\u3cem\u3eHurst v. Florida\u3c/em\u3e’s Ha’p’orth of Tar: The Need to Revisit \u3cem\u3eCaldwell, Clemons, and Proffitt\u3c/em\u3e

In Hurst v. Florida, the Supreme Court held Florida’s death penalty scheme violated the Sixth Amendment because judges, rather than juries, found sentencing facts necessary to impose death. That Sixth Amendment ruling has implications for Florida’s Eighth Amendment jurisprudence. Under the Eighth Amendment rule of Caldwell v. Mississippi, capital juries must appreciate their responsibility for death sentencing. Yet, Florida has instructed juries that their fact-findings merely support sentencing recommendations, while leaving the ultimate sentencing decision to a judge. Because Hurst clarifies that the Sixth Amendment requires juries to find the operative set of facts on which sentences are actually determined, Florida must revisit whether its capital juries have felt the full weight of their proper constitutional role. Under the Eighth Amendment rule of Clemons v. Mississippi, appellate courts may reweigh sentencing facts and conduct harmless error analyses after finding an invalid aggravating factor was used at sentencing. Florida has permitted Clemons review on judge-found facts. After Hurst, Florida must revisit whether such review required sentencing facts found by juries. Florida’s pre-Hurst death penalty scheme was held to satisfy the Eighth Amendment in Proffitt v. Florida. That holding relied on the involvement of juries in finding sentencing facts and automatic review by the Florida Supreme Court. Hurst makes clear that Florida juries had no involvement in finding sentencing facts, and appellate review was based on facts improperly found by judges. Hurst, therefore, requires that Florida revisit Proffitt. Repairs to Florida’s Eighth Amendment jurisprudence should be made in the immediate aftermath of Hurst, while the finality of pre-Hurst death sentences already must be disturbed to satisfy the Sixth. In other words, Florida can repair today at little expense Eighth Amendment problems that may prove catastrophic tomorrow. And Florida, full as it is of able sailors, should know not to spoil the ship for a halfpennyworth of tar

\u3cem\u3eHurst v. Florida\u3c/em\u3e’s Ha’p’orth of Tar: The Need to Revisit \u3cem\u3eCaldwell, Clemons, and Proffitt\u3c/em\u3e

In Hurst v. Florida, the Supreme Court held Florida’s death penalty scheme violated the Sixth Amendment because judges, rather than juries, found sentencing facts necessary to impose death. That Sixth Amendment ruling has implications for Florida’s Eighth Amendment jurisprudence. Under the Eighth Amendment rule of Caldwell v. Mississippi, capital juries must appreciate their responsibility for death sentencing. Yet, Florida has instructed juries that their fact-findings merely support sentencing recommendations, while leaving the ultimate sentencing decision to a judge. Because Hurst clarifies that the Sixth Amendment requires juries to find the operative set of facts on which sentences are actually determined, Florida must revisit whether its capital juries have felt the full weight of their proper constitutional role. Under the Eighth Amendment rule of Clemons v. Mississippi, appellate courts may reweigh sentencing facts and conduct harmless error analyses after finding an invalid aggravating factor was used at sentencing. Florida has permitted Clemons review on judge-found facts. After Hurst, Florida must revisit whether such review required sentencing facts found by juries. Florida’s pre-Hurst death penalty scheme was held to satisfy the Eighth Amendment in Proffitt v. Florida. That holding relied on the involvement of juries in finding sentencing facts and automatic review by the Florida Supreme Court. Hurst makes clear that Florida juries had no involvement in finding sentencing facts, and appellate review was based on facts improperly found by judges. Hurst, therefore, requires that Florida revisit Proffitt. Repairs to Florida’s Eighth Amendment jurisprudence should be made in the immediate aftermath of Hurst, while the finality of pre-Hurst death sentences already must be disturbed to satisfy the Sixth. In other words, Florida can repair today at little expense Eighth Amendment problems that may prove catastrophic tomorrow. And Florida, full as it is of able sailors, should know not to spoil the ship for a halfpennyworth of tar

