Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Privatization of Corrections: Defining the Issues

Even as the public is demanding that more criminals be incarcerated and that their sentences be lengthened, the problems of America's prisons and jails continue to plague, if not overwhelm, us. More than two-thirds of the states are currently under court order to correct conditions that violate the United States Constitution's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. There are many important questions, but there are still no clear, satisfactory answers.The last few years have thus witnessed diverse, controversial developments. Some, like the voluntary accreditation of correctional facilities by the Commission on Accreditation for Corrections, have begun to take root. Others, like a 1982 proposal in Congress to build an Arctic penitentiary for serious offenders, have been inconsequential. Yet the number of prisons and the cost of housing them still mount. Prison and jail populations have doubled in a decade, and-with preventive detention, mandatory-minimum sentences, habitual-offender statutes, and the abolition of parole in some jurisdictions-there is no relief in sight. Some states are even leasing or purchasing space in other states. And it is costing the taxpayers approximately $17 million a day to operate the facilities, with estimates ranging up to $60 a day per inmate. Several commentators have not so facetiously noted that we could finance college educations at less cost for all of the inmates in the country.To reduce some of this stress on the system, a new concept has emerged: the privatization of corrections, occasionally known as "prisons for profit. " The idea is to remove the operation (and sometimes the ownership) of an institution from the local, state, or federal government and turn it over to a private corporation.At the outset, it should be emphasized that private prisons are different from the notion of private industries in prison - Chief Justice Burger's "factories with fences" proposal - which seeks to turn prisoners into productive members of society by having them work at a decent wage and produce products or perform services that can be sold in the marketplace. (In the process, the prisoners can also pay some of the costs of their incarceration, and, we would hope, gain some self-esteem.)Privatization is also different from the situation in which some of the services of a facility-such as medical, food, educational, or vocational services-are operated by private industry. Rather, the developing idea, which may turn out to be a lasting force or just a passing fad, is to have the government contract with a private company to run the total institution.
Distinct Clonal Origin in Two Cases of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Variant of Richter’s Syndrome Associated With EBV Infection

Occurrence of an aggressive lymphoma in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), clinically referred to as Richter’s syndrome, occasionally manifests as a lymphoproliferation resembling Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL) and often containing the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Only a limited number of HL variants have been subject to informative analysis regarding their clonal relationship to the CLL, with evidence of a same clonal origin in some cases and of clonally unrelated neoplasms in other cases. In this paper, we performed a detailed pathologic, virologic, and molecular analysis of two cases of Richter’s syndrome with HL features. The first case occurred in a 65-year-old man with a 5-year history of CLL as a mediastinal and supraclavicular mass histologically diagnosed as lymphocyte depleted HL with no background CLL. The second case occurred in a 78-year-old woman with a 4-year history of CLL as an inguinal mass with a composite histologic appearence comprising areas of CLL, areas of CLL with Hodgkin Reed-Sternberg cells, and areas of HL. Both patients had received fludarabine therapy. The HRS cells were CD20−/CD30+/CD15−/J-chain− in case no. 1 and CD20+/−/CD30+/CD15−/J-chain− in case no. 2. In both cases, the Hodgkin’s Reed-Sternberg cells (HRS) were positive for type A EBV, and a 30-bp deletion of the LMP-1 gene was detected in case no. 2. Using microdissection and polymerase chain reaction amplification of the immunoglobulin heavy chain gene (IgH) complementarity determining region III of each cell type, we demonstrated a distinct clonal origin for the CLL cells and the HRS in both cases. These cases bring support to the hypothesis that EBV+ HL in CLL patients occurs as unrelated secondary neoplasms most likely as the result of the immune depression associated with CLL and also raise the question of a possible causal role of fludarabine.
Finite Element Analysis of 1 MW High Speed Wound-Rotor Synchronous Machine

A 1000 kW/19 200 rpm wound-rotor synchronous machine has been designed as a draft based on 2-D transient finite-element method (FEM). The magnetic fields distribution, the iron losses, the electromagnetic torque and the terminal characteristics of the prototype machine are investigated in this paper by using 2-D finite element analysis. The d-axis inductance Ld and the q-axis inductance Lq of the sample machine are predicted in analytical models. All studies indicate that the wound-rotor synchronous machine is potential to apply in high speed generator or motor application.
Smoking in pregnancy in relation to gender and adult mortality risk in offspring: The Helsingborg Birth Cohort Study

