Armed conflict and children's rights

Comments on the article by V. Murphy-Berman and V. Weisz (1996) in which some of the significant challenges and issues in implementing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) are discussed. The author believes that though the article was insightful, it overlooked the impact of armed conflict, one of the most profound sources of abuse of children's human rights worldwide. Some of the points made in an article by G. Machel (1996) are restated including the number of children soldiers and the physical, emotional, and psychological abuse they endure. The author goes on to mention other issues including parentless refugees, the dangers of land mines during and after the war, and the effects of sanctions on children. The author believes that intercultural differences and political issues may also hamper the implementation of the CRC. The article concludes with ways in which psychologists can help and the need to ratify the CRC. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

APIC position paper: hepatitis C exposure in the health care setting. Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc

The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc (APIC), is a multidisciplinary, voluntary, international organization of professionals who practice infection control and the application of epidemiology in all health settings. APIC is an international leader in prevention and control of infection transmission.     

The effect of benzodiazepines and flumazenil on motor cortical excitability in the human brain

In the present study, the effects of benzodiazepines (diazepam) were evaluated in terms of cortical excitability changes, as tested with transcranial magnetic simulation (TMS). In particular, analyzed were drug-induced changes regarding two selected parameters of TMS: (1) the cortical excitability threshold and (2) the silent period duration (SP). For this purpose, we evaluated the effects of long-term therapy with diazepam in the patients affected by anxiety disorders and the changes induced by single oral doses of diazepam in both healthy controls and patients. In addition, we tested cortical excitability changes in two 'extreme conditions' where a considerable concentration of serum benzodiazepine-like activity was reached, as represented by diazepam overdose and idiopathic recurrent stupor (IRS). In both groups of patients, a significant increment of motor threshold was found, while in the overdose patients, the SP was also increased. The administration of flumazenil in these two conditions was followed by a prompt reversal effect, consisting of a return to normal cortical excitability parameters. The long-term usage of diazepam in patients with anxiety disorders is associated with significantly increased threshold; the increased value of these parameters was temporarily further enhanced by the administration of a single oral dose of diazepam, which, in normal control subjects, is not associated with changes of cortical excitability. The results of this study reveal that different physio-pathological conditions induced by the influence of benzodiazepine and its antagonist are reflected in excitability changes which attest to the involvement and modification of cortical GABAergic activity.