Public surveys conducted in many countries report widespread willingness of individuals to donate a kidney while alive to a family member or close friend, yet thousands suffer and many die each year while waiting for a kidney transplant. Advocates of financial incentive programs or “regulated markets” in kidneys present the problem of the kidney shortage as one of insufficient public motivation to donate, arguing that incentives will increase the number of donors. Others believe the solutions lie—at least in part—in facilitating (...) so-called “altruistic donation;” harnessing the willingness of relatives and friends to donate by addressing the many barriers which serve as disincentives to living donation. Strategies designed to minimize financial barriers to donation and the use of paired kidney exchange programs are increasingly enabling donation, and now, an innovative program designed to address what has been termed “chronologically incompatible donation” is being piloted at the University of California, Los Angeles, and elsewhere in the United States. In this program, a person whose kidney is not currently required for transplantation in a specific recipient may instead donate to the paired exchange program; in return, a commitment is made to the specified recipient that priority access for a living-donor transplant in a paired exchange program will be offered when or if the need arises in the future. We address here potential ethical concerns related to this form of organ “banking” from living donors, and argue that it offers significant benefits without undermining the well-established ethical principles and values currently underpinning living donation programs. (shrink)

M. Buber, figure majeure de l'intelligentsia juive et européenne, a entretenu sa vie durant une immense correspondance. Propose une sélection de près de 200 lettres, des premiers échanges du jeune Buber avec Theodore Herzl, le fondateur du sionisme, jusqu'à l'année de sa mort en 1965. Sa correspondance montre qu'il a toujours souhaité un retour de la diaspora juive en Palestine.

Nair-Collins and Joffe (2023) highlight the complexities inherent to the clinical diagnosis of death by neurologic criteria and inconsistencies between legal, scientific, and clinical standards for...

The current literature shows great interest in the issue of gender diversity on boards of directors. Some studies have hypothesized a direct relationship between diversity and the value of the firm, but not many examine the intermediate mechanisms that may exert an influence on such relationships. We employ two stages of GMM estimation methodology to exhibit evidences of the relationship between gender diversity and compensation of top managers in the Spanish context. Results show that gender diversity positively affects the effectiveness (...) of boards—in terms of composition, structure, size and functioning—influencing a proper design of top managers compensation linked to company performance. Evidences suggest that legislative actions aimed at increasing the presence of women on boards of directors are justified not only for ethical reasons, but also for reasons of economic efficiency. (shrink)

When making a moral judgment, people largely care about two factors: Who did it (causal responsibility), and did they intend to (intention)? Since Piaget's seminal studies, we have known that as children mature, they gradually place greater emphasis on intention, and less on mere bad outcomes, when making moral judgments. Today, we know that this developmental shift has several signature properties. Recently, it has been shown that when adults make moral judgments under cognitive load, they exhibit a pattern similar to (...) young children; that is, their judgments become notably more outcome based. Here, we show that all of the same signature properties that accompany the outcome‐to‐intent shift in childhood characterize the “intent‐to‐outcome” shift obtained under cognitive load in adults. These findings hold important implications for current theories of moral judgment. (shrink)

Transnational reproductive travel is symptomatic of insufficient supplies of reproductive resources, including donor gametes and gestational surrogacy services, and inequities in access to these within domestic health-care jurisdictions. Here, we argue that an innovative approach to domestic policy making using the framework of the National Self-Sufficiency paradigm represents the best solution to domestic challenges and the ethical hazards of the global marketplace in reproductive resources.

National self-sufficiency in human biological materials such as blood and organs is now commonly invoked as a goal for healthcare policy makers. Despite its history as a strategic response to the ethical hazards of global trade in human blood, the ethical dimensions of the concept have been inadequately explored. This paper introduces self-sufficiency as an ethical paradigm for policy-making and explores some of the parallels found in Aristotle’s account of autarkeia in the polis. It highlights the ethico-political challenges of pursuing (...) self-sufficiency in culturally diverse societies and suggests that the motivation of donation through solidarity rather than the use of financial incentives is consistent with contemporary and ancient versions of the self-sufficiency model. (shrink)

Mammalian synthetic biology holds the promise of providing novel therapeutic strategies, and the first success stories are beginning to be reported. Here we focus on the latest generation of mammalian transgene control devices, highlight state‐of‐the‐art synthetic gene network design, and cover prototype therapeutic circuits. These will have an impact on future gene‐ and cell‐based therapies and help bring drug discovery into a new era. The inventory of biological parts that are essential for life on this planet is becoming increasingly complete. (...) The postgenomic era has provided encyclopedic information on gene‐function correlations and systems biology is now delivering comprehensive details on the dynamics of biochemical reaction networks in living organisms. The time has come to reassemble these catalogued items and design new biological devices and systems with novel and useful functionality in a rational and systematic manner. This is the premise of synthetic biology, a constructive systems biology discipline likely to become the life science revolution of the 21st century. (shrink)

Volume 20, Issue 7, July 2020, Page 199-201.

