Interventions performed on a pregnant woman's body can affect the fetus in multiple ways. Such effects can be harmful to beneficial to the fetus. Unfortunately, the effects of new drugs and compoun...

In their comprehensive review article, De Bie et al., using some references, discreetly point out that pregnant women’s decision in Domain III to undergo fetal extraction via C-section should conti...

BackgroundWhether and how to disclose genomic findings obtained in the course of genomic clinical practice and medical research has been a controversial global bioethical issue over the past two decades. Although several recommendations and judgment tools for the disclosure of genomic findings have been proposed, none are sufficiently systematic or inclusive or even consistent with each other. In order to approach the disclosure/non-disclosure practice in an ethical manner, optimal and easy-to-use tools for supporting the judgment of physicians/researchers in genomic medicine (...) are necessary.MethodsThe bioethics literature on this topic was analyzed to parse and deconstruct the somewhat overlapping and therefore ill-defined key concepts of genomic findings, such as incidental, primary, secondary, and other findings. Based on the deconstruction and conceptual analyses of these findings, we then defined key parameters from which to identify the strength of duty to disclose (SDD) for a genomic finding. These analyses were then applied to develop a framework with the SDD matrix and systematic decision-making pathways for the disclosure of genomic findings.ResultsThe following six major parameters (axes), along with sub-axes, were identified: Axis 1 (settings and institutions where findings emerge); Axis 2 (presence or absence of intention and anticipatability in discovery); Axis 3 (maximal actionability at the time of discovery); Axis 4 (net medical importance); Axis 5 (expertise of treating physician/researcher); and Axis 6 (preferences of individual patients/research subjects for disclosure). For Axes 1 to 4, a colored SDD matrix for genomic findings was developed in which levels of obligation for disclosing a finding can be categorized. For Axes 5 and 6, systematic decision-making pathways were developed via the SDD matrix.ConclusionWe analyzed the SDD of genomic findings and developed subsequent systematic decision-making pathways of whether and how to disclose genomic findings to patients/research subjects and their relatives in an ethical manner. Our comprehensive framework may help physicians and researchers in genomic medicine make consistent ethical judgments regarding the disclosure of genomic findings. (shrink)

In this article, we perform a thought experiment about living donor kidney transplantation. If a living kidney donor becomes in need of renal replacement treatment due to dysfunction of the remaining kidney after donation, can the donor ask the recipient to give back the kidney that had been donated? We call this problem organ restitution and discussed it from the ethical viewpoint. Living organ transplantation is a kind of ‘designated donation’ and subsequently has a contract-like character. First, assuming a case (...) in which original donor wishes the return of the organ which had been transplanted into B, and the original recipient agrees, organ restitution will be permissible based on contract-like agreement. However, careful and detailed consideration is necessary to determine whether this leaves no room to question the authenticity of B’s consent. Second, if B offers to give back the organ to A, then B’s act is a supererogatory act, and is praiseworthy and meritorious. Such an offer is a matter of virtue, not obligation. Third, if A wishes B to return the organ, but B does not wish/allow this to happen, it is likely difficult to justify returning the organ to A by violating B’s right to bodily integrity. But B’s refusal to return the donated organ cannot be deemed praiseworthy, because B forgets the great kindness once received from A. Rather than calling this an obligation, we encourage B to consider such virtuous conduct. (shrink)

BackgroundSolitary death (kodokushi) has recently become recognized as a social issue in Japan. The social isolation of older people leads to death without dignity. With the outbreak of COVID-19, efforts to eliminate solitary death need to be adjusted in line with changes in lifestyle and accompanying changes in social structure. Health monitoring services that utilize wearable devices may contribute to this end. Our goals are to outline how wearable devices might be used to (1) detect emergency situations involving solitary older (...) people and swiftly connect them with medical treatment, to (2) reduce the frequency of deaths that remain undiscovered and (3) to reduce social isolation by promoting social interaction. MethodsTheoretical and philosophical approaches were adopted to examine ethical issues surrounding the application of wearable devices and cloud-based information processing systems to prevent solitary death in the world with/after COVID-19.Main body(1) Technology cannot replace social connections; without social support necessary to foster understanding of the benefits of health management through wearable devices among older adults, such devices may remain unused, or not used properly. (2) Maturity of the technology; systems face the difficult task of detecting and responding to a wide range of health conditions and life-threatening events in time to avert avoidable morbidity and mortality. (3) Autonomy and personhood; promoting the voluntary use of wearable devices that are a part of larger efforts to connect isolated individuals to a community or social services might be effective. Legal force should be avoided if possible. There is some concern that landlords may require an older person to sign a contract agreeing to wear a device. The autonomy of solitary older people should be respected. (4) Governance: policies must be developed to limit access to data from wearables and the purposes for which data can be used.ConclusionIf thoughtfully deployed under proper policy constraints, wearable devices offer a way to connect solitary older people to health services and could reduce cases of solitary death while respecting the personhood of the user. (shrink)

