bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Epinephrine, inodilator, or no inotrope in venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation implantation: a single-center experience
Authors: Zotzmann Viviane , Rilinger Jonathan , Lang Corinna N. , Kaier Klaus , Benk Christoph , Duerschmied Daniel , Biever Paul M. , Bode Christoph , Wengenmayer Tobias , Staudacher Dawid L.
Published: September 2019

Background

Venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) can be a rescue therapy for patients in cardiogenic shock or in refractory cardiac arrest. After cannulation, vasoplegia and cardiac depression are frequent. In literature, there are conflicting data on inotropic therapy in these patients.

Methods

Analysis of a retrospective registry of all patients treated with VA-ECMO in a university hospital center between October 2010 and December 2018 for cardiogenic shock or extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (eCPR) with a focus on individual early inotropic therapy.

Results

A total of 231 patients (age 58.6 ± 14.3, 29.9% female, 58% eCPR, in-house survival 43.7%) were analyzed. Of these, 41.6% received no inotrope therapy within the first 24 h (survival 47.9%), 29.0% received an inodilator (survival 52.2%), and 29.0% received epinephrine (survival 25.0%). Survival of patients with epinephrine was significantly worse compared to other patient groups when evaluating 30-day survival (p = 0.034/p = 0.005) and cumulative incidence of in-hospital death (p = 0.001). In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, treatment with epinephrine was associated with mortality in the whole cohort (OR 0.38,p = 0.011) as well as after propensity score matching (OR 0.24,p = 0.037). We found no significant differences between patients with inodilator treatment and those without.

Conclusion

Early epinephrine therapy within the first 24 h after cannulation for VA-ECMO was associated with poor survival compared to patients with or without any inodilator therapy. Until randomized data are available, epinephrine should be avoided in patients on VA-ECMO.
A review of current practice in the design and assessment of internal pilots in UK NIHR clinical trials
Authors: Rosala-Hallas Anna , Gamble Carrol , Blazeby Jane , Williamson Paula R.
Published: September 2019

Background

Internal pilots provide useful information which can help to optimise the running of the main trial. Although some recommendations exist in the literature for the design of internal pilots, little is known about current practice in terms of the specification and also the assessment of progression criteria. The aim of the review is to provide an overview of current practice.

Methods

A cohort of clinical trials with an internal pilot, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Health Technology Assessment programme (HTA), extracted in 2017 was reviewed. Data were extracted from: project descriptions; summary of changes from the first stage; feedback about the full application; monitoring notes; progress report history and protocols, for information about the design and assessment of internal pilots.

Results

Fifty-seven studies were reviewed. An internal pilot was first proposed in the early stages of the trial in the majority of cases. Target number for recruitment, rate of randomisation, retention/primary outcome ascertainment rate, rate of treatment adherence and consent rate were included as progression criteria. All but one study was permitted to continue to the main trial; however, 25% did not strictly meet the progression criteria. Changes were made to the design of the main trial for 25% of studies, mainly in terms of conduct of recruitment.

Conclusions

This review provides insight into the process of designing and assessing internal pilots. Progression criteria are sometimes not met; however, committees involved in the reviewing process will recommend continuation to the main trial, usually accompanied by a second review or close monitoring. Recommendations are made to optimise the process.
Oviposition site attraction of Aedes albopictus to sites with conspecific and heterospecific larvae during an ongoing invasion in Medellín, Colombia
Authors: Shragai Talya , Harrington Laura , Alfonso-Parra Catalina , Avila Frank
Published: September 2019

Background

Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are two globally invasive vectors with similar ecological niches. Encounters between them can result in either competitive exclusion or stable co-existence, but it is unclear what drives these variable outcomes. Larval competition in favor of Ae. albopictus is a main hypothesis for the competitive exclusion of Ae. aegypti observed in some regions. However, the role of oviposition preference in determining the degree of competitive larval interactions in the field is not well understood. In this study, we used a combination of mark-release-recapture methods with ovitraps in the open-field and a semi-field cage to test whether gravid Ae. albopictus seek oviposition sites in response to the presence, species, and density of either conspecific or heterospecific Ae. aegypti larvae in the aquatic habitat. We conducted our study in Medellín, Colombia, where Ae. aegypti is a long-term resident and Ae. albopictus is a recent invader.

Results

In the open-field and semi-field cage experiments, gravid Ae. albopictus showed strong preference for ovitraps with larvae over those without. They consistently preferred ovitraps with higher density of conspecific (Ae. albopictus) larvae and low density of heterospecific (Ae. aegypti) larvae over traps with no larvae or high density of heterospecific (Ae. aegypti) larvae. In the semi-field cage experiment, traps with low density of Ae. albopictus were not preferred more or less than any other trap, but in the open-field experiment they were preferred over traps without larvae.

