The Big Stink About Garbage: \u3cem\u3eState v. McMurray\u3c/em\u3e and a Reasonable Expectation of Privacy

On March 11, 2015, the Supreme Court of Minnesota affirmed a lower court decision against David Ford McMurray, who was found guilty of third-degree possession of a controlled substance and sentenced to twenty-four months. McMurray was charged after Hutchinson, Minnesota police searched through his garbage and found evidence of methamphetamine. The majority held that a warrantless search of the defendant’s garbage was reasonable under the federal and state constitutions because a person has no reasonable expectation of privacy in garbage set out for collection on the side of a public street because garbage is readily accessible to other members of the public. The dissenting judge persuasively opined that there is, in fact, a reasonable expectation of privacy when an individual places his or her garbage at the curb for collection because household waste contains personal information that most individuals expect will remain private. This Comment argues that the dissent’s approach better understands the private nature of waste, the opinion’s troubling repercussions for disadvantaged communities, and the potential for broader government intrusion

Protecting Animals and People: The Role of the Public Sector in Improving Animal Cruelty Investigation Work

Animal cruelty investigation work in Canada has typically been the responsibility of humane societies and/or SPCAs (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), charities that are mandated to enforce government legislation. This unusual model is unique to investigations into crimes against animals. Manitoba offers an alternative approach with a publicly-funded and public-private hybrid delivery model. Through an examination of Manitoba’s Chief Veterinary Office which oversees investigations, this thesis considers the multi-species implications of this kind of publicly-funded animal cruelty investigations. More specifically, it assesses the benefits and drawbacks that the approach has for animals, their owners, and animal protection officers. Using the lenses of engaged theory, interspecies solidarity, and multi-optic vision, and by building from textual sources and interview data, this thesis describes and analyses animal cruelty investigation work in Manitoba and considers the role the public sector could have in improving animal protection work in Canada

The Crisis Inside Crisis Pregnancy Centers: How to Stop These Facilities from Depriving Women of Their Reproductive Freedom

Since the late 1960s, pro-life activists have been flooding the United States with crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs), facilities disguised as legitimate reproductive health clinics but, in reality, are mostly unlicensed centers that do not provide contraception or abortion services. These facilities deprive women of their reproductive freedom when they engage in deceptive practices to coerce women out of terminating their pregnancies. This Note examines recent unsuccessful attempts to curb CPC practices and highlights the destructive impacts of CPCs, particularly on young, low-income, and minority women. Misleading CPC tactics bar women from exercising their constitutional right to command their reproductive decisions, including if and when to have an abortion. To better protect a woman’s reproductive liberty, this Note demands the discontinuation of government funding to CPCs, and advocates for contemporary strategies to challenge and regulate CPCs through the use of consumer protection laws and medical conduct claims

Complications with Controlling Insect Eggs

Eggs are difficult to kill because of the unique structure of the eggshell, comprised of multiple layers that have evolved to allow the embryo to breathe while simultaneously limiting water loss. The eggshell has been shown to be an excellent barrier to insecticides, fungal pathogens, and some fumigants. The insect eggshell contains only a few areas that could allow penetration of insecticides, the aeropyles and micropyles, which seem to be either so few in number or small in size that they do not allow a sufficient amount of insecticide through the eggshell. Resistance is also a contributing factor to control failures of insect eggs. Resistance in eggs has been documented in several insect species and a few studies have shown that some insect eggs produce elevated numbers of enzymes to break down insecticides. This chapter focuses on the structure and respiration of the insect eggshell as a barrier to insecticides and also covers various management strategies against insect eggs. Lastly, we discuss the few documentations of resistance in insect eggs thus far

