Knotty Issues Research Articles

The Thorny Intersection Between Adult Drug Treatment Courts and Medical Marijuana Criminal Immunity Laws

Two revolutionary developments impacted the United States criminal justice system over the past 30 years that are now primed for an institutional reckoning—the legalization of medical marijuana at the state level and the exponential rise of adult drug treatment courts across the country. The states that have legalized medical marijuana also provide criminal immunity protections for qualifying medical marijuana patients, including those serving probationary sentences. Drug treatment courts are a form of intensive probation offering treatment services for participants plagued by substance use disorders. Most drug treatment courts operate on an abstinence‐based model and do not permit the use of medical marijuana. Consequently, challenges by drug court participants to the continued prohibition of medical marijuana are on the horizon. The purpose of this article is to highlight the contours of these knotty issues from a sociolegal perspective. The material for this article stems from a review of existing judicial decisions in addition to qualitative data collected during my case studies of three different adult drug treatment courts.

Practitioner Vulnerability in Children and Families Social Work—Identity, Impact and Implications

Abstract Based on in-depth qualitative interviews, this article explores the experiences of vulnerability for nineteen children and families Social Workers in England and discusses how this emotional state manifests and impacts upon practice. As this study shows, workers frequently harbour personal vulnerabilities that can motivate them in their work and act as an enabler within relationships with service users; these same feelings can also provoke a sense of threat and discomfort, resulting in self-doubt and reduced confidence. Whether carried from the past or housed in the present, feelings of vulnerability often rise to the surface when provoked by routine encounters with clients and the knotty issues that surround them; what is valued by Social Workers encountering such feelings is a sense of validation and recognition. In taking an explicit focus on practitioner vulnerability, this article adds an original contribution to the literature concerning the emotional world of Social Workers. It reveals vulnerability to be an important component of identity and a driver for practice, which needs to be given greater consideration in social work training and employment, arguing that enhanced attention to worker histories, emotional challenges and self-care are not only necessary but also essential for practitioner and client well-being.

PLSNet: Position-aware GCN-based autism spectrum disorder diagnosis via FC learning and ROIs sifting

Brain function connectivity, derived from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), has enjoyed high popularity in the studies of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis. Albeit rapid progress has been made, most studies still suffer from several knotty issues: (1) the hardship of modeling the sophisticated brain neuronal connectivity; (2) the mismatch of identically graph node setup to the variations of different brain regions; (3) the dimensionality explosion resulted from excessive voxels in each fMRI sample; (4) the poor interpretability giving rise to unpersuasive diagnosis. To ameliorate these issues, we propose a position-aware graph-convolution-network-based model, namely PLSNet, with superior accuracy and compelling built-in interpretability for ASD diagnosis. Specifically, a time-series encoder is designed for context-rich feature extraction, followed by a function connectivity generator to model the correlation with long range dependencies. In addition, to discriminate the brain nodes with different locations, the position embedding technique is adopted, giving a unique identity to each graph region. We then embed a rarefying method to sift the salient nodes during message diffusion, which would also benefit the reduction of the dimensionality complexity. Extensive experiments conducted on Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange demonstrate that our PLSNet achieves state-of-the-art performance. Notably, on CC200 atlas, PLSNet reaches an accuracy of 76.4% and a specificity of 78.6%, overwhelming the previous state-of-the-art with 2.5% and 6.5% under five-fold cross-validation policy. Moreover, the most salient brain regions predicted by PLSNet are closely consistent with the theoretical knowledge in the medical domain, providing potential biomarkers for ASD clinical diagnosis. Our code is available at https://github.com/CodeGoat24/PLSNet.