Autistic disorders are characterized by deficits in social interactions and communication, strong aversion or non-response to social stimuli. However, these children are often reported to develop strong bonds with companion animals. We hypothesized that children with autism would present different behavioural profiles when encountering an unfamiliar animal in a Strange Animal Situation close-to-life test. Twenty seven CAD were compared to 59 children with typical development. Our results. revealed similarities in the behaviour of both groups of children as well as patterns (...) specific to the CAD. Different profiles emerged depending on everyday living conditions. This study constitutes, to our knowledge, the first clear description of how children with autism react when encountering an unfamiliar animal and one of the first direct comparisons between CAD and CTD using a naturalistic but standardized setting. Keywords: autism; animal; profile; interaction; ethology. (shrink)

The Red Market: On the Trail of the World’s Organ Brokers, Bone Thieves, Blood Farmers, and Child Traffickers Content Type Journal Article Category Book Review Pages 1-3 DOI 10.1007/s11673-012-9361-3 Authors Dominique E. Martin, 39 Eltham Street, Flemington, 3031 Australia Journal Journal of Bioethical Inquiry Online ISSN 1872-4353 Print ISSN 1176-7529.

Where a person is unable to make medical decisions for themselves, law and practice allows others to make decisions on their behalf. This is common at the end of a person’s life where decision-making capacity is often lost. A further, and separate, decision that is often considered at the time of death (and often preceding death) is whether the person wanted to act as an organ or tissue donor. However, in some jurisdictions, the lawful decision-maker for the donation decision (the (...) ‘donation decision-maker’) is different from the person who was granted decision-making authority for medical decisions during the person’s life. To date, little attention has been given in the literature to the ethical concerns and practical problems that arise where this shift in legal authority occurs. Such a change in decision-making authority is particularly problematic where premortem measures are suggested to maximise the chances of a successful organ donation. This paper examines this shift in decision-making authority and discusses the legal, ethical and practical implications of such frameworks. (shrink)

Ethical concerns about therapeutic misconception have been raised since the early 1980s. This concept was originally described as research participants' assumptions that decisions relating to research interventions are made on the basis of their individual therapeutic needs. The term has since been used to refer to a range of ‘misunderstandings’ that research participants may have. In this paper, we describe a new concept—therapeutic appropriation. Therapeutic appropriation occurs when patients, or clinicians, actively reframe research participation as an opportunity to enhance patients' (...) clinical care, while simultaneously acknowledging the generalised research aims. To illustrate the concept of therapeutic appropriation, we draw on data from an interview study which we conducted to investigate the experiences of patients and general practitioners involved in clinical trials in primary care. We argue that therapeutic appropriation has two key elements: comprehension that the research project is not necessarily aiming to benefit participants and the deliberate use of incidental features of the research for personal therapeutic benefit of various kinds. We conclude that therapeutic appropriation is a useful concept that refines understanding of potential ethical problems in clinical research, and points to strategies to address them. (shrink)

One of the areas of concern raised by cross-border reproductive travel regards the treatment of women who are solicited to provide their ova or surrogacy services to foreign consumers. This is particularly troublesome in the context of developing countries where endemic poverty and low standards for both medical care and informed consent may place these women at risk of exploitation and harm. We explore two contrasting proposals for policy development regarding the industry, both of which seek to promote ethical outcomes (...) and social justice: While one proposal advocates efforts to minimize cross-border demand for female reproductive resources through the pursuit of national self-sufficiency, the other defends cross-border trade as a means for meeting the needs of vulnerable groups. Despite the conflicting objectives of the proposed strategies, the paper identifies common values and points of agreement between the two, including the importance of regulations to safeguard those providing ova or surrogacy services. (shrink)

