共查询到20条相似文献,搜索用时 15 毫秒
1.
Endersby J 《Journal of the history of biology》2011,44(4):611-631
The life of Joseph Dalton Hooker (1817–1911) provides an invaluable lens through which to view mid-Victorian science. A biographical
approach makes it clear that some well-established narratives about this period need revising. For example, Hooker’s career
cannot be considered an example of the professionalisation of the sciences, given the doubtful respectability of being paid
to do science and his reliance on unpaid collectors with pretensions to equal scientific and/or social status. Nor was Hooker’s
response to Darwin’s theories either straightforward or contradictory; it only makes sense as carefully crafted equivocation
when seen in the context of his life and career. However, the importance of Hooker’s life is ultimately its typicality; what
was true of Hooker was true of many other Victorian men of science. 相似文献
2.
Evidence‐based medicine (EBM) proponents have argued that mechanistic evidence concerning medical treatments should be considered secondary to evidence derived from randomized controlled trials (RCTs). One common criticism of RCTs is that they often do not yield results that are generalizable to clinical practice, and that for clinical practice application, mechanistic evidence is needed. However, proponents of EBM have argued that mechanistic reasoning is often unreliable and thus not very useful. Here we suggest an important role of mechanistic explanation that has been left out of this discussion entirely, namely, its importance in a patient’s decision of whether or not to take certain drugs. We argue that in certain cases, knowing how a treatment works is just as important for the patient as knowing whether it does. In this paper, we explore how and why giving patients mechanistic information can be an important factor in obtaining informed consent for medical treatment, focusing on the example case of hormonal contraceptives. 相似文献
3.
This article serves as a brief history and review of EBM—how EBM developed, its strengths and limitations, and the need for constant improvements. Hopefully, this review will have enhanced your understanding of EBM and its importance and stimulated you to apply EBM to your own practice. As more data and therapies become available, and as clinical guidelines continue to evolve based on EBM, we should expect patient outcomes to improve. 相似文献
4.
M. J. S. Hodge 《Journal of the history of biology》2009,42(3):399-416
When socio-economic contexts are sought for Darwin’s science, it is customary to turn to the Industrial Revolution. However,
important issues about the long run of England’s capitalisms can only be recognised by taking a wider view than Industrial
Revolution historiographies tend to engage. The role of land and finance capitalisms in the development of the empire is one
such issue. If we historians of Darwin’s science allow ourselves a distinction between land and finance capitalisms on the
one hand and industrial capitalism on the other; and if we ask with which side of this divide were Darwin and his theory of
branching descent by natural selection aligned, then reflection on leading features of that theory, including its Malthusian
elements, suggests that the answer is often and largely, though not exclusively: on the land side. The case of Wallace, socialist
opponent of land capitalism, may not be as anomalous for this suggestion as one might at first think. Social and economic
historians have reached no settled consensuses on the long-run of England’s capitalisms. We historians of Darwin’s science
would do well to import some of these unsettled states of discussion into our own work over the years to come. 相似文献
5.
Brian Hazelton Walsh 《Journal of bioethical inquiry》2010,7(1):31-42
In this paper I draw on the French philosopher Michel Foucault for a viewpoint on aspects of EBM. This means that I develop
his idea of the spaces occupied by disease. I give much of the paper to only one of these spaces, the space of perception
of disease, in order to major on the medical gaze, one of Foucault’s best-known contributions to the philosophy of medicine.
As I explain what I mean by each of the spaces of disease, I configure EBM into this space. The conscientious, explicit, and
judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. Evidence-based clinical
practice requires integration of individual clinical expertise and patient preferences with the best available external clinical
evidence from systematic research and consideration of available resources. EBM can be considered a subcategory of evidence-based
healthcare, which also includes other branches of health-care practice such as evidence-based nursing or evidence-based physiotherapy.
EBM subcategories include evidence-based surgery and evidence-based cardiology (Guyatt et al. 2008, 783). 相似文献
6.
Armin W. Schulz 《Biology & philosophy》2011,26(2):251-260
In their book Unto Others, Sober and Wilson argue that various evolutionary considerations (based on the logic of natural selection) lend support to
the truth of psychological altruism. However, recently, Stephen Stich has raised a number of challenges to their reasoning:
in particular, he claims that three out of the four evolutionary arguments they give are internally unconvincing, and that
the one that is initially plausible fails to take into account recent findings from cognitive science and thus leaves open
a number of egoistic responses. These challenges make it necessary to reassess the plausibility of Sober & Wilson’s evolutionary
account—which is what I aim to do in this paper. In particular, I try to show that, as a matter of fact, Sober & Wilson’s
case remains compelling, as some of Stich’s concerns rest on a confusion, and those that do not are not sufficiently strong
to establish all the conclusions he is after. The upshot is that no reason has been given to abandon the view that evolutionary
theory has advanced the debate surrounding psychological altruism. 相似文献
7.
