Minimum guidelines and requirements for accessible design--Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board. Final rule

The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board hereby revises its "Minimum Guidelines and Requirements for Accessible Design" (guidelines and requirements). These revisions respond to concerns registered by certain Board members and to issues raised in comments submitted during the rulemaking process. The purpose of the revisions is to make the guidelines and requirements more cost effective and consistent with Federal and nationally recognized standards while still providing ready access and use. The guidelines and requirements, as revised, will provide a basis for consistent and improved accessibility standards to be issued under the Architectural Barriers Act by the General Services Administration, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Defense, and the United States Postal Service. For clarity, the guidelines and requirements are published in their entirety with the revisions incorporated.     

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility guidelines for buildings and facilities; play areas. Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board. Final rule

The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) is issuing final accessibility guidelines to serve as the basis for standards to be adopted by the Department of Justice for new construction and alterations of play areas covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The guidelines include scoping and technical provisions for ground level and elevated play components, accessible routes, ramps and transfer systems, ground surfaces, and soft contained play structures. The guidelines will ensure that newly constructed and altered play areas meet the requirements of the ADA and are readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities. The Department of Justice must adopt the guidelines as standards for them to be enforceable under the ADA.     

Nurses, midwives and the requirement for "appropriate" professional indemnity insurance

The Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2009 (the National Law) imposes the obligation on nurses and midwives to have appropriate professional indemnity insurance coverage as a condition of applying for, or renewing, their registration to practise in Australia. The National Law also empowers the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia to develop a registration standard and guidelines in relation to professional indemnity insurance and to enforce compliance through the registration process. Though not previously a requirement for their registration, nurses and midwives must now understand the nature and extent of the professional indemnity insurance under which they practise and declare that they will not practise their profession unless they have appropriate professional indemnity insurance arrangements which cover the full scope of their practice. This column provides an overview of the obligations and responsibilities imposed on nurses and midwives under the National Law and the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia's registration standard and guidelines. It is imperative that nurses and midwives understand the National Law provisions and the standard and guidelines developed by the Board before making decisions about their professional indemnity insurance and self-declaring that they have "appropriate" professional indemnity arrangements in place.     

Baselines for Clean Development Mechanism Projects: The Marrakesh Accords and Beyond

The Marrakesh Accords at the seventh meeting of Conference of Parties (COP-7) finally set the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) wheel moving by establishing a CDM Board and providing some broad guidelines on baselines for the CDM projects. The broad guidelines provide flexibility to develop baselines, which gives rise to prospect of more than one baseline for a project. This has been illustrated with a case study of Zafarana, a wind farm power project. seven possible baselines emerge when applying the broad guidelines included in the Accords indicating the need for detailed guidelines. In the current scenario, a project developer may have to work-out the best course of action considering criteria such as level of complexity and available expertise to develop the baseline, availability of data, expected return etc.     

Attestations by facilities using nonimmigrant aliens as registered nurses--Employment and Training Administration and Employment Standards Administration, Labor--Final rule and amendment and announcement of effective date

On January 6, 1994, the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and the Wage and Hour Division of the Employment Standards Administration of the Department of Labor published final regulations governing the filing and enforcement of attestations by health care facilities seeking to use the services of nonimmigrant aliens as registered nurses under H-1A visas. At that time, ETA submitted the information collection requirements to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980. This document amends the January 6, 1994, Federal Register document to display the OMB control numbers and announces the effective date for the sections containing information collection requirements for which OMB approval has been received.     

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility guidelines for buildings and facilities. Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board. Final guidelines

The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board is issuing final guidelines to assist the Department of Justice to establish accessibility standards for new construction and alterations in places of public accommodation and commercial facilities, as required by title III the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. The guidelines will ensure that newly constructed and altered portions of buildings and facilities covered by title III of the ADA are readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities in terms of architecture and design, and communication. The Department of Justice has proposed to adopt the guidelines as the accessibility standards for new construction and alterations in places of public accommodation and commercial facilities for purposes of title III of the ADA.     

Genomic research and incidental findings.

The Human Genome Project showed that there is significant genetic variation within the population. Current research is accumulating large databases that may reveal genetic variations associated with disease or health risks, even if not intended as part of the study design. These incidental findings create legal, ethical, and financial challenges for researchers. Current federal and international guidelines are not adequate. Plans for dealing with incidental findings need to be established in the study design and reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board.     

The forensic pathology specialty certifications

The subspecialty of pathology known as forensic pathology has been certified by the American Board of Pathology since 1959, when the first examinations were offered in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A. This article provides information on those who have been certified since 1959 and also the requirements for this certification by the American Board of Pathology.     