Conclusions

We demonstrate, through open-field and semi-field cage experiments, that Ae. albopictus are more attracted to oviposition sites with larvae and that the combination of species and density of larvae influence attraction. This demonstrated preference could increase interspecific larval competition as Ae. albopictus actively seek containers with conspecific and heterospecific larvae. Any resulting competition with Ae. aegypti may favor one species over the other and alter the distribution or abundance of both. Because these species vary in vectorial capacity and insecticide resistance, effects of interspecific competition could ultimately impact arbovirus transmission rates and the success of vector control efforts.
Magnitude of maternal near misses and the role of delays in Ethiopia: a hospital based cross-sectional study
Authors: Worke Mulugeta Dile , Enyew Habtamu Demelash , Dagnew Maru Mekie
Published: September 2019

Objectives

This study was aimed to assess the magnitude of maternal near misses and the role of delays including other risk factors. A Hospital based cross sectional study was conducted at three referral hospitals of Amhara region on 572 mothers who came to obtain obstetrics care services from February 01 to July 30, 2018.

Results

The magnitude of maternal near miss was 26.6% (95% CI 23, 30). With regards to delays, 83 (14.5%), 226 (39.5%), and 154 (26.9%) of women delayed in the decision to seek care, in reaching care, and in receiving care respectively. Women who had no antenatal care [AOR = 3.16; CI (1.96, 5.10)], who stayed in hospital 7 days or more [AOR = 2.20; CI (1.33, 3.63)] and those who had delay in reaching health facility [AOR = 1.99; CI (1.10, 3.61)] were more likely to be near miss. While, women whose husband was able to read and write [AOR = 0.29; CI (0.09, 0.96)] and those with monthly household income between 2001 and 3000 ETB [AOR = 0.35; CI (0.18, 0.70)] were 71% and 65% less likely to be near misses respectively. Promoting antenatal care and increasing maternal health care access could have significant impact in reducing maternal near misses.
Self-care practice and associated factors among patients with diabetes mellitus on follow up at University of Gondar Referral Hospital, Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia
Authors: Aschalew Andualem Yalew , Yitayal Mezgebu , Minyihun Amare , Bisetegn Telake Azale
Published: September 2019

Objective

Diabetes, a rising global health problem, requires continuous self-care practice. There are limited studies about self-care practice, and most of the studies conducted in Ethiopia focused on some parts of the recommended self-care practices. Therefore, this study aimed to assess diabetes self-care practice and associated factors among diabetic patients attending at University of Gondar Referral Hospital, Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia.

Results

The study revealed that 51.86% (95% CI 46.95–56.72%) of the patients have poor self-care practice. Unable to read and write (AOR = 3.36; 95% CI 1.42–7.90), primary level of education (AOR = 2.62; 95% CI 1.20–5.70), living in rural area (AOR = 3.33; 95% CI 1.61–6.88), having strong social support (AOR = 0.31; 95% CI 0.15–0.62), having diabetes related complication (AOR = 2.20; 95% CI 1.12–4.30), and poor socio-economic status (AOR = 2.16; 95% CI 1.17–3.98) were factors significantly associated with poor self-care practice of patients with diabetes. The study indicates that the prevalence of poor self-care practice was high. Education, residence, socio-economic status, complication and social support were significantly associated with poor self-care practice. Therefore, strategies should be developed to support patients with information, glucometer, and enhance patient’s social support.
Phenotypic and genotypic detection of metallo-β-lactamases in A. baumanii isolates obtained from clinical samples in Shahrekord, southwest Iran
Authors: Khaledi Mansoor , Shahini Shams Abadi Milad , Validi Majid , Zamanzad Behnam , Vafapour Rezvan , Gholipour Abolfazl
Published: September 2019

Objective

Acinetobacter baumaniiis a pathogenic bacterium that is the cause of many nosocomial infections. This study aimed to determine metallo-β-lactamases (MBL) produced by theA.baumaniiisolates obtained from clinical samples in Shahrekord, southwest Iran.

Results

A total of 100A.baumaniiwere isolated from 250 clinical samples between June 2013 and June 2014. Then, the isolates were identified by biochemical tests, and MBL screening was conducted by the phenotypic tests modified Hodge, EDTA-disk synergy (EDS), combined disk (CD) and AmpC disc after antibiotic sensitivity test. Using PCR technique the bla genes were detected. Eighty-five (85%) isolates were resistant to meropenem and imipenem. Phenotypic tests showed that out of the 100 isolates, 46, 59, 50, 65 and 65 isolates were positive: AmpC disk, CD, EDS, Modified Hodge and E-test MBL respectively. Gene detection by PCR showed that 23 isolates carried the VIM-1 gene and only three isolates carried the IMP-1 gene. The prevalence of metallo-β-lactamases isolates containingA.baumaniiis increasing. Furthermore, the coexistence of various carbapenemases is dominantly act as a major problem. Continuous monitoring of the infections related to these bacteria should be considered to plan an alternative and new therapeutic strategies.
Scalable methanol-free production of recombinant glucuronoyl esterase in Pichia pastoris
Authors: Conacher C. G. , García-Aparicio M. P. , Coetzee G. , van Zyl W. H. , Gӧrgens J. F.
Published: September 2019

Objective

Glucuronoyl esterase (GE) is an emerging enzyme that improves fractionation of lignin-carbohydrate complexes. However, the commercial availability of GE is limited, which hinders the research of GE-based bioprocesses for its industrial application in lignocellulose biorefineries. This study evaluated a workable, cost-effective, and commercially scalable production strategy to improve the ease of GE-based research. This strategy consisted of a constitutive and methanol-free enzyme production step coupled with a two-step filtration process. The aim was to determine if this strategy can yield copious amounts of GE, by secretion into the extracellular medium with an acceptable purity that could allow its direct application. This approach was further validated for cellobiose dehydrogenase, another emerging lignocellulose degrading enzyme which is scarcely available at high cost.

