Genetic markers cannot determine Jewish descent.

Humans differentiate, classify, and discriminate: social interaction is a basic property of human Darwinian evolution. Presumably inherent differential physical as well as behavioral properties have always been criteria for identifying friend or foe. Yet, biological determinism is a relatively modern term, and scientific racism is, oddly enough, largely a consequence or a product of the Age of Enlightenment and the establishment of the notion of human equality. In recent decades ever-increasing efforts and ingenuity were invested in identifying Biblical Israelite genotypic common denominators by analysing an assortment of phenotypes, like facial patterns, blood types, diseases, DNA-sequences, and more. It becomes overwhelmingly clear that although Jews maintained detectable vertical genetic continuity along generations of socio-religious-cultural relationship, also intensive horizontal genetic relations were maintained both between Jewish communities and with the gentile surrounding. Thus, in spite of considerable consanguinity, there is no Jewish genotype to identify.

Overuse and systems of care: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Current health care reform efforts are focused on reorganizing health care systems to reduce waste in the US health care system. OBJECTIVE: To compare rates of overuse in different health care systems and examine whether certain systems of care or insurers have lower rates of overuse of health care services. DATA SOURCES: Articles published in MEDLINE between 1978, the year of publication of the first framework to measure quality, and June 21, 2012. STUDY SELECTION: Included studies compared rates of overuse of procedures, diagnostic tests, or medications in at least 2 systems of care. DATA EXTRACTION: Four reviewers screened titles; 2 reviewers screened abstracts and full articles and extracted data. RESULTS: We identified 7 studies which compared rates of overuse of 5 services across multiple different health care settings. National rates of inappropriate coronary angiography were similar in Medicare HMOs and Medicare FFS (13% vs. 13%, P=0.33) and in a state-based study comparing 15 hospitals in New York and 4 hospitals in a Massachusetts-managed care plan (4% vs. 6%, P>0.1). Rates of carotid endarterectomy in New York State were similar in Medicare HMOs and Medicare FFS plans (8.4% vs. 8.6%, P=0.55) but nonrecommended use of antibiotics for the treatment of upper respiratory infection was higher in a managed care organization than a FFS private plan (31% vs. 21%, P=0.02). Rates of inappropriate myocardial perfusion imaging were similar in VA and private settings (22% vs. 16.6%, P=0.24), but rates of inappropriate surveillance endoscopy in the management of gastric ulcers were higher in the VA compared with private settings (37.4% vs. 20.4%-23.3%, P<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The available evidence is limited but there is no consistent evidence that any 1 system of care has been more effective at minimizing the overuse of health care services. More research is necessary to inform current health care reform efforts directed at reducing overuse.

The relationship between geographic variations and overuse of healthcare services: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between overuse of healthcare services and geographic variations in medical care. DESIGN: Systematic Review. DATA SOURCES: Articles published in Medline between 1978, the year of publication of the first framework to measure quality, and January 1, 2009. STUDY SELECTION: Four investigators screened 114,830 titles and 2 investigators screened all selected abstracts and articles for possible inclusion and extracted all data. DATA EXTRACTION: We extracted data on rates of overuse in different geographic areas. We also extracted data on underuse, if available, for the same population in which overuse was measured. RESULTS: Five papers examined the relationship between geographic variations and overuse of healthcare services. One study in 2008 compared the appropriateness of coronary angiography (CA) for acute myocardial infarction in high-cost areas versus low cost areas in the Medicare population and found largely similar rates of inappropriateness (12.2% vs. 16.2%). A study in 2000 using national data concluded that overuse of CA explained little of the geographic variations in the use of this procedure in the Medicare program. An older study of Medicare patients found similar rates of inappropriate use of CA (15% to 17% vs. 18%), endoscopy (15% vs. 18% 19%), and carotid endarterectomy (29% vs. 30%) in low-use and high-use regions. A small area reanalysis of data from this study of 3 procedures found no evidence of a relationship between inappropriate use of procedures and volume in 23 adjacent counties of California. Another 2008 study found that inappropriate chemotherapy for stage I cancer was less common in low-cost areas compared with high-cost areas (3.1% vs. 6.3%). CONCLUSIONS: The limited available evidence does not lend support to the hypothesis that inappropriate use of procedures is a major source of geographic variations in intensity and/or costs of care. More research is needed to improve our understanding of the relationship between geographic variations and the quality of care.