8.
Following the Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) practice, practitioners make use of the existing evidence to make therapeutic decisions. This evidence, in the form of scientific statements, is usually found in scholarly publications such as randomised control trials and systematic reviews. However, finding such information in the overwhelming amount of published material is particularly challenging. Approaches have been proposed to automatically extract scientific artefacts in EBM using standardised schemas. Our work takes this stream a step forward and looks into consolidating extracted artefacts—i.e., quantifying their degree of similarity based on the assumption that they carry the same rhetorical role. By semantically connecting key statements in the literature of EBM, practitioners are not only able to find available evidence more easily, but also can track the effects of different treatments/outcomes in a number of related studies. We devise a regression model based on a varied set of features and evaluate it both on a general English corpus (the SICK corpus), as well as on an EBM corpus (the NICTA-PIBOSO corpus). Experimental results show that our approach performs on par with the state of the art on the general English and achieves encouraging results on the biomedical text when compared against human judgement. 相似文献
9.
We review winner-loser models, the currently popular explanation for the occurrence of linear dominance hierarchies, via a
three-part approach. (1) We isolate the two most significant components of the mathematical formulation of three of the most
widely-cited models and rigorously evaluate the components’ predictions against data collected on hierarchy formation in groups
of hens. (2) We evaluate the experimental support in the literature for the basic assumptions contained in winner-loser models.
(3) We apply new techniques to the hen data to uncover several behavioral dynamics of hierarchy formation not previously described.
The mathematical formulations of these models do not show satisfactory agreement with the hen data, and key model assumptions
have either little or no conclusive support from experimental findings in the literature. In agreement with the latest experimental
results concerning social cognition, the new behavioral dynamics of hierarchy formation discovered in the hen data suggest
that members of groups are intensely aware both of their own interactions as well as interactions occurring among other members of their group. We suggest that
more adequate models of hierarchy formation should be based upon behavioral dynamics that reflect more sophisticated levels
of social cognition. 相似文献
10.
Borgerson K 《Perspectives in biology and medicine》2005,48(4):502-515
The validity of evidence-based medicine (EBM) is the subject of ongoing controversy. The EBM movement has proposed a "hierarchy of evidence," according to which randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and meta-analyses of RCTs provide the most reliable evidence concerning the efficacy of medical interventions. The evaluation of alternative medicine therapies highlights problems with the EBM hierarchy. Alternative medical researchers-like those in mainstream medicine-wish to evaluate their therapies using methods that are rigorous and that are consistent with their philosophies of medicine and healing. These investigators have three ways to relate their work to EBM. They can accept the EBM hierarchy and carry out RCTs when possible; they can accept the EBM standards but argue that the special characteristics of alternative medicine warrant the acceptance of "lower" forms of evidence; or they can challenge the EBM approach and work to develop new research designs and new standards of evidence that reflect their approach to medical care. For several reasons, this last option is preferable. First, it will best meet the needs of alternative medicine practitioners. Moreover, because similar problems beset the evaluation of mainstream medical therapies, reevaluation of standards of evidence will benefit everyone in the medical community--including, most importantly, patients. 相似文献
11.
Mackay AL 《Journal of biosciences》2003,28(5):539-546
Conclusion We must conclude that the sub-title of Bernal’s “The Social Function of Science” — “What science does: what science could
do” is still the relevant challenge and indicates Bernal’s chief contribution, besides the foundation of molecular biology
to our civilization. It is manifest that resources spent on armaments are a monstrous pathological symptom of our social structure.
The ancient problem of “what is property” and what may be “owned” and by whom or by what organs of society is awakening. 相似文献
12.
Charlotte Weissman 《Journal of the history of biology》2010,43(4):727-766
Weismann’s ideas on species transmutation were first expressed in his famous debate with Moritz Wagner on the mechanism of
speciation. Wagner suggested that the isolation of a colony from its original source is a preliminary and necessary factor
for speciation. Weismann accepted a secondary, facilitating role for isolation, but argued that natural and sexual selection
are the primary driving forces of species transmutation, and are always necessary and often sufficient causes for its occurrence.
