Dignity as a constitutional value: Abortion, political communication and proportionality

This article examines the High Court of Australia’s treatment of the concept of dignity as both a value animating the implied freedom of political communication and as a legitimate reason to limit the exercise of that freedom. It does so through the lens of Clubb v Edwards, Preston v Avery, where the Court found that laws establishing safe access zones around abortion clinics were compatible with the implied freedom. The use of dignity as a prism through which to view the interests at stake in both abortion and speech cases is a familiar feature of developments abroad, and the Court has laid the foundations for recognition of dignity as one of the axiological bases of the implied freedom in a manner that generally emphasises individual autonomy over other conceptions of dignity that might be described as operating as a constraint on behaviour to protect other interests. Yet, while the Court has used dignity as the common measure with which to commensurate competing claims, it has yet to convincingly address concerns regarding incommensurability that attend the balancing stage of proportionality review, not to mention the potential objection that its reliance on dignity is not properly grounded in the text and structure of the Constitution. In light of these issues, the role of dignity ought to be tethered to its central role in facilitating political participation so as to more clearly link the concept to the text and structure of the Constitution, and to identify what is at stake when women’s ability to access reproductive health care is impaired or denied.

Vehicle-to-Water (V2W) Concept for Disaster Relief to Ensure Safe Access to Freshwater and Electricity—A Proposed System Where Electric Vehicles Power the Desalination Process

In this paper, the concept of vehicle-to-water is proposed for disaster relief. This, along with a presentation of a new system including an electric vehicle of van type, with roof-mounted solar panels and a desalination system installed in its cargo hold. The system can be used for transportation and water and electricity supply, with zero tailpipe emissions. The mobile electric vehicle and desalination system are expected to be beneficial for communities with an urgent need for freshwater while also lacking electricity, such as during natural disasters or societal crises in coastal regions. It is related to the water–energy nexus and is an interdisciplinary project. The electric vehicle would have to be charged from a grid-connected charging infrastructure, and the desalination system would require an inlet of seawater and would generate freshwater and brine. The presentation of the innovative system is followed by a brief case study, estimating the amount of freshwater that could be generated and the amount of people that could benefit from such a system. It is estimated that one system could produce up to 29,333 L of freshwater daily, suggesting that around 1466 people could fulfill their personal daily freshwater need of 20 L during a disaster.

Trans-oral approach for occipital condyle biopsy: Case report and review of literature

Isolated occipital condyle lesions are commonly treated with empirical radiation, with the sole aim of relieving symptoms. Patients rarely undergo surgical biopsy, considering the morbidity associated with open surgery approaches and the importance of surrounding structures limiting the application of computed tomography (CT) scan or fluoroscopic percutaneous needle biopsies. We describe the case of a 66-year-old woman who was admitted on an emergency basis. Her clinical presentation included unilateral occipital headache and ipsilateral hypoglossal nerve palsy. Imaging revealed findings consistent with an isolated right occipital condyle lesion. In order to pursue a tissue diagnosis, essential to dictate medical management accurately, a minimally invasive biopsy of the occipital condyle through the trans-oral route was performed. Combined fluoroscopy, cone-bean CT and angiography allowed safe access to the lesion.

Robotics for Acute Care in Colorectal Surgery

Robotic surgery is growing exponentially in elective colorectal procedures, but utilization of robotics in urgent and emergency procedures remains low. Robotic surgery can be safely utilized for the management of several acute colorectal operations such as anastomotic leaks, perforated diverticulitis, and more. This chapter discusses safe access principles and planning, as well as technical aspects of these complex procedures, and the pathway to building a 24/7 robotic access culture.

A Survey on Security Mechanisms for NoC-based Many-Core SoCs

The adoption of many-cores systems introduces the concern for data protection as a critical design requirement due to the resource sharing and the simultaneous executions of several applications on the platform. A secure application that processes sensitive data may have its security harmed by a malicious process. The literature contains several proposals to protect many-cores against attacks, focusing on the protection of the application execution or the access to shared memories. However, there is a gap to be fulfilled: a solution covering the entire application lifetime, including its admission, execution, and peripheral's access. This survey discusses three security-related issues: the secure admission of applications, the prevention of resource sharing during their execution, and the safe access to external devices. This survey concludes with an evaluation of the studied methods, pointing out directions and research opportunities.

