Brief of Scholars of the History and Original Meaning of the Fourth Amendment as Amici Curiae in Support of Petitioner, Carpenter v. United States, No. 16-402 (U.S. Aug. 14, 2017)

Obtaining and examining cell site location records to find a person is a “search” in any normal sense of the word — a search of documents and a search for a person and her personal effects. It is therefore a “search” within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment in that it constitutes “examining,” “exploring,” “looking through,” “inquiring,” “seeking,” or “trying to find.” Nothing about the text of the Fourth Amendment, or the historical backdrop against which it was adopted, suggests that “search” should be construed more narrowly as, for example, intrusions upon subjectively manifested expectations of privacy that society is prepared to recognize as reasonable.Entrusting government agents with unfettered discretion to conduct searches using cell site location information undermines Fourth Amendment rights. The Amendment guarantees “[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches.” The Framers chose that language deliberately. It reflected the insecurity they suffered at the hands of “writs of assistance,” a form of general warrant that granted state agents broad discretion to search wherever they pleased. Such arbitrary power was “unreasonable” to the Framers, being “against the reason of the common law,” and it was intolerable because of its oppressive impact on “the people” as a whole. As emphasized in one of the seminal English cases that inspired the Amendment, this kind of general power to search was “totally subversive of the liberty of the subject.” James Otis’s famous speech denouncing a colonial writ of assistance similarly condemned those writs as “the worst instrument of arbitrary power,” placing “the liberty of every man in the hands of every petty officer.” Thus, although those who drafted and ratified the Fourth Amendment could not have anticipated cellphone technology, they would have recognized the dangers inherent in any state claim of unlimited authority to conduct searches for evidence of criminal activity. Cell site location information provides insight into where we go and what we do. Because this information is constantly generated and can be retrieved by the government long after the activities it memorializes have taken place, unfettered government access to cell site location information raises the specter of general searches and undermines the security of “the people.

A Call to Action: A Blueprint for Academic Health Sciences in the Era of Mass Incarceration

Over 100 million Americans have criminal records, and the U.S. incarcerates seven times more citizens than most developed countries. The burden of incarceration disproportionately affects people of color and ethnic minorities, and those living in poverty. While 95% of incarcerated people return to society, recidivism rates are high with nearly 75% arrested again within five years of release. Criminal records impede access to employment and other social services such as shelter and health care. Justice-involved people have higher rates of substance, mental health, and some chronic medical disorders than the general population; furthermore, the incarcerated population is rapidly aging. Only a minority of academic health science centers are engaged in health services research, workforce training, or correctional health care. This commentary provides rationale and a blueprint for engagement of academic health science institutions to harness their capabilities to tackle one of the country\u27s most vexing public health crises

Exploring liminality in the co-design of rehabilitation environments: The case of one acute stroke unit

This paper describes an Experience-based Co-design (EBCD) project that aimed to increase patient activity within an acute stroke unit. We apply the concept of liminality to explore ways in which the EBCD process, a form of Participatory Action Research, may challenge social hierarchies and assumptions about practices and constraints in this care setting, thereby opening up possibilities for improving the therapeutic value of the space for patients. Through the creation of an 'anti-structure' within a medicalised and bureaucratised clinical setting, EBCD enhanced a sense of community and trust between staff and patients, generating both therapeutic and social value

Islet Harvest in Carbon Monoxide-Saturated Medium for Chronic Pancreatitis Patients Undergoing Islet Autotransplantation

Stresses encountered during human islet isolation lead to unavoidable beta-cell death after transplantation. This reduces the chance of insulin independence in chronic pancreatitis patients undergoing total pancreatectomy and islet autotransplantation. We tested whether harvesting islets in carbon monoxide-saturated solutions is safe and can enhance islet survival and insulin independence after total pancreatectomy and islet autotransplantation. Chronic pancreatitis patients who consented to the study were randomized into carbon monoxide (islets harvested in a carbon monoxide-saturated medium) or control (islets harvested in a normal medium) groups. Islet yield, viability, oxygen consumption rate, beta-cell death (measured by unmethylated insulin DNA), and serum cytokine levels were measured during the peri-transplantation period. Adverse events, metabolic phenotypes, and islet function were measured prior and at 6 months post-transplantation. No adverse events directly related to the infusion of carbon monoxide islets were observed. Carbon monoxide islets showed significantly higher viability before transplantation. Subjects receiving carbon monoxide islets had less beta-cell death, decreased CCL23, and increased CXCL12 levels at 1 or 3 days post transplantation compared with controls. Three in 10 (30%) of the carbon monoxide subjects and none of the control subjects were insulin independent. This pilot trial showed for the first time that harvesting human islets in carbon monoxide-saturated solutions is safe for total pancreatectomy and islet autotransplantation patients.Open access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Tumor innate immunity primed by specific interferon-stimulated endogenous retroviruses.

