Religion and healthcare in the European Union : policy issues and trends

92 p. ; 24 cm.Libro ElectrónicoThe impact of religious doctrine on the law, policy and practice of healthcare is becoming increasingly significant for a whole range of issues – from euthanasia to fertility treatment; from belief-based exemption from performing abortion for doctors to the medication and dietary needs of religious patients; from organ donation to contraception; from circumcision to suicide. The relationship between religion and healthcare has a long history of evoking tension and debate in Europe. While developments in medical technologies and techniques question the religious beliefs of policy-makers, practitioners and patients across the European Union, research into the legal and policy responses by EU member states on such issues remains underdeveloped. The challenge of health policy, which is common across the European Union, is to balance fundamental human rights such as the right to equality, the right to health and the right to freedom of religion while adhering to secular principles. This report aims to map out the major issues at stake and to initiate a broader discussion on how the religious needs of the community, religious doctrine and religious practices across the European Union affect public health policy.Preface: The ‘Religion and Democracy in Europe’ initiative 7 About the authors 8 Introduction 9 Background 9 Purpose and conceptual framework 10 Terms, scope, methodology and structure 13 Summary of recommended main policy questions for further development 16 1 The legal and policy context in the European Union 17 1.1 European Union law 17 1.2 National law and policy 18 2 The influence of religion on national healthcare policy development 21 2.1 Conflict of duty in health‑service provision 22 2.1.1 Does national healthcare policy permit belief‑based exemption? 23 2.1.2 Scope and limits of belief‑based exemption in healthcare 23 2.1.3 Safeguards 27 2.2 Euthanasia 27 2.2.1 Active euthanasia 29 2.2.2 Passive euthanasia 30 2.2.3 Conflict of duty and safeguards related to euthanasia 32 2.3 Belief‑based patient decisions 34 2.3.1 Organ transplant and donation 34 2.3.2 Refusal of medical treatment 36 2.4 Emerging policy trends and outstanding policy questions 413 Healthcare policy and religious diversity 43 3.1 Healthcare policy and accommodating religious needs in hospitals 45 3.1.1 Religious assistance and faith space 45 3.1.2 Medication and dietary needs 47 3.1.3 The sex of the health practitioner and hospital clothing 48 3.1.4 After‑death issues: post‑mortem and burial 49 3.2 Healthcare policy and accommodating religion outside hospitals 50 3.2.1 Training of healthcare professionals 50 3.2.2 Substance abuse 52 3.3 Emerging policy trends and outstanding policy questions 53 4 Religion and sexual and reproductive healthcare 56 4.1 Contraception, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases 56 4.1.1 The influence of religion on contraception policy 57 4.1.2 The influence of religion on HIV/AIDS education and prevention policies 58 4.1.3 The4.1.3 The influence of religion on other STD policy 60 4.2 Abortion and sterilization 61 4.2.1 Some religious positions on abortion 61 4.2.2 National policy positions 62 4.2.3 Safeguards when abortion is denied 63 4.2.4 Sterilization 65 4.3 Fertility treatment and reproductive techniques 65 4.4 Circumcision 68 4.5 Female genital mutilation 70 4.6 Emerging policy trends and outstanding policy questions 71 5 Religion and mental healthcare 73 5.1 The European policy context and the influence of religious institutions 74 5.2 The influence of religion on mental illness 77 5.2.1 Diagnosis of mental illness 77 5.2.2 Treatment of mental illness 78 5.3 Emerging policy trends and outstanding policy questions 82 Conclusion 84 Appendix A Roundtable participants 86 Appendix B Belief‑based exemption from healthcare provision 87 Appendix C National policy on euthanasia in some EU states 88 Appendix D National policy on abortion in some EU states 8

Design and development of interactive web site based on a customer-oriented business model for the multimedia application C3LOOPS

The goal of this thesis is to develop and implement a prototype that is validating a specifically suggested customer-oriented business model for the interactive multimedia iPad application C3LOOPS. The starting point of the design process is the development of a business model. This is a novelty in the community of interaction design. I explain the basis of the business modeling in order to understand this important part of every successful business. I perform a research in the theory of customer behavior and applied psychology and based on it and on the new theory of neuro-linguistic programming, I design a customer-oriented business model for accomplishing a win-win strategy for this new application. This business model includes a development of a web site. It is my background for defining an interactive ¬design for the web site. Based on the requirements that I define for a design, I implement a prototype of the main component of the design – the interactive C3LOOPS navigation menu. This way I validate the design and I proof a novelty in the community of interaction design

Seed Priming with Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Grafted with Pluronic P85 Preserves the Functional and Structural Characteristics of Pea Plants

