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According to the asymmetry, creating a miserable person is morally impermissible but failing to create a happy person is morally permissible, other things being equal. Some attempt to underwrite the asymmetry by appealing to a choice-dependent moral theory according to which the deontic status of an act depends on whether the agent performs it. We show that all choice-dependent moral theories in the literature are vulnerable to what we call ‘The Parent Trap’. These theories imply that the presence of morally impermissible options can generate a moral requirement to create happy people, even at the cost of the procreator’s well-being. We consider two new choice-dependent theories that avoid this result but show that they generate an implausible moral permission to create miserable people. Choice-dependent theories therefore fail to do justice to the intuitions that motivate the asymmetry.
We demonstrate a low-cost radio telescope using a 2.4-m satellite dish, an inexpensive printer circuit board (PCB)-based dual-pole antenna and commodity-off-the-shelf components. Open-source, radio acquisition and professional pulsar processing tools are used to successfully monitor on a daily basis the Southern Hemisphere pulsar J0835−4510 (the Vela pulsar) at 820 MHz as it transits the meridian. The system successfully detected a ‘glitch’ in the Vela pulsar in real-time at Woodchester Observatory in South Australia. Woodchester represents a good balance of bandwidth, observation time, and cost to achieve scientifically interesting results on pulsar timing for amateur radio astronomy and/or STEM outreach projects.
Social Network Analysis is a method of analyzing coauthorship networks or relationships through graph theory. Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Networks for Clinical and Translational Research (IDeA-CTR) was designed to expand the capability for clinical and translational research to enhance National Institutes of Health funding.
Methods:
All publications from a cohort of clinical and translational scientists in Oklahoma were collected through a PubMed search for 2014 through 2021 in October 2022. For this study’s bibliometric portion, we pulled the citations from iCite in November of 2022.
Results:
There were 2,391 articles published in 1,019 journals. The number of papers published by year increased from 56 in 2014 to 448 in 2021. The network had an average of 6.4 authors per paper, with this increasing by year from 5.3 in 2014 to 6.9 in 2021. The average journal impact factor for the overall network was 7.19, with a range from 0.08 to 202.73. The Oklahoma Shared Clinical and Translational Resources (OSCTR) network is a small world network with relatively weak ties.
Conclusions:
This study provides an overview of coauthorship in an IDeA-CTR collaboration. We show the growth and structure of coauthorship in OSCTR, highlighting the importance of understanding and fostering collaboration within research networks.
This study aimed to assess degree of audiovestibular handicap in patients with vestibular schwannoma.
Methods
Audiovestibular handicap was assessed using the Hearing Handicap Inventory, Tinnitus Handicap Inventory and Dizziness Handicap Inventory. Patients completed questionnaires at presentation and at least one year following treatment with microsurgery, stereotactic radiosurgery or observation. Changes in audiovestibular handicap and factors affecting audiovestibular handicap were assessed.
Results
All handicap scores increased at follow up, but not significantly. The Tinnitus Handicap Inventory and Dizziness Handicap Inventory scores predicted tinnitus and dizziness respectively. The Hearing Handicap Inventory was not predictive of hearing loss. Age predicted Tinnitus Handicap Inventory score and microsurgery was associated with a deterioration in Dizziness Handicap Inventory score.
Conclusion
Audiovestibular handicap is common in patients with vestibular schwannoma, with 75 per cent having some degree of handicap in at least one inventory. The overall burden of handicap was, however, low. The increased audiovestibular handicap over time was not statistically significant, irrespective of treatment modality.
The Repugnant Conclusion is an implication of some approaches to population ethics. It states, in Derek Parfit's original formulation,
For any possible population of at least ten billion people, all with a very high quality of life, there must be some much larger imaginable population whose existence, if other things are equal, would be better, even though its members have lives that are barely worth living. (Parfit 1984: 388)
All else being equal, creating a miserable person makes the world worse, and creating an ecstatic person makes it better. Such claims are easily justified if it can be better, or worse, for a person to exist than not to exist. But that seems to require that things can be better, or worse, for a person even in a world in which she does not exist. Ingmar Persson defends this seemingly paradoxical claim in his latest book, Inclusive Ethics. He argues that persons that never exist are merely possible beings for whom non-existence is worse than existence with a good life. We argue that Persson's argument, as stated in his book, has false premises and is invalid. We reconstruct the argument to make it valid, but the premises remain highly problematic. Finally, we argue, one can make sense of our procreative obligations without letting merely possible beings into the moral club.
