Evaluation of a sleep hygiene program to improve inmate sleep quality

Research investigating the effectiveness of treatments for inmates with poor sleep quality appears minimal. Some difficulties related to poor sleep quality can be addressed effectively with little time and expense. Studies show that psychoeducational interventions are effective in reducing sleep complaints and improving sleep quality in a variety of populations including college students and adults. However, the effect of sleep hygiene interventions on inmate sleep complaints is unknown. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate a psychoeducational intervention program aimed at improving prison inmate sleep habits, length, and quality. Participants of this study were inmates at a department of corrections facility for men in the southern United States. Using the Sleep Quality Index, the Sleep Habits Questionnaire; the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and the Sleep Hygiene Awareness and Practice Scale the effectiveness of a psychoeducational intervention program aimed at improving sleep quality, length, and habits for inmates was evaluated using multivariate analysis of variance. Results revealed that the intervention program did not have a significant impact on sleep quality, length, or habits for study participants. However, inmates in this sample had a higher rate of sleep disturbances and poor sleep quality than reported in previous studies with adults and college student populations. This finding suggests a need for effective sleep hygiene interventions in the prison environment

Genome remodelling in a basal-like breast cancer metastasis and xenograft

Massively parallel DNA sequencing technologies provide an unprecedented ability to screen entire genomes for genetic changes associated with tumour progression. Here we describe the genomic analyses of four DNA samples from an African-American patient with basal-like breast cancer: peripheral blood, the primary tumour, a brain metastasis and a xenograft derived from the primary tumour. The metastasis contained two de novo mutations and a large deletion not present in the primary tumour, and was significantly enriched for 20 shared mutations. The xenograft retained all primary tumour mutations and displayed a mutation enrichment pattern that resembled the metastasis. Two overlapping large deletions, encompassing CTNNA1, were present in all three tumour samples. The differential mutation frequencies and structural variation patterns in metastasis and xenograft compared with the primary tumour indicate that secondary tumours may arise from a minority of cells within the primary tumour