"the United States government has assembled a database containing the DNA profiles of over eleven million citizens"

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23461001

Duke Law J. 2013;62(4):933-73.

DNA profiles, computer searches, and the Fourth Amendment.

Kimel CW.

Abstract

Pursuant to federal statutes and to laws in all fifty states, the United States government has assembled a database containing the DNA profiles of over eleven million citizens. Without judicial authorization, the government searches each of these profiles one-hundred thousand times every day, seeking to link database subjects to crimes they are not suspected of committing. Yet, courts and scholars that have addressed DNA databasing have focused their attention almost exclusively on the constitutionality of the government's seizure of the biological samples from which the profiles are generated. This Note fills a gap in the scholarship by examining the Fourth Amendment problems that arise when the government searches its vast DNA database. This Note argues that each attempt to match two DNA profiles constitutes a Fourth Amendment search because each attempted match infringes upon database subjects' expectations of privacy in their biological relationships and physical movements. The Note further argues that database searches are unreasonable as they are currently conducted, and it suggests an adaptation of computer-search procedures to remedy the constitutional deficiency.

From U Padova: Medical malpractice and legal medicine

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23455848

Int J Legal Med. 2013 Mar 3. [Epub ahead of print]

Medical malpractice and legal medicine.

Ferrara SD.

Source

International Academy of Legal Medicine, Institute of Legal Medicine, Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padova, Via Falloppio 50, 35121, Padova, Italy, santodavide.ferrara@unipd.it.

As has often happened in other scientific and disciplinary contexts, the medicolegal community has provided the first example by: (a) respecting the Hippocratic oath of the third millennium, of knowledge, know-how and again the “search for the truth,” through the identification and self-report to the medical community of errors committed during the performance of one’s work and assistance; (b) posing an initial remedy to the heterogeneous detriment of the patient’s rights, through the triggering of a positive process aimed at “European consensus on ascertainment methodology and criteria for evaluating damage from medical malpractice,” on living and deceased persons.

From U Penn: Developing Safety Criteria for Introducing New Agents into Neoadjuvant Trials

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23470967

Clin Cancer Res. 2013 Mar 7. [Epub ahead of print]

Developing Safety Criteria for Introducing New Agents into Neoadjuvant Trials.

Demichele A, Berry DA, Zujewski J, Hunsberger S, Rubinstein L, Tomaszewski JE, Kelloff G, Perlmutter J, Buxton M, Lyandres J, Albain KS, Benz CC, Chien AJ,Haluska P, Leyland-Jones B, Liu MC, Munster PN, Olopade OI, Park JW, Parker BA, Pusztai L, Tripathy D, Rugo H, Yee D, Esserman LJ.

Source

Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

Abstract

New approaches to drug development are critically needed to lessen the time, cost and resources necessary to identify and optimize active agents. Strategies to accelerate drug development include testing drugs earlier in the disease process such as the neoadjuvant setting. The FDA has issued guidance designed to accelerate drug approval through the use of neoadjuvant studies in which the surrogate short-term endpoint, pathological response, can be used to identify active agents and shorten the time to approval of both efficacious drugs and biomarkers identifying patients most likely to respond. However, this approach has unique challenges. In particular, issues of patient safety are paramount, given the exposure of potentially curable patients to investigational agents with limited safety experience. Key components to safe drug development in the neoadjuvant setting include defining a study population at sufficiently poor prognosis with standard therapy to justify exposure to investigational agents, defining the extent and adequacy of safety data from phase I, detecting potentially harmful interactions between investigational and standard therapies, improving study designs, such as adaptive strategies, that limit patient exposure to ineffective agents, and intensifying safety monitoring in the course of the trial. The I-SPY2 Trial is an example of a phase II neoadjuvant trial of novel agents for breast cancer in which these issues have been addressed, both in the design and conduct of the trial. These adaptations of phase II design enable acceleration of drug development by reducing time and cost to screen novel therapies for activity without compromising safety.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23471450

Ann Ig. 2013 Mar-Apr;25(2):125-36. doi: 10.7416/ai.2013.1914.

