Qualified privilege in defamation and the evolution of the doctrine of reportage

This article looks at the evolution of the doctrine of reportage, which has emerged as a sub-species of Reynolds v Times Newspapers Ltd [2001] 2 AC 127 qualified privilege as a defence to defamation in English law. It argues that the relationship between these two types of qualified privilege is an uneasy one because although they have some features in common, the emphasis in reportage on the neutral reporting of disputes is quite distinct from Reynolds. The Defamation Act 2013 (UK) does codify the defence to some extent but ignores this complex relationship. There is, however, scope for a limited form of the reportage in situations where the Reynolds defence would not be available

The Emerging Defence of Reportage

This article tracks recent developments in the law of defamation, exploring United Kingdom cases where journalists have advanced a defence of reportage. This reportage defence is intended to protect the journalist from a defamation action where there has only been neutral reporting of defamatory allegations which are neither adopted nor embellished. The progress of this nascent defence in several United Kingdom cases is traced, including the most extensive development made in the case of Roberts v Gable. This article then proceeds to elucidate the parameters of the new defence, focussing particularly on the tone of the reporting, how the report has to be of the fact that the statement was made, and the particular context in which the defence has so far succeeded. The justifying rationales for the defence are then explored and critiqued. The potential application of such a defence to a New Zealand context is then considered, revealing how such a development is not plausible in the near future

AL-DĪBĀJ AL-KHUSRUWĀNI FĪ AKIHBAR A “ YĀN AL-MIKLHLĀ- AL-SULAYMĀMĪ

This dissertation consists of a detailed study and critical edition of the invaluable historical work, al-Dībāj al-khusruwāni fī akhbār a'vān al-Mikhlāf al-Sulaymānī The first part of this study comprises an English introduction, in seven chapters, which attempts to paint a full picture of both the work and the historical period concerned. The author and his work are dealt with in the first chapter. This includes the first full biography of the author, a description of his other works, a review of the manuscripts used in the edition and an explanation of the editorial method. In chapter two the rule of the Āl Khayrāt family in al-Mikhlāf al-Sulaymāni and the arrival of Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhāb's movement in the area are discussed in order to provide full historical background. Chapter three is concentrated on a summary of the Dībāj, made to assist the English reader in his understanding of the subject as a whole. Chapter four is given over to a discussion on 'Ākish's style and language. It also contains a glossary of some unusual words. Comments and notes on the text, plus Qur'ānic and Hadīth references and an analysis of the poetic metres used by the author, make up chapter five. Chapter six comprises an index of the geographical places and tribal names mentioned in the text, while Chapter seven deals with biographies.The study closes with a bibliography, two maps and a family-tree of the Al Khayrāt dynasty. The edited Arabic text comprises the second part of this study and is followed by a chapter on the Hadīth quoted and by three appendices, containing the author's references and biographical indexes to the author's Hadā'iq al-Zahr and 'Uqūd al-durar manuscripts

The Epidemiology and Outcome of Biliary Atresia: Saudi Arabian National Study (2000–2018)

BackgroundThe epidemiology and outcomes of biliary atresia (BA) have been well-documented in national cohorts from two main ethnicities, namely, the Asian Orientals and Caucasians, with incidence ranging from 1 in 5,000 to 1 in 9,000 live births in East Asia and 1 in 15,000 to 19,000 live births in Europe and North America.ObjectiveWe report the first nationwide BA study outside North America, Europe, and East Asia to describe the epidemiology and outcomes of BA in Saudi Arabia.MethodsA national database of BA cases diagnosed between 2000 and 2018 was analyzed. We assessed clearance of jaundice (bilirubin <20 μmol/L) in all cases that underwent Kasai portoenterostomy (KPE). We then estimated survival using the Kaplan–Meier method with endpoints of liver transplantation (LT), death, or survival with native liver (SNL).ResultsBA was diagnosed in 204 infants (106 females; 10% pre-term). The incidence of BA was 1 in 44,365, or 2.254 in 100,000 live births (range, 0.5–4 in 100,000). Polysplenia was diagnosed in 22 cases (11%). The median age at referral was 65 days. A total of 146 children (71.5%) underwent KPE at a median age of 70 days. Clearance of jaundice was achieved in 66 of the 146 (45%) infants. The 10-year SNL after KPE was 25.5%, and the overall 10-year estimated survival was 72.5%. The Kaplan–Meier survival curves for patients undergoing KPE at the age of <60, 61–90, and >90 days showed a SNL rate at 51.6, 33, and 12.5%, respectively, at 5 years (P < 0.001). The 2-, 5-, and 10-year post-LT survival rates were 92.5, 90.6, and 90%, respectively. Undergoing an initial KPE did not impact negatively on the overall LT survival rate when compared to BA cases that underwent primary LT (P = 0.88).ConclusionThe incidence rate of BA in Saudi Arabia is lower than the incidence reported elsewhere. Late referral of BA cases remains a problem in Saudi Arabia; as a result, the SNL rate was lower than reported by other national registries. Hence, national policies devoted to timely referral and earlier age at KPE are needed