Overuse of health care services in the United States: an understudied problem.

BACKGROUND: Overuse, the provision of health care services for which harms outweigh benefits, represents poor quality and contributes to high costs. A better understanding of overuse in US health care could inform efforts to reduce inappropriate care. We performed an extensive search for studies of overuse of therapeutic procedures, diagnostic tests, and medications in the United States and describe the state of the literature. METHODS: We searched MEDLINE (1978-2009) for studies measuring US rates of overuse of procedures, tests, and medications, augmented by author tracking, reference tracking, and expert consultation. Four reviewers screened titles; 2 reviewers screened abstracts and full articles and extracted data including overuse rate, type of service, clinical area, and publication year. RESULTS: We identified 172 articles measuring overuse: 53 concerned therapeutic procedures; 38, diagnostic tests; and 81, medications. Eighteen unique therapeutic procedures and 24 diagnostic services were evaluated, including 10 preventive diagnostic services. The most commonly studied services were antibiotics for upper respiratory tract infections (59 studies), coronary angiography (17 studies), carotid endarterectomy (13 studies), and coronary artery bypass grafting (10 studies). Overuse of carotid endarterectomy and antibiotics for upper respiratory tract infections declined over time. CONCLUSIONS: The robust evidence about overuse in the United States is limited to a few services. Reducing inappropriate care in the US health care system likely requires a more substantial investment in overuse research.

The forgotten dispute: A.I. Oparin and H.J. Muller on the origin of life.

The debate between A.I. Oparin's heterotrophic proposal of the origin of life and H.J. Muller's suggestion that what may be considered a posteriori the beginning of life, was an autocatalytic, replicative gene, is analyzed. Although both recognized that what was needed was an interacting system contiguous in space and time, it is now rarely mentioned that this scientific confrontation went on for several decades against the background of intense ideological issues, political tensions, and scientific developments that include the rise and demise of Lysenkoism, on the one hand, and, on the other, the establishment of neoDarwinism and the birth of molecular biology. Whereas for Oparin life was the outcome of the step-wise slow process of precellular evolution in which membrane-bounded polymolecular systems played a key role, Muller argued that life started with the appearance of the first nucleic-acid (DNA) molecule in the primitive oceans. Oparin and Muller came from different scientific backgrounds and almost opposite intellectual traditions, so their common interest in the origin of life did nothing to assuage their opposing views, which as argued soon became part of the debates that took place within the framework of intense ideological confrontations.

What is a gene? - Revisited.

The dialectic discourse of the 'gene' as the unit of heredity deduced from the phenotype, whether an intervening variable or a hypothetical construct, appeared to be settled with the presentation of the molecular model of DNA: the gene was reduced to a sequence of DNA that is transcribed into RNA that is translated into a polypeptide; the polypeptides may fold into proteins that are involved in cellular metabolism and structure, and hence function. This path turned out to be more bewildering the more the regulation of products and functions were uncovered in the contexts of integrated cellular systems. Philosophers struggling to define a unified concept of the gene as the basic entity of (molecular) genetics confronted those who suggested several different 'genes' according to the conceptual frameworks of the experimentalists. Researchers increasingly regarded genes de facto as generic terms for describing their empiric data, and with improved DNA-sequencing capacities these entities were as a rule bottom-up nucleotide sequences that determine functions. Only recently did empiricists return to discuss conceptual considerations, including top-down definitions of units of function that through cellular mechanisms select the DNA sequences which comprise 'genomic-footprints' of functional entities.

Mutagenesis as a genetic research strategy.

Morgan's three students (Muller, Sturtevant, and Bridges) introduced reductionist empirical methods to the study of the chromosomal theory of heredity. Herman J. Muller concentrated on mutations, namely changes in the heterocatalytic properties of genes, without losing their autocatalytic (self-replication) properties. Experimental induction of mutations allowed quantitative analyses of genes' parameters, but hopes to deduce their chemicophysical character were never fulfilled. Once the model for DNA structure was proposed, the reductionist notions of mutation analysis were successfully applied to the molecular genes. However, it was soon realized that the concept of the particulate gene was inadequate. The more the molecular analysis of the genome advanced, the clearer it became that the entities of heredity must be conceived within systems' perspectives, for which special tools for handling large number of variables were developed. Analytic mutagenesis, however, continues to be a major strategy for the study of the cellular and chromosomal mechanisms that control mutation inductions.

