Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and China's Action

In 1984,the United Nations adopted the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment(CAT).It is the first specialized international convention,which provides the prevention and punishment of torture and other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.China ratified the convention in 1988,and submitted six Sate Party reports.This article introduces how the Chinese government fulfills the obligations under the provisions according to our State Party reports,and,in concluding observations,observes the historical background,the basic framework and the main content of the convention.Meanwhile,it researches the further steps which the government of China might take for the better implementation.

Torture in Honduras: Therapeutic Experiences of 2007-2008 and the Aftermath of the Coup

Background: The Center for Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation for Torture Victims and their Family (CPTRT) participated in the “Professionalization facilitated through training in key healthcare services for torture victims” project coordinated by the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT). Centers like CPTRT are typically created and run by small groups of healthcare professionals and human rights activists, often at great personal cost and risk [1]. The purpose of the project was to document the physical and psychological damage caused by torture as well as the results of the medical and psychological therapy. It also addresses: the socio-demographic profile of the victims, methods of torture and/or cruel, inhuman and degrading (CID), treatment, causal factors, and treatment effect. Material and Method: Psychometric and non-psychometric techniques were applied in order to obtain a baseline of the victims’ state of mental health, socio-demographic background, clinical and torture exposure, as well as evaluating the impact of the medical-psychological therapy at three and six months, respectively. The sample of torture victims is presented by the use of descriptive statistics and the effects during the study are presented with repeated measures analysis of variance. Results: The victims mostly experienced depression and anxiety and to a lesser extent, post-traumatic stress and somatizations as a response to the traumatic events they endured. The analysis demonstrates a significant drop in symptoms over the six months of the study in those victims who participated in the entire project. Conclusion: Although the several limitations and unforeseen situations arose in a study of this type, a holistic, multidisciplinary and systematic approach is able to decrease disorders moderately, but not without taking into account the sociopolitical contexts and the obstacles appearing therein, which should also be considered and studied through triangulated methodologies that provide a broader perspective for exploring a complex phenomenon like torture. Therefore, a standard rehabilitation program is neither possible nor desirable in the field of torture treatment (this is amplified in a political context of a coup).

Introductory Statement by H.E. Ambassador Li Baodong,Head of Chinese Delegation,at the Consideration of the Committee Against Torture on China's 4th and 5th Periodic Reports

Mr. Chairman, Distinguished Members of the Committee, First of all, I would like to extend, on behalf of the Chinese delegation, our greetings and respects to all the distinguished members of the Committee. The Committee has made enormous efforts and played an important role in promoting the purposes and principles of the Convention and reinforcing the global efforts to ban and prevent torture. The Chinese Government appreciates your endeavor and will continue to support the work of the Committee.

24 Hours of Meaty Torture

VEGETARIAN for a week! That was the plan.But it’s funny how side effects start kicking in so early when trying to let go of an everyday habit.The first morning of my experiment,I felt like I hadn’t eaten poultry in months(I had devoured a bucket of KFC the night before).Lunch was a disaster.I didn’t know whether to cook or spend an hour searching for a restaurant. That afternoon I received the worst phone call a first-time vegetarian can get:

Tortures of Remorse

About A Female Hit-and-Run

The Triangle Figures in The Scarlet Letter

Puritanism is a new breed of Christianity with a notoriously renowned propaganda for a frugal and reclusive lifestyle and a comparatively democratic membership in the religious creed. All the characters appearing in this novel belonged to this breed, living in the never-never land of a new continent devoid of the conventional forces' intervention. More specifically, Calvinism was the domineering religion whose core principles are the sacred pre-determinism and the omnipotence of God, requiring every earthly individual should obey this providence and be self-denied. The Scarlet Letter, a masterpiece of American prestigious writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, was delicately set in such a benighted epoch and manifested a gorgeous portrait of personality constituted by both discreetly religious conformity and spiritual liberty. In the twentieth century, Hawthorne and The Scarlet Letter have continued to grow in esteem as literary criticism moved into university English departments and through waves of Freudians, semiologists, deconstructionists, and postmodernists (Bruce Daniels, 2004). The eccentrically intertwined relationship among the three protagonists has been highly appreciated as an imperishable paragon, which was always been imitated but seldom surpassed. This passage aims to deconstruct the protagonists'personalities from a general perspective

Acute Kidney Injury with Rhabdomyolysis: 25 Years Experience from a Tertiary Care Center

Objective: To describe patients presenting with acute kidney injury after rhabdomyolysis at a tertiary renal care center in Pakistan. Patients and Methods: An observational cohort of patients identified as having acute kidney injury (AKI) with rhabdomyolysis, which was diagnosed by rise in creatinine phosphokinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) more than 4 times the reference range whereas AKI was defined according to RIFLE criteria. On ultrasonography, all patients had normal size non obstructed kidneys, and no other co morbid. Results: Between January1990 to December 2014, 334 patients with rhabdomyolysis and AKI registered to this hospital. Mean age was 28.22 ± 11.22 years with M:F ratio of 3.33:1. Mean values of CK and LDH were 597,749.790 ± 180,461.360 and 4077.026 ± 5050.704 U/L with reference range of 26 - 174 U/L and 91 - 180 U/L respectively. We divided the study population into 4 groups over timeline. Rhabdomyolysis etiology was divided in 3 groups;1) traumatic, 2) non-traumatic exertional, and 3) non-traumatic non-exertional. In the last group, which spans from 2010-2014, we treated many cases with toxic rhabdomyolysis and main toxin was paraphenylenediamine (PPD). The other causes showed more or less same prevalence over two and a half decade, except non-traymatic exertional which has decreased during last 5 years without any explainable cause. Renal replacement therapy (RRT) was required on arrival in 94% cases. Complete renal recovery was observed in 70%, while 15.86% died and 10% were lost during recovery phase. A small number 2.69% left against medical advice during acute phase of illness and 0.8% developed chronic kidney disease (CKD). Conclusion: The common clinical conditions found associated with rhabdomyolysis and AKI includes trauma, immobilization, sepsis, overexertion, and drugs and toxins. In recent years, we have seen many young patients with PPD poisoning;we have found good renal recovery in patients who survived initial 2 - 3 weeks.

Liver fire invading the lung: Theoretical basis, identification and treatment

Liver fire invading the lung (also called wood-fire torturing metal) is widely seen in various respiratory diseases.In order to understand this pattern well,from the perspective of the five elements theory and zang-fu theory in Chinese Medicine,we systematically reviewed and discussed the physiological and functional characteristics of the liver and lung,the liver -lung relationship,the pathogenesis and identification of the pattern,as well as the commonly used basic formulas for the treatment of this pattern,including White-Draining Powder (Xiè Bái Sǎn,泻白散),Liver Heat-Dissolving Decoction (Huà Gān Jiān,化肝煎),Indigo and Clam Shell Powder (Dài Ge Sǎn,黛蛤散)and Hemoptysis-Relieving Formula(KéXuè Fāng,咳血方).Two examples of clinical modifications of these formulas in the treatment of hemoptysis and asthma are provided in this article.It should be noted that in the treatment of pulmonary diseases,these formulas should be used flexibly,and modified in accordance to the condition of the patient.