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Medical confidentiality has long been recognised as a core element of medical ethics, but its boundaries are under constant negotiation. Areas of debate in twenty-first century medicine include the use of patient-identifiable data in research, information sharing across public services, and the implications of advances in genetics. This book provides important historical insight into the modern evolution of medical confidentiality in the UK. It analyses a range of perspectives and considers the broader context as well as the specific details of debates, developments and key precedents. With each chapter focusing on a different issue, the book covers the common law position on medical privilege, the rise of public health and collective welfare measures, legal and public policy perspectives on medical confidentiality and privilege in the first half of the twentieth century, contestations over statutory recognition for medical privilege and Crown privilege. It concludes with an overview of twentieth century developments. Bringing fresh insights to oft-cited cases and demonstrating a better understanding of the boundaries of medical confidentiality, the book discusses the role of important interest groups such as the judiciary, Ministry of Health and professional medical bodies. It will be directly relevant for people working or studying in the field of medical law as well as those with an interest in the interaction of law, medicine and ethics.

The coniferous forests of the Pacific Northwest are affected by a variety of endemic fungal root pathogens. Forest disease surveys have noted the presence of two or more of these root pathogens infecting the same stump or root, and it has been suggested that these fungi may be interacting synergistically. To test this hypothesis, three separate root disease centers were studied where the dominant pathogens appeared to be either Armillaria ostoyae (Rom.) Herink, Heterobasidion annosum (Fr.) Bref., or Phellinus weirii (Murr.) Gilb. The spruce-type intersterility group of i. annosum was found infecting trees and stumps within both the P. weirii and A. ostoyae centers, and was isolated from some of the same roots as A. ostoyae. Three experiments were designed to study pairwise interactions between A. ostoyae, P. weirii, the spruce (S) and pine (P) type intersterility groups of ff annosum, and Perenniporia subacida (Pk.) Donk. Hyphal and mycelial interactions were studied microscopically on agar-filled culture slides, macroscopically on 2% and enhanced malt agar, and within wood blocks of an Abies sp. (either A. qrandis (Dougl.) Lindl., or . concolor (Gord. and Glend.) Lindl.) and Pinus ponderosa Laws. Direct interspecific hyphal contact occurred between fungi on culture slides, resulting in sporadic hyphal vacuolation. However, no other discernible reactions such as anastomosis or parasitism were observed. Only one of the pairings, A. ostoyae vs. H. annosum P-type, formed a definite band of vacuolated hyphae along their zone of interaction. Other pairings may have had more vacuolated hyphae in the zone of interaction, but this was difficult to quantify. Pairwise interactions were also studied on 2% and enhanced malt agar. Reactions between fungi included the formation of zones of inhibition, walling-off, abutting growth, or overgrowth of one isolate by the other. The reactions of identical fungal pairings were inconsistent between the two types of media. Isolations from these plate pairings revealed that visual observations may not be adequate to classify the reactions which occur. Interactions within sterilized wood blocks showed the formation of either single or parallel barrier lines between opposing fungi, and isolations revealed that the colonizing fungi remained separated on their respective sides of the barrier lines. The conclusion from this study is that root pathogenic fungi grow in proximity to one another in nature in what can be termed associations. However, experimental results lead to the conclusion that these fungi do not form complexes, nor do they interact synergistically in causing decay. Pathogenic fungi appear together independently, as conditions favorable for their individual infection biologies coincide with the presence of an inoculum source and a suitable host.

Oils and vinegars are two of the most essential items in every cook's repertoire. Far more than just a medium for frying or pickling, these liquids play an unlimited number of roles in the contemporary kitchen. This is the definitive guide for all oil and vinegar connoisseurs. It presents an overview of the growing, harvesting and processing of grapes and olives, taking the reader on a tour of vineyards and olive groves in four continents to present a truly comprehensive picture of the growers and producers worldwide. The main section of the book is a detailed directory of oils and vinegars, examining their provenances, flavours and aromas so that every cook can be better informed about the range of top-quality oils and vinegars available to them. Kathryn Hawkins is a home economist and former cookery editor of Women's Own magazine. She is the author of several cookbooks including The Connoisseur's Guide to Herbs and Spices.