The legal role of medical professionals in decisions to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment: part 2 (Queensland)

This is the second article in a series of three that examines the legal role of medical professionals in decisions to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment from adults who lack capacity. This article considers the position in Queensland, including the parens patriae jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. A review of the law in this State reveals that medical professionals play significant legal roles in these decisions. However, the law is problematic in a number of respects and this is likely to impede medical professionals' legal knowledge in this area. The article examines the level of training medical professionals receive on issues such as advance health directives and substitute decision-making, and the available empirical evidence as to the state of medical professionals' knowledge of the law at the end of life. It concludes that there are gaps in legal knowledge and that law reform is needed in Queensland.     

工会维权的路径选择——关于当前企业工会维权工作的思考

在国际金融危机背景下,工会维护职工权益应当立足于客观实际,利用广泛开展的"共同约定行动"有利时机,积极构建和谐企业及和谐的劳动关系;着眼于劳动关系的新变化,全面维护职工权益;进一步加强工会理论研究,认识和把握工会维权规律,更好地维护职工的切身利益及合法权益.     

中国文化非宗教性特征刍议－兼论马克思主义在中国发展的文化原因

马克思主义在中西文化的交流与融和中之所以脱颖而出,除了马克思主义自身蕴藏的真理力量、以及中华民族在近现代史上经济、政治的社会需要外,另一个不可忽视的文化原因就是中国文化的非宗教性特征.     

Cardiac troponin T (cTn T) and the postmortem diagnosis of sudden death

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effectiveness of the increase of postmortem cardiac troponin T (cTn T) in acute disease-related deaths. METHODS: Peripheral venous blood was sampled from 39 autopsies performed. Thirty nonhemolyzed specimens were considered in the final analysis (n = 30).Only the calculation of the cTn T was performed using the Roche Diagnostics Elecsys 2010 Immunoassay System. The high limit and the cutoff are 25 ng/mL.Deaths were divided into 2 groups, according to sudden cardiac deaths (group 1, n = 15) and non-cardiac-related deaths without resuscitation (group 2, n = 15). RESULTS: All the cases with visual myocardial infarction had elevated concentrations of cTn T. The difference of the postmortem cTn T concentrations between resuscitated and nonresuscitated is nonsignificant.In the non-cardiac-related deaths, the elevated concentrations of cTn T were only noted in all cases of electrocution. CONCLUSION: In clinical practice, several biochemical markers are used for the diagnosis of myocardial infarction. Because of its extreme specificity for myocardial damage, cTn T and cardiac troponin I (cTn I) are frequently used. The results of these assays could then be used to facilitate selection for cases that may be released following histologic examinations.