On 2014 Jan 08, Brett Snodgrass commented:

Dear Reader,

The myocardial sinusoids connect to the vasa Wearn, which connect to a coronary artery.

Please see http://bit.ly/JTWearn

For additional commentary, please see. https://twitter.com/BrettSnodgrass1/status/412195032486014976

Please share if you agree or disagree with the previously proposed nomenclature and why.

Thank you kindly.

On 2016 Aug 17, R Relevo commented:

the citation has a typo the volume is actually 278, not 2

On 2014 Oct 28, Harri Hemila commented:

English translation of this paper is available at: http://www.mv.helsinki.fi/home/hemila/T2.pdf

On 2014 Dec 03, Harri Hemila commented:

Fulltext is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0952-0600(92)90016-A

On 2014 Oct 28, Harri Hemila commented:

English translation of this paper is available at: http://www.mv.helsinki.fi/home/hemila/T3.pdf

On 2015 Dec 11, Harri Hemila commented:

Available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0168-1656(92)90010-7

On 2015 Feb 20, Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva commented:

The authors developed some alternative methods for cryopreserving a single chrysanthemum cultivar ‘Escort’ while developing an ultra-rapid freezing protocol for nine chrysanthemum cultivars. In the controlled rate freezing protocol, the authors do not indicate how many shoot tips are placed into each cryovial nor for how long explants are maintained in LN. The same lack of detailed information exists for the encapsulation-dehydration (ED) protocol. In the vitrification protocol, the authors claim that shoot tips were added to a small drop of PVS2 on a sheet of aluminium that was then placed in cryovials and then plunged into LN. However, what was the function of adding the aluminium foil to cryovials? Only for the vitrification protocol do the authors state that “The vials were cooled from underneath to liquid nitrogen temperature to prevent boiling of the liquid nitrogen in the vials.” But it is not clear if such caution was exercised in the other cryopreservation protocols. The density or ratio of explants to medium is never indicated for any protocol. The commercial source of the cryovials and the reagents and equipment is also not described thus the experiment cannot be reliably reproduced. Throughout the manuscript, the authors use two terms, shoot tips and apical shoots to describe the exact same experimental explant, which could be confusing to amateur readers. Much of the description of the protocols is very repetitive and poorly written, and most of the “noise” in the protocol caused by this overlapping information could have been considerably reduced had the authors used suitable acronyms, e.g., SIM for shoot induction medium rather than defining all constituents every time. Fig. 1 legend contains a mistake: it should indicate –1°C but instead it is written as –0.1°C. In Fig. 2 legend, the claim that “There were no statistically significant differences between the different preculture procedures” might be incorrect, considering the wide span between 31% and ~45%. No statistical analyses were conducted on data in Table 1 and Fig. 3, so there is an inconsistent use of statistics and thus interpretation of the data set. All data is represented as only shoot % regeneration, which is not very informative. Shoot numbers would have also been useful. Even though the authors claimed to assess shoot % regeneration from shoot tips after 4 weeks or from callus after 8 weeks, none of the figures or tables indicate the source of the shoots (i.e., from callus or from shoot tips?). Each figure represents different sample sizes, with no apparent explanation, and there is absolutely no discussion about shoot regeneration from callus, which is an undesirable form of clonal propagation for chrysanthemum and could result in somaclonal variation.

On 2015 Dec 11, Harri Hemila commented:

Available at DOI

On 2015 Dec 11, Harri Hemila commented:

Available at DOI

On 2014 Dec 03, Harri Hemila commented:

Fulltext is available at DOI

On 2015 Dec 21, Stephen Strum commented:

This is a critical paper that has been lost in the shuffle of time.

On 2013 Oct 30, Jamie Horder commented:

This 1957 paper contains the observations of Leo Kanner and his colleague Leon Eisenberg, based on 120 autistic children seen at John Hopkins since Kanner defined the syndrome of "autism" in 1943.

Notably, the authors in this paper suggested that the emotional 'coldness' often seen in parents of autistic children played some causal role in the development of the disorder - though only in conjunction with an 'inborn disturbance of affective contact', i.e. what would today be called a gene x environment interaction.

This idea, taken further, later became notorious as the 'refrigerator mother' psychodynamic theory of autism, associated with the now-discredited Bruno Bettelheim.

By 1971, Kanner denied advocating any kind of psychogenic hypothesis of autism: Kanner L, 1971. However such ideas are certainly evident in this paper.