Equivalent-circuit-intervened deep learning metasurface

Recently, some advanced computer algorithms, including the inverse design method based on deep learning, have been widely applied to design versatile electromagnetic devices, featuring fast design and high efficiency especially in the global optimization problem. However, enormous amount of data generated from blind preliminary and computationally expensive simulations to predict the optical responses is required. Herein, to overcome this shortcoming of traditional deep-learning-based inverse design method, a fast, highly efficient, and sufficiently accurate synergetic strategy for devising photonic applications is presented, which integrates an explicit equivalent-circuit-intervened model as the guide in the implicit deep learning method to avoid blind calculations. As a case study of the proposed synergetic paradigm, the absorbers with customized and challenging spectral patterns are explored. For verification, three proof-of-concept designs were characterized: single-layer notched-band absorption, dual-layer trap absorption, and triple-layer ultra-wideband absorption. Our approach solves the knotty issues of batch designs, as well as the complex and time-consuming processes, suffered in traditional approaches. Moreover, our demonstrated equivalent-circuit-intervened intelligent strategy can be directly extended to various other photonic architectures, advancing a significant step toward real-world applications.

Thermal Stress Simulation and Structure Failure Analyses of Nitrogen–Oxygen Sensors under a Gradual Temperature Field

Nitrogen–oxygen sensors are pivotal for NOX emission detection, and they have been designed as key components in vehicles’ exhaust systems. However, severe thermal stress concentrations during thermal cycling in the sensors create knotty structural damage issues, which are inevitable during the frequent start–stop events of the vehicles. Herein, to illustrate the effect of thermal concentration on a sensor’s structure, we simulated the temperature and stress field of a sensor through finite element analysis. The failure modes of the sensor based on the multilayer structure model were analyzed. Our simulation indicated that the thermal deformation and stress of the sensors increased significantly when the heating temperature in the sensors increased from 200 to 800 °C. High stress regions were located at the joint between the layers and the right angle of the air chamber. These results are consistent with the sensor failure locations that were observed by SEM, and the sensor’s failures mainly manifested in the form of cracks and delamination. The results suggest that both the multilayer interfaces and the shape of the air chamber could be optimized to reduce the thermal stress concentrations of the sensors. It is beneficial to improve the reliability of the sensor under thermal cycling operation.

Communication and governance for cultural development: Issues and platforms

Many political scientists think governance promotes the growth of trust between the state and society and serves as the long-term basis for state legitimacy. Haider, Mcloughlin, and Scott (2011). Many African societies’ efforts to establish their cultures have been endangered by technology and civilisation. Despite this alarming and dire situation, communication is nevertheless believed to be a powerful force for spreading and transmitting culture, the center of human activity, and the advancement of society. This discourse examines the communication components for cultural development in Nigeria, focusing on platforms and concerns. The study is descriptive, predicated upon secondary sources, and anchored on the cultural imperialism thesis. The results show that communication can promote cultural development in Nigeria. The study suggests that to promote cultural development in Nigeria, some contact- and culturally-focused knotty issues be tackled by cultural communicators. It recommends using integrated media platforms for cultural campaigns to harness the nation’s comprehensive cultural development.

Manipulating the Electronic Structure of Nickel via Alloying with Iron: Toward High-Kinetics Sulfur Cathode for Na–S Batteries

The sluggish conversion kinetics and severe shuttle effect in room-temperature Na-S (RT Na-S) batteries cause knotty issues, such as poor rate performance, fast capacity decay as well as low Coulombic efficiency, which seriously impede their practical application. Therefore, exploiting cost-effective and efficient electrocatalysts for absorbing soluble long-chain sodium polysulfides (NaPSs) and expediting NaPSs conversion is of paramount importance. Herein, catalyst mining is first conducted by density functional theory calculations, which reveal that the alloying of Fe into Ni can tailor the electronic structure, leading to lower reaction energy barrier for polysulfide conversion. Based on this, FeNi3@hollow porous carbon spheres (FeNi3@HC) as a promising sulfur host for RT Na-S batteries are rationally designed and fabricated. As expected, the S@FeNi3@HC cathode exhibits an excellent cycling stability (591 mAh g-1 after 500 cycles at 2 A g-1) and outstanding rate performance (383 mAh g-1 at 5 A g-1). Our work demonstrates an effective strategy (i.e., alloying strategy with a rich electron state) to design superior electrocatalysts for RT Na-S batteries.