Background: Smoking in pregnancy is a well-documented risk factor for fetal growth impairment and poor perinatal outcomes. Less is known about the long-term effects of maternal smoking on offspring mortality. Methods: A follow-up study in national registers on total mortality and cancer based on a birth cohort from Helsingborg, Sweden, including data on 2,010 sons and 1,982 daughters born to mothers for whom the smoking habits during pregnancy (50% smokers) have been recorded. Results: A total of 92 offspring deaths were recorded (54 men, 38 women) during follow-up. Of these deaths, 43 deaths were related to trauma, 6 to circulatory disease, and 2 to endocrine disorders. In men, an elevated mortality risk was associated with increasing maternal smoking habits (p for trend 0.011), but in women with low birth weight (p for trend 0.006). A total of 47 incident offspring cancers were registered (18 in men and 29 in women). No significant relation was noted for maternal smoking habits and cancer in the offspring. Conclusions: Maternal smoking during pregnancy is associated with an increased mortality risk in early adult life for male offspring but not for female offspring. This could represent the possible consequence of an increased susceptibility in male fetuses.
The Pediatric LCP Hip Plate for Fixation of Proximal Femoral Osteotomy in Cerebral Palsy and Severe Osteoporosis

Background Hip dislocation or subluxation together with poor nutrition, reduced weight bearing, and osteoporosis is a frequent condition in severe cerebral palsy (CP). Severe osteoporosis may cause difficulties in fixing a proximal femoral osteotomy with a conventional blade plate. The Pediatric locking compression plate (LCP) Hip Plate system offers better grip and more stable fixation. Methods Fifty-three proximal femoral osteotomies, alone or as part of a more complex surgical intervention, were performed in 28 patients (17 boys and 11 girls, age at surgery average 10.4 y, 3 to 19 y). All children suffered from CP (24 quadriplegics, 2 diplegics, and 2 hemiplegics) with Gross Motor Function Classification System levels: 3× III, 3× IV, and 22× V. This cohort was compared with a historical (conventional AO blade plate) group (38 patients with 53 operative interventions, 24 girls and 14 boys, age at surgery average 9.8 y, 3 to 18.5 y, Gross Motor Function Classification System levels: 4× III, 5× IV, and 29× V; 34 quadriplegics, 3 diplegics, and 1 hemiplegic). Results The operative interventions of both cohorts that are performed are comparable considering the average amount of varisation and derotation. Operations with the conventional AO blade plate were 17.2 minutes shorter on average and the blood loss was 45.6 mL less on average. Radiologically, 19.6% of the patients had signs of complete consolidation with the LCP Hip Plate 6 weeks after surgery (vs. 91.1% of the patients of the historical cohort, P <0.001) but all osteotomies in both groups were completely consolidated by 12 weeks. In the LCP cohort in 3 patients (10.7%) full weight bearing was allowed immediately after the operation. Conclusions Both implants, the Pediatric LCP Hip Plate and the conventional AO blade plate, produce similar results regarding fixation and correction of the neck-shaft angle. The consolidation rate 6 weeks postoperatively using the LCP plate is lower than with the conventional blade plate, whereas equivalent healing at 3 months was found. Hence, LCP plate removal is recommended not earlier than 6 months after surgery despite good callus formation on x-ray. Level of Evidence Level III.
DOES A PATENT ACCESSORY PANCREATIC DUCT PREVENT ACUTE PANCREATITIS?

Background and Aim: The role of the accessory pancreatic duct (APD) in pancreatic pathophysiology has been unclear. We previously examined the patency of the APD in 291 control cases who had a normal pancreatogram in the head of the pancreas by dye‐injection endoscopic retrograde pancreatography (ERP). APD patency was 43% and was closely related with the shape of the terminal portion of the APD. The present study aimed to clarify the clinical implications of a patent APD.
Ghrelin does not stimulate food intake in patients with surgical procedures involving vagotomy.

