Equal treatment for belief

Abstract

This paper proposes that the question "What should I believe?" is to be answered in the same way as the question "What should I do?," a view I call Equal Treatment. After clarifying the relevant sense of "should," I point out advantages that Equal Treatment has over both simple and subtle evidentialist alternatives, including versions that distinguish what one should believe from what one should get oneself to believe. I then discuss views on which there is a distinctively epistemic sense of should. Next I reply to an objection which alleges that non-evidential considerations cannot serve as reasons for which one believes. I then situate Equal Treatment in a broader theoretical framework, discussing connections to rationality, justification, knowledge, and theoretical versus practical reasoning. Finally, I show how Equal Treatment has important implications for a wide variety of issues, including the status of religious belief, philosophical skepticism, racial profiling and gender stereotyping, and certain issues in psychology, such as depressive realism and positive illusions.

Association of Plexiform Neurofibroma Volume Changes and Development of Clinical Morbidities in Neurofibromatosis 1

Abstract

Background

Plexiform neurofibromas (PN) in neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1) can cause substantial morbidities. Clinical trials targeting PN have recently described decreases in PN volumes. However, no previous study has assessed the association between changes in PN volumes and PN related morbidities. Our objective was to assess if increasing PN volume in NF1 is associated with increasing PN related morbidity.

Methods

Retrospective review of patients enrolled on the NCI NF1 Natural History study with ≥ 7 years of data available. Morbidities including pain, motor dysfunction, vision loss and PN related surgery, were assessed at time of baseline PN MRI with volumetric analysis and time of MRI with maximum PN volume.

Results

Forty-one patients (median age at baseline 8 years) with 57 PN were included. At baseline, 40 PN had at least one PN associated morbidity. During the observation period, 27 PN required increasing pain medication, and these PN grew faster per year (median difference 8.3%, 95% CI 2.4, 13.8%) than those PN which did not. PN resulting in motor impairment at baseline (n=11) had larger volumes compared to those that did not (median difference 461 mL, 95% CI 66.9, 820).

Conclusions

Many NF1 PN were associated with clinically significant morbidity at baseline, highlighting the need for longitudinal morbidity evaluations starting at an early age to capture changes in PN associated morbidities. Prospective evaluation of standardized patient reported and functional outcomes in clinical trials are ongoing and may allow further characterization of the association of PN volume increase or decrease and clinical changes.

Intratumoral Heterogeneity of Oxygen Metabolism and Neovascularization Uncovers Two Survival Relevant Subgroups of IDH1 Wild-type Glioblastoma

Abstract

Background

The intratumoral heterogeneity of oxygen metabolism in combination with variable patterns of neovascularization (NV) as well as reprogramming of energy metabolism affects the landscape of tumor microenvironments (TMEs) in glioblastoma. Knowledge of the hypoxic and perivascular niches within the TME is essential for understanding treatment failure.

Methods

Fifty-two patients with untreated glioblastoma (IDH1 wildtype) were examined with a physiological MRI protocol including a multiparametric quantitative blood-oxygen-level-dependent (qBOLD) approach and vascular architecture mapping (VAM). Imaging biomarker information about oxygen metabolism (mitochondrial oxygen tension) and neovascularization (microvascular density and type) were fused for classification of six different TMEs: necrosis; hypoxia with/without neovascularization; oxidative phosphorylation (OxPhos); glycolysis with/without neovascularization. Association of the different TME volume fractions with progression-free survival (PFS) was assessed using Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazard models.

Results

A common spatial structure of TMEs was detected: central necrosis surrounded by tumor hypoxia (with defective and functional neovasculature) and different TMEs with a predominance of OxPhos and glycolysis for energy production, respectively. The percentage of the different TMEs on the total tumor volume uncovered two clearly different subtypes of glioblastoma IDH1wt: a glycolytic dominated phenotype with predominantly functional neovasculature and a necrotic/hypoxic dominated phenotype with approximately 50% of defective neovasculature. Patients with a necrotic/hypoxic dominated phenotype showed significantly shorter PFS (P = 0.035).

Conclusions

Our non-invasive mapping approach allows for classification of the TME and detection of tumor-supportive niches in glioblastoma which may be helpful for both clinical patient management and research.

How should adult patients with neurofibromatosis 1 be managed?