Subjective patterns of randomness and choice: some consequences of collective responses.

Any individual's response intended to be random should be as probable as any other. However, 3 experiments show that many people's independent responses depart from the expected chance distribution. Participants responding to instructions of chance and related concepts favor the available options unequally in a similar way. Consequently, in hide-and-seek games, hiders converge on certain locations and are thereby detected beyond chance by seekers who share their preferences. People agree on salient and on nonsalient options, both of which are preferred under different instructions and even in the absence of instructions. Group responses strongly correlate under diverse, even opposing (e.g., competitive and cooperative) directions. Apparently, common default tendencies, combining random and aesthetic choices, are only somewhat modified under specific instructions. Maximal agreement with others is obtained through one's own aesthetic choices. Hence, implementing one's personal aesthetic preferences succeeds in matching others' choices even better than deliberate mutual coordination efforts. These results broadly replicate in 1- and 2-dimensional tasks. Implications of the findings, their possible roots, and their connection to constructs from, e.g., game theory and subjective-complexity research, are discussed.

Molecular genetics: increasing the resolving power of genetic analysis.

Contrary to Mendel, who introduced hybridization as a methodology for the study of selected discrete traits, de Vries conceived of organisms to be composed of discrete traits. This introduced into genetic research the dialectics of reductive analysis of genes as instrumental variables versus that of genes as the material atoms of heredity. The latter conception gained support with the analysis of mutations and eventually with high resolution analysis at the genetic and biochemical levels, as achieved in fungi and later in bacteria and their viruses. Attempts to reduce "classical" genetics to "molecular" genetics turned out to be futile. However, this did not necessarily imply that these were two distinct theoretical approaches. On the contrary, it is argued that molecular genetics is an extension of phenomenological deduction, rather than being induction from molecular (DNA) causes to effects. Although conceptually systems direct development, methodologically individual inputs must be studied.

The environment in pediatric practice: a study of New York pediatricians' attitudes, beliefs, and practices towards children's environmental health.

Chronic diseases of environmental origin are a significant and increasing public health problem among the children of New York State, yet few resources exist to address this growing burden. To assess New York State pediatricians self-perceived competency in dealing with common environmental exposures and diseases of environmental origin in children, we assessed their attitudes and beliefs about the role of the environment in children's health. A four-page survey was sent to 1,500 randomly selected members of the New York State American Academy of Pediatrics in February 2004. We obtained a 20.3% response rate after one follow-up mailing; respondents and nonrespondents did not differ in years of licensure or county of residence. Respondents agreed that the role of environment in children's health is significant (mean 4.44 +/- 0.72 on 1-5 Likert scale). They voiced high self-efficacy in dealing with lead exposure (mean 4.16-4.24 +/- 0.90-1.05), but their confidence in their skills for addressing pesticides, mercury and mold was much lower (means 2.51-3.21 +/- 0.90-1.23; p < 0.001). About 93.8% would send patients to a clinic "where pediatricians could refer patients for clinical evaluation and treatment of their environmental health concerns." These findings indicate that New York pediatricians agree that children are suffering preventable illnesses of environmental origin but feel ill-equipped to educate families about common exposures. Significant demand exists for specialized centers of excellence that can evaluate environmental health concerns, and for educational opportunities.

Pediatrician attitudes, clinical activities, and knowledge of environmental health in Wisconsin.