L’agriculture libre

Les principes fondateurs de l’open source – la capacité de partager, distribuer, modifier et reproduire des informations – sont-ils transposables à l’agriculture ? Si dans le domaine informatique, les logiciels libres sont maintenant une réalité, cela est-il transposable au domaine de l’agriculture ? Cet article examine l’hypothèse et la manière de créer et de diffuser des outils agricoles à travers des processus « libres ». Deux cas d’étude seront présentés : un logiciel de gestion pour les exploitants agricoles développé par la société éponyme, Ekylibre ; et une coopérative qui développe auprès des agriculteurs des techniques d’auto-construction d’outils agricoles, l’Atelier Paysan. Ces deux structures seront étudiées à travers leur histoire et leur forme d’organisation, la façon dont elles mettent en pratique les principes de l’open source, et en décrivant les outils qu’ils fabriquent dans leur contexte économique et social.Ekylibre et l’Atelier Paysan se réfèrent tous les deux au mouvement open source et s’investissent dans le partage des connaissances – lesquelles sont diffusées via des sites web, des démonstrations, des formations, et des forums. Ce sont des structures intimement liées à des communautés d’utilisateurs. Toutefois, en y regardant de plus près, on s’aperçoit que l’architecture, la matérialité et l’aspect financier des outils développés par Ekylibre et l’Atelier Paysan présentent des différences.Dans la littérature académique, l’open source est généralement conceptualisé comme un projet politique et éthique, tributaire d’une forme de sociabilité et de communautarité bien particulière. L’article montre qu’il faut problématiser et détailler davantage en retraçant empiriquement comment l’open source se matérialise au cas par cas. Si on peut concevoir certains outils comme des objets politiques, le terme politique ne renvoie pas à la même chose. Bien que Ekylibre et l’Atelier Paysan soient tous les deux liés à des communautés d’usagers, ces dernières sont organisées différemment et les échanges monétaires se font de façon distincte. L’idée d’open source ne se traduit, dans la pratique, pas seulement par des outils visant à être libres, partageables, collectifs, etc. Il faut aussi, selon nous, examiner de quelle manière et jusqu’à quel degré des outils open source peuvent être qualifiés comme tel et ainsi préciser ce qu’on entend par “politique” au cas par cas.Are the founding principles of open source – the ability to share, distribute, modify and reproduce information – transferable to agriculture? If in the computer field, free software is now a reality, this paper examines whether and how agricultural tools can be created and disseminated through ‘free’ processes. We look at two case studies: a management software for farmers developed by – and called – Ekylibre; and a cooperative that provides farmers with machines that can be self-constructed, l’Atelier Paysan. Both structures are studied by retracing their history and form of organization, studying how they enact the principles of open source, and by describing their tools within their economic and political context.Ekylibre and Atelier Paysan refer both to the open source movement and are devoted to knowledge sharing - knowledge that is disseminated via websites, demonstrations, trainings, and forums. They are both structures that are closely related to communities of users. However, at a closer look, we observe that the social architecture, the materiality and the economics of the tools developed by Ekylibre and Atelier Paysan differ. In the academic literature, open source is usually conceptualized as a political and ethical project, depending on a specific form of sociability and community. The article argues that we need to empirically describe and analytically problematize how open source is materialized in individual cases. If we can see open source tools as political objects, the term political does not refer to the same thing. While Ekylibre and Atelier Paysan are both related to user communities, they are organized and ‘economicized’ differently. The idea of open source is not only, in practice, translated into tools that aim to be free, shareable, collective, etc. We need, so we argue, to examine how and to what extent open source tools can be qualified as such and thereby show what the term ‘political’ signifies from case to case

L’agriculture libre

Image d’ouverture Le tracteur de LifeTrac est une machine open source qui pourrait coûter moitié moins qu’un tracteur conventionnel ; et il est conçu pour durer toute une vie... Open Source Ecology Les outils agricoles pourront-ils, à l’image des logiciels libres, devenir « libres » ? Les principes fondateurs de l’open source – la capacité de partager, distribuer, modifier et reproduire librement des informations – sont-ils transposables à l’agriculture ? Si dans le domaine informatique, les..

Impaired cardiac and skeletal muscle bioenergetics in children, adolescents, and young adults with Barth syndrome

