The Evolving Civil Justice Reform Movement: Procedural Reforms Have Gained Steam, but Critics Still Focus on Arguments of the Past

Symposium issue: Tort Refor

The Characteristics of Northern Black Churches with Community Health Outreach Programs

OBJECTIVES. The Black church has a long history of addressing unmet health and human service needs, yet few studies have examined characteristics of churches involved in health promotion. METHODS. Data obtained from a survey of 635 Black churches in the northern United States were examined. Univariate and multivariate statistical procedures identified eight characteristics associated with community health outreach programs: congregation size, denomination, church age, economic class of membership, ownership of church, number of paid clergy, presence of other paid staff, and education level of the minister. RESULTS. A logistic regression model identified church size and educational level of the minister as the strongest predictors of church-sponsored community health outreach. The model correctly classified 88% of churches that conduct outreach programs. Overall, the model correctly classified 76% of churches in the sample. CONCLUSIONS. Results may be used by public health professionals and policy makers to enlist Black churches as an integral component for delivery of health promotion and disease prevention services needed to achieve the Year 2000 health objectives for all Americans

Getting the Sand out of the Eyes of the Law: The Need for a Clear Rule for Sand Suppliers in Texas after Humble Sand & (and) Gravel, Inc. v. Gomez.

Health risks associated with the inhalation of silica dust have been known for a very long time. In the United States, the American Foundrymen’s Society has distributed literature addressing silica exposure hazards to its members for over 100 years. For years, litigation against industrial sand manufacturers concerning silica exposure was stable, though recently there has been a marked increase in the number lawsuits. While the number of suits continues to climb, the government reports silica-related deaths have declined dramatically. It appears plaintiffs’ attorneys are manufacturing silica claims using the same lawsuit-generating devices developed during the asbestos context. Tort law recognizes several potential defenses which may obviate or discharge a sand supplier’s duty to warn about the well-known risks of silica exposure. Each defense has slightly different features and there is considerable overlap between them: sophisticated users, bulk supplier, substantial change in condition. But all are consistent with one of the cornerstone principles of products liability laws, placing the incentive for loss prevention on the party or parties who are best able to accomplish the goal. Permitting lawsuits to proceed against silica suppliers will ratchet up the costs of litigation on suppliers and might force some companies into bankruptcy. There is no justifiable reason to impose such unnecessary costs on the industry. Employers have known of the risks for decades and are in a superior position to warn their employees. Courts should follow classic tort law principles and hold that sand suppliers do not have a duty to warn their customers’ employees about the risks of silica. Harm resulting from employer carelessness should be borne by those employers and compensated through the workers’ compensation system

Synthesis, characterization and biological studies of S- benzyl-b-N-(benzoyl)dithiocarbazate and its metal complexes

S-Benzyl-b-N-(benzoyl) dithiocarbazate (SBNBODTC) a new disubstituted dithio-carbazate oxygen–sulfur (OS) donor ligand derived from reaction of S-benzyl dithiocarbazate with benzoyl chloride, formed bischelated complexes of general formula [M(OS)2] where M is Cu2+, Ni2+, Cd2+, Co2+ or Pb2+ and OS is a uninegative bidentate ligand. The ligand and its metal complexes have been characterized by a variety of physico-chemical techniques. S-benzyl-b-N-(benzoyl) dithiocarbazate crystallized with Z0 = 2 in its thione form in cis–cis conformation, with the N–N bond adopting a cis geometry with respect to C@S, while the S-benzyl group adopts a cis geometry with respect to the thione sulfur atom across the C–S bond.SBNBODTC, Cu(OS)2, Ni(OS)2 and Pb(OS)2 display marked cytotoxicity against HL-60 (human myeloid leukemia)while Cd(OS)2 and Co(OS)2 are moderately cytotoxic. The compounds showed moderate but selective activity towards targeted pathogens

Getting the Sand out of the Eyes of the Law: The Need for a Clear Rule for Sand Suppliers in Texas after Humble Sand & (and) Gravel, Inc. v. Gomez.