Results

The secreted recombinant enzymes were functionally produced in excess of levels previously reported for constitutive production (1489–2780 mg L−1), and were secreted at moderate to high percentages of the total extracellular protein (51–94%). The constant glycerol feed, implemented during fed-batch fermentation, lead to a decline in growth rate and plateaued productivity. Tangential flow ultrafiltration was used to concentrate cell-free enzyme extracts 5–6-fold, reaching enzyme activity levels (1020–202 U L−1) that could allow their direct application.
Automated SNOMED CT concept and attribute relationship detection through a web-based implementation of cTAKES
Authors: Kersloot Martijn G. , Lau Francis , Abu-Hanna Ameen , Arts Derk L. , Cornet Ronald
Published: September 2019

Background

Information in Electronic Health Records is largely stored as unstructured free text. Natural language processing (NLP), or Medical Language Processing (MLP) in medicine, aims at extracting structured information from free text, and is less expensive and time-consuming than manual extraction. However, most algorithms in MLP are institution-specific or address only one clinical need, and thus cannot be broadly applied. In addition, most MLP systems do not detect concepts in misspelled text and cannot detect attribute relationships between concepts. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate an MLP application that includes generic algorithms for the detection of (misspelled) concepts and of attribute relationships between them.

Methods

An implementation of the MLP system cTAKES, called DIRECT, was developed with generic SNOMED CT concept filter, concept relationship detection, and attribute relationship detection algorithms and a custom dictionary. Four implementations of cTAKES were evaluated by comparing 98 manually annotated oncology charts with the output of DIRECT. The F1-score was determined for named-entity recognition and attribute relationship detection for the concepts ‘lung cancer’, ‘non-small cell lung cancer’, and ‘recurrence’. The performance of the four implementations was compared with a two-tailed permutation test.

Results

DIRECT detected lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer concepts with F1-scores between 0.828 and 0.947 and between 0.862 and 0.933, respectively. The concept recurrence was detected with a significantly higher F1-score of 0.921, compared to the other implementations, and the relationship between recurrence and lung cancer with an F1-score of 0.857. The precision of the detection of lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and recurrence concepts were 1.000, 0.966, and 0.879, compared to precisions of 0.943, 0.967, and 0.000 in the original implementation, respectively.

Conclusion

DIRECT can detect oncology concepts and attribute relationships with high precision and can detect recurrence with significant increase in F1-score, compared to the original implementation of cTAKES, due to the usage of a custom dictionary and a generic concept relationship detection algorithm. These concepts and relationships can be used to encode clinical narratives, and can thus substantially reduce manual chart abstraction efforts, saving time for clinicians and researchers.
Detection of cirrhosis through ultrasound imaging by intensity difference technique
Authors: Aggarwal Karan , Bhamrah Manjit Singh , Ryait Hardeep Singh
Published: September 2019

Cirrhosis is a liver disease that is considered to be among the most common diseases in healthcare. Due to its non-invasive nature, ultrasound (US) imaging is a widely accepted technology for the diagnosis of this disease. This research work proposed a method for discriminating the cirrhotic liver from normal liver through US images. The liver US images were obtained from the radiologist. The radiologist also specified the region of interest (ROI) from these images, and then the proposed method was applied to it. Two parameters were extracted from the US images through differences in intensity of neighboring pixels. Then, these parameters can be used to train a classifier by which cirrhotic region of test patient can be detected. A 2-D array was created by the difference in intensity of the neighboring pixels. From this array, two parameters were calculated. The decision was taken by checking these parameters. The validation of the proposed tool was done on 80 images of cirrhotic and 30 images of normal liver, and classification accuracy of 98.18% was achieved. The result was also verified by the radiologist. The results verified its possibility and applicability for high-performance cirrhotic liver discrimination.
Generalized Ekeland’s variational principle with applications
Authors: Hashemi Eshagh , Saadati Reza , Park Choonkil
Published: September 2019

By using the concept of Γ-distance, we prove EVP (Ekeland’s variational principle) on quasi-F-metric (q-F-m) spaces. We apply EVP to get the existence of the solution to EP (equilibrium problem) in complete q-F-m spaces with Γ-distances. Also, we generalize Nadler’s fixed point theorem.
Chronic disease and malnutrition biomarkers among unemployed immigrants and Canadian born adults
Authors: Sia Drissa , Miszkurka Malgorzata , Batal Malek , Delisle Hélène , Zunzunegui Maria Victoria
Published: September 2019

Background

Immigration status and unemployment may intersect on the health outcomes of men and women. This study aimed to identify intersections between unemployment and immigration in inflammatory, metabolic and nutritional blood markers and assess gender differences.