Pediatricians can reduce exposures to environmental hazards but most have little training in environmental health. To assess whether Wisconsin pediatricians perceive a relative lack of self-efficacy for common environmental exposures and diseases of environmental origin, we assessed their attitudes and beliefs about the role of the environment in children's health. A 4-page survey was sent to the membership of the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. We obtained a 35.4% response rate after 1 follow-up mailing. Respondents agreed that the role of the environment in children's health is significant (mean 4.28 +/- .78 on 1-5 Likert scale). They expressed high confidence in dealing with lead exposure (means 4.22-4.27 +/- 1.01-1.09), but confidence in their skills for pesticide, mercury, and mold was much lower (means 2.49-3.09 +/- 1.06-1.26; P<.001). Of those surveyed, 88.6% would refer patients to a clinic "where pediatricians could refer patients for clinical evaluation and treatment of their environmental health concerns." These findings indicate that Wisconsin pediatricians agree that children are suffering preventable illnesses of environmental origin, but feel ill equipped to educate families about many common exposures. Significant demand exists for centers that can evaluate environmental health concerns, as well as for educational opportunities.

Long live the genome! So should the gene.

Developments in the sequencing of whole genomes and in simultaneously surveying many thousands of transcription and translation products of specific cells have ushered in a conceptual revolution in genetics that rationally introduces top-down, holistic analyses. This emphasized the futility of attempts to reduce genes to structurally discrete entities along the genome, and the need to return to Johannsen's definition of a gene as 'something' that refers to an invariant entity of inheritance and development. We may view genes either as generic terms for units of inheritance whose referents are pragmatic ad hoc and context-dependent, or as (epistemologically) representing entities of cell functions. It is cellular functions that determine the structural referents along the DNA. Structures that happened to secure specific functions that were essential for or conducive to the survival of cells were selected for. With natural selection being the etiological background of genes as functions, genes obtain again their theoretical role as intervening variables, abstractive variables that purely 'summarize' characters. The importance of DNA sequences is that of all possible phenotypes these are the most basic ones from which we can read off the genotype directly.

Linkage: from particulate to interactive genetics.

Genetics was established on a strict particulate conception of heredity. Genetic linkage, the deviation from independent segregation of Mendelian factors, was conceived as a function of the material allocation of the factors to the chromosomes, rather than to the multiple effects (pleiotropy) of discrete factors. Although linkage maps were abstractions they provided strong support for the chromosomal theory of inheritance. Direct Cytogenetic evidence was scarce until X-ray induced major chromosomal rearrangements allowed direct correlation of genetic and cytological rearrangements. Only with the discovery of the polytenic giant chromosomes in Drosophila larvae in the 1930s were the virtual maps backed up by physical maps of the genetic loci. Genetic linkage became a pivotal experimental tool for the examination of the integration of genetic functions in development and in evolution. Genetic mapping has remained a hallmark of genetic analysis. The location of genes in DNA is a modern extension of the notion of genetic linkage.

Nervous diseases and eugenics of the Jews: a view from 1918.

The Jewish physician, specializing in psychiatry in Warsaw, Poland, Shneor Zalman Bychowski (1865-1934) was deeply involved in public affairs, and especially in Zionist activity. Although he supported the need for eugenic means to avert the degenerative trends among Eastern Jewish populations, he insisted that the notorious neuropathies of these Jews were not hereditary, but rather induced by the social and economic conditions to which these individuals were exposed. An abridged and annotated trans- lation of Bychowski's Hebrew article in the periodical Ha-Tekufah is presented.

Labellar taste organs of Drosophila melanogaster.

There are 36 to 42 taste bristles on each half of the labellum of Drosophila melanogaster; most of them are two-pronged with a pouch between them. Some end bluntly with a pore at the tip. Each taste-bristle has two lumina: one is circular, the other crescent-like in cross section. In most bristles four dendrites of chemoreceptor neurons run along the circular lumen. In five to seven taste-bristles only two chemoreceptor neurons are found. A mechanoreceptor neuron sends a dendrite to the base of each taste-bristle. The dendrites are surrounded by four concentrically-arranged sheath cells. The inner cell secretes the cuticular sheath; cells II and III are presumably two trichogens, one secreting the bristle material around the circular lumen, the other around the crescent-like lumen. Cell IV, especially rich in bundles of microtubules, secretes the cuticle of the socket, and corresponds to the tormogen. The neurons have the typical structure found in insect sensilla. In many sensilla one neuron is less electron-dense than the others and may be the water-sensor. On the medial side of the labellum between the pseudotracheae are rows of taste pegs covered by folds. In each peg one chemoreceptor and one mechanoreceptor are found. The number of axons in each labial nerve agrees with the total number of dendrites in all taste organs of each lobe.