still a Hopf algebra that can be seen in some sense to be made precise in the text as a quantization of the Hopf algebra of planar binary trees, and that the solution space of Topological Recursion ATopRech\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\mathcal {A}^h_{\ ext {TopRec}}$$\\end{document} is a subalgebra of a quotient algebra ARegh\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\mathcal {A}_{\ ext {Reg}}^h$$\\end{document} obtained from k[Y∞]h\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$k[Y^\\infty ]_h$$\\end{document} that nevertheless doesn’t inherit the Hopf algebra structure. We end the paper with a discussion on the cohomology of ATopRech\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\mathcal {A}^h_{\ ext {TopRec}}$$\\end{document} in low degree.

Characterizing predictors of COVID-19 vaccine refusal in an urban southern California jail population

BackgroundCorrectional populations have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19, and many large outbreaks have occurred in jails and prisons. Vaccination is a key strategy to reduce the SARS-CoV-2 transmission in carceral settings. Although implementation can be challenging due to vaccine hesitancy and medical mistrust, correctional settings provide largely equitable healthcare access and present a unique opportunity to identify potential predictors of vaccine hesitancy independent of access issues. MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed electronic health record data for individuals offered COVID-19 vaccination at the Los Angeles County Jail between January 19, 2021, and January 31, 2023, and used multivariable logistic regression to determine predictors of COVID-19 vaccine refusal. ResultsOf the 21,424 individuals offered COVID-19 vaccination, 2,060 (9.6 %) refused. Refusal was associated with male sex ([aOR] = 2.3, 95 % CI (1.9, 2.8)), age 18–34 ([aOR] = 1.2, 95 % CI (1.1, 1.4), referent group: age 45–54), Black race ([aOR] = 1.2, 95 % CI (1.1, 1.4)), reporting ever being houseless ([aOR] = 1.2, 95 % CI (1.1, 1.3)), and having a history of not receiving influenza vaccination while incarcerated ([aOR] = 2.4, 95 % CI (2.0, 2.8)). When analyzing male and female populations separately, male-specific trends reflected those seen in the overall population, whereas the only significant predictor of vaccine refusal in the female population was not receiving influenza vaccination while in custody ([aOR] = 6.5, 95 % CI (2.4, 17.6)). ConclusionIdentifying predictors of vaccine refusal in correctional populations is an essential first step in the development and implementation of targeted interventions to mitigate vaccine hesitancy.

Emergence of species scale black hole horizons

The scale at which quantum gravity becomes manifest, the species scale Λs, has recently been argued to take values parametrically lower than the Planck scale. We use black holes of vanishing horizon area (small black holes) in effective field theories coupled to quantum gravity to shed light on how the three different physical manifestations of the species scale Λs relate to each other. (i) Near the small black hole core, a scalar field runs to infinite distance in moduli space, a regime in which the Swampland Distance Conjecture predicts a tower of exponentially light states, which lower Λs. (ii) We integrate out modes in the tower and generate via Emergence a set of higher derivative corrections, showing that Λs is the scale at which such terms become relevant. (iii) Finally, higher derivative terms modify the black hole solution and grant it a non-zero, species scale sized stretched horizon of radius Λs−1\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ {\\Lambda}_s^{-1} $$\\end{document}, showcasing the species scale as the size of the smallest possible black hole describable in the effective theory.We present explicit 4d examples of small black holes in 4d N\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ \\mathcal{N} $$\\end{document} = 2 supergravity, and the 10d example of type IIA D0-branes. The emergence of the species scale horizon for D0-branes requires a non-trivial interplay of different 8-derivative terms in type IIA and M-theory, providing a highly non-trivial check of our unified description of the different phenomena associated to the species scale.

Controlling COVID-19 outbreaks in the correctional setting: A mathematical modelling study.

