Marr and Reductionism

David Marr's three-level method for completely understanding a cognitive system and the importance he attaches to the computational level are so familiar as to scarcely need repeating. Fewer seem to recognize that Marr defends his famous method by criticizing the “reductionistic approach.” This sets up a more interesting relationship between Marr and reductionism than is usually acknowledged. I argue that Marr was correct in his criticism of the reductionists of his time—they were only describing (cellular activity), not explaining (cognitive functions). But a careful metascientific account of reductionistic neuroscience over the past two decades reveals that Marr's criticisms no longer have force. Contemporary neuroscience now explains cognition directly, although in a fashion—causal-mechanistically—quite different than Marr recommended. So while Marr was correct to reject the reductionism of his day and offer an alternative method for genuinely explaining cognition, contemporary cognitive scientists now owe us a new defense of Marr's famous method and the advantages of its explanations over the type now pursued successfully in current reductionist neuroscience. There are familiar reasons for thinking that this debt will not be paid easily.     

The role of National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups (NITAG) in strengthening health system governance: Lessons from three middle-income countries—Argentina,Jordan, and South Africa (2017–2018)

IntroductionToward the Global Vaccine Action Plan 2020 goal, almost 90% of countries have established a National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG). However, little is known about NITAG's contributions to governance.MethodsIn 2017–2018, a two-step, qualitative retrospective study was conducted. Jordan (JO), Argentina (AR), and South Africa (SA) were selected owing to government-financed NITAGs from middle-income countries (MICs), geographic diversity, and a vaccine introduction with NITAG support. Country case studies were developed, collecting data through desk review and face-to-face key informant interviews (KIIs) from Ministry of Health (MoH) and NITAG. Case studies were analyzed together, to assess governance applying the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies framework focusing on transparency, accountability, participation, integrity, and policy capacity (TAPIC).ResultsDocument review and 53 KII (22 AR, 20 SA, 11 JO) showed NITAGs played a pivotal role as advisors promoting a culture of evidence-informed policies. NITAGs strengthened governance, although practices varied among countries. Meetings were conducted behind-closed-doors, participation restricted to members, only in one country agendas, and recommendations were public (AR). To increase participation, policy capacity, and transparency, countries considered adding experts in communications, advocacy, and economics. AR and SA contemplated including community members. NITAGs functioned autonomously from the government, with no established internal or external monitoring or supervision. NITAG meeting minutes allowed the review of integrity, adherence to terms of reference, standard operating procedures, and conflict of interest (CoI). For the most part, NITAGs abided by their mandates. Significant issues were related to the level of MoH support and oversight of CoI declaration and documentation.ConclusionsSystematically implementing governance approaches could improve processes, better tailor policies, and implementation. The long-term survival and resilience of NITAGs in these countries showed they play a significant role in strengthening governance. Lessons learned could be useful to those promoting country-driven evidence-informed decision-making.     

模拟诊疗在留学生心血管内科实习带教中的应用研究

目的　探讨模拟诊疗在留学生心血管内科实习带教中的应用效果。方法　将35名留学生随机编号，分成试验组和对照组。试验组18名学生分成3组（每组6名）进行模拟诊疗教学，对照组17名学生进行常规实习。通过填写评价单和相关的临床能力测试对两组教学效果进行评价。选用SPSS 19.0软件进行t检验。结果　参与模拟诊疗教学的留学生均希望在各科实习中多采用此方法。在临床能力测试方面，试验组学生在病史采集[（22.16±2.17）vs.（20.33±2.03）]、体格检查[（23.05±1.79）vs.（19.78±2.05）]及回答问题[（23.50±1.47）vs.（19.56±1.92）]方面均优于对照组，差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）。但是在病历书写方面，两组差异无统计学意义（P>0.05）。结论　利用高仿真的模拟诊疗教学手段，弥补了留学生在实习期间不能充分接触患者的缺陷，有助于提高其临床操作技能、增强医患沟通能力等医学职业素养。     

Relationship between EMG-detected and ultrasound-detected fasciculations in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A prospective cohort study

ObjectivesFasciculation potentials (FP) are an important consideration in the electrophysiological diagnosis of ALS. Muscle ultrasonography (MUS) has a higher sensitivity in detecting fasciculations than electromyography (EMG), while in some cases, it is unable to detect EMG-detected fasciculations. We aimed to investigate the differences of FP between the muscles with and without MUS-detected fasciculations (MUS-fas).MethodsThirty-one consecutive patients with sporadic ALS were prospectively recruited and in those, both needle EMG and MUS were performed. Analyses of the amplitude, duration, and number of phases of EMG-detected FPs were performed for seven muscles per patient, and results were compared between the muscles with and without MUS-fas in the total cohort.ResultsThe mean amplitude and phase number of FP were significantly lower in patients with EMG-detected FP alone (0.39 ± 0.25 mV and 3.21 ± 0.88, respectively) than in those with both FP and MUS-fas (1.22 ± 0.92 mV and 3.74 ± 1.39, respectively; p < 0.0001 and p = 0.017, Welch’s t-test).ConclusionSmall FP may be undetectable with MUS. MUS cannot replace EMG in the diagnostic approach for ALS.SignificanceClinicians should use a combination of EMG and MUS for the detection and quantitative analysis of fasciculation in ALS.     

