The story of Mileva Maric : Did Einstein?s first wife contribute to his scientific work?

It is currently widely believed that Einstein?s first wife, Mileva Maric, made significant contributions to his scientific work. Numerous publications since 1990 have variously contended that she co-authored his celebrated 1905 papers, did the mathematics for the special relativity paper, or even continued to collaborate with him up to the time of the birth of the couple?s second son in 1910. In this article the author cites the mostly widely disseminated claims and provides evidence that they do not withstand close examination. Citations are given for more detailed refutations of these claims. It is concluded that there is no good evidence that Mileva Maric was Einstein?s secret collaborator

Role of community health workers in type 2 diabetes mellitus self-management: A scoping review

Background: Globally the number of people with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has risen significantly over the last few decades. Aligned to this is a growing use of community health workers (CHWs) to deliver T2DM self-management support with good clinical outcomes especially in High Income Countries (HIC). Evidence and lessons from these interventions can be useful for Low- and Middle-Income countries (LMICs) such as South Africa that are experiencing a marked increase in T2DM prevalence. Objectives: This study aimed to examine how CHW have been utilized to support T2DM self-management globally, their preparation for and supervision to perform their functions. Method: The review was guided by a stepwise approach outlined in the framework for scoping reviews developed by Arksey and O’Malley. Peer reviewed scientific and grey literature was searched using a string of keywords, selecting English full-text articles published between 2000 and 2015. Articles were selected using inclusion criteria, charted and content analyzed. Results: 1008 studies were identified of which 54 full text articles were selected. Most (53) of the selected studies were in HIC and targeted mostly minority populations in low resource settings. CHWs were mostly deployed to provide education, support, and advocacy. Structured curriculum based education was the most frequently reported service provided by CHWs to support T2DM self-management. Support services included informational, emotional, appraisal and instrumental support. Models of CHW care included facility linked nurse-led CHW coordination, facility-linked CHW led coordination and standalone CHW interventions without facility interaction. Conclusion: CHWs play several roles in T2DM self-management, including structured education, ongoing support and health system advocacy. Preparing and coordinating CHWs for these roles is crucial and needs further research and strengthening

Maintaining Scholarly Standards in Feminist Literature

In the editorial Introduction to Women, Science, and Technology: A Reader in Feminist Science Studies, published in 2001, can be found the exemplary statement that among the norms for acquiring scientific knowledge is “skepticism (all claims should be scrutinized for errors)”. In this article, I address a section relating to historical contentions in the same volume that, I argue, fails to live up to this basic standard of scholarly research. It is now quite widely believed that Mileva Marić, Einstein’s first wife, played an active role in Einstein’s early scientific work until well after they married in 1903. Some commentators go so far as to argue that she coauthored his three major 1905 papers, while others contend that she solved the mathematical problems for him. I examine the claims made in relation to Marić in the section in question in the above-cited volume, and investigate the sources of the evidential claims that have been adduced to support them. I conclude that the several claims are without reliable evidential bases