The idea that intelligence is embedded not only in a single brain network, but instead in a complex, well-optimized system of complementary networks, has led to the development of whole brain network analysis. Using graph theory to analyze resting-state functional MRI data, we investigated the brain graph networks (or brain networks) of high intelligence quotient (HIQ) children. To this end, we computed the “hub disruption index κ”, an index sensitive to graph network modifications. We found significant topological differences in the (...) integration and segregation properties of brain networks in HIQ compared to standard IQ children, not only for the whole brain graph, but also for each hemispheric graph, and for the homotopic connectivity. Moreover, two profiles of HIQ children, homogenous and heterogeneous, based on the differences between the two main IQ subscales (verbal comprehension index (VCI) and perceptual reasoning index (PRI)), were compared. Brain networks changes were more pronounced in the heterogeneous HIQ than in the homogeneous HIQ subgroups. Finally, we found significant correlations between the graph networks’ changes and the full-scale IQ (FSIQ), as well as the subscales VCI and PRI. Specifically, the higher the FSIQ the greater was the brain organization modification in the whole brain, the left hemisphere, and the homotopic connectivity. These results shed new light on the relation between functional connectivity topology and high intelligence, as well as on different intelligence profiles. (shrink)

Background: Patients at the end-of-life and their families experience a strong emotional impact. The wellbeing of the patient at the end-of-life and their family caregiver are related. Aim: to explore the elements related with the emotional wellbeing of patients with and without cognitive impairment at the end-of-life and that of their primary family caregivers. Design: Cross- sectional study. Participants: data was collected from 202 patients at the end of life with different diagnosis (COPD, cancer and frail elderly) as well as (...) from their respective 202 primary family caregivers. Results: Structural equation models indicated that the emotional state of the patients was best predicted by their functional independence and the burden of their family caregivers. At the same time, the emotional state of the primary family caregiver was predicted by their burden and not by the cognitive state or the functional independence of the patient. Nevertheless, the burden of the family caregiver, which is the only variable predicting both the emotional state of the patient and that of the caregiver, was directly related with the functional independence of the patient and indirectly with the patient’s cognitive state. Conclusions: The burden of the family caregiver stands out as a key factor in the reduction of the emotional distress of patients at the end-of-life –whether or not they present significant cognitive impairment- and that of their family caregivers. (shrink)

Depuis la seconde guerre mondiale, l'État fédéral canadien a été gouverné à sept reprises par des équipes sans majorité au parlement : en 1957, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1972, 1979 et 2004. Dans cette étude nous avons retenu deux cas : celui du gouvernement Trudeau 1972-1974 et celui du gouvernement Martin 2004 parce que dans ces deux cas, le même parti et le même chef ont assumé le pouvoir en situation majoritaire et en situation minoritaire. Le vocabulaire caractéristique de ces (...) deux équipes est mis en lumière grâce au calcul des 'spécificités du vocabulaire'. On présente ce calcul en détail : utilisation de la loi hypergéométrique et pondération en fonction de la catégorie grammaticale du mot étudié. Il apparaît que le discours gouvernemental minoritaire est nettement impersonnel ; il sous-utilise les verbes et se réfugie dans un catalogue d'actions de court terme. (shrink)

Martin Buber, sentinelle de l'humanité Martin Buber (1878-1965) est, avec Freud, Einstein ou Kafka, l'un des penseurs juifs les plus connus du XXe siècle dont il a vécu les tragiques bouleversements. Né à Vienne, ayant passé son enfance en Galicie et parcouru l'Europe dans sa jeunesse, il est vite devenu une figure majeure du judaïsme allemand et du premier sionisme. Installé à Jérusalem à partir de 1938, il s'imposera comme un penseur incontournable et sera invité dans le monde (...) entier. Son destin exceptionnel croise ceux de Herzl, Freud, Einstein, Rosenzweig, Kafka, Zweig, Scholem, Gandhi, Bachelard, Jung, Heidegger, Levinas, Ben Gourion et de tant d'autres, comme en témoigne sa correspondance foisonnante. Buber est non seulement un grand philosophe de l'altérité (Je et Tu), de la piété mystique (Les Récits hassidiques) et du dialogue judéo-chrétien (Deux types de foi), mais il est aussi le héraut infatigable d'un sionisme humaniste cherchant sans cesse la paix avec les Arabes, et un dénonciateur des totalitarismes hitlérien et stalinien. (shrink)

Dominique Janicaud claimed that every French intellectual movement—from existentialism to psychoanalysis—was influenced by Martin Heidegger. This translation of Janicaud's landmark work, Heidegger en France, details Heidegger's reception in philosophy and other humanistic and social science disciplines. Interviews with key French thinkers such as Françoise Dastur, Jacques Derrida, Éliane Escoubas, Jean Greisch, Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe, Jean-Luc Marion, and Jean-Luc Nancy are included and provide further reflection on Heidegger's relationship to French philosophy. An intellectual undertaking of authoritative scope, this work furnishes (...) a thorough history of the French reception of Heidegger's thought. (shrink)