Biopsies of gastric mucosa, obtained at endoscopy, are common in routine pathology practice. The material ranges from single random biopsies of macroscopically normal or near-normal mucosa to detailed series mapping processes such as atrophic gastritis. In practice, the majority of cases will fall into the normal/near-normal mucosa, reactive gastritis, or Helicobacter pylori-associated gastritis categories. In this chapter, a practical, systematic approach to reporting gastric biopsies is emphasised to ensure that the pathology report assists in patient management. Three common systems for classification of gastritis – Sydney, ICD-10, Kyoto – are summarised and the key features required in the pathology report discussed. An approach to the differential diagnosis of some commonly encountered histological findings/patterns of mucosal injury, including atrophic gastritis, lymphocytic gastritis, and ‘granulomas’, is provided. There is discussion of the appropriate use of histochemistry/immunohistochemistry in gastric biopsies, noting that ‘routine specials’ add little to the assessment of H&E sections in most cases. Finally, the need for accurate clinical information (including endoscopic appearances, sites of biopsy, medical history and current/previous medications) to aid interpretation of the morphological findings and of the results of ancillary investigations is considered.
The recognition of specific oesophageal infections and the distinction between gastro-oesophageal reflux disease and rarer forms of oesophagitis are key tasks for gastrointestinal pathologists reading mucosal biopsies. Infections can involve the oesophagus either primarily or as part of a wider process. This chapter highlights their features, discussing in detail the common infections including herpes simplex, cytomegalovirus, and Candida, and summarises the features of the rarer ones. A few additional types of oesophagitis have emerged recently, including eosinophilic oesophagitis and lymphocytic oesophagitis. This chapter reviews the recent literature and will discuss the controversies surrounding some of these new entities. There is an emphasis on the need for correlation between clinical/endoscopic information and microscopic appearances, and there is discussion of supplementary special studies including immunohistochemistry where relevant.
In response to advancing clinical practice guidelines regarding concussion management, service members, like athletes, complete a baseline assessment prior to participating in high-risk activities. While several studies have established test stability in athletes, no investigation to date has examined the stability of baseline assessment scores in military cadets. The objective of this study was to assess the test–retest reliability of a baseline concussion test battery in cadets at U.S. Service Academies.
Methods:
All cadets participating in the Concussion Assessment, Research, and Education (CARE) Consortium investigation completed a standard baseline battery that included memory, balance, symptom, and neurocognitive assessments. Annual baseline testing was completed during the first 3 years of the study. A two-way mixed-model analysis of variance (intraclass correlation coefficent (ICC)3,1) and Kappa statistics were used to assess the stability of the metrics at 1-year and 2-year time intervals.
Results:
ICC values for the 1-year test interval ranged from 0.28 to 0.67 and from 0.15 to 0.57 for the 2-year interval. Kappa values ranged from 0.16 to 0.21 for the 1-year interval and from 0.29 to 0.31 for the 2-year test interval. Across all measures, the observed effects were small, ranging from 0.01 to 0.44.
Conclusions:
This investigation noted less than optimal reliability for the most common concussion baseline assessments. While none of the assessments met or exceeded the accepted clinical threshold, the effect sizes were relatively small suggesting an overlap in performance from year-to-year. As such, baseline assessments beyond the initial evaluation in cadets are not essential but could aid concussion diagnosis.
Depression is expensive to treat, but providing ineffective treatment is more expensive. Such is the case for many patients who do not respond to antidepressant medication.
Aims
To assess the cost-effectiveness of cognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT) plus usual care for primary care patients with treatment-resistant depression compared with usual care alone.
Method
Economic evaluation at 12 months alongside a randomised controlled trial. Cost-effectiveness assessed using a cost-consequences framework comparing cost to the health and social care provider, patients and society, with a range of outcomes. Cost-utility analysis comparing health and social care costs with quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs).
Results
The mean cost of CBT per participant was £910. The difference in QALY gain between the groups was 0.057, equivalent to 21 days a year of good health. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was £14 911 (representing a 74% probability of the intervention being cost-effective at the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence threshold of £20 000 per QALY). Loss of earnings and productivity costs were substantial but there was no evidence of a difference between intervention and control groups.
