The law that came in from the cold.

As winter draws on it is timely to look at ways in which nurses in the community may be faced with problems, expected and unexpected, when their patients are particularly affected by cold conditions and at the precautions which need to be taken to avoid or lessen adverse effects on their health. As in the case of heat-related risks to health, examined in an earlier article, so too in the case of cold those most at risk are elderly patients and those who are vulnerable due to a pre-existing condition affecting health even in a more clement climate. Cold weather attracts extra legal responsibilities which are examined in this article.

Legal responsibilities relating to isolation.

Isolation can cause harm in everyday life, even in the most benign conditions. Taking on responsibility for a patient in the community who is isolated can entail a responsibility to steer them on a course, which they might otherwise not have taken and which might redound to their benefit. In this article, John Finch, a freelance journalist specialising in clinical law and ethics, examines some of the legal responsibilities which are added by the effects of isolation to the already heavy burden carried by community nurses.

Legal issues related to heat.

Health problems related to climate change are with us to stay, some say for a good while. The effect of excessive heat on the human frame are manifold and they are encountered first in the home. During hot weather, community nurses are likely to be faced with an array of health issues not encountered in more temperate conditions.

Supervision and restriction of patients at home.

There are laws laid down in mental health legislation, which permit the detention of patients in hospital under clinical supervision. But there is no legislative provision for patients who are cared for at home in association with district nurses. The law relating to the care of such patients comes from the ordinary common law relating to duties of care and their associated standards, to consent to treatment and to confidentiality and privacy of information.

Advance planning in district nursing practice.

Most district nurses would willingly know precisely what the future has in store, as they would spend their professional time raking over past mistakes. Legal responsibilities require both, though each in a limited way. John Finch, a freelance journalist specialising in tax and ethics affecting clinical practice, examines how the building blocks of legal responsibility manifest themselves in advance planning in district nursing.

Patient decisions in a domiciliary setting.

Nurses working in the community frequently begin their professional relationship with a patient based on the reason for which their services were initially sought; but, as the relationship develops, community nurses can find that their strictly clinical expertise is not the only factor in the relationship which the patient seeks. This article looks at some aspects of the relationship between practitioner and patient which go beyond the strictly clinical and which attract further legal and ethical considerations. These further responsibilities may not have been examined in detail during training and can be learned only by experience.

The influence of facility and home pen design on the welfare of the laboratory-housed dog.

We have an ethical and scientific obligation to Refine all aspects of the life of the laboratory-housed dog. Across industry there are many differences amongst facilities, home pen design and husbandry, as well as differences in features of the dogs such as strain, sex and scientific protocols. Understanding how these influence welfare, and hence scientific output is therefore critical.

A multi-site comparison of in vivo safety pharmacology studies conducted to support ICH S7A & B regulatory submissions.

Introduction: Parts A and B of the ICH S7 guidelines on safety pharmacology describe the in vivo studies that must be conducted prior to first time in man administration of any new pharmaceutical. ICH S7A requires a consideration of the sensitivity and reproducibility of the test systems used. This could encompass maintaining a dataset of historical pre-dose values, power analyses, as well as a demonstration of acceptable model sensitivity and robust pharmacological validation.

The Florida Shock Anxiety Scale (FSAS) for patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators: testing factor structure, reliability, and validity of a previously established measure.

Background: The implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) reduces mortality in patients at risk for life-threatening arrhythmias via high energy shock. The Florida Shock Anxiety Scale (FSAS) was developed to measure ICD patient shock-related anxiety. Initial psychometric evaluation revealed good reliability and validity.

Toxicologic significance of histologic change in the larynx of the rat following inhalation exposure: a critical review.

The larynx is a site in the respiratory tract of animals that often shows a response to inhaled substances. In many cases, the most sensitive endpoint in repeated dose inhalation studies is squamous metaplasia (often of minimal severity) of the larynx. The U.

Longitudinal effects of hope on depression and anxiety: a latent variable analysis.

This study tested the prospective effects of hope on depression and anxiety using a longitudinal design. A sample of 522 college students completed self-report measures of hope, depression, and anxiety at three time points, with 1-month delays between administrations. Structural equation modeling was employed to test two cross-lagged panel models of the reciprocal effects of the Agency and Pathways components of hope on depression and anxiety.

A mode of action for induction of liver tumors by Pyrethrins in the rat.

High doses of Pyrethrins produce liver tumors in female rats. To elucidate the mode of action for tumor formation, the hepatic effects of Pyrethrins have been investigated. Male Sprague-Dawley CD rats were fed diets containing 0 (control) and 8000 ppm Pyrethrins and female rats' diets containing 0, 100, 3000 and 8000 ppm Pyrethrins for periods of 7, 14 and 42 days and 42 days followed by 42 days of reversal.

A mode of action for induction of thyroid gland tumors by Pyrethrins in the rat.

Prolonged treatment with high doses of Pyrethrins results in thyroid gland tumors in the rat. To elucidate the mode of action for tumor formation, the effect of Pyrethrins on rat thyroid gland, thyroid hormone levels and hepatic thyroxine UDPglucuronosyltransferase activity was investigated. Male Sprague-Dawley CD rats were fed diets containing 0 (control) and 8000 ppm Pyrethrins and female rats diets containing 0, 100, 3000 and 8000 ppm Pyrethrins for periods of 7, 14 and 42 days and for 42 days followed by 42 days of reversal.

Structural basis of hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor and MET signalling.

The polypeptide growth factor, hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF), shares the multidomain structure and proteolytic mechanism of activation of plasminogen and other complex serine proteinases. HGF/SF, however, has no enzymatic activity. Instead, it controls the growth, morphogenesis, or migration of epithelial, endothelial, and muscle progenitor cells through the receptor tyrosine kinase MET.

Recent developments in preclinical toxicological pathology.

In the late nineteenth century, microscopists developed a quaint method for examining the fine structure of biological specimens: paraffin embedding and staining with hematoxylin and eosin. This ancient technology is here to stay for the foreseeable future, because it can and does reveal the truth about biological processes. However, the role of pathology is developing with ever greater world wide interaction between pathologists, and better communication and agreeing of international standards.

The longitudinal relationship of personality traits and disorders.

Personality disorders are presumed to be stable because of underlying stable and maladaptive personality traits, but while previous research has demonstrated a link between personality traits and personality disorders cross-sectionally, personality disorders and personality traits have not been linked longitudinally. This study explores the extent to which relevant personality traits are stable in individuals diagnosed with 4 personality disorders (schizotypal, borderline, avoidant, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders) and examines the assumption that these personality disorders are stable by virtue of stable personality traits. This assumption was tested via the estimation of a series of latent longitudinal models that evaluated whether changes in relevant personality traits lead to subsequent changes in personality disorders.

Aaron Klug and the revolution in biomolecular structure determination.

Aaron Klug's group was one of the first to use a combination of X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy to study the structures of macromolecules. He helped to provide the intellectual framework for understanding the self-assembly of regular viruses and developed methods for analyzing their three-dimensional structures from electron microscope images, as well as the structures of helical polymers. He and his coworkers established the basic features of chromatin organization, including the structure of the repeating units (nucleosomes) and how they are stacked together.