A Wrong Without a Right? Overcoming the Prison Litigation Reform Act\u27s Physical Injury Requirement in Solitary Confinement Cases

This Essay argues against applying the so-called “physical injury” requirement of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) to deny monetary compensation to solitary confinement survivors. The Essay identifies three ways in which misapplication of the PLRA’s physical injury requirement limits the ability of solitary confinement survivors to receive monetary compensation for psychological harm suffered. First, some courts applying the PLRA wrongly dismiss damages claims for alleging “de minimis” physical injury. Second, some courts have been reluctant to find that physical injury caused by psychological trauma satisfies the PLRA’s physical injury requirement. Third, courts do not distinguish between “garden variety” mental and emotional suffering and psychiatric illness in applying the physical injury bar. This Essay contends that this jurisprudence is inconsistent with the goal of preserving meritorious prisoner claims and should be reconsidered

Corporate Personhood and the Putative First Amendment Right to Discriminate

Corporations increasingly assert the right to discriminate, based either on free speech claims, religious freedom claims, or statutory claims arising from the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Such claims have been considered by the Supreme Court in Hobby Lobby (RFRA) and Masterpiece Cakeshop (First Amendment), and in both cases the Court held in favor of the business. In neither case, however, did the Court address a fundamental flaw with the arguments of the company asserting the speech and religion claims: that the claims depend on the rejection of corporate personhood. The putative religious and speech claims arose not from the beliefs of the companies but of their dominant shareholders. But corporate “personhood” means the interests of the firm are distinct from those of the shareholders. Allowing companies to assert the beliefs of shareholders as their own contradicts established doctrine and risks corporate manipulation of regulations designed to be generally applicable. The authors have been active as amici in various cases in which corporations have asserted right to discriminate. This chapter marks the first time that these arguments have appeared in a scholarly format

Should Corporations Have First Amendment Rights?

As Professor Winkler correctly stated, current doctrine emphasizes the rights of listeners rather than the identity of corporate speakers. My argument is, in effect, that this emphasis misses the key point. But I will not deal with listeners directly. I am simply going to assume, rather than argue, that if corporate advertising were ineffective in influencing voters or legislators, normal market processes would eliminate it. I\u27m going to take it for granted that when corporations speak, it makes a difference in the actual results

Should Corporations Have First Amendment Rights?

As Professor Winkler correctly stated, current doctrine emphasizes the rights of listeners rather than the identity of corporate speakers. My argument is, in effect, that this emphasis misses the key point. But I will not deal with listeners directly. I am simply going to assume, rather than argue, that if corporate advertising were ineffective in influencing voters or legislators, normal market processes would eliminate it. I\u27m going to take it for granted that when corporations speak, it makes a difference in the actual results

Wafer-scale magnesium diboride thin films and devices with tunable high kinetic inductance

Progress in superconducting device and detector technologies over the past decade have realized practical applications in quantum computers, detectors for far-IR telescopes, and optical communications. Superconducting thin film materials, however, have remained largely unchanged, with aluminum still being the material of choice for superconducting qubits, and Nb compounds for higher frequency devices. $\mathrm{MgB}_2$, known for its highest $\mathrm{T}_c$ (39 K) among metallic superconductors, is a viable material for higher frequency superconducting devices moving towards THz frequencies. However, difficulty in synthesizing thin films have prevented implementation of $\mathrm{MgB}_2$ devices into the application base of superconducting electronics, despite promising preliminary results for a number of applications. We have developed smooth and uniform $\mathrm{MgB}_2$ films on 4-inch Si wafers by depositing uniform Mg-B co-sputtered film, capping the film in situ to create a closed environment, followed by an optimized post-annealing step. We further report mature device fabrication processes and demonstrate test structures to measure properties of the films. This includes resonators with internal Q factor over $\mathrm{10}^4$ at 4.5 K and tunable high kinetic inductance (5-50 pH/$\square$ readily achieved in a 40 nm film), opening up the path for development of high frequency and high temperature $\mathrm{MgB}_2$ microdevices

A rapid systematic review of breakthrough pain definitions and descriptions

Background Breakthrough pain is common in life-limiting conditions and at end-of-life. Despite over 30 years of study, there is little consensus regarding the definition and characteristics of breakthrough pain. Objective This study aims to update and expand a 2010 systematic review by Haugen and colleagues to identify (1) all definitions of breakthrough pain and (2) all descriptions and classifications of breakthrough pain reported by patients, caregivers, clinicians, and experts. Design This rapid systematic review followed the Cochrane Rapid Review Methods Group guidelines. A protocol is published on PROSPERO (CRD42019155583). Data sources CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and the Web of Science were searched for breakthrough pain terms from the inception dates of each database to 26th August 2022. Results We identified 65 studies that included data on breakthrough pain definitions, descriptions, or classifications from patients ( n = 30), clinicians ( n = 6), and experts ( n = 29), but none with data from caregivers. Most experts proposed that breakthrough pain was a sudden, severe, brief pain occurring in patients with adequately controlled mild-moderate background pain. However, definitions varied and there was no consensus. Pain characteristics were broadly similar across studies though temporal factors varied widely. Experts classified breakthrough pain into nociceptive, neuropathic, visceral, somatic, or mixed types. Patients with breakthrough pain commonly experienced depression, anxiety, and interference with daily life. Conclusions Despite ongoing efforts, there is still no consensus on the definition of breakthrough pain. A compromise is needed on breakthrough pain nomenclature to collect reliable incidence and prevalence data and to inform further refinement of the construct