Conclusions
The addition of CBT to usual care is cost-effective in patients who have not responded to antidepressants. Primary care physicians should therefore be encouraged to refer such individuals for CBT.
Stormwater catch basins form part of artificial drainage systems in urban areas and can provide larval habitat for mosquito vector species of West Nile virus (WNv), such as Culex pipiens Linnaeus (Diptera: Culicidae). We evaluated the impact of management techniques and targeted applications of larvicide on larval populations of this potential WNv mosquito vector species in catch basins from the Lower Mainland of Vancouver and on Vancouver Island of British Columbia, Canada. A mixed effects logistic regression model described the relationship between larval presence and larvicide treatment while controlling for other parameters. Parameter estimates showed that larvicide treatment reduced the odds of larvae presence by a factor of ∼7.23. The model also revealed relationships between larval presence and water temperature and adjacent land use but larvicide treatment consistently reduced the presence of larvae regardless of these other factors. This knowledge can now be used to prioritise and target control efforts to most efficiently reduce WNv mosquito vector populations, and most effectively reduce the risk of WNv transmission to humans. A similar research strategy could be applied to emerging threats from other potential mosquito vectors of disease around the world, to help lower the incidence of mosquito-borne disease.
Intestinal failure (IF) exists when a patient cannot maintain their fluid balance and nutritional needs independently through the enteral route (i.e. orally). This is due to a loss of functioning gut. In most patients this loss of function is temporary, for example, immediately following abdominal surgery when intravenous fluids and or PN are required until gastrointestinal function returns. This resolves without any long-term sequelae. However, some patients develop a long-term reduction in functioning intestine. The management of these cases is complicated and care under a specialist multidisciplinary team maximizes the likelihood of an optimum outcome. Some of these patients may require long-term intravenous nutrition or bowel transplantation. Shaffer recently set out a classification of IF identifying the differences in duration and severity.
Type 1 – self-limiting IF as occurs following abdominal surgery
Type 2 – IF in severely ill patients with major resections of the bowel, with septic, metabolic and nutritional complications requiring multidisciplinary intervention with metabolic and nutritional support to permit recovery
Type 3 – chronic IF requiring long-term nutritional support.
Such a devastating condition has a huge impact on their lives and ability to live independently as well as considerable cost and resource implications for the healthcare provider. In the UK there are several supra-regional centres caring for these patients.
To systematically review studies reporting the effectiveness of various models of follow-up in primary care on a range of outcomes (physical, psychological, social functioning, or quality of life) for survivors of stroke and their caregivers.
Background
Stroke is a major cause of disability globally. Current UK policy calls for a primary care-based review of healthcare and social-care needs at six weeks and six months after hospital discharge and then annually.
Methods
Trials meeting the pre-defined inclusion criteria were identified by the systematic searching of electronic databases. Data were extracted by two independent researchers. Studies were rated using the McMaster University Quality Assessment Tool.
Findings
Nine randomised controlled trials that met the inclusion criteria were identified. These studies included interventions using stroke support workers, care coordinators or case managers. The methodological quality of the studies was variable, and models of care demonstrated inconsistent working relationships with general practitioners. Patients and caregivers receiving formal primary care-based follow-up did not show any gains in physical function, mood, or quality of life when compared with those who did not. Patients and caregivers receiving follow-up were generally more satisfied with some aspects of communication, and had a greater knowledge of stroke.
Conclusions
The limited quality of these studies and the lack of a sound theoretical basis for the development of interventions together highlight the urgent need for high-quality research studies in this area.
This paper investigates the impact of managerial hedging on shareholder wealth when managers are able to choose the level of effort they expend in managing firms' investments. We demonstrate that shareholders will prefer managers to hedge observable unsystematic risks because they expect that this will induce managers to be more productive. We begin with the case where the risk being hedged is independent of managerial effort. In this case, we show that if shareholders are able to adjust incentive contracts either in anticipation of hedging or after observing hedging, but before managers expend effort, then they will benefit from that hedging. When the insurable risk is also dependent on managerial effort, then we have what we term an “embedded moral hazard” problem. In this case, the optimal contract may entail either over or under insurance by the manager, relative to that preferred by shareholders.