Antonio Cruz Aldape v. State of Nevada, 139 Nev. Adv. Op. 42 (Sept. 28, 2023)

The Supreme Court of Nevada considered whether the appellant Antonio Aldape could challenge the conditions of his probation if the appeal waiver in the plea agreement only specified that by entering the plea, you “waive your right to a direct appeal of conviction.” Additionally, the Court evaluated the constitutionality of the appellant’s probation conditions, condition 15, mandated by NRS 176A.410(1)(q), prohibiting internet access, and condition 11, pursuant to NRS 176A.400(1)(c)(3), restricting entry into specific geographic areas. The Court applied contract principles to the appellant’s appeal waiver in his plea agreement and held the appellant’s waiver did not preclude challenges to the conditions of his waiver because the State is bound by the plain meaning of the words it used, and the appellant was not canvassed about the appeal waiver’s scope, thus he would not logically understand that it also precluded the right to appeal probation conditions. The Court further found condition 15 mandated by NRS 176A.410(1)(q) facially unconstitutional under the First Amendment because it restricts more speech than necessary to serve a significant government’s interest and it was not narrowly tailored enough. Finally, the Court rejected the appellant’s challenge that condition 11 pursuant to NRS 176A.400(1)(c)(3) was unconstitutional and the district court abused its discretion imposing such a condition because it is reasonable to restrict convicted sex offenders from areas where children are commonly found

Morrison v. State of Nevada, 140 Nev. Adv. Op. 24 (Apr. 4, 2024)

Kwame De-Markquise Morrison raised five issues after a jury found him guilty of three counts of sexual assault upon a minor under the age of 14 years and one count of use of a minor under the age of 14 to produce pornography. Morrison contended that the district court erred when it instructed the jury that lack of knowledge, or mistake of fact as to the victim’s age, is not a defense to the charge of use of a minor in producing pornography, NRS 200.710(1). Second, Morrison alleged that the district court abused its discretion by denying his motion to dismiss counsel. Third, he alleged that the district court erred by failing to conduct a Faretta canvass. Fourth, he argued that the State committed prosecutorial misconduct. Fifth, Morrison contended the State improperly commented on the evidence during the closing argument. The Nevada Court of Appeals found that the district court provided an inaccurate jury instruction to the jury regarding NRS 200.710(1); nevertheless, the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. The Court rejected Morrison’s other four arguments and found that the district court did not abuse its discretion

Ethics by Design

Ethics by Design concerns the methods, algorithms and tools needed to endow autonomous agents with the capability to reason about the ethical aspects of their decisions, and the methods, tools and formalisms to guarantee that an agent's behavior remains within given moral bounds. In this context some questions arise: How and to what extent can agents understand the social reality in which they operate, and the other intelligences (AI, animals and humans) with which they co-exist? What are the ethical concerns in the emerging new forms of society, and how do we ensure the human dimension is upheld in interactions and decisions by autonomous agents?. But overall, the central question is: "Can we, and should we, build ethically-aware agents?" This paper presents initial conclusions from the thematic day of the same name held at PRIMA2017, on October 2017

Malaria in Africa: Vector Species' Niche Models and Relative Risk Maps

A central theoretical goal of epidemiology is the construction of spatial models of disease prevalence and risk, including maps for the potential spread of infectious disease. We provide three continent-wide maps representing the relative risk of malaria in Africa based on ecological niche models of vector species and risk analysis at a spatial resolution of 1 arc-minute (9 185 275 cells of approximately 4 sq km). Using a maximum entropy method we construct niche models for 10 malaria vector species based on species occurrence records since 1980, 19 climatic variables, altitude, and land cover data (in 14 classes). For seven vectors (Anopheles coustani, A. funestus, A. melas, A. merus, A. moucheti, A. nili, and A. paludis) these are the first published niche models. We predict that Central Africa has poor habitat for both A. arabiensis and A. gambiae, and that A. quadriannulatus and A. arabiensis have restricted habitats in Southern Africa as claimed by field experts in criticism of previous models. The results of the niche models are incorporated into three relative risk models which assume different ecological interactions between vector species. The “additive” model assumes no interaction; the “minimax” model assumes maximum relative risk due to any vector in a cell; and the “competitive exclusion” model assumes the relative risk that arises from the most suitable vector for a cell. All models include variable anthrophilicity of vectors and spatial variation in human population density. Relative risk maps are produced from these models. All models predict that human population density is the critical factor determining malaria risk. Our method of constructing relative risk maps is equally general. We discuss the limits of the relative risk maps reported here, and the additional data that are required for their improvement. The protocol developed here can be used for any other vector-borne disease

Sunrise Hosp. v. Eighth Jud. Dist. Ct., 140 Nev. Adv. Op. 12 (Mar. 07, 2024)

The Supreme Court of Nevada considered whether the district court exceeded its jurisdiction by compelling testimony concerning alleged privileged information under the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 (PSQIA). The Court answered this question by considering: (1) whether the PSQIA patient safety work product privilege can be waived and (2) whether the information that Grace seeks to discover constitutes privileged patient safety work product. The Court looked at the plain language of the regulation and found that the regulation describes when patient safety work product shall continue to remain privileged. The regulation does not describe when patient safety work product shall be excepted from privilege–the exceptions are covered in a different section. The district court erred when it found that Sunrise could waive the privilege over patient safety work product under the PSQIA. The Court ultimately rejected the district court’s interpretation and found that the privilege over identifiable patient safety work product is absolute and cannot be waived. The district court was further ordered to vacate its order to compel testimony of Dr. Murawsky and to determine whether Grace seeks to compel identifiable or nonidentifiable patient safety work product, and then rule on the motion to compel accordingly