Methods

We used Canadian Health Measures Survey data on 2493 participants aged 18 to 65. Outcomes were chronic inflammation (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and fibrinogen), nutritional (albumin and hemoglobin), and metabolic blood markers (glycosylated hemoglobin, blood glucose, total and high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol). Multivariate linear regressions were used to assess the associations between each biomarker, unemployment and immigrant status, controlling for age, education, province, smoking, physical inactivity and body mass index and testing for multiplicative interactions between unemployment, immigrant status and gender.

Results

Unemployment was associated with higher inflammation (hsCRP and fibrinogen) in Canadian born men; Canadian born employed women showed higher hsCRP values compared with corresponding employed men. Unemployed immigrant women presented the highest values of hsCRP while employed immigrant women had the lowest hsCRP. Unemployment was associated with higher glucose; immigrant status was associated with higher glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin. Unemployed immigrants had significantly lower levels of hemoglobin and albumin than employed immigrants, and Canadian-born citizens regardless of their employment status. Some of these associations were attenuated after adjustment by body mass index, physical inactivity and smoking.

Conclusion

Blood biomarkers unveil intersections among unemployment, immigration and gender. This study provides evidence on biological pathways of unemployment on the likelihood of common chronic diseases, inflammation and potential malnutrition with some increased vulnerabilities in unemployed immigrants, and particularly in unemployed immigrant women.
Fast response of fungal and prokaryotic communities to climate change manipulation in two contrasting tundra soils
Authors: Voříšková Jana , Elberling Bo , Priemé Anders
Published: September 2019

Background

Climate models predict substantial changes in temperature and precipitation patterns across Arctic regions, including increased winter precipitation as snow in the near future. Soil microorganisms are considered key players in organic matter decomposition and regulation of biogeochemical cycles. However, current knowledge regarding their response to future climate changes is limited. Here, we explore the short-term effect of increased snow cover on soil fungal, bacterial and archaeal communities in two tundra sites with contrasting water regimes in Greenland. In order to assess seasonal variation of microbial communities, we collected soil samples four times during the plant-growing season.

Results

The analysis revealed that soil microbial communities from two tundra sites differed from each other due to contrasting soil chemical properties. Fungal communities showed higher richness at the dry site whereas richness of prokaryotes was higher at the wet tundra site. We demonstrated that fungal and bacterial communities at both sites were significantly affected by short-term increased snow cover manipulation. Our results showed that fungal community composition was more affected by deeper snow cover compared to prokaryotes. The fungal communities showed changes in both taxonomic and ecological groups in response to climate manipulation. However, the changes were not pronounced at all sampling times which points to the need of multiple sampling in ecosystems where environmental factors show seasonal variation. Further, we showed that effects of increased snow cover were manifested after snow had melted.

Conclusions

We demonstrated rapid response of soil fungal and bacterial communities to short-term climate manipulation simulating increased winter precipitation at two tundra sites. In particular, we provide evidence that fungal community composition was more affected by increased snow cover compared to prokaryotes indicating fast adaptability to changing environmental conditions. Since fungi are considered the main decomposers of complex organic matter in terrestrial ecosystems, the stronger response of fungal communities may have implications for organic matter turnover in tundra soils under future climate.
Cases with parietal and occipital lobe epilepsies
Authors: Stefan Hermann
Published: September 2019

Background

For seizures emerging from the posterior cortex it can be a challenge to differentiate if they belong to temporal, parietal or occipital epilepsies. Sensoric auras like visual phenomena may occur in all of these focal epilepsies. Ictal signs may mimic non- epileptic seizures.

Case presentations

Case 1: Patient suffering from a pharmacoresistent focal epilepsy. Focal seizures with sudden visual disturbance, later during the seizure epigastric aura, vertigo-nausea, involvement to bilateral tonic-clonic seizures. MEG detected interictal spikes, source localization indicated focal epileptic activity parietal right.

Case 2: Patient with focal pharmacoresistent epilepsy, semiology with focal unaware seizures, feeling that something like a coat is imposed from behind on him, then feeling cold over the whole body, goose bumbs from both arms to head, then block of motoric activity, later focal unaware seizures with stare gaze, blinking of eyes, clouding of consciousness, elevation of arms and legs, sometimes tonic-clonic convulsions. EEG/MEG source localization and MRI detected an epileptogenic lesion parietal left.

Case 3: Patient with pharmacoresistent focal epilepsy, focal aware seizures, a dark spot occurring in the left visual field, sometimes anxiety during seizures (leading to the suspicion of non-epileptic psychogenic pseudo seizures). MRI demonstrated an atrophy occipito-temporal right after sinus vein thrombosis. Ictal video-EEG showed a focal seizure onset occipital right.