Among familial tumor syndromes, neurofibromatosis 1 (NF-1) is the most prevalent, affecting about 1 in 3000 births. The disorder leads to a microdeletion in the gene coding for neurofibromin, which is a negative regulator of the Ras oncogene signal transduction pathway. The gene is situated on 17q11.2, and mutation is transmitted as an autosomal dominant trait. However, half of affected individuals are spontaneous mutations.

Influence of temperature fluctuations on one-stage deammonification systems in northern cold region

Abstract

Cold and fluctuant temperatures are still a bottleneck for the application of one-stage deammonification in mainstream anammox (anaerobic ammonium oxidation). In this study, to simulate the practical but critical operational condition under rapidly fluctuant temperatures between April and May in cold northern area, two deammonification reactors with anammox granular sludge and nitritation flocculent sludge were tested under the cold shock with temperature fluctuations (11–18 °C). Under the controlled temperature (32 °C), good performances were obtained in both reactors. However, after the cold shock (ca. 13 °C), both reactors deteriorated similarly. The ammonia removal efficiencies decreased by half, while total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiencies decreased by two thirds. Nitrite accumulated in both reactors, while nitrate production was not disturbed although its contributions from nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) increased. In the stage with increasing wastewater temperatures (17.5 ± 2.2 °C), several operational conditions were tested to recover the performances, including limited dissolved oxygen, long hydraulic retention time (HRT), high nitrogen loading with elevated pH, and low NH₄⁺–N (60 mg/L), which did not significantly improve the performances, while the phenomena of heterotrophic nitrate reduction dramatically improved the nitrogen removal performances under limited aeration. During the cold temperature shock, insufficient anammox activity, and nitrate overproduction were the main problems.

Lipoxin A4 inhibits UV radiation-induced skin inflammation and oxidative stress in mice

The skin, as the outermost organ, is a physical barrier between the organism and the environmental deleterious factors such as ultraviolet (UV) radiation. UV radiation is one of the major risk factors for dermatologic diseases and chronic UV radiation exposure has been shown to cause skin cancer and premature skin aging [1]. Pathological levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) are formed as a consequence of exposure to UV radiation and by recruited neutrophils expressing gp91phox, a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase 2 (NOX2) subunit that contributes to superoxide anion production during acute inflammation [2].

The impact of occupational exposure to traffic-related air pollution among professional motorcyclists from Porto Alegre, Brazil, and its association with genetic and oxidative damage

Abstract

Vehicles play an important role in modern life; however, they also generate hazards. Occupational exposed subjects are in long-term contact with harmful products, which sets these professionals in a susceptible group to air pollutant damage. The aims of this study were to quantify individual exposure to pollutant gases and chemical elements and to evaluate oxidative and genetic damage in professional motorcyclists and office workers. We recruited professional motorcyclists and office workers from Porto Alegre, Brazil, between January and December 2016. Individual exposure to air pollutants was assessed by passive monitoring. Fingernail trace elements were determined by using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Oxidative stress biomarkers were quantified spectrophotometrically, and genotoxicity was evaluated by micronuclei assay. Individual exposure to NO₂ and O₃, trace element content (Sb, Pt, As, Cd, V, Mn, and Co), oxidative stress factors, and genetic damage were statistically higher in professional motorcyclists (p < 0.05). Moreover, NO₂ and O₃ levels showed very strong positive correlation with plasmatic lipid peroxidation (p < 0.001 and r = 0.8849 and 0.8995) and strong positive correlation with micronuclei frequency (p < 0.001 and r = 0.7683 and 0.7280). Results suggest that professional motorcyclists are at high risk due to long-term air pollution exposure, which implies in the onset of several harmful effects and worsening of pre-existent diseases.

