Evaluating and selecting arguments in the context of higher order uncertainty.

Human and artificial reasoning has to deal with uncertain environments. Ideally, probabilistic information is available. However, sometimes probabilistic information may not be precise or it is missing entirely.

Heuristic reevaluation of the bacterial hypothesis of peptic ulcer disease in the 1950s.

Throughout the first half of the twentieth century the research on peptic ulcer disease (PUD) focused on two rivaling hypothesis: the "acidity" and the "bacterial" one. According to the received view, the latter was dismissed during the 1950s only to be revived with Warren's and Marshall's discovery of Helicobacter pylori in the 1980s. In this paper we investigate why the bacterial hypothesis was largely abandoned in the 1950s, and whether there were good epistemic reasons for its dismissal.

Major furocoumarins in grapefruit juice I: levels and urinary metabolite(s).

Furocoumarins are phototoxic and photogenotoxic natural plant constituents occurring in cosmetics, food and drugs. Grapefruit juice is considered as a major dietary source of furocoumarins although few is known about the variability of furocoumarins in grapefruit juice. We analyzed the major furocoumarins in eight commercial grapefruit juices and in freshly prepared juices made from pink grapefruit obtained from German retailers.

Normovolemic modified ultrafiltration is associated with better preserved platelet function and less postoperative blood loss in patients undergoing complex cardiac surgery: a randomized and controlled study.

Objective: The purpose of the investigation was to study the impact of normovolemic modified ultrafiltration (N-MUF) on hemostasis and perioperative blood loss.

Methods: Fifty patients scheduled for elective complex cardiac surgery were enrolled in this prospective, randomized, and controlled study. Patients were randomized into a control group (n = 25) or an N-MUF group (n = 25).