Conclusion

Contribution of noninvasive and/or invasive confirmation of the localization of the underlying focal epileptic activity in posterior cortex is illustrated. Characteristics of posterior cortex epilepsies are ventilated.
Looks can be deceiving: the deceptive milkcaps (Lactifluus, Russulaceae) exhibit low morphological variance but harbour high genetic diversity
Authors: Delgat Lynn , Dierickx Glen , De Wilde Serge , Angelini Claudio , De Crop Eske , De Lange Ruben , Halling Roy , Manz Cathrin , Nuytinck Jorinde , Verbeken Annemieke
Published: September 2019

The ectomycorrhizal genus Lactifluus is known to contain many species complexes, consisting of morphologically very similar species, which can be considered cryptic or pseudocryptic. In this paper, a thorough molecular study is performed of the clade around Lactifluus deceptivus (originally described by Peck from North America) or the deceptive milkcaps. Even though most collections were identified as L. deceptivus, the clade is shown to contain at least 15 species, distributed across Asia and America, indicating that the L. deceptivus clade represents a species complex. These species are morphologically very similar and are characterized by a tomentose pileus with thin-walled hyphae and a velvety stipe with thick-walled hyphae. An ITS1 sequence was obtained through Illumina sequencing for the lectotype of L. deceptivus, dating from 1885, revealing which clade represents the true L. deceptivus. In addition, it is shown that three other described species also belong to the L. deceptivus clade: L. arcuatus, L. caeruleitinctus and L. mordax, and molecularly confirmed that L. tomentoso-marginatus represents a synonym of L. deceptivus. Furthermore, two new Neotropical species are described: Lactifluus hallingii and L. domingensis.
Two-stage revision anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction
Authors: Kim Du-Han , Bae Ki-Cheor , Kim Dong-Wan , Choi Byung-Chan
Published: September 2019

With the rising number of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstructions, revision ACL reconstructions are becoming increasingly common. A revision procedure may be performed to improved knee function, correct instability, and facilitate a return to normal activities. When performing a revision reconstruction, the surgeon decides between a single-stage or a two-stage revision. Two-stage revisions are rarely performed, but are particularly useful when addressing substantial tunnel-widening, active infection, and concomitant knee pathology (e.g., malalignment, other ligamentous injuries, meniscal or chondral lesions). Among these potential scenarios requiring a two-stage revision, tunnel-widening is the most common cause; the first stage involves graft removal, tunnel curettage, and bone grafting, followed by revision ACL reconstruction in the second stage. The purpose of this article is to review the preoperative planning, surgical considerations, rehabilitation, and outcomes of two-stage revision ACL reconstructions and summarize the recent literature outlining treatment results.
Subsequent Neoplasms After a Primary Tumor in Individuals With Neurofibromatosis Type 1
Authors: Bhatia Smita , Chen Yanjun , Wong F. Lennie , Hageman Lindsey , Smith Kandice , Korf Bruce , Cannon Ashley , Leidy Daniel J. , Paz Alejandro , Andress Joseph E. , Friedman Gregory K. , Metrock Katie , Neglia Joseph P. , Arnold Michael , Turcotte Lucie M. , de Blank Peter , Leisenring Wendy , Armstrong Gregory T. , Robison Leslie L. , Clapp D. Wade , Shannon Kevin , Nakamura Jean L. , Fisher Michael J.
Published: September 2019

PURPOSE

Fundamental gaps in knowledge regarding the risk of subsequent neoplasms (SNs) in children with pathogenic neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) variants exposed to radiation and/or alkylator chemotherapy have limited the use of these agents.

METHODS

We addressed these gaps by determining the SN risk in 167 NF1-affected versus 1,541 non–NF1-affected 5-year childhood cancer survivors from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study and 176 nonoverlapping NF1-affected individuals with primary tumors from University of Alabama at Birmingham and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia exposed to radiation and/or chemotherapy. Proportional subdistribution hazards multivariable regression analysis was used to examine risk factors, adjusting for type and age at primary tumor diagnosis and therapeutic exposures.

RESULTS

In the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study cohort, the 20-year cumulative incidence of SNs in NF1 childhood cancer survivors was 7.3%, compared with 2.9% in the non-NF1 childhood cancer survivors ( P = .003), yielding a 2.4-fold higher risk of SN (95% CI, 1.3 to 4.3; P = .005) in the NF1-affected individuals. In the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia cohort, among NF1-affected individuals with a primary tumor, the risk of SNs was 2.8-fold higher in patients with irradiated NF1 (95% CI, 1.3 to 6.0; P = .009). In contrast, the risk of SNs was not significantly elevated after exposure to alkylating agents (hazard ratio, 1.27; 95% CI, 0.3 to 3.0; P = .9).

CONCLUSION

Children with NF1 who develop a primary tumor are at increased risk of SN when compared with non-NF1 childhood cancer survivors. Among NF1-affected children with a primary tumor, therapeutic radiation, but not alkylating agents, confer an increased risk of SNs. These findings can inform evidence-based clinical management of primary tumors in NF1-affected children.
From the Editor
Authors: Perl Jeffrey M.
Published: September 2019

In this introduction to the silver anniversary issue of Common Knowledge, the journal’s founding editor explains the unusual format of CK 25:1–3. Arranged in eleven “conversations” of pieces published since 1992, the format fulfills a promise made in that year to Richard Rorty that a full issue would be devoted, some day, to conversations among people who have inspired in each other “interesting and important” intellectual disagreements. The editor further explains how, over the intervening years, the disagreements among contributors have evolved. While Common Knowledge began as an enterprise of “Left Kuhnian” or “Left Wittgensteinian” contextualists, hoping to get beyond the problem known as “incommensurability,” it has become over the past quarter-century a venue in which the commensuration of paradigms and worldviews, even religions and cultures, is continuously essayed. As he writes: “The question, in other words, is [no longer] whether worldviews are commensurable. The question is whether we should do what it takes—all that it takes—to communicate and reconcile with those we fear. . . . But whoever—let us admit it—takes on the task is going to end up with dirty hands. This job is not one for contextualists in white gloves. . . . There is no clean methodology for reconciling worldviews at odds. . . . By this time . . . our hands are filthy, and our shoes unwearable indoors.”
Commensurability and the Alien Mind
Authors: Quine W. V.
Published: September 2019