Correctional centres (termed here 'prisons') are at high risk of COVID-19 and have featured major outbreaks worldwide. Inevitable close contacts, frequent inmate movements, and a disproportionate burden of co-morbidities mean these environments need to be prioritised in any public health response to respiratory pathogens such as COVID-19. We developed an individual-based SARS-CoV-2 transmission model for the prison system in New South Wales, Australia - incorporating all 33 correctional centres, 13,458 inmates, 578 healthcare and 6,909 custodial staff. Potential COVID-19 disease outbreaks were assessed under various mitigation strategies, including quarantine on entry, isolation of cases, rapid antigen testing of staff, as well as immunisation.Without control measures, the model projected a peak of 472 new infections daily by day 35 across the prison system, with all inmates infected by day 120. The most effective individual mitigation strategies were high immunisation coverage and prompt lockdown of centres with infected inmates which reduced outbreak size by 62-73%. Other than immunisation, the combination of quarantine of inmates at entry, isolation of proven or suspected cases, and widespread use of personal protective equipment by staff and inmates was the most effective strategy. High immunisation coverage mitigates the spread of COVID-19 within and between correctional settings but is insufficient alone. Maintaining quarantine and isolation, along with high immunisation levels, will allow correctional systems to function with a low risk of outbreaks. These results have informed public health policy for respiratory pathogens in Australian correctional systems.

Improving adolescent sleep in long-term Juvenile correctional settings: case examples with clinical, research, and policy implications.

Poor sleep during adolescence is a public health concern that may be especially important to address among youth in juvenile correctional facilities, who tend to experience greater mental health challenges, substance use disorders, and traumatic stress exposure. However, evidence for addressing sleep in correctional settings is limited. Using de-identified composite clinical cases, this paper describes challenges and opportunities for addressing sleep disorders (i.e. insomnia) and promoting sleep health (i.e. improving duration, regularity, and behaviors) among adolescents in long-term juvenile correctional facilities. These clinical cases highlight common presenting problems and underscore the need for integrated sleep and mental health interventions as well as adaptations to enhance feasibility and efficacy of behavioral sleep treatment and sleep health promotion in juvenile correctional contexts. We conclude by summarizing clinical, research, and policy implications for addressing adolescent sleep problems and promoting sleep health and well-being in these contexts.

Effect of Yoga on Psychological and Emotion Regulation among Women Prisoners: A Pilot, Randomized Controlled Trial

ABSTRACT Background: Given the stress of imprisonment and isolation from families, the women prisoners are subjected to increased anxiety, depression, and emotional dysregulation. Due to these negative outcomes, it is imperative to find efficient nonpharmacological interventions. Yoga improves mental health in both correctional settings and the general population. Studies conducted on the mental health of female prison inmates are scarce. Materials and Methods: A randomized controlled trial was used and instigated on 76 women prisoners with moderate-to-severe stress levels, randomly allocated into Group 1 (n = 36) and Group 2 (n = 40). Group 1 was taught with 90 min of Integrated Approach of Yoga Therapy and Group 2 was taught with 90 min of free choice physical exercise for 15 days. Assessments were taken before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed using the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) adjusting for the baseline differences. Results: Significant difference in effect was found between the groups in the State Trait Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), emotion regulation questionnaire, and positive and negative affect questionnaire schedule (PANAS). Within group analysis demonstrated improved scores in all psychological constructs in the yoga group. Although some constructs also shown significant changes in the control group, the effect size was less when compared to the yoga group. Conclusion: Yoga can be administered in the prison setting daily to maintain the mental health of the women prisoners.

