The recently published paper “US Medical Schools’ 2024 Commencements and Antisemitism: Addressing Unprofessional Behavior” discusses antisemitism expressions and unprofessional behavior in US medical schools’ 2024 commencement ceremony. While we share the authors’ concerns regarding rising antisemitic, anti-Palestinian and anti-Muslim bias, alongside hateful behavior toward minorities and immigrants in the US in general and in medical schools in particular, we are also concerned about the significant bias informing this paper. The authors mistakenly conflate antisemitism with harsh criticism of Israeli government and the actions of its military, and legitimate acts of solidarity with people under oppression. This fallacy is further aggravated by serious concerns (mentioned by the authors themselves) involving the paper’s methodological and statistical shortcomings. Ultimately, the paper lacks scientific rigor and appears to be ideologically motivated rather than a contribution to objective research. Scholars worldwide, Jews and Israelis amongst them, have demonstrated that these are legitimate protests, and the interpretation of their messaging as antisemitic is just another way to silence Palestinian voices calling for freedom and liberation, and delegitimizing critique on the Israeli government. This paper aims to provide the reader with currently published evidence and scientific controversy regarding this issue, that the discussed paper failed to mention.
Objective: The aim of our study was to explore the incidence of cardiac involvement in children with dengue infection admitted in a tertiary care hospital and to evaluate the features of cardiac involvement with the severity of dengue fever.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted from September 2014 to August 2016. A total of 130 patients with confirmed dengue NS1 antigen or IgM antibody positivity between the ages of 1 month and 18 years were evaluated. On the third day of admission, blood samples for cardiac markers were collected, and electrocardiograms (ECG), and echocardiograms were performed for each patient.
Results: Of the 130 dengue patients in the study, 60 (46.2%) were males and 70 (53.8%) were females (male to female ratio, 1:1.16). Cardiac involvement was present in 60 (46.2%) children and was more prominent in children with severe dengue (72.7%), followed by dengue with warning symptoms (53.8%) and dengue fever (28.6%). There was no significant correlation between cardiac involvement and primary/secondary dengue. Both ECG and echocardiography changes were significantly correlated with dengue severity, as opposed to cardiac markers.
Conclusions: Cardiac involvement was present in children with dengue. Evaluation with ECG, echocardiography, and cardiac markers such as CPK-MB are required for the management of cardiac complications in children with dengue. Our study showed an association between cardiac involvement and the severity of dengue. Further studies should be framed, and follow-up of dengue patients with cardiac involvement is necessary for therapeutic management.
End-of-life decisions are made daily in intensive care units worldwide. There are numerous factors affecting these decisions, including geographical location as well as religion and attitudes of caregivers, patients, and families. There is a spectrum of end-of-life care options from full continued care, withholding treatment, withdrawing treatment, and active life-ending procedures.
In the absence of immortality, the human species has over the millennia developed rites and rituals to help in the passing of life to honor the person who is dying or has died or in some way demonstrate their “courage” and perseverance as well as duty even in the face of almost certain death. The centuries-old traditions of the gathering of loved ones, the chanting of prayers, the ritual religious blessings are in the process of being replaced by the “miracles” of modern medical technology.
Intelligent Design (ID) burst onto the scene in 1996, with the publication of Darwin’s Black Box by Mi-chael Behe. Since then, there has been a plethora of articles written about ID, both pro and con. How-ever, most of the articles critical of ID deal with peripheral issues, such as whether ID is just another form of creationism or whether ID qualifies as science or whether ID should be taught in public schools. It is our view that the central issue is whether the basic claim of ID is correct. Our goal is fourfold: (I) to show that most of the proposed refutations of ID are unconvincing and/or incorrect, (II) to describe the single fundamental error of ID, (III) to discuss the historic tradition surrounding the ID controversy, showing that ID is an example of a “god-of-the-gaps” argument, and (IV) to place the ID controversy in the larger context of proposed proofs for the existence of God, with the emphasis on Jewish tradition.
I present a realistic view of what Darwinian evolution is in its current form and what it is not. I argue that the Torah is not a source of scientific knowledge and all attempts to reconcile its plain text with the data of science are an exercise in futility. The article argues the position that science and the Torah are incommensurable. I argue against using the Torah for attaining knowledge about the nature of the world, or using science for enhancing or denying the truth of the Torah.
The paper proposes moral and ethical guidelines for medical treatment at the edge of viability. The proposed principles are defended on the grounds of a general conceptual framework presented by elucidating the notions of viability, the edge of viability, person, sanctity of human life, dignity, and the slope of dignity protection, as well as the distinction between ethics and morality.
The term sarcopenia describes the loss of skeletal muscle mass, strength, and function in old age. As the world population continues to grow older, more attention is given to the phenomena of sarcopenia and the search for strategies of prevention and treatment. The progression of sarcopenia is affected by age-related physiological and systemic changes in the body, including alterations in skeletal muscle tissue, hormonal changes, increased inflammatory activities, and oxidative stress. Sarcopenia progression is also affected by lifestyle factors which are far more controllable. These factors include various aspects of nutrition, physical activity, exercise, alcohol intake, and tobacco use. Raising the public awareness regarding the impact of these factors, as causes of sarcopenia and potential strategies of prevention and treatment, is of great importance. In this review we aim to describe various lifestyle factors that affect the etiology, prevention, and treatment of sarcopenia.
Surprisingly, an utterly imaginative “portrait” has become synonymous with Maimonides forever. How and when did this particular portrait become associated with Maimonides? This and many other intriguing questions regarding this portrait are systematically addressed, and its origins, possible inspiration, and hidden objectives are revealed.