CONTEXT Patients with gastric or esophageal surgery and transection of the vagus nerve may suffer from appetite and weight loss but without dysphagia or mechanical obstruction to eating. The gastric hormone ghrelin stimulates food intake and GH release in rodents and man. However, rodents with vagotomy are not sensitive to the feeding effects of ghrelin. OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to determine whether humans with vagotomy are sensitive to ghrelin. STUDY DESIGN The design was a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. SETTING This was a hospital-based study. PATIENTS Six men and one woman who all had a previous complete truncal vagotomy with lower esophageal or gastric surgery entered and completed the study. INTERVENTION Each patient received 120-min infusions of saline, 1 pmol/kg.min ghrelin, and 5 pmol/kg.min ghrelin on 3 separate days. After 90 min, a buffet meal was served. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Energy intake at the buffet meal was measured. RESULTS Ghrelin-stimulated GH release in a dose-dependent manner was measured, confirming bioactivity. However, no change in energy intake was observed with either dose of ghrelin [energy intake (kilojoules): saline 2805 +/- 812; ghrelin 1 pmol/kg.min, 2486 +/- 767; ghrelin 5 pmol/kg.min, 2382 +/- 543; P = not significant]. CONCLUSIONS Ghrelin is unlikely to be an effective appetite-stimulatory treatment for patients with vagotomy and esophageal or gastric surgery. Our results suggest that an intact vagus nerve may be required for exogenous ghrelin to increase appetite and food intake in man.
Identification of a Negative Regulatory Role for Spi-C in the Murine B Cell Lineage

Spi-C is an E26 transformation-specific family transcription factor that is highly related to PU.1 and Spi-B. Spi-C is expressed in developing B cells, but its function in B cell development and function is not well characterized. To determine whether Spi-C functions as a negative regulator of Spi-B (encoded by Spib), mice were generated that were germline knockout for Spib and heterozygous for Spic (Spib−/−Spic+/−). Interestingly, loss of one Spic allele substantially rescued B cell frequencies and absolute numbers in Spib−/− mouse spleens. Spib−/−Spic+/− B cells had restored proliferation compared with Spib−/− B cells in response to anti-IgM or LPS stimulation. Investigation of a potential mechanism for the Spib−/−Spic+/− phenotype revealed that steady-state levels of Nfkb1, encoding p50, were elevated in Spib−/−Spic+/− B cells compared with Spib−/− B cells. Spi-B was shown to directly activate the Nfkb1 gene, whereas Spi-C was shown to repress this gene. These results indicate a novel role for Spi-C as a negative regulator of B cell development and function.
Routine Histopathologic Evaluation in Hallux Valgus Surgery

Background: Anecdotal evidence suggests that specimens submitted for histopathologic assessment during hallux valgus surgery most commonly reveal degenerative changes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cost effectiveness of routine examination of tissue from hallux valgus procedures. We hypothesized that such examination rarely diagnoses a new condition and does not alter postoperative management. Materials and Methods: Specimens from 315 consecutive primary hallux valgus reconstructions performed between November 1995 and August 2002 were retrospectively analyzed. Patient charts were reviewed to determine the number of cases in which new diagnoses were made or treatment altered based upon histopathologic examination. Cost effectiveness was assessed by identifying the reimbursement for professional fees charged for these analyses. The total reimbursement per new diagnosis made and per alteration of treatment were calculated. Results: Degenerative changes were diagnosed in the majority of speciments (97.5%, 307 of 315). Other diagnoses included rheumatoid arthritis (1.3%, four of 315), gouty arthritis (1.0%, three of 315), and pseudogout (0.3%, one of 315). A new diagnosis was made only in the one patient (0.3%, one of 315) with pseudogout. Postoperative management was unchanged in every case. Conclusion: Routine submission of specimens obtained during hallux valgus surgery is not cost effective. New diagnoses are very rare and postoperative management did not change. Level of Evidence: IV, Retrospective Case Series
Towards a more effective EIA in transport planning: a literature review to derive interventions and mechanisms to improve knowledge integration

A set of process-related barriers negatively determines the effectiveness of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in transport planning. Recent research highlights the unstructured stakeholder involvement and inefficient public participation in earlier phases of EIA as key bottlenecks. While the academic literature has produced promising theories for addressing these barriers, they have rarely been translated into solutions applicable and testable in practice. In order to bridge this theory–practice gap, we present a systematic literature review of interventions and mechanisms aimed at facilitating the integration of different sources and types of knowledge during the scoping phase of EIA. This review explores if and how interventions and mechanisms have been conducted in practice; if and why they worked or did not work and how relevant they are for EIA in transport planning. Based on this review, we distil a set of three specific interventions and trigger mechanisms applicable in the context of EIA in transport planning.
A Multi-institutional Phase 2 Study of Imatinib Mesylate and Gemcitabine for First-Line Treatment of Advanced Pancreatic Cancer.