On 2014 Jan 13, Brett Snodgrass commented:

Dear Reader,

Please provide your kind consideration to the following excerpt from page 502

"There were thrombi in the Thebesian vessels (including the Thebesian veins, the myocardial sinusoids, arterio-luminal and arteriosinusoidal vessels)"

The authors astutely document the various connections in the heart that were described by 1. Thebesius (Thebesian veins) http://bit.ly/vasaThebesii

and the structures described by Joseph T. Wearn

 1. myocardial sinusoids   and the

vessels of Wearn:

 2. arterio-luminal (arterioluminal) 


3. arteriosinusoidal vessels

http://bit.ly/JTWearn

Referring to the vessels of Wearn as Thebesian vessels is problematic as the former are strictly arterial in nature. The vessels described by Thebesius were venular in nature.

Reportedly, Thebesius only studied the veins. In addition, Thebesius neither defined nor studied the "myocardial sinusoids," "arterio-luminal (arteioluminal)," or "arteriosinusoidal" vessels.

Those were defined utilizing serial histologic sections by Wearn et al. The myocardial sinusoids have not been included as strict components of the "vessels of Wearn" as they have been noted to connect with many structures, and Wearn reported that they have a "meandering course."

Therefore, the arterial-cameral connections that bypass the capillary bed are probably best referred to as vessels of Wearn.

The venular-cameral connections that bypass the capillary bed are probably best referred to as any of the synonyms, 1. Thebesian veins (personally preferred term) 2. vessels of Thebesius 3. vasa Thebesii

At least one article uses the terms "Thebesian vessels" and "Thebesian veins" synonymously, (please ask for reference), and I agree that they are synonyms.

However, using the term "Thebesian vessels" to apply to all of the aformentioned connections is both inaccurate and has probably resulted in much confusion in the literature. Therefore, the use of the term "Thebesian vessels," as used in this article, is probably not accurate.

My opinion is that accurate anatomic terminology is a basic principle underlying good medical science, and I ask others to consider whether the aforementioned definitions are appropriate. If this comment is not helpful, please let me know how it might be improved.

Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Thank you very much.

On 2014 Dec 02, Harri Hemila commented:

Fulltext is available at DOI

On 2017 Apr 25, Guy Plunkett commented:

When this paper was published journals did not host supplementary material on their own servers, and those links in the paper are no longer valid, having suffered the consequences of site death as individuals retired or moved on. In January 2014, Dr. Gerdes reached out to me, and since then we have been hosting a full copy of the Supplemental Data at https://www.genome.wisc.edu/Gerdes2003/

On 2017 Nov 10, Thomas Heston commented:

This concept has stood the test of time. More and more research is showing beneficial effects of sauna bathing. An update of this topic is Sauna Bathing and the Cardiovascular System Int J Sci Res. 2017 Nov; 6(11) 569-570.

On 2014 Jan 08, Brett Snodgrass commented:

Dear Authors,

Thank you for the excellent article.

Might the pathogenesis of this case be explained by a vessel of Wearn that disrupted vasculogenesis?

The following linked image contains notes and references related to the probable pathogenesis in this case. https://twitter.com/BrettSnodgrass1/status/415991920104452096

Comments, disagreements, and suggestions are welcome.

Thank you kindly.

On 2015 Aug 27, Bernard Friedenson commented:

For more information please see the article entitled "Mutations in Breast Cancer Exome Sequences Predict Susceptibility to Infection and Converge on the Same Signaling Pathways" This article is available at http://la-press.com/article.php?article_id=5029

On 2016 Jan 04, S A Ostroumov commented:

Rotifers: Rotifers are an important part of the freshwater zooplankton, being a major foodsource and with many species also contributing to the decomposition of soil organic matter. Most rotifers are around 0.1–0.5 mm long, and are common in freshwater environments throughout the world. The word "rotifer" is derived from a Latin word meaning "wheel-bearer", due to the corona around the mouth that in concerted sequential motion resembles a wheel (though the organ does not actually rotate). The coronal cilia create a current that sweeps food into the mouth. Rotifers eat particulate organic detritus, dead bacteria, algae, and protozoans. They eat particles up to 10 micrometres in size. Like crustaceans, rotifers contribute to nutrient recycling. For this reason, they are used in fish tanks to help clean the water, to prevent clouds of waste matter.(Wikipedia was used).

