Sentence Reductions and Recidivism: Lessons from the Bastille Day Quasi Experiment

This paper exploits the collective pardon granted to individuals incarcerated in French prisons on the 14th of July, 1996 (Bastille Day) to identify the effect of collective sentence reductions on recidivism. The collective pardon generated a very significant discontinuity in the relationship between the number of weeks of sentence reduction granted to inmates and their prospective date of release. We show that the same discontinuity exists in the relationship between recidivism probability five years after the release and prospective date of release. Overall, the Bastille Day quasi experiment suggests that collective sentence reductions increase recidivism and do not represent a cost-effective way to reduce incarceration rates or prisons' overcrowding.crime, prison, deterrence effect, recidivism

Charging for school activities

"The purpose of this guidance is to help head teachers and governing bodies set out their policies on charging and remission for school activities and school visits. Sections 449-462 of the Education Act 1996 set out the law on charging for school activities in schools maintained by local authorities in England. This guidance has been written to provide at-a-glance information and complements the information given in “A Guide to the Law for School Governors” (Chapter 23). This guidance accurately reflects the terms of the Education Act 1996, but it is not a substitute for those terms. This guide is also referred to in paragraph 1.82 in the School Admissions Code, and in para 1.97 in the revised School Admissions Code (in force from 10/2/09). Schools must ensure that they inform parents on low incomes and in receipt of the benefits listed on page 4 of this guide of the support available to them when being asked for contributions towards the cost of school visits." - Introduction

The folic acid antagonists and their use is the treatment of acute leukemia

Thesis (M.D.)--Boston Universit

The Efficiency of Glucocorticoid Therapy in Secondary-progressive Course of Multiple Sclerosis

We have investigated the efficacy of pulse-therapy with glucocorticoids (GC) at different time stages (in debuts, at the recurrent stage and at the stage of progression) of secondary progressive course (SPC) of multiple sclerosis (MS) in 70 patients (57 women and 13 men) at the ages from 28 to 67 years (mean age 45±2.5 years). The duration of the disease accounted for 7 up to 34 years (average duration was 19.8±2.3 years). We have conducted 438 courses of GC therapy: at the onsets – 11, at the recurrent stage (RS) – 178 and at the stage of secondary progression-249.The efficacy of hormonal therapy was assessed taking into account the following criteria: the dynamics of regression of neurological symptoms under the influence of the first course of GC therapy at the stage of onsets; a comparative evaluation of remission\u27s duration after admission and without taking GC at the onsets; duration of RS depending on the duration of remissions after the first course of GC therapy; a comparative evaluation of remissions\u27 duration after the 1st (at the stage of onset and/or on the RS), and the period of stabilization on the SPS before the last courses of GC; the variants of secondary progression under the influence of GC courses; scores according the EDSS disability scale after the 1st and before the last course of GC therapy; the rate of progression under the influence of the repeated courses of GC therapy.We have defined the three categories of efficacy at the repeated courses of pulse therapy with GC: the moderate efficacy, the low efficacy, the lack of efficacy. We have not observed the high efficacy in patients with SPC.The patients with MFR <1.0, among which the pulse therapy with GC promoted the prolongation of RS, relieved the severe (less often) and moderate (more often) relapses, the outcome of which was accompanied by a moderate and stable neurologic deficit, were subsumed under the subgroup with moderate efficacy (21 individuals). The most favorable progressive variant of progression prevailed in these patients after transformation of RS into SPS.The patients with different rate of MFR (9 – with MFR <1.0 and 12 – with MFR>1.0), with short (more often) and moderate (less often) RS, during which the accumulation of neurological deficit due to the frequent and heavy relapses had occurred, were subsumed under the subgroup with low efficiency (21 individuals). After transformation into SPS, the recurrent variant of progression prevailed in these patients.The patients who were characterized by short RS, by predominance of severe and prolonged relapses, the MFR value greater than 1.0, the steady accumulation of a pronounced and persistent neurologic deficit, a high rate of progression and high scores on the EDSS disability scale more than 6.5 points) were subsumed under the subgroup with the lack of efficacy (28 individuals). After transformation in the SPC, the most unfavorable variant of progression prevailed (21 patients); significantly less frequent were the recurrent (5 patients) and a combination of a steady and recurrent (2 patients) progression. The persistent lack of efficacy of the hormonal therapy in this subgroup of patients was most likely associated with the genetically determined low individual sensitivity to GC.Therefore, the results of our study showed that the efficacy of GC therapy in SPC of MS is determined by the complex interaction of clinical indicators having the prognostic value, as well as by the number of the genetic factors, which require their further observation

Noise in multiple sclerosis: unwanted and necessary

As our knowledge about the etiology of multiple sclerosis (MS) increases, deterministic paradigms appear insufficient to describe the pathogenesis of the disease, and the impression is that stochastic phenomena (i.e. random events not necessarily resulting in disease in all individuals) may contribute to the development of MS. However, sources and mechanisms of stochastic behavior have not been investigated and there is no proposed framework to incorporate nondeterministic processes into disease biology. In this report, we will first describe analogies between physics of nonlinear systems and cell biology, showing how small-scale random perturbations can impact on large-scale phenomena, including cell function. We will then review growing and solid evidence showing that stochastic gene expression (or gene expression “noise”) can be a driver of phenotypic variation. Moreover, we will describe new methods that open unprecedented opportunities for the study of such phenomena in patients and the impact of this information on our understanding of MS course and therapy

Erlotinib in patients with previously irradiated, recurrent brain metastases from non-small cell lung cancer: Two case reports

Background: With the current improvements in primary lung care, the long-term control of brain metastases becomes a clinical challenge. No established therapeutic approaches exist for cranial relapse after response to previous radiotherapy and systemic therapy. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors like erlotinib with its proven activity in non-small cell lung cancer may provide clinical benefits in such patients. Patients and Methods: Two case reports are presented illustrating the efficacy of erlotinib in patients with recurrent brain metastases and parallel thoracic progression. Results: Both patients showed lasting partial remissions in the brain and lung, and clinical symptom improvement. Conclusion: The observed survival times of above 18 and 15 months, respectively, since occurrence of cranial disease manifestation in line with the achieved progression-free survival times of 9 and 6 months by the erlotinib third-line therapy are remarkable. The use of targeted therapies after whole-brain irradiation should be investigated more systematically in prospective clinical trials