BACKGROUND The pancreatic tumor microenvironment is rich in receptors for platelet-derived growth factor (PDGFRs). Imatinib mesylate (IM) inhibits PDGFRs and decreases tumor interstitial fluid pressure, potentially improving drug access. These data and promising results in a phase 1 trial formed the rationale for a phase 2 trial combining IM and gemcitabine (GEM) in pancreatic cancer. METHODS Eligibility criteria included chemotherapy-naïve, locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer; ECOG (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group) performance status ≤2; and adequate end-organ function. The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS). Secondary end points included response rate, toxicity, and overall survival (OS). GEM was given at 1200 mg/m(2)/120 min on days 3 and 10. IM (400 mg) was taken orally on days 1 to 5 and 8 to 12 of a 21-day cycle. Response was assessed every 3 cycles. RESULTS Forty-four patients from 7 centers were enrolled from October 2005 through July 2009. Median age was 62 years. The median number of cycles completed was 3 (range, 0-17). Common adverse effects included neutropenia, nausea, anemia, and fatigue. Half the patients required dose reductions. There were no complete responses to therapy. During treatment, 1 patient showed a partial response, 16 had stable disease, and 18 had progressive disease. The median PFS was 3.9 months (95% confidence interval, 2.1-5.1), the median OS was 6.3 months (95% confidence interval, 5.2-8.5), and the 1-year survival rate was 25.6% (95% confidence interval, 13.8-39.1). CONCLUSION IM in combination with GEM is tolerated in locally advanced, metastatic, or recurrent pancreatic cancer, but does not show a statistically significant PFS or OS benefit over chemotherapy with GEM alone.
Experiments on Semi-supervised Dependency Parsing of a Morphologically Rich Language

This paper 1 presents a set of preliminary experiments that have the aim of improving dependency parsing of Basque by using a semi-supervised technique. Our approach will make use of large unannotated corpora (over 140M word forms). We will investigate the use of information induced from a large raw corpus as well as an automatically parsed version. The first results show encouraging improvements with respect to previous work. We have also made a first attempt to induce metafeatures with the objective of reducing data sparseness.
Safety and efficacy of a simplified fixed-dose combination of stavudine, lamivudine and nevirapine (GPO-VIR) for the treatment of advanced HIV-infected patients: a 24-week study.

OBJECTIVE To determine the efficacy and safety of the fixed-dose combination of stavudine (d4T), lamivudine (3TC) and nevirapine (NVP) in the treatment of antiretroviral naive HIV-infected Thai adults. PATIENTS AND METHOD An open-label, single arm trial was conducted Baseline clinical assessment and blood test was done on 10, antiretroviral naive HIV-infected patients, who then received a fixed dose combination of d4T, 3TC and NVP (GPO- VIR, Thai Government Pharmaceutical Organization, Bangkok, Thailand). Nevirapine was given as 200 mg once daily for the first 2 weeks. The patients were followed up at 2, 4, 8, 12 and 24 weeks. A CD4 cell count and HIV-RNA assay were done at 12 and 24 weeks. RESULTS One hundred and one patients were enrolled The mean baseline CD4 cell count and mean HIV RNA were 58.7 (57.7) cells/mm3 and 5.3 (0.5) log10, copies/mL respectively. At week 24th, the mean decrease in log HIV RNA was 3.6 (0.7) log10 copies/mL [P < 0.001; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.70-3.03]. Eighty one (80.2%) patients had HIV RNA < 400 copies/mL by intention-to-treat analysis (ITT) and 97.6% had HIV RNA < 400 copies/mL by on-treatment analysis (OT). Sixteen (84.2%) patients with baseline HIV RNA < or = 100,000 copies/mL and 65 (82.3%) patients with baseline HIV RNA > 100,000 copies/mL had viral load < 400 copies/mL by ITT (P = 0.842; 95% CI, -20.9%-16.2%). Sixteen (94.1%) patients with baseline HIV RNA < or = 100,000 copies/mL and 65 (98.5%) patients with baseline HIV RNA > 100,000 copies/mL had viral load < 400 copies/mL by OT (P = 0.295; 95% CI, -25.5%-3.8%). The mean CD4 cell count at week 24 was 155.1 (89.0) cells/mm3 (range 13-402). The mean increase in CD4 cell count from baseline was 96.5 (63.5) cells/ mm3 (P < 0.001). A total of 12% of the patients receiving d4T + 3TC + NVP developed skin rashes. Grade 3 or 4 hepatotoxicity was recognized in 7% of the patients. CONCLUSION Fixed-dose combination of d4T + 3 TC + NVP (GPO- VIR) is safe, well tolerated and effective in increasing CD4 cell counts and suppression of HIV RNA at 24 weeks in advanced HIV-infected patients in Thailand.
Evaluation of NT-proBNP and High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein for Predicting Cardiovascular Risk in Patients with Arthritis Taking Longterm Nonsteroidal Antiinflammatory Drugs