The southern area of the amirate of Mecca (3-7/9-13 centuries), its history, archaeology and epigraphy.

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:D51703/84 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Pulmonary Delivery of Proteins Using Nanocomposite Microcarriers.

In this study, Taguchi design was used to determine optimal parameters for the preparation of bovine serum albumin (BSA)-loaded nanoparticles (NPs) using a biodegradable polymer poly(glycerol adipate-co-ω-pentadecalactone) (PGA-co-PDL). NPs were prepared, using BSA as a model protein, by the double emulsion evaporation process followed by spray-drying from leucine to form nanocomposite microparticles (NCMPs). The effect of various parameters on NP size and BSA loading were investigated and dendritic cell (DC) uptake and toxicity. NCMPs were examined for their morphology, yield, aerosolisation, in vitro release behaviour and BSA structure. NP size was mainly affected by the polymer mass used and a small particle size ≤500 nm was achieved. High BSA (43.67 ± 2.3 μg/mg) loading was influenced by BSA concentration. The spray-drying process produced NCMPs (50% yield) with a porous corrugated surface, aerodynamic diameter 1.46 ± 141 μm, fine particle dose 45.0 ± 4.7 μg and fine particle fraction 78.57 ± 0.1%, and a cumulative BSA release of 38.77 ± 3.0% after 48 h. The primary and secondary structures were maintained as shown by sodium dodecyl sulphate poly (acrylamide) gel electrophoresis and circular dichroism. Effective uptake of NPs was seen in DCs with >85% cell viability at 5 mg/mL concentration after 4 h. These results indicate the optimal process parameters for the preparation of protein-loaded PGA-co-PDL NCMPs suitable for inhalation. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci

Καρδιακή ανεπάρκεια και άσκηση: Επίδραση του Covid-19 στους ασθενείς με καρδιακή ανεπάρκεια

