Draft Leaving and After Care Regulations and Guidance for Consultation (PDF 350 KB)

Children (Leaving Care) Act (NI) 2002

Draft Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults (NI) Order (PDF 30 KB)

Explanatory Memorandum

Draft Health and Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation) Order (PDF 56 KB)

Explanatory Memorandum

Literature Review: Equality of Opportunity in Relation to the DHSSPS Draft Equality Scheme

This review of the literature on equality of opportunity issues was commissioned by the Department of Public Health, Social Sevices and Public Safety.

Composite Report (Health Service Reform Programme)

Click here to download PDF

Clarification of the Meaning of "Beneficial Owner" in the OECD Model Tax Convention: Comment on the April 2011 Discussion Draft

In April 2011, the OECD released an important discussion draft that is intended to clarify the meaning of the term "beneficial ownership" under articles 10, 11 and 12 of the OECD Model (2010). This article discusses these proposals and demonstrates that some refinement is necessary.

Preliminary draft of regulations to be made under the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill, 2013

Preliminary draft of regulations to be made under the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill, 2013 Preliminary draft of Regulations to be made under the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill, 2013. It is the intention to bring these Regulations into effect when the Bill is enacted. The Regulations are as follows: Click here to download The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013 (Certification Regulations) PDF 466KB Click here to download The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013 (Application for Review of Medical Opinion) PDF 219KB Click here to download The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013 (Notifications) PDF 180KB

Composite Report (Health Service Reform Programme)

  This Composite Report on the work of the Action Committees established for Phase I of the Health Reform Programme sets out a brief summary of the issues raised and conclusions reached during Phase I. It is intended as an input to the planning of subsequent phases and should not be regarded as binding in any respect. Click here to download PDF

Prefabrication of composite grafts for long-segment tracheal reconstruction.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prefabrication of vascularized mucosa-lined composite grafts intended to replace circumferential tracheal defects. DESIGN: Plane grafts composed of ear cartilage and full-thickness oral mucosa were revascularized by the laterothoracic fascia. The use of meshed vs nonmeshed mucosa to improve the epithelial coverage was examined. We also investigated the creation of a vascular bed over the cartilage and the subsequent application of meshed mucosa. Macroscopic aspects, viability, and degree of mucosal lining were analyzed. SUBJECTS: Twenty male New Zealand white rabbits. INTERVENTIONS: Ten animals underwent placement of auricular cartilage under the laterothoracic fascia. Intact (group 1) or meshed mucosa (group 2) was applied over the fascia and protected by a silicone sheet. After 3 weeks, prefabricated grafts were removed for comparison. In 10 other animals, a sheet of perforated cartilage was placed under the laterothoracic fascia. Two weeks later, 5 grafts (group 3) were harvested. The remaining 5 grafts were reopened for mucosal application over the cartilage and revascularized for 3 additional weeks (group 4). RESULTS: Vascularized plane grafts were obtained in all groups. Mucosal lining increased significantly with meshed mucosa (14%-68%; mean, 40%) compared with nonmeshed mucosa (3%-15%; mean, 10%) (P = .008). Induction of a vascular bed over perforated cartilage was achieved, but survival of secondary implanted mucosa was variable. CONCLUSIONS: A reliable technique to prefabricate composite grafts with cartilaginous support and mucosal lining is presented. The use of meshed mucosa significantly improves epithelial coverage.

Delirium: draft full guideline for consultation

A clinical practice guideline on Delirium is being developed for use in the NHS in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Registered stakeholders for this guideline are invited to comment on the provisional recommendations via this website.�� Individuals and organisations not registered as stakeholders are not able to comment, we recommend that you register as a stakeholder or you contact the registered stakeholder organisation that most closely represents your interests and pass your comments to them. Note that the provisional recommendations presented here do not constitute the Institute's formal guidance on this topic. The recommendations are provisional and may change after consultation. Consultation dates: 11 November 2009 - 6 January 2010 Consultation documents Full guidelineFull guideline appendicesAlgorithmNICE guidelineConsultation comments proforma��

Draft genome of the globally widespread and invasive Argentine ant (Linepithema humile).

