South Africa: highest court orders government to provide antiretrovirals to prevent mother-to-child transmission

On 5 July 2002, South African treatment activists won a significant victory when the Constitutional Court ordered the South African government to make the antiretroviral drug nevirapine available in public hospitals and clinics for the purposes of preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV. The Court also ruled the government has a constitutional obligation to implement a program to realize the right of pregnant women and their newborn children to access health services to prevent transmission.     

An attempt to objectify the condition of cervical spine distortion injury in traffic accident victims for court purposes

Introduction

According to morphological criteria, cervical spine injuries include, among others, contusion, distortion, luxation and fracture. Distortion of the intervertebral articulations occurs when the force of movement exceeds the physiological range, and the articular/joint capsule, cartilage and ligaments are damaged. While within the articulation a haematoma is formed, which produces clinical manifestations such as localised idiopathic pain, tenderness to palpation and analgesic limitation on both the passive and active joint mobility (i.e., a syndrome of subjective painfulness), as reported by the patient, the diagnostic imaging techniques (i.e., regular radiograph pictures) typically applied in such cases do not show any post-traumatic changes. Distortion of the cervical spine, resulting in a post-traumatic feeling of pain, usually occurs indirectly as a result of transmission of the force of injury onto the spine, as in the case of a traffic accident. Frequently, in cases of abuse, arriving at a hasty clinical diagnosis of post-traumatic cervical spine distortion apparently presents a serious problem in giving medical opinions for court purposes; thus encouraging the authors to attempt objectifying the condition of cervical spine distortion.

Methods

In a retrospective investigation, the authors analysed the medical opinions given by the Department of Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Silesia, for court purposes.

Results

Among nearly 5500 opinions in the past 5-year period, we analysed 167 cases related to cervical spine injury.

Conclusions

An attempt is made to either substantiate or negate the clinical diagnosis issued for court purposes by assessing the following: the findings of the physical examination of the person involved, the condition of the person involved in the accident from the period prior to accident (radiograph findings confirming the level of the already existing degenerative changes; age and sex of the person involved; positive or negative history of injuries sustained prior to accident), the course of treatment after the accident (character of symptoms reported and their evolution with time; co-existence of other bodily injuries; outpatient treatment instituted, including the application of Schantze collar, rehabilitation) and also the circumstances in which the accident occurred.     

Applications for Food and Drug Administration approval to market a new drug; postmarketing reports; reporting information about authorized generic drugs. Direct final rule

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending its regulations to require that the holder of a new drug application (NDA) submit certain information regarding authorized generic drugs in an annual report. We are taking this action as part of our implementation of the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007 (FDAAA). FDAAA requires that FDA publish a list of all authorized generic drugs included in an annual report since 1999, and that the agency update the list quarterly. We are using direct final rulemaking for this action because the agency expects that there will be no significant adverse comment on the rule. In the proposed rule section of this issue of the Federal Register, we are concurrently proposing and soliciting comments on this rule. If significant adverse comments are received, we will withdraw this final rule and address the comments in a subsequent final rule. FDA will not provide additional opportunity for comment.     

法庭科学鉴定人出庭接受质证的对策

法庭科学鉴定属于证据的一种 ,为刑事、民事案件的审理提供线索 ,为法庭诉讼提供科学依据。只有通过鉴定人出庭接受询问、质证 ,经法庭调查或庭审质证确认属实的法庭科学鉴定 ,才能作为定案的依据 ,以确保法庭科学鉴定的公正、科学、准确和实事求是。 1997年 1月 1日实施的《中华人民共和国刑事诉讼法》(简称新《刑诉法》)和 1991年 4月 9日实施的《中华人民共和国民事诉讼法》(简称新《民诉法》)均要求鉴定人出庭接受质证。因此 ,出庭接受质证已经成为法庭科学鉴定人必须面对的现实。为了确保法庭科学鉴定的真实、科学、有效 ,避免和减少由…     

Occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens; approval of information collection requirements--OSHA. Final rule; approval of information collection requirements

On December 6, 1991, OSHA published a final standard governing occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens (56 FR 64004). The standard is designed to eliminate or minimize occupational exposure to Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and other bloodborne pathogens. At that time OSHA submitted the information collection requirements to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review under section 3504(h) of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1980. Public reporting burden for this collection of information was estimated to average five minutes per employer response to an OSHA compliance officer's request for access to the employer's records. OMB reviewed the collection of information requirements for occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens in accordance with the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., and 5 CFR part 1320. OMB approved all information requirements contained in 29 CFR 1910.1030 under OMB clearance number 1218-0180. The OMB clearance expires on February 28, 1995. This document will also amend the December 6, 1991 rule to properly display the OMB control number.     

法庭科学鉴定人出庭接受质证的对策

法庭科学鉴定属于证据的一种,为刑事、民事案件的审理提供线索,为法庭诉讼提供科学依据.只有通过鉴定人出庭接受询问、质证,经法庭调查或庭审质证确认属实的法庭科学鉴定 ,才能作为定案的依据,以确保法庭科学鉴定的公正、科学、准确和实事求是.1997年1月1 日实施的<中华人民共和国刑事诉讼法>(简称新<刑诉法>)和1991年4月9日实施的<中华人民共和国民事诉讼法>(简称新<民诉法>)均要求鉴定人出庭接受质证.因此,出庭接受质证已经成为法庭科学鉴定人必须面对的现实.为了确保法庭科学鉴定的真实、科学、有效,避免和减少由此引发的冤假错案,真正体现司法公正宗旨,同时正确运用语言逻辑学和巧妙的答辩技术,避免因人为因素造成不良的答辩后果.根据作者的实际工作经验与体会撰写此文,供从事法庭科学鉴定的科技工作者参考借鉴.     

