The hospital ‘superbug’: social representations of MRSA

The so-called ‘hospital superbug’ methcillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) became a topic of media and political concern from the middle of the 1990’s. It was increasingly politicised in the period leading up to the British General Election of 2005. This study examines the meanings of MRSA that circulate in Britain by analysing newspaper coverage of the disease over a ten year period. It utilises social representations theory and contextualises MRSA within existing research on representations of emerging infectious diseases (EIDs). A key pattern in the representation of EIDs is to externalise the threat they pose by linking the origin, risk and blame to ‘the other’ of those who represent them. In this light the study investigates who and what MRSA is associated with and the impact that these associations have on levels of alarm and blame. Key findings are that MRSA is represented as a potentially lethal ‘superbug’, marking the end of a ‘golden age of medicine’ in which the story of the discovery of antibiotics has played such a key role. Furthermore, MRSA is constructed around an “it could be you / me” set of assumptions by way of the plethora of human interest stories that dominate the coverage. Finally, the blame for MRSA focuses not on its genesis, but rather on why it spreads. This is attributed to poor hygiene in hospitals, which is ultimately caused by mismanagement of the National Health Service and erosion of the authority and morality symbolised by the ‘matron’ role. This constellation of meanings speaks to a somewhat different pattern of response to MRSA when compared to many past EIDs

The Medical Monitoring Remedy: Ongoing Controversy and a Proposed Solution

Prior to the mid-1980s, tort law adhered to the traditional notion that the threat of future harm was not an adequate ground to pursue a claim in tort. However, in Friends for All Children v. Lockheed Aircraft Corp., the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia awarded a group of plaintiffs the cost of future medical examinations aimed at detecting whether the plaintiffs suffered from a particular neurological impairment. This new remedy became known as medical monitoring. Since Friends for All Children v. Lockheed Aircraft Corp., the medical monitoring remedy has attracted controversy and has resulted in widely diverging views among various jurisdictions. This note will discuss the history of the medical monitoring remedy, including common criticisms of the remedy. The note will propose a strict standard that must be met before medical monitoring is awarded in the future and will propose a method for disbursing medical monitoring awards when they are deemed appropriate

The Medical Monitoring Remedy: Ongoing Controversy and a Proposed Solution

Prior to the mid-1980s, tort law adhered to the traditional notion that the threat of future harm was not an adequate ground to pursue a claim in tort. However, in Friends for All Children v. Lockheed Aircraft Corp., the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia awarded a group of plaintiffs the cost of future medical examinations aimed at detecting whether the plaintiffs suffered from a particular neurological impairment. This new remedy became known as medical monitoring. Since Friends for All Children v. Lockheed Aircraft Corp., the medical monitoring remedy has attracted controversy and has resulted in widely diverging views among various jurisdictions. This note will discuss the history of the medical monitoring remedy, including common criticisms of the remedy. The note will propose a strict standard that must be met before medical monitoring is awarded in the future and will propose a method for disbursing medical monitoring awards when they are deemed appropriate

Do dictionary users really look up frequent words? — on the overestimation of the value of corpus-based lexicography

An innovative online Swahili–English dictionary project is presented. A careful study of some of the log files attached to this reference work reveals some hitherto unknown as-pects of true dictionary look-up behaviour, which results in the depreciation of the importance of corpora for dictionary making. Three lexicography software modules are advanced to further enhance the success of the online dictionary. Keywords: lexicography, software, online, dictionary, log file, corpus, frequency, rank, correlation, swahili, english, tshwanele

Light Quark Resonances in pbar p Annihilations at 5.2 GeV/c

Data from the Fermilab E835 experiment have been used to study the reaction pbar p -> eta eta pi0 at 5.2 GeV/c. A sample of 22 million six photons events has been analyzed to construct the Dalitz plot containing ~80k eta eta pi0 events. A partial wave analysis of the data has been done. Six f_J-states decaying into eta eta and five a_J-states decaying into eta pi0 are identified in the mass region ~1.3 and 2.4 GeV, and their masses, widths and spins are determined by maximum likelihood analysis of the data. Two f_0 states are identified with the popular candidates for the lightest scalar glueball, f_0(1500) and f_0(1710).Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

1/Nc1/N_c Rotational Corrections to gAg_A and Isovector Magnetic Moment of the Nucleon

The $1/N_c$ rotational corrections to the axial vector constant and the isovector magnetic moment of the nucleon are studied in the Nambu -- Jona-Lasinio model. We follow a semiclassical quantization procedure in terms of path integrals in which we can include perturbatively corrections in powers of angular velocity $\Omega \sim \frac 1{N_c}$. We find non-zero $1/N_c$ order corrections from both the valence and the Dirac sea quarks. These corrections are large enough to resolve the long-standing problem of a strong underestimation of both $g_A$ and $\mu^{IV}$ in the leading order. The axial constant $g_A$ is well reproduced, whereas the isovector magnetic moment $\mu^{IV}$ is still underestimated by 25 \%.Comment: (Revtex), 10 pages (3 figures available on request), report RUB-TPII-53/9

Towards many colors in FISH on 3D-preserved interphase nuclei

The article reviews the existing methods of multicolor FISH on nuclear targets, first of all, interphase chromosomes. FISH proper and image acquisition are considered as two related components of a single process. We discuss (1) M-FISH (combinatorial labeling + deconvolution + widefield microscopy); (2) multicolor labeling + SIM (structured illumination microscopy); (3) the standard approach to multicolor FISH + CLSM (confocal laser scanning microscopy; one fluorochrome - one color channel); (4) combinatorial labeling + CLSM; (5) non-combinatorial labeling + CLSM + linear unmixing. Two related issues, deconvolution of images acquired with CLSM and correction of data for chromatic Z-shift, are also discussed. All methods are illustrated with practical examples. Finally, several rules of thumb helping to choose an optimal labeling + microscopy combination for the planned experiment are suggested. Copyright (c) 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel

Integrating psychosocial and WASH school interventions to build disaster resilience

This paper reviews the key disaster risk management (DRM) frameworks used for protecting children's wellbeing in disaster settings and identifies a lack of consideration for (1) psychosocial and (2) water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) needs. It also demonstrates that these two domains are meaningfully linked, as access to adequate WASH provision may protect psychosocial wellbeing and promote community resilience. As support in both domains is vitally important to children's wellbeing, these gaps warrant immediate attention. Schools are uniquely situated to support these needs as part of disaster risk management and resilience building. Therefore, we consider the ASEAN Common Framework for Comprehensive School Safety (ACFCSS), which is an adaptation of the Comprehensive School Safety Framework (CSS) implemented in schools across the ASEAN region. While the CSS explicitly considers WASH, it only briefly considers psychosocial support; the ACFCCS lacks consideration of both domains. We argue revisions of the ACFCSS should prioritise the inclusion of psychosocial and WASH support and consider the role of schools beyond their capacity as educational institutions. We present an adaptation of ACFCSS with an additional framework pillar to guide this revision. Overall, we advocate for an integrated approach to DRM in schools based on an evidence-based, interdisciplinary perspective. We provide a series of evidence-based recommendations for DRM frameworks to consider, especially for those that intend to safeguard the wellbeing of children