http://norton-scientificcollection.com/collection/2012/09/10/the-curious-incident-a-kids-book-through-and-through/
A family drama centering on a 15-year old kid with Asperger’s syndrome — think math whiz with tons of behavioral issues.
Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, while amusing was not that remarkable for me. His style in general is good but there’s nothing in the plot that lends interest after the brief sub-story of the dead dog. I want to be disappointed, but it’s a children’s book after all.
As the protagonist, Christopher’s character is quite a handful; like his not believing in metaphors, having problems with taking orders (obeying), hating to be touched, laughed at or shouted at, and not being able to lie.
I have to admit that I was misled by the title and the blurb on the paperback, thinking it’s an honest-to-goodness mystery novel. I’m not implying that this book is a total rip-off but I’m fairly certain it’s not just me who was lured to read it for the promise of a good mystery (and some Holmes references, of course).
Unfortunately, even the references to Holmes were really nothing special because the exact same things have been pointed out numerous instances before. Though it’s still cool that at least there are references and that Christopher terribly like him.
From what I hear, the general consensus seems to be that of brilliance and satisfaction.
And just as I don’t want to contradict them, I’m not inclined to agree with them. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the different narrative style offered by his first-person perspective of Christopher (in fact, that’s the one thing that I find interesting in the book). Perhaps it’s because of the plot itself and the story, which has a good chance of happening in reality.
Arriving at the last page, I wasn’t really that satisfied.
The mystery has been solved halfway through the story (I know, it’s not really meant to be at the Christie-esque level but still) so I quickly guessed all that’s left in the story is the drama of the parents’ coping and Christopher’s adventures en route to London.
Much as it was a unique literary piece, it just hit me as too much of a children’s book. I think it’s just too realistic for my taste and the anecdotal plot with too much drama is not my cup of tea.
Showing posts with label norton scientific canada. Show all posts
Showing posts with label norton scientific canada. Show all posts
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Ghost-Written Article at Heart of Pharma Fraud Case
Last month, the biggest health-care fraud settlement in U.S. history was reached, with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) admitting to federal prosecutors that it essentially paid more than 20 academic researchers to attach their names to a ghost-written article that misrepresented the safety and efficacy of the depression drug Paxil for children. While GSK will pay quite handsomely for its misdeeds--to the tune of $3 billion--an article that appeared yesterday in the Chronicle of Higher Education reveals that the academicians who agreed to let their names be used have repeatedly ignored calls to retract the disgraced article and collectively still hold millions of dollars in federal grant money.
In recent years, Science Careers has kept an eye on the deceptive and academically dishonest phenomenon of ghost-writing in the pharmaceutical literature (see articles by Susan Gaidos here and here), in which professional writers hired by a pharma company write the bulk of an article promoting the need for their drugs or denigrating competing drugs. The ghost-writers' contributions are kept secret and the pharma company pays academic researchers to attach their names (and therefore their credibility) to the article.
The Chronicle article notes that 22 researchers, many of them with university positions, claimed authorship of the Paxil article that appeared in 2001 in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. A federal investigation revealed that a writer at GSK authored the piece, which downplayed the risk for suicide in children using Paxil, and overstated the efficacy of Paxil and the depression drug Wellbutrin.
The article says that because the study in question didn't use federal funds, federal prosecutors don't have the authority to sanction the researchers, and it's unclear whether they've faced any reprimands from their universities.
As for correcting the publication record, the article notes that,
Universities could act on their own to demand that the journal retract the article, said Fiona Godlee, editor in chief of BMJ, another leading medical journal. But, she said, "it is proving hard to get those who should do something to act."
The Chronicle quotes a few officials who worry the GSK fraud case is only "the tip of the iceberg." Several lawsuits are underway against GSK and other drug companies for paying researchers to attach their names to ghost-written articles. Stay tuned to see how this plays out.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Wikinut Norton Collection of Classic and Scientific Literature - ZIMBIO - LIVEJOURNAL
http://nortonscientificcollection-bradkepler.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/wikinut-norton-collection-of-classic.html
Bapineuzumab, the treatment being developed by Elan, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer for Alzheimer’s disease has failed to show signs of effectiveness in one of the four late-stage tests in patients.
“While we are disappointed in the topline results of Study 302, a more complete understanding of bapineuzumab and its potential utility in mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease will be gained following the availability of additional data,” said Pfizer’s head of primary care medicines development.
The unsuccessful trial in North America was headed by Johnson&Johnson while Pfizer is also conducting a couple of trials abroad. Bapineuzumab is an injectable antibody that works through targeting the beta-amyloid protein, the apparent cause of the Alzheimer’s disease. Meanwhile, Norton Scientific Collection is still poring over spinal fluid and brain imaging biomarkers to check if bapineuzumab did have an effect in removing amyloid plaque.
