Conscientious Objection in Healthcare Provision: A New Dimension

The right to conscientious objection in the provision of healthcare is the subject of a lengthy, heated and controversial debate. Recently, a new dimension was added to this debate by the US Supreme Court's decision in Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby et al. which effectively granted rights to freedom of conscience to private, for‐profit corporations. In light of this paradigm shift, we examine one of the most contentious points within this debate, the impact of granting conscience exemptions to healthcare providers on the ability of women to enjoy their rights to reproductive autonomy. We argue that the exemptions demanded by objecting healthcare providers cannot be justified on the liberal, pluralist grounds on which they are based, and impose unjustifiable costs on both individual persons, and society as a whole. In doing so, we draw attention to a worrying trend in healthcare policy in Europe and the United States to undermine women's rights to reproductive autonomy by prioritizing the rights of ideologically motivated service providers to an unjustifiably broad form of freedom of conscience.     

The SMN Protein is a Key Regulator of Nuclear Architecture in Differentiating Neuroblastoma Cells

The cell nucleus contains two closely related structures, Cajal bodies (CBs) and gems. CBs are the first site of accumulation of newly assembled splicing snRNPs (small nuclear ribonucleoproteins) following their import into the nucleus, before they form their steady-state localization in nuclear splicing speckles. Gems are the nuclear site of accumulation of survival motor neurons (SMNs), an insufficiency of which leads to the inherited neurodegenerative condition, spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). SMN is required in the cytoplasm for the addition of core, Sm, proteins to new snRNPs and is believed to accompany snRNPs to the CB. In most cell lines, gems are indistinguishable from CBs, although the structures are often separate in vivo . The relationship between CBs and gems is not fully understood, but there is evidence that symmetrical dimethylation of arginine residues in the CB protein coilin brings them together in HeLa cells. During neuronal differentiation of the human neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y, CBs and gems increase their colocalization, mimicking changes seen during foetal development. This does not result from alterations in the methylation of coilin, but from increased levels of SMN. Expression of exogenous SMN results in an increased efficiency of snRNP transport to nuclear speckles. This suggests different mechanisms are present in different cell types and in vivo that may be significant for the tissue-specific pathology of SMA.     

The inhibition of streptococci by lactoperoxidase,thiocyanate and hydrogen peroxide. The effect of the inhibitory system on susceptible and resistant strains of group N streptococci

1. The growth of the lactoperoxidase-sensitive Streptococcus cremoris 972 in a synthetic medium was inhibited by lactoperoxidase and thiocyanate. The glycolysis and oxygen uptake of suspensions of Strep. cremoris 972 in glucose or lactose were also inhibited. The lactoperoxidase-resistant Strep. cremoris 803 was not inhibited under these conditions but was inhibited in the absence of a source of energy. 2. Lactoperoxidase (EC 1.11.1.7), thiocyanate and hydrogen peroxide completely inhibited the hexokinases of non-metabolizing suspensions of both strains. The inhibition was reversible, hexokinase and glycolytic activities of Strep. cremoris 972 being restored by washing the cells free from inhibitor. The aldolase and 6-phosphogluconate-dehydrogenase activities of Strep. cremoris 972 were partially inhibited but several other enzymes were unaffected. 3. The resistance of Strep. cremoris 803 to inhibition was not due to the lack of hydrogen peroxide formation, to the destruction of peroxide, to the inactivation of lactoperoxidase or to the operation of alternative pathways of carbohydrate metabolism. 4. A `reversal factor'', which was partially purified from extracts of Strep. cremoris 803, reversed the inhibition of glycolysis of Strep. cremoris 972. The `reversal factor'' also catalysed the oxidation of NADH₂ in the presence of an intermediate oxidation product of thiocyanate and was therefore termed the NADH₂-oxidizing enzyme. 5. The NADH₂-oxidizing enzyme was present in lactoperoxidase-resistant streptococci but was absent from lactoperoxidase-sensitive streptococci.     

Variability for protein and oil quality in Lupinus albus

Amino acid composition and fatty acid composition were determined on seed samples of a range of white lupin (Lupinus albus) cultivars and accessions grown in either of two environments.Variability between genotypes was found for lysine, arginine and glutamic acid content, but not for the concentrations of other amino acids. The deficiency in sulphurcontaining amino acids, typical of legume proteins, was evident, with methionine and cyst(e)ine totalling only 2.2% of the protein. Variability was limited, indicating that improvement by breeding would be impracticable. Lupinus albus differed slightly from other lupin species in amino acid composition, having higher levels of threonine, tyrosine and isoleucine, but a lower level of glutamic acid than both L. angustifolius and L. luteus. Four low-alkaloid lines of L albus each had higher lysine content than the high-alkaloid line, but ‘Kiev Mutant’, despite earlier claims, had a lysine level no higher than the other three low-alkaloid lines.Fatty acid composition of the seed oil varied considerably between genotypes. Oleic acid ranged from 43.6 to 54.4% and linolenic acid from 6.7 to 15.2%, these two fatty acids being negatively correlated at one site. Linoleic acid content varied between 17.2 and 26.9% and was not correlated with other fatty acids. Total oil content averaged 9.6% with little variability between lines.It is concluded that, relative to other lupin species, L. albus has a more favourable amino acid profile for its utilisation in cereal-based diets for animals, particularly if the energy source is wheat, which is deficient in threonine. The higher oil content would be an important energy benefit to such diets and may allow their protein/energy balance to be maintained at higher levels of incorporation of L. albus seed meal than is possible with other lupin species.