230 research outputs found
The prisoner's right to vote and civic responsibility: Reaffirming the social contract?
Copyright © 2009 NAPOThis article considers the issue of the prisonerâs right to vote in the light of recent developments in law and policy. It critically reviews the purported justifications for disenfranchisement and argues that re-enfranchisement should be pursued on the grounds of both principle and policy
Prevalence of intestinal microsporidiosis in Human Immunodeficiency Virus-infected patients with diarrhea in major United States cities
To determine the prevalence of intestinal microsporidiosis in HIV-infected patients, we performed a prospective study of HIV-infected patients with diarrheal illnesses in three US hospitals and examined an observational database of HIV-infected patients in 10 US cities. Among 737 specimens from the three hospitals, results were positive for 11 (prevalence 1.5%); seven (64%) acquired HIV through male-to-male sexual contact, two (18%) through male-to-male sexual contact and injection drug use, and one (9%) through heterosexual contact; one (9%) had an undetermined mode of transmission. Median CD4 count within six months of diagnosis of microsporidiosis was 33 cells/”L (range 3 to 319 cells/”L). For the national observational database (n = 24,098), the overall prevalence of microsporidiosis was 0.16%. Prevalence of microsporidiosis among HIV-infected patients with diarrheal disease is low, and microsporidiosis is most often diagnosed in patients with very low CD4+ cell counts. Testing for microsporidia appears to be indicated, especially for patients with very low CD4+ cell counts.Para determinar a prevalĂȘncia de microsporidiose intestinal em pacientes infectados pelo HIV foi realizado um estudo prospectivo em trĂȘs hospitais dos Estados Unidos da AmĂ©rica do Norte (EUA) e analizada uma base de dados nacional composta de dados coletados de pacientes infectados pelo HIV em 10 cidades dos EUA. De um total de 737 amostras de fezes de pacientes infectados pelo HIV que apresentavam diarrĂ©ia, amostras de 11 pacientes (prevalĂȘncia de 1,5%) foram positivas para microsporĂdios. Todos os positivos eram do sexo masculino e, entre eles, sete (64%) pacientes adquiriram a infecção pelo HIV atravĂ©s de relação homossexual, dois (18%) atravĂ©s de relação sexual e drogas injetĂĄveis e um (9%) atravĂ©s de contato heterosexual, enquanto que em um paciente o modo de transmissĂŁo do HIV nĂŁo foi determinado. A contagem mĂ©dia de linfĂłcitos CD4 realizada atĂ© seis meses do diagnĂłstico de microsporidiose foi de 33 cĂ©lulas/microlitro (3 a 319 cĂ©lulas/microlitro). A anĂĄlise da base de dados nacional (n = 24.098) mostrou uma prevalĂȘncia de microsporidiose de 0,16%. A prevalĂȘncia de microsporidiose em pacientes HIV-positivos com diarrĂ©ia Ă© baixa. Entretando, como a microsporidiose Ă© mais frequentemente diagnosticada em pacientes com contagens de CD4 muito baixas, a indicação de pesquisa de microsporĂdios Ă© justificada, especialmente para estes pacientes
High School Quality is Associated with Cognition 58 Years Later
We leveraged a unique school-based longitudinal cohortâthe Project Talent Aging Studyâto examine whether attending higher quality schools is associated with cognitive performance among older adults in the United States (mean age = 74.8). Participants (n = 2,289) completed telephone neurocognitive testing. Six indicators of high school quality, reported by principals at the time of schooling, were predictors of respondentsâ cognitive function 58 years later. To account for school-clustering, multilevel linear and logistic models were applied. We found that attending schools with a higher number of teachers with graduate training was the clearest predictor of later-life cognition, and school quality mattered especially for language abilities. Importantly, Black respondents (n = 239; 10.5 percentage) were disproportionately exposed to low quality high schools. Therefore, increased investment in schools, especially those that serve Black children, could be a powerful strategy to improve later life cognitive health among older adults in the United States
âExtreme" porn? The implications of a label
Despite its prevalence, the term âextremeâ has received little critical attention. âExtremityâ is routinely employed in ways that imply its meanings are self-evident. However, the adjective itself offers no such clarity. This article focuses on one particular use of the term â âextreme pornâ â in order to illustrate a broader set of concerns about the pitfalls of labelling. The label âextremeâ is typically employed as a substitute for engaging with the termâs supposed referents (here, pornographic content). In its contemporary usage, âextremeâ primarily refers to a set of context-dependent judgements rather than absolute standards or any specific properties the âextremeâ item is alleged to have. Concurrently then, the label âextremeâ carries a host of implicit values, and the presumption that the termâs meanings are âobviousâ obfuscates those values. In the case of âextreme pornâ, this obfuscation is significant because it has facilitated the cultural and legal suppression of pornography
