Hasta La Vista Privacy, or How Technology Terminated Privacy

Lawyers find great joy in pointing out the destructive effects of digital technology on privacy and naturally expect the law to avert overexposure of people’s personal information. This essay takes a different view by arguing that the trajectory of technological developments renders the expansive collection of personal data inevitable, and hence the law’s primary interest should lie in regulating the use—not the collection—of information. This does not foreshadow the end of privacy, but rather suggests a necessary reconceptualization of privacy in the digital era. Along those lines we first need to acknowledge that people increasingly sacrifice voluntarily some of their privacy to enjoy the benefits of technology. Second, the ready availability of a huge volume of personal information creates attention scarcity, such that the chances a person’s privacy will be intruded are diminished. Most importantly, though, once the law accepts the inevitability of the collection of personal information, it will be best in the position to focus attention on ensuring that the collected information is appropriately used, instead of wasting resources on trying to hinder in vain its collection. This more realistic approach calls for alternative means of regulation, like self-regulation or emphasis on informed consent, and facilitates the flow of information by reducing the transactional cost of its sharing and dissemination

Individuals motivated to participate in adherence, care and treatment (imPACT): development of a multi-component intervention to help HIV-infected recently incarcerated individuals link and adhere to HIV care

Abstract Background Policy-makers promote a seek, test, treat and retain (STTR) strategy to expand HIV testing, support linkage and engagement in care, and enhance the continuous use of antiretroviral therapy for those HIV-infected. This HIV prevention strategy is particularly appropriate in correctional settings where HIV screening and treatment are routinely available yet many HIV-infected individuals have difficulty sustaining sufficient linkage and engagement in care, disease management, and viral suppression after prison release. Methods/design Our research team developed Project imPACT (individuals motivated to Participate in Adherence, Care and Treatment), a multi-component approach for HIV-Infected recently incarcerated individuals that specifically targets their care linkage, retention, and medication adherence by addressing multiple barriers to care engagement after release. The ultimate goals of this intervention are to improve the health of HIV-infected individuals recently released from prison and reduce HIV transmission to their communities by maintaining viral suppression. This paper describes the intervention and technology development processes, based on best practices for intervention development and process evaluation. These processes included: 1) identifying the target population; 2) clarifying the theoretical basis for intervention design; 3) describing features of its foundational interventions; 4) conducting formative qualitative research; 5) integrating and adapting foundational interventions to create and refine intervention content based on target audience feedback. These stages along with the final intervention product are described in detail. The intervention is currently being evaluation and a two arm randomized, controlled trial in two US state prison systems. Discussion Based on a literature review, qualitative research, integration of proven interventions and behavioral theory, the final imPACT intervention focused on the transition period two to three months before and three months after prison release. It emphasized pre-release readiness, pre- and post-release supportive non-judgmental counseling, linking individuals to a HIV care clinic and technological supports through videos and text messages. This article provides a useful model for how researchers can develop, test, and refine multi-component interventions to address HIV care linkage, retention and adherence. Clinical trial registration NCT01629316 , first registered 6-4-2012; last updated 6-9-2015

The Baboon (Papio spp.) as a Model of Human Ebola Virus Infection

Baboons are susceptible to natural Ebola virus (EBOV) infection and share 96% genetic homology with humans. Despite these characteristics, baboons have rarely been utilized as experimental models of human EBOV infection to evaluate the efficacy of prophylactics and therapeutics in the United States. This review will summarize what is known about the pathogenesis of EBOV infection in baboons compared to EBOV infection in humans and other Old World nonhuman primates. In addition, we will discuss how closely the baboon model recapitulates human EBOV infection. We will also review some of the housing requirements and behavioral attributes of baboons compared to other Old World nonhuman primates. Due to the lack of data available on the pathogenesis of Marburg virus (MARV) infection in baboons, discussion of the pathogenesis of MARV infection in baboons will be limited