A critical review by the ministry of health of England and Wales of the report of a thousand maternal deaths

Three hundred years ago, in 1660, from information supplied by Sir James Y. Simpson and E. V. Sieveking, the maternal mortality rate in London was about 1 in 40 births and one hundred years later only about half the figure. A century ago a distinct improvement had occurred, for only about 1 in 200 women died in childbirth in England and Wales, a rate in modem terminology of 5 per 1,000. We are about to consider a survey of the causes of over 1,000 maternal deaths when the rate over a period of 3 years was slightly over one-tenth of that figure

The fall in marital fertility in nineteenth century France

Im Gesamtablauf des Bevölkerungsübergangs tritt Frankreich als ein Spezialfall mit einer beträchtlich geringeren Wachstumsrate als seine europäischen Nachbarn deutlich hervor. Der Beitrag untersucht das Schema des Rückgangs ehelicher Fruchtbarkeit in Frankreich auf nationaler Ebene. Außerdem werden die Gründe für die Veränderung von der Kontrolle der Fruchtbarkeit durch Heirat bis zu ihrer Einschränkung innerhalb der Ehe erklärt. (KWübers.)'In the over-all sequence of the population transition, France stands out as a special case with a considerably lower rate than its European neighbors. This paper explores the pattern of the fall in French marital fertility on the national level. Moreover, it also seeks to explain the causes of the change from controlling fertility by marriage to curbing it within marriage.' (author's abstract

Identifying key developments, issues and questions relating to techniques of genome editing with engineered nucleases.

This paper discusses scientific, ethical and governance aspects of genome editing with engineered nucleases. First, the scientific state of the art for three major genome editing techniques and their current applications in humans, animals and plants are discussed. Ethical concepts and issues arising from these technologies are then identified. The next section raises considerations pertaining to governance of genome editing. Finally, questions for the Council to consider are raised

Genome editing poses ethical problems that we cannot ignore

The ability to precisely and accurately change almost any part of any genome, even in complex species such as humans, may soon become a reality through genome editing. But with great power comes great responsibility – and few subjects elicit such heated debates about moral rights and wrongs. Although genetic engineering techniques have been around for some time, genome editing can achieve this with lower error rates, more simply and cheaply than ever – although the technology is certainly not yet perfect. Genome editing offers a greater degree of control and precision in how specific DNA sequences are changed. It could be used in basic science, for human health, or improvements to crops. There are a variety of techniques but clustered regularly inter-spaced short palindromic repeats, or CRISPR, is perhaps the foremost. CRISPR has prompted recent calls for a genome editing moratorium from a group of concerned US academics. Because it is the easiest technique to set up and so could be quickly and widely adopted, the fear is that it may be put into use far too soon – outstripping our understanding of its safety implications and preventing any opportunity to think about how such powerful tools should be controlled. Ethical concerns over genetic modification are not new, particularly when it comes to humans. While we don’t think genome editing gives rise to any completely new ethical concerns, there is more to gene editing than just genetic modification..

Identifying key developments, issues and questions relating to techniques of genome editing with engineered nucleases.

This paper discusses scientific, ethical and governance aspects of genome editing with engineered nucleases. First, the scientific state of the art for three major genome editing techniques and their current applications in humans, animals and plants are discussed. Ethical concepts and issues arising from these technologies are then identified. The next section raises considerations pertaining to governance of genome editing. Finally, questions for the Council to consider are raised

Utilizing a Product Rejuvenation Framework to Investigate University Aviation Association Members\u27 Perceptions of the Cessna 172 as a Single Engine Trainer

The purpose of this research was to utilize a product rejuvenation framework to investigate if sufficient market demand exists for Cessna in relaunching the 172 in the collegiate trainer market. The Collegiate Aviation Guide, a publication of the University Aviation Association listing UAA members and their respective aviation offerings, was used to establish the initial population for the research. The UAA members located within the 50 United States which 1) had a flight training program, and 2) owned and operated their own fleet of aircraft, represented the survey population. A total of 64 schools met the established criteria, with 55 of the 64 schools participating in the survey. A profile of the responding schools was established including the average age, size, and composition of the primary trainer fleet, as well as the average student enrollment. Respondent perceptions of the 172 were investigated and analyzed within a product rejuvenation framework. The perceived importance of price was measured, but an investigation into the issue of price was beyond the scope of this research and identified as an area requiring future research

Being Human: The Ethics, Law, and Scientific Progress of Genome Editing

Genome editing can be viewed as a disruptive technology – fundamentally changing how scientists alter genomes. Despite the technique remaining imperfect, there is now a real possibility that we can precisely and accurately change almost any part of any genome, including plants, animals, and human beings. The question is, should we

Coplanar back contacts for thin silicon solar cells

The type of coplanar back contact solar cell described was constructed with interdigitated n(+) and p(+) type regions on the back of the cell, such that both contacts are made on the back with no metallization grid on the front. This cell construction has several potential advantages over conventional cells for space use namely, convenience of interconnects, lower operating temperatures and higher efficiency due to the elimination of grid shadowing. However, the processing is more complex, and the cell is inherently more radiation sensitive. The latter problem can be reduced substantially by making the cells very thin (approximately 50 micrometers). Two types of interdigitated back contact cells are possible, the types being dependent on the character of the front surface. The front surface field cell has a front surface region that is of the same conductivity type as the bulk but is more heavily doped. This creates an electric field at the surface which repels the minority carriers. The tandem junction cell has a front surface region of a conductivity type that is opposite to that of the bulk. The junction thus created floats to open circuit voltage on illumination and injects carriers into the bulk which then can be collected at the rear junction. For space use, the front surface field cell is potentially more radiation resistant than the tandem junction cell because the flow of minority carriers (electrons) into the bulk will be less sensitive to the production of recombination centers, particularly in the space charge region at the front surface

A randomised trial evaluating Bevacizumab as adjuvant therapy following resection of AJCC stage IIB, IIC and III cutaneous melanoma : an update

At present, there are no standard therapies for the adjuvant treatment of malignant melanoma. Patients with primary tumours with a high-Breslow thickness (stages IIB and IIC) or with resected loco-regional nodal disease (stage III) are at high risk of developing metastasis and subsequent disease-related death. Given this, it is important that novel therapies are investigated in the adjuvant melanoma setting. Since angiogenesis is essential for primary tumour growth and the development of metastasis, anti-angiogenic agents are attractive potential therapeutic candidates for clinical trials in the adjuvant setting. Therefore, we initiated a phase II trial in resected high-risk cutaneous melanoma, assessing the efficacy of bevacizumab versus observation. In the interim safety data analysis, we demonstrate that bevacizumab is a safe therapy in the adjuvant melanoma setting with no apparent increase in the surgical complication rate after either primary tumour resection and/or loco-regional lymphadenectomy