Outline of the 2005 European Resuscitation Council Guidelines

Resuscitation guidelines are revised and updated about every 5 years and this happens because resuscitation science continues to advance and clinical guidelines must be updated regularly to reflect these developments and advise healthcare providers on best practice. To date, the 2000 resuscitation guidelines are followed in Malta and other countries worldwide. These guidelines have been now revised by the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) and a consensus has been reached resulting in the publication of the 2005 guidelines. The ILCOR was formed in 1993 and its mission is to identify and review international science and knowledge relevant to CPR, and to offer consensus on treatment recommendations. A total of 281 experts completed 403 worksheets on 276 topics. Three hundred and eighty specialists from 18 countries attended the 2005 International Consensus Conference on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Science, which took place in Dallas in January 2005. Science statements and treatment recommendations were agreed by the conference participants and the results are now the new 2005 Resuscitation Guidelines. These ILCOR guidelines will be published internationally on the 28 th November 2005 for the first time. The Malta Resuscitation Council (MRC) participated in meetings of the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) where the dissemination of these new guidelines was discussed. This article will try to summarize the major changes incorporated in the new guidelines.peer-reviewe

The central committee on women's training and employment : tackling the servant problem, 1914 - 1945

Domestic service dominated women's lives in the first half of the twentieth century. The largest sector of female employment, paradoxically there was a perceived servant problem. Defined as a shortage of female applicants, it generated much debate both within and outside Parliament. One potential answer was training unemployed women to fill domestic service vacancies. To this end, successive Governments sanctioned and funded training centres, operating alongside State-run Employment Exchanges. This aspect of domestic service has been largely neglected by historians, yet it formed a vital component of Government policy, receiving active support from successive ministries. This thesis focuses on the semi-autonomous organisation administering those training centres - the Central Committee on Women's Training and Employment (CCWTE). Operational from 1914 until 1940 in a predominantly male-ordered society, the female-run CCWTE played a central role in State unemployment programmes. Yet, the CCWTE gradually became confined to domestic service training, being forced to abandon its other courses. This thesis seeks to show how this narrowing of opportunities was entrenched in traditional views of women's place in the home - albeit someone else's home. The male-dominated Government's aim was twofold - reduce the number of unemployed female claimants, fill domestic service vacancies. This aim ignored a fundamental element of the domestic service - its unpopularity among workers. Without addressing root issues of status and conditions, the training scheme to solve the servant problem was doomed to failure. This thesis explores the impact of the CCWTE's training work in relation to the servant problem, against constraints imposed by economic and political changes. Also included is an investigation of the role of official migration schemes. Since the servant problem was entwined with broader issues of employment and unemployment, this thesis affords insights into attitudes towards the female workforce, often manifested in gender and class bias, discriminatory practices and restricted opportunities

Anidulafungin and its role in candida infections

Candida infections continue to play a significant role not only in critically ill and immunocompromised patients but also in non-compromised patients. The incidence of systemic fungal infections in the United States has been on the rise for the past 30 years. Anidulafungin and all echinocandins inhibit glucan synthase thus inhibiting the formation of 1,3-β-D-glucan which is an essential component of the fungal cell wall. The decrease in 1,3-β-D-glucan results in the osmotic lysis of the cell, resulting in fungicidal activity against candida. Anidulafungin is active against most species of candida and resistance to it is very rare. Two potential mechanisms conferring reduced susceptibility to the echinocandins are efflux and target alteration. The efflux pump associated with fluconazole resistance in Candida albicans can confer higher minimum inhibitory concentrations to caspofungin. The second mechanism of resistance is via mutations in the genes which code for 1,3 β-D-glucan synthase, specifically FKS1. Because of its spectrum of activity, fungicidal nature, and tolerability it is an attractive first-line therapeutic choice for treating candidemia in both non-neutropenic and neutropenic patients. Because it is available only parenterally its role in treating mucocutaneous candidiasis is primarily in patients unable to take oral therapy

B\"uchi VASS recognise w-languages that are Sigma^1_1 - complete

This short note exhibits an example of a Sigma^1_1-complete language that can be recognised by a one blind counter B\"uchi automaton (or equivalently a B\"uchi VASS with only one place)

Optimising the use of ICTs by health & social care professionals in the community

This research was commissioned as part of the Department of Health's Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Research Initiative, to identify ways in which ICTs might provide benefits to health and social care professionals working across boundaries and to the clients/ patients that they serve. The project aimed to examine the use of existing ICTs in supporting isolated users in the community (principally professionals but also lay users), and to consider ways in which use of such ICTs might be improved, focusing initially on non-person identifiable information. A single patient group was selected as the main focus of the study - older people (and their carers). This group was chosen because the needs of older people and their carers reflect those of the wider isolated populations served by health and social welfare professionals in terms of their clinical, psychological and social care needs. Other isolated groups might include the physically disabled, the mentally ill, or those socially and potentially service isolated through geography, lifestyles or other factors. Older people would be represented in all these categories. Therefore, a study focusing on the information needs of professionals who support older patients or clients should provide findings that are generalisable to other groups, such as those mentioned above. Furthermore, it was evident that this is an important group on which to focus in terms of inter-agency working because of the various policy initiatives that aim to enhance working between professionals across the health and social care interface in relation to older people

Feedforward Self-Modeling Enhances Skill Acquisition in Children Learning Trampoline Skills

The purpose of this research was to examine whether children would benefit from a feedforward self-modeling (FSM) video and to explore possible explanatory mechanisms for the potential benefits, using a self-regulation framework. To this end, children were involved in learning two five-skill trampoline routines. For one of the routines, a FSM video was provided during acquisition, whereas only verbal instructions were provided for the alternate routine. The FSM involved editing video footage such that it showed the learner performing the trampoline routine at a higher skill level than their current capability. Analyses of the data showed that while physical performance benefits were observed for the routine that was learned with the FSM video, no differences were obtained in relation to the self-regulatory measures. Thus, the FSM video enhanced motor skill acquisition, but this could not be explained by changes to the varied self-regulatory processes examined

Like second-hand smoke, racial discrimination at work can affect bystanders

But good mentors can buffer employees from the negative effects of workplace racism, write Belle Rose Ragins, Kyle Ehrhardt, Karen S. Lyness, Dianne Murphy and John Capma