Noncomparabilities & Non Standard Logics
Many normative theories set forth in the welfare economics, distributive justice and cognate literatures posit noncomparabilities or incommensurabilities between magnitudes of various kinds. In some cases these gaps are predicated on metaphysical claims, in others upon epistemic claims, and in still others upon political-moral claims. I show that in all such cases they are best given formal expression in nonstandard logics that reject bivalence, excluded middle, or both. I do so by reference to an illustrative case study: a contradiction known to beset John Rawls\u27s selection and characterization of primary goods as the proper distribuendum in any distributively just society. The contradiction is avoided only by reformulating Rawls\u27s claims in a nonstandard form, which form happens also to cohere quite attractively with Rawls\u27s intuitive argumentation on behalf of his claims
Does a Screening Trial for Spinal Cord Stimulation in Patients with Chronic Pain of Neuropathic Origin have Clinical Utility and Cost-Effectiveness? (TRIAL-STIM Study): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial
Abstract Background The TRIAL-STIM Study aims to assess the diagnostic performance, clinical outcomes and cost-effectiveness of a screening trial prior to full implantation of a spinal cord stimulation (SCS) device. Methods/design The TRIAL-STIM Study is a superiority, parallel-group, three-centre, randomised controlled trial in patients with chronic neuropathic pain with a nested qualitative study and economic evaluation. The study will take place in three UK centres: South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (The James Cook University Hospital); Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. A total of 100 adults undergoing SCS implantation for the treatment of neuropathy will be included. Subjects will be recruited from the outpatient clinics of the three participating sites and randomised to undergo a screening trial prior to SCS implant or an implantation-only strategy in a 1:1 ratio. Allocation will be stratified by centre and minimised on patient age (â„â65 orâ<â65 years), gender, presence of failed back surgery syndrome (or not) and use of high frequency (HF10âą) (or not). The primary outcome measure is the numerical rating scale (NRS) at 6 months compared between the screening trial and implantation strategy and the implantation-only strategy. Secondary outcome measures will include diagnostic accuracy, the proportion of patients achieving at least 50% and 30% pain relief at 6 months as measured on the NRS, health-related quality-of-life (EQ-5D), function (Oswestry Disability Index), patient satisfaction (Patientsâ Global Impression of Change) and complication rates. A nested qualitative study will be carried out in parallel for a total of 30 of the patients recruited in each centre (10 at each centre) to explore their views of the screening trial, implantation and overall use of the SCS device. The economic evaluation will take the form of a costâutility analysis. Discussion The TRIAL-STIM Study is a randomised controlled trial with a nested qualitative study and economic evaluation aiming to determine the clinical utility of screening trials of SCS as well as their cost-effectiveness. The nested qualitative study will seek to explore the patientâs view of the screening trials, implantation and overall use of SCS. Trial registration ISRCTN, ISRCTN60778781. Registered on 15 August 2017
âIt doesnât reveal itselfâ: erosion and collapse of the image in contemporary visual practice
The article explores the extent to which âpictorial artâ resists legibility, transparency and coherence. The analysis of three artistic case studies, Idris Khan, Maria Chevska and Jane and Louise Wilson, serves to investigate established hierarchies in our perception of visual referents. In the discussion, the article inquires the means of erosion, veiling and dissemblance as ways to critique assumption of the homogeneity of the image. All artists cast a view of the external world by diverting it, defacing it and distancing themselves from the external environment. However, the distancing is never disconnected from the everyday and never succumbs to abstraction. The article argues that the crisis of the image offers a productive framework that allows artists to draw attention to the absence of logical structure and the instability of the visual sign
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