Considering the Risks and Costs of Solid Organ Xenotransplantation.

The standard treatment for end-stage organ failure is transplantation, but demand for organs has always vastly outstripped supply. Discussions are ongoing about the feasibility of addressing the organ shortage through measures like increasing organ donations, improving post-transplant outcomes, and xenotransplantation. This paper examines the rationale, risks, and costs of xenotransplantation, such as xenozoonoses, creating a new form of industrialized animal farming, abandoning animal ethics principles, and the opportunity costs of investing finite research dollars in xenotransplantation instead of investing in more viable strategies.

Audiometric data analysis for prevention of noise-induced hearing loss: A new approach.

Compliance with noise regulations in the past three decades has significantly reduced workplace noise exposures, particularly in the loudest industries and occupations. However, the overall effectiveness of hearing conservation programs in preventing occupational noise-induced hearing loss remains uncertain and unquantified, while the incidence and cost of occupational hearing loss remain inexplicably high. This review/commentary critically explores this paradox by examining why the billions of annual audiograms conducted worldwide have not been aggregately utilized or applied to predict early NIHL in groups of workers or to measure the efficacy of exposure controls.

A critique of the ACOEM statement on mold: undisclosed conflicts of interest in the creation of an "evidence-based" statement.

In 2003, the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) published its evidence-based statement, "Adverse Human Health Effects Associated with Molds in the Indoor Environment," in its Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (JOEM). ACOEM's author selection, development, peer review, and publication of its mold position paper involved a series of seemingly biased and ethically dubious decisions and ad hoc methods. The resulting position paper resembled a litigation "defense report" which omitted or inadequately acknowledged research validating the association between mold and building-related symptoms.