Neuroimaging and Responsibility Assessments

Could neuroimaging evidence help us to assess the degree of a person’s responsibility for a crime which we know that they committed? This essay defends an affirmative answer to this question. A range of standard objections to this high-tech approach to assessing people’s responsibility is considered and then set aside, but I also bring to light and then reject a novel objection—an objection which is only encountered when functional (rather than structural) neuroimaging is used to assess people’s responsibility

Genome-wide association study identifies two susceptibility loci for osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary bone malignancy of adolescents and young adults. To better understand the genetic etiology of osteosarcoma, we performed a multistage genome-wide association study consisting of 941 individuals with osteosarcoma (cases) and 3,291 cancer-free adult controls of European ancestry. Two loci achieved genome-wide significance: a locus in the GRM4 gene at 6p21.3 (encoding glutamate receptor metabotropic 4; rs1906953; P = 8.1 × 10⁻⁹) and a locus in the gene desert at 2p25.2 (rs7591996 and rs10208273; P = 1.0 × 10⁻⁸ and 2.9 × 10⁻⁷, respectively). These two loci warrant further exploration to uncover the biological mechanisms underlying susceptibility to osteosarcoma

On Exponential Sums and Group Generators for Elliptic Curves over Finite Fields

In the paper an upper bound is established for certain exponential sums, analogous to Gaussian sums, defined on the points of an elliptic curve over a prime finite field. The bound is applied to prove the existence of group generators for the set of points on an elliptic curve over Fq among certain sets of bounded size. We apply this estimate to obtain a deterministic O(q 1=2+" ) algorithm for finding generators of the group in echelon form, and in particular to determine its group structure

One-Year outcomes and health care utilization in survivors of severe acute respiratory syndrome

Background Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) became a global epidemic in 2003. Comprehensive information on 1-year outcomes and health care utilization is lacking. Research conducted during the SARS outbreak may help inform research planning for future public health emergencies. The objective of this study was to evaluate the 1-year outcomes in survivors of SARS and their family caregivers. Method The study was prospective and observational. We evaluated 117 SARS survivors from Toronto, Ontario. Patients were interviewed and underwent physical examination, pulmonary function testing, chest radiography, a 6-minute-walk test, quality-of-life measures, and self-report of health care utilization. At 1 year, informal caregivers were identified for a survey on caregiver burden. Results The enrolled survivors of SARS were young (median age, 42 years), and most were women (67%) and health care workers (65%). At 1 year after hospital discharge, pulmonary function measures were in the normal range, but 18% of patients had a significant reduction in distance walked in 6 minutes. The Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) domains were 0.3 to 1.0 SD below normal at 1 year. Of the patients, 17% had not returned to work by 1 year. Fifty-one patients required 668 visits to psychiatry or psychology practitioners. During the SARS epidemic, informal caregivers reported a decline of 1.6 SD below normal on the mental component score of the SF-36. Conclusions Most SARS survivors had good physical recovery from their illness, but some patients and their caregivers reported a significant reduction in mental health 1 year later. Strategies to ameliorate the psychological burden of an epidemic on the patient and family caregiver should be considered as part of future pandemic planning. Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) became a global epidemic in 2003. Most cases were in Asia, and the largest concentration of North American cases occurred in Toronto, Ontario.1 Research efforts during and after the epidemic focused on the epidemiologic features of the illness,1- 2 the detailed characterization of the pathogen,3- 4 the clinical course,5- 10 and the short-term outcomes of the acute disease.11 The longer-term physical and psychological consequences of SARS were not reported until recently. Several investigations of these longer-term outcomes (>6 months) have focused on pulmonary function,12- 14 distance walked in 6 minutes,12 and health-related quality of life (QOL).12- 13 To date, in patients with SARS, there is little information on the pattern of return to work, exercise tolerance, or health care utilization after the SARS episode. Also, there have been no reports to our knowledge on the impact of this acute illness on the family caregiver. The goals of this study were to conduct a comprehensive and family-centered evaluation of the 1-year outcomes in survivors of SARS and their family caregivers

Self-reported sexually transmitted infection testing behaviour amongst incarcerated young male offenders: findings from a qualitative study

Introduction Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a major public health problem in the UK. Here we describe young men's self-reported STI testing behaviour, and explore why testing is and is not sought in two locales: the community and the Young Offender Institute (YOI). Methods In-depth interviews were conducted with 40 men, aged 16–20 years, whilst incarcerated in a Scottish YOI. The participants were purposively sampled using answers from a questionnaire administered to 67 inmates. Results The majority (n = 24) of those interviewed reported having undergone STI testing: eight in the community, 12 within the YOI, and four in both the community and the YOI. The extent to which they were worried about STIs and perceived themselves ‘at risk’ was important in understanding openness to testing. The convenience of testing within the YOI boosted the numbers seeking testing once incarcerated. Not getting tested in the YOI was due to not realising that it was available or not getting around to it rather than objecting to, or being embarrassed about, testing. Discussion Increasing awareness of the availability of STI testing within YOIs would be likely to result in higher uptake. An opt-out YOI STI screening programme would probably result in very high testing rates. Accessibility and convenience are key elements of testing procedures for this group, in both the YOI and community settings