Health risks associated with the inhalation of silica dust have been known for a very long time. In the United States, the American Foundrymen’s Society has distributed literature addressing silica exposure hazards to its members for over 100 years. For years, litigation against industrial sand manufacturers concerning silica exposure was stable, though recently there has been a marked increase in the number lawsuits. While the number of suits continues to climb, the government reports silica-related deaths have declined dramatically. It appears plaintiffs’ attorneys are manufacturing silica claims using the same lawsuit-generating devices developed during the asbestos context. Tort law recognizes several potential defenses which may obviate or discharge a sand supplier’s duty to warn about the well-known risks of silica exposure. Each defense has slightly different features and there is considerable overlap between them: sophisticated users, bulk supplier, substantial change in condition. But all are consistent with one of the cornerstone principles of products liability laws, placing the incentive for loss prevention on the party or parties who are best able to accomplish the goal. Permitting lawsuits to proceed against silica suppliers will ratchet up the costs of litigation on suppliers and might force some companies into bankruptcy. There is no justifiable reason to impose such unnecessary costs on the industry. Employers have known of the risks for decades and are in a superior position to warn their employees. Courts should follow classic tort law principles and hold that sand suppliers do not have a duty to warn their customers’ employees about the risks of silica. Harm resulting from employer carelessness should be borne by those employers and compensated through the workers’ compensation system

Synthesis, characterization and bioactivity of mixed-ligand Cu(II) complexes containing Schiff bases derived from S-benzyldithiocarbazate and saccharinate ligand and the X-ray crystal structure of the copper-saccharinate complex containing S-benzyl-β-N-(acetylpyrid-2-yl)methylenedithiocarbazate

Mixed-ligand complexes of general formula, [Cu(NNS)(sac)] (NNS′ = S-benzyl-β-N-(2-acetylpyrid-2-yl)methylenedithiocarbazate, NNS″ = S-benzyl-β-N-(2-benzoylpyrid-2-yl)methylenedithiocarbazate and NNS = S-benzyl-β-N-(6-methylpyrid-2-yl)methylenedithio-carbazate, sac = the saccharinate anion) have been synthesized by reacting [Cu(sac)2(H2O)4] · 2H2O with the appropriate ligands in ethanol and characterized by various physico-chemical techniques. Magnetic and spectral evidence indicate that the complexes are four-coordinate in which the Schiff bases coordinate as NNS ligands and the sac- anion coordinates as a unidentate N-donor ligand. An X-ray crystallographic structural analysis of [Cu(NNS′)(sac)] shows that the complex has a distorted square-planar geometry with the Schiff base coordinated to the copper (II) ion as a uninegatively charged tridentate chelating agent via the pyridine nitrogen atom, the azomethine nitrogen atom and the thiolate sulphur atom while the fourth coordination position is occupied by the N-bonded saccharinate anion. The complexes have been evaluated for their biological activities against selected pathogens and cancer cell lines. They display weak activity against the pathogenic bacteria and fungi. The complexes were highly active against the leukemic cell line (HL-60) but only [Cu(NNS′)(sac)] was found to exhibit strong cytotoxicity against the ovarian cancer cell line (Caov-3). All complexes were inactive against the breast cancer cell line (MCF-7)

Synthesis and characterization of cobalt(II), nickel(II), copper(II), zinc(II) and cadmium(II) complexes of benzyl N-[1-(thiophen-2-yl)ethylidene] hydrazine carbodithioate and benzyl N-[1-(thiophen-3-yl)ethylidene] hydrazine carbodithioate and the X-ray crystal structure of bis{benzyl N-[1-(thiophen-2-yl)ethylidene] hydrazine carbodithioate}nickel(II)