In this brief essay Quine clarifies and limits his sometimes misconstrued and misapplied thesis of the “indeterminacy of translation.” It does not imply, as some have claimed, that translation is impossible or arbitrary. Nor does it say (as due consideration of the place of observation in science confirms) that arguments from the indeterminacy of translation can be extended properly to a supposed incommensurability of scientific theories.
Call for Papers
Authors: Toulmin Stephen
Published: September 2019

At the founding editor’s invitation in 1991–92, the members of the editorial board and the department editors of Common Knowledge wrote individual and small-group calls for papers to be published in the inaugural issue of Spring 1992 and the succeeding issue, Fall 1992. This call for papers was published among the first group.
Call for Papers
Authors: Castoriadis Cornelius , Cavell Stanley , Marcus Steven
Published: September 2019

At the founding editor’s invitation in 1991–92, the members of the editorial board and the department editors of Common Knowledge wrote individual and small-group calls for papers to be published in the inaugural issue of Spring 1992 and the succeeding issue, Fall 1992. This call for papers was published among the first group.
Unloading the Self-Refutation Charge
Authors: Smith Barbara Herrnstein
Published: September 2019

This essay is a critical examination of the charge of self-refutation, particularly as leveled by orthodoxy-defending philosophers against those maintaining epistemologically unorthodox, especially relativistic or skeptical, views. Beginning with an analysis of its classic illustration in Plato’s Theaetetus as leveled by Socrates against Protagoras’s “Man is the measure . . ,” the essay considers various aspects of the charge, including its paradigmatic theatrical staging, its frequent pedagogic restaging, its logical and rhetorical structure, its complex emotional and psychological effects, and its apparent cognitive dynamics. After discussion of the comparable structure and dynamics of related self-undoings in myth and drama, the examination of alleged exposures of self-contradiction moves to general observations regarding the recurrent encounter between conviction and skepticism (or orthodox and unorthodox views) and the question of how best to understand the phenomenon of fundamentally clashing and arguably incommensurable beliefs. These encounters and questions are usefully addressed and illuminated, Smith suggests, by constructivist epistemology, contemporary history and sociology of science, and recent work in cognitive theory. In connection with the logically circular question-begging or self-affirmation commonly involved in (alleged) demonstrations of the relativist’s (supposed) self-refutation, Smith gives particular attention to the evidently endemic tendency to cognitive self-stabilization.
Call for Papers
Authors: Geertz Clifford
Published: September 2019

At the founding editor’s invitation in 1991–92, the members of the editorial board and the department editors of Common Knowledge wrote individual and small-group calls for papers to be published in the inaugural issue of Spring 1992 and the succeeding issue, Fall 1992. This call for papers was published among the first group.
The Woman with the Pearl Necklace
Authors: Bynum Caroline Walker
Published: September 2019

This essay is a parable that delivers a message of epistemological significance for teachers and students in historically based disciplines and religious studies. Bynum writes, anecdotally, of standing “for a long time” and “rejoicing” before Vermeer’s painting The Woman with the Pearl Necklace at an exhibit in 2001 at the Metropolitan Museum. Later she discovers that the painting had not left Berlin for inclusion in the New York exhibit. “I can only hypothesize,” she reflects, “that I must have deeply needed a moment out of ordinary time” and so “saw” a work of importance to herself that she had visited often at its home in Berlin. “The medieval people I study,” she writes, “‘saw things’, as my students put it. And those same students frequently ask me what I think they saw.” Bynum then proceeds to explicate Augustine’s three categories of vision and to comment on other medieval theories about and incidents of inexplicable or miraculous seeing on the part of the “spiritually gifted.” Her conclusion is that students who ask what such people do see must be told that they have indeed seen what they have claimed to see, just “as I saw The Woman with the Pearl Necklace.”
Decreation
Authors: Carson Anne
Published: September 2019

This essay in both literary criticism and negative theology treats three widely diverse cases of women who “had the nerve to enter a zone of absolute spiritual daring.” The three cases are of the poet Sappho (in seventh-century Greek antiquity), the mystic Margarite Porete (in fourteenth-century France), and the philosopher Simone Weil (in twentieth-century France). Each of them underwent “an experience of decreation, or so she tells us.” Decreation, which is Simone Weil’s coinage, is here defined as “an undoing of the creature in us—that creature enclosed in self and defined by self. But to undo self one must move through self to the very inside of its definition.” The audacious, unconventional spirituality of these women led society to “pass judgments on the authenticity” of their “ways of being.” Weil has been termed “neurotic, anorectic, pathological, sexually repressed or fake” by many readers of both her work and the biographies written about her. Marguerite Porete was condemned at trial for being not only a heretic but also a pseudo-mulier—a “fake woman”—while “Sappho’s ancient biographers tried to discredit her seriousness by assuring us she lived a life of unrestrained and incoherent sexual indulgence.” These women, however, “know what love is,” namely “the touchstone of a true or a false spirituality,” and each of them finds a means of “telling God.”
Regarding Change at Ise Jingū
Authors: Perl Jeffrey M.
Published: September 2019

