Zapped: A Typology Of Use And Misuse Of The Taser

Police use of TASER force is currently a hot topic of controversy in the intersections of society and the criminal justice system. Proponents, including manufacturers and law enforcement, value the TASER as a less than lethal alternative to deadly force; providing increased safety for officers as an aid to maintain distance between potentially threatening suspect(s) and officer(s) while preserving the life and well being of suspects in such encounters. Civil and human rights advocacies argue the TASER to be associated with many deaths, serious injury and abuse of power by law enforcement. Those who lean more toward the opposition of the TASER argue it is being abused and misused by law enforcement, resulting in cases of excessive force and wrongful death. The controversy surrounding TASER use of force has received a great deal of media attention; fueling the fire on both sides of the TASER controversy. Manufacturers, law enforcement and other proponents often argue the level of force to be justified and in line with policy while opponents claim excessive force, and occasionally wrongful death, in association with identical cases being justified by police and their departments. It is apparent that much research is needed in this area to gain general knowledge in the reality of TASER use and misuse to positively influence TASER policy in departments across the U.S. Just as a wide array of terms are used to reference the TASER in literature and in the field (Taser, ECD, ECW, CED, etc.), it is a research endeavor to explore if the same ambiguity in terminology is reflective of the TASER practice and policy used in the U.S. criminal justice system. The purpose of this thesis study was to examine and identify police officer prescribed and proscribed TASER use of force. The study is a content analysis of secondary data collection that included articles collected from a National Police Misconduct Statistics and Reporting Project (NPMSRP) website, InjusticeEverywhere.com. Data were examined to identifying common prescribed and proscribed use of force themes in accordance to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling (Bryan v. MacPherson, 2010). This paper extends knowledge and understanding of current themes of prescribed and proscribed TASER use of force by law enforcement agencies. One-hundred thirteen cases were collected and supplemented with additional resources as they became available. This includes, and is not limited to, non-duplicated online news articles and available court case rulings pertaining to each subject/case. The research was used to create a typology of use of TASER force. The author is not determining the appropriateness of each use of TASER force instance; rather the author provided a contribution to the knowledge base and categorization guideline for future police departments, policy makers, etc. to analyze their own trending , which is strongly encouraged by PERF (Police Executive Research Forum, 2010). While it is important to explore TASER associated fatalities, health consequences, and potential risks with its use, it is also important for police organizations and researchers to conduct simultaneous research on use and misuse of the TASER to its near entirety. Continued evaluations of its use and misuse by law enforcement agencies will aid in evaluations of policy, training, education and practice

Care, Control, or Criminalization? Discourses on Homelessness and Social Responses

There has been a resurgence of political and media interest in homelessness, particularly in major urban areas throughout the United States. This interest is credited to a number of cities that declared a State of Emergency (SOE) due to their homelessness crisis in 2015. The motivation to declare homelessness as an urgent priority of local politics assists cities in temporarily overcoming longstanding budget and bureaucratic barriers. Undoubtedly, the criminal justice system is part of social response following a declared SOE, and homelessness is not an exception. Little attention has explored the historical, social, and political processes of problematizing homelessness from a criminological perspective. Drawing on theoretical insight from David Garland, Jonathan Simon, and Loïc Wacquant, the politics of homelessness and crime found in New York City (NYC) is interrogated through discourses in the New York Times (NYT) from 1970-2012. This research examines how talk about homelessness responses creates, enacts, and enforces technologies of the criminal justice system. This study finds the politicization of homelessness over time produces and legitimates increased controls and management of marginalized groups, where state authorities are experts, and the boundaries of care and criminalization are blurred. This study has implications for the management of homelessness and policies that further socially exclude the homeless from overcoming such conditions

High dose interleukin-2 (Aldesleukin) - expert consensus on best management practices-2014

Interleukin-2 (IL-2) was historically one of the few treatments for adults with stage IV solid tumors that could produce complete responses (CRs) that were often durable for decades without further therapy. The majority of complete responders with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) and metastatic melanoma (mM) could probably be classified as "cures". Recent publications have suggested improved efficacy, perhaps due to improved patient Selection based on a better understanding of clinical features predicting outcomes. Guidelines for clinical management were established from experience at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and an affiliation of institutions known as the Cytokine Working Group (CWG), who were among the first to utilize HD IL-2 treatment outside of the NCI. As new centers have opened, further management variations have emerged based upon center-specific experience, to optimize administration of IL-2 and provide high quality care for patients at each individual site. Twenty years of evolution in differing environments has led to a plethora of clinical experience and effective management approaches. The goal of this review is to summarize the spectrum of HD IL-2 treatment approaches, describing various effective strategies that incorporate newer adjunctive treatments for managing the side effects of IL-2 in patients with mRCC and mM. The goal for IL-2 therapy is typically to administer the maximum number of doses of IL-2 without putting the patient at unacceptable risk for severe, irreversible toxicity. This review is based upon a consensus meeting and includes guidelines on pre-treatment screening, criteria for administration and withholding doses, and defines consensus criteria for safe administration and toxicity management. The somewhat heterogeneous best practices of 2014 will be compared and contrasted with the guidelines provided in 2001 and the package inserts from 1992 and 1998

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Fine Focus, Vol. 3 Issue 2

Fine Focus is a web and print journal dedicated to showcasing the research of undergraduate students, internationally, in all fields of microbiology. Fine Focus is managed entirely by undergraduate students from production to print. Scope: Fine Focus publishes original research by undergraduate students in microbiology. This includes works in all microbiological specialties and microbiology education. Research in other biology disciplines will not be accepted unless the main emphasis of the work centers on microorganism(s)

Fine Focus, Vol. 3 Issue 2

Fine Focus is a web and print journal dedicated to showcasing the research of undergraduate students, internationally, in all fields of microbiology. Fine Focus is managed entirely by undergraduate students from production to print. Scope: Fine Focus publishes original research by undergraduate students in microbiology. This includes works in all microbiological specialties and microbiology education. Research in other biology disciplines will not be accepted unless the main emphasis of the work centers on microorganism(s)

Randomized, double-blind trial of fluconazole versus voriconazole for prevention of invasive fungal infection after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation

Invasive fungal infection (IFI) is a serious threat after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT). This multicenter, randomized, double-blind trial compared fluconazole (N = 295) versus voriconazole (N = 305) for the prevention of IFI in the context of a structured fungal screening program. Patients undergoing myeloablative allogeneic HCT were randomized before HCT to receive study drugs for 100 days, or for 180 days in higher-risk patients. Serum galactomannan was assayed twice weekly for 60 days, then at least weekly until day 100. Positive galactomannan or suggestive signs triggered mandatory evaluation for IFI. The primary endpoint was freedom from IFI or death (fungal-free survival; FFS) at 180 days. Despite trends to fewer IFIs (7.3% vs 11.2%; P = .12), Aspergillus infections (9 vs 17; P = .09), and less frequent empiric antifungal therapy (24.1% vs 30.2%, P = .11) with voriconazole, FFS rates (75% vs 78%; P = .49) at 180 days were similar with fluconazole and voriconazole, respectively. Relapse-free and overall survival and the incidence of severe adverse events were also similar. This study demonstrates that in the context of intensive monitoring and structured empiric antifungal therapy, 6-month FFS and overall survival did not differ in allogeneic HCT recipients given prophylactic fluconazole or voriconazole. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00075803