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A substantial body of research supports the existence of the victim–offender overlap in the general population. However, few scholars have investigated this phenomenon in the prison context. Drawing on survey data collected from 2,065 male inmates residing in Taiwan’s nine prisons, this study tested the victim–offender overlap hypothesis and identified the most common characteristics of inmates assuming the dual role. Bivariate probit analyses revealed that the victim–offender overlap in the general population also applies to the incarcerated. Four common risk factors were found among inmates who were both victims and offenders. The findings have clear implications for researchers, practitioners and policymakers and shed light on the understudied topic of the victim–offender overlap phenomenon in prison.

Research has indicated victimization is pervasive among incarcerated women. Yet, there is little research that examines the linkage between various victimization among female prisoners. The empirical aim of this study is to examine the association between childhood maltreatment and victimization from physical intimate partner violence among incarcerated women in Taiwan. To understand the various pathways to victimization of physical intimate partner violence, we also assess the mediating effects of risky life styles, low self-control, and prostitution on victimization from physical intimate partner violence. Data were analyzed based on surveys conducted with 686 incarcerated women in various prisons in Taiwan. Structural equation analysis was conducted to examine the direct and indirect relationships between childhood maltreatment, risky life styles, low self-control, prostitution, and victimization of physical intimate partner violence. Individuals who experienced childhood maltreatment were found more likely to engage in risky leisure activities, and to enter prostitution. Additionally, such individuals usually experienced low self-control. Low self-control was found to mediate the relationship between childhood maltreatment and victimization from physical intimate partner violence. In other words, maltreated individuals in childhood were more likely to become victims of physical intimate partner violence through low self-control. The findings suggest that to prevent women offenders from re-victimization, it is important to address their childhood maltreatment issues. Early intervention may help deter these maltreated individuals from risky life styles and from engaging in prostitution, which may reduce their vulnerability to becoming victims of physical intimate partner violence.

To assess biventricular, especially right ventricular, function and deformationin rhesus monkeys with spontaneous type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) using cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR).Twelve male spontaneous T2DM rhesus monkeys and age, sex, body mass matched 9 healthy rhesus monkeys without hypertension and myocardial infarction were included in this study. Fasting blood glucose (FPG), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and blood liquid levels were measured. Biventricular function and myocardial deformations were evaluated by CMR cine and tissue-tracking.Compared with control, the FPG and HbA1c levers were significantly increased in T2DM group, but there was no significant difference in body mass and age between the two groups. CMR result showed that there was no significant decrease in right ventricle and left ventricle ejection fraction in T2DM (Right ventricle showed systolic and diastolic dysfunction which were consistent with left ventricle in T2DM by CMR-tissue tracking.

To determine the potential value of the two-dimensional (2D) cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) tissue tracking (CMR-TT) method in assessing the cardiac function of tree shrew at 7T.Healthy adult tree shrews (male,Cine imaging for the tree shrews was 100% successful following the CMR protocol for the rats, with clearly visible main segments of cardiac. Significant differences in EF, Err, Ecc and DR were found between the two groups of animals (The cardiac function of tree shrew can be assessed using the 2D CMR-TT method despite significant differences across species.

To determinethe diagnostic valuesand reliabilityof cardiac magnetic resonance tissue tracking (CMR-TT) derived two-dimensional(2D) and three-dimensional(3D) strains in assessing experimental autoimmunity myocarditis (EAM) in rats.20 Lewis rats were randomly divided into model and control groups. The animal model of autoimmune myocarditis was induced by injecting porcine cardiac myosin into the footpads of the rats.On day 35, all of the rats were examined using the 7.0T CMR cine scan. The cardiac function and global strain of the left ventricular of the rats were analyzed with specific cardiac post-processing. The rats were then sacrificed and myocardial samples were taken and stained with HE and Masson. The diagnostic values of the strain parameters were assessed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves with the pathological results as diagnostic criteria.The reliability of the strain parameters were tested using interclass correlation coefficient (No abnormal pathological changes in myocardial cells were found in the control group. Myocarditis was successfully induced in all of the rats in the model group, showing myocardial fiber arrangement disorder, degeneration, necrosis, inflammatory cell infiltration and interstitial fibrosis. The ROC showed that 2D global strain parameters possessed higher diagnostic values than 3D strain parameters. The 2D had an area under the curve (The diagnostic values of 2D strain parameters are higher than 3D strain parameters in diagnosing myocarditis.

To determine segmental myocardial changes in cardiovascular magnetic resonance feature-tracking (CMR-FT) in the early phase of reperfused myocardial infarction in patients and rats.Ten patients receiving percutaneous coronary interventions (2-10 d) and 10 rats with 60 min induced myocardial ischemia followed by reperfusions (48 h and 7 d) were investigated by MRI. The steady state free precession cine and late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) sequences were measured to evaluate the standard short axis of the whole heart after an injection of gadolinium diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-DTPA, Magnevist, Bayer Health Care Pharmaceuticals) at a dose of 0.1 mmol/kg. The infarction sizes (all areas were expressed as a percentage of the whole myocardial tissues of left ventricle (LV), end-diastolic volume (EDV) and ejection fractions (EF) were calculated. The MRI cine images were analyzed using the myocardial feature tracking software CVI, estimating the peak value of radial strains (RS) and circumferential strains (CS) of the 16 AHA segments excluding apex cordis. The complete myocardial infarction (CMI) segments, partial myocardial infarction (PMI) segments and non-myocardial infarction (NMI) segments were identified and compared.Patients: The radial strain and circumferential strain of the CMI and PMI segments were smaller than the NMI segment (bothThe systolic ability of myocardium decreases as a result of reperfusion injury in the early phase of reperfused myocardial infarction. But it can gradually recover over time with reperfusion.