Barth syndrome (BTHS) is an X‐linked condition characterized by altered cardiolipin metabolism and cardioskeletal myopathy. We sought to compare cardiac and skeletal muscle bioenergetics in children, adolescents, and young adults with BTHS and unaffected controls and examine their relationships with cardiac function and exercise capacity. Children/adolescents and young adults with BTHS (n = 20) and children/adolescent and young adult control participants (n = 23, total n = 43) underwent (31)P magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((31)P‐MRS) of the lower extremity (calf) and heart for estimation of skeletal muscle and cardiac bioenergetics. Peak exercise testing (VO (2peak)) and resting echocardiography were also performed on all participants. Cardiac PCr/ATP ratio was significantly lower in children/adolescents (BTHS: 1.5 ± 0.2 vs. Control: 2.0 ± 0.3, P < 0.01) and adults (BTHS: 1.9 ± 0.2 vs. Control: 2.3 ± 0.2, P < 0.01) with BTHS compared to Control groups. Adults (BTHS: 76.4 ± 31.6 vs. Control: 35.0 ± 7.4 sec, P < 0.01) and children/adolescents (BTHS: 71.5 ± 21.3 vs. Control: 31.4 ± 7.4 sec, P < 0.01) with BTHS had significantly longer calf PCr recovery (τ PCr) postexercise compared to controls. Maximal calf ATP production through oxidative phosphorylation (Qmax‐lin) was significantly lower in children/adolescents (BTHS: 0.5 ± 0.1 vs. Control: 1.1 ± 0.3 mmol/L per sec, P < 0.01) and adults (BTHS: 0.5 ± 0.2 vs. Control: 1.0 ± 0.2 mmol/L sec, P < 0.01) with BTHS compared to controls. Blunted cardiac and skeletal muscle bioenergetics were associated with lower VO(2peak) but not resting cardiac function. Cardiac and skeletal muscle bioenergetics are impaired and appear to contribute to exercise intolerance in BTHS

Semi-LASER localized dynamic 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy in exercising muscle at ultra-high magnetic field

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) can benefit from increased signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of high magnetic fields. In this work, the SNR gain of dynamic 31P MRS at 7 T was invested in temporal and spatial resolution. Using conventional slice selective excitation combined with localization by adiabatic selective refocusing (semi-LASER) with short echo time (TE = 23 ms), phosphocreatine quantification in a 38 mL voxel inside a single exercising muscle becomes possible from single acquisitions, with SNR = 42 ± 4 in resting human medial gastrocnemius

Methods for Assessing Mitochondrial Function in Diabetes

A growing body of research is investigating the potential contribution of mitochondrial function to the etiology of type 2 diabetes. Numerous in vitro, in situ, and in vivo methodologies are available to examine various aspects of mitochondrial function, each requiring an understanding of their principles, advantages, and limitations. This review provides investigators with a critical overview of the strengths, limitations and critical experimental parameters to consider when selecting and conducting studies on mitochondrial function. In vitro (isolated mitochondria) and in situ (permeabilized cells/tissue) approaches provide direct access to the mitochondria, allowing for study of mitochondrial bioenergetics and redox function under defined substrate conditions. Several experimental parameters must be tightly controlled, including assay media, temperature, oxygen concentration, and in the case of permeabilized skeletal muscle, the contractile state of the fibers. Recently developed technology now offers the opportunity to measure oxygen consumption in intact cultured cells. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy provides the most direct way of assessing mitochondrial function in vivo with interpretations based on specific modeling approaches. The continuing rapid evolution of these technologies offers new and exciting opportunities for deciphering the potential role of mitochondrial function in the etiology and treatment of diabetes

Muscle strength mediates the relationship between mitochondrial energetics and walking performance

Skeletal muscle mitochondrial oxidative capacity declines with age and negatively affects walking performance, but the mechanism for this association is not fully clear. We tested the hypothesis that impaired oxidative capacity affects muscle performance and, through this mechanism, has a negative effect on walking speed. Muscle mitochondrial oxidative capacity was measured by in vivo phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy as the postexercise phosphocreatine resynthesis rate, kPCr , in 326 participants (154 men), aged 24-97 years (mean 71), in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. Muscle strength and quality were determined by knee extension isokinetic strength, and the ratio of knee extension strength to thigh muscle cross-sectional area derived from computed topography, respectively. Four walking tasks were evaluated: a usual pace over 6 m and for 150 s, and a rapid pace over 6 m and 400 m. In multivariate linear regression analyses, kPCr was associated with muscle strength (β = 0.140, P = 0.007) and muscle quality (β = 0.127, P = 0.022), independent of age, sex, height, and weight; muscle strength was also a significant independent correlate of walking speed (P < 0.02 for all tasks) and in a formal mediation analysis significantly attenuated the association between kPCr and three of four walking tasks (18-29% reduction in β for kPCr ). This is the first demonstration in human adults that mitochondrial function affects muscle strength and that inefficiency in muscle bioenergetics partially accounts for differences in mobility through this mechanism