Mesenchymal tumor subpopulations secrete pro-tumorigenic cytokines and promote treatment resistance1-4. This phenomenon has been implicated in chemorefractory small cell lung cancer and resistance to targeted therapies5-8, but remains incompletely defined. Here, we identify a subclass of endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) that engages innate immune signaling in these cells. Stimulated 3 prime antisense retroviral coding sequences (SPARCS) are oriented inversely in 3' untranslated regions of specific genes enriched for regulation by STAT1 and EZH2. Derepression of these loci results in double-stranded RNA generation following IFN-γ exposure due to bi-directional transcription from the STAT1-activated gene promoter and the 5' long terminal repeat of the antisense ERV. Engagement of MAVS and STING activates downstream TBK1, IRF3, and STAT1 signaling, sustaining a positive feedback loop. SPARCS induction in human tumors is tightly associated with major histocompatibility complex class 1 expression, mesenchymal markers, and downregulation of chromatin modifying enzymes, including EZH2. Analysis of cell lines with high inducible SPARCS expression reveals strong association with an AXL/MET-positive mesenchymal cell state. While SPARCS-high tumors are immune infiltrated, they also exhibit multiple features of an immune-suppressed microenviroment. Together, these data unveil a subclass of ERVs whose derepression triggers pathologic innate immune signaling in cancer, with important implications for cancer immunotherapy

Queer Youth and the Culture Wars: From Classroom to Courtroom in Australia, Canada and the United States

This article builds on Lugg\u27s (2006) discussion of surveillance in public schools and how queer youth are resisting schools\u27 current efforts to regulate sexual orientation and gender expression in the U.S. and internationally. Legal complaints initiated by queer youth against their schools for harassment and access to extra-curricular activities are discussed. The number of cases in the past five years has increased significantly and the courts are siding with the youth and their allies, demonstrating that queer youth are significantly impacting the dismantling of heteronormative regulatory regimes and improving the school experiences for themselves and queer adults

Assessment of function and clinical utility of alcohol and other drug web sites: An observational, qualitative study

Background The increasing popularity and use of the internet makes it an attractive option for providing health information and treatment, including alcohol/other drug use. There is limited research examining how people identify and access information about alcohol or other drug (AOD) use online, or how they assess the usefulness of the information presented. This study examined the strategies that individuals used to identify and navigate a range of AOD websites, along with the attitudes concerning presentation and content. Methods Members of the general community in Brisbane and Roma (Queensland, Australia) were invited to participate in a 30-minute search of the internet for sites related to AOD use, followed by a focus group discussion. Fifty one subjects participated in the study across nine focus groups. Results Participants spent a maximum of 6.5 minutes on any one website, and less if the user was under 25 years of age. Time spent was as little as 2 minutes if the website was not the first accessed. Participants recommended that AOD-related websites should have an engaging home or index page, which quickly and accurately portrayed the site’s objectives, and provided clear site navigation options. Website content should clearly match the title and description of the site that is used by internet search engines. Participants supported the development of a portal for AOD websites, suggesting that it would greatly facilitate access and navigation. Treatment programs delivered online were initially viewed with caution. This appeared to be due to limited understanding of what constituted online treatment, including its potential efficacy. Conclusions A range of recommendations arise from this study regarding the design and development of websites, particularly those related to AOD use. These include prudent use of text and information on any one webpage, the use of graphics and colours, and clear, uncluttered navigation options. Implications for future website development are discussed

A tale of two towns: A comparative study exploring the possibilities and pitfalls of social capital among people seeking recovery from substance misuse

Background: Social capital has become an influential concept in debating and understanding the modern world. Within the drug and alcohol sector, the concept of ‘recovery capital’ has gained traction with researchers suggesting that people who have access to such capital are better placed to overcome their substance use-related problems than those who do not (Cloud and Granfield, 2008), leading to requests for interventions that focus on building social capital networks (Neale & Stevenson, 2015). While accepting that the concept of social capital has enormous potential for addressing the problems associated with drug use, this paper also considers its ‘dark side’. Methods: Data were drawn from semi-structured interviews with 180 participants including 135 people who use drugs and 45 people who formerly used drugs. Results: High levels of trust, acquired through the establishment of dense social networks, are required to initiate recovery. However, these ‘strong bonds’ may also lead to the emergence of what is perceived by others as an exclusive social network that limits membership to those who qualify and abide by the ‘rules’ of the recovery community, particularly around continuous abstinence. Conclusions: Depending on the nature of the networks and the types of links participants have into them being socially connected can both inhibit and encourage recovery. Therefore, the successful application of social capital within the drugs and alcohol field requires a consideration of not only the presence or absence of social connections but their nature, the value they produce, and the social contexts within which they are developed

