No Brainer: The Early Modern Tragedy of Torture

Abstract Legally-sanctioned torture for the purposes of gathering evidence is extremely rare in the Anglo-American tradition. Aside from the Bush Administration, the only other period in which legally-sanctioned torture was practiced was in early modern England, 1540-1640, concentrated in the reign of Elizabeth I. This essay initially looks to, and seeks to resolve, a paradox of early modern English torture: the torturers for the most part deny that they torture; and the tortured (for the most part Catholics) do not protest torture's illegality; instead they protest its inhumanity. After resolving the paradox, I turn to the stage, the space of play, and look to the ways in which some late medieval plays and one early modern play (King Lear) uses the play to protest the torturer's "playfulness." No Brainer: The Early Modern Tragedy of Torture

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Troublesome Cleric. "Daniel Mannix: Wit and Wisdom" by Michael Gilchrist [review]

Edmund Campion’s review of "Daniel Mannix: Priest and Patriot" (as it was first titled) appeared in the July 1983 issue of ABR. Dove Communications was the original publisher.Australia Council, La Trobe University, National Library of Australia, Holding Redlich, Arts Victori

Blah. Edmunda Kampiana, mučeníka z Tovaryšstva Ježíšova Desatero důvodů o pravosti víry katolické proti sektám novověkým

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