Sunrise Hosp. v. Eighth Jud. Dist. Ct., 140 Nev. Adv. Op. 12 (Mar. 07, 2024)

The Supreme Court of Nevada considered whether the district court exceeded its jurisdiction by compelling testimony concerning alleged privileged information under the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 (PSQIA). The Court answered this question by considering: (1) whether the PSQIA patient safety work product privilege can be waived and (2) whether the information that Grace seeks to discover constitutes privileged patient safety work product. The Court looked at the plain language of the regulation and found that the regulation describes when patient safety work product shall continue to remain privileged. The regulation does not describe when patient safety work product shall be excepted from privilege–the exceptions are covered in a different section. The district court erred when it found that Sunrise could waive the privilege over patient safety work product under the PSQIA. The Court ultimately rejected the district court’s interpretation and found that the privilege over identifiable patient safety work product is absolute and cannot be waived. The district court was further ordered to vacate its order to compel testimony of Dr. Murawsky and to determine whether Grace seeks to compel identifiable or nonidentifiable patient safety work product, and then rule on the motion to compel accordingly

Antonio Cruz Aldape v. State of Nevada, 139 Nev. Adv. Op. 42 (Sept. 28, 2023)

The Supreme Court of Nevada considered whether the appellant Antonio Aldape could challenge the conditions of his probation if the appeal waiver in the plea agreement only specified that by entering the plea, you “waive your right to a direct appeal of conviction.” Additionally, the Court evaluated the constitutionality of the appellant’s probation conditions, condition 15, mandated by NRS 176A.410(1)(q), prohibiting internet access, and condition 11, pursuant to NRS 176A.400(1)(c)(3), restricting entry into specific geographic areas. The Court applied contract principles to the appellant’s appeal waiver in his plea agreement and held the appellant’s waiver did not preclude challenges to the conditions of his waiver because the State is bound by the plain meaning of the words it used, and the appellant was not canvassed about the appeal waiver’s scope, thus he would not logically understand that it also precluded the right to appeal probation conditions. The Court further found condition 15 mandated by NRS 176A.410(1)(q) facially unconstitutional under the First Amendment because it restricts more speech than necessary to serve a significant government’s interest and it was not narrowly tailored enough. Finally, the Court rejected the appellant’s challenge that condition 11 pursuant to NRS 176A.400(1)(c)(3) was unconstitutional and the district court abused its discretion imposing such a condition because it is reasonable to restrict convicted sex offenders from areas where children are commonly found

Morrison v. State of Nevada, 140 Nev. Adv. Op. 24 (Apr. 4, 2024)

Kwame De-Markquise Morrison raised five issues after a jury found him guilty of three counts of sexual assault upon a minor under the age of 14 years and one count of use of a minor under the age of 14 to produce pornography. Morrison contended that the district court erred when it instructed the jury that lack of knowledge, or mistake of fact as to the victim’s age, is not a defense to the charge of use of a minor in producing pornography, NRS 200.710(1). Second, Morrison alleged that the district court abused its discretion by denying his motion to dismiss counsel. Third, he alleged that the district court erred by failing to conduct a Faretta canvass. Fourth, he argued that the State committed prosecutorial misconduct. Fifth, Morrison contended the State improperly commented on the evidence during the closing argument. The Nevada Court of Appeals found that the district court provided an inaccurate jury instruction to the jury regarding NRS 200.710(1); nevertheless, the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. The Court rejected Morrison’s other four arguments and found that the district court did not abuse its discretion

Effects of Supplementing Ponies with Dietary Fat on Nutrient Digestibility and Blood Insulin, Glucose, and Fatty Acid Concentrations

Fat supplementation is a common practice to increase caloric intake in the performance horse. The effects of fat on fiber digestibility is unknown. Understanding of digestibility in the equine digestive tract is limited by sampling technique. While cecal and ileal cannulations have previously been utilized to determine equine nutrient digestibility and gastrointestinal physiology, the current research has been limited to singular portions of the equine digestive tract. The objectives of this dissertation were to determine the effects of dietary fat supplementation on nutrient digestibility and blood insulin, glucose, and fatty acid concentrations using dual cannulated ponies. The first step to this objective was establishment of a dual cannulated pony herd for research. This study resulted in a post-operation survival rate of 63%. Five of the dual cannulated ponies were fed hay and pelleted alfalfa and supplemented with vegetable oil at 0, 5, 10, or 15 % of total diet. Ileal, cecal, fecal, and blood samples were taken with blood samples analyzed for glucose, insulin and fatty acids. There was a treatment by time effect (P \u3c 0.1) for apparent ileal and cecal fat digestibility and apparent cecal digestibility of crude protein. Apparent total tract digestibility of NDF, ADF and fat was affected by time (P \u3c 0.1). Adding fat increased (P \u3c 0.1) apparent total tract digestibility of fat. At 0 h post feeding apparent total tract digestibility of protein was greatest (P \u3c 0.1) compared to other time periods. Plasma concentration of insulin increased (P \u3c 0.1) over time. Ponies consuming 0 % fat diet had increased C14:0 compared to 5, 10, and 15 % diet. Adding fat at 5, 10, and 15 % of the diet increased C18:2 n-6 when the ponies were fed 0 % fat. Further research using a dual cannulated equine research herd is needed to more completely understand digestibility of other components of the equine diet