Wrongful Convictions: Science, Experience, and the Law

3.5 MCLE Credit Hours Schedule: 10:30-11:00 - Registration/Check-In 11:00-12:00 - Introduction to the science behind exonerations by Bradford Jenkins of the Virginia Department of Forensic Science 12:00-12:45 - Lunch 12:45-2:15 - Panel on the Human Experience of wrongful convictions from varying perspectives (Mike Herring - Commonwealth\u27s Attorney, Doug Ramseur - Defense Counsel, Shawn Armbrust, Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project) 2:15-2:30 - Break 2:30-3:30 -Legal wrap up of where we are in Virginia on reforms, discussion of case law and relevant statutes by Brandon Garrett, Professor of Law at the University of Virginia 3:30-4:30- Receptio

Nanoaperture fabrication via colloidal lithography for single molecule fluorescence analysis

In single molecule fluorescence studies, background emission from labeled substrates often restricts their concentrations to non-physiological nanomolar values. One approach to address this challenge is the use of zero-mode waveguides (ZMWs), nanoscale holes in a thin metal film that physically and optically confine the observation volume allowing much higher concentrations of fluorescent substrates. Standard fabrication of ZMWs utilizes slow and costly E-beam nano-lithography. Herein, ZMWs are made using a self-assembled mask of polystyrene microspheres, enabling fabrication of thousands of ZMWs in parallel without sophisticated equipment. Polystyrene 1 mu m dia. microbeads self-assemble on a glass slide into a hexagonal array, forming a mask for the deposition of metallic posts in the inter-bead interstices. The width of those interstices (and subsequent posts) is adjusted within 100-300 nm by partially fusing the beads at the polystyrene glass transition temperature. The beads are dissolved in toluene, aluminum or gold cladding is deposited around the posts, and those are dissolved, leaving behind an array ZMWs. Parameter optimization and the performance of the ZMWs are presented. By using colloidal self-assembly, typical laboratories can make use of sub-wavelength ZMW technology avoiding the availability and expense of sophisticated clean-room environments and equipment

Managing the outsourcing marriage to achieve success

This study examines and tests the veracity of five main dimensions of outsourcing operationalization that have been found to influence the quality of relationship between parties and ultimately the success of an outsourcing arrangement. A single case study of a long strategic outsourcing relationship was utilized. The findings suggest that transition, performance management, contract management, working style and knowledge exchange significantly affect outsourcing relationship quality. We also identify management actions and practices that have proved successful in maintaining the ongoing quality of IT outsourcing relationships

Don\u27t Panic! ChatGPT Doesn\u27t Have All the Answers.

This theoretical paper aims to examine the potential benefits and harms of using ChatGPT, a large language model, in post-pandemic higher education institutions. Specifically, we explore how ChatGPT can assist educators in creating more interactive and personalized learning experiences for students. Additionally, we consider the potential negative effects of relying too heavily on ChatGPT. Furthermore, we address the ethical concerns raised by using ChatGPT in the classroom, such as issues of privacy and bias. Overall, this theoretical paper provides an analysis of the use of ChatGPT for promoting quality education in a post-COVID world

SEAWAY: A Multi-Agent Decision-Support System for Naval Expeditionary Logistic Operations

This report describes work performed by CDM Technologies Inc. in conjunction with the Collaborative Agent Design (CAD) Research Center of California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), San Luis Obispo, for the Office of Naval Research (ONR), on the SEAWAY experimental system for planning, gaming and executing maritime logistic operations from a sea base. SEAWAY incorporates three fundamental concepts that distinguish it from existing (i.e., legacy) command and control applications. First, it is a collaborative system in which computer-based agents assist human operators by monitoring, analyzing and reasoning about events in near real-time. Second, SEAWAY includes an ontological model of the sea base that represents the behavioral characteristics and relationships among real world entities such as sea base ships, inbound supply ships, supplies and equipment, infrastructure objects (terrain, intermediate embarkation ports, supply points, roads, and rivers), and abstract notions. This object model provides the essential common language that binds all SEAWAY components into an integrated and adaptive decision-support system. Third, SEAWAY provides no ready made solutions that may not be applicable to the problems that will occur in the real world. Instead, the agents represent a powerful set of tools that together with the human operators can adjust themselves to the problem situations that cannot be predicted in advance. In this respect, SEAWAY is an adaptive logistic command and control system that supports planning, execution and training functions concurrently. SEAWAY is an experimental maritime logistic decision-support system that is intended to provide near real-time adaptive command and control in sustaining joint forces from the sea during contingencies. It is based on satisfying the dynamic requirements of joint forces operating ashore, with the ability to provide: offload planning and dynamic re-planning; visibility on all items en route by sea and warehoused at the sea base; track and respond to the dynamic logistic support requirements cycle originating with the supported force ashore; coordinate and control the ship-to-shore ship-to-objective, and ship-to-unit delivery of supplies ashore through a near real-time transport composite operational picture; track supplies and execute reorder; and, provide a full range of warehousing and cargo churning functions aboard the ships of the sea base

Nanoaperture fabrication via colloidal lithography for single molecule fluorescence analysis.

