Potential conflicts in midwifery practice regarding conscientious objection to abortions in Scotland

Background: This study was developed as a result of a court case involving conflicts between midwives’ professional practice and their faith when caring for women undergoing abortions in Scotland. Research questions: What are practising Roman Catholics’ perspectives of potential conflicts between midwives’ professional practice in Scotland with regard to involvement in abortions and their faith? How relevant is the ‘conscience clause’ to midwifery practice today? and What are participants’ understandings of Canon 1398 in relation to midwifery practice? Research design: The theoretical underpinning of this study was Gadamer’s hermeneutic out of which the method developed by Fleming et al. involving a five-stage approach was utilised. Participants and research context: The research was conducted in the south of Scotland. A purposive sampling method was used. Eight participants who were practising Roman Catholics familiar with the subject of conscientious objection who were either midwives, lawyers (civil, canon or both) or priests contributed. Ethical considerations: The major ethical issues related to respect for autonomy, maintaining confidentiality and obtaining voluntary informed consent. Parish priests agreed to act as gatekeepers to prospective participants. All legal requirements were addressed regarding data collection and storage. Approval was given by the ethics committee of the university with which one of the researchers were associated. Findings: Three key themes provide an understanding of the situation in which midwives find themselves when considering the care for a woman admitted for an abortion: competing legal systems, competing views of conscience and limits of participation. Conclusion: Clear guidelines for practice should be developed by a multi-professional and consumer group based on an update of the abortion law to reflect the change from a surgical to medical procedure. Clarification of Canon 1398 in relation to what is and is not participation in the procurement of abortion would be of benefit to midwives with a conscientious objection

Impact of arts participation on children’s achievement:A systematic literature review

This paper reports on a systematic literature review to examine the association between children and young people’s participation in arts activities and their academic achievement. The 24 studies that met our criteria for inclusion and weight of evidence (2004-16) had mixed findings. Whilst many of the research designs employed would not meet positivist criteria for rigour – such as sample size, statistical significance and causality – typically required by public bodies to justify expenditure, there are examples throughout the literature reviewed of academically-related benefits to participants, such as increased confidence, creativity or more positive attitude towards their studies. Overall, there appears to be some justification from the literature for public investment in high-quality, long-term arts education programmes for children and young people in schools and community settings, on the basis of its potential to enhance academic achievement. However, there may be more intrinsic benefits to arts participation than the instrumental, essentially economic justification of improved academic standards

Mesostructured Block Copolymer Nanoparticles: Versatile Templates for Hybrid Inorganic/Organic Nanostructures

We present a versatile strategy to prepare a range of nanostructured poly(styrene)-block-poly(2-vinyl pyridine) copolymer particles with tunable interior morphology and controlled size by a simple solvent exchange procedure. A key feature of this strategy is the use of functional block copolymers incorporating reactive pyridyl moieties which allow the absorption of metal salts and other inorganic precursors to be directed. Upon reduction of the metal salts, well-defined hybrid metal nanoparticle arrays could be prepared, whereas the use of oxide precursors followed by calcination permits the synthesis of silica and titania particles. In both cases, ordered morphologies templated by the original block copolymer domains were obtained

Factors associated with tooth loss in patients with stages 3 and 4 periodontitis: a short-term retrospective evaluation of patients

This retrospective study analyzed factors associated with tooth loss in patients with stages 3 and 4 periodontitis undergoing non-surgical periodontal therapy. Data from 84 patients treated at Griffith University Periodontal Clinic (2019–2022) were examined, focusing on patient factors such as smoking status, osteoporosis, and age, alongside tooth loss variables. The logistic regression analysis revealed that patients with stage 4 periodontitis had a significantly higher likelihood of tooth loss compared to those with stage 3 (odds ratio [OR] 2.12; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.13–4.84). Smoking was also identified as a significant risk factor, with smokers showing an OR of 1.69 (95% CI 1.4–3.9) for tooth loss. While no statistically significant relationships were observed for other variables (p > 0.05), patients under 40 years and over 71 years with stage 4 periodontitis exhibited notable tooth loss outcomes (p = 0.003 and p = 0.034, respectively). These findings emphasize the importance of integrating smoking cessation programs into periodontal care and tailoring treatment strategies for high-risk groups. Further longitudinal studies with comprehensive data collection are recommended to enhance the understanding of tooth loss predictors in advanced periodontitis.No Full Tex

Service Evaluation of the Impact of Capnography on the Safety of Procedural Sedation.

BACKGROUND: Capnography has been associated with a reduced incidence of events related to respiratory compromise during procedural sedation. METHODS: A prospective service evaluation was conducted at a large United Kingdom (UK) teaching hospital to assess the impact of capnography on patient safety within four speciality services: bronchoscopy, endoscopy, interventional cardiology, and interventional radiology. Events were defined as provided by the World Society of Intravenous Anaesthesia. One thousand four hundred one patients were enrolled in the evaluation, with 666 patients before and 735 after implementation of capnography. Data was entered as a convenience sample on site in an offline data-collection tool. Results were assessed for the relative reduction in the incidence and resulting adjusted odds ratio for the combined incidence of oxygen desaturation (75-90% for 60s), bradycardia (>25% from baseline) and tachycardia (>25% from baseline). The adjusted odds ratio was controlled for both procedure and patient characteristics. RESULTS: After implementation of capnography, a significant reduction (43.2%, p ≤ 0.05) in adverse events was observed: 147 adverse events occurred during 666 procedures without capnography compared with 93 adverse events that occurred during 735 procedures with capnography. The adjusted odds ratio for the occurrence of the target adverse events was 0.57 (95% CI: 0.42-0.77). Multivariable linear regression indicated that capnography was a significant predictor (p 0.001) of reduced adverse events. CONCLUSION: These results suggest improved patient safety following capnography implementation