Neonicotinoid detection in wild turkeys ( Meleagris gallopavo silvestris ) in Ontario, Canada

Abstract

The use of neonicotinoid insecticides in agriculture is now recognized for the health risks it poses to non-target wildlife, with associated honey bee mortality especially concerning. Research directed toward the presence and effects of these pesticides on terrestrial vertebrates that consume neonicotinoid-coated seeds, such as wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris), is lacking. This study used liquid chromatography attached to a tandem mass spectrometer to assess the liver from 40 wild turkeys for neonicotinoid and other pesticide residues and compared detected levels of these contaminants across the southern Ontario, Canada. Nine (22.5%) wild turkeys had detectible levels of neonicotinoid residues—clothianidin in eight, and thiamethoxam in three. Two (5.0%) of these turkeys had detectable levels of both clothianidin and thiamethoxam. Fuberidazole was detected in two (5.0%) wild turkeys. The highest level of thiamethoxam detected was 0.16 ppm, while clothianidin was detected at 0.12 ppm, and fuberidazole at 0.0094 ppm. Knowledge of exposure in free-ranging wildlife is critical for better understanding the effects of neonicotinoids on wildlife health; thus, these data help establish baseline data for southern Ontario wild turkeys and provide context for reference values in future analyses.

Surgical results of laparoscopic Toupet fundoplication for gastroesophageal reflux disease with special reference to recurrence

Abstract

Background

Surgical results of GERD have mainly been reported from the Western countries, with a few reports found in Japan. We examined the surgical results of laparoscopic Toupet fundoplication and clarify the characteristics of recurrent cases.

Methods

The subjects included 375 patients who underwent laparoscopic Toupet fundoplication from June 1997 to December 2016 as the initial surgery. Patient characteristics, pathophysiology, and surgical results were examined. In addition, we compared the patient characteristics and pathophysiology of recurrent cases in comparison with non-recurrent cases.

Results

Age 59 (43–70) and male 211 (56.3%). The operation time was 141 min (113–180) and intraoperative complications were found to have onset in 13 subjects (3.5%). Dysphagia after surgery was found in 18 cases (4.8%). The A factor (the degree of hiatal hernia), P factor (the degree of esophagitis), and pH < 4 holding time significantly improved after surgery compared with prior to surgery (p < 0.001 for all), while the LES lengths and abdominal LES lengths were extended (p < 0.001 for each). Recurrence was found in 48 patients (15.1%) among the 318 patients for whom we could confirm the presence or absence of recurrence. The A factor, P factor, and pH < 4 holding time prior to surgery were, respectively, higher in the recurrence group (p = 0.031, p < 0.001, p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Laparoscopic Toupet fundoplication for GERD could be performed safely, with a response rate as good as 85%. Compared with non-recurrent cases, preoperative clinical conditions such as esophageal hiatal hernia, reflux esophagitis, and acid reflux time were all advanced in recurrent cases.

Philosophy of Management Between Scientism and Technology

Abstract

This article addresses the difficulty in pursuing a philosophical engagement with management without falling into the trap of scientism. It also explores the option to turn management theorists away from science to seek insights from technology. The article is organized in four parts: a preliminary discussion on management from a philosophical viewpoint, a crucial distinction between philosophy of management as a mode of inquiry and a field of study, an analysis of the risk of scientism in the current philosophical work on management, and an initial inspection across the waters separating management and philosophy of technology.

Characterization of 3‐Acetyl Chlorophyll a and 3‐Acetyl Protochlorophyll a Accommodated in the B800 Binding Sites of Photosynthetic Light‐Harvesting Complex 2 in the Purple Photosynthetic Bacterium Rhodoblastus acidophilus

Photochemistry and Photobiology, EarlyView.

Contact Dermatitis Symposium

Australasian Journal of Dermatology, Volume 59, Issue S1, Page 13-16, May 2018.

All About Acne

Australasian Journal of Dermatology, Volume 59, Issue S1, Page 12-12, May 2018.

Miscellaneous and Other Surprises

Australasian Journal of Dermatology, Volume 59, Issue S1, Page 7-9, May 2018.

Author Index 2018

Australasian Journal of Dermatology, Volume 59, Issue S1, Page 130-134, May 2018.

Plenary Session 4 and Awarding of Prizes

Australasian Journal of Dermatology, Volume 59, Issue S1, Page 29-31, May 2018.

Poster Presentations

Australasian Journal of Dermatology, Volume 59, Issue S1, Page 32-129, May 2018.

Mohs Quality Assurance Program and Fellow Talks

Australasian Journal of Dermatology, Volume 59, Issue S1, Page 9-10, May 2018.

Paediatric Symposium

Australasian Journal of Dermatology, Volume 59, Issue S1, Page 16-19, May 2018.

What's New in Journals

Australasian Journal of Dermatology, Volume 59, Issue S1, Page 31-31, May 2018.