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

'Under the surface' mental health campaign posters

The posters highlight some signs and symptoms that indicate that something is having a negative effect on your mental health and promote the website www.mindingyourhead.info� as a source of help for anyone finding it difficult coping with their feelings.

Driving under the influence of cocaine or therapeutic administration of cocaine?

Introduction: In forensic toxicology, cocaine is better known for its powerful stimulating effects of nervous system and its high potential for recreational abuse, than for his therapeutic use. However, cocaine is still use as a topical anesthetic and peripheral vasoconstrictor in surgeries of eye, ear, nose and throat. Last decade, an increase of the presence of cocaine and metabolites in blood samples of drivers suspected to drive under the influence of drugs (DUID) was observed in Switzerland (Augsburger et al., Forensic Sci Int 153 (2005) 11-15; Senna et al., Forensic Sci Int 198 (2010) 11-16). Observed blood concentration ranges of cocaine and benzoylecgonine were 10-925 μg/L and 20-5200 μg/L, respectively. Since 2005, zero-tolerance approach was introduced in the Swiss legislation for different substances, especially cocaine (analytical cutoff: 15 μg/L). Thus, the interpretation often amounts to determine if the concentration is situated above or under the limit. However, it is important for the interpretation to take into account the context and to be critical with the obtained results, at the risk of ending in erroneous conclusions. Methods: Systematical toxicological analyses were performed on blood and urine, if available, for 5 DUID cases, as already published (Augsburger et al., Forensic Sci Int 153 (2005)). Positive results were confirmed and drugs were quantified in biological samples by GCMS, GC-MS/MS or LC-MS/MS. Results: Administration of cocaine after traffic accident was identified in five cases. All people were admitted to the emergency room because of severe trauma. Maxillofacial surgery was done shortly after admission to the emergency room, involving use of nasal application of cocaine (swab). For all cases, use of cocaine swab was not mentioned in the document filled by the police and by medical staff requested for blood and urine sampling. The information was obtained retrospectively after consultation of the medical records, without precise indication of the application time or dose. Case 1. A 83-year old man (pedestrian) was hit by a car. Blood (+11h after the accident): cocaine (16 μg/L), benzoylecgonine (370 μg/L). Urine: cocaine (1700 μg/L), benzoylecgonine (560 μg/L). Case 2. A 84-year old woman (pedestrian) was hit by a car. Blood (+1.5h after the accident): cocaine (230 μg/L), benzoylecgonine (370 μg/L). Urine was not available. Hair (+4 months after the accident): segment 1 (0-2 cm), cocaine not detected; segment 2 (2-4 cm), cocaine: <0.5 ng/mg. Case 3. A 66-year old man was involved in a car/car accident. He died 2 hours and 5 minutes after the crash. Blood (+1.5h after the accident): cocaine and metabolites not detected. Blood (+2h after the accident): cocaine (1750 μg/L), benzoylecgonine (460 μg/L). Blood (post-mortem): cocaine (370 μg/L), benzoylecgonine (200 μg/L). Urine (+1.5h after the accident): cocaine not detected. Case 4. A 57-year old woman on a motor scooter was hit by a car. She died 2 hours and 10 minutes after the crash. Blood (+0.5h after the accident): cocaine and metabolites not detected. Urine (post-mortem): cocaine (<20 μg/L), benzoylecgonine (120 μg/L). Case 5. A 30-year old man was involved in a car accident. Blood (+4h after the accident): cocaine (29 μg/L), benzoylecgonine (< 20 μg/L). Urine (+4h after the accident): cocaine and metabolites not detected. Ethanol (1,32 g/kg) and cannabinoids (THC (2,0 μg/L), THCCOOH (38 μg/L)) were also detected in blood. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first description of DUID cases involving therapeutic use of cocaine after an accident. These results indicate that even if a per se law is effective for prosecution case of DUID, a critical interpretation of the results is always needed, especially if a medical intervention occurs after an accident.

Combined Report on the Institutions Under the Control of the Iowa Department of Human Services : Schedules, Findings and Recommendations, June 30, 2002

State Agency Audit Report

Combined Report on the Institutions Under the Control of the Iowa Department of Corrections - Schedules, Findings and Recommendations, June 30, 2002

State Agency Audit Report - Combined Report

Combined Report on the Institutions Under the Control of the Iowa Department of Human Services: Schedules Findings and Recommendations, June 30, 2003

State Agency Audit Report

Combined Report on the Institutions Under the Control of the Iowa Department of Corrections: Schedules Findings and Recommendations, June 30, 2003

State Agency Audit Report

Combined Report on the Institutions Under the Control of the Iowa Department of Corrections, Schedules, Findings and Recommendations, June 30, 2004

State Audit Reports

County Recorders Electronic Transaction Fees Under the Control of the State Treasurer and the Iowa County Recorders Association, Auditor of State's Report for the Period July 1, 2003 through September 30, 2005

County Recorders Electronic Transaction Fees Under the Control of the State Treasurer and the Iowa County Recorders Association, Auditor of State's Report for the Period July 1, 2003 through September 30, 2005

How Much “Safety” Is Available under the U.S. Proposal to the WTO?, November 2005

Critics of the U.S. proposal to the World Trade Organization (WTO) made in October 2005 are correct when they argue that adoption of the proposal would significantly reduce available support under the current farm program structure. Using historical prices and yields from 1980 to 2004, we estimate that loan rates would have to drop by 9 percent and target prices would have to drop by 10 percent in order to meet the proposed aggregate Amber Box and Blue Box limits. While this finding should cheer those who think that reform of U.S. farm programs is long overdue, it alarms those who want to maintain a strong safety net for U.S. agriculture. The dilemma of needing to reform farm programs while maintaining a strong safety net could be resolved by redesigning programs so that they target revenue rather than price. Building on a base of 70 percent Green Box income insurance, a program that provides a crop-specific revenue guarantee equal to 98 percent of the product of the current effective target price and expected county yield would fit into the proposed aggregate Amber and Blue Box limits. Payments would be triggered whenever the product of the season-average price and county average yield fell below this 98 percent revenue guarantee. Adding the proposed crop-specific constraints lowers the coverage level to 95 percent. Moving from programs that target price to ones that target revenue would eliminate the rationale for ad hoc disaster payments. Program payments would automatically arrive whenever significant crop losses or economic losses caused by low prices occurred. Also, much of the need for the complicated mechanism (the Standard Reinsurance Agreement) that transfers most risk of the U.S. crop insurance to the federal government would be eliminated because the federal government would directly assume the risk through farm programs. Changing the focus of federal farm programs from price targeting to revenue targeting would not be easy. Farmers have long relied on price supports and the knowledge that crop losses are often adequately covered by heavily subsidized crop insurance or by ad hoc disaster payments. Farmers and their leaders would only be willing to support a change to revenue targeting if they see that the current system is untenable in an era of tight federal budgets and WTO limits.

Combined Report on the Institutions Under the Control of the Iowa Department of Human Services, Schedules, Findings and Recommendations, June 30, 2004

State Audit Reports

Combined Report on the Institutions under the control of the Iowa Department of Human Services, Schedules, Findings and Recommendations, June 30, 2005

State Audit Reports

Combined Report on the Institutions under the control of the Iowa Department of Corrections, Schedules, Findings and Recommendations, June 30, 2005

State Audit Reports

Combined audit report on the institutions under the control of the Iowa Department of Corrections for the five years ended June 30, 2006

Combined audit report on the institutions under the control of the Iowa Department of Corrections for the five years ended June 30, 2006