Interventions for drug-using offenders with co-occurring mental health problems

Background This review represents one from a family of three reviews focusing on interventions for drug‐using offenders. Many people under the care of the criminal justice system have co‐occurring mental health problems and drug misuse problems; it is important to identify the most effective treatments for this vulnerable population. Objectives To assess the effectiveness of interventions for drug‐using offenders with co‐occurring mental health problems in reducing criminal activity or drug use, or both. This review addresses the following questions. • Does any treatment for drug‐using offenders with co‐occurring mental health problems reduce drug use? • Does any treatment for drug‐using offenders with co‐occurring mental health problems reduce criminal activity? • Does the treatment setting (court, community, prison/secure establishment) affect intervention outcome(s)? • Does the type of treatment affect treatment outcome(s)? Search methods We searched 12 databases up to February 2019 and checked the reference lists of included studies. We contacted experts in the field for further information. Selection criteria We included randomised controlled trials designed to prevent relapse of drug use and/or criminal activity among drug‐using offenders with co‐occurring mental health problems. Data collection and analysis We used standard methodological procedures as expected by Cochrane . Main results We included 13 studies with a total of 2606 participants. Interventions were delivered in prison (eight studies; 61%), in court (two studies; 15%), in the community (two studies; 15%), or at a medium secure hospital (one study; 8%). Main sources of bias were unclear risk of selection bias and high risk of detection bias. Four studies compared a therapeutic community intervention versus (1) treatment as usual (two studies; 266 participants), providing moderate‐certainty evidence that participants who received the intervention were less likely to be involved in subsequent criminal activity (risk ratio (RR) 0.67, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.53 to 0.84) or returned to prison (RR 0.40, 95% CI 0.24 to 0.67); (2) a cognitive‐behavioural therapy (one study; 314 participants), reporting no significant reduction in self‐reported drug use (RR 0.78, 95% CI 0.46 to 1.32), re‐arrest for any type of crime (RR 0.69, 95% CI 0.44 to 1.09), criminal activity (RR 0.74, 95% CI 0.52 to 1.05), or drug‐related crime (RR 0.87, 95% CI 0.56 to 1.36), yielding low‐certainty evidence; and (3) a waiting list control (one study; 478 participants), showing a significant reduction in return to prison for those people engaging in the therapeutic community (RR 0.60, 95% CI 0.46 to 0.79), providing moderate‐certainty evidence. One study (235 participants) compared a mental health treatment court with an assertive case management model versus treatment as usual, showing no significant reduction at 12 months' follow‐up on an Addictive Severity Index (ASI) self‐report of drug use (mean difference (MD) 0.00, 95% CI ‐0.03 to 0.03), conviction for a new crime (RR 1.05, 95% CI 0.90 to 1.22), or re‐incarceration to jail (RR 0.79, 95% CI 0.62 to 1.01), providing low‐certainty evidence. Four studies compared motivational interviewing/mindfulness and cognitive skills with relaxation therapy (one study), a waiting list control (one study), or treatment as usual (two studies). In comparison to relaxation training, one study reported narrative information on marijuana use at three‐month follow‐up assessment. Researchers reported a main effect < .007 with participants in the motivational interviewing group, showing fewer problems than participants in the relaxation training group, with moderate‐certainty evidence. In comparison to a waiting list control, one study reported no significant reduction in self‐reported drug use based on the ASI (MD ‐0.04, 95% CI ‐0.37 to 0.29) and on abstinence from drug use (RR 2.89, 95% CI 0.73 to 11.43), presenting low‐certainty evidence at six months (31 participants). In comparison to treatment as usual, two studies (with 40 participants) found no significant reduction in frequency of marijuana use at three months post release (MD ‐1.05, 95% CI ‐2.39 to 0.29) nor time to first arrest (MD 0.87, 95% CI ‐0.12 to 1.86), along with a small reduction in frequency of re‐arrest (MD ‐0.66, 95% CI ‐1.31 to ‐0.01) up to 36 months, yielding low‐certainty evidence; the other study with 80 participants found no significant reduction in positive drug screens at 12 months (MD ‐0.7, 95% CI ‐3.5 to 2.1), providing very low‐certainty evidence. Two studies reported on the use of multi‐systemic therapy involving juveniles and families versus treatment as usual and adolescent substance abuse therapy. In comparing treatment as usual, researchers found no significant reduction up to seven months in drug dependence on the Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT) score (MD ‐0.22, 95% CI ‐2.51 to 2.07) nor in arrests (RR 0.97, 95% CI 0.70 to 1.36), providing low‐certainty evidence (156 participants). In comparison to an adolescent substance abuse therapy, one study (112 participants) found significant reduction in re‐arrests up to 24 months (MD 0.24, 95% CI 0.76 to 0.28), based on low‐certainty evidence. One study (38 participants) reported on the use of interpersonal psychotherapy in comparison to a psychoeducational intervention. Investigators found no significant reduction in self‐reported drug use at three months (RR 0.67, 95% CI 0.30 to 1.50), providing very low‐certainty evidence. The final study (29 participants) compared legal defence service and wrap‐around social work services versus legal defence service only and found no significant reductions in the number of new offences committed at 12 months (RR 0.64, 95% CI 0.07 to 6.01), yielding very low‐certainty evidence. Authors' conclusions Therapeutic community interventions and mental health treatment courts may help people to reduce subsequent drug use and/or criminal activity. For other interventions such as interpersonal psychotherapy, multi‐systemic therapy, legal defence wrap‐around services, and motivational interviewing, the evidence is more uncertain. Studies showed a high degree of variation, warranting a degree of caution in interpreting the magnitude of effect and the direction of benefit for treatment outcomes

