Science progress in the twentieth century : a quarterly journal of scientific work & thought.

v. 9 (1914-1915)

Science progress in the twentieth century : a quarterly journal of scientific work & thought.

v. 6 (1911-1912)

Science progress in the twentieth century : a quarterly journal of scientific work & thought.

v. 7 (1912-1913)

The Rise of democracy in Europe and the fight against mass poverty in Latin America: the implications for marxist thought of some recent mainstream papers

Recently a number of mainstream papers have treated the rise of democracy in 19th century Europe and its instability in Latin America in an eminently Marxist fashion. This paper sets out their implications for Marxist thought. With respect to Europe, Marx's emphasis on political action backed by the threat of violence is vindicated but his justification for socialism is not. With respect to Latin America, the unequal distribution of wealth is the cause of political instability that is, in turn, the root cause of mass poverty. In addition it is possible to explain some of the paradoxical characteristics of neo-liberalism and to make a weak argument for socialism in spite of its rejection in Europe.

Raising the Level of Moral Thinking among Managers Will Not Help. Kohlberg's Conventionality and Systemic Ethical Flaws in Business

Business ethicists often assume that unethical behavior arises when individuals deviate from the norms and responsibilities that are institutionalized to frame economic activities. People's greed motivates them to violate the rules of the game. In Kohlberg's terms, it is assumed that such actors make decisions in a preconventional way and act opportunistically. In this article, we propose an alternative interpretation of deviant behavior, arguing that such behavior does not result from a lack of conventional moral guidance but rather from the fact that characteristics attributed to preconventional morality by Kohlberg - the purely incentive and punishment driven opportunistic morality - have become the conventionalized morality. The prevailing norms that economic actors have internalized as their yardstick are those of the preconventional Homo economicus. Not the deviation from, but the compliance with the rules of the game explains many forms of harmful and illegal decisions made in corporations.

Sclérodermie et risques oncologiques [Systemic sclerosis and cancer]

The combination of skin induration with clinical features such as dyspnea, facial telangiectasia, digital infarctions and/or dysphagia supports the diagnosis of systemic sclerosis. The oesophageal dysmotility is associated with symptoms which may delay the diagnosis of gastro-oesophageal cancer. Herein we report a case of long standing systemic sclerosis with heartburn and dysphagia symptoms which were monitored closely. Unfortunately, these symptoms delayed the diagnosis of gastric adenocarcinoma. This case prompted us to review the evidence of the association of cancer and systemic sclerosis and if any oncologic evaluation is required during the follow-up of patients affected with systemic sclerosis.

Reversal of opinion: the implications of the work of Acemoglu and Robinson for marxist thought

This paper describes the implications for Marxist thought of the work of Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson. In the first two periods of this they explained how the rise of democracy brought prosperity to Europe  and why the same process had not worked in Latin America because of the possibility of coups. The implication is that mass poverty can better be alleviated by safeguarding democracy rather than moving to socialism. In the last period A and R have formalized doubts about the efficacy of democracy in this role. The implication here is that Marxists should work to find a system of government that is immune to elite dominance. Hugo Chávez is taken as an example.

Quantitative and qualitative research on brief systemic therapies carried out within the framework of an ambulatory consultation for couples and families

Abstract: This article presents both a brief systemic intervention method (IBS) consisting in 6 sessions developed in an ambulatory service for couples and families, and two research projects done in collaboration with the Institute for Psychotherapy of the University of Lausanne. The first project is quantitative and it aims at evaluating the effectiveness of ISB. One of its main feature is that outcomes are assessed at different levels of individual and family functioning: 1) symptoms and individual functioning; 2) quality of marital relationship; 3) parental and co-parental relationships; 4) familial relationships. The second project is a qualitative case study about a marital therapy which identifies and analyses significant moments of the therapeutic process from the patients' perspective. Methodology was largely inspired by Daniel Stem's work about "moments of meeting" in psychotherapy. Results show that patients' theories about relationship and change are important elements that deepen our understanding of the change process in couple and family therapy. The interest of associating clinicians and researchers for the development and validation of a new clinical model is discussed.

