A Critical Evaluation of the UK Drax Power Station

Abstract Earlier this year, the Royal College of Physicians in the UK published national guidelines on the management of patients with prolonged disorders of consciousness, updating their 2013 guidance ‘particularly in relation to recent developments in assessment and management and … changes in the law governing … the withdrawal of clinically assisted nutrition and hydration’. The report’s primary focus is on patients who could live for many years with treatment and care. This update, by a neurologist, an imaging neuroscientist, and a lawyer-ethicist, questions the document’s rejection of any significant role for neuroimaging techniques including functional MRI and/or bedside EEG to detect covert consciousness in such patients. We find the reasons for this rejection unconvincing, given (i) the significant advances made in the use of this technology in recent years; and (ii) the wider scope for its use envisaged by the earlier (2018) guidelines issued by the American Academy of Neurology. We suggest that, since around one in five patients diagnosed with prolonged disorders of consciousness are in fact conscious enough to follow commands in a neuroimaging context (i.e. those who are ‘covertly conscious’ or those with ‘cognitive motor dissociation’), and given the clinical, ethical and legal importance of determining whether patients with prolonged disorders of consciousness are legally competent or at least able to express their views and feelings, the guidance from the Royal College of Physicians requires urgent review.

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Palliative Curriculum Re-imagined: A Critical Evaluation of the UK Palliative Medicine Syllabus

Palliative Care Research and Treatment ◽

10.1177/1178224218780375 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

pp. 117822421878037

Author(s):

Julian Abel ◽

Allan Kellehear

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Social Support ◽

Palliative Care ◽

Palliative Medicine ◽

Critical Evaluation ◽

Well Being ◽

Disease Models ◽

Care Policy ◽

The Uk ◽

Illness And Disease

The UK Palliative Medicine Syllabus is critically evaluated to assess its relationship and relevance to contemporary palliative care policy and direction. Three criteria are employed for this review: (1) relevance to non-cancer dying, ageing, caregivers, and bereaved populations; (2) uptake and adoption of well-being models of public health alongside traditional illness and disease models of clinical understanding; and (3) uptake and integration of public health insights and methodologies for social support. We conclude that the current syllabus falls dramatically short on all 3 criteria. Suggestions are made for future consultation and revision.

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Applying for development consent during lockdown: The Sizewell C Nuclear Power Station

Environmental Law Review ◽

10.1177/1461452920939668 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 22 (2) ◽

pp. 81-84

Author(s):

Catherine Ann Caine

Keyword(s):

Nuclear Power Station ◽

Nuclear Power ◽

Internet Access ◽

Public Consultation ◽

Limited Resources ◽

Power Station ◽

Consultation Process ◽

The Public ◽

The Uk

The UK is currently facing unprecedented times as Covid-19 has forced the country into lockdown. However, the recent development consent application from EDF Energy for the Sizewell C Nuclear Power Station provides an opportunity for the planning sector to begin to return to normal. This opinion considers whether it is possible to achieve full public consultation on the Sizewell C Nuclear Power Station application, given the current circumstances that the UK faces due to Covid-19. It is argued that the Planning Inspectorate has not currently taken sufficient action to ensure that members of the public who do not have internet access and those who require library access to make representations are not left out of the process. It is also argued that businesses and non-governmental organisations may also struggle to make representations at a time when they are suffering from limited resources. In conclusion, it is essential that the Planning Inspectorate takes immediate action to ensure that the public consultation process is preserved for applications of this kind while Covid-19 restrictions are in place.