Embedded Sensors in Coastal Structures for On-Site Wave Impact Pressure Monitoring

International audienceThe climate change induces heavy storms that impact coastal environments. In order to predict such events or to adapt coastal structures in the future, it is desirable to be able to monitor the action of waves. Thanks to new technologies, one can embed sensors on dykes and have access remotely and continuously to field data measurements. In this paper, an in situ system, installed in September 2014, to measure the wave impact pressure is described. Additionally, the preliminary results of data processing are given

In situ fast marking study of manila clams (Ruditapes philippinarum)

Arcachon Bay, in the southern Bay of Biscay, is the first French production area of Manila clam (Ruditapes philippinarum) with an annual commercial fisheries production around 400 tons in recent years. This bivalve mollusc was introduced into the bay in the 1980s for aquaculture purpose and quickly succeeded in natural settlement so that its high market value led to the progressive establishment of a perennial fishery from the mid-1990s. Local management plans applied to this species are based on a licensing system for the commercial, protected fishery areas and days of prohibited fishing for both commercial and recreational fishermen. A minimum catch size is also prescribed by European regulation, and so growth rates are an important matter in this context. This work focuses on studying shell growth from the recapture of shells, previously marked using a chemical marker (calcein) and then grown in natural conditions, and was performed in order to determine shell growth patterns. Manila clams were marked by immersion in situ in seawater containing calcein. In order to study the limitations of calcein on the mark readability in situ and manila clam mortality, various exposure times, from 30 minutes to 1 hour, and concentrations, from 50 mg.L-1 to 200 mg.L-1 were tested. After a period of 35 days, 69 growth micro-increments were observed, and, it was found that increment deposition in manila clams occurs with a tidal periodicity. Moreover, this study showed that a method for fast-marking of manila clams, and potentially other species, is feasible in situ

Optimizing cost-efficiency of long term monitoring programs by using spatially balanced sampling designs: The case of manila clams in Arcachon bay