This essay introduces the second of three installments of an “elegiac symposium” in Common Knowledge on figures and concepts devalued in what Thomas Kuhn refers to as “paradigm shifts.” The essay suggests that Kuhn’s idea is provincial, in three specified senses, and then goes on to show how differently Japanese culture regards and manages major change. The author of this introduction, who is also the journal’s editor, begins by evaluating a triptych of 1895 by Toshikata as a response to the seemingly revolutionary changes brought by the Meiji Restoration a generation before. He then goes on to discuss, as exemplary of Japanese attitudes toward change, the Shinto ritual during which the sacred shrines of Ise Jingū are torn down and rebuilt every twenty years. The essay concludes by explaining how the impetus for this ritual is also involved in less-exalted aspects of Japanese culture; for example, in the peculiarities of the market for ukiyo-e woodblock prints. Overall, this essay shows that Japanese ways of regarding concepts such as “old” and “new,” “continuity” and “change,” differ so radically from those presupposed in the West that the latter should be regarded as provincial rather than as universally valid.
Excellence Is by No Means Enough
Authors: Katz Stanley N.
Published: September 2019

This essay asks the question “What would it mean to be a just university?” and answers to that the question may be understood in two ways. One way to understand “just” is procedural, having to do with internal governance and ensuring that a university’s policies are themselves just. The other is substantive, having to do with the university’s purpose or reason for existing. The second assumes the university is to serve some function necessary for the general good. This good is often defined in material terms: fostering a stronger economy, medical breakthroughs, more efficient use of natural resources, and so on. But such a view of the university defines its value entirely by factors external to itself. Proponents of one definition of the university’s purpose typically acknowledge some validity in the other, and universities commonly strive to fulfill the claims of both definitions. But universities also have an obligation to teach the young and to do so within the context of a common set of values that both determines the setting in which teaching takes place and encourages students to develop values that will shape their own lives. Katz argues in particular that intellectuals have a special obligation to work cooperatively to eliminate intellectual obstacles that stand in the way of commensuration, communication, and comprehension globally. It is this responsibility that he calls “intellectual philanthropy.”
Publishing Matters
Authors: Kenner Hugh
Published: September 2019

In this essay Kenner meditates on the past, present, and future of university publishers and scholarly publishing. He reflects in particular on the financial pressures resulting from changes in tax laws that have contributed to the decline of the scholarly monograph, and he considers as well the pressures generated by the development of online publication. He further tells cautionary tales, from his own experience, that underscore how important it is that the public stewards of scholarship and literature at academic presses not make hasty decisions about what titles to publish and what to prune from their backlists.
A Turning-Point in Political Thought
Authors: Berlin Isaiah
Published: September 2019

Berlin discerns three great crises in Western political thought, each challenging one of its three primary tenets. The three tenets are (1) that questions about correct human actions are answerable, whether the answers are yet known or not; (2) that the answers to those questions, insofar as they are true, cannot contradict each other; and (3) that human beings have a distinctive character, which is essentially social. Each of these tenets has been attacked, the first by the German Romantics of the late eighteenth century, the second by Machiavelli in sixteenth-century Florence, and the third by the Epicureans and Stoics in the late fourth-century BCE. Berlin’s extended examination of this third case demonstrates both how firmly established was the idea that human beings found meaning only in relation to others in the polis and how great and sudden was the transition toward focus on the individual fostered by the Cynics, Epicureans, and Stoics. The suddenness and irruptive nature of this transition cannot be satisfactorily understood as a reflection of political changes alone, but its deeper roots are obscured by the dominance of Plato, Aristotle, and others who subscribed to the polis-centered point of view and regarded possible precursors of the transition as their philosophical opponents.
Calls for Papers
Authors: Feyerabend Paul
Published: September 2019

At the founding editor’s invitation in 1991–92, the members of the editorial board and the department editors of Common Knowledge wrote individual and small-group calls for papers to be published in the inaugural issue of Spring 1992 and the succeeding issue, Fall 1992. These calls for papers were published among the first group.
At the heart of genetic disease: an interview with Elizabeth McNally
Authors: McNally Elizabeth
Published: September 2019

Elizabeth McNally is a human geneticist and a cardiologist whose research has been instrumental in understanding the mechanisms of inherited heart and skeletal muscle diseases. She is the Director of the Center for Genetic Medicine at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. In this interview, Elizabeth talks about her first experiences in science, the importance of understanding complex genetic interactions and the effort we all need to make to facilitate diversity in science.
What species make up the Nike fish assemblages at the macrotidal estuary in Gorontalo Bay, Indonesia?
Authors: Sahami Femy M. , Kepel Rene Charles , Olii Abdul Hafidz , Pratasik Silvester Benny
Published: September 2019

Background:No study has documented the species composition of Nike fish (fam: Gobiidae) schools. The aim of this study is to document the species composition of the Nike-fish schooling.

