In this chapter, thrombus formation on biomaterial surfaces and other biological responses are presented. Information discussed includes details on platelets structure and function, platelet–material interactions, contact activation, and pathways of blood coagulation. In addition, the complement system and its activation through different pathways, including activation in the presence of biomaterials, are discussed. The occurrence of acute and chronic inflammation, the role of biomaterials in causing inflammation as well as foreign body reactions, and the formation of fibrous encapsulation around a biomaterial are also covered in this chapter.

Decision-making is vital in our daily living. Through the following book, readers will develop an understanding of decision-making from the underlying anatomy through to the complexities of free will.

This chapter deals with the risks faced by workers and trade unions when they engage in industrial action which falls beyond lawful boundaries. For the trade union, the risk is that the action will be restrained by an injunction, while it remains open to an employer to bring an action for damages, though this is rarely done. For the workers participating in the action, there is the risk of dismissal and other sanctions imposed by the employer. The chapter also considers the role of ACAS in dispute resolution, and assesses the extent to which British law is consistent with international legal obligations.

The relation of subordination that characterises the contract of employment is created by the implied terms of the contract of employment such as the duty of obedience. Recently the courts have confirmed that both parties are under a duty not to destroy mutual trust and confidence and to perform the contract in good faith. The employee owes a duty of loyalty and both parties have to respect confidentiality. The chapter also examines the legal effect of breach of health and safety standards, tax law, immigration law and competition law on the enforceability of the contract of employment.

The Equality Act provides protection against discrimination on the ground of various protected characteristics: sex, race, disability, age, religion and gender. It protects against direct discrimination where there is adverse treatment because of a protected characteristic, and also indirect discrimination where the same rule is applied to all groups but has an unjustified and disproportionate adverse effect on a group. Adverse treatment includes harassment and victimisation. There is in addition a duty of reasonable accommodation for disabled workers. The law also requires equal pay for women for similar work or work that has equal value to that performed by men.

The Human Rights Act requires courts to decide cases in conformity with the rights protected by the European Convention on Human Rights in so far as possible. Employees must bring a claim under UK employment law and then the rights, whether at common law or under statute, should conform to the Convention rights such as the right to respect for private life, freedom to manifest a religion, and freedom of expression.

Beginning with a discussion of the right to strike in international law, the chapter explains how most industrial action was regarded as a tortious wrong. Statute provides a limited immunity for trade unions and their officials for industrial action that is part of a trade dispute. In order to obtain that immunity in tort, trade unions must carry out a secret ballot of the members to demonstrate that there is majority support for a strike. Apart from the foregoing, this chapter also examines legal restrictions on secondary action and picketing, and concludes with a discussion of the limited impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 on the scope of the right to strike in British law.

To date, there is no universally accepted anatomical structural map of the human prefrontal cortex. Ongoing research attempts to uncover the complexities of how networks within the prefrontal cortex, and connecting the prefrontal cortex to other regions across the brain, are structured in detail. Tract tracing studies in rats have revealed that on a broad scale, prefrontal cortex connectivity is consistent with what would be expected based on other cortical regions; that it is comprised of topographically ordered reciprocal connections. However, evidence shows that when visualised on a finer scale, there is more complexity to this structure, that connections appear to move in opposing directions and follow a gradient from anterior to posterior in terms of reciprocity. Further, physiological evidence from humans indicates this gradient of connectivity is replicated on a functional level.

The fundamentals and importance of different drug delivery systems – such as diffusion-controlled drug delivery systems, water penetration-controlled drug delivery systems, chemcially controlled drug delivery systems, responsive drug delivery systems, and particulate systems – are discussed in this chapter.

Where the reason for dismissal concerns business reorganisation rather than individual fault, there is a statutory right for employees with a qualifying period of continuous service to claim redundancy payments based on the number of years of service. In some cases of economic dismissal, the reason for dismissal may not fall within the statutory concept of redundancy, but in such cases dismissal can be regarded as fair as dismissal for some other substantial reason. There is statutory protection for wages and some compensation for dismissal in the event of the employer’s insolvency. Dismissals in connection with the sale of the business or outsourcing to a different contractor are automatically unfair dismissals unless the transferor or transferee can demonstrate that the workers were dismissed for redundancy unconnected to the sale.

While employers seek numerical and functional flexibility from the workforce, the power of employers to rewrite the terms of the contract unilaterally and to offer only precarious work packages undermines job security and economic security. The law provides little protection for employees, though continuity of employment and a permanent job can sometimes be established through statutory measures. Legislation may grant employees a right to more predictable work.

Based on international standards, the EU Directive on Working Time, implemented in the Working Time Regulations, places limits on the working week, mandates rest periods each day and each week, and provides for paid annual leave. These rights are subject to various exclusions for certain types of employment, permit some opt-outs by terms in the contract of employment, and also permit collective agreements to modify the rights. The chapter considers these various matters, and concludes by examining the weak remedies provided by health and safety inspectors and some civil claims.

Basic polymeric chemistry discussed in this chapter includes polymerization processes as well as understanding that the molecular weight of polymers is determined using different ways of calculating averages. Factors influencing polymeric properties, such as chemical elements, structure, and their physical states are also discussed. Polymers most often used as biomaterials are similar to those widely used in everyday life, and this chapter includes various types of non-degradable and degradable polymers that have been explored for a variety of applications in biomedicine.

Employees who have been dismissed may bring a claim under the common law for wrongful dismissal where the dismissal was a breach of contract. Compensation for wrongful dismissal is usually limited to compensation for a period of reasonable notice of dismissal. Statute provides minimum periods of notice that must be given. Compensation for failure to give proper notice can be avoided if the employer can demonstrate that the employee committed a repudiatory breach of contract. Claims for compensation for other kinds of breach of the terms of the contract may be available, but there can be no compensation for breach of the implied term of mutual trust and confidence in the context of dismissal. Nor can damages be obtained for breach of a contractualdisciplinary procedure; an employee can only obtain an injunction to require the employer to follow the correct procedure. In general, however, injunctions against dismissal are unavailable because of the breakdown of mutual trust and confidence between employer and employee.