Η καρδιακή ανεπάρκεια αποτελεί ένα αυξανόμενο πρόβλημα δημόσιας υγείας καθώς τα δεδομένα δείχνουν ότι περίπου 5 εκατομμύρια ασθενείς πάσχουν από τη νόσο. Οι ασθενείς αυτοί λαμβάνουν φαρμακευτική θεραπεία και όσοι βρίσκονται σε προχωρημένο στάδιο καρδιακής ανεπάρκειας λαμβάνουν εμφυτεύσιμες καρδιακές συσκευές υποβοήθησης. Επιπλέον όμως έχει φανεί ότι σε αυτούς τους ασθενείς η συστηματική άσκηση βελτιώνει την αντοχή ενώ μακροπρόθεσμα βελτιώνει και την ποιότητα ζωής και παράλληλα μειώνει τις νοσηλείες. Η Ευρωπαϊκή καρδιολογική Εταιρία συστήνει στους ασθενείς με καρδιακή ανεπάρκεια άσκηση στο 40% με 70% της μέγιστης ικανότητας (μέγιστης επιτευχθείσας καρδιακής συχνότητας) για 20 με 45 λεπτά ,τρεις με πέντε φορές την εβδομάδα. Στα τέλη του Δεκεμβρίου του 2019 εμφανίστηκε στην Γιούχαν της Κίνας τα πρώτα κρούσματα ενός νέου κορονοϊού που πλήττει κυρίως το αναπνευστικό, ο ιός SARS-CoV-2 ο οποίος εξαπλώθηκε ταχύτατα σε όλη την υφήλιο και ασκώντας μεγάλη πίεση στα συστήματα υγείας πολλών χωρών. Προς αναχαίτηση αυτής της πίεσης οι κυβερνήσεις επέβαλαν περιοριστικά μέτρα, όπως ο κατ’οίκον αποκλεισμός και η έξοδος από το σπίτι μόνο για εξαιρετική ανάγκη. Σκοπός της παρούσας ανασκόπησης ήταν η μελέτη της επίδρασης των περιοριστικών μέτρων και ειδικότερα αυτών για κατ’οίκον περιορισμό που επιβλήθηκαν λόγω της πανδημίας του COVID-19, στους ασθενείς με καρδιακή ανεπάρκεια. Από τις 13 μελέτες που αναλυθήκαν φάνηκε η δυσμενής επίδραση των περιοριστικών μέτρων και του lockdown στην μείωση της σωματικής δραστηριότητας των ασθενών αυτών.Heart failure constitutes a growing public health problem as the data show that approximately 5 million patients suffer from this disease. These patients receive medical treatment and those who are in advanced stage of heart failure receive implantable cardiac assist devices. Additionally though it has been witnessed on these patients that regular exercise improves stamina while in the long run improves the quality of life as well and at the same time reduces hospitalization. European Society of Cardiology recommends to the patients with heart failure physical exercise at 40% to 70% of maximum capacity (maximum achieved heart rate) for 20 to 45 minutes, three to five times a week. In late December 2019 the first cases of a new coronavirus that mainly affects respiratory system appeared in Wuhan China, the virus SARS-CoV-2 which has spread rapidly all over the world and putting a lot of pressure on health systems of many countries. To curb this pressure governments have imposed restrictive measures, such as home foreclosure and exit from the house only for extreme need. The purpose of the current review was studying the effects of the restrictive measures and especially those of home foreclosure that imposed because of the COVID-19 pandemic on the patients with heart failure. For the 13 studies that were analyzed the adverse effect of the restrictive measures and the lockdown was seen in the reduction of these patients’ physical exercise

Behavioral decision-making of government, agricultural product producers, and consumers on agricultural product quality and safety regulation in a digital environment

The quality and safety of agricultural products are related to people’s lives and health, economic development, and social stability, and have always been a hot issue of concern to the government and society. The rapid development of digital traceability technology in the digital environment has brought new opportunities for the supervision of agricultural product quality and safety, but the frequent occurrence of agricultural product safety incidents in recent years has exposed many problems such as the lack of governmental supervision, unstandardized production process of enterprises, and weak consumer awareness. To improve the cooperation efficiency of stakeholders and ensure the quality and safety of agricultural products, this paper proposes a dynamic model based on evolutionary game theory. The model incorporates the government, agricultural product producers, and farmers, and evaluates the stability and effectiveness of the system under different circumstances. The results of the study show that there are multiple evolutionary stabilization strategies in the tripartite evolutionary game model of agricultural product quality and safety supervision, and there are corresponding evolutionary stabilization conditions. There are several factors affecting the stability of the system, the most important of which are government regulation, severe penalties for agricultural product producers, and incentives. When these factors reach a certain threshold, the stakeholder cooperation mechanism can establish an evolutionarily stable strategy. This study contributes to the understanding of the operational mechanism of stakeholder cooperation in agricultural product quality and safety regulation in the digital environment and provides decision support and policy recommendations for stakeholders to promote the sustainable development and optimization of agricultural product quality and safety regulation

The Defence of Responsible Communication

Defamatory statements of fact published in mass media give rise to a legal problem of particular difficulty. When a defamatory statement of fact is published by mass media, the breadth of the statement’s dissemination is likely to maximize the harm to the person defamed. Yet in recent decades there has been an increasing consciousness among legislators and the judiciary of the importance of freedom of expression in democratic societies. Defamation cases are free speech cases in microcosm. Judicial appreciation of the important values at stake on both sides of cases involving defamatory statements of fact in mass media has led to recognition that the publication of such statements, when they relate to subjects of legitimate public interest, should in some circumstances be legally protected. As a result, Canadian law as to the availability of a defence of privilege for mass media has been in a state of evolution for many years. This article surveys the history of that evolution, which has led to a restatement of libel law in terms of free expression the ory. A cornerstone of that restatement is the recent recognition by the Supreme Court, in Grant v. Torstar, of a new defence of responsible communication on matters of public interest