Pharmaceutical Reimbursement Board; final maximum allowable cost (MAC) determinations for certain drug products--Health Care Financing Administration. Final notice

The Pharmaceutical Reimbursement Board announces the suspension of the maximum allowable cost (MAC) limit on erythromycin stearate, oral tablets, 500 mg, effective November 17, 1982. The limit for this drug product was published in the Federal Register on December 11, 1978 (43 FR 57972) and became effective on January 25, 1979. This suspension of the MAC limit on erythromycin stearate, oral tablets, 500 mg, is based on general price increases by manufacturers that have occurred in the marketplace and the Board's concern that this drug product may no longer be widely and consistently available at the established MAC limit. The Pharmaceutical Reimbursement Board may reinstitute procedures to establish a new MAC limit on this drug product in the future.     

Standards of performance for new stationary sources and emission guidelines for existing sources: hospital/medical/infectious waste incinerators--EPA. Final rule

This action promulgates new source performance standards (NSPS or standards) and emission guidelines (EG or guidelines) to reduce air emissions from hospital/medical/infectious waste incinerator(s) (HMIWI) by adding subpart Ec, standards of performance for new HMIWI, and subpart Ce, emission guidelines for existing HMIWI, to 40 CFR part 60. The standards and guidelines implement sections 111 and 129 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) as amended in 1990. The standards and guidelines apply to units whose primary purpose is the combustion of hospital waste and/or medical/infectious waste. Sources are required to achieve emission levels reflecting the maximum degree of reduction in emissions of air pollutants that the Administrator has determined is achievable, taking into consideration the cost of achieving such emission reduction, any nonair-quality health and environmental impacts, and energy requirements. The promulgated standards and guidelines establish emission limits for particulate matter (PM), opacity, sulfur dioxide (SO2), hydrogen chloride (HCl), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), dioxins and dibenzofurans (dioxins/ furans), and fugitive ash emissions. Some of the pollutants being regulated are considered to be carcinogens and at sufficient concentrations can cause toxic effects following exposure. The standards and guidelines also establish requirements for HMIWI operator training/qualification, waste management plans, and testing/monitoring of pollutants and operating parameters. Additionally, the guidelines for existing HMIWI contain equipment inspection requirements and the standards for new HMIWI include sitting requirements.     

民事诉讼法修改的若干问题

我国现行《民事诉讼法》制定时间较早,未能全面反映一些先进的诉讼理念,并且存在着条文简单、粗糙,操作性不强的缺陷,因此有必要对其进行全面修订。本文提出了民事诉讼法修订的指导思想、立法框架,并对若干重大的程序问题进行了归纳和提示。     

Practice guidelines and malpractice litigation: collision or cohesion?

Practice guidelines are standardized specifications for managing particular clinical problems and are intended to improve the outcomes of medical care by increasing adherence to standards of care. They are also meant to make medicine more cost-effective by eliminating unnecessary procedures. A relatively recent phenomenon, the practice guidelines now emerging will have implications for malpractice, which also intends to bring about better care. They will probably not revolutionize the procedures that courts use to determine negligence, but judges will integrate guidelines into their decision-making process. This development should be welcomed. Guidelines should prove to be useful as either inculpatory or exculpatory evidence of negligence. They are unlikely to generate much new litigation, although there is some potential for suits against those who issue guidelines, especially if guidelines are not revised as the technology of medical care changes.     

对业主的建筑物区分所有权之共有部分的具体考察

在业主的建筑物区分所有权中，确定外墙、屋顶平台、停车位、停车库、地下室等，是属于共有部分还是专有部分，抑或单独所有权的客体，需要综合考虑以下因素：（1）它是否被单独登记为一个独立之物。如果尚未被单独登记为一个独立之物，则应为共有部分；反之，可以成为专有部分或单独所有权的客体。（2）建筑物区分所有权的本质属性。我们确定外墙等部分的性质和所属，不得违背建筑物区分所有权的本质属性。（3）法律、行政法规的强制性规定。如果法律、行政法规的强制性规定就此作了专门规定，该规定应为我们确定其性质和所属的依据。当然，此类强制性规定不应违反前述原理。（4）有关当事人的约定。如果有关当事人在不违反前述（1）（2）的前提下，就此作了约定，应依其约定。     

Adherence of forensic odontologists to the ABFO bite mark guidelines for suspect evidence collection

Boards and associations within forensic science have long been accepted as vehicles for the development and dissemination of protocols and recommendations for practice. Recent controversies surrounding bite mark analyses have brought the methods and practices of forensic dentists to the attention of both the courts and the media. In the mid-eighties the American Board of Forensic Odontology developed guidelines for bite mark analysis in response to unfavorable commentaries on the discipline by legal observers. The purpose of this study is to examine the adherence of board certified and noncertified forensic dentists to the guidelines for collection of evidence from bite mark suspects. A questionnaire was employed during an American Academy of Forensic Sciences meeting. Results showed that, in general, when the odontologists collected evidence they did adhere to the guidelines, although collection of salivary samples was not common. Of concern is the large number of odontologists who do not collect their own evidence from suspects. Police officers or other individuals often perform this task and therefore the guidelines must be disseminated to these groups to ensure that the maximum yield is obtained from bite mark evidence. A review of the materials used to collect evidence is also included with details of applications in forensic science.     

