Just What the Doctor Ordered? How the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act May Cure Florida’s Patients’ Right to Know About Adverse Medical Incidents (Amendment 7)

This Note addresses the impact of Florida’s Patients’ Right to Know About Adverse Medical Incidents (commonly known as Amendment 7) on the peer review process and the quality of healthcare in Florida. Enacted in 2004 as an amendment to the Florida Constitution, Amendment 7 provides citizens access to records and reports of past adverse medical incidents involving doctors, hospitals, and healthcare providers. Critics of Amendment 7 argue that peer review privilege protections are necessary to maintain high-quality healthcare in Florida, pointing to the need to encourage candid and vigorous evaluations by physicians of their colleagues. In contrast, Amendment 7 supporters argue that it provides Florida patients with valuable information to aid in their choice of physicians

Just What the Doctor Ordered? How the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act May Cure Florida’s Patients’ Right to Know About Adverse Medical Incidents (Amendment 7)

This Note addresses the impact of Florida’s Patients’ Right to Know About Adverse Medical Incidents (commonly known as Amendment 7) on the peer review process and the quality of healthcare in Florida. Enacted in 2004 as an amendment to the Florida Constitution, Amendment 7 provides citizens access to records and reports of past adverse medical incidents involving doctors, hospitals, and healthcare providers. Critics of Amendment 7 argue that peer review privilege protections are necessary to maintain high-quality healthcare in Florida, pointing to the need to encourage candid and vigorous evaluations by physicians of their colleagues. In contrast, Amendment 7 supporters argue that it provides Florida patients with valuable information to aid in their choice of physicians

Identification and genetic characterization of a gibberellin 2-oxidase gene that controls tree stature and reproductive growth in plum

Several dwarf plum genotypes (Prunus salicina L.), due to deficiency of unknown gibberellin (GA) signalling, were identified. A cDNA encoding GA 2-oxidase (PslGA2ox), the major gibberellin catabolic enzyme in plants, was cloned and used to screen the GA-deficient hybrids. This resulted in the identification of a dwarf plum hybrid, designated as DGO24, that exhibits a markedly elevated PslGA2ox signal. Grafting ‘Early Golden’ (EG), a commercial plum cultivar, on DGO24 (EG/D) enhanced PslGA2ox accumulation in the scion part and generated trees of compact stature. Assessment of active GAs in such trees revealed that DGO24 and EG/D accumulated relatively much lower quantities of main bioactive GAs (GA1 and GA4) than control trees (EG/M). Moreover, the physiological function of PslGA2ox was studied by determining the molecular and developmental consequences due to ectopic expression in Arabidopsis. Among several lines, two groups of homozygous transgenics that exhibited contrasting phenotypes were identified. Group-1 displayed a dwarf growth pattern typical of mutants with a GA deficiency including smaller leaves, shorter stems, and delay in the development of reproductive events. In contrast, Group-2 exhibited a ‘GA overdose’ phenotype as all the plants showed elongated growth, a typical response to GA application, even under limited GA conditions, potentially due to co-suppression of closely related Arabidopsis homologous. The studies reveal the possibility of utilizing PslGA2ox as a marker for developing size-controlling rootstocks in Prunus

Quantification of endogenous levels of IAA, IAAsp and IBA in micro-propagated shoots of hybrid chestnut pre-treated with IBA

Endogenous levels of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), indole-3-acetylaspartic acid (IAAsp) and indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) were measured during the first 8 d of in vitro rooting of rootstock from the chestnut ‘M3’ hybrid by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Rooting was induced either by dipping the basal ends of the shoots into a 4.92-mM IBA solution for 1 min or by sub-culturing the shoots on solid rooting medium supplemented with 14.8- μM IBA for 5 d. For root development, the induced shoots were transferred to auxin-free solid medium. Auxins were measured in the apical and basal parts of the shoots by means of HPLC. Endogenous levels of IAA and IAAsp were found to be greater in IBA-treated shoots than in control shoots. In extracts of the basal parts of the shoots, the concentration of free IAA showed a significant peak 2 d after either root inductive method and a subsequent gradual decrease for the remainder of the time course. The concentration of IAAsp peaked at day 6 in extracts of the basal parts of shoots induced with 14.8-μM IBA for 5 d, whereas shoots induced by dipping showed an initial increase until day 2 and then remained stable. In extracts from basal shoot portions induced by dipping, IBA concentration showed a transient peak at day 1 and a plateau between day 2 and 4, in contrast to the profile of shoots induced on auxin-containing medium, which showed a significant reduction between 4 and 6 d after transferred to auxin-free medium. All quantified auxins remained at a relatively low level, virtually constant, in extracts from apical shoot portions, as well as in extracts from control non-rooting shoots. In conclusion, the natural auxin IAA is the signal responsible for root induction, although it is driven by exogenous IBA independently of the adding conditions

Occurrence of gibberellin-like substances in Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) and their possible relation to growth and flowering

Growing shoots and young seedlings of Norway spruce (Picea abies) contain at least six different gibberellin-like substances; most probably none of them is identical to gibberellic acid or gibberellin A1. The gibberellin-like substances are all active in a specially designed spruce seedling bioassay, as well as in a number of traditional gibberellin bioassays. Young spruce seedlings grown in nutrient solution are retarded by the substances Amo-1618, B-995, and CCC. Both root and shoot growth are affected. Gibberellic acid counteracts the effects of all the retardants on shoot growth, and of Amo-1618 on root growth, but has no effect when supplied alone. Application of the growth retardants B-995 and CCC to spruce grafts in a seed orchard results in decreased flowering. Preliminary results show, that flowering and non-flowering grafted spruce clones display remarkable differences in the dynamics of gibberellin-like substances; a high content of these substances during the supposed time of flower bud initiation is correlated to good flowering ability. All these findings are consistent with the hypothesis, that gibberellins are intimately involved in the process of flower bud induction. Literature dealing with the occurrence and effects of gibberellins within the class Coniferopsida is summarized

Does the EU have the power to protect the human rights? : A study about article 7 of the Treaty of the European Union.

The European Union (EU) is based on the inclusive core values ​​of democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights enshrined in article 2 of the Treaty of the European Union. If there is a risk that these values ​​are systematically threatened within a member state or when breaches are a fact, the EU may act by applying legal and political mechanisms. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the problem with EU member states abandoning the democratic principles in favor of the illiberal, as exemplified by a case study on Hungary whose constitution and national identity are based on exclusionary values, which consequently has implications for human rights. The main focus of the thesis is the article 7 procedure which has a sanctioning mechanism that may result in the member state concerned being wholly or partly deprived of its voting rights in the Council of the European Union. Article 7 has been criticized for being ineffective and too political. In September 2018, the European Parliament adopted a resolution which activated the preventive mechanism of the procedure against Hungary which is about deciding whether there is a risk of breaches of article 2. The main ambition of the study is to discuss to what extent article 7 can protect the EU's core values. For these purposes, a jurisprudence method that examines EU law has been applied and, through a political science approach, the application of article 7 against Hungary has been investigated. In order to gain a deeper understanding of the procedure, a field study trip was made to the European Parliament in Brussels, where interviews were conducted with people with insight into the work of Parliament and the Council. I was also given the opportunity to attend a meeting of the Committee of Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs of the European Parliament, in which representatives of the European Commission and the European Union Council also participated. The theme for the discussion was the article 7 procedure against Hungary. The findings of the survey show that, due to the political nature, article 7 is not sufficiently capable of protecting the fundamental values ​​of the EU. What is needed is a new independent mechanism to review all member states' compliance with democracy, the rule of law and human rights