Use of Social Adaptability Index to Explain Self-Care and Diabetes Outcomes

Background: To examine whether the social adaptability index (SAI) alone or components of the index provide a better explanatory model for self-care and diabetes outcomes. Methods: Six hundred fifteen patients were recruited from two primary care settings. A series of multiple linear regression models were run to assess (1) associations between the SAI and diabetes self-care/outcomes, and (2) associations between individual SAI indicator variables and diabetes self-care/outcomes. Separate models were run for each self-care behavior and outcome. Two models were run for each dependent variable to compare associations with the SAI and components of the index. Results: The SAI has a significant association with the mental component of quality of life (0.23, p \u3c 0.01). In adjusted analyses, the SAI score did not have a significant association with any of the self-care behaviors. Individual components from the index had significant associations between self-care and multiple SAI indicator variables. Significant associations also exist between outcomes and the individual SAI indicators for education and employment. Conclusions: In this population, the SAI has low explanatory power and few significant associations with diabetes self-care/outcomes. While the use of a composite index to predict outcomes within a diabetes population would have high utility, particularly for clinical settings, this SAI lacks statistical and clinical significance in a representative diabetes population. Based on these results, the index does not provide a good model fit and masks the relationship of individual components to diabetes self-care and outcomes. These findings suggest that five items alone are not adequate to explain or predict outcomes for patients with type 2 diabetes

A Learning Module in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the Use of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) Assisted Psychotherapies in Patients who have PTSD and Other Alike Disorders

ABSTRACT Background: Patients who have PTSD are particularly vulnerable to inefficient treatment modalities and subsequent lifelong suffering. Multiple studies have exposed these inefficiencies in conventional therapies and established a potentiality for MDMA use during psychotherapy sessions in this patient population. Ketamine represents an anesthetic with a similar psychedelic profile to MDMA that is used in current clinical settings. Context: Mount Sinai Medical center is a 672-bed hospital in Miami Beach, Florida, where the Miami Beach Anesthesiology Associates (MBAA) group provides anesthesia services. Many procedures requiring anesthesia are carried out to a vast patient population, many of which are patients with PTSD and associative symptoms of depression. Objectives: The objective of the Evidence-Based Learning Module is to expand CRNA knowledge of PTSD and the use of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) assisted psychotherapies in patients who have PTSD and other similar disorders. Methods: A pre-implementation survey assessed the providers’ initial knowledge of PTSD, including current treatment modalities and overall inefficiencies, and the pharmacology and history of MDMA. A virtual educational intervention then followed this. When completed, anesthesia providers were redirected to a post-intervention survey to establish the growth of knowledge. Results: Overall, there was an improvement in provider knowledge following the education intervention. There was no change regarding the likelihood of researching MDMA further on the CRNA’s own time. Conclusions: Currently, there exist many insufficiencies in the treatment of patients with PSTD. During the perioperative period, an area of heightened vulnerability for this population, a universal standard of care or anesthetic plan specific to patients with PTSD is lacking. The educational intervention provided was effective in improving anesthesia provider knowledge of PTSD and MDMA

Zephyr: The Ninth Issue

This is the ninth issue of Zephyr, the University of New England\u27s journal of creative expression. Since 2000, Zephyr has published original drawings, paintings, photography, prose, and verse created by current and former members of the University community. Zephyr\u27s Editorial Board is made up exclusively of matriculating students.https://dune.une.edu/zephyr/1008/thumbnail.jp

Zephyr: The Seventh Issue

This is the seventh issue of Zephyr, the University of New England\u27s journal of creative expression. Since 2000, Zephyr has published original drawings, paintings, photography, prose, and verse created by current and former members of the University community. Zephyr\u27s Editorial Board is made up exclusively of matriculating students.https://dune.une.edu/zephyr/1006/thumbnail.jp

Vermont Hospitals\u27 Emergency Department Utilization Charges by Insurance Payer

Objective: To identify the differences in emergency department (ED) charges across all insurance payers and to evaluate ED charges for Medicaid beneficiaries over time. Methods: The Vermont Department of Health\u27s publicly-available Hospital Discharge Data Set (HDD) data for 2012, 2014 and 2016 was analyzed by insurance group and year, as predictor variables, with age and sex as covariates. The primary outcome variable was total charges as a binary variable. Results: Medicare cases had the greatest odds of high total charge visits. The odds of Medicare records having high total charges were 65.0% greater than the odds of Medicaid records having high total charges, holding age group and sex constant. For records representing Medicaid beneficiaries, the odds of high total charges in 2012 and 2014 were 41.1% and 22.3% lower, respectively, than the odds of high total charges in 2016, holding rurality, age, and sex constant. Conclusions: Medicare cases had the greatest odds of being classified as high total charge visits. The odds of Medicaid cases producing high total charges increased during each period from 2012 to 2016