Ineffective Remedies Research Articles

The impact of cultural healthcare practices on Children's health in the United Arab Emirates: a qualitative study of traditional remedies and implications.

This qualitative study investigates the impact of cultural practices on children's health in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by examining the use of traditional remedies and home treatments by mothers. Twenty-five participants, all mothers who had employed traditional treatments or home remedies for their children during periods of illness, were included in the study. The participants represented a diverse range of educational backgrounds, from school diploma holders to university degree graduates, with ages spanning from 20 to 50 years. Hailing from different Arabic countries and cultural subgroups, the majority of participating mothers were from the UAE. Through in-depth interviews, three major themes emerged from the participants' experiences. Firstly, a strong connection between culture, religion, and healthcare practices was evident. Many mothers opted for cultural remedies as their first line of defense against illnesses due to the practices' strong foundations in their cultural heritage. Herbal remedies, Quranic healing, and other traditional methods were perceived to be both effective and spiritually comforting, reinforcing participants' sense of cultural identity. Secondly, participants highlighted unintended consequences of relying solely on traditional treatments. Some instances were reported where the use of ineffective remedies resulted in delays in seeking appropriate medical care for their children, potentially compromising their health. Additionally, certain misconceptions regarding the safety and efficacy of traditional remedies were identified, emphasizing the need for evidence-based healthcare education. This qualitative study sheds light on the intricate interplay between culture, traditional remedies, and children's health in the UAE. The incorporation of diverse participants from various Arabic countries and cultural subgroups enriches the study's applicability to broader Arabic cultures. By recognizing the significance of cultural healthcare practices and striking a balance with evidence-based care, healthcare providers can create a more inclusive and effective healthcare environment for children in the UAE. Future research should explore diverse samples and develop targeted interventions to further advance cultural awareness and understanding in healthcare practices.

“Rede hit sofft”: John Audelay's Practice of Care

“Rede hit sofft”: John Audelay's Practice of Care

'Selling the monster' or the relevance of cultural-cognitive conditions in creating demand for innovation: the case of COVID-19 vaccines and beyond

Starting from the current, problematic inertia in citizens' demand for coronavirus vaccinations, the article argues that public demand for innovations crucially depends on consumers' ability to cultural-cognitively process the degree of novelty that the innovation brings about. This is not only of major importance for entrepreneurs who aim to commercialise innovations or otherwise create markets and demand, but as importantly, it concerns innovation and industrial policy who have a responsibility to establish and maintain reliable demand structures. Lastly, it strongly concerns contemporary 'mission-oriented' or transformative innovation policy, since 'grand challenges' can be addressed, and transitions performed only if the technological dynamics involved are accepted on a wide scale. The proposition is that, given the cultural-cognitive origins and the emotive form of certain impediments to demand, rational incentives are largely ineffective remedies for them. Instead, in the short run, social structures are necessary by which to comfort and 'solace' potential consumers.

Immunological characterization of rLdTCP1γ for its prophylactic potential against visceral leishmaniasis in hamster model

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a chronic tropical disease responsible for devastating epidemics worldwide. Though current treatment relies on drugs, the emergence of resistance, toxic side-effects, and strenuous administration has led to an ineffective remedy. Hence, vaccination remains an alternative and desirable approach for VL control. Though extensive research on anti-leishmanial vaccine candidates has been carried out in past decades, presence of an effective molecule is still missing. In the present study, we have evaluated the immunogenicity and prophylactic potential of a recombinant T-complex protein-1 gamma subunit of L. donovani (rLdTCP1γ), against VL in hamster model. The antigen exhibited in vitro stimulation of lymphoproliferative and NO response in miltefosine and amphotericin B treated hamsters depicting its immunotherapeutic/immunogenic nature. Immunization with rLdTCP1γ revealed a strong protective response against experimental VL as indicated by reduced parasite load in the spleen of immunized group compared to infected control. The immunized animals gained body weight and exhibited significant reduction in the spleen and liver weight as compared to infected controls on days 60, 90, 120 post-challenge. A substantial augmentation of cell-mediated immune response as depicted by an increased lymphocyte proliferation, nitric oxide production, DTH responses and increased levels of IgG2 was observed in rLdTCP1γ immunized hamsters. The Th1 stimulatory potential, imparted by the antigen, was found to be intensified in the presence of adjuvant Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG). The efficacy was further assisted by an upregulated mRNA transcript of Th1 induced cytokines (IL-12, IFN-γ and TNFα) and downregulation of IL-4 and IL-10. The results are thus suggestive of rLdTCP1γ having the potential of a strong vaccine candidate against VL.

