Ethics and Society: Filiation in assisted reproduction: potential conflicts and legal implications

Filiation, or a person's parentage, is one of the major componentsof someone's identity, often with important implications forthat person's welfare in social and personal terms. Fertilityspecialists are enjoined to consider the welfare of the child,and this is a legal requirement in assisted reproduction techniquesin the UK. This paper is in three parts, discussing some ofthe potential problems regarding filiation of the prospectivechild born of assisted reproduction techniques, in relationto the use of gametes and embryos. The first two parts concentrateon the status of children born as a result of treatment givenposthumously, and on filiation problems associated with donationof gametes or embryos, and surrogacy. The third part comparesBritish and French legislation with special regard to the welfareof the child, as well as underlining the common trends and principlesenunciated in both legislations. This is particularly appropriateat a time when the European Society for Human Reproduction andEmbryology is about to issue ethical guidelines in assistedreproduction, and when both the Council of Europe and the EuropeanCommission have commissioned studies on the implications ofthe assisted techniques, including those concerning status ofthe potential children.     

Health-seeking behavior and the meaning of medications in Balochistan, Pakistan

A wide variety of health care options--home-based, indigenous, and cosmopolitan--exists in northern Balochistan, Pakistan. This paper examines health-seeking behavior in the area of mother and child health for villagers in this pluralistic medical setting. The analysis of a specific series of illness episodes shows that the majority of cases obtain treatment from different medical systems for a single episode. Interest in medications takes precedence over practitioners, and the meaning the villagers attach to such substances is explored. Long-established patterns of behavior relating to indigenous medicine continue to occur when cosmopolitan medicine is utilized. Information presented here helps to explain problems in utilization of cosmopolitan pharmaceuticals and delineates areas for future health programme activity.     

针刺配合中药治疗24例小儿高热惊厥临床观察

针药并用，针刺人中、百合、涌泉、合谷，中药内服疏风情热，表里双解，止痉退烧，双管齐下治疗２４例小儿高热惊厥，经治疗均获痊愈。     

Ossifying fibroma of nose in a two year old child

We report a cast of ossifying fibroma of the nose, arising from the bony septum and extending into the nasophaynx in a 2 yrs. old child presenting with features of obstructed nose.     

局部PUVA治疗儿童白癜风疗效及安全性观察

目的:观察局部光化学疗法(Psoralen plus UVA,PUVA)治疗儿童白癜风的临床疗效及安全性.方法:采用小型UVA灯(电压220V,电流0.34A,功率25.4w,主波峰长36 5nm,辐照度为1 070uw/cm2)治疗56例白癜风患儿,30次为一个疗程,共观察3个疗程.结果:第一疗程、第二疗程及第三疗程结束后临床显效率分别达39.29%、48.21%和5 5.36%,未发现明显不良反应,其中病程短、局限性及面颈部白癜风患儿疗效佳.结论:局部PUVA治疗儿童白癜风安全、有效、不良反应小,小型UVA灯具有疗效好、治疗方便的优点.     

The Rise of a New Psychoactive Agent: Salvia divinorum

Since the 1990s, there has been a rise in the availability and recreational use of a herbal plant called Salvia divinorum. Numerous internet websites have advertised it for sale as a legal herbal alternative to illegal hallucinogens. Initial data surveying use has indicated many young adults are obtaining and using this herb for its psychoactive properties. Reported methods of ingestion for the plant include chewing, and smoking leaves or fortified extracts. Subjective effects of the plant include, affect changes, psychedelic-like changes in perception, and even loss of consciousness. Although the pharmacological properties and possible antidepressant effects have been studied in recent years, little information is known about potential negative impact resulting from recreational use, and scant information about Salvia divinorum currently exists in the psychological and substance abuse literature. While Salvia divinorum appears to be a substance with some therapeutic potential, it also poses some significant dangers as a substance of varying legal status with a potential for abuse.     

极低体重儿药物性急性肾功能衰竭12例报告

[背景 ]探讨极低体重儿药物性急性肾功能衰竭的发生原因及预后 .[病例报告 ]对 12例极低体重儿使用甲灭酸后发生的急性肾功能衰竭进行了分析 ,发现每次使用该药 2mg/kg ,使用 1 9次±0 6次 ,3 7h± 3 0h后发生肾功能衰竭 .肾功能衰竭时 ,患儿钾、尿素氮、尿量与肾功能衰竭纠正后相比差异有显著性 ,而钠、钙及肌酐则无显著性差异 .纠正肾功能衰竭的时间为 6日± 3日 ,其中 10例的肾功能恢复正常 ,2例死亡 .[讨论 ]极低体重儿使用前列腺素抑制剂可引起暂时性肾功能衰竭     

Selection and the effect of prenatal smoking

There is a debate about the extent to which the effect of prenatal smoking on infant health outcomes is causal. Poor outcomes could be attributable to mother characteristics, which are correlated with smoking. I examine the importance of selection on the effect of prenatal smoking by using three British cohorts where the mothers' knowledge about the harms of prenatal smoking varied substantially. I find that the effect of smoking on the probability of a low birth weight birth conditional on gestation is slightly more than twice as large in 2000 compared with 1958, implying that selection could explain as much as 50% of the current association between smoking and birth outcomes. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

儿童跟骨动脉瘤样骨囊肿:病例报告及文献分析

[目的]跟骨动脉瘤样骨囊肿是一种少见病，本文报告了1例儿童跟骨动脉瘤样骨囊肿患者。[方法]本文结合文献回顾性分析了跟骨动脉瘤样骨囊肿患儿的临床、影像学及组织病理学表现。[结果]肿物累及右侧跟骨，经肿物刮除术和植骨术后恢复良好。组织病理学检查确诊为右侧跟骨动脉瘤样骨囊肿。随访2年无复发。[结论]跟骨动脉瘤样骨囊肿是一种少见病，对于单纯的动脉瘤样骨囊肿，肿物刮除术和植骨术是有效的治疗方法。     

Lymphocyte subclasses and function in patients with optic neuritis in childhood with special reference to multiple sclerosis

Ten patients with childhood optic neuritis (5 with a single attack of ON and 5 with later MS) were studied at various stages of the disease. Lymphocyte count and function were analysed in the peripheral blood of all patients, 3 repeatedly, and in one they were also analysed in the CSF. T-lymphocytes counts were normal in all but 2 MS cases who had high counts. In acute stages the T4/T8 ratio were high in 1/3 determinations, in recovery low in 2/2 determinations, and in stable stages normal in 6/8 determinations. Lymphocyte function, measured by PHA, ConA and PWM stimulation, was normal in all but one. One patient showed significantly higher T-cell percentages and a high number of stimulated lymphocytes in CSF but a lower count of suppressor cells than in the blood. We found no abnormalities specific to MS nor to childhood MS or to disease activity stage. Rather than peripheral blood, it would seem more worthwhile to study CSF to clarify the pathogenesis of ON and MS.