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Recent years have seen calls for the order of the statutory test of decision-making capacity to be reversed and extended from its existing sequencing in the Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice. The current 'two-stage test', involves a 'diagnostic test' (requiring the establishment of impaired or disturbed functioning of the mind or brain) and a 'functional assessment' (examining whether that impairment or disturbance renders the person unable to make a specific decision). Despite initial judicial concern that the order in the Code is incompatible with section 2 of the Mental Capacity Act, there has been surprisingly limited academic discussion. The recent remarks of Supreme Court Justice Lord Stephens in A Local Authority v JB confirming a reverse order have, seemingly, settled the matter, and the forthcoming revised Code of Practice will likely confirm this change. This article examines the rationale underlying this change, highlighting that suggested legal and policy reasons are not as 'sound' as might be thought. The paper argues that changed sequencing is unlikely to resolve potential neglect of the test's causative nexus and, furthermore, there are potentially illogical and negative practice consequences, concluding that the proposed reversal of the test is cause for considerable lament. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper involves the computation of 3-D magnetic fields in high-performance, long-lifetime solenoid actuators by finite-element (FE) modeling. Operating at frequencies between 150 and 300 Hz, these actuators are unique in terms of the large force they produce (8-15 N) and their very long lifetime (over five billion continuous duty cycles). Their magnetic circuit typically operates at saturation and, because of the compact dimensions, the 3-D nature of the field distribution needs to be taken into account for their design. Results are presented in terms of the effects of design parameters on saturation and force calculation. Index Terms--Ejector valves, magnetic field computation, mathematical modeling, solenoid actuators.

Current methods for the assessment of nanoparticle safety that are based on 2D cell culture models and fluorescence-based assays show limited sensitivity and they lack biomimicry. Consequently, the health risks associated with the use of many nanoparticles have not yet been established. There is a need to develop in vitro models that mimic physiology more accurately and enable high throughput assessment. There is also a need to set up new assays that offer high sensitivity and are label-free. Here we developed 'mini-liver' models using scaffold-free bioprinting and used these models together with label-free nanoscale techniques for the assessment of toxicity of nanodiamond produced by laser-assisted technology. Results showed that NDs induced cytotoxicity in a concentration and exposure-time dependent manner. The loss of cell function was confirmed by increased cell stiffness, decreased cell membrane barrier integrity and reduced cells mobility. We further showed that NDs elevated the production of reactive oxygen species and reduced cell viability. Our approach that combined mini-liver models with label-free high-resolution techniques showed improved sensitivity in toxicity assessment. Notably, this approach allowed for label-free semi-high throughput measurements of nanoparticle-cell interactions, thus could be considered as a complementary approach to currently used methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]