Standards applicable to owners and operators of hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities: liability requirements. Environmental Protection Agency. Revised interim final rule

The Environmental Protection Agency is today revising regulations of January 12, 1981, on liability coverage requirements for hazardous waste facility owners or operators. Under these requirements, owners or operators must demonstrate liability coverage for bodily injury and property damage to third parties resulting from facility operations. The major revisions are: addition of the option of a financial test as a means of demonstrating liability coverage to satisfy the requirements; addition of the option of submitting a certificate of insurance as evidence of insurance; and changes in the requirements for the endorsement and certificate. In a future document, EPA will propose to delete two provisions of the January 12, 1981 regulations. These provisions are: the procedure to obtain a variance for liability coverage requirements; and the provision allowing an owner or operator to use State assumption of legal responsibility for liability coverage to satisfy the liability requirements. The January 12, 1981, regulations were issued under an accelerated schedule imposed by a court order. The revisions that are being made today are necessary to eliminate unworkable aspects of the previous regulations, improve their effectiveness, and allow reasonable flexibility in satisfying the requirements.     

Parole decision-making: A salient factor score

Although considerable effort during the past thirty years has been devoted to the attempted construction of actuarial aids for parole selection, such devices have not generally been adopted by paroling agencies for operational use. One recent exception is the United States Board of Parole which has commenced usage of an actuarial device, termed a “salient factor score,” as a risk assessment aid in conjunction with explicit parole decision-making guidelines. This paper describes the construction, validation, and operational usage of this device.     

‘Prefer not to say’: diversity and diversity reporting at the bar of England & Wales

The Bar of England & Wales, like the wider legal profession, does not reflect the society it serves. The current data published by the Bar Standards Board (BSB) suggests a profile in relation to gender and ethnicity that gives serious cause for concern. As regards additional diversity characteristics, the BSB (and others) have accepted that the existing datasets are not wholly reliable because of poor response rates to associated diversity questionnaires. In 2011, the Legal Services Board (LSB) introduced mandatory guidance that obliged its daughter regulators to put into place rules that relate to diversity monitoring and reporting across the legal profession. This paper is concerned with how the BSB has operationalised that statutory guidance in respect of the Bar. Drawing on data gathered from the websites of 160 chambers, I show significant non-compliance with the reporting rule, and question both how the BSB itself reports on diversity data and the drafting of the reporting rule. I ask whether non-compliance is partly a function of the complexity seen in how the BSB has made operational the LSB’s reporting requirements. My data also suggests that the BSB should target its enforcement and educational approaches to the reporting rule to small and medium sized chambers.     

Medicaid program; time limitation on recordkeeping requirements under the drug rebate program. Final rule

This final rule finalizes 10-year recordkeeping requirements for drug manufacturers under the Medicaid drug rebate program. Manufacturers must retain records for 10 years from the date the manufacturer reports data to us for a rebate period. This final rule also finalizes the requirement that manufacturers must retain records beyond the 10-year period if the records are known by the manufacturer to be the subject of an audit or a government investigation. Furthermore, this final rule responds to public comments on the January 6, 2004 interim final rule with comment period and the proposed rule pertaining to the 10-year recordkeeping requirements, respectively.     

An argument for self-imposed explicit judicial sentencing standards

Despite considerable attention, unwarranted disparity in sentencing remains a major and pervasive criminal justice problem. In this paper the argument is made that the most appropriate remedy lies not in an attempt to eliminate judicial sentencing discretion, but rather through the development and articulation of explicit sentencing standards or guidelines. Building upon the experience gained in a recent study with the United States Board of Parole, a model is put forth for the development and articulation of sentencing policy on a district or circuit basis that could be applied to structure and control discretion without removing individual case consideration.     

Adherence of forensic odontologists to the ABFO guidelines for victim evidence collection

Certifying boards for different professions have the duty to help establish standards and guidelines for methodologies routinely performed within the discipline. For forensic dentists, this responsibility is placed upon the American Board of Forensic Odontology (ABFO). The purpose of this study was to examine whether board certified and noncertified forensic odontologists adhere to the ABFO Guidelines outlined in the collection of victim bitemark evidence. A questionnaire was developed to assess the compliance and attitudes towards the typical evidence collected, the photographic documentation, and the handling of the bite site injury. The results indicate the majority of the respondents in both representative groups routinely follow the guidelines set forth by the ABFO. The lack of personally photographing the bite injury on a consistent basis is an area of concern for all examiners. The photographic evidence is an instrumental part of the investigation and often cannot be utilized due to improper procedures being followed. The film type utilized, bite site impression techniques, and excision of any tissue samples remain an individual choice and vary significantly among each forensic odontologist.