US: court refuses to order disclosure of HIV status to police

In February 2001, Massachusetts' highest court ruled that a man whose blood was splattered on police officers during his arrest is protected under that state's law from having to reveal his HIV status.     

Using court culture to strengthen the administration of trial courts

Managerial culture defines the character of administrative practices in trial courts, shaping the way cases are handled, participants in the legal process are treated, and how a court functions as an institution. In fact, the notion of local legal culture is part of the conventional wisdom. What is missing in such discussions are the benefits of a comprehensive methodological approach to translate rich ideas and hunches into the measurement of court culture. In response, researchers at the National Center for State Courts have developed an analytical framework including a conceptual typology of culture, an instrument for measuring managerial culture and a schema for interpreting results within and between courts. The essay concludes with an invitation for the People＇s Republic of China to adapt the framework to understand the nature of culture in their courts of first instance.     

Comparison of urine to sweat patch test results in court ordered testing

A former cocaine and methamphetamine abuser was continuously monitored with both sweat patch and urine testing for approximately 6 months. Thirteen sweat patches were applied and collected, five were positive for cocaine and/or methamphetamine, but all the urine specimens collected were negative at the analytical cut-off levels. The high incidence of false positive sweat patch tests in relation to the sensitivity, specificity, and efficiency of the sweat patch assay is discussed. Possible mechanisms, which can lead to false positive results, are presented. The results of our study raise further questions about the preferential use of the sweat patch in detecting new episodes of drug use in formerly chronic drug users.     

An attempt to incorporate fairness into an economic model of tort law

This paper incorporates fairness into a simple economic model of tort law and discusses the difficulties of doing so. People are assumed to adhere to either the negligence or the strict norm and to incur a cost if liability is not imposed in accordance with their norm. The optimal standard of negligence is determined in a trade-off between fairness and efficiency. Conditions are derived under which preferences for fairness do not affect the optimal negligence standard. The modeling difficulties concern the ad hoc nature of the fairness norms. They are argued to be inherent to the subject.     

Congestion bleedings of the face and cardiopulmonary resuscitation--an attempt to evaluate their relationship

OBJECTIVES: Are any other factors besides the factor "cause of death" involved in the development of petechial hemorrhages (PET) of the head? The significance of the cause of death is well known, other factors have been rarely investigated in medical literature. Do they include cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), as has been claimed in several forensic publications? MATERIALS AND METHODS: (a) 473 consecutive autopsy cases (without strangulation) evaluated by one examiner, which were appropriate for this investigation; (b) analysis of 181 cardiac deaths (investigated by all physicians of our institute). RESULTS: Petechiae were found in 13.3% of all cases and were clearly dependent on the cause of death, up to 20% were found in burn victims, intensive-care patients and cardiac fatalities. Petechiae were more frequently observed in the middle age groups (>20%) than in old persons (<10%). The number of PET cases increased with body mass but was lower in extremely obese persons, a greater number of cases with PET was also observed with increasing heart weight. PET were observed in 11% of the deaths without CPR compared to 19% with CPR. This difference was predominantly caused by the subgroup "acute coronary death", especially if victims younger than 60 years were considered, whereas in many other causes of death no difference in the prevalence of PET with or without CPR could be observed. CONCLUSION: Besides the cause of death, other factors (age, body mass and possibly even heart weight) influence the development of petechiae. The hypothesis that CPR alone produces PET is not confirmed by our experience.     

Using the level of service inventory-revised to improve assessment and treatment in drug court

More than 2,000 drug courts in the United States provide supervision and substance-abuse treatment to thousands of offenders. Yet the treatment continuum from assessment to aftercare is underexplored. The effectiveness of the Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R) as a risk assessment tool is well established. However, fewer studies have considered its use in guiding treatment strategies. In using the LSI-R, the drug court program relied on the structured interview protocol (not the risk classification scores) to identify criminogenic needs that then helped determine placement in a high- or low-needs treatment track. To evaluate the effectiveness of these treatment placement decisions, this research used the LSI-R scores to examine individual and group differences (N = 182). Significant and substantive differences at the individual and group levels were found thus providing empirical support for using the LSI-R as a link between assessment and treatment. Implications for developing standards and practice protocols for drug courts are discussed.     

浅谈医学会医疗损害鉴定专家出庭作证

《侵权责任法》统一了＂医疗事故＂和＂医疗过错＂在民事赔偿标准上二元化和医疗诉讼的诉讼案由及法律适用。然而,医疗损害鉴定的模式应如何走向,《侵权责任法》却没有提及。江苏省医学会大胆革新,开展医疗损害鉴定,在新修订的《民事诉讼法》进一步强调鉴定人出庭作证的背景下,江苏省医学会适应新形势组织医疗损害鉴定专家出庭作证,改变了以往医学会鉴定专家不署名、不出庭的历史,提高了鉴定公信力。