Sex workers talk about sex work: six contradictory characteristics of legalised sex work in Melbourne, Australia.

Despite research suggesting that legal sex work is safe and that emotional risks and social stigma are of greater concern than health risks, much research on sex work has focused on health risks. Given the legalisation of sex work in Victoria, Australia, it is timely to look beyond health. Three focus groups were conducted with a total of 14 female sex workers on their experience of legal sex work, both positive and negative, and the social acceptability of their profession. Thematic analysis was used to identify the key ways that sex workers described sex work. Women saw legal sex work as safer than illegal sex work, but still not socially acceptable. However, they also described six contradictory elements of sex work, which was seen as: financially rewarding and entrapping; empowering and demeaning; increasing some opportunities while reducing others; flexible and demanding; offering both intimacy and competition; and leading to a 'double life'. While legalisation has improved the safety of sex work, stigma and discrimination persist.

Development of a context specific accreditation assessment tool for affirming quality midwifery education in Bangladesh.

OBJECTIVE: using the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) Global Standards for Midwifery Education as a conceptual framework, the aim of this study was to explore and describe important 'must haves' for inclusion in a context-specific accreditation assessment tool in Bangladesh. DESIGN: A questionnaire study was conducted using a Likert rating scale and 111 closed-response single items on adherence to accreditation-related statements, ending with an open-ended question. The ICM Global Standards guided data collection, deductive content analysis and description of the quantitative results. SETTING: twenty-five public institutes/colleges (out of 38 in Bangladesh), covering seven out of eight geographical divisions in the country. PARTICIPANTS: one hundred and twenty-three nursing educators teaching the 3-year diploma midwifery education programme. FINDINGS: this study provides insight into the development of a context-specific accreditation assessment tool for Bangladesh. Important components to be included in this accreditation tool are presented under the following categories and domains: 'organization and administration', 'midwifery faculty', 'student body', 'curriculum content', 'resources, facilities and services' and 'assessment strategies'. The identified components were a prerequisite to ensure that midwifery students achieve the intended learning outcomes of the midwifery curriculum, and hence contribute to a strong midwifery workforce. The components further ensure well-prepared teachers and a standardized curriculum supported at policy level to enable effective deployment of professional midwives in the existing health system. KEY CONCLUSIONS: as part of developing an accreditation assessment tool, it is imperative to build ownership and capacity when translating the ICM Global Standards for Midwifery Education into the national context. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: this initiative can be used as lessons learned from Bangladesh to develop a context-specific accreditation assessment tool in line with national priorities, supporting the development of national policies.

Secondary metabolites from the stem of Ravenia spectabilis Lindl.

BACKGROUND: Ravenia spectabilis is a medium tall shrub found widespread in South America. It also found in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh etc. Few alkaloid and steroid compounds were reported from the plant previously. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Methanol extract from the stems of Ravenia spectabilis were partitioned into n-hexane, carbon tetrachloride, chloroform and aqueous soluble fractions, respectively. The crude methanol extract, carbon tetrachloride fraction and chloroform fraction were fractionated by column chromatography of Silica gel and Sephadex LH-20 for isolation and purification of compounds. The structures of the isolated compounds were determined by extensive NMR spectral analysis, including 2D NMR, mass spectroscopy etc. RESULTS: Ten compounds, γ-fagarine (1), ravenoline (2), N-methyl atanine (3),2,3,3,5-tetramethyl-2,3,4,5- tetrahydrofurano [3,2-c] quinolin-4-one (4), arborinine (5), 3-geranyl indole (6), atanine (7), steroids sitosta-4-en- 3-one (8), stigmasterol (9) and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy cinnamic acid (10) were isolated from the stems of Ravenia spectabilis. CONCLUSION: Compounds N-methyl atanine (3), 2,3,3,5-tetramethyl-2,3,4,5-tetrahydrofurano [3,2-c] quinolin-4-one (4), 3-geranyl indole (6), sitosta-4-en-3-one (8) and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy cinnamic acid (10) were isolated from this plant for the first time. 3-geranyl indole (6) was also isolated second time from natural sources.