On 2016 Jan 04, S A Ostroumov commented:

ABSTRACT: This paper discovered new type of toxicity of the cationic surfactant tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (TDTMA); a new toxic effect of this chemical was discovered: inhibition of water filtration by rotifers. This chemical exemplifies a new type of hazardous contaminants (pollutants) of water.

On 2016 Jan 04, S A Ostroumov commented:

EXPLANATION of and comment on TERMINOLOGY: cationic amphiphilic compound = cationic surfactant, Surface-Active Agent, in this paper it is the cationic surfactant tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (TDTMA); surfactants are a new class of water-polluting chemicals.

On 2015 Dec 06, S A Ostroumov commented:

FULL TEXT ONLINE FREE, ALSO, THE ABSTRACT: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/200578650

On 2015 Dec 16, Farrel Buchinsky commented:

This study reports that HPV 16 or 18 was detected in 24 out of 35 papilloma specimens. Absent carcinoma, no other study has reported such a high incidence of HPV 16 or 18 in benign recurrent respiratory papillomatosis. Therefore such a claim would require extraordinary evidence. It is possible that their primers had non-specific binding to DNA from other HPV types.

On 2013 Jun 20, Robert Tibshirani commented:

This is an important paper, introducing the RMA method for normalizing Affymetrix probe-level data. RMA is now widely used in the R package and other software environments.

On 2014 Dec 10, Kath Wright commented:

Other search filters are available from the InterTASC Information Specialists' Sub-Group Search Filter Resource at https://sites.google.com/a/york.ac.uk/issg-search-filters-resource/home

On 2015 Dec 15, S A Ostroumov commented:

Review (WorldCatalog) of the paper: Synecological Approach to the Problem of Eutrophication (new solution to the problem) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286921503

On 2015 Dec 04, S A Ostroumov commented:

FULL TEXT ONLINE FREE: The synecological approach to the problem of eutrophication. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/10614405;

On 2015 Nov 30, S A Ostroumov commented:

Abstract of this paper, with some comment. ** The content of the article in short: A new solution to eutrophication. New concept of eutrophication control. Rating of this paper: In the top 25% of all articles scored by Altmetric. ** A new way of eutrophication control was suggested in the paper. The author suggested a new component of the measures against eutrophication: reducing the input of the chemical pollutants that weaken the potential of the filter-feeders for removing planktonic algae. The suggested way of controlling eutrophication is applicable to both freshwater and marine ecosystems. The article proposed a new idea, a new way of controlling eutrophication. The article is based on a series of the author's experiments with aquatic organisms (filter-feeders) that discovered and quantified relevant toxic effects of organic pollutants at sublethal concetrations. This article presented some new data to continue this line of research that is essential to the new solution to eutrophication. Among new facts that were reported in the paper, in addition to a substantial amount of relevant, related data previously obtained by the author: The liquid detergent (exemplified by the dish washing liquid, Fairy) 2 mg/L inhibited filtration by the bivalve mollusks, marine mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) within 2-23 min after addition, at temperature 22.5 ºС. This species of bivalve mollusks is one of key species in marine benthic ecosystems; it is one of ecological engineers that make a great impact on water quality. This is only one new fact that adds to many other facts (on how chemical pollutants can inhibit water filtration) discovered and reported by the author in other publications (papers and the book, Biological Effects of Surfactants). The paper presents a new approach to combat eutrophication.

On 2016 Jan 09, S A Ostroumov commented:

DOI: 10.1023/A:1012348127085; 'two-level synergism' is a new scientific term suggested by the author, it is explained in the text of the article.

On 2015 Dec 04, S A Ostroumov commented:

Abstract: The author identified a new type of ecological hazard of anthropogenic impact (using chemical pollution as an example), which he proposed to term “synecological summation” or “synergistic summation” of anthropogenic effects on organisms of two adjacent trophic levels. ** NEW FACTS: in the study reported in the paper, the following new type of environmental hazards was found. It was shown that even some relatively mild influences on organisms of two adjacent trophic levels may eventually produce a synergistic, pronounced and definitely undesirable effect which will lead to an abnormal increase in the abundance of organisms of one of the trophic levels. The concrete examples of that type of synergism were found when anthropogenic impacts affected the organisms of two adjacent trophic levels (bivalves and algae). Some new bioeffects of the action of the synthetic detergent (exemplified by the laundry detergent, namely, the detergent 'Vesna') (1 mg/l) on the bivalves, oysters Crassostrea gigas were described. Also, some new effects of the detergent (exemplified by the laundry detergent, namely, the detegent 'IXI') (10 mg/l) on the marine mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis, were found; also, new effects of the detergent (exemplified by the laundry detergent, namely the detergent 'Tide-Lemon') (50 mg/l) on M. galloprovincialis were discovered. ** CONCLUSION: The hazard of simultaneous influence of contamination of environment (e.g., by detergents) on organisms of the two trophic levels may occur when the polluting chemicals produce effects on algae and bivalves that are filter-feeders. It means that a new type of environmental hazards was discovered. [MAIK Nauka/Interperiodica, distributed by Springer Science+Business Media LLC.; ISSN 0012-4966 (Print) 1608-3105 (Online)]; DOI 10.1023/A:1012348127085;