Drosophila Immunity: Analysis of PGRP-SB1 Expression, Enzymatic Activity and Function

Peptidoglycan is an essential and specific component of the bacterial cell wall and therefore is an ideal recognition signature for the immune system. Peptidoglycan recognition proteins (PGRPs) are conserved from insects to mammals and able to bind PGN (non-catalytic PGRPs) and, in some cases, to efficiently degrade it (catalytic PGRPs). In Drosophila, several non-catalytic PGRPs function as selective peptidoglycan receptors upstream of the Toll and Imd pathways, the two major signalling cascades regulating the systemic production of antimicrobial peptides. Recognition PGRPs specifically activate the Toll pathway in response to Lys-type peptidoglycan found in most Gram-positive bacteria and the Imd pathway in response to DAP-type peptidoglycan encountered in Gram-positive bacilli-type bacteria and in Gram-negative bacteria. Catalytic PGRPs on the other hand can potentially reduce the level of immune activation by scavenging peptidoglycan. In accordance with this, PGRP-LB and PGRP-SC1A/B/2 have been shown to act as negative regulators of the Imd pathway. In this study, we report a biochemical and genetic analysis of PGRP-SB1, a catalytic PGRP. Our data show that PGRP-SB1 is abundantly secreted into the hemolymph following Imd pathway activation in the fat body, and exhibits an enzymatic activity towards DAP-type polymeric peptidoglycan. We have generated a PGRP-SB1/2 null mutant by homologous recombination, but its thorough phenotypic analysis did not reveal any immune function, suggesting a subtle role or redundancy of PGRP-SB1/2 with other molecules. Possible immune functions of PGRP-SB1 are discussed

Glucose modifies the effect of endovascular thrombectomy in patients with acute stroke: a pooled-data meta-analysis

Background and Purpose: Hyperglycemia is a negative prognostic factor following acute ischemic stroke but is not known whether glucose is associated with the effects of endovascular thrombectomy in patients with large vessel stroke. In a pooled-data meta-analysis, we analyzed whether serum glucose is a treatment modifier of the efficacy of endovascular thrombectomy in acute stroke. Methods: Seven randomized trials compared endovascular thrombectomy with standard care between 2010 and 2017 (HERMES Collaboration). 1764 patients with large vessel stroke were allocated to endovascular thrombectomy (n=871) or standard care (n=893). Measurements included blood glucose on admission and functional outcome [modified Rankin Scale (mRS) range: 0-6; lower scores indicating less disability] at 3 months. The primary analysis evaluated whether glucose modified the effect of EVT over standard care on functional outcome, using ordinal logistic regression to test the interaction between treatment and glucose level. Results: Median (IQR) serum glucose on admission was 120 (104-140) mg/dl [6.6mmol/l (5.7-7.7) mmol/l]. Endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) was better than standard care in the overall pooled-data analysis [common odds ratio (acOR), 2.00 (95% CI 1.69–2.38); however, lower glucose levels were associated with greater effects of EVT over standard care. The interaction was nonlinear such that significant interactions were found in subgroups of patients split at glucose < or > 90mg/dl (5.0mmol/l) [(p=0.019 for interaction, acOR 3.81 (95% CI 1.73–8.41) for patients < 90 mg/dl vs 1.83 (95% CI 1.53–2.19) for patients > 90 mg/dl], and glucose < or > 100mg/dl (5.5mmol/l) [(p=0.004 for interaction, acOR 3.17 (95% CI 2.04–4.93) vs acOR 1.72 (95% CI 1.42–2.08)], but not between subgroups above these levels of glucose. Conclusions: Endovascular thrombectomy improved stroke outcomes compared to standard treatment regardless of glucose levels but the treatment effects were larger at lower glucose levels, with significant interaction effects persisting up to 90 to 100mg/dl (5.0-5.5mmol/l). Whether tight control of glucose improves the efficacy of endovascular thrombectomy following large vessel stroke warrants appropriate testing