Ego and the international. The modernist circle of George Sarton

The early years of Isis are examined in the light of George Sarton’s connection with Paul Otlet (1868 –1944) and Henri Lafontaine (1854 –1943), founders in 1895 of the International Office of Bibliography and in 1907 of the Union of International Associations, both in Brussels. Otlet, known as one of the fathers of the Information Age, invented the science of information, which he called, in French, documentation. Lafontaine, a socialist senator in Belgium, won the 1913 Nobel Prize for Peace. Sarton shared Otlet and Lafontaine’s views about pacifism, internationalism, and rational bibliography; he designed Isis to fit with the modernist goal, expressed by Otlet and Lafontaine, of using information to generate new knowledge

Reconstructing Cetacean Brain Evolution Using Computed Tomography

Until recently, there have been relatively few studies of brain mass and morphology in fossil cetaceans (dolphins, whales, and porpoises) because of difficulty accessing the matrix that fills the endocranial cavity of fossil cetacean skulls. As a result, our knowledge about cetacean brain evolution has been quite limited. By applying the noninvasive technique of computed tomography (CT) to visualize, measure, and reconstruct the endocranial morphology of fossil cetacean skulls, we can gain vastly more information at an unprecedented rate about cetacean brain evolution. Here, we discuss our method and demonstrate it with several examples from our fossil cetacean database. This approach will provide new insights into the little-known evolutionary history of cetacean brain evolution

Regaining creativity in science: insights from conversation

The 'early modern' (Renaissance) workshop was predicated on the idea that informal, open-ended cooperation enables participants to experience difference and develop new insights, which can lead to new ways of thinking and doing. This paper presents the insights that emerged from a conversation event that brought wide-ranging voices together from different domains in science, and across the arts and industry, to consider science leadership as we look to the future in a time of interlocking crises. The core theme identified was a need to regain creativity in science; in the methods of scientific endeavours, in the way science is produced and communicated, and in how science is experienced in society. Three key challenges for re-establishing a culture of creativity in science emerged: (i) how scientists communicate what science is and what it is for, (ii) what scientists value, and (iii) how scientists create and co-create science with and for society. Furthermore, the value of open-ended and ongoing conversation between different perspectives as a means of achieving this culture was identified and demonstrated

Time-series analysis of two hydrothermal plumes at 9°50′N East Pacific Rise reveals distinct, heterogeneous bacterial populations

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2011. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of John Wiley & Sons for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geobiology 10 (2012): 178-192, doi:10.1111/j.1472-4669.2011.00315.xWe deployed sediment traps adjacent to two active hydrothermal vents at 9°50’N on the East Pacific Rise (EPR) to assess variability in bacterial community structure associated with plume particles on the time scale of weeks to months, to determine if an endemic population of plume microbes exists, and to establish ecological relationships between bacterial populations and vent chemistry. Automated rRNA intergenic spacer analysis (ARISA) indicated there are separate communities at the two different vents and temporal community variations between each vent. Correlation analysis between chemistry and microbiology indicated that shifts in the coarse particulate (>1 mm) Fe/(Fe+Mn+Al), Cu, V, Ca, Al, 232Th, and Ti as well as fine-grained particulate (<1 mm) Fe/(Fe+Mn+Al), Fe, Ca and Co are reflected in shifts in microbial populations. 16S rRNA clone libraries from each trap at three time points revealed a high percentage of Epsilonproteobacteria clones and hyperthermophilic Aquificae. There is a shift towards the end of the experiment to more Gammaproteobacteria and Alphaproteobacteria, many of whom likely participate in Fe and S cycling. The particle attached plume environment is genetically distinct from the surrounding seawater. While work to date in hydrothermal environments has focused on determining the microbial communities on hydrothermal chimneys and the basaltic lavas that form the surrounding seafloor, little comparable data exists on the plume environment that physically and chemically connects them. By employing sediment traps for a time series approach to sampling, we show that bacterial community composition on plume particles changes on time scales much shorter than previously known.This work was supported by the NSF Marine Geology and Geophysics program, the Science and Technology program, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

Sobre o Estilo na História Intelectual

Style in past Ages denotes general sensibilities that guide thought and action. Attempts to show how style derives from the material circumstances of living remain inconclusive because of the difficulty in deciding which parts of culture past lie at the center of it. The advantages and the drawbacks of modelsand schemes offered by major theorists of the past several generations are used to support the proposition that philosophy is a dubious guide for practicing intellectual historians, who do best when they make their own methods from the materialthey study.O estilo no passado denotava sensibilidades gerais que guiam o pensamento e a ação. Tentativas de mostrar como o estilo deriva das circunstâncias materiais da vida permanecem inconclusivas por causa da dificuldade em decidir quais partes da cultura do passado estão no centro dele. As vantagens e desvantagens dos modelos e esquemas oferecidos pelos principais teóricos das gerações passadas são usadas para apoiar a proposição de que a filosofia é um guia duvidoso para praticantes da história intelectual, que se saem melhor quando criam seus próprios métodos a partir do material que estudam

Costs and repeat rates associated with colonoscopy observed in medical claims for commercial and Medicare populations

Abstract Background: Colorectal cancer is among the leading causes of cancer and cancer-related mortality in the United States. The incidence and mortality associated with CRC can be reduced with preventive screening. Inadequate bowel preparation has been associated with missed adenomas and the need for repeat colonoscopies. Methods: Separate claims source databases were analyzed to determine the costs associated with colonoscopy in the commercial and Medicare populations. Observed repeat rates for colonoscopy within 4 years of initial screening were also examined. Results: Among the 6 most commonly used billing codes, the average allowed cost for an episode of colonoscopy in 2010 was $2,146 in the commercial population and$1,071 in the Medicare population, with average cost sharing of $334 and$275, respectively. The portion of colonoscopies associated with a biopsy or polyp removal exceeded 50% in the commercial and Medicare populations. Approximately 57% of colonoscopies in the commercial population were associated with claims for a prescription bowel preparation product within 30 days prior to the procedure. Three branded and three generic bowel cleansing products accounted for approximately 75% of the total number of prescription claims for colonoscopy. Given literature reports that up to 25% of patients receive inadequate bowel preparation, the rate of repeat colonoscopy within 4 years of initial screening was lower than expected among patients who were not coded with common clinical reasons for early repeat: benign neoplasm, lesion, or polyp removed at initial screening colonoscopy. Conclusions: The reported rates of inadequate bowel preparation are 15% to 25%, but the rates of repeat colonoscopy found in our analysis are much lower; this is a risk concern considering the reported, significant miss rate of adenomas secondary to inadequate bowel preparation

Regaining creativity in science: insights from conversation

The 'early modern' (Renaissance) workshop was predicated on the idea that informal, open-ended cooperation enables participants to experience difference and develop new insights, which can lead to new ways of thinking and doing. This paper presents the insights that emerged from a conversation event that brought wide-ranging voices together from different domains in science, and across the arts and industry, to consider science leadership as we look to the future in a time of interlocking crises. The core theme identified was a need to regain creativity in science; in the methods of scientific endeavours, in the way science is produced and communicated, and in how science is experienced in society. Three key challenges for re-establishing a culture of creativity in science emerged: (i) how scientists communicate what science is and what it is for, (ii) what scientists value, and (iii) how scientists create and co-create science with and for society. Furthermore, the value of open-ended and ongoing conversation between different perspectives as a means of achieving this culture was identified and demonstrated