VISUAL DATA COMPUTER PROCESSING IN EDUCATIONAL DIY PROJECTS

The software tools for processing visual data in an educational chemical experiment, the experience of their usage, and a number of DIY (Do it yourself) projects developed on their basis were analyzed. Particular attention was paid to the role of self-made devices during the forced online education caused by COVID-19 and the full-scale war in Ukraine. The results of the development of the software tool ColorKit, which is being developed at the Department of Physics and Chemistry of H.S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University are presented. The basic principles were covered, the interface was described, the main functions of the application and their areas of usage were given. The principle of operation of the modules: "Spectrophotometer", "Colorimeter", "Refractometer", "Polarimeter" was characterized. The features of the structure of optical computer devices for physico-chemical analysis developed by teachers, students of higher education and students, members of the Academy of Medical Sciences were considered, and the results of their testing were highlighted. The design of an absorption spectrophotometer based on a reflective diffraction grating made from a DVD disc was described; a new method of its calibration using a diamond green solution was proposed. The operating model was tested and it was established that the accuracy of the device was sufficient for demonstration and educational chemical experiments. The operating principle of the "Colorimeter" module of the ColorKit software tool was considered. It was shown that, unlike other software tools, it had built-in approximation tools, which significantly facilitated the processing of visual data; displaying the results of mathematical processing in a graphic form, which made the experiment visual. It should be noted that for the correct operation of the virtual spectrophotometer and colorimeter in real time, the correct setting of the video device driver is quite important. A number of optical schemes of refractometers developed on the basis of the ColorKit software tool were presented: with liquid and V-prisms; i.e. the device whose principle of action is based on changing the optical properties of the lens in contact with the solution. It was shown that the simultaneous display of the course of the rays and the results of mathematical processing provides a high level of visibility. The results of the approval of the LED DIE refractometer with a V-prism are outlined. Further prospects for the development of the ColorKit project are planned.

Successes and Challenges in Implementing a Human Trafficking Screening Tool in a Local Detention Center

Research solidly documents the victim-offender overlap in various crimes, including human trafficking. Given the hidden nature of this exploitative crime, increasing the identification of victims is crucial. One way to do this is through the creation and implementation of screening tools. To date, most screening tools for human trafficking victims are created by and implemented in the field of health care or with youth or young adults, particularly those who have experienced housing instability. However, the use of these tools to identify victims of human trafficking in correctional settings—where victims are often misidentified as offenders—is limited. To address this deficiency, a victim-centered, trauma-informed screening tool was implemented in a local detention center to identify human trafficking victims, with the purpose of offering them resources to facilitate their exit from trafficking situations. This article outlines the creation and implementation of the tool and discusses its successes, challenges, lessons learned, and recommendations for replication.

Coping with Depression, Anxiety & Stress: The Healing Effects of a Jail-Based Trauma Sensitive Yoga Program

Stress, anxiety and depression, often linked to internalizing/externalizing behaviors, are remarkedly high in a jail-based setting when one’s future is uncertain. While research demonstrates that carceral yoga programs can provide physiological/psychological benefits, persons who are incarcerated, who have high rates of trauma-related experiences and mental illness, might benefit more from a trauma sensitive approach. Empirical studies examining the specific impact of trauma sensitive yoga (TSY) on populations who are incarcerated appear unavailable, necessitating this exploratory investigation with male residents in a TSY intervention at a New York jail. Through pre and post-test interviewing and a mixed methods data analysis, data indicated that those who participated in TSY experienced statistically significant increases in overall health, in addition to statistically significant reductions in stress, anxiety, depression and institutional misconduct. Qualitative analyses suggested that male participants experienced transcendence of the jail environment, easing the monotony of the correctional setting. TSY also provided them with new opportunities, the ability to regulate emotions/behaviors and initiate personal growth/changes within. Hence, this research implies that TSY, a benign intervention, easily implemented in a correctional setting, has the ability to beget benefits for persons who are incarcerated within a short period of time. This is vital to providing rehabilitative options within the transient nature of the jail setting.

Public Health Implications of Violence and Correctional Settings.

Public Health Implications of Violence and Correctional Settings.

Breastfeeding in Correctional Settings.

Breastfeeding in Correctional Settings.

Pitfalls in the Optimization of Conformer Populations to Maximize the Similarity between Predicted and Experimental Chiroptical Spectra.