A humanist university in a posthuman world: relations, responsibilities, and rights

This paper explores the entanglement of humanism and posthumanism within the Western European University, focusing on ethical implications and the role of the university in protecting the marginalised. To illustrate its arguments, it draws on a small study conducted in an ancient Italian university which specialises in Humanities and Social Sciences. The paper focuses on two key knotty issues: relationships between university aspirations to posthumanism and the colonial legacies of humanism, and the implications of holding on to humanism as a guarantor of human rights for marginalised people. It concludes by discussing the limitations of a posthuman ethics of responsibility and proposes instead a posthuman ethics of rights for the university.

Multifunctional nanoplatforms co-delivering combinatorial dual-drug for eliminating cancer multidrug resistance.

Clinically, the primary cause of chemotherapy failure belongs to the occurrence of cancer multidrug resistance (MDR), which directly leads to the recurrence and metastasis of cancer along with high mortality. More and more attention has been paid to multifunctional nanoplatform-based dual-therapeutic combination to eliminate resistant cancers. In addition to helping both cargoes improve hydrophobicity and pharmacokinetic properties, increase bioavailability, release on demand and enhance therapeutic efficacy with low toxic effects, these smart co-delivery nanocarriers can even overcome drug resistance. Here, this review will not only present different types of co-delivery nanocarriers, but also summarize targeted and stimuli-responsive combination nanomedicines. Furthermore, we will focus on the recent progress in the co-delivery of dual-drug using such intelligent nanocarriers for surmounting cancer MDR. Whereas it remains to be seriously considered that there are some knotty issues in the fight against MDR of cancers via using co-delivery nanoplatforms, including limited intratumoral retention, the possible changes of combinatorial ratio under complex biological environments, drug release sequence from the nanocarriers, and subsequent free-drug resistance after detachment from the nanocarriers. It is hoped that, with the advantage of continuously developing nanomaterials, two personalized therapeutic agents in combination can be better exploited to achieve the goal of cooperatively combating cancer MDR, thus advancing the time to clinical transformation.

Qualitative story completion: Possibilities and potential pitfalls

ABSTRACTVirginia Braun, Victoria Clarke, Hannah Frith, Nikki Hayfield, Helen Malson, Naomi Moller, and Iduna Shah-Beckley came together at the University of the West of England (UWE) in July 2017 to discuss and share their enthusiasm for the story completion method. Virginia nominally “led” the discussion to keep us on track. This is a transcript of the discussion, edited by the Special Issue editors, principally Hannah Frith, which we have all read and commented on. The discussion begins with the contributors introducing themselves and their experience of the story completion method. It then identifies a series of “knotty issues” about story completion which we explored: 1) what can stories tell us?; 2) research practicalities, comparative design, and sample size; 3) what happens when story completion doesn’t go to plan?; and 4) getting published. The conversation ends by considering “future possibilities for story completion research.” Our aim was not to reach consensus of definitive “answers” but to debate and gain perspective on an open issue. Hence, we reach no “conclusion” for any of these issues.

Luther Vermitteln: Reformationsgeschichte zwischen Historisierung und Aktualisierung ed. by Benjamin Hasselhorn