The engineering of carbon nanotubes in the last decades resulted in a variety of applications in electronics, electrochemistry, and biomedicine. A number of reports also evidenced their valuable application in agriculture as plant growth regulators and nanocarriers. In this work, we explored the effect of seed priming with single-walled carbon nanotubes grafted with Pluronic P85 polymer (denoted P85-SWCNT) on Pisum sativum (var. RAN-1) seed germination, early stages of plant development, leaf anatomy, and photosynthetic efficiency. We evaluated the observed effects in relation to hydro- (control) and P85-primed seeds. Our data clearly revealed that seed priming with P85-SWCNT is safe for the plant since it does not impair the seed germination, plant development, leaf anatomy, biomass, and photosynthetic activity, and even increases the amount of photochemically active photosystem II centers in a concentration-dependent manner. Only 300 mg/L concentration exerts an adverse effect on those parameters. The P85 polymer, however, was found to exhibit a number of negative effects on plant growth (i.e., root length, leaf anatomy, biomass accumulation and photoprotection capability), most probably related to the unfavorable interaction of P85 unimers with plant membranes. Our findings substantiate the future exploration and exploitation of P85-SWCNT as nanocarriers of specific substances promoting not only plant growth at optimal conditions but also better plant performance under a variety of environmental stresses

Single-walled carbon nanotubes modify leaf micromorphology, chloroplast ultrastructure and photosynthetic activity of pea plants

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) emerge as promising novel carbon-based na-noparticles for use in biomedicine, pharmacology and precision agriculture. They were shown to penetrate cell walls and membranes and to physically interact and exchange electrons with photosynthetic complexes in vitro. Here, for the first time, we studied the concentration-dependent effect of foliar application of copolymer-grafted SWCNTs on the structural and functional characteristics of intact pea plants. The lowest used concentration of 10 mg L−1 did not cause any harmful effects on the studied leaf characteristics, while abundant epicuticular wax generation on both leaf surfaces was observed after 300 mg L−1 treatment. Swelling of both the granal and the stromal regions of thylakoid membranes was detected after application of 100 mg L−1 and was most pronounced after 300 mg L−1. Higher SWCNT doses lead to impaired photosynthesis in terms of lower proton motive force generation, slower generation of non-photochemical quenching and reduced zeaxanthin con-tent; however, the photosystem II function was largely preserved. Our results clearly indicate that SWCNTs affect the photosynthetic apparatus in a concentration-dependent manner. Low doses (10 mg L−1) of SWCNTs appear to be a safe suitable object for future development of nanocarriers for substances that are beneficial for plant growth. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Multilayer Graphene for Flexible Optoelectronic Devices

Graphene has attracted considerable interest as a prospective material for future electronics and opto-electronics. Here, the synthesis process of large area few layers graphene by Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition (APCVD) technique is demonstrated. Quality assessments of graphene are performed and confirmed by Raman analysis and optical spectroscopy. Next, graphene was transferred on Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) substrates and implemented as transparent conductive electrode in flexible Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal (PDLC) devices. Their electro-optical properties, such as voltage-dependent transmittance and flexibility behavior are measured and discussed. The stability of the sheet resistance after 1200 bending tests of graphene/PET structure is demonstrated. The obtained results open a great potential of graphene integration into the next generation Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) free flexible and stretchable optoelectronics

Antioxidant and Hepatoprotective Potential of <i>Echinops ritro</i> L. Extracts on Induced Oxidative Stress In Vitro/In Vivo

Echinops ritro L. (Asteraceae) is traditionally used in the treatment of bacterial/fungal infections and respiratory and heart ailments. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of extracts from E. ritro leaves (ERLE) and flowering heads (ERFE) as antioxidant and hepatoprotective agents on diclofenac-induced lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress under in vitro and in vivo conditions. In isolated rat microsomes and hepatocytes, the extracts significantly alleviated oxidative stress by increasing cell viability and GSH levels and reducing LDH efflux and MDA production. During in vivo experiments, the administration of the ERFE alone or in combination with diclofenac resulted in a significant increase in cellular antioxidant protection and a decrease in lipid peroxidation witnessed by key markers and enzymes. A beneficial influence on the activity of the drug-metabolizing enzymes ethylmorphine-N-demetylase and aniline hydroxylase in liver tissue was found. In the acute toxicity test evaluation, the ERFE showed no toxicity. In the ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography–high-resolution mass spectrometry analysis, 95 secondary metabolites were reported for the first time, including acylquinic acids, flavonoids, and coumarins. Protocatechuic acid O-hexoside, quinic, chlorogenic and 3, 5-dicaffeoylquinic acid, apigenin; apigenin 7-O-glucoside, hyperoside, jaceosidene, and cirsiliol dominated the profiles. The results suggest that both extracts should be designed for functional applications with antioxidant and hepatoprotective capacity

Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in the The Commonwealth: Struggles for Decriminalisation and Change.

Human rights in relation to sexual orientation and gender identity are at last reaching the heart of global debates. Yet 78 states worldwide continue to criminalise same-sex sexual behaviour, and due to the legal legacies of the British Empire, 42 of these – more than half – are in the Commonwealth of Nations. In recent years many states have seen the emergence of new sexual nationalisms, leading to increased enforcement of colonial sodomy laws against men, new criminalisations of sex between women and discrimination against transgender people. "Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in The Commonwealth: Struggles for Decriminalisation and Change" challenges these developments as the first book to focus on experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) and all non-heterosexual people in the Commonwealth. The volume offers the most internationally extensive analysis to date of the global struggle for decriminalisation of same-sex sexual behaviour and relationship