Both nifedipine and ritodrine proved effective tocolytic drugs, however ritodrine caused significantly more maternal side-effects. Neonatal outcome and long-term development after 2 years of age were not significantly different. We favour nifedipine over ritodrine as a tocolytic drug.

There is a growing call to restore the natural richness of the North Sea, but it is often unclear what this natural richness actually was. Here we review the demise and the historical ecology of an iconic species, the critically endangered Angelshark Squatina squatina in the southern North Sea, using historical books and catch records of 104 individuals brought to the Dutch fish markets. These sources reveal that between 1600 and 1950, Angelsharks were annual visitors to the North Sea, and in some years were fairly commonly observed. The number of recorded individuals peaked in the early 20 th century and between 1945-1955, and declining rapidly in the 1960s, with the last recorded observation in 1973. The decline coincides with the introduction of engine-powered fisheries, whereas the full extirpation followed the increased use of diesel-powered beam-trawlers. The recorded observations of Angelsharks in the southern North Sea: MS for Marine Biology 2 Angelsharks were most commonly from the summer season, in accordance with the prevailing notion of Angelsharks migrating to warmer waters in winter. Furthermore, most recorded catches were of newborns and adult females in shallow waters, showcasing the importance of the area for parturition and nursery. Our review exemplifies how a large predator disappeared from a marine food web and shows the importance of historical data to deduce the natural richness of the North Sea.

The use of inflatable jumping castles has directly led to the death and injury of children. In 2007 a child was killed in Budapest, with five others seriously injured when the toy inflatable jumping castle was blown more than 27 m in the air. In response to the death of a young girl in South Australia in 2001, a new standard was introduced in Australia in 2005, governing the manufacture of commercial inflatable jumping castles. However, this did not regulate all jumping castles classified as toys, nor regulate who classified jumping castles as toys. This facilitated some manufacturers to evade the standard, and sell unsafe devices to consumers. Collective data suggests as many as 2200 children across Australia were injured in the period 1996–2006. These injuries led to strong concern that domestic toy jumping castles may be more dangerous and be associated with increased injury risk to children. To address this Kidsafe Victoria developed and conducted an intensive awareness campaign during the period of July to October 2007. This involved direct lobbying of all relevant regulatory agencies and national media promotion to raise community awareness. Substantial media attention triggered action from the various National and regional consumer regulatory bodies (ACCC, CAV and Standards Australia), who all commenced internal investigations and intervened with public warning notices and advised that a dedicated standard would be written. This presentation will discuss the issue and the methodology behind the campaign and future implications for advocacy in child safety.

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