Balancing act

A sculptural goblet inspired by childhood experiences and how they equate to contemporary fairytales. The work is hand-blown and engraved. This piece represents scene two in the narrative. It is a work that condenses the animated moving image into a sculptural form.

The impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 on mental health care

Some may argue that the introduction of the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) has benefited only celebrities and asylum-seekers. Others contend that the HRA is a significant piece of legislation that has the potential to promote and protect the rights of the most vulnerable in our society. A few years after the Act's introduction this contribution considers the impact it has had on mental health practice in the UK.

Progesterone and testosterone in combination act in the hypothalamus of castrated rams to regulate the secretion of LH

We tested the hypotheses that progesterone enhances the negative feedback actions of testosterone in rams and that this occurs through actions at the hypothalamus. In the first part of this study, blood samples were collected every 10 min for 12 h before and after 7 days of treatment (i.m.) of castrated Romney Marsh rams (n=5 per group) with vehicle, progesterone (4 mg/12 h), testosterone (4 mg/12 h) or a combination of progesterone (4 mg/12 h) and testosterone (4 mg/12 h). In the second part of this study the brains of four gonad-intact Romney Marsh rams were collected, the hypothalamus was sectioned and in situ hybridisation of mRNA for progesterone receptors conducted. After 7 days of treatment with vehicle or progesterone or testosterone alone, there were no changes in the secretion of LH. In contrast, treatment with a combination of progesterone and testosterone resulted in a significant (P<0.01, repeated measures ANOVA) decrease in mean plasma concentrations of LH, the number of LH pulses per hour and the pre-LH pulse nadir and a significant (P<0.01) increase in the inter-LH pulse interval. We found cells containing mRNA for progesterone receptors throughout the hypothalamus, including the preoptic area (where most GnRH neurons are located in sheep), the periventricular, ventromedial and arcuate nuclei and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. This study shows that progesterone is capable of acting centrally with testosterone to suppress the secretion of LH in castrated rams and that cells containing mRNA for progesterone receptors are located in the hypothalamus of rams in the vicinity of GnRH neurons.

A way through the dark and thorny thickets? The adjudication of ‘serious injury’ under the narrative tests in the Transport Accident Act 1986 (Vic) and the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013 (Vic)

The so-called narrative test provides the means by which injured persons who satisfy the statutory and common law definition of serious injury may bring proceedings for common law damages under s 93 of the Transport Accident Act 1986 (Vic) and s 134AB of the Accident Compensation Act 1985 (Vic) (or, for injuries after 1 July 2014, under ss 324-347 of the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013 (Vic)). These are among the most litigated provisions in Australia. This article outlines the legislative and political background to these provisions, the provisions themselves, and an account of the statutory and common law requirements needed to satisfy the provisions.

Shareholder class actions - a critical analysis of the procedure under Part IVA of the Federal Court of Australia Act

Part IVA of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1974 (C’th) governs the class action procedure, which has been available in Australia since March 1992. The procedure was not popular amongst the shareholders until in the late 1990s, and since then the number of shareholder class actions has steadily increased. Many of these shareholder class actions settled before a final court hearing. This article critically examines the class action procedure and in doing so, it highlights the current issues that contribute to a rapid rise in shareholder class actions. The article calls for reform to the class action procedure. It identifies areas for reform in an attempt to improve the position of the group members so that they can receive a better outcome than what they can get under the current class action model.