The Declining Middle: Occupational Change, Social Status, and the Populist Right

This article investigates the political consequences of occupational change in times of rapid technological advancement and sheds light on the economic and cultural roots of right-wing populism. A growing body of research shows that the disadvantages of a transforming employment structure are strongly concentrated among semiskilled routine workers in the lower middle class. I argue that individual employment trajectories and relative shifts in the social hierarchy are key to better understand recent political disruptions. A perception of relative economic decline among politically powerful groups—not their impoverishment—drives support for conservative and, especially, right-wing populist parties. Individual-level panel data from three postindustrial democracies and original survey data demonstrate this relationship. A possible interpretation of the findings is that traditional welfare policy might be an ineffective remedy against the ascent of right-wing populism.

Family Ties: The Familial Privacy Implications of Direct to Consumer Genetic Testing

Direct to consumer (DTC) genetic testing has recently become a popular trend in the United States. There are countless private actors that could have an interest in the genetic data that has been collected and interpreted by DTC genetic testing companies, such as 23andMe. For instance, what would happen if a private entity were to acquire this genetic information through mergers and acquisitions, contracts of adhesion, or a data breach? This expansive violation of privacy will not only directly affect those who have voluntarily provided online genetic testing sites with their genetic information, but blood relatives who inherently share similar DNA will be implicitly affected as well. Modern genomics now allows researchers to “fill in the blanks” of a family tree based on one family member’s genetic sequence. This article seeks to focus on civil remedies and regulatory protections regarding familial third parties' privacy implications in the event of the access, sharing, or disclosure of the contributing sample owner's genetic information. With the last landmark piece of federal legislation pertaining to genetic privacy being passed nearly 12 years ago, these relatives of the contributing sample owner may only be left with ineffective civil remedies for the nonconsensual use, obtention, and/or public disclosure of an appreciable amount of their genetic information. This Article tracks the evolution of DTC genetic testing and the vulnerability of the private and sensitive health information that has been acquired and analyzed for millions of consumers. It also highlights the feasibility and inadequacies of civil remedies for third party relatives in the event that their genetic information is implicitly shared as a result of the disclosure of the contributing owner's genetic sample.

Diversity in Professionalism Framings Across U.S. Medical Boards

Lapses in professionalism are a common cause of disciplinary action against physicians by U.S. medical boards. However, the exact definition of “professionalism” is unclear, making it likely that a physician will not train or practice under the same framing of professionalism and so may fail to develop certain skills. The goal of this study was to identify and compare the professionalism framings of medical boards.The medical board web pages for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and four territories were examined in June 2017 for use of the word “professionalism” or “professional” in their application, rules, or laws, which was then coded as a best fit to one of six core framings of professionalism.Of the 55 states and territories, integrity was the most common professionalism framing (40.0%), followed by excellence (23.6%), behavior (12.7%), mixed (9.1%), unclear (9.1%), and absent (5.5%). Although integrity was the most common framing, diversity exists among medical boards, which could lead to board misunderstandings of incidents labeled as professionalism violations and ineffective remediation of offenses. In order to best communicate the nature of the offense and thus best facilitate remediation, the incident should be called by its true name rather than the all-encompassing term “professionalism.”

Extraction of residual heavy metals from commercial chitosan and approach to preparation of oligochitosan hydrochloride

For biomedical applications, chitosan and oligochitosan must be appropriately characterized and meet pharmacological requirements in terms of contamination by residual heavy metals.In this work, a series of commercial chitosans was analyzed by ICP-MS method, and high concentration of Fe (44–382 ppm), Cr (3.1–35.5 ppm) and Ni (0.33–7.91 ppm) exceeding pharmacologically acceptable level was found. It was shown that as a chelating agent EDTA was an ineffective remedy for solid-phase extraction of residual heavy metals from chitosan. It was proposed that corrosion of stainless steel apparatus in the process of chitin deacetylation contributed to chitosan contamination by heavy metals. A two-step treatment of chitosan with hydrochloric acid allowed remediation of chitosan and preparation of oligochitosan hydrochloride with molecular weight 5–16 kDa and acceptable level of Fe<10, Cr<1 and Ni<1 ppm.