Ants are some of the most abundant and familiar animals on Earth, and they play vital roles in most terrestrial ecosystems. Although all ants are eusocial, and display a variety of complex and fascinating behaviors, few genomic resources exist for them. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of a particularly widespread and well-studied species, the invasive Argentine ant (Linepithema humile), which was accomplished using a combination of 454 (Roche) and Illumina sequencing and community-based funding rather than federal grant support. Manual annotation of >1,000 genes from a variety of different gene families and functional classes reveals unique features of the Argentine ant's biology, as well as similarities to Apis mellifera and Nasonia vitripennis. Distinctive features of the Argentine ant genome include remarkable expansions of gustatory (116 genes) and odorant receptors (367 genes), an abundance of cytochrome P450 genes (>110), lineage-specific expansions of yellow/major royal jelly proteins and desaturases, and complete CpG DNA methylation and RNAi toolkits. The Argentine ant genome contains fewer immune genes than Drosophila and Tribolium, which may reflect the prominent role played by behavioral and chemical suppression of pathogens. Analysis of the ratio of observed to expected CpG nucleotides for genes in the reproductive development and apoptosis pathways suggests higher levels of methylation than in the genome overall. The resources provided by this genome sequence will offer an abundance of tools for researchers seeking to illuminate the fascinating biology of this emerging model organism.

Health Inequalities Intervention Tool. East of England. Draft Spec - Autumn 2007

Pilot approaches that will be used in the Phase 2 of National Health Inequalities Intervention Tool, due to be launched early 2008.

The London Health Inequalities Strategy - Draft for public consultation

This is the very first Health Inequality Strategy to be published for public consultation by the London Mayor. As such it represents a momentous step forward in galvanising action across London to address the health inequalities which prevent many Londoners from enjoying their life to the full and making the most of what London has to offer. The Greater London Authority Act 2007 requires that the strategy identifies the health inequalities, the priorities for reducing them and the role to be played by a defined list of key partners in order to implement the strategy. It defines health inequalities as inequalities in respect of life expectancy or general state of health which are wholly or partly a result of differences in respect of general health determinants۪, which it describes as: (a) standards of housing, transport services or public safety; (b) employment prospects, earning capacity and any other matters that affect levels of prosperity; (c) the degree of ease or difficulty with which persons have access to public services; (d) the use, or level of use, of tobacco, alcohol or other substances, and any other matters of personal behaviour or lifestyle, that are or may be harmful to health, and any other matters that are determinants of life expectancy or the state of health of persons generally, other than genetic or biological factors.

HSCB/PHA Draft Commissioning Plan 2011/2012

The draft Commissioning Plan was approved by the boards of the HSCB and PHA on Thursday 30 June 2011 for onward transmission to the DHSSPS for Ministerial consideration.Further refinement of the draft plan will take place in July and early August with a view to bringing a final draft plan to the August board meetings of the HSCB and PHA.

Properties of ideal composite knots.

The shortest tube of constant diameter that can form a given knot represents the 'ideal' form of the knot. Ideal knots provide an irreducible representation of the knot, and they have some intriguing mathematical and physical features, including a direct correspondence with the time-averaged shapes of knotted DNA molecules in solution. Here we describe the properties of ideal forms of composite knots-knots obtained by the sequential tying of two or more independent knots (called factor knots) on the same string. We find that the writhe (related to the handedness of crossing points) of composite knots is the sum of that of the ideal forms of the factor knots. By comparing ideal composite knots with simulated configurations of knotted, thermally fluctuating DNA, we conclude that the additivity of writhe applies also to randomly distorted configurations of composite knots and their corresponding factor knots. We show that composite knots with several factor knots may possess distinct structural isomers that can be interconverted only by loosening the knot.