The conformational populations of pantolactone, epichlorohydrin, and N-acetyl-tryptophan methyl ester were investigated by using similarity analysis between their calculated and experimental chiroptical spectra. By performing the analysis on pantolactone using two different chiroptical methods, namely, vibrational circular dichroism and Raman optical activity, it was found that the optimal sets of conformers do not match between the two methods, indicating that the conformational populations obtained by optimizing the similarity between calculated and experimental spectra are unlikely to be more accurate than energy-based Boltzmann populations. Also, it was found for pantolactone, epichlorohydrin, and N-acetyl-tryptophan methyl ester that the similarity between calculated and experimental spectra would often not vary significantly if each of the populated conformers was discarded, one at a time. This observation indicates that more than one set of conformers can provide acceptable similarity between the predicted and experimental spectra. Therefore, the correct set of conformers cannot be accurately determined by similarity analysis.

POLITICAL CORRECTNESS IN POLITICAL DISCOURSE: THEORY OF IDEOLOGICAL ASPECT

The article aims to highlight the ideological aspect of functioning politically correct vocabulary in today’s political discourse. Realization of the set goal requires solving the following objectives: 1) to expand scholarly ideas about the interpretation of the linguistic phenomenon of political correctness as sociocultural and linguistic-behavioral ideology in political discourse; 2) based on the introduction of the concept “ideologeme”, to consider the classification of politically correct lexical units, used in political discourse. The study employs general scientific methods (analysis, generalization, systematization of scholarly literature on the issue under consideration), and special linguistic methods (method of distributional analysis, used to highlight the main semantic groups of politically correct vocabulary; elements of the component analysis, necessary to identify components of the meaning of politically correct vocabulary; method of linguostylistic analysis, used to study the functional features of politically correct vocabulary based on ideology). The study emphesizes that the phenomenon of political correctness can be considered as a set of linguistic and discursive components of the organization of the ideological life of modern society. It is able to ensure the creation of a system of values, the worldview, and in general, it involves the construction of reality. It also contributes to the dissemination and imposition of an opinion on one or another issue in society, mostly within the framework of political discourse. Political correctness deals with a situation in society where implicit rules of decency direct the ways of behavior in interactions between people of different races, genders, religions, and other potentially charged groups. It seems that political correctness in political discourse concerns all those areas where the interests of different groups of society collide on the issue of what is considered true or false, and who is considered “friend” or “stranger”. Political correctness as an ideology offers a polar view on social life, highlighting in it “good” (“right”) and “evil” (“bad”). Consequently, at the most abstract level, there are concepts that define the basic values of political correctness, as well as their “antipodes,” i.e., undesirable, unacceptable phenomena and attitudes that must be eradicated from social life (e.g., tolerant / intolerant, inclusive / exclusive). In general, it can be presented as a “good – evil” model of social life, which works and effectively serves the ideology of political correctness. Admittedly, the structure of the language of political correctness is not as homogeneous as it is commonly believed. Two broad layers of politically correct lexis that perform qualitatively different roles are considered: politically correct vocabulary, which includes the “acceptable” names of sociocultural phenomena, and politically correct ideologemes that are used to directly form a politically correct worldview. Ideologemes, as a result of the interaction of language and ideology, represent the optimal means for establishing the dominant worldview in the country, influence the transformation of the addressee’s already existing political worldview, explicitly or implicitly represent the basic ideological and value attitudes of a society. If politically correct vocabulary itself is an example of the “acceptable” language concerning different matters of life, then the ideologemes of political correctness set standards for assessing heterogeneous sociocultural phenomena. In turn, the attitudes and principles embedded in the ideologemes are implemented in the creation of politically correct vocabulary. Thus, ideologemes form the core of the linguistic representation of the ideology of political correctness. Their most common word-formation models involve exploiting the suffix -ism, the -free and -phobia components, the words “bias” and “sensitivity”. It can be argued that the ideologeme is a characteristic element of the global political context, since it is a kind of reference to a particular era, its meaning is detached from the direct meanings of the lexical units that make it up. An adequate understanding of the ideologeme is possible only in the context of the corresponding ideology and the context of a certain period of history.