Old wine in new bottles? New strategies for judicial accountability in China

Life-long responsibility for handling cases marks a new page in Chinese judicial accountability. However, inadequate implementation of accountability mechanisms and ineffective remedies to mend the flaws of the justice system has frequently been criticized at home and abroad. The realization of judicial accountability actually remains very unsatisfactory. This article analyses why the current legal and institutional framework discourages the application of the judicial accountability and whether or not the new strategies that have been adopted could achieve their expected outcomes. It also examines the attempts made by the authorities over the recent decade and discusses their significance in holding those responsible accountable for wrongful convictions. Even so, only with substantive reforms to remove institutional obstacles can positive enforcers play an important and effective role in realizing the strict judicial accountability. To achieve accountability, a dual-track approach, involving both an independent judicial disciplinary committee and the current inspection departments inside the judiciary, is proposed.

Comparative Analysis of Appeal and Appeal in Cassation Procedure for Considering Criminal Cases

The article analyses the correlation of appeal and appeal in cassation procedure for criminal cases and compares the object and subject of appeal and appeal in cassation. The author singles out their features, including those set by the ECHR and the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, making it possible to distinguish between the appeal procedure and appeal in cassation procedure for criminal cases. The article discusses the features of excitation of appeal and cassation procedure, as well as their impact on the effectiveness of the judicial review. The author examines particularities of the organization of the court system, enabling appeal in cassation and outlines the factors that allow the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation provide for greater integrity of judicial practice and law. The author notes the importance of the principle of legal certainty as a basis for truth of the judgement for the system of verification of the stages of the criminal procedure. To differentiate between an appeal and appeal in cassation procedure the author determines the possibility of a separate check of the actual circumstances of the criminal case and legal issues, the impact of these factors on the convicted or aquit-ted person's participation in the meeting of the courts of appeal and cassation; the grounds for cancellation or modification of the judgement; procedure for review of judicial decisions; decisions taken by appellate and cassation courts. Comparative analysis of negative effects of appeal and appeal in cassation is conducted. The ratio between the timing of the appeal and appeal in cassation, as well as the impact of the latter on the evaluation of ECHR Russian appeal as ineffective remedies is considered. As a result, an effective remedy to be exhausted based on P. 1 Art. 35 of the ECHR is the appellate review of judicial decisions. The author explores the special powers of the President of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and his Deputy in review of court decisions (P. 3 Art. 401.8 of the the Criminal Procedural Code of the Russian Federation). The author outlines the features of appeal in cassation procedure indicating its extraordinarity, which helps to ensure the legal stability and legal certainty.

How Do Medical Schools Identify and Remediate Professionalism Lapses in Medical Students? A Study of U.S. and Canadian Medical Schools.

Teaching and assessing professionalism is an essential element of medical education, mandated by accrediting bodies. Responding to a call for comprehensive research on remediation of student professionalism lapses, the authors explored current medical school policies and practices. In 2012-2013, key administrators at U.S. and Canadian medical schools accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education were interviewed via telephone or e-mail. The structured interview questionnaire contained open-ended and closed questions about practices for monitoring student professionalism, strategies for remediating lapses, and strengths and limitations of current systems. The authors employed a mixed-methods approach, using descriptive statistics and qualitative analysis based on grounded theory. Ninety-three (60.8%) of 153 eligible schools participated. Most (74/93; 79.6%) had specific policies and processes regarding professionalism lapses. Student affairs deans and course/clerkship directors were typically responsible for remediation oversight. Approaches for identifying lapses included incident-based reporting and routine student evaluations. The most common remediation strategies reported by schools that had remediated lapses were mandated mental health evaluation (74/90; 82.2%), remediation assignments (66/90; 73.3%), and professionalism mentoring (66/90; 73.3%). System strengths included catching minor offenses early, emphasizing professionalism schoolwide, focusing on helping rather than punishing students, and assuring transparency and good communication. System weaknesses included reluctance to report (by students and faculty), lack of faculty training, unclear policies, and ineffective remediation. In addition, considerable variability in feedforward processes existed between schools. The identified strengths can be used in developing best practices until studies of the strategies' effectiveness are conducted.