The debate with Wagner, which occurred between 1868 and 1872 within the framework of Darwin’s discussions of geographical
distribution, was Weismann’s first public battle over the mechanism of evolution. This paper, which offers the first comprehensive
analysis of this debate, extends previous analyses and throws light on the underlying beliefs and motivations of these early
evolutionists, focusing mainly on Weismann’s views and showing his commitment to what he later called “the all sufficiency
of Natural Selection.” It led to the crystallization of his ideas on the central and essential role of selection, both natural
and sexual, in all processes of evolution, and, already at this early stage in his theoretical thinking, was coupled with
sophisticated and nuanced approach to biological organization. The paper also discusses Ernst Mayr’s analysis of the debate
and highlights aspects of Weismann’s views that were overlooked by Mayr and were peripheral to the discussions of other historians
of biology. 相似文献
13.
Huge progress has been made in unraveling the mysteries of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but we still do not understand the basic
mechanisms that set off the cascade of pathological events. In May 2011, the National Institute on Aging–Alzheimer’s Association
published new diagnostic guidelines, expected to have huge impact on AD research and clinical practice. However, the new guidelines
are already criticized for being biased in favor of a specific theory of the pathophysiological origins of AD—the amyloid
cascade hypothesis. Shortly before publication of the guidelines, a hypothetical model of the dynamic biomarkers of the Alzheimer’s
pathological cascade was published, taking as starting point that biomarkers reflecting brain levels of amyloid become deviant
long before brain atrophy, cognitive dysfunction, or clinical symptoms are manifest. This model has already attracted substantial
interest and arguably represents a dominating view within human research on AD. Here we critically review the evidence for
the view of amyloid as an initiating event in the pathological cascade and discuss how central assumptions of this hypothesis
affect how results from contemporary human AD research are understood. Interpretations of new results are greatly impacted
by researchers’ view on the role of amyloid, and identical observations are sometimes taken to support radically opposing
views on the amyloid hypothesis. We argue that the canonical view of the role of amyloid as the main causal factor in AD may
not be correct and that evidence from recent neuroimaging studies indicates that amyloid is neither necessary nor sufficient,
for the manifestation of AD-like brain atrophy. 相似文献
14.
Onyango IG 《Neurochemical research》2008,33(3):589-597
Environmental toxins, genetic predisposition and old age are major risk factors for Parkinson’s disease (PD). Although the
mechanism(s) underlying selective dopaminergic (DA) neurodegeneration remain unclear, molecular studies in both toxin based
models and genetic based models of the disease suggest a major etiologic role for mitochondrial dysfunction in the pathogenesis
of PD. Further, recent studies have presented clear evidence for a high burden of mtDNA deletions within the substantia nigra
neurons in individuals with PD. Ultimately, an understanding of the molecular events which precipitate DA neurodegeneration
in idiopathic PD will enable the development of targeted and effective therapeutic strategies. We review recent advances and
current understanding of the genetic factors, molecular mechanisms and animal models of PD. 相似文献
15.
Computation and information processing are among the most fundamental notions in cognitive science. They are also among the
most imprecisely discussed. Many cognitive scientists take it for granted that cognition involves computation, information
processing, or both – although others disagree vehemently. Yet different cognitive scientists use ‘computation’ and ‘information
processing’ to mean different things, sometimes without realizing that they do. In addition, computation and information processing
are surrounded by several myths; first and foremost, that they are the same thing. In this paper, we address this unsatisfactory
state of affairs by presenting a general and theory-neutral account of computation and information processing. We also apply
our framework by analyzing the relations between computation and information processing on one hand and classicism, connectionism,
and computational neuroscience on the other. We defend the relevance to cognitive science of both computation, at least in a generic sense, and information processing, in three important senses of the term. Our account advances several foundational debates in cognitive science by untangling
some of their conceptual knots in a theory-neutral way. By leveling the playing field, we pave the way for the future resolution of the debates’ empirical aspects. 相似文献
16.
We often wonder how many of the pristine places left on Earth we can protect from deterioration before it is too late. The
assumption that remote regions remain pristine plays a key role in directing policies for regional environmental management
and conservation, and affects the local and global financial impetus to do so. In this paper, we use Argentinean Patagonia
and the SW Atlantic as examples to argue that the assumption ‘remote region = pristine region’ is unjustified and based on a lack of information rather than on scientific evidence. We also discuss the major existing
environmental threats to this supposedly ‘pristine’ region, and use emblematic examples to provide a more realistic picture
of the regional environmental integrity and to set recommendations directed to improve environmental management and conservation
within this context. 相似文献
17.