我国甲状腺癌外科治疗近10年进展

近10年来，甲状腺外科快速发展。随着甲状腺外科相关指南、专家共识的不断修订与完善，在专业团体的引导下，中国甲状腺外科在术前诊断、手术方式、治疗方法创新等方面实现了可喜发展，病人5年生存率明显提高。甲状腺疾病诊治技术快速革新、外科术式的发展与统一、多学科诊疗模式发展与应用、术后规范化管理助力疗效提高、重视特殊情况下的甲状腺癌及髓样癌诊治以及质量控制体系的建立与完善等综合发展提升了甲状腺癌诊疗的安全性、精准性，有效的改善了病人生活质量、延长生存时间，为建设健康中国贡献力量。     

Five-year clinical outcomes using the bioresorbable vascular scaffold: Insights from the FRANCE ABSORB registry

Central illustration: cumulative major adverse cardiac events (MACE) and bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS) thrombosis rates after 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 years.

     

Treatment of thalassaemia: a review of the new approaches on transfusion safety and the novel therapeutics

Lifetime red cell concentrate (RCC) transfusions still account for significant iron overload‐related morbidity and mortality despite chelation therapy in thalassaemia. The cumulative risk of transfusion‐transmitted infections is substantial for thalassaemia patients. Pathogen reduction technologies for RCC may imply a proactive approach against new/re‐emerging pathogens and may be an ultimate safeguard for transfusion safety in the developing countries. Red cell alloimmunization may become a significant clinical challenge in thalassaemia. The availability of high‐throughput molecular blood group antigen typing in the donors may allow perfect match transfusion, beyond ABO‐D and CEK antigen‐matched transfusions. Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (A‐SCT) is the only available curative therapy in thalassaemia, but carries a substantial risk of serious adverse events and mortality. Gene addition therapy for correction of the α‐globin chain imbalance overcomes the problems of donor availability and immunological complications of A‐SCT. Gene editing by either gene disruption or correction emerged as a potential alternative to gene addition therapy in beta‐thalassaemia. A new era of novel therapeutics targeting α/β imbalance, ineffective erythropoiesis or iron dysregulation is unfolding in thalassaemia management, and a number of those now have agents in preclinical and clinical development. Hydroxyurea (HU) may improve globin chain imbalance and be beneficial for reducing or omitting transfusion requirement. Ruxolitinib has allowed steady decrease in spleen volume that may serve for avoiding splenectomy in beta‐thalassaemia. Luspatercept may restore normal erythroid differentiation and improve anaemia. Hepcidin mimetics or TMPRSS6 inhibitors may modulate ineffective erythropoiesis by iron restriction and improve anaemia and organ iron loading.     

Enteric anendocrinosis attributable to a novel Neurogenin-3 variant

Congenital diarrhea and enteropathies (CODEs) are a group of monogenic disorders that often present with severe diarrhea in the first weeks of life. Enteric anendocrinosis (EA), an extremely rare cause of CODE, is characterized by a marked reduction of intestinal enteroendocrine cells (EC). EA is associated with recessively inherited variants in Neurogenin-3 (NEUROG3) gene. Here we investigate a case of a male infant who presented with mysterious severe malabsorptive diarrhea since birth. Thorough clinical assessments and laboratory tests were successful to exclude the majority of differential diagnosis categories. However, the patient's diagnosis was not established until the genetic test using whole-exome sequencing (WES) was performed. We identified a novel homozygous missense disease-causing variant (DCV) in NEUROG3 (c.413C>G, p.Thr138Arg). Moreover, molecular dynamic simulation analysis showed that (p.Thr138Arg) led to a global change of the NEUROG3 orientation affecting its DNA binding capacity. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time to apply WES to reach a differential diagnosis of patients with CODEs. Our study not only expands our knowledge about NEUROG3 variants and their clinical consequences but also proves that WES is a very effective tool for the diagnosis of CODEs. This might be of value in early diagnosis of diseases and prenatal CODEs detection.     

健康干预在肥胖中学生中所起的效果评价

目的：探讨健康干预应用于肥胖中学生的效果。方法：抽取张掖市第一中学肥胖中学生180例，随机分为观察组与对照组，观察组实施健康干预，对照组仅予以常规健康教育，比较两组肥胖改善情况。结果：观察组干预效果显著优于对照组（P＜0．05）；干预后观察组的 BMI、腰围、胸围及皮脂厚度均较对照组显著降低（P＜0．05）。结论：在肥胖中学生中实施健康干预有利于促进学生身体形态生长水平的改善，控制和降低学生 BMI和肥胖增长速度。