Design A Multi Biometric System for Safe Access to Buildings

Designing a multi-biometric system for safe access to buildings is a very critical process because this system will act as an alternative of humans in observation, and must make smart decisions to protect the building from any intruder depending on the biometric information of the entering persons. In this paper a full design of a proposed multi-biometric system will be presented, two sensors are used (Visible and Thermal). the proposed system consists of several subsystems The first is the construction of a database that contains all the photos and information about each person who belongs to the building, the central system using visible and thermal cameras, and the peripheral system using visible cameras only. The central system is capable of remotely identifying and ensure of the health condition (Temperature, Heart Rate, Respiration Rate) of each entering person which is a very important process, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic. The peripheral system monitors any suspicious issue like crowed or walking outside allowed lines.

STRATEGIES TO ALLOW FAMILY VISITS TO ACUTE CARE UNITS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

During pandemics, hospital administration does not allow family members to visit their loved ones. There is a need to develop standards and processes that may be followed when a family member enters an ICU or ward to prevent cross infection. These rules should also be put in place during epidemics to ensure that family have safe access to their patients.

Evolution of Plant Virus Diagnostics Used in Australian Post Entry Quarantine

As part of a special edition for MDPI on plant virology in Australia, this review provides a brief high-level overview on the evolution of diagnostic techniques used in Australian government Post-Entry Quarantine (PEQ) facilities for testing imported plants for viruses. A comprehensive range of traditional and modern diagnostic approaches have historically been employed in PEQ facilities using bioassays, serological, and molecular techniques. Whilst these techniques have been effective, they are time consuming, resource intensive and expensive. The review highlights the importance of ensuring the best available science and diagnostic developments are constantly tested, evaluated, and implemented by regulators to ensure primary producers have rapid and safe access to new genetics to remain productive, sustainable and competitive.

Application of Telehealth in Prenatal Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic—A Cross-Sectional Survey of Polish Women

To reduce the risk of infection of SARS-CoV-2 during commuting to the clinic or due to contact with medical staff, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has recommended arranging some appointments in the form of “telehealth”. The aim of the study was to assess the access to medical care in pregnancy during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the role of telehealth in the implementation of prenatal care standards. This is a cross-sectional study. The study group included 618 women who were pregnant and/or gave birth in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of the participants experienced difficulties accessing medical care because of the pandemic. The correlation between this experience and the use of the hybrid healthcare model was established. The affiliation to public or private healthcare was irrelevant. There was no relationship between healthcare (private/public or in-person/hybrid) and implementation of the prenatal care standards. To ensure safe access to prenatal care for pregnant women, recommendations for a hybrid pregnancy management model should be created with detailed information regarding which appointments patients must be present for in-person and which can be conducted remotely. To reduce the risks associated with movement and interpersonal contact, all visits during which tests and screenings take place should be conducted in-person; other appointments can be arranged in the form of telehealth.

Regioselective C–H selenylation of heteroarenes under metal-free conditions

Selenium-containing heteroarenes consist of a synthetically valuable family of compounds that found applications in many different areas, such as organic synthesis, medicinal chemistry, supramolecular chemistry, and optoelectronic devices construction. Over the past decade, many advances have been achieved to the synthesis of these substances, and this review aims to cover a literature survey of the direct selenylation of heteroarenes under metal-free conditions, which represents one of the most powerful synthetic strategies for the preparation of those target molecules. The construction of new C-Se bonds through selective C-H functionalization reactions has become useful and atom-economical. The widespread adoption of metal-free approaches has emerged as versatile, sustainable, and safe access to these organoselenium compounds. Among the features of these new protocols are the use of mild oxidants and halogen-based catalysts, inorganic bases, as well as photo-induced reactions, and electrosynthesis.