Funding lake is one major issue in ecology, in particular at local scale. It is known that sustainable management of a natural population requires a good understanding of its functioning, itself dependent on a good long term monitoring program. Such programs are usually very difficult to implement, especially for resources characterized by high spatio-temporal variation in their distribution, resulting in a trade off between efficiency and costs. Today, thanks to rapidly evolving statistical theory, new survey designs are developed, some with the characteristic of well balancing samples in the study area. This paper aims at demonstrating that theses advanced sampling designs perform better than the usual ones for long term monitoring program of local resources, with the added benefices of saving money and also increasing results accuracy. To prove it, and for it high spatio-temporal variation in it distribution, we choose the example of Manila clam's stock monitoring in Arcachon bay. This stock is under high scrutiny and last campaigns could not be done because of lack of funding (at least 50,000€/survey). We use a simulation study based on real data to assess and compare performances of news and older sampling designs on this survey. Three sampling designs are tested in both of the 6 past monitoring campaigns data and we estimate the cost of their application in the field. Selected sampling designs are: 1 - simple random sampling (SRS - the one used in the past years of this monitoring program), 2 - generalized tessellation sampling (GRTS - a recent spatially balanced sampling design known for its high performance) and, 3 - balanced acceptance sampling design (BAS - a newly developed spatially balanced sampling design, never tested yet in a real population). We first confirm that the two spatially balanced sampling designs perform better than simple random sampling. Both of the advanced sampling designs perform equally and allow achieving same accuracy in the results with almost half sampling intensity than SRS. This makes them so cost-effective that 30% of each campaign price could be saved if they were used. Moreover, the three sampling designs need a constant sample size thought years to achieve a fixed accuracy in results. This will permit us to fix one sample size that could be done for all future campaigns; and this, despite the existence of spatial and temporal variations in clam's distribution

Shell shape analysis and spatial allometry patterns of Manila Clam (Ruditapes philippinarium) in a mesotidal coastal lagoon

While gradual allometric changes of shells are intrinsically driven by genotype, morphometrical shifts can also be modulated by local environmental conditions. Consequently the common use of a unique dimension (usually length) to assess bivalves’ growth may mask phenotypic differences in valve shape among populations. A morphometric exhaustive study was conducted on Manila clam, Ruditapes philippinarum, by acquiring data in the French Arcachon Bay (intrasite phenotypic variability) and by comparing with other sites in the literature (intersite phenotypic variability). 2070 shells were subsampled, weighted, and automatically measured using TNPC software. Some ratios’ values indicate a relatively round and globular shape shell in comparison with other sites confirming poor conditions for some individuals. Among adult clams, three main morphological groups were identified and discussed according to spatial considerations. Allometric relations for pairs of shell descriptors were determined by testing classical linear and piecewise regression models on log-transformed relation of Huxley. A significant shape change correlated to size was observed; it corresponds to the second year of life of the clam. Relationships between density, disease, and shell shape are demonstrated and discussed related to other potential factors affecting shell shape. Finally, consequences on population regulation are addressed

Continuous measurement and automatic processing of in-situ wave impact pressure data

International audienceAlthough wave impact has been extensively studied in laboratories, field studies are comparatively rare. However, as real wave impacts are influenced by numerous environmental factors, complementing physical studies with in-situ data is necessary to better understand the processes at stake and provide reliable tools for coastal engineers. One of the main reasons for the lack of field data is the extreme conditions usually met on site. Nowadays, technology allows to set up stations able to resist those conditions and record data over long periods. In this context, the so-called Artha breakwater, in the French Basque coast, was equipped with an in-situ laboratory to record wave impact pressures. This station enables to collect long term wave impact pressure data therefore covering any weather conditions. In the present paper, the use of computer engineering based methods to process the large amount of wave impact data is described. It involves signal pre-processing, impact automatic segmentation, automatic computation of impact parameters, and artificial intelligence to classify the impacts. Impact automatic segmentation allows to have a big database of impacts available. This database has been used to make a first classification of the strongest impacts. The classification was performed thanks to the parameters automatically computed for each impact. As preliminary results for the classification, several wave impact pressure classes have been established. The approach is encouraging since the obtained results can be compared with the existing laboratory classification. However, the results can still be improved by computing other impact parameters and considering all impacts

Morphological Trends of Four Manila Clam Populations (Venerupis philippinarum) on the French Atlantic Coast: Identified Spatial Patterns and Their Relationship to Environmental Variability