Photocatalytic degradation of 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2) in the presence of TiO2-doped zeolite

Current design limitations and ineffective remediation techniques in wastewater treatment plants have led to concerns about the prevalence of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) in receiving waters. A novel photocatalyst, TiO2-doped low-silica X zeolite (TiO2-LSX), was used to study the degradation of the pharmaceutical compound, 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2). The catalyst was synthesized and characterized using XRD, BET surface analysis, SEM-EDAX, and ICP-OES. The effects of different UV light intensities, initial EE2 concentrations, and catalyst dosages on the EE2 removal efficiency were studied. A higher EE2 removal efficiency was attained with UV-TiO2-LSX when compared with UV-TiO2 or UV alone. The EE2 degradation process followed pseudo-first-order kinetics. A comprehensive empirical model was developed to describe the EE2 degradation kinetics under different conditions using multiple linear regression analysis. The EE2 degradation mechanism was proposed based on molecular calculations, identification of photoproducts using HPLC–MS/MS, and reactive species quenching experiments; the results showed that oxidative degradation pathways initiated by hydroxyl radicals were predominant. This novel TiO2-doped zeolite system provides a promising application for the UV disinfection process in wastewater treatment plants.

Of Lice and Men

Lice have annoyed hominids for millions of years, since long before Pediculushumanusbranched,onceormultiple times, into its capitisand corporis ecotypes. Although head louse infestations receive a particularly bad reputation frommedia andmothers, this condition in reality is morepesky thanpestilent.Head licecarrynegligible riskofdisease transmission and therefore have minimal morbidity. Popular media, however, portray head lice as an affliction of the unclean anduncouth. Televisionoftendepicts pediculosis as a disgrace invitedby lapsedpersonal hygiene and fully deserving of society’s scorn. For example, in an episode of The Office (American version, episode 9.10), the protagonist, Pam, conceals that she contracted head lice from her3-year-olddaughter.Anensuingoutbreakofheadlice inherofficefinds blamedeflectedontoaninnocentcharacterwhoissuspectbecauseofpast hygienic transgressions.Athirdcharacter,whenaskedtorefrain fromvilifying her louse-ridden coworkers, declares, “I have not yet begun to shame,” thus capturing the stigma engendered by themedia. An episode of South Park (episode 11.3) also addresses the stigma of pediculosis, but ends, as usual, with a quasi-lesson for viewers. Like The Office, this episode is a whodunit, seeking to identify which character introduced head lice into the classroom. At the episode’s conclusion, all discover that every child is infested with head lice, a more appropriatecharacterizationof theegaliteet fraterniteofpediculosisamong school-aged children. These showsperpetuate thenotion thatpediculosis is shameful and promulgateahostofmisinformation.Thecommunicablenatureofhead lice is exaggerated in both episodes, seen when an Office character dons a Hazmat suit to protect himself from contagion and South Park’s children pummel their infested classmate with soap. Although viewers may not take the comedic portrayal of head lice seriously,myths about head lice appear on “fact-based” shows, too. For example, on the forensic crime series, CSI (episode 9.3), investigators presumethat anunidentifiedcorpse is thatof ahomelessmanpartlybecause of lice found throughout his hair. Television also perpetuates myths about treating head lice. For example,usingmayonnaisetocurehead lice inTheOffice,whileperhapsnot harmful, is an ineffective remedy. Pam’s admission that shewas “up all night disinfecting every sheet, towel, toy, item of clothing, in the entire house”encouragessanitationmeasuresfarbeyondrecommendedactions. In contrast to television’s frequentportrayal ofhead lice as a scourge of theGreatUnwashed,many children’s books are correct and informative. A search of current children’s literature finds many picture books designed to educate children and families about head lice and to dispel its stigma. Similar attempts by broadcast media to correct false beliefs about this condition could mollify popular sentiments toward this benign and nearly universal condition.

