Recent years have witnessed a revival of the debate concerning natural law or natural justice, which suggests that laws, or at

Humans are living beings of extraordinary complexity. It is clear that we have our own particular nature –as do all animal

New technologies, and particularly developments in genomics, have significantly changed the theoretical understanding of human beings: the nature and culture of

Our vision of humanity has changed considerably over the twentieth century, thanks to hermeneutic developments that regarded man as a language animal, impossible to

This article is divided in three sections. The first briefly describes the governance instituted with the creation of a European monetary

The competitiveness of a production model depends on its ability to adapt to economic developments and changes in demand. Innovation is

The first decade of the new century has seen the return to an old controversy: the possible imbalance between population and food

Water is a limited resource and its scarcity is getting steadily worse due to climate change and overexploitation of land. Together

Energy, along with water, is a crucial element in any strategy aiming to achieve economic growth. The past squandering of resources cannot continue

The Spanish construction sector has traditionally proven inefficient with many cases of bad practice leading to the overproduction of housing and

© P. Duran © P. Duran One of the causes of the current crisis has been our land management, heir to

In recent years many European Union countries have shown a clear intention to incorporate new forms of territorial administration and spatial

Valencians should be able to achieve a respectful balance between culture, history, tradition, modernity and competitiveness, as have most enlightened peoples

© M. Lorenzo Training and knowledge are two main underpinnings of any production system. In this respect, knowledge transfer from universities to

To prepare this special issue we have brought together specialists from various branches of economics to reflect on the scenarios resulting from the grave

In the mid-eighteenth century, the famous Encyclopédie by Diderot and D’Alembert, stated that «an interest in chemistry» was really «a madman’s passion». Chemists belonged

© John French   «All hominids take great care during pregnancy, avoiding danger, political struggle and rugged topography. Once the baby

Pain is a subjective sensation, so to objectify its intensity different types of scales are used whereby the patient can indicate the degree of pain being treated. The effect of analgesic drugs is evaluated in clinical trials subject to strict rules in order to compare the effect of the medication with that produced by substances without analgesic activity.

Figure 1. Satellite images. Differences between a) a Landsat TM image from 2005 and b) a QuickBird image from 2004 of the north of the

Pain can have far-reaching effects on people’s quality of life. Improper treatment is a serious healthcare issue and an ethical problem of the first degree, directly affecting people and potentially undermining their dignity.

Children experience pain just like adults, since nerve pathways develop during pregnancy. Pain in infants has particular connotations because it is difficult to assess, but there are validated methods to detect it and, above all, there are procedures and medicines to treat pain effectively in children.

Pain is one of the symptoms for which patients seek medical treatment most. It affects 12% of the population and is considered severe in one third of these cases. This article reviews the different types of pain, both acute and chronic, and new pain-management treatments.

Numerous drugs with analgesic effect can be used to treat pain. Opioids are effective for moderate to severe pain, while nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and especially paracetamol (acetaminophen) are useful to treat mild or even moderate pain. Analgesics should be used according to guidelines, and users should be aware of their adverse effects, avoiding them whenever possible, and steering clear of overuse.

This article addresses the advent of the theory and treatment of chronic pain from the second half of the nineteenth century until the mid-twentieth century. It would appear that pain medication emerged from the confluence of practices related to treating patients with terminal diseases and those suffering from incurable pain.