Theunissen B 《Journal of the history of biology》2012,45(2):179-212
The analogy between artificial selection of domestic varieties and natural selection in nature was a vital element of Darwin’s
argument in his Origin of Species. Ever since, the image of breeders creating new varieties by artificial selection has served as a convincing illustration
of how the theory works. In this paper I argue that we need to reconsider our understanding of Darwin’s analogy. Contrary
to what is often assumed, nineteenth-century animal breeding practices constituted a highly controversial field that was fraught
with difficulties. It was only with considerable effort that Darwin forged his analogy, and he only succeeded by downplaying
the importance of two other breeding techniques – crossing of varieties and inbreeding – that many breeders deemed essential
to obtain new varieties. Part of the explanation for Darwin’s gloss on breeding practices, I shall argue, was that the methods
of his main informants, the breeders of fancy pigeons, were not representative of what went on in the breeding world at large.
Darwin seems to have been eager to take the pigeon fanciers at their word, however, as it was only their methods that provided
him with the perfect analogy with natural selection. Thus while his studies of domestic varieties were important for the development
of the concept of natural selection, the reverse was also true: Darwin’s comprehension of breeding practices was moulded by
his understanding of the working of natural selection in nature. Historical studies of domestic breeding practices in the
eighteenth and nineteenth century confirm that, besides selection, the techniques of inbreeding and crossing were much more
important than Darwin’s interpretation allowed for. And they still are today. This calls for a reconsideration of the pedagogic
use of Darwin’s analogy too. 相似文献
18.
Moleón M Sánchez-Zapata JA Gil-Sánchez JM Ballesteros-Duperón E Barea-Azcón JM Virgós E 《Oecologia》2012,168(3):679-689
How predators impact on prey population dynamics is still an unsolved issue for most wild predator–prey communities. When
considering vertebrates, important concerns constrain a comprehensive understanding of the functioning of predator–prey relationships
worldwide; e.g. studies simultaneously quantifying ‘functional’ and ‘numerical responses’ (i.e., the ‘total response’) are
rare. The functional, the numerical, and the resulting total response (i.e., how the predator per capita intake, the population
of predators and the total of prey eaten by the total predators vary with prey densities) are fundamental as they reveal the
predator’s ability to regulate prey population dynamics. Here, we used a multi-spatio-temporal scale approach to simultaneously
explore the functional and numerical responses of a territorial predator (Bonelli’s eagle Hieraaetus fasciatus) to its two main prey species (the rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus and the red-legged partridge Alectoris rufa) during the breeding period in a Mediterranean system of south Spain. Bonelli’s eagle responded functionally, but not numerically,
to rabbit/partridge density changes. Type II, non-regulatory, functional responses (typical of specialist predators) offered
the best fitting models for both prey. In the absence of a numerical response, Bonelli’s eagle role as a regulating factor
of rabbit and partridge populations seems to be weak in our study area. Simple (prey density-dependent) functional response
models may well describe the short-term variation in a territorial predator’s consumption rate in complex ecosystems. 相似文献
19.
Bruno Gualano Guilherme Giannini Artioli Jacques R. Poortmans Antonio Herbert Lancha Junior 《Amino acids》2010,38(1):31-44
Creatine (Cr) plays a central role in energy provision through a reaction catalyzed by phosphorylcreatine kinase. Furthermore,
this amine enhances both gene expression and satellite cell activation involved in hypertrophic response. Recent findings
have indicated that Cr supplementation has a therapeutic role in several diseases characterized by atrophic conditions, weakness,
and metabolic disturbances (i.e., in the muscle, bone, lung, and brain). Accordingly, there has been an evidence indicating
that Cr supplementation is capable of attenuating the degenerative state in some muscle disorders (i.e., Duchenne and inflammatory
myopathies), central nervous diseases (i.e., Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, and Alzheimer’s), and bone and metabolic disturbances
(i.e., osteoporosis and type II diabetes). In light of this, Cr supplementation could be used as a therapeutic tool for the
elderly. The aim of this review is to summarize the main studies conducted in this field and to highlight the scientific and
clinical perspectives of this promising therapeutic supplement. 相似文献
20.
One of the most remarkable aspects of John Maynard Smith’s work was the fact that he devoted time both to doing science and
to reflecting philosophically upon its methods and concepts. In this paper I offer a philosophical analysis of Maynard Smith’s
approach to modelling phenotypic evolution in relation to three main themes. The first concerns the type of scientific understanding
that ESS and optimality models give us. The second concerns the causal–historical aspect of stability analyses of adaptation.
The third concerns the concept of evolutionary stability itself. Taken together, these three themes comprise what I call the
natural philosophy of adaptation. 相似文献