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UK support for Hinkley Point is likely to continue

Emerald Expert Briefings ◽

10.1108/oxan-db210470 ◽

2016 ◽

Keyword(s):

Nuclear Power Station ◽

Nuclear Power ◽

Investment Decision ◽

Electricity Sector ◽

Electricity Supply ◽

Power Station ◽

Content Type ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

The Uk

Subject The project to build a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point. Significance Reports that construction of the planned nuclear power station at Hinkley Point may be postponed will raise further concerns about the project's prospects as well as the long-term direction of the UK electricity sector. The reports follow weeks of debate in the United Kingdom and France over whether construction should go ahead and over further delays in the final investment decision on the project (now scheduled for May). Impacts Depending on how the French government decides to support EDF, approval by the European Commission may be needed. The Austrian government has legally challenged the Commission's approval of UK plans to support the project. The UK government's existing plans for maintaining electricity supply -- the so-called 'capacity auctions' -- may need to be revisited.

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Infectious diseases and tropical medicine

10.1093/med/9780198729426.003.0013 ◽

2016 ◽

Keyword(s):

Clinical Trials ◽

Clinical Practice ◽

Statistical Analysis ◽

Infectious Diseases ◽

Clinical Evidence ◽

Critical Evaluation ◽

Duration Of Treatment ◽

The Uk ◽

Clinical Problems ◽

Key Questions

Some of the earliest clinical trials were conducted in infectious diseases. In the 1940s, the development of the first antibiotics for treating tuberculosis coincided with the recognition that rigorous clinical trials were required to determine optimum drug combinations and duration of treatment. The joint efforts of bacteriologists, clinicians, and statisticians promoted the development of clinical trials, acknowledging that clinically valid endpoints and careful statistical analysis are vital for trials to provide evidence of sufficient quality to guide clinical practice. This chapter covers key questions in this field addressed by good-quality trials. It covers clinical evidence important to practitioners both overseas and in the UK. It focuses on trials that have generated key data, while also covering trials which address clinical problems that are important worldwide and less commonly seen in the UK where critical evaluation of current trials might be difficult.

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CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL STUDY OF A CRITICAL EVALUATION ON LIVER FUNCTIONS IN POSTCHOLECYSTECTOMY CASES

10.36106/ijsr/3225903 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 4-6

Author(s):

Anil Kumar ◽

Nyemwang W Konyak ◽

Debarshi Jana

Keyword(s):

Liver Function ◽

Gall Bladder ◽

Critical Evaluation ◽

Liver Function Tests ◽

General Surgeon ◽

Normal Range ◽

Medical College ◽

Asymptomatic Patients ◽

The Uk ◽

Almost All

Introduction: Gallstones [cholelithiasis] are the most common biliary pathology. It is estimated that gallstones affect 10-15% of the population in Western societies. They are asymptomatic in majority of cases (780). In the UK, the prevalence of gallstones at the time of death is estimated to be 17% and may be increasing. Approximately 1-2% of asymptomatic patients will develop symptoms requiring surgery per year, making cholecystectomy one of the most common operations performed by general surgeon. Aims and objectives: To investigate the clinico-pathological analysis of calculous cholecystitis in relation to liver function tests in all preoperative and post operative cases. Patients are required to undergo liver function test prior to and after their line of management in order to facilitate the investigation. Patients with cholelithiasis as the main cause must undergo a cholecystectomy either open or laparoscopic. Comparative evaluations of derangement of hepatic parameters in the preoperative period of patient undergoing different forms of gallbladder operations (conventional or laparoscopic cholecystectomy). Materials and methods: The study was conducted in a series of 60 cases of chronic calculus cholecystitis. Patients were selected from surgical outpatient Department of Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital. Laheriasarai. The tenure of study was from April 2019 to December 2020. Result: The above study also showed 82% increase in ALT level. In our study ALT was increased in 60 % patients (6% within normal range and 54% more than the normal range) at deation and 70% patients (4% within normal range and 66% more than the normal range) on the second postoperative day in LC. In MC and CC it was about 16-32% and 32-40% respectively during the same period. Conclusion: Ultrasonography was the mainstay in conrmatory diagnosis of gall bladder pathologies and the ndings correlated well with clinical ndings in almost all the cases. It not only revealed the evidence of gall stones in gall bladder with signs of acute or chronic cholecystitis but also other changes in the common bile duct, liver, pancreas and so on.

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