Reviewed by: Luther Vermitteln: Reformationsgeschichte zwischen Historisierung und Aktualisierung ed. by Benjamin Hasselhorn H. George Anderson Luther Vermitteln: Reformationsgeschichte zwischen Historisierung und Aktualisierung. Edited by Benjamin Hasselhorn. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 2016. 250 pp. The director of a church museum in Recklinghausen asked a tour group of school children to guess when the first evangelical congregation in that area was founded. When one girl finally piped up with the right answer—150 years ago—she was asked why. "Because that was when Martin Luther King started the Reformation" (37). Here is one of the knotty issues faced by planners of Reformation 2017 in Germany. Despite public opinion ranking Luther as the fourth most famous figure in their history, few German youth see him as relevant to their own times. When a sample of students who had completed eight years of religious instruction were asked if Luther had any influence in their lives, only one in eight said yes (86–105). This book is a collection of papers—all in German—presented at a conference in 2015. It gives a behind-the-scenes account of problems facing planners of the 500th anniversary observance. The government had used the anniversary to present Germany as an open and hospitable country and had anticipated a flood of tourists. Was it possible to avoid the carnival atmosphere of a tourist bonanza? Merchants were already putting "Here I Stand" on red ties, the Luther rose on mousepads and cake molds, and "Hallo Luther" on coasters and Frisbees. Even official tours through the Wartburg castle ended, inevitably, in its gift shop (175). It was threatening to become the contemporary equivalent of the indulgence traffic (12). Given this mercantile feeding frenzy, how could the real Luther be transmitted from generation to generation, as this book's title suggests? Several articles survey previous interpretations of the Reformer in museums (117–135), textbooks (37–63), movies (193– 207), and television (208–228). Current efforts include three special exhibitions, described in "Luther and the Princes" in Torgau (148– 163), "Luther! 95 treasures—95 People" in Wittenberg (184–189), and "Luther and the Germans" at the Wartburg (173–183). Luther is also online (106–108), in the movies (229–234), and on TV (235–240). All these activities circle around one theme: freedom. The Wittenberg exhibit labels the stages of Luther's life as "anxiety, search, understanding, and liberation" (188). The movie "Katharina" depicts [End Page 470] her life as a "path of liberation" (234). A six-part television series, "The Luther-Code," traces how Luther was a catalyst for "an age of freedom and individuality" (238). Even the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) study document for the anniversary is titled "Justification and Freedom" (68). A group of faculty members from the University of Saarland challenge this trend in an article on religious education ("Rechtfertigung Lehren," 64–87). They argue that Luther's insistence on simul justus et peccator has been obscured by those who substitute "acceptance" for justification. They fault the EKD study on "Justification and Freedom" as sounding more like the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" than Luther. When one neglects the peccator side of Luther's formula, they argue, justification is made a basic human condition rather than a "miracle of renewal." If the struggle with sin is overlooked, individuals are denied the chance for deeper self-awareness, not just of their unworthiness under the judgment of the world—coram mundo—according to the values and norms of the achievement society, but also coram deo. They offer two examples from religious education curricula (82–86) showing that justification in its fullest sense can be relevant, even helpful to students in their daily lives. Can the enormous effort that has gone into the planning of Reformation 2017 deepen the spiritual life of a rising generation? It is going to be a heavy lift. One of this book's authors writes that, as he sat on a train leaving Wittenberg, a woman sitting across from him asked her child, "Do you know who did something important there?—pointing to the city church. The youngster answered, "Luther used to work there. He saw to it that people wouldn't have to pay taxes...

FH-OAOS

With the sharp increase of very large-scale integrated (VLSI) circuit density, we are faced with many knotty issues. Particularly in the routing phase of VLSI physical design, the interconnection effects directly relate to the final performance of circuits. However, the optimization capability of traditional rectilinear architecture is limited; thus, both academia and industry have been devoted to nonrectilinear architecture in recent years, especially octilinear architecture, which is the most promising because it can greatly improve the performance of modern chips. In this article, we design FH-OAOS, an obstacle-avoiding algorithm in octilinear architecture, by constructing an obstacle-avoiding the octilinear Steiner minimal tree (OAOSMT). Our approach first constructs an obstacle-free Euclidean minimal spanning tree (OFEMST) on the given pins based on Delaunay triangulation (DT). Then, two lookup tables about OFEMST’s edge are generated, which can be seen as the information center of FH-OAOS and can provide information support for algorithm operation. Next, an efficient obstacle-avoiding strategy is proposed to convert the OFEMST into an obstacle-avoiding octilinear Steiner tree (OAOST). Finally, the generated OAOST is refined to construct the final OAOSMT by applying three effective strategies. Experimental results on various benchmarks show that FH-OAOS achieves 66.39 times speedup on average, while the average wirelength of the final OAOSMT is only 0.36% larger than the best existing solution.