Exposure to solvents in health care workers: assessment of the hepatic effects.

Caciari T, Casale T, Pimpinella B, Montuori L, Trove' L, Tomei G, Capozzella A, Schifano MP, Fiaschetti M, Scala B, Tomei F, Rosati MV.

Source

Department of Anatomy, Histology, Medical-Legal and the Orthopedics, Unit of Occupational Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. Department of Psychiatric and Psychological Science, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.

Abstract

Objectives: The use of organic solvents has been linked to pathologies of different apparatuses. The purpose of this study is to analyze the liver damage induced by organic solvents. 

Materials and Methods: We analyzed 556 workers, 278 exposed to organic solvents (group 1) and 278 not exposed to organic solvents (group 2). The exposed group was further divided into 2 subgroups: group 1A (139 workers exposed to considerable doses) and group 1B (139 workers exposed to negligible doses). Mean and standard deviation of some liver parameters was calculated. Statistically significant differences between the liver parameters in the different groups and subgroups were detected using the t-test. Multiple linear regression models were used to examine the associations between laboratory parameters and the independent variable. 

Results: The data so far obtained showed the existence of statistically significant differences with regard to the total protein, total bilirubin, transaminase GOT and GPT, Gamma Glutamyl Transferase (gamma-GT). 

Conclusions: Our results confirm that exposure to solvents can alter some liver parameters. The blood tests we used can be useful tool for the assessment of the actual occupational hazards and to verify the effectiveness of the measures taken for the prevention and protection.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23471278

J Allied Health. 2013 Spring;42(1):1.

From ape to author.

Elwood TW.

Source

Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions, Washington, DC, USA. thomas@asahp.org.

Abstract

According to Charles Darwin in his Notebook M: [Metaphysics on Morals and Speculations on Expression] in 1838, "He who understands baboon would do more towards metaphysics than Locke." A prevailing theory in the 18th century proclaimed by John Locke was that knowledge consists of generalizations from experience. The mind acts simply to associate events that have been joined together through proximity and repetition. From these associations it generates behavior. Anything we think or do ultimately can be traced to our experience.

"Most everybody else is just running through the hallways screaming, “fight, fight, fight, fight,” because it’s the internet, and that’s what we do…"

http://abovethelaw.com/2013/03/celebrity-law-prof-death-match-paul-campos-v-brian-leiter/#more-229730

• 08 Mar 2013 at 12:02 PM
 
• LAW PROFESSORS, LAW SCHOOLS, STUDENT LOANS

Celebrity Law Prof Death Match: Paul Campos v. Brian Leiter

By ELIE MYSTAL

In this corner, fighting for truth and transparency in legal education, we have University of Colorado law professor Paul Campos. In that corner, fighting for the glory of legal academia, we have University of Chicago law professor Brian Leiter. LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!!

Those of you who don’t regularly follow law professors’ blogs might be surprised to know that they can get catty sometimes. But usually in a subtle way, like: “Hence we can clearly see that the FRCP does allow for the conduct described supra, infra, inter alia, and in FN-3,756. The seminal treatise on this point is not only mistaken, it was written by a colleague who I think we all know has two testicles, but no penis.”

But the fight between Paul Campos and Brian Leiter seems altogether different. Both claim that the other one has “completely lost it.” Campos writes that Leiter is “an obsessive, vindictive cyber-stalker.” Leiter counters that Campos is “a pathological liar.”

Most everybody else is just running through the hallways screaming, “fight, fight, fight, fight,” because it’s the internet, and that’s what we do….

From the Bulletin of Health Policy and Law: The United States Role in Global Health Diplomacy

http://www.bullhpl.org/resources/Publications/AmundsonDiplCommBullHPL.pdf

The United States Role in Global Health DiplomacyDennis E. Amundson, D.O. 

