Evaluation of antibiotics returned for safe disposal during and after a community pharmacy antibiotic amnesty campaign.

Background: Community pharmacies in England offer convenient and safe disposal of unwanted medicines, including antimicrobials, and better uptake of this service could limit environmental antimicrobial resistance. However, there is limited information on the extent and nature of antibiotic returns to community pharmacies. The impact of an antibiotic amnesty campaign promoting antibiotic disposal through community pharmacies was evaluated with the intention of collecting detailed information on the antibiotics returned.

Impact of a community pharmacy led antibiotic amnesty in the Midlands region of England.

Objectives: Antimicrobial resistance is a recognised threat to human health and may be driven by the unsafe disposal of antibiotics via domestic waste streams, contaminating the environment. A community pharmacy based antibiotic amnesty could address this.

Methods: We evaluated the impact of an antibiotic amnesty promoting the return of unused antibiotics to community pharmacies in the Midlands region of England during World Antibiotic Awareness Week in November 2021.

Have Indian Surrogates Been Harmed by Commercial Surrogacy Transactions?

Draft legislation has been approved by the Union Cabinet in India seeking to limit surrogacy to altruistic arrangements with intended parents who are either Indian citizens or couples residing outside the country but of Indian origin. This follows longstanding debates as to whether commercial surrogacy should be permitted. The primary argument against such arrangements has been the potential to exploit and cause harm to surrogate women.

An Electronic Strategy for Eliminating Unnecessary Duplicate Genetic Testing.

Objectives: To determine the impact of an electronic intervention designed to block duplicate constitutional genetic tests.

Methods: We constructed, implemented, and studied an electronic intervention that stopped duplicate genetic tests. The activation frequency, types of tests affected, and cost savings achieved with this intervention were determined.

The Agony and the Ecstasy: Sacrifice and Pain for Financial Gain: Have Indian Surrogate Mothers Been Exploited by Their Intended Parents in Commercial Surrogacy Arrangements?

This article investigates whether a sample of Indian women involved in commercial surrogacy arrangements were exploited by their intended parents. This issue is topical as the Indian parliament is currently considering a ban on commercial surrogacy. This is due to a range of concerns, including that such arrangements are unethical and exploitative of illiterate women from low socio-economic backgrounds.

ABCC6 and Pseudoxanthoma Elasticum: The Face of a Rare Disease from Genetics to Advocacy.

Pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by the mineralization of connective tissues in the body. Primary manifestation of PXE occurs in the tissues of the skin, eyes, and cardiovascular system. PXE is primarily caused by mutations in the gene.

Risk-based immunization policies and tuberculosis screening practices for animal care and research workers in the United States: survey results and recommendations.

A national survey was conducted to assess immunization practices and tuberculosis screening methods for animal care and research workers in biomedical settings throughout the United States. Veterinarians (n = 953) were surveyed via a web-based mechanism; completed surveys (n = 308) were analyzed. Results showed that occupational health and safety programs were well-developed, enrolling veterinary, husbandry, and research staff at rates exceeding 90% and involving multiple modalities of health assessments and risk communication for vaccine-preventable diseases.

The Lockhart Review: where now for Australia?

In 2005 a Legislation Review Committee, known as the Lockhart Review, undertook a review of the Commonwealth legislation regulating human embryo research. The report that emanated from the review was released in December 2005. If the report recommendations are implemented by the Federal Government, Australian scientists will be permitted to create human embryo entities currently known as "human embryo clones" by the process known as somatic cell nuclear transfer to develop stem cell lines for research purposes.