Methods:All samples were collected randomly from fisher’s catch during the fishing season on 5th–11th October 2018 at macrotidal area in Leato. Then, all specimens were identified morphologically by melanophore pattern differences. Subsequently, all identified-samples by melanophores pattern differences were sent to the genetic laboratory for identification.

Results:The morphological results show there are five individuals with a different melanophores pattern. On the contrary, the genetic results only show four species from those five individuals. They areSicyopterus pugnans, S. cynocephalus, Belobranchus segura,andBunaka gyrinoides.

Conclusions:Our findings show that there are only four species that compose the Nike fish schooling in Gorontao Bay. They areSicyopterus pugnans, Sicyopterus cynocephalus, Belobranchus segura,andBunaka gyrinoides.
Next-generation sequencing of microbial cell-free DNA for rapid noninvasive diagnosis of infectious diseases in immunocompromised hosts
Authors: Camargo Jose F. , Ahmed Asim A. , Lindner Martin S. , Morris Michele I. , Anjan Shweta , Anderson Anthony D. , Prado Clara E. , Dalai Sudeb C. , Martinez Octavio V. , Komanduri Krishna V.
Published: September 2019

Background: Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) sequencing has emerged as an effective laboratory method for rapid and noninvasive diagnosis in prenatal screening testing, organ transplant rejection screening, and oncology liquid biopsies. 

Methods: Here we report our experience using next-generation sequencing (NGS) for detection of microbial cfDNA in a cohort of ten immunocompromised patients with febrile neutropenia, pneumonia or intra-abdominal infection. 

Results: Among five hematological malignancy patients, for whom a microbiological diagnosis was established, pathogen identification by cfDNA NGS demonstrated 100% positive agreement with conventional diagnostic laboratory methods. Further, cfDNA identified the etiological agent in two patients with culture negative sepsis who had undergone hematopoietic stem cell transplant.

Conclusion: These data support the clinical utility of measurement of microbial cfDNA sequencing from peripheral blood for rapid noninvasive diagnosis of infections in immunocompromised hosts. Larger studies are needed.
Open Problem—M/G/k/SRPT Under Medium Load
Authors: Grosof Isaac
Published: September 2019

The shortest remaining processing time (SRPT) scheduling policy has been deployed in many computer systems, such as web servers ( Harchol-Balter et al. 2003 ), networks ( Montazeri et al. 2018 ), databases ( Guirguis et al. 2009 ), and operating systems ( Bunt 1976 ). SRPT has also received extensive study by queueing theorists. In 1966, the mean response time for SRPT was first derived ( Schrage and Miller 1966 ), and in 1968, SRPT was shown to minimize mean response time ( Schrage 1968 ). However, these results are only known for single-server systems. Much less is known for multiserver systems, such as the M/G/k.
Penile calciphylaxis: a conservative approach
Authors: El-Taji O , Bondad J , Faruqui S , Bycroft J
Published: September 2019

Penile calciphylaxis or calcific uremic arteriolopathy is a rare urological condition often associated with patients undergoing renal dialysis for end-stage renal disease. The majority of cases are associated with systemic calciphylaxis. The pathophysiology, diagnosis and management of penile calciphylaxis as an individual entity has brought little attention. The rates of comorbidity and mortality of these patients are often particularly high. Early diagnosis and a multidisciplinary approach are therefore essential. We report a case of penile calciphylaxis in a 59-year-old man with end-stage renal failure on haemodialysis who was successfully managed conservatively.
Organizaciones de víctimas, reclamos de castigo y justicia penal. Experiencias en la ciudad de Neuquén entre los años 2008 y 2015
Authors: Alfieri Emilia
Published: September 2019

Esta investigación busca describir y explicar las demandas y prácticas de las organizaciones de víctimas que se movilizan por justicia/castigo en Neuquén entre los años 2008 y 2015 y su relación con el Sistema de Administración de Justicia Penal. A través del estudio de casos, nos proponemos analizar las acciones colectivas que se producen en torno a diferentes casos de muertes violentas. Pretendemos, por un lado, indagar el proceso por el cual familiares y allegados de las víctimas de muertes violentas se constituyeron en OV; por otra parte describir y analizar sus demandas de justicia/castigo; como así también sus prácticas de protesta y presión. Y por último identificar y comprender el vínculo que tienen estos reclamos con el SAJP. El análisis es comparativo, por lo que nos enfocaremos en detectar similitudes y diferencias entre los distintos casos.
¿Una justicia actuarial? Entrevista a Malcolm Feeley y Jonathan Simon
Authors: Zysman Diego , Sicardi Mariano
Published: September 2019

La entrevista se realizó en el Center for the Study of Law and Society, Universidad de California en Berkeley (EEUU), en febrero de 2018. Forma parte de The Oral History of Criminology Project, y se encuentra disponible en formato audiovisual para su reproducción en la siguiente página: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XprWylT4tPE&feature=youtu.be. La traducción de la entrevista fue realizada por Juan Carlos (Junior) Ruas (UBA/INECIP), con la posterior revisión y notas aclaratorias de Mariano Sicardi.