Adjuvant early breast cancer systemic therapies according to daily used technologies.

Prognosis of early breast cancer patients is significantly improved with the use of adjuvant therapies. Various guidelines have been proposed to select patients who will derive the most benefit from such treatments. However, classifications have limited usefulness in subsets of patients such as those with node negative breast cancer. The 2007 St. Paul de Vence Clinical Practice Recommendations proposed to consider adjuvant therapy in accordance with the 10-year relapse-free survival reduction estimated by Adjuvant! Online. However, many limitations remain regarding the use of Adjuvant! Online. Among them, adverse prognostic and/or predictive factors such as vascular invasion, mitotic activity, progesterone receptor negativity, and HER-2 expression are not incorporated in the routine clinical decision process. Our group has therefore issued guidelines based on the consideration of both Adjuvant! Online calculations and the prognostic and/or predictive effects of these markers. In addition, web-accessible comprehensive tables summarizing these recommendations are provided.

Periodontitis and gingivitis in inflammatory bowel disease: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: The oral cavity is frequently affected in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), especially in patients with Crohn's disease (CD). Periodontitis is thought to influence systemic autoimmune or inflammatory diseases. We aimed to analyze the relationship of periodontitis and gingivitis markers with specific disease characteristics in patients with IBD and to compare these data with healthy controls. METHODS: In a prospective 8-month study, systematic oral examinations were performed in 113 patients with IBD, including 69 patients with CD and 44 patients with ulcerative colitis. For all patients, a structured personal history was taken. One hundred thirteen healthy volunteers served as a control group. Oral examination focussed on established oral health markers for periodontitis (bleeding on probing, loss of attachment, and periodontal pocket depth) and gingivitis (papilla bleeding index). Additionally, visible oral lesions were documented. RESULTS: Both gingivitis and periodontitis markers were higher in patients with IBD than in healthy control. In univariate analysis and logistic regression analysis, perianal disease was a risk factor for periodontitis. Nonsmoking decreased the risk of having periodontitis. No clear association was found between clinical activity and periodontitis in IBD. In only the CD subgroup, high clinical activity (Harvey-Bradshaw index > 10) was associated with 1 periodontitis marker, the loss of attachment at sites of maximal periodontal pocket depth. Oral lesions besides periodontitis and gingivitis were not common, but nevertheless observed in about 10% of patients with IBD. CONCLUSIONS: IBD, and especially perianal disease in CD, is associated with periodontitis. Optimal therapeutic strategies should probably focus on treating both local oral and systemic inflammation.

Atteintes cardiaques dans les connectivites: l'exemple du lupus érythémateux systémique [Cardiac involvement in connective tissue disease: the example of systemic lupus erythematosus]

When we think of cardiac affection in the context of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), we usually refer to pericarditis first. As frequent as this affection is, it is actually not the only cardio-vascular problem that occurs with this systemic inflammatory disease. Are the cardiac events--ranging from multiple heart valve involvements to increased cardiovascular risks--clinically significant? And are they involving a specific follow-up, treatment or support? We are therefore trying to evaluate these questions in order to give some recommendations to any practitioners following up a lupus patient, or a patient suffering from any other inflammatory systemic disease.

Esophagogastric cancer: integration of targeted therapies into systemic chemotherapy.