To detect cardiac amyloidosis (CA) using cardiac magnetic resonance feature tracking(CMR-FT).Forty-three CA patients and 24 healthy volunteers underwent steady-state free precession cine sequence on 3.0T MRI after injection of Magnevist. Software cvi 42 was used for analyzing the left ventricular function including left ventricular mass (diastole) (LVMD), left ventricular mass (systole) (LVMS), left ventricle end-diastolic volume (LVEDV), left ventricle end-systolic volume (LVESV), left ventricle stroke volume (LVSV), and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), as well as myocardial strains including 3D global longitudinal strain (GLS), global circumferential strain (GCS), and global radial strain (GRS), and 2D endocardial and epicardial longitudinal strain, circumferential strain, and radial strain (ENDO-LS, EPI-LS, ENDO-CS, EPI-CS, ENDO-RS, and EPI-RS). The global and layer-specific strains were compared between the CA patients with LVEF50%, the CA patients with LVEF ≤50%, and the healthy controls.For the left ventricular function, the CA patients had greater myocardial mass than the healthy controls (CMR-FT can assess not only global strains but also layer-specific strains for the myocardial function of CA patients.

Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) is a non-invasive imaging technology, which has been used widely in clinical and basic researches on cardiovascular disease in recent years. With the innovation and optimization of CMR technologies, significant progress has been developed in the evaluation of myocardial viability, the function of regions and global myocardium, and the myocardial texture characteristics. Therefore, with the discussion on the progress of CMR to draw more and more attention in clinics, we hope to improve the application of CMR not only in the basic research but also in the diagnosis and precise evaluation aspects of cardiovascular disease.

In this paper, we study a multiple sink placement problem with latency and reliability guarantee in a lossy wireless sensor network and its applications in an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) network. We show the problem is NP-hard and propose an algorithm for the problem. The proposed algorithm jointly considers the routing protocol RPL [1], the MAC protocol TSCH [2], and the scheduling approach DeTAS [3] to meet the latency and reliability requirements in a real AMI network. We conduct simulations on the real data for the establishment of an AMI network. Simulation results show the proposed algorithm has a good performance in the number of selected concentrators and the balanced number of smart meters connected to the selected concentrators.

Multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) is supported by OpenFlow version 1.2 or higher and widely used in software defined networking (SDN) to achieve higher performance and flexibility. Due to the shortage of the ternary content addressable memory (TCAM), the number of forwarding entries installed in a switch needs to be bounded (node path-degree constraints). Besides, the maximum concurrent flow problem, which asks to maximize the minimum fraction of the flow of a commodity to its demand, is widely studied because of a wide range of applications. In this paper, we address the maximum concurrent flow problem while ensuring the flow routed for a commodity does not exceed its demand (demand constraints) and the node path-degree constraints are imposed, termed the bounded path- degree maximum concurrent flow (BPMCF) problem. We first show the BPMCF problem is NP-hard and intractable to devise any approximation algorithm. Then, we propose an algorithm for the BPMCF problem. Finally, we evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm through computer simulations and experiments on Global Environment for Network Innovations (GENI) testbed using the real-life traces collected from SNDlib.

Pre-prison experiences and environmental influences were examined to determine the effects of institutional misconduct and symptoms of depression related to adjustment in Taiwan’s women’s prisons. Using self-reported survey data derived from 883 Taiwanese female inmates, the findings suggest that pre-prison victimization, imprisonment stress, and social support from family members all had statistically significant effects on adjustment to life in prison. Although deviance prior to prison was highly related to institutional misconduct, reported illnesses also significantly increased the level of symptoms associated with depression. Lower levels of institutional misconduct were reported by women who committed drug offenses compared with their counterparts who committed violent offenses. The article concludes with insights from a comparative perspective and public policy implications.

To investigate the effects of an individualized, home-based caregiver-training program for caregivers of elderly patients with dementia and behavioral problems.Using a randomized clinical trial in the neurologic clinics of two hospitals and a community care management center in northern Taiwan, we tested an individualized home-based caregiver-training program for managing behavioral problems, with referrals to community services and telephone consultation. Participants were patients with dementia and their caregivers (N = 129): 63 in the intervention group and 66 in the control group. The control group received only written instructions and social telephone follow-ups. Behavioral problems of elderly dementia patients were assessed by the Chinese version of the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory, community form. Family caregivers' outcomes were measured by the Agitation Management Self-efficacy Scale and the Preparedness and Competence Scales. These instruments were administered before the program and 2 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months afterward.Family caregivers who received the individualized home-based training program had better preparedness (t = 2.72, df = 127, p 0.01), competence (t = 4.77, df = 126, p 0.001), and overall self-efficacy (t = 3.81, df = 127, p 0.001) at 3 months than those in the control group. Moreover, the growth rate by treatment interaction effect was significant for caregiver competence (t = 2.25, df = 127, p 0.05) and overall self-efficacy for managing behavioral problems (t = 2.16, df = 127, p 0.05). The probability of physically aggressive behavior for patients in the intervention group decreased from 0.27 to 0.12.Our individualized home-based caregiver-training program improved caregivers' preparedness, competence, and self-efficacy for managing problematic behaviors and decreased physical aggressiveness of elderly patients with dementia.

Although female offenders have been largely neglected by researchers in the past, the recent and rapid rise in their numbers has resulted in increased scholarly attention. While there has been a su...