Death in the life of the samurai -- An introduction to Yamamoto Tunetomo's Hagakure -- The Hagakure -- A leisurely chat in the evening shadows -- A samurai must devote his heart firmly to bushidō -- Hardship is a beneficial experience -- There is nothing as deep as giri -- Close your eyes and think of your lord -- Death is a punishment not meted out lightly -- Even if it contains poison, what's the big deal? -- Naritomi Hyōgo's (...) words about achieving victory -- The quarrel (kenka) of Araki Kuzaemon -- You are weaker than you look -- "Victory or defeat is a trivial matter" -- Military strategies. (shrink)

Death in the life of the samurai -- An introduction to Yamamoto Tunetomo's Hagakure -- The Hagakure -- A leisurely chat in the evening shadows -- A samurai must devote his heart firmly to bushidō -- Hardship is a beneficial experience -- There is nothing as deep as giri -- Close your eyes and think of your lord -- Death is a punishment not meted out lightly -- Even if it contains poison, what's the big deal? -- Naritomi Hyōgo's (...) words about achieving victory -- The quarrel (kenka) of Araki Kuzaemon -- You are weaker than you look -- "Victory or defeat is a trivial matter" -- Military strategies. (shrink)

These volumes present the text of Abū Ma’͑šar’s _Great Introduction to Astrology_ in Arabic and Greek and the divergences in the Latin translations. It provides a fully-comprehensive account of traditional astrological doctrine and its philosophical bases.

Outlines the ethical code of the samurai in a time when the martial skills of the warrior became redundant and his role was subsumed into governmental service.

国家への関心と憂戚から「国家理性」の正体を明らかにする。多くの具体的事象を元にさまざまな国難に処してきた過去の日本人のこころに迫る。比較文化の視点から後世に誇れる日本の精神文化を鋭く分析。.

In recent years several books by major figures in Japan's modern philosophical tradition have appeared in English, exciting readers by their explorations of the borderlands between philosophy and religion. What has been wanting, however, is a book in a Western language to elucidate the life and thought of Nishida Kitaro, Japan's first philosopher of world stature and the originator of what has come to be called the Kyoto School. No one is more qualified to write such a book than Nishitani (...) Keiji, whose lifetime coincides with the rise and flowering of the Kyoto School and whose own critical contribution to Japanese thought has been so important. _Nishida Kitaro_ is a translation of essays Nishitani wrote about his teacher from 1936 to 1968 and published as a book in 1985. This series of meditations by one master on another provides a remarkable, living portrait of Nishida the person and conveys the enthusiasm he aroused in his students. Examining Nishida's most important work, _An Inquiry into the Good_, Nishitani penetrates to the core of his thought and presents it in language that is a marvel of clarity. (shrink)