Published: 16 August 2012
Cite as: Amundson DE. The United States Role in Global Health Diplomacy. Bull Health L Policy. 2012;1(1): e4.

“War is nothing more but the continuation of politics by other means” 

-Carl Von Clausewitz1

Introduction
It is very clear that the United States has engaged the World at new political levels, and that evolving policies and strategies have conspired to change the landscape in how the United States interfaces with the International Community. Moreover, the United States of America has recently discovered, and is attempting to capitalize on, the power of the healthcare system to potentially develop or improve tenuous international relationships. This strategy has been especially evident in the poor, underserved, and developing regions of the world.
In this time of increasing international chaos, mass migrations, civil strife, significant security concerns, and increasing anti-American sentiment, an effective bridge to peace and world harmony is sorely needed. This form of diplomacy may also serve as a risk management strategy to proactively avoid conflict by providing benefits through the health care system, which may portray this country, or any of its components, in a positive light.

One means by which to do this, involves “Health Diplomacy.” This strategy may be beneficial to both public entities, such as governments, but also may be useful to private entities as they seek important goals in challenging international forums.

Zombie allusions: They just keep on coming-starting a sentence with "So,..." (also, see comment)

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/attack-of-the-trust-fund-zombie/

March 10, 2013, 10:42 am

Attack of the Trust Fund Zombie

So, I’ve Stephanopoulized, along with Senator Ron Johnson, who began by declaring that we need to agree about the facts — then promptly rolled out the old trust fund zombie. I’ve explained this one over and over again, for example here. And I have to say, it’s extremely telling that conservative Republicans don’t seem able to make their case without resorting, right from the beginning, to obviously dumb fallacies.

California's "CIRM has not endured nearly the same magnitude of scandal as CPRIT"

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/mar/09/cirm-stem-cell-leaders-discuss-conflict-charges/

California's stem cell agency CIRM defends record

By Bradley J. Fikes4:22 P.M.MARCH 9, 201

One subject that didn't come up was the ugly conflict of interest scandal in Texas, with its publicly funded agency to fight cancer. CalledCPRIT, the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, the agency has been scarred by alleged favoritism in doling out grants. The agency is a near-clone of CIRM, funded by $3 billion in state bonds, the same as in California. CIRM has not endured nearly the same magnitude of scandal as CPRIT; its grants are reviewed by a scientific board composed entirely of researchers living outside of California.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23471160

Nurs Ethics. 2013 Mar 6. [Epub ahead of print]

A Calvinist account of nursing ethics.

Cusveller B.

Source

Christian University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands.

Abstract

A relatively small but intellectually robust strand in the Christian religion is the Reformed tradition. Especially, its Calvinist sensibilities inform this Protestant stance towards human culture in general and vocations in particular. Correspondingly, there are some small but robust contributions to academic discourse in nursing ethics. So far there has been no attempt to bring those together as a distinct approach. This article suggests such a Reformed Christian, especially Calvinist, account of nursing ethics. Central to the Reformed perspective is the notion that God is sovereign over all of creation and culture and hence that there can be no religiously or morally neutral area in human life. Consequently, nursing is not seen as professional to the extent it is based on research evidence or theoretical models, but to the extent it serves the ultimate purpose of the practice of care. In the Reformed view, this purpose is fostering the well-being of human beings in need as intrinsically valuable. Nurses are professionals who accept this responsibility, that is, the whole of expectations holding for personal qualities, conduct and outcomes, required to serve the purpose of care. As this is a moral purpose, succeeding or failing to live up to these expectations is the source of moral issues in nursing.

From Lund U: Consumers on the Internet: ethical and legal aspects of commercialization of personalized nutrition

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23471853

Genes Nutr. 2013 Mar 8. [Epub ahead of print]

Consumers on the Internet: ethical and legal aspects of commercialization of personalized nutrition.

Ahlgren J, Nordgren A, Perrudin M, Ronteltap A, Savigny J, van Trijp H, Nordström K, Görman U.

Source

Ethics Unit, Centre for Theology and Religious Studies, Lund University, Lund, Sweden, jennie.ahlgren@teol.lu.se.

Abstract

Consumers often have a positive attitude to the option of receiving personalized nutrition advice based upon genetic testing, since the prospect of enhancing or maintaining one's health can be perceived as empowering. Current direct-to-consumer services over the Internet, however, suffer from a questionable level of truthfulness and consumer protection, in addition to an imbalance between far-reaching promises and contrasting disclaimers. Psychological and behavioral studies indicate that consumer acceptance of a new technology is primarily explained by the end user's rational and emotional interpretation as well as moral beliefs. Results from such studies indicate that personalized nutrition must create true value for the consumer. Also, the freedom to choose is crucial for consumer acceptance. From an ethical point of view, consumer protection is crucial, and caution must be exercised when putting nutrigenomic-based tests and advice services on the market. Current Internet offerings appear to reveal a need to further guaranty legal certainty by ensuring privacy, consumer protection and safety. Personalized nutrition services are on the borderline between nutrition and medicine. Current regulation of this area is incomplete and undergoing development. This situation entails the necessity for carefully assessing and developing existing rules that safeguard fundamental rights and data protection while taking into account the sensitivity of data, the risks posed by each step in their processing, and sufficient guarantees for consumers against potential misuse.

From J Nursing Education: Moral Integrity and Moral Courage: Can You Teach It?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23471872

J Nurs Educ. 2013 Mar 11:1-5. doi: 10.3928/01484834-20130311-01. [Epub ahead of print]

Moral Integrity and Moral Courage: Can You Teach It?

Eby RA, Hartley PL, Hodges PJ, Hoffpauir R, Newbanks S, Kelley JH.

Abstract

Nursing has been spared the ethical scandal of many other professions, but issues of compromised moral integrity are growing in practice and education. This study was structured to investigate faculty perceptions of the challenges encountered regarding moral integrity in academia and strategies to promote nursing students' moral integrity and moral courage. A content analysis of the responses to questions about challenges and strategies was completed. Themes identified from the data on student and instructor beliefs and behaviors correspond to those found in the literature. The need for instructors to model a high level of integrity and to create high-integrity classrooms and a community of learning were identified as essential. A finding different from other study results is that beliefs drive moral behaviors and must be the focus of strategies for change. A consensus was expressed that mechanisms are urgently needed to further identify and integrate strategies to enhance student moral integrity. 

"personalized dietary advice should be offered only when there is strong scientific evidence for health effects"

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23471854

Genes Nutr. 2013 Mar 8. [Epub ahead of print]

Do we know enough? A scientific and ethical analysis of the basis for genetic-based personalized nutrition.

Görman U, Mathers JC, Grimaldi KA, Ahlgren J, Nordström K.

Source

Ethics Unit, Centre for Theology and Religious Studies, Lund University, Lund, Sweden, Ulf.Gorman@teol.lu.se.

Abstract

This article discusses the prospects and limitations of the scientific basis for offering personalized nutrition advice based upon individual genetic information. Two divergent scientific positions are presented, with an ethical comment. The crucial question is whether the current knowledge base is sufficiently strong for taking an ethically responsible decision to offer personalized nutrition advice based upon gene-diet-health interaction. According to the first position, the evidence base for translating the outcomes of nutrigenomics research into personalized nutritional advice is as yet immature. There is also limited evidence that genotype-based dietary advice will motivate appropriate behavior changes. Filling the gaps in our knowledge will require larger and better randomized controlled trials. According to the second position, personalized nutrition must be evaluated in relation to generally accepted standard dietary advice-partly derived from epidemiological observations and usually not proven by clinical trials. With personalized nutrition, we cannot demand stronger evidence. In several specific cases of gene-diet interaction, it may be more beneficial for individuals with specific genotypes to follow personalized advice rather than general dietary recommendations. The ethical comment, finally, considers the ethical aspects of deciding how to proceed in the face of such uncertainty. Two approaches for an ethically responsible way forward are proposed. Arguing from a precautionary approach, it is suggested that personalized dietary advice should be offered only when there is strong scientific evidence for health effects, followed by stepwise evaluation of unforeseen behavioral and psychological effects. Arguing from theoretical and applied ethics as well as psychology, it is also suggested that personalized advice should avoid paternalism and instead focus on supporting the autonomous choice of each person.

Even before last night's filibuster, "Ted Cruz and Rand Paul stand tall on civil liberties"

http://legalinsurrection.com/2013/03/ted-cruz-and-rand-paul-stand-tall-on-civil-liberties/

Ted Cruz and Rand Paul stand tall on civil liberties

Posted by William A. Jacobson    Wednesday, March 6, 2013 at 2:59pm

Two of the Republican Senators most demonized by the liberal media, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, are doing the job liberal politicians and media refuse to do out of loyalty to Obama.

While you slept, the Republican party defined itself, and some of its leaders, for the next quarter century

and the Constitution became cool again--libertarian ideals set Twitter on fire;

and a new bar was raised for the filibuster--phone book-toting pols need not attempt; better have a 12 hour civics lesson that will keep people glued to CSPAN or you'll be shut down by your own party;

and Rand/Lee/Cruz presented a Republican future that gave White House-dining Republican Senators indigestion before coffee and dessert; and send staffers scrambling to get R Senators on the floor in hopes of salvaging their own political futures.



A few of the many links, below:


http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogsoutofcontext/55966631-64/trib-bill-utah-committee.html.csp

News round: D.C.'s real-life West Wing episode

Published on Mar 7, 2013 06:04AM

..............................................................................

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/closeread/2013/03/rand-pauls-filibuster-poses-a-good-question.html

March 7, 2013

RAND PAUL HAS A GOOD QUESTION

Posted by Amy Davidson

Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/closeread/2013/03/rand-pauls-filibuster-poses-a-good-question.html#ixzz2MrKnh7UI

...............................................................................

http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/happening-now/blog/2013/03/07/thursday-march-7-2013-happening-now

Thursday March 7, 2013 Happening Now

Posted by Clint Henderson | March 07, 2013

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/happening-now/blog/2013/03/07/thursday-march-7-2013-happening-now#ixzz2MrL8c9p6

................................................................................

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/03/07/17223003-opportunistically-standing-with-rand?lite

Opportunistically standing with Rand

By Steve Benen

  -  

Thu Mar 7, 2013 8:00 AM EST

................................................................................................

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/03/cliffs-notes-for-the-filibuster-rand-paul-in-his-own-words/273787/

Cliffs Notes for the Filibuster: Rand Paul in His Own Words

Need another reason to work out? Diabetes 'epidemic' seen in U.S., Maine

http://www.pressherald.com/news/diabetes-epidemic-seen-in-u_s_-maine_2013-03-07.html

Diabetes 'epidemic' seen in U.S., Maine

Costs to treat the disease are soaring, while Maine's spending rate on care is 14th among all U.S. states.

By Kevin Miller kmiller@mainetoday.com
Washington Bureau Chief

WASHINGTON – A new report estimates that the cost of the growing diabetes epidemic in the U.S. increased 41 percent from 2007 to 2012, accounting for $245 billion in spending nationwide last year, including $1.2 billion in Maine.

The study, released Wednesday by the American Diabetes Association, said that Americans diagnosed with diabetes now consume $1 out of every $5 spent on health care and, on average, cost twice as much to care for than people without the disorder.

Kolakowski's "'Main Currents of Marxism' (1978), is a demolition of a sham philosophy..."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324329204578272261736385142.html

What Isn't to Be Done

Leszek Kolakowski devoted a lifetime to explaining why so many of his fellow intellectuals fell for murderous ideologies.