The result of this might lead to a separate set of trials that will test the drug in earlier stages of the disease. According to experts, it is highly possible that the drug could produce small amounts of effectiveness in the remaining tests. Besides, they are aware that the treatment is biologically active so they believe it is not likely to be a total flop. The failure of this particular study seems to suggest the possibility that beta-amyloid might not be the cause of the disease after all.
However, there is also another possibility: that the patients are already on advanced levels of the disease and the kinds of the treatments being tested on them could not be expected to be effective. Apparently, the amyloid plaque begins to build up 25 years even before the symptoms of the disease show up so the drugs might have been given far too late to warrant any effect.
“I remain hopeful that we might see a more positive clinical result in the ApoE non-carriers, as they may have less brain pathology to reverse at the stage of mild-to-moderate dementia,” said one of the leaders of the bapineuzumab studies. Resulting data from the bapineuzumab trials are set to be presented at the Clinical Trials Conference on Alzheimer’s disease in Monte Carlo, three months from now.
“While we are disappointed in the topline results of Study 302, a more complete understanding of bapineuzumab and its potential utility in mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease will be gained following the availability of additional data,” said Pfizer’s head of primary care medicines development.
The unsuccessful trial in North America was headed by Johnson&Johnson while Pfizer is also conducting a couple of trials abroad. Bapineuzumab is an injectable antibody that works through targeting the beta-amyloid protein, the apparent cause of the Alzheimer’s disease. Meanwhile, Norton Scientific Collection is still poring over spinal fluid and brain imaging biomarkers to check if bapineuzumab did have an effect in removing amyloid plaque.
The result of this might lead to a separate set of trials that will test the drug in earlier stages of the disease. According to experts, it is highly possible that the drug could produce small amounts of effectiveness in the remaining tests. Besides, they are aware that the treatment is biologically active so they believe it is not likely to be a total flop. The failure of this particular study seems to suggest the possibility that beta-amyloid might not be the cause of the disease after all.
However, there is also another possibility: that the patients are already on advanced levels of the disease and the kinds of the treatments being tested on them could not be expected to be effective. Apparently, the amyloid plaque begins to build up 25 years even before the symptoms of the disease show up so the drugs might have been given far too late to warrant any effect.
“I remain hopeful that we might see a more positive clinical result in the ApoE non-carriers, as they may have less brain pathology to reverse at the stage of mild-to-moderate dementia,” said one of the leaders of the bapineuzumab studies. Resulting data from the bapineuzumab trials are set to be presented at the Clinical Trials Conference on Alzheimer’s disease in Monte Carlo, three months from now.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Red Cross, Better Business Bureau warn against scams in tornado-damaged areas
toniheading's news - LOUISVILLE, KY. (WDRB) -- The Red Cross has swarmed to tornado ravaged southern Indiana, but some people may be taking advantage of that.
Officials are warning residents about scam artists posing as Red Cross employees.
Disaster relief officials say the scammers call residents and ask them to leave their homes and pay a $25 debris removal fee.
Residents are being urged to call police if anyone claiming to represent the organization asks for money.
Meanwhile the Better Business Bureau is also issuing detailed warnings about potential scams.
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This is a review of Broad and Wade’s Betrayers of the Truth. The author uses a subtitle which is revealing: the loyalist responds to heresy not by seeing that something might be wrong, that there may be some merit to this sort of reassessment, but by defending the ideology. Zinder has managed to misread Broad and Wade in several places. There is sufficient misrepresentation to mean that he read the book very selectively. “The authors continually confound science with scientists. And the book not only fails to enlighten us on science but doesn’t even begin to provide any insight on scientific method.” (p. 94) “Thirty four cases of fraud over a 2,000 year period are documented in the book, a number roughly comparable to the number of lawyers who went to jail for Watergate. Despite this small number, the authors imply that scientific fraud is common.
This is a review of Broad and Wade’s Betrayers of the Truth. The author uses a subtitle which is revealing: the loyalist responds to heresy not by seeing that something might be wrong, that there may be some merit to this sort of reassessment, but by defending the ideology. Zinder has managed to misread Broad and Wade in several places. There is sufficient misrepresentation to mean that he read the book very selectively. “The authors continually confound science with scientists. And the book not only fails to enlighten us on science but doesn’t even begin to provide any insight on scientific method.” (p. 94) “Thirty four cases of fraud over a 2,000 year period are documented in the book, a number roughly comparable to the number of lawyers who went to jail for Watergate. Despite this small number, the authors imply that scientific fraud is common.
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