La première version du livre de Martine Sonnet, publié en 1987 par les éditions du Cerf, était épuisée depuis des années. Sa réimpression en format poche par le même éditeur, plus de vingt ans après, répond à une nécessité compte tenu de son caractère incontournable pour tous ceux, chercheur.es, étudiant.es mais aussi public plus large, qui s’intéressent à l’éducation des filles à l’époque moderne. Ce livre, issu de la thèse de troisième cycle de l’auteure, se distingue à plus d’un titre (...) dans... (shrink)

Uterus transplantation (UTx) research has been introduced in several countries, with trials in Sweden and the United States producing successful outcomes. The growing interest in developing UTx trials in other countries, such as Spain, the Netherlands, Japan, and Australia, raises important questions regarding the ethics of surgical innovation research in the field of UTx. This paper examines the current state of UTx in the context of the surgical innovation paradigm and IDEAL framework and discusses the ethical challenges faced by those (...) considering the introduction of new trials. We argue that UTx remains an experimental procedure at a relatively early stage of the IDEAL framework, especially in the context of de novo trials, where protocols are likely to deviate from those used previously and where researchers are likely to have limited experience of UTx. We conclude that countries considering the introduction of UTx trials should build on the strengths of the reported outcomes to consolidate the evidence base and shed light on the uncertainties of the procedure. Authorities responsible for the ethical governance of UTx trials are advised to draw on the ethical framework used in the oversight of surgical innovation. (shrink)

The focus on translational research in clinical trials has the potential to generate clinically relevant genetic data that could have importance to patients. This raises challenging questions about communicating relevant genetic research results to individual patients. An exploratory pharmacogenetic analysis was conducted in the international ovarian cancer phase III trial, AGO-OVAR 16, which found that patients with clinically important germ-line BRCA1/2 mutations had improved progression-free survival prognosis. Mechanisms to communicate BRCA results were evaluated, because these findings may be beneficial to (...) patients and their families. Communicating individual BRCA results was not anticipated during clinical trial design. Consequently, options were not available for patients to indicate their preference for receiving their individual results when they signed pharmacogenetic informed consent. Differences in local requirements, clinical practice, and opinion regarding the ethical aspects of how to convey genetic results to patients are all potential barriers to returning individual BRCA results to patients. Communicating the aggregate BRCA result from this study provided clinical investigators with a mechanism to disseminate the overall study finding to patients while taking individual circumstances, local guidelines and clinical practice into account. This study illustrates the importance of increasing the clarity and scope of informed consent and the need for patient engagement to ensure clinical trial participants can indicate their preference regarding receipt of potentially important individual pharmacogenetic results. This study was registered in the NCT Clinical Trial Registry under NCT00866697 on March 19, 2009, following approval from participating ethics committees. (shrink)

These essays offer a preliminary reconnaissance of this terrain which philosophy must make its new and rightful home.

This study examines the case of community resource mobilization within the context of a farmers market incentive program in Washington D.C., USA to illustrate the ways in which providing opportunities for people impacted by food inequities to develop and lead programming can help to promote food access. Through an analysis of interviews with 36 participants in the Produce Plus program, some of whom also served as paid staff and volunteers with the program, this study examines the ways that group-level social (...) interactions among program participants helped to ensure the program was accessible and accountable to the primarily Black communities that it serves. Specifically, we explore a particular set of social interactions, which we collectively term social solidarity, as a community-level form of social infrastructure that program volunteers and participants mobilized to support access to fresh, local food in their communities. We also examine the elements of the Produce Plus program that contributed to the flow of social solidarity within the program, providing insight into the ways in which the structure of food access programs can serve as a social conduit to facilitate or hinder the mobilization of community cultural resources like social solidarity. (shrink)

Entrée comme officier dans la Marine en 1970, affectée en 1983 à la Direction du personnel, Chantal Desbordes participe à la politique de féminisation des effectifs. Première femme brevetée de l’Ecole supérieure de Guerre navale elle est nommée contre-amiral en conseil des ministres du 19 décembre 2001. Elle est ainsi le premier officier général féminin dans la Marine française. Actuellement adjointe au directeur du personnel militaire de la Marine, elle est chargée de la gestion des compétences des marins. L’entretien de (...) deux heures, réalisé le 24 octobre 2003 au ministère de la Défense (Paris), portait sur sa trajectoire personnelle et sur le développement du recrutement féminin au sein de la Marine. Nous en publions ici quelques extraits. (shrink)