Two bidentate Schiff bases have been synthesized by reaction of S-benzyldithiocarbazate with 2-acetylthiophene and 3-acetylthiophene to give benzyl N-[1-(thiophen-2-yl)ethylidene] hydrazine carbodithioate (SB2ATP) and benzyl N-[1-(thiophen-3-yl)ethylidene]hydrazine carbodithioate (SB3ATP). The SB2ATP and SB3ATP were then reacted with five metal ions, cobalt(II), nickel(II), copper(II),zinc(II) and cadmium (II) to form 10 metal complexes, all of general formula ML2. The compounds synthesized were assayed for their bioactivities against selected pathogens and cancer cells. X-ray crystal structure analysis of Ni(SB2ATP)2 showed it to be a distorted square planar complex. All the compounds are non-electrolytes in DMSO. Cu(SB2ATP)2 showed strong activity towards Candida lypolytica.SB2ATP, SB3ATP, Co(SB2ATP)2, Cd(SB2ATP)2 and Cu(SB3ATP)2 showed weak activity against several microbes and fungi while the others showed no activity toward these targets. SB2ATP and Cd(SB3ATP)2 showed significant bioactivity towards human myeloid leukemia (HL-60) while Co(SB3ATP)2 showed slight cytotoxic activity towards this cell line. SB2ATP, SB3ATP, Co(SB2ATP)2,Cu(SB2ATP)2, Cu(SB3ATP)2, Zn(SB2ATP)2 and Cd(SB2ATP)2 showed significant chemotherapeutic activity against human breast carcinoma with positive estrogen receptor (MCF-7) while the remainder of the compounds showed significant bioactivity. The Schiff bases displayed higher cytotoxic activity compared to their metal complexes except for Cu(SB3ATP)2. None of the compounds showed any cytotoxic activity towards human cervical cancer (HeLa) or towards human breast carcinoma with negative estrogen receptors(MDA-MB-231)

Bis{(Z)-[(E)-2-(pyridin-2-ylmethylidene)hydrazin-1-ylidene][(pyridin-2-yl) methylsulfanyl]methanethiolato}nickel(II)

The title compound, [Ni(C13H11N4S 2)2], was obtained by the reaction of S-2- picolyldithiocarbazate and pyridine-2-carbaldehyde with nickel(II) acetate. The NiII atom is located on a twofold rotation axis and is bonded to four N atoms at distances of 2.037 (8) and 2.109 (9) Å, and to two S atoms at a distance of 2.406 (3) Å, leading to a distorted octahedral coordination. The angle between the mean planes of the coordinating moieties of the two symmetry-related tridentate ligands is 83.3 (2)°. In the crystal, complex molecules are linked by weak C - H⋯S hydrogen bonds, π-π interactions between the pyridine rings [centroid-centroid distance = 3.775 (9) Å] and C - H⋯π interactions. The hydrogen-bonding interactions lead to the formation of layers parallel to (010); π-π interactions link these layers into a three-dimensional network

Common carotid intima media thickness and ankle-brachial pressure index correlate with local but not global atheroma burden:a cross sectional study using whole body magnetic resonance angiography

Common carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) and ankle brachial pressure index (ABPI) are used as surrogate marker of atherosclerosis, and have been shown to correlate with arterial stiffness, however their correlation with global atherosclerotic burden has not been previously assessed. We compare CIMT and ABPI with atheroma burden as measured by whole body magnetic resonance angiography (WB-MRA).50 patients with symptomatic peripheral arterial disease were recruited. CIMT was measured using ultrasound while rest and exercise ABPI were performed. WB-MRA was performed in a 1.5T MRI scanner using 4 volume acquisitions with a divided dose of intravenous gadolinium gadoterate meglumine (Dotarem, Guerbet, FR). The WB-MRA data was divided into 31 anatomical arterial segments with each scored according to degree of luminal narrowing: 0 = normal, 1 = <50%, 2 = 50-70%, 3 = 70-99%, 4 = vessel occlusion. The segment scores were summed and from this a standardized atheroma score was calculated.The atherosclerotic burden was high with a standardised atheroma score of 39.5±11. Common CIMT showed a positive correlation with the whole body atheroma score (β 0.32, p = 0.045), however this was due to its strong correlation with the neck and thoracic segments (β 0.42 p = 0.01) with no correlation with the rest of the body. ABPI correlated with the whole body atheroma score (β -0.39, p = 0.012), which was due to a strong correlation with the ilio-femoral vessels with no correlation with the thoracic or neck vessels. On multiple linear regression, no correlation between CIMT and global atheroma burden was present (β 0.13 p = 0.45), while the correlation between ABPI and atheroma burden persisted (β -0.45 p = 0.005).ABPI but not CIMT correlates with global atheroma burden as measured by whole body contrast enhanced magnetic resonance angiography in a population with symptomatic peripheral arterial disease. However this is primarily due to a strong correlation with ilio-femoral atheroma burden