For species' dynamics highly influenced by environmental conditions, sustainable management for conservation and/or exploitation purposes requires the ability to segregate natural processes from anthropogenic impacts. In this context, identification of phenotypic variations in morphological patterns, and clarification of the mechanisms involved, constitute useful tools to identify adequate management measures from Europe-wide to local conditions. Although such approaches are already used effectively in the management of fish stocks, they are more recent for bivalve stocks, which are also good candidates for such management tools. The current study examines morphological patterns in the Manila clam (Venerupis philippinarum) through morphometric studies of 4 populations on the French Atlantic coast (Banc du Guer, Morbihan Gulf, Bellevue, and Arcachon Bay). The methodology relies mainly on conventional shape analysis using 8 morphometric ratios involving metrics and weight. In addition, an outline description was created for selected individuals that revealed different forms of the anterior-dorsal valve margin identified for future research. Using supervised classification methods, morphometric-latitudinal trends were revealed between northern and southern populations of V. philippinarum. Relationships between discriminatory morphometric ratios (describing elongation, valve density, and weight related to length) and available environmental conditions (temperature, salinity, and chlorophyll a concentrations) were considered using linear multilevel models. They revealed significant relationships with chlorophyll a concentrations and with 1 ratio with seawater temperature ranging from 12-20 degrees C. Four potential causes were hypothesized to explain the unexpected relationship identified between morphometric characteristics and trophic conditions: (1) a negative effect resulting from high chlorophyll a concentrations, (2) a masked effect of other food resources affecting valve growth, (3) interspecific competition for food among filter-feeding populations, (4) and effects of other environmental parameters such as sediment type. Observed differences in shape may result from a combination of these 4 causes with varying degrees, depending on site-specific environmental conditions. Last, the consequences of morphometric variation on population regulation are addressed

Indicator species of intertidal boulder fields on the French Basque coast

The rocky Basque coast presents an interest both in terms of biogeography and its patrimonial situation, alongside its habitats, fauna and flora. The aim of the BIGORNO project (Intertidal Biodiversity of the south of the Bay of Biscay and Observation for New research and Monitoring for decision support), financed by the Agency of Marine Protected Areas (AAMP) and the Departmental Council (CD 64), is to respond to significant deficiencies on biocenosis in the southern marine subregion “Bay of Biscay”. Investigations carried out in the WFD, since 2008, constitute an important basis of work for integration of fauna. Field studies undertaken since 2015 consisting of a sampling design suited to the substrates heterogeneity and the presence of microhabitats were established on an intertidal area specifically on a "Boulder fields" habitat. Assessment was undertaken by sampling quadrats of 0.1 m² drawn randomly from a spatially stratified sampling plan. Our study aims for a better understanding of stratification of this habitat and allowed us to highligh tindicator taxa of the "Boulder fields" habitat. Functions included in the package indicspecies (CRAN) were used to conduct indicator species analysis and to assess the significance of the relationship between taxa or taxa combinations and the habitat. It is therefore possible to describe some species or species groups which are specific to boulder fields through the assessment of their functional traits and local biodiversity. These various analyses allow for a sustainable way of monitoring the Basque intertidal rocky shore

BIGORNO. Biodiversité Intertidale sud Gascogne Observation et Recherche de Nouveaux Outils de surveillance et d'aide à la décision - Rapport fiinal

This report presents the results obtained during the BIGORNO project whose main objective is to overcome knowledge gaps on the biocenoses of the southern sub-region "Bay of Biscay" to propose a sampling protocol adapted to biogeographic and environmental specific conditions. A stratified random sampling design considering spatial heterogeneity has been implemented. Biodiversity was considered on 0.1 m²quadrats. These data have revealed the organization of benthic communities and the relevant taxa to be considered (species or assemblages of indicator species) in the context of establishing perennial monitoring of intertidal habitats. Proposals are made to implement the descriptors and indicators defined in the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD).Ce rapport présente les résultats obtenus au cours du projet BIGORNO dont l'objectif majeur est de pallier aux lacunes de connaissances sur les biocénoses du sud de la sous-région marine « golfe de Gascogne » pour proposer un protocole d’échantillonnage adapté aux spécificités biogéographiques et environnementales du sud du golfe de Gascogne. Un plan d'échantillonnage aléatoire stratifié tenant compte de l’hétérogénéité spatiale a été mis en œuvre. La biodiversité (macroalgue et macrofaune) a été considérée sur des quadrats de 0,1 m². Ces données ont mis en évidence les modalités d'organisation des communautés benthiques et les taxons pertinents à considérer (espèces ou assemblages d'espèces indicatrices) dans le cadre de mise en place de suivis pérennes des habitats ou microhabitats intertidaux. Des propositions sont formulées pour la suite de ce travail afin que les travaux puissent venir alimenter les descripteurs et les indicateurs définis dans le cadre de la Directive Cadre Stratégie pour les Milieux Marins (DCSMM)