Vivre et mourir sans se départir de son courage et perdre son honneur est au coeur du Hagakure, une série de textes écrits par un samouraï du XVIIIe siècle, Yamamoto Tsunetomo. Ce livre est une fenêtre ouverte sur l'esprit du samouraï, éclairant le concept de bushido (la Voie du guerrier), qui précise la manière dont les samouraïs devaient se comporter, se discipliner, vivre et mourir. Alors que pendant de nombreuses années, le Hagakure demeura un texte secret, connu uniquement des (...) samouraïs au service du clan Nabeshima auquel appartenait l'auteur, il fut plus tard reconnu comme un grand classique de la pensée du samouraï. A l'origine, le Hagakure était composé de plus de 1300 textes courts que Tsunetomo dicta à un jeune samouraï sur une période de sept années. William Scott Wilson a sélectionné et traduit ici 300 des textes les plus représentatifs pour créer un ouvrage plus accessible, un guide du samouraï. Aucun autre traducteur n'a su rendre ce texte avec autant de profondeur et d'érudition. Wilson éclaire le Hagakure sous un jour différent : Tsunetomo fait référence au bushido comme à " la voie de la mort, " une description qui a engendré une fascination morbide chez ses lecteurs, particulièrement pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Mais à l'époque de Tsunetomo, le bushido relevait d'un concept plus nuancé qui était étroitement lié au concept zen de muga, la " mort de l'ego ". L'introduction de Wilson fournit l'arrière-plan historique et philosophique pour une lecture plus métaphorique du Hagakure. (shrink)

The earliest Chinese record of the maritime relations between India and China can be found in the “History of the Former Han Dynasty” (Chien Han-shu) which covers the period from B.C. 206 to A.D. 23. In its chapter (28b) on geography it is stated that ever since the time of the Emperor Wu (Wu Ti, B.C. 14087) the country called Huang-chih has sent tribute to the Chinese court, which in turn dispatched envoys to this remote country. Huang-chih has been identified (...) by many scholars with Kāñcī (Conjeeveram) on the east coast of South India. It is recorded that there were chief interpreters belonging to the Yellow Gate (the office of eunuchs serving in the palace) who went to sea to buy bright pearls, opaque glasses and other rare articles, taking with them from China gold and various kinds of silk for exchange. (shrink)

Tool use is a central topic in research on cognitive evolution and behavioral ecology in non-human animals. Originally thought to be a uniquely human phenomenon, many other species have been observed making and using tools for a variety of purposes, starting with Goodall’s groundbreaking work with chimpanzees in Gombe. Despite the frequent attention and great research interest in animal tool use, and ubiquity of the behavior, we argue here that chewing sticks by dogs should be included as a case of (...) tool use. We discuss alternate possible explanations and then propose several testable predictions regarding this hypothesis. We suggest that tool use may be more common than is often assumed and that many cases of animal tool use may be overlooked. (shrink)

Objective:This study aimed to investigate the effect of robot-assisted gait training therapy combined with non-invasive brain stimulation on lower limb function in patients with stroke and spinal cord injury.Data sourcesPubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Ovid MEDLINE, and Web of Science were searched.Study selectionRandomized controlled trials published as of 3 March 2021. RCTs evaluating RAGT combined with NIBS, such as transcranial direct current stimulation and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, for lower limb function and activities in patients with stroke and (...) SCI were included.Data extractionTwo reviewers independently screened the records, extracted the data, and assessed the risk of bias.Data synthesisA meta-analysis of five studies and risk of bias were conducted. Pooled estimates demonstrated that RAGT combined with NIBS significantly improved lower limb function [standardized mean difference = 0.52; 95% confidence interval = 0.06–0.99] but not lower limb activities. Subgroup analyses also failed to find a greater improvement in lower limb function of RAGT with tDCS compared to sham stimulation. No significant differences between participant characteristics or types of NIBS were observed.ConclusionThis meta-analysis demonstrated that RAGT therapy in combination with NIBS was effective in patients with stroke and SCI. However, a greater improvement in lower limb function and activities were not observed using RAGT with tDCS compared to sham stimulation. (shrink)

Selected writings from the most influential texts of the samurai era—in a pocket-size edition. The samurai of Japan, who were the country's military elite from medieval times to the end of the nineteenth century, were synonmous with valor, honor, and martial arts prowess. Their strict adherence to the code of bushido ("the way of the warrior"), chivalry, and honor in fighting to the death continues to capture the imagination of people today, inspiring authors, filmmakers, and artists. The Pocket Samurai contains (...) the essential writings of the era by the most esteemed samurai and philosophers of the age, including the iconic Miyamoto Musashi, author of The Book of Five Rings; Yamamoto Tsunetomo, author of Hagakure, the best-known explication of the samurai code; Takuan Soho, the Zen priest and adviser to samurai; Yagyu Munenori, whose The Life-Giving Sword describes a deeply spiritual approach to sword fighting; and others. (shrink)