Although combination chemotherapy has been shown to be more effective than single agents in advanced esophagogastric cancer, the better response rates have not fulfilled their promise as overall survival times from best combination still range between 8 to 11 months. So far, the development of targeted therapies stays somewhat behind their integration into treatment concepts compared to other gastrointestinal diseases. Thus, the review summarizes the recent advances in the development of targeted therapies in advanced esophagogastric cancer. The majority of agents tested were angiogenesis inhibitors or agents targeting the epidermal growth factor receptors EGFR1 and HER2. For trastuzumab and bevacizumab, phase III trial results have been presented recently. While addition of trastuzumab to cisplatin/5-fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy results in a clinically relevant and statistically significant survival benefit in HER 2+ patients, the benefit of the addition of bevacizumab to chemotherapy was not significant. Thus, all patients with metastatic disease should be tested for HER-2 status in the tumor. Trastuzumab in combination with cisplatin/5-fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy is the new standard of care for patients with HER2-positive advanced gastric cancer.

Systemic effects of epidural Methylprednisolone injection on glucose tolerance in diabetic patients.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Several studies have shown that in diabetic patients, the glycemic profile was disturbed after intra-articular injection of corticosteroids. Little is known about the impact of epidural injection in such patients. The goal of this study was double, at first comparing the glycaemic profile in diabetic patients after a unique injection of 80 mg of acetate methylprednisolone either intra-articular or epidural and secondly to compare the amount of systemic diffusion of the drug after both procedures. METHODS: Seventeen patients were included. Glycemic changes were compared in 9 diabetic patients following intra-articular (4 patients) and epidural injections (5 patients). Epidural injections were performed using the sacral route under fluoroscopic control in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis. Diabetes control had to stable for more than 10 days and the renal function to be preserved. Blood glucose was monitored using a validated continuous measuring device (GMS, Medtronic) the day before and for two days following the injection. Results were expressed in the form of daily glycemic profiles and as by mean, peak and minimal values +/ SD. The urinary excretion of methylprednisolone after the 2 routes of injection was analyzed in 8 patients (4 in each group). Urine samples were cropped one hour before the injections, then 4 times during the first day and 3 times a week for 2 weeks. The measurements included the free and conjugated fraction RESULTS: The glycaemic profile remains unchanged with no significant changes in the group of the 5 diabetic patients receiving epidural injections. On the other end, the average peak and mean values were enhanced up to 3 mmol/l above baseline two days after the infiltration in the groups of the 4 diabetic patients infiltrated intra-articular. The mean urinary excretion of the steroid was about ten times higher in the intra-articular versus epidural group: 7000 ng/ml versus 700 ng/ml. Looking at each individual there were marked differences especially after intra-articular injections. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to show that a single epidural steroid injection of 80 mg depot methylprednisolone had no effect on the glycemic control in diabetic patients. The absence of glycemic control changes correlated well with the very low urinary excretion of the drug after epidural injection. Trial registration NCT01420497.

Conversion of membrane-bound Fas(CD95) ligand to its soluble form is associated with downregulation of its proapoptotic activity and loss of liver toxicity.

Human Fas ligand (L) (CD95L) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha undergo metalloproteinase-mediated proteolytic processing in their extracellular domains resulting in the release of soluble trimeric ligands (soluble [s]FasL, sTNF-alpha) which, in the case of sFasL, is thought to be implicated in diseases such as hepatitis and AIDS. Here we show that the processing of sFasL occurs between Ser126 and Leu127. The apoptotic-inducing capacity of naturally processed sFasL was reduced by >1,000-fold compared with membrane-bound FasL, and injection of high doses of recombinant sFasL in mice did not induce liver failure. However, soluble FasL retained its capacity to interact with Fas, and restoration of its cytotoxic activity was achieved both in vitro and in vivo with the addition of cross-linking antibodies. Similarly, the marginal apoptotic activity of recombinant soluble TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (sTRAIL), another member of the TNF ligand family, was greatly increased upon cross-linking. These results indicate that the mere trimerization of the Fas and TRAIL receptors may not be sufficient to trigger death signals. Thus, the observation that sFasL is less cytotoxic than membrane-bound FasL may explain why in certain types of cancer, systemic tissue damage is not detected, even though the levels of circulating sFasL are high.