Lawrence Gostin: legal activist in the cause of global health

Lawrence Gostin: legal activist in the cause of global health

Literature and Information

The Tenth and final “anchor standard for reading” in the common core state standards defines as “college and career ready” a student who can “[r]ead and comprehend literary and informational texts independently and proficiently” (35). I want to remark on just one aspect of this worthy if blandly unremarkable goal. The distinction between “literary” and “informational” texts has the sanction of common sense, but, like many commonsense notions, it cloaks some knotty issues. For the authors of the standards, “literacy” requires mastering two different if closely related sets of reading skills. One lays the groundwork for “understanding and enjoying complex works of literature,” while the other is needed “to pick carefully through the staggering amount of information available today in print and digitally” (3). Pedagogically, one is the job of the “English language arts teacher,” the other the responsibility of “teachers of history/social studies, science, and technical subjects” (8).The axiom that literature cannot be read in the same way as other forms of writing is by no means universally held, but it has long governed the teaching of reading in high school and college classrooms. In ways that humanists can find heartening, the Common Core standards valorize the traits that reading literature both requires and strengthens: habits of attention and intellectual rigor; the refinement of sensibility and emotional response; the ability to analyze, to synthesize, to discriminate, to evaluate. Such virtues travel well, too. The authors of the standards recognize that students who have mastered literary reading skills are better equipped to meet the challenges posed by texts in other disciplines.

SEVEN ISSUES AND DILEMMAS IN LITERATURE TEACHING IN EFL CONTEXT: LESSONS FROM INDONESIA

: Using literature instruction practices in different “literature programs” as a point of departure, this article discusses some knotty issues and dilemmas confronting English literature instructors and researchers in Indonesia, especially those working in the context of English as A Foreign Language (EFL). First some commonly adopted approaches to literature teaching are outlined and specific issues and dilemmas located. Next, using Indonesian current situation as a case in point, these perceived issues and dilemmas are fleshed out and possible solutions from diverse fronts are then sketched out.

The Sodomy Trial of Nicholas Sension, 1677: Documents and Teaching Guide

The sodomy trial of Nicholas Sension in 1677 has long fascinated historians, in part because the surviving documentation from this particular case is exceptionally full and richly detailed, but also because it challenges long-held assumptions about attitudes toward sodomy in early America. The trial records cast light not only on the history of sexuality but also on a broad range of themes relating to seventeenth-century New England’s society and culture. Yet until now no complete edition of the documents from Sension’s trial has appeared in print. This edition is intended primarily for use in undergraduate courses. It includes a substantial introduction that discusses attitudes toward illicit sex in early New England, the challenges involved in the legal prosecution of sodomy, what little we know about Nicholas Sension’s biographical details, and the specific circumstances surrounding his prosecution; it also considers the knotty issues of sexual assault and of consent that weave through many of the depositions. A brief time line and questions to guide classroom discussion are also included. The documents themselves have been modernized in spelling, capitalization, and punctuation as an aid to comprehension. For interested scholars, literal transcriptions are printed separately in this issue under “Consider the Source.”

To Waive and Waive Not: Property and Flexibility in the Digital Era

Even in an era when creative works can sometimes be made collectively, and where copying and modifying existing works is often easy, individual ownership of discrete creative works still makes sense. Individual creative effort is still the crucial ingredient for many high quality works, and the control conferred by ownership is often the most efficient, and even more frequently the most fair, social arrangement. Even so, a common argument against property rights in the digital era is that they come with a heavy transactional burden. The need to clear permission to use digital works is said to impede the potential of high velocity distribution models and participatory creative efforts. There are, broadly speaking, three solutions to the problem. First, society can cut back on the number of property rights, or rework the structure of rights with an eye toward transactional efficiencies. Second, right holders or society in general can invest in rights clearance mechanisms that make it easier for users and consumers of rights-protected works to transact more efficiently. Third, legal rules can be tailored to make it easier for right holders to commit to a binding non-enforcement of their rights.The purpose of this brief Article is to explore in some depth this third option. I begin by describing how waiver contributes to the supple texture of property rights, making it easy for individuals to exercise choices after rights have been granted. This is, in my view, a cornerstone feature of property rights, and one of their chief advantages over other entitlements and incentive regimes. Next, I show how waiver fits with other basic features of property rights. I argue that waiver can be thought of as an aspect of the structure of rights, as well as a (particularly simple) rights clearance mechanism. Finally, I describe some simple ideas that could clarify knotty issues surrounding legal requirements for waiver of intellectual property rights. The most important are: 1) binding, easily verified waiver mechanisms that are “good against the world”; and 2) scope of waiver rules that make it simple for right holders to selectively waive rights, for example, permitting some uses and not others. I conclude with a call for more attention to the waiver strategy as a way of retaining our traditional commitment to property while easing the transactional burden that property rights entail.