In single molecule fluorescence studies, background emission from labeled substrates often restricts their concentrations to non-physiological nanomolar values. One approach to address this challenge is the use of zero-mode waveguides (ZMWs), nanoscale holes in a thin metal film that physically and optically confine the observation volume allowing much higher concentrations of fluorescent substrates. Standard fabrication of ZMWs utilizes slow and costly E-beam nano-lithography. Herein, ZMWs are made using a self-assembled mask of polystyrene microspheres, enabling fabrication of thousands of ZMWs in parallel without sophisticated equipment. Polystyrene 1 μm dia. microbeads self-assemble on a glass slide into a hexagonal array, forming a mask for the deposition of metallic posts in the inter-bead interstices. The width of those interstices (and subsequent posts) is adjusted within 100-300 nm by partially fusing the beads at the polystyrene glass transition temperature. The beads are dissolved in toluene, aluminum or gold cladding is deposited around the posts, and those are dissolved, leaving behind an array ZMWs. Parameter optimization and the performance of the ZMWs are presented. By using colloidal self-assembly, typical laboratories can make use of sub-wavelength ZMW technology avoiding the availability and expense of sophisticated clean-room environments and equipment

Relationship between alcohol use categories and noninvasive markers of advanced hepatic fibrosis in HIV-infected, chronic hepatitis C virus-infected, and uninfected patients

BackgroundIt is unclear if the risk of liver disease associated with different levels of alcohol consumption is higher for patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV). We evaluated associations between alcohol use categories and advanced hepatic fibrosis, by HIV and chronic HCV status.MethodsWe performed a cross-sectional study among participants in the Veterans Aging Cohort Study who reported alcohol consumption at enrollment (701 HIV/HCV-coinfected; 1410 HIV-monoinfected; 296 HCV-monoinfected; 1158 HIV/HCV-uninfected). Alcohol use category was determined by the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption (AUDIT-C) questionnaire and alcohol-related diagnoses and was classified as nonhazardous drinking, hazardous/binge drinking, or alcohol-related diagnosis. Advanced hepatic fibrosis was defined by FIB-4 index >3.25.ResultsWithin each HIV/HCV group, the prevalence of advanced hepatic fibrosis increased as alcohol use category increased. For each alcohol use category, advanced hepatic fibrosis was more common among HIV-infected than uninfected (nonhazardous: 6.7% vs 1.4%; hazardous/binge: 9.5% vs 3.0%; alcohol-related diagnosis: 19.0% vs 8.6%; P < .01) and chronic HCV-infected than uninfected (nonhazardous: 13.6% vs 2.5%; hazardous/binge: 18.2% vs 3.1%; alcohol-related diagnosis: 22.1% vs 6.5%; P < .01) participants. Strong associations with advanced hepatic fibrosis (adjusted odds ratio [95% confidence interval]) were observed among HIV/HCV-coinfected patients with nonhazardous drinking (14.2 [5.91-34.0]), hazardous/binge drinking (18.9 [7.98-44.8]), and alcohol-related diagnoses (25.2 [10.6-59.7]) compared with uninfected nonhazardous drinkers.ConclusionsAdvanced hepatic fibrosis was present at low levels of alcohol consumption, increased with higher alcohol use categories, and was more prevalent among HIV-infected and chronic HCV-infected patients than uninfected individuals. All alcohol use categories were strongly associated with advanced hepatic fibrosis in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients

Relationship Between Alcohol Use Categories and Noninvasive Markers of Advanced Hepatic Fibrosis in HIV-Infected, Chronic Hepatitis C Virus–Infected, and Uninfected Patients

Background. It is unclear if the risk of liver disease associated with different levels of alcohol consumption is higher for patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV). We evaluated associations between alcohol use categories and advanced hepatic fibrosis, by HIV and chronic HCV status. Methods. We performed a cross-sectional study among participants in the Veterans Aging Cohort Study who reported alcohol consumption at enrollment (701 HIV/HCV-coinfected; 1410 HIV-monoinfected; 296 HCV-monoinfected; 1158 HIV/HCV-uninfected). Alcohol use category was determined by the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test–Consumption (AUDIT-C) questionnaire and alcohol-related diagnoses and was classified as nonhazardous drinking, hazardous/binge drinking, or alcohol-related diagnosis. Advanced hepatic fibrosis was defined by FIB-4 index >3.25. Results. Within each HIV/HCV group, the prevalence of advanced hepatic fibrosis increased as alcohol use category increased. For each alcohol use category, advanced hepatic fibrosis was more common among HIV-infected than uninfected (nonhazardous: 6.7% vs 1.4%; hazardous/binge: 9.5% vs 3.0%; alcohol-related diagnosis: 19.0% vs 8.6%; P < .01) and chronic HCV-infected than uninfected (nonhazardous: 13.6% vs 2.5%; hazardous/binge: 18.2% vs 3.1%; alcohol-related diagnosis: 22.1% vs 6.5%; P < .01) participants. Strong associations with advanced hepatic fibrosis (adjusted odds ratio [95% confidence interval]) were observed among HIV/HCV-coinfected patients with nonhazardous drinking (14.2 [5.91–34.0]), hazardous/binge drinking (18.9 [7.98–44.8]), and alcohol-related diagnoses (25.2 [10.6–59.7]) compared with uninfected nonhazardous drinkers. Conclusions. Advanced hepatic fibrosis was present at low levels of alcohol consumption, increased with higher alcohol use categories, and was more prevalent among HIV-infected and chronic HCV-infected patients than uninfected individuals. All alcohol use categories were strongly associated with advanced hepatic fibrosis in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients