Perspectives on Erving Goffman’s “Asylums” fifty years on

Erving Goffman’s “Asylums” is a key text in the development of contemporary, community-orientated mental health practice. It has survived as a trenchant critique of the asylum as total institution, and its publication in 1961 in book form marked a further stage in the discrediting of the asylum model of mental health care. In this paper, some responses from a range of disciplines to this text, 50 years on, are presented. A consultant psychiatrist with a special interest in cultural psychiatry and mental health legislation, two collaborating psychotherapists in adult and forensic mental health, a philosopher, and a recent medical graduate, present their varying responses to the text. The editors present these with the hope of encouraging further dialogue and debate from service users, carers, clinicians, and academics and researchers across a range of disciplines.     

Can Crude Oil Toxicity on Phytoplankton Be Predicted Based on Toxicity Data on Benzo(a)Pyrene and Naphthalene?

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are major components of crude oil, are responsible in large part for the toxicity of crude oil to phytoplankton. This study addressed the following question. Can reliable predictions of the aquatic toxicity of crude oil, a multi-component mixture, be described from toxicity data on individual PAH compounds? Naphthalene, the most abundant PAH compound, and benzo(a)pyrene, a highly toxic PAH compound, were selected as model compounds to quantify toxicity of crude oil on two phytoplankton species, Ditylum brightwellii and Heterocapsa triquetra, by analyzing the effects of different concentrations of these PAHs on growth rate. EC₅₀ values suggested that the diatom D. brightwellii was more vulnerable to both toxicants than the dinoflagellate H. triquetra. However, a previous study, which investigated the impact of crude oil on the same two species, had opposite results. The differences in response from these phytoplankton species to naphthalene and benzo(a)pyrene toxicity compared to their response to crude oil suggest that they may not be solely used as surrogates to assess crude oil toxicity on phytoplankton.     

Study on the Community Intervention Model among the Drivers on Long Distance Buses

Objective To investigate the community intervention model among the drivers on long distance buses and to present the reference to related research. Methods The intervention and education methods inculde community intervention net, multi - departments participating in the health education, and companion education. Results The organized community intervention net, the three - stpe health education net and the companion leader education net have been set up. The intervention effects based on the HOC （Health education, Organization network intervention, Companion education） model are obviors. Condusion The HOC model can improve greatly the knowledge about STD/AIDS in the intervened population,and make the attitudes and hehavious change better. Meanwhile, it can holdup the epidemics of STD/AIDS in these particular drivers.     

What's on Malaysian television? - A survey on food advertising targeting children

The Malaysian government recently introduced a ban on fast food advertisements targeting children on television. This study reports on data covering 6 months of television food advertising targeting children. Six out of seven of the Nation's commercial television networks participated (response rate = 85.7%). Based on reported timings of children's programmes, prime time significantly differed ( p <0.05) between weekdays (mean = 1.89 +/- 0.18 hr) and weekends (mean = 4.61 +/- 0.33 hr). The increased trend during weekends, school vacation and Ramadhan was evident. Over the six-month period, the mean number of food advertisements appearing per month varied greatly between television stations (C = 1104; D = 643; F = 407; B = 327; A = 59; E = 47). Food advertising also increased the most in September (n = 3158), followed by July (n = 2770), August (n = 2431), October (n = 2291), November (n = 2245) and June (n = 2211). Content analysis of advertisements indicated snacks were the highest (34.5%), followed by dairy products (20.3%), sugars and candies (13.4%), biscuits (11.2%), fast food (6.7%), breakfast cereal (6.4%), beverages (4.1%), supplements (0.9%), rice (0.6%), noodles (0.5%), bread (0.3%), miscellaneous and processed foods (0.2%). Paradoxically, we found that the frequency of snack food advertised during children's prime time was 5 times more than fast foods. The sodium content (mean = 620 mg per 100g) of these snack foods was found to be highest.     

Clinical Application on Baihui Point

Baihui, one of Yu points of Du Channel, was the common point in clinic. Du Channel took important place in the Fourteen Lection. Its physiological function was controlling all systemic yang, combined with the sea of yang channel. It determined that Yu points affiliated to the channels had comprehensive therapeutic effects and good clinical value.