The tumor patient in the COVID-19 pandemic–an interview-based study of 30 patients undergoing systemic antiproliferative therapy

Introduction Five months after COVID-19 first occurred and protective regulations were introduced, patients at three outpatient hematological/oncological centers in Bavaria who had received antiproliferative tumor therapy (n = 30) were questioned about the pandemic’s impact. Patients, materials and methods In recorded semi-structured telephone interviews, the patients answered questions about their quality of life, treatment procedures, their relationship with medical care staff and modern communication technologies. Each interview consisted of 28 questions. The average length of an interview was 30 minutes. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed by means of a qualitative content analysis according to Mayring. Results The COVID-19 pandemic adds to the burden of patients by decreasing their social contacts. They perceived the new isolation and protective measures in outpatient clinics as mostly positive and said its impact had been only slightly adverse. With the implemented safety measures, they feel adequately protected and looked after and want their antiproliferative therapy to be performed as scheduled. Talking to medical staff provides additional reassurance. Conclusion Although the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the social isolation of tumor patients, it has had only a minor effect on tumor therapy in the surveyed patient population. The benefits of modern communication options to tumor patients remains uncertain and should be investigated further in future studies.

A divatipar egészségvédelmi szabályozása

Összefoglaló. A divatiparra vonatkozó egészségvédelmi szabályozások hiányosak. A karcsúság elérését célzó szociokulturális nyomás a divatiparon belül fokozott, a divatmodelleket gyakran késztetik kórosan alacsony testsúly elérésére, ami pszichológiai abúzusnak felel meg. Ezért a modellek közt az evészavarok prevalenciája magasabb az átlagpopulációhoz képest. A divatvilág veszélyei között ezeken túl a szexuális abúzus, a financiális visszaélések, illetve a fiatalkorúak foglalkoztatásával kapcsolatos szabályozatlanság említendő. A kockázatok csökkentése érdekében fontos volna nemzetközi szabályozásokat bevezetni a divatszakmában. Az erre irányuló kezdeményezések először 2006-ban jelentek meg Spanyolországban: a modellek foglalkoztatásának feltétele volt az egészséges tápláltsági állapot alsó határától minimálisan elmaradó testtömegindex (18,0) elérése. Később Franciaországban az evészavarok gyakoriságának mérséklésére törvénybe foglalták a modellek kötelező egészségügyi vizsgálatát, illetve az utólagosan módosított divatfotók megjelölését. E szabályozások azonban könnyen kijátszhatók. A törvényhozás mellett különböző szervezetek alkottak olyan irányelveket, amelyek a modellek egészségvédelmét szolgálták. Ezek az iránymutatások elsősorban a biztonságos munkavégzésre, a fiatalkorúak foglalkoztatásának korlátozására és az emberi méltóság megtartására irányulnak. A divatszakmában előforduló feszültségek vezettek továbbá olyan nonprofit szervezetek megalakulásához, amelyek a modellek érdekvédelméért dolgoznak. A divatmodellek egészségvédelmét célzó jogi szabályozás a mai kultúrában domináns karcsúságideál megváltoztatását is szolgálná, mert a szociális tanulás révén a divatot követő átlagnépesség utánozza a modelleket. A divatmodellek egészségének védelme tehát népegészségügyi vonatkozással is bír. Orv Hetil. 2021; 162(23): 905–910. Summary. The fashion industry is lacking sufficient health protective regulations. There is an increased sociocultural pressure to be thin. Fashion models are often forced to reach abnormally low body weight, which can be regarded as psychological abuse. This leads to a higher prevalence of eating disorders among models compared with the general population. Some of the other dangers associated with the fashion industry are sexual harassment, financial exploitation, and unregulated minor labour force. To reduce these risks, it is crucial to introduce international regulations in the fashion industry. The first initiative for such regulations took place in Spain in 2006 when the condition for models’ employment was for their body mass index (BMI) not to drop below 18.0, which is close to the low end of healthy BMI. Later in France, to decrease the prevalence of eating disorders, a legislation on compulsory medical examination for models was made. Also, retouching of photos had to be disclosed. Regulations like these, however, can easily be eluded. Different organisations implemented guidelines, such as establishing safe working conditions, limiting underage labour force, and maintaining dignity to protect models’ health. Tension within the fashion industry led to the formation of non-profit organisations seeking the protection of models’ interest. Regulations protecting models’ health in the fashion industry would encourage society to adjust its predominant ideal for thinness. Just as the general population tends to follow fashion trends portrayed by fashion models, so would they likely imitate the new look of models. Hence, the protection of models’ health goes beyond the fashion industry. It has public health implications as well. Orv Hetil. 2021; 162(23): 905–910.