Objective. Patients with arthritis frequently are at increased risk for future cardiovascular (CV) events. We investigated the performance of the cardiac biomarkers N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) for predicting CV events in patients with arthritis taking chronic nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAID). Methods. We evaluated 2-year CV outcomes in a prospective, nested biomarker study among patients (N = 6273) with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis treated with NSAID in the MEDAL (Multinational Etoricoxib and Diclofenac Arthritis Long-term) trial. Patients were stratified by quartiles of baseline NT-proBNP and established cutpoints of NT-proBNP and hsCRP. Results. NT-proBNP demonstrated a strong graded relationship with CV outcomes, including CV death (p for trend < 0.0001), myocardial infarction (MI) (p for trend = 0.02), heart failure (HF) (p for trend < 0.0001), and a composite of thrombotic events (CV death, MI, stroke) or HF (p for trend < 0.0001). Baseline levels of hsCRP were not associated with CV events (CV death/MI/stroke/HF; p for trend = 0.65). NT-proBNP remained strongly predictive of CV events after adjustment for age, sex, diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, smoking, type of arthritis, body mass index, creatinine clearance, history of CV disease, and hsCRP (CV death/MI/stroke/HF: Q4 vs Q1 hazard ratio 3.53, 95% CI 1.89−6.58). Patients with a NT-proBNP level below 100 pg/ml had a 0.94% rate of thrombotic events or heart failure at 2 years. Conclusion. NT-proBNP is a simple and robust noninvasive indicator of CV risk in patients with arthritis. Risk stratification based on NT-proBNP may facilitate identification of patients with arthritis who are at low CV risk during chronic NSAID treatment.
Sonography of the female urethra.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to explore the role of sonography for women with urethral symptoms and a suspected urethral diverticulum. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Nineteen women with urethral symptoms underwent voiding cystourethrography (VCUG) and transvaginal, transperineal, and urethral sonography (using a catheter-based transducer). VCUGs and sonograms were evaluated for diverticula, defined on sonography by direct visualization of the neck connecting the periurethral sac with the urethral lumen. The diverticular neck, size, location, and shape were noted. Lesions revealed by sonography as not connected to the urethra were also noted. RESULTS Of 19 women, 14 had urethral diverticula and one had two diverticula, for a total of 15 diverticula. On sonography the diverticula ranged in diameter from 2 mm to 5 cm. Both sonography and VCUG showed 13 of the 15 diverticula. In addition, sonography revealed two infected periurethral cysts, a periurethral leiomyoma, a diffuse urethritis, and scarring or deformity of one patient's urethra from a prior diverticulectomy. On sonography, eight of the 13 diverticula wrapped around more than 50% of the urethral circumference. The neck was precisely seen (by definition) in 13 of 15 diverticula on sonography and in two of 13 diverticula on VCUG. CONCLUSION Sonography is useful in this group of women with urethral symptoms and suspected urethral diverticula. It provides information on the extent and location of the diverticular neck, both of which are important in surgical excision. Also, sonography provides information on lesions not connected to the urethra. Sonography may prove useful in a broader group of women with urethral symptomatology.