A Convenient Multiple Source Model for VARIAN 2300C 6 MV-X Beam Based on Monte Carlo Simulated Linac

Photon external radiotherapy of cancer takes advantage of the physical interaction of the photon and the secondary electron with biological tissue to kill cancer cells. The current linac is important equipment for producing an X-ray. The Monte Carlo method has been demonstrated to be the most accurate method for radiotherapy issues such as dose calculation and plan verification. However, its application in the clinic requires detailed information on the beam characteristics. A large quantity of the consumptive time for multiple simulation phases, such as linac treatment head simulation, beam trimmer module simulation, and patient/phantom simulation, and storage for the phase-space file (PSF), which records the information of the transported particle, are two knotty issues also. Therefore, a set of simple and convenient multiple source models (MSMs) including five subsources for regular fields from 3 × 3 cm to 30 × 30 cm was built, which is based on a VARIAN 2300C 6 MV-X beam simulated by the Monte Carlo code BEAMnrc and produced by BEAMnrc’s beam characteristics analysis utility BEAMDP (BEAM Data Processor). This MSM reduced the three simulation phases to one to effectively decrease the consumptive time. The storage issue about the PSF was also solved for MSM’s small volume. The dose distribution of the five-source model in a homogeneous phantom was compared with that of the full linac simulation and measurement data to verify reliability. The characteristics of the subsources were analyzed to present their feature. This work provided the base for implementing the Monte Carlo algorithm into the Accurate Radiotherapy System.

Clinical Trials Design Lessons From the CATIE Study

The Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness (CATIE) study was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health to compare the effectiveness of drugs for schizophrenia. The focus here is not on its conclusions but on the knotty issues of design and methods, in order to support appropriate clinical interpretation of the conclusions, and on using the CATIE experience to indicate directions for improvement of future clinical trials. While many of the CATIE design and implementation decisions are excellent and serve as models for future research, other decisions resulted in a study with a large study group but inadequate power. Multiple treatment interventions, unbalanced randomization within and across clinical sites, and multiple secondary outcomes are among the issues that require even more serious consideration in future large multisite clinical trials. Moreover, it is crucial to clarify whether the intent of a study is to establish superiority of some treatments or to establish equivalence, for the appropriate designs and analyses differ in these situations. If the study is designed, as was CATIE, to demonstrate some treatments' superiority, statistically nonsignificant results should not be misinterpreted as evidence of "equivalence." For establishing either superiority or equivalence, future treatment comparisons might better be designed with fewer sites, more subjects per site, fewer treatments, and fewer outcomes, in order to have the power for definitively establishing superiority or equivalence at a lower cost.

Untangling the Web Spun by Title VII's Referral & Deferral Scheme

Title VII's dual enforcement scheme creates knotty preclusion and subject-matter jurisdiction issues. The statute requires that claims of employment discrimination made in those states or localities with their own administrative enforcement bodies must first be presented locally, and may be pursued in the federal system only after affording the state administrative body time to attempt their resolution. The result of this dual enforcement scheme is that in some cases, a claim comes to federal court after it has already been adjudicated in the state system. Questions then arise as to whether the federal court has jurisdiction to hear the claim and, if so, the extent to which the prior state determination deserves preclusive effect. This Article will attempt to untangle the complicated web of preclusion and jurisdiction issues created by Title VII's dual enforcement scheme, and to define for the benefit of students, practitioners, and judges the approach to resolving such issues that best furthers the implicated legal and policy concerns of workplace equality and federalism.