Addressing the environmental and health impacts of microplastics requires open collaboration between diverse sectors

Public concern over the environmental and public health impacts of the emerging contaminant class “microplastics” has recently prompted government agencies to consider mitigation efforts. Microplastics do not easily fit within traditional risk-based regulatory frameworks because their persistence and extreme diversity (of size, shape, and chemical properties associated with sorbed chemicals) result in high levels of uncertainty in hazard and exposure estimates. Due to these serious complexities, addressing microplastics’ impacts requires open collaboration between scientists, regulators, and policymakers. Here we describe ongoing international mitigation efforts, with California as a case study, and draw lessons from a similarly diverse and environmentally persistent class of emerging contaminants (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) that is already disrupting traditional regulatory paradigms, discuss strategies to address challenges associated with developing health-protective regulations and policies related to microplastics, and suggest ways to maximize impacts of research.

Analysis of Futile Events in Small Industrial and Production Workshops of Isfahan Province by Mort Method

Introduction: One of the important and growing organizational considerations is the staff health and safety. Workplace events cause death and disability in a large number of employees annually. So, employers have seriously focused their attention and organizational resources on this important issue. The purpose of this study was to investigate causes of the fatal industrial-production activities using the Morte's technique and to provide management solutions to reduce the incidents caused by the workshop in Yazd province, Iran. Methods: Initially, a total of 57 fatal accidents were identified and investigated in Isfahan industrial enterprises. Among this number, 12 cases of work-related incidents were studied. In the second stage, events were analyzed by Morte tree. This descriptive, correlational, and applied research was a fieldwork conducted as a library study to collect the required data. Results: The results showed that most causes of defect accidents were among the management system factors and covered 40.4% of the total causes. This was followed by the human errors and defects in working processes (36.5%), defects in fences and barriers (19.2%) in rescue process, and other causes of accidents (3.9%). Conclusion: By adopting safety measures in compliance with the protective regulations, extent and severity of the accidents can be reduced to a large extent. Many good practices can also be prevented by appropriate management measures.

The Worker’s Employment Contract—the Legal Regulations of Interwar Poland

In independent Poland, the foundations for a new area of law, that is, labour law were laid, abandoning the previously crucial principle of freedom of contract underlying the contractual relationship between an employee and the employer. On March 16, 1928, the President of the Republic of Poland issued an ordinance on labour contracts, defining mutual obligations of employees and their employers under an employment contract based on which the employee undertook to perform work for the employer against remuneration. The legislator permitted the conclusion of employment contracts in writing, orally or in any other customary form accepted in a given workplace. In exchange for the work performed, the employer was obliged to pay appropriate contractual remuneration, as specified in the employment agreement. Importantly, this ordinance contained a number of protective regulations that were designed to protect the worker and make his position towards the employer more equal. They included regulations concerning remuneration protection or the employer’s obligation to specify work rules. Most importantly, however, the ordinance protected the worker from immediate and unjustified dismissal.

Child Abuse and Its Implications for Sustainable Development in Nigeria

The menace of child abuse has remained a challenge to the development of the child and the country. This has consequential implications on the sustainable development of the country in entirety. Nigeria as a nation has an estimated fifteen million children engaged in one manual labour or another and this negatively impacts the development of the populace and society in general. This paper has identified child labour, physical abuse, child neglect, child marriage,female genital mutilation, molestation and emotional and psychological abuse as types of abuse and established that poverty, cultural and religious belief, poor implementation of child protective regulations as factors encouraging the propagation of these condemnable acts particularly in developing countries like Nigeria. The paper stress that children are the future generation and hold the key to development as leaders of tomorrow as such, how they are tackled by every society reflects the level of development of any country as such, importance must be placed on tackling this menace quickly. The study amongst a number of measures recommends that qualified persons be employed to handle the affairs of children to prevent exploitation, molestation and neglect, government should establish more orphanage homes as well as financeaid non-governmental organisationsfinancially in their quest to enlighten, rehabilitate and empower victims and children, in addition, NGOs should provide accurate data on victims and perpetrators of these acts.

