JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association
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A small group of editors of general medical journals met informally in Vancouver, British Columbia, in January 1978 to establish guidelines for the format of manuscripts submitted to their journals. The group, now expanded and known as the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (also known as the Vancouver Group), has met annually since then and its concerns have broadened. The committee has produced four editions of the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals; this fourth edition was revised slightly in January 1993. ⋯ Some of these concerns are now covered in the Uniform Requirements; others are addressed in separate statements issued by the committee. The total content of this communication may be reproduced for educational, not-for-profit purposes without regard for copyright; the committee encourages distribution of the material, which we hope will be useful. Journals that agree to use the Uniform Requirements are asked to cite the document in their instructions to authors.
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Escherichia coli O157:H7 causes hemorrhagic colitis and the hemolytic uremic syndrome. In the fall of 1991, an outbreak of E coli O157:H7 infections in southeastern Massachusetts provided an opportunity to identify transmission by a seemingly unlikely vehicle. ⋯ Fresh-pressed, unpreserved apple cider can transmit E coli O157:H7 organisms, which cause severe infections. Risk of transmission can be reduced by washing and brushing apples before pressing, and preserving cider with sodium benzoate. Consumers can reduce their risk by only drinking cider made from apples that have been washed and brushed.
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Planned Parenthood v Casey. The impact of the new undue burden standard on reproductive health care.
The recent US Supreme Court decision in Planned Parenthood v Casey, by changing the legal standard by which restrictions on abortion are evaluated, will have a profound effect on access to reproductive health care in the United States. This article reviews the Pennsylvania antiabortion restrictions at issue in Casey and discusses the ways in which the new constitutional standard fundamentally weakens the legal protections previously afforded women and physicians in the 1973 case, Roe v Wade. ⋯ The restrictions are also likely to exacerbate the shortage of physicians providing abortion services by making the procedure more costly and the providers' jobs more dangerous. Finally, the medical community can help to ensure women access to comprehensive and competent reproductive health care.