Nondestructive detection of potato starch content based on near-infrared hyperspectral imaging technology

Abstract The traditional method of determining potato starch content is not only time-consuming and labor-intensive, but also very aggressive and destructive, which also causes serious pollution to the environment. Therefore, it is necessary to study the fast, efficient, and environment-friendly detection technology. Although near-infrared technology can solve these problems well, it cannot detect potato starch because of its dot shape, invisibility, and other shortcomings. Hyperspectral imaging technology has a new technology of near-infrared, which can simultaneously detect surface defects and internal physical and chemical components. In this article, the method of nondestructive testing of potato starch using near-infrared hyperspectral technology was studied. In thisarticle, successive projection algorithm, random frog, and genetic algorithm were used to predict the content of potato starch. The experimental results in this article showed that in random frog, the root mean square error (RMSEC) of correction set and the root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) model R C 2 {R}_{\text{C}}^{2} and R P 2 {R}_{\text{P}}^{2} have become 0.87 and 0.84, respectively, and RMSEC and RMSEP have become 0.33 and 0.30%, respectively. Therefore, the best method to select the characteristic wavelength of potato starch is the random frog algorithm.

Appropriate concentration setting for the intraoperative administration of indocyanine green for fluorescence imaging to identify the sentinel lymph node in early gastric cancer: a clinical pilot study.

Some prospective trials have demonstrated the feasibility of sentinel node (SN) biopsy in gastric cancer (GC) surgery. This study aimed to identify the appropriate concentration settings for the intraoperative injection of indocyanine green (ICG) for SN biopsy. Before the clinical studies, porcine model experiments explored the optimal concentration of ICG injected intraoperatively. Next, nine GC patients were enrolled in the clinical research. ICG (0.5ml) was injected intraoperatively into four quadrants of the submucosa around the tumor at various concentrations (0.5, 0.25, and 0.1mg/ml). The lymphatic basin dissection method was applied to the ICG-positive lymphatic areas. The number and location of the lymphatic basins and positive nodes were recorded intraoperatively. In the porcine model, the visibility gradually became clear at an ICG concentration higher than 0.1mg/ml. In the clinical study, the average number of detected lymphatic basins was 3.3, 1.7, and 1.7, respectively. The mean number of detected SNs was 14.7, 6.7, and 4.0, respectively. To improve the reproducibility of SN biopsy, it is essential to prepare the correct concentration setting of ICG. Under current conditions in which ICG is injected intraoperatively, a 0.1mg/ml concentration setting of ICG may be necessary and sufficient for SN identification.

The role of point-of-care ultrasound in the assessment of pelvic urine leakage and diagnosis of urinoma

BackgroundUrinoma, a rare condition resulting from urine leakage due to trauma to the kidney, bladder, or urethra, is typically diagnosed using enhanced computed tomography urogram with delayed imaging. This report presents two cases of urinoma likely caused by overdistention of the renal pelvis following excessive fluid intake and the presence of a ureteral stone.Case presentationWe present two cases of 36-year-old and 38-year-old patients who presented with flank pain. point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) played a pivotal role in identifying perinephric fluid in Morrison’s space and the splenorenal space, respectively. These ultrasound findings guided further investigations, leading to definitive diagnoses via abdominal pelvic CT scans. Treatment involved prophylactic antibiotics and the successful placement of a double J stent into the renal pelvis over the wire under fluoroscopic guidance, which resulted in significant clinical improvement for both patients.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates the rare occurrence of urinoma from urolithiasis, the use of POCUS in expediting diagnosis and treatment, and the importance of interpreting sonographic images in the correct clinical setting.