Preconditions, Regulatory Failure and Corporate Negligence Behind the Lac-Mégantic Disaster

The Lac-Mégantic oil train disaster, July 6, 2013, was not a highly improbable, impossible-to-anticipate event. A number of prior conditions, the product of deliberate regulatory and corporate actions and inactions, contributed to the risk of a major accident. These preconditions include: three decades of railway deregulation under Conservative and Liberal governments under which railways gained increasing freedom to regulate themselves; a weakened, dysfunctional regulator and a flawed safety regime; a negligent company with repeated safety violations and penchant for cutting corners; a regulation-adverse , austerity-minded government indifferent to the growing dangers posed by the increase in the transportation of oil-by-rail; and an industry bent on blocking or weakening potential protective regulations affecting its costs. These preconditions provided the context for a series of mutually reinforcing regulatory failures, which accumulated, and as oil-by-rail grew, so too did the prospects of avoiding an accident diminish, to the point where the question became: when, where and how serious.

Regulating casual employment in Australia

The rise of precarious and non-standard working arrangements has received substantial attention in recent times. In Australia precarious work has been particularly associated with the phenomenon of casual work, defined as employment without the leave benefits provided by the National Employment Standards. Casual employment status is at the employers' discretion. It may be long term and involve short shifts of less than 4 hours. In the recent Modern Awards Review by the Australian Fair Work Commission, the Australian Council of Trade Unions submitted proposals to limit employers' ability to unilaterally determine the employment relationship and to reduce the degree of precariousness associated with casual employment. The Australian Council of Trade Unions sought the right for long-term casuals to convert to permanent employment and to extend minimum hours for shifts. This article surveys the evidence, primary and secondary, regarding the extent and nature of Australian casual employment, including its impact on flexibility, earnings security and productivity. In this context, we explore the implications of the Australian Council of Trade Unions claims and Fair Work Commission decision, and present data from a survey of casual employees regarding employment preferences. Whilst some employees prefer casual status, we find that many would benefit from protective regulations, and that most casuals support such regulation.

State duties of protection and fundamental rights

Duties of protection are duties of the state to protect certain legal interests of its citizens. They cover the interests of life, health, freedom and property and also protect some other interests and certain constitutionally recognised institutions. State duties of protection must be considered in connection with fundamental rights. The foundations of modern constitutionalism and attendant procedures are essential to develop guidelines for a constructive critique of the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court. This is done with reference to the recent history of France, Germany and England. The historical excursus reveals that a single theory underlies the variety of constitutional states. The development of the constitutional state gave rise to the significance of the preservation of freedom through the maintenance of law and the separation of powers. This has given rise to various legal devices, based also in part on experience with moderate rule and earlier theories of the imperium limitatum.A textual analysis of the German Basic Law is undertaken to determine whether and how the duties of protection are expressly created. Furthermore, the duties that have been discovered in the Basic Law by the Federal Constitutional Court are considered. These duties include the protection of human life and health, personal freedom, the right to autonomous development of one's personality, freedom of science, research and teaching, marriage and the family, children, mothers, professional freedom, property and the protection of German nationals against foreign states. Finally the justification of such duties and the constitutional control of the manner of protection are considered.In a final section a critique of relevant constitutional jurisprudence is undertaken. It is argued that claims to protection cannot be directly binding law. They presuppose legislation. If statutory protection is connected with infringements of third-party fundamental rights, the principle of proportionality can be adopted to test whether the protection is effective. Insofar as protection can be achieved without infringements of rights, one must attempt to test the effectiveness of protection by some other means. Where the legislature omits to protect at all, the court should limit itself to establishing the existence of a duty and to querying its non-fulfilment. The Court may not pass protective regulations or impose a duty to pass specific regulations. Where general statutory norms apply, protective duties can be realised through the socalled indirect third-party effect of fundamental rights. In its reaching its decision, the German Federal Constitutional Court is responsible for preserving the political discretion of the legislature in protecting interests and remembering the structural distinction between "hard" defensive rights and "soft" protective duties in order to prevent the erosion of the directly binding nature of defensive rights.