Of Animalcula , Phthisis and Scrofula : Historical Insights into Tuberculosis in the Pre-Koch Era

Tuberculosis (TB) has occupied pride of place throughout the history of disease as a scourge with an unparalleled impact on humankind in terms of morbidity, mortality and economic cost. Until Robert Koch’s revolutionary elucidation of its aetiology in 1882,1 this disease inspired awe, social stigma, a variety of wide-ranging but largely ineffective remedies, and even stimulated artistic fervour in prose, poetry and paintings. It therefore behooves both current and future physicians to look back, recognise and remember the multitude of individuals and disciplines that contributed to (and sometimes detracted from) the understanding of this disease, which was famously alluded to by John Bunyan in 1680 as “the Captain of all these men of death…Consumption”.2 This article casts a spotlight on tuberculosis during the pre-Koch era, from its semantics and eponyms, to a host of individuals (acknowledged or forgotten) who form part of the narrative of this disease as either discoverers or sufferers. These glimpses of past eons, preceding Koch’s landmark discovery of the tubercle bacillus, offer a deeper insight into the complex interactions between disease, discoveries and societal interpretations.

Payment Systems, Consumer Tragedy, and Ineffective Remedies

Payment methods like the Starbucks Rewards Card, while imitating liquidity, are challenged by confidence-detracting barriers of too little consumer knowledge and a lack of appropriate remedies. Starbucks operates as a non-banking firm performing an essential banking function – the storage of money for consumers to later use. Consumers are rarely well informed of the nature of this transaction and the relief that may be available when contracting for a future sale. Recent congressional action (CAFA) limiting class action lawsuits to Federal Court significantly limits traditional consumer relief while the bankruptcy code provides little relief should the merchant find itself insolvent. All the while, consumers continue to entrust more than $1 billion each year for merchants to hold with no guarantee that the credits will be honored, few enforcement mechanisms to force merchants to do so, and little relief if the company files bankruptcy. Using the metaphor of consumption gentrification, this Article re-conceptualizes the stored value cards problem as a confluence between fair dealing and risk allocation. In doing so, the Article suggests several avenues of relief, but proposes comprehensive reform that incorporates commercial policy, regulatory oversight, and social consumer awareness.

Treating epilepsy in Italy between XIX and XX century

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder which has been recognized since antiquity. This paper evaluates the prophylactic and therapeutic remedies used by folk medicine to cure epilepsy in Italy. The data has been collected by reviewing written sources of physicians, ethnographers, folklorists between the late nineteenth and mid twentieth century. This approach leads to unearthing of 78 heterogeneous healing methods that have been divided into 16 (20%) magical, 20 (26%) religious and 42 (54%) natural remedies. The latter has been subdivided into 18 (43%) animal remedies, 17 (40%) plant remedies and 7 (17%) other remedies.Religious and magical remedies were used with the conviction that they would be able to provide recovery from epilepsy and to ward off evil spirits which had taken possession of the sick. Interestingly, the herbal remedies highlighted 12 (70%) plants that play or might play an important role with respect to the mechanisms that generate the epileptic seizures. This leads us to reconsider the historical significance of folk medicine, too often it is underestimated owing to its use of ineffective remedies, born of incompetence and superstition.

Let the Sunshine In, or Else: An Examination of the “Teeth” of State and Federal Open Meetings and Open Records Laws

Public access laws are at the heart of transparent democracy, in place to ensure that government meetings and records are open to the public. However, compliance with these laws is often problematic, a fact that can be attributed, in part, to ineffective remedies available for violations of state and federal open government laws. This study examines the enforcement provisions of the public access laws in jurisdictions across the United States to explore the remedies available, including equitable relief such as injunctions and mandamus, actual and punitive damages, attorneys’ fees, and civil and criminal sanctions. Structural difficulties were revealed that can make these remedies toothless for people unlawfully denied access. The article concludes by suggesting improvements such as enhanced and uniform penalties, more consistent enforcement, and alternatives to litigation.

Owen Lyndon Wade

Clinical pharmacologist who revolutionised the BNF Professor Owen Wade’s greatest legacy is the British National Formulary ( BNF ) in its current format, which is regarded as the bible by...

Homoeopathy: the effective promotion of ineffective remedies?