Research of Cryptographic Information Protection Technology in Health and Medical Care Field of China

Cryptography technology based on domestic algorithms for the use of informatization in the health and medical care field of China is classified and researched in the paper. In the trend of medical services gradually transitioning from "closed" to "open", the medical information security environment is not optimistic. It is emphasized that with the correct settings and selection of the necessary cryptographic stability of the encryption algorithm, the technology is safe and independent, ensures the safety of medical data and facilitates the circulation of medical services. Cryptography technology service realizes the identity authenticity of medical data access subjects, the confidentiality and integrity protection of medical health information in the process of sharing and storage, the protection of sensitive information in the process of access, query and use, and the secure data cochain in the whole process, and ensures that the cryptographic application is secure, independent and controllable, truly achieves the security of medical health data and promotes the open sharing of health services

Twnbiome: a public database of the healthy Taiwanese gut microbiome

With new advances in next generation sequencing (NGS) technology at reduced costs, research on bacterial genomes in the environment has become affordable. Compared to traditional methods, NGS provides high-throughput sequencing reads and the ability to identify many species in the microbiome that were previously unknown. Numerous bioinformatics tools and algorithms have been developed to conduct such analyses. However, in order to obtain biologically meaningful results, the researcher must select the proper tools and combine them to construct an efficient pipeline. This complex procedure may include tens of tools, each of which require correct parameter settings. Furthermore, an NGS data analysis involves multiple series of command-line tools and requires extensive computational resources, which imposes a high barrier for biologists and clinicians to conduct NGS analysis and even interpret their own data. Therefore, we established a public gut microbiome database, which we call Twnbiome, created using healthy subjects from Taiwan, with the goal of enabling microbiota research for the Taiwanese population. Twnbiome provides users with a baseline gut microbiome panel from a healthy Taiwanese cohort, which can be utilized as a reference for conducting case-control studies for a variety of diseases. It is an interactive, informative, and user-friendly database. Twnbiome additionally offers an analysis pipeline, where users can upload their data and download analyzed results. Twnbiome offers an online database which non-bioinformatics users such as clinicians and doctors can not only utilize to access a control set of data, but also analyze raw data with a few easy clicks. All results are customizable with ready-made plots and easily downloadable tables. Database URL: http://twnbiome.cgm.ntu.edu.tw/.

Substance use in the correctional settings: A qualitative exploration of individual and contextual characteristics and intervention strategies using the behavior change wheel framework

Background and objectivesPlanning and implementing prison-based substance use disorder (SUD) interventions are challenging. We wanted to understand why and how people in correctional settings (CS) use drugs and to explore what policies, environmental, and interpersonal factors influence substance use among incarcerated people. Using the Behavior Change Wheel (BCW) framework, we proposed a thematic map with intervention functions to reduce substance use in CS. MethodsWe used the Framework Method of qualitative analysis. We did snowball sampling for the incarcerated people with drug use (PWD) and convenience sampling for the staff. The in-depth interview sample comprised 17 adult PWD, three prison administrative, and two healthcare staff. We determined the sample size by thematic data saturation. We followed a mixed coding approach for generating categories, i.e., deductive (based on the BCW framework) and inductive. The study constructed the final theoretical framework by determining the properties of the categories and relationships among the categories. ResultsWe identified eleven categories aligned with the BCW framework. The themes were prison routine, interpersonal dynamics of the incarcerated population, exposure to substance use, attitude of staff towards PWD, experience with prison healthcare, willingness (to reduce drug use) and coping, compassion, drug use harms, conflict between staff and residents, stigma, and family/peer support. The BCW framework aided the identification of potential intervention functions and their interactions with the organizational policies that could influence PWD's capability-opportunity-motivation (COM) and drug use behavior (B). ConclusionThere is a need to raise awareness of SUD prevention and intervention among decision-makers and revisit the prison policies.