On 2015 Dec 04, S A Ostroumov commented:

FULL TEXT OF THIS ARTICLE ONLINE FREE: (TITLE: The hazard of a two-level synergism of synecological summation of anthropogenic effects); https://www.researchgate.net/publication/10614388

On 2016 Apr 15, S A Ostroumov commented:

Unio is one of the most common freshwater bivalve mollusks. This species has a huge importance to water quality in rivers.

On 2016 Jan 09, S A Ostroumov commented:

DOI 10.1023/A:1012344026176. Full text is available on ResearchGate.

On 2015 Dec 04, S A Ostroumov commented:

Abstract: Responses of the freshwater bivalve Unio tumidus to mixed chemical preparations and the hazard of synecological summation of anthropogenic effects. - Doklady Biological Sciences, 2001, Volume 380, p. 492-495. ISSN 0012-4966 (Print) 1608-3105 (Online). DOI 10.1023/A:1012344026176. The author introduced a new concept and term, “the synecological summation of the effects of anthropogenic factors on organisms”. In the new author’s experiments, the effects of commercial detergents, which are chemical mixtures, on bivalves (e.g. effects of the laundry detergent OMO on the freshwater mussels Unio tumidus) were discovered and studied. Detergents exert two types of hazardous effects on organisms and ecosystems: the phosphorus-induced stimulation of phytoplankton growth and surfactant-induced inhibition of filter-feeders. Because filter-feeders are an effective natural factor of control of unicellular plankton populations, the two types of the detergent-induced effects on ecosystem facilitate the growth of phytoplankton populations. Therefore, these effects sum together, thereby increasing the hazard of the man-made impact on the ecosystem. The results contribute to a better understanding of the potential ecological danger of pollutants for integral functions of ecosystems. It is the synecological summation of the effects of anthropogenic factors on plankton populations and filter-feeders that is of particular concern. The interaction between populations of plankton organisms and filter-feeders that feed on plankton should be taken into consideration in the studies on the ecological effects of synthetic detergents on these populations. Situations of man-made impact should be analyzed with using the synecological approach to the problem. http://sites.google.com/site/2001dbs380p492unio/; www.springerlink.com/index/L33309208H28L87R.pdf; DOI 10.1023/A:1012344026176;

On 2015 Dec 04, S A Ostroumov commented:

ANOTHER LINK, THE FULL TEXT OF THIS ARTICLE ONLINE FREE: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/10614386 ; [Dokl. Biol. Sci. 2001;380:492-495. Responses of Unio tumidus to mixed chemical preparations and the hazard of synecological summation of anthropogenic effects.]

On 2015 Dec 04, S A Ostroumov commented:

This article ranked 1st among all papers in the journal, Doklady Biological Sciences; (Altmetrics) (on 26.01.2015). Article was published in a peer reviewed journal.

On 2015 Dec 04, S A Ostroumov commented:

FULL TEXT OF THIS ARTICLE FREE, AVAILABLE ONLINE (Responses of Unio tumidus to mixed chemical preparations and the hazard of synecological summation of anthropogenic effects): https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259579828

On 2015 Dec 14, S A Ostroumov commented:

WorldCat review of the article: Pellets of Some Mollusks in the Biogeochemical Flows of C, N, P, Si, and Al. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286780426

On 2015 Dec 13, S A Ostroumov commented:

Explanation of methodology (some details on the choice of the biological species and chemicals to study). Why the great pond snail and freshwater mussels were studied in this reseach project: they are among the most common benthic species of invertebrates in water habitats of Eurasia. Their biomass is one of the biggest, or just the biggest, among aquatic invertebrates in Eurasia and other parts of the world. Why the plant species, Nuphar lutea (Yellow Water-lily) , was used in this research project: it is one of the most common aquatic plant species in the freshwater habitats of Eurasia. Why the plant species, Taraxacum officinale, was used in this research project: it is a common laboratory practice to feed the great pond snail with leaves of this higher plant. Why the synthetic surfactants ТDТМА (tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide) and SDS (sodium dodecyl sulfate) were used: they are representatives of the two major classes of synthetic surfactants, namely, cationic surfactants, and anionic surfactants. These two chemicals were studied in many other publications of Dr. Sergei Ostroumov, so that lots of data to compare toxic effects of these chemicals on organisms are available. A detailed explanation of methodology was also published in the book Biological Effects of Surfactants (Ostroumov, 2005, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/200637626)

On 2015 Dec 13, S A Ostroumov commented:

Comment on the biological species that were studied in this paper: the great pond snail is a species of large air-breathing freshwater snail, an aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Lymnaeidae. Range Description: A widespread species distributed in Asia (central, north and south and southeast), north America, north Africa and New Zealand. The great pond snail has a shiny yellowish brown shell.

Nuphar lutea (Yellow Water-lily) is an aquatic plant of the family Nymphaeaceae, native to temperate regions of Europe, northwest Africa, and western Asia.

Unio is a genus of medium-sized freshwater mussels, aquatic bivalve mollusks in the family Unionidae, the river mussels. Unio is the type genus of the family Unionidae. About this family: The range of distribution for this family is world-wide. It is at its most diverse in North America, with about 297 recognised taxa, but China and Southeast Asia also support very diverse faunas. Freshwater mussels occupy a wide range of habitats, but most often occupy lotic waters, i.e. flowing water such as rivers, streams and creeks.

On 2015 Dec 13, S A Ostroumov commented:

Explanation of terminology: pellets are the particles of the undigested organic matter (mainly biomass of undigested food) that the aquatic mollusks (snails and freshwater mussels) excrete so that these mollusks function as engines that drive the transfer of a significant amount of the organic matter through aqautic ecosystems.

On 2015 Dec 05, S A Ostroumov commented:

ABSTRACT AND FULL TEXT ONLINE FREE: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259579605

On 2016 Jan 09, S A Ostroumov commented:

DOI: 10.1023/a:1011600213221. This paper proved that even chemical pollutants that are not toxic to phytoplankton can influence abundance of the phytoplankton. It is intereting that some chemical pollutants (which are not nutrients) can finally stimulate the abundance of phytoplankton. How? See the article.

On 2015 Dec 18, S A Ostroumov commented:

DOI of this article. DOI: 10.1023/a:1011600213221;

On 2015 Dec 18, S A Ostroumov commented:

today: increase in rating of the article: Imbalance of Factors Providing Control of Unicellular Plankton Populations Exposed to Anthropogenic Impact; In the top 25% of all research publications; http://5bio5.blogspot.com/2015/12/today-increase-in-rating-of-article.html

On 2015 Dec 05, S A Ostroumov commented:

ABSTRACT AND FULL TEXT ONLINE FREE: Imbalance of Factors Providing Control of Unicellular Plankton Populations Exposed to Anthropogenic Impact. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/10614342

On 2016 Jan 12, S A Ostroumov commented:

Tags: surfactants, chemical mixtures, detergents, water, filtering, activity, oysters, Crassostrea gigas, aquaculture,

On 2016 Jan 12, S A Ostroumov commented:

DOI: 10.1023/A:1019270825775

On 2015 Dec 05, S A Ostroumov commented:

Full text of this ARTICLE free, and ABSTRACT: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/10614314; Explanation of some technical terminology: amphiphilic chemicals = synthetic surfactants, detergents that are potential pollutants;

On 2016 Feb 01, Morten Oksvold commented:

Please note that this article is 1 out of 15 publications for which an independent investigation initiated by the University of Copenhagen has found suspicion of scientific dishonesty. The conclusion from the report was published July 23, 2012:

http://news.ku.dk/all_news/2012/2012.8/indications_of_fraud_in_penkowas_early_research/

This articles should therefore not be cited.

On 2014 Dec 10, Kath Wright commented:

Other search filters are available from the InterTASC Information Specialists' Sub-Group Search Filter Resource at https://sites.google.com/a/york.ac.uk/issg-search-filters-resource/home

On 2015 Dec 02, S A Ostroumov commented:

Availability online of this article: Ostroumov S. A. Anthropogenic effects on the biota: towards a new system of principles and criteria for analysis of ecological hazards. Rivista di Biologia / Biology Forum. 2003. 96: 159-170. [ISSN 0035-6050] The full text: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/200581960; and: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/10669691;

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/10669691_Anthropogenic_effects_on_the_biota_towards_a_new_system_of_principles_and_criteria_for_analysis_of_ecological_hazards;

On 2013 Nov 18, Lior Pachter commented:

This software and server is no longer being supported. I recommend using FSA instead http://orangutan.math.berkeley.edu/fsa/

On 2013 Nov 18, Lior Pachter commented:

The SLAM software is no longer being supported or maintained.

On 2015 Jan 19, Paul Korir commented:

This paper claims that in about half (49%) of transcription units with multiple splice forms it appeared that usage of an alternative TSS was accompanied by alternative splicing of the initial exon. The authors therefore conclude that this might imply that alternative TSS may induce alternative splicing. However, if a transcription unit has a 50-50 chance of exhibiting this behaviour that would be the last conclusion that one could make. There are no positive epistemic implications that can be derived from a 50-50 chance; in fact, this is state with the maximal entropy and by extension the most uncertainty.

On 2014 Nov 24, Ivan Oransky commented:

The first author of this paper has agreed to retract it and five others following a finding of misconduct by the Office of Research Integrity: http://retractionwatch.com/2014/11/20/former-vanderbilt-scientist-faked-nearly-70-images-will-retract-6-papers-ori/

On 2015 Oct 28, Peter Gøtzsche commented:

The authors write that "approximately 50-60% of patients are thought to improve clinically as a consequence of antidepressant treatment." This is not correct. About 50% of the patients get better on an antidepressant and 40% on placebo, ie. only a 10% difference, and according to the patients’ own judgments, the drugs don’t work (1,2). Furthermore, these trials were not effectively blinded, and if atropine is put in the placebo to blind the trials better, even the psychiatrists cannot find any effect (3).

The authors write that, "Currently there is no evidence to suggest that ECT causes any kind of brain damage, although temporary cognitive impairment is frequently reported" and that "ECT seems to be a safe procedure". This is not the case. ECT is highly controversial (4), patients report permanent memory problems (5), and there seems to be a death rate of about 1 per 1000 (6).

Only one RCT met the inclusion criteria and that trial was a post-hoc analysis of data in elderly people who participated in the Nottingham trial. It would be of interest to readers to know what the Nottingham trial showed.

1 Laughren TP. Overview for December 13 Meeting of Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee (PDAC). 2006 Nov 16. Available online at: www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/06/briefi ng/2006-4272b1-01-FDA.pdf (accessed 22 October 2012).

2 Gøtzsche PC. Deadly psychiatry and organised denial. Copenhagen: People’s Press; 2015.

3 Moncrieff J, Wessely S, Hardy R. Active placebos versus antidepressants for depression. Cochrane Database Systematic Reviews 2004;1:CD003012.

4 Carney S, Geddes J. Electroconvulsive therapy. BMJ 2003;326:1343-4.

5 Rose D, Wykes T, Leese M, Bindman J, Fleischmann P. Patients perspectives on electroconvulsive therapy: systematic review. BMJ 2003;326:1363-5.

6 Read J, Bentall R. The effectiveness of electroconvulsive therapy: a literature review. Epidemiol Psichiatr Soc 2010 Oct-Dec;19:333-47.

On 2016 Feb 01, Morten Oksvold commented:

Please note that this article is 1 out of 15 publications for which an independent investigation initiated by the University of Copenhagen has found suspicion of scientific dishonesty. The conclusion from the report was published July 23, 2012:

http://news.ku.dk/all_news/2012/2012.8/indications_of_fraud_in_penkowas_early_research/

This articles should therefore not be cited.

On 2017 May 23, Morten Oksvold commented:

This article was retracted April 27 2017 together with eight other articles from the same group due to data manipulations.

Please note that the retraction notice is visible in the PDF document only.

http://www.jbc.org/content/278/35/32618.full.pdf?sid=a8d5dc2c-dd64-4b19-bf5e-c46f7deb9f49

"This article has been withdrawn by the authors. Lanes 1-4 and lanes 7-10 of the G-JNK immunoblot in Fig. 1B were duplicated. In Fig. 2A, the DP-JNK immunoblots on the left were inappropriately manipulated. In Fig. 