By BARTON SWAIM

Leszek Kolakowski, who died in 2009, was an intellectual in the best sense of that word: a scholar of vast learning, a writer with a gift for the clear and felicitous expression of complex ideas, and a man who didn't overestimate his own importance. While he is usually labeled a philosopher, there is no philosophical system one could call "Kolakowskianism." He was more a historian of ideas than a philosopher in his own right; his greatest work, the three-volume "Main Currents of Marxism" (1978), is a demolition of a sham philosophy rather than the expression of a real one.
.....................

"Erasmus and his God," published in Polish in 1965, captures the essence of Erasmus's doctrine far better than more specialized explanations. Erasmus, Kolakowski thought, tried to combine the "faith alone" approach of Luther and Calvin with Roman Catholicism's emphasis on works and moral virtue. But the strength of this approach is misleading, "for it tells Christians to behave as if everything depended on their own efforts while at the same time telling them that nothing does." Kolakowski saw this as "a particular instance of the difficulty inherent in any doctrine which views genuine human effort as the unique source of moral value while at the same time refusing to acknowledge any human contribution to the results of that effort."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23443202

J Am Anim Hosp Assoc. 2013 Mar;49(2):75-82. doi: 10.5326/JAAHA-MS-4013.

2013 AAHA Dental Care Guidelines for Dogs and Cats.

Holmstrom SE, Bellows J, Juriga S, Knutson K, Niemiec BA, Perrone J.

Source

Animal Dental Clinic, San Carlos, CA.

Abstract

Veterinary dentistry is constantly progressing. The purpose of this document is to provide guidelines for the practice of companion animal dentistry for the veterinary profession. Dental care is necessary to provide optimum health and optimize quality of life. Untreated diseases of the oral cavity are painful and can contribute to local and systemic diseases. This article includes guidelines for preventive oral health care, client communication, evaluation, dental cleaning, and treatment. In addition, materials and equipment necessary to perform a medically appropriate procedure are described.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23458373

Am J Health Promot. 2013 Mar 4. [Epub ahead of print]

Smoke-Free Workplace Ballot Campaigns: Case Studies From Missouri and Lessons for Policy and Media Advocacy.

Bach LE, Shelton SC, Moreland-Russell S, Israel K.

Source

Laura E. Bach, BA, is a Senior Research Assistant; Sarah C. Shelton, MPH, is Project Manager; Sarah Moreland-Russell, PhD, MPH, is Associate Director; and Kendre Israel, MSW, is Project Coordinator, Center for Public Health Systems Science, George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri.

Abstract

Abstract 

Purpose. To assess the key components of smoke-free campaigns that may have influenced voting outcomes in three communities. Design. Community case studies with content analysis of tobacco-related newspaper articles. Setting. Three semiurban Missouri communities. 

Subjects. One hundred eighty-one articles referencing tobacco published during the campaigns and five key informant interviews. 

Measures. Articles were coded for type, community referenced, tobacco control position, source of quotations, use of evidence, and frame. Semistructured interviews with key informants collected additional information. Analysis. Descriptive statistics were utilized to examine media coverage in each community. Key themes and events for each campaign were identified from qualitative interviews. 

Results. The only community that failed to pass its initiative had the highest proportion of letters to the editor (81.1%), anti-tobacco control articles (34.2%), use of a rights frame (28.8%), no evidence used (36.9%), no neighboring communities with policies, strong Tea Party presence, and no support from the chamber of commerce. Across all communities, more articles incorporating health frames were pro-tobacco control (70.7%) and more articles with a rights frame were anti-tobacco control (62.0%), compared to other positions. 

Conclusion. Several factors can influence the policy process. Tobacco control policy advocates facing strong opposition should consider the many factors (demographics, proximity to other adopting localities, politics) driving the debate and use media as an avenue to influence the discussion, connect with the public and policymakers, and mobilize proponents.