In this issue Ross et al. [1] demonstrate that homoeopathy is alive and kicking. In Scotland, about 12% of general practitioners (GPs) use homoeopathic medicines and 60% of all GP practices prescribe them. Considering that many patients buy these remedies over the counter, the true usage is likely to be much higher. The Scottish situation is perhaps special, but there is little doubt that homoeopathy is again gaining in popularity How can we explain this increasing usage of homoeopathy? One reason could be that it is effective. Homoeopaths use highly dilute remedies devoid of meaningful pharmacological effects and believe their treatments rely on undefined, nonpharmacological effects. However, not understanding how it works does not mean that it does not work. So what do systematic reviews and meta-analyses of rigorous clinical trials tell us? In 1997, Linde and colleagues published a meta-analysis of 89 controlled clinical trials, which concluded that the ‘clinical effects of homeopathy are not completely due to placebo’ [2]. Since then, more than 20 further systematic reviews or meta-analyses have become available [3–8]. Collectively they fail to demonstrate convincingly that homoeopathic remedies differ from placebos. As science cannot prove a negative, we are not able to state categorically that homoeopathy is ineffective, but we can be certain of one thing: its clinical effectiveness has not been established. Of course, our doubts are significantly increased by the absence of a plausible mechanism of action. Another explanation for homoeopathy’s increasing popularity could be effective promotion. In the UK, Royal protection has always been important for homoeopathy. The Prince of Wales’s Foundation for Integrated Medicine is a lobby group which has produced many documents that favour homoeopathy. Its (government-funded) patient guide on complementary medicine advertised homoeopathy as ‘most often used to treat chronic conditions such as asthma …’ [9] (no other ‘evidence’ on the subject was provided). The quote is in accordance with a previous (also publicly funded) pamphlet designed to give primary care groups ‘a basic source of reference on complementary and alternative therapies’ [10]. In relation to homoeopathy, it stated that ‘specific conditions for which there is the best evidence of effectiveness are those where there is an allergic component, e.g. asthma …’ [10]. The recent Smallwood Report [11] (commissioned by Prince Charles and funded by Dame Porter) was specifically aimed at UK politicians [11]. It claimed that ‘the best evidence for homeopathy … is associated with its use as an alternative to conventional medicine in relation to a number of everyday conditions in general care, particularly asthma’ [11]. Despite the lack of reliable data [12], it also asserted that the National Health Service (NHS) could save £16 million each year if only 4% of British GPs were to use homoeopathy more extensively. The Scottish data [1] imply that this type of lobbying, combined with commercial promotion, is effective in popularizing homoeopathy. A third reason for the increasing use of homoeopathy could be that patients do find it useful after all. The best evidence fails to demonstrate that homoeopathic remedies differ from placebos [3, 4, 6–8]. However, this does not necessarily mean that patients do not perceive benefit which could originate from a placebo effect, or from the homoeopathic encounter, or both. Observational studies regularly show that patients profit from seeing a homoeopath, e.g. [13]. The homoeopathic remedy may therefore be a placebo but (unsurprisingly) the homoeopathic encounter with its abundance of time and empathy seems to work for many patients. So is the current rise of homoeopathy a good or a bad thing? The answer obviously depends on the perspective. Prince Charles was recently quoted saying that he did not support alternative medicine ‘because of some self-indulgent pet projects, or because of some half-baked obsession with quackery’ [14]. Richard Horton, editor of the Lancet, seems to see things differently: ‘Let’s be clear: this report [the Smallwood report][11] contains dangerous nonsense’ [15]. Others have also argued that the rise of homoeopathy is ‘just another worrying example of the growth of irrational dogmas’. Vis-a-vis the increasing importance of patient choice in the NHS, this raises an intriguing question: do we condone treatments because of their popularity or their effectiveness? The Scottish data [1] make me wonder.

The Acquisition of Endesa by Gas Natural: Why the Antitrust Authorities Are Right to Be Cautious

In the electricity sector the use of merger remedies is a risky game to play. To protect consumers, economics suggests that merger controls be more cautious and stringent than in other sectors. It is better to risk being wrong in prohibiting a merger or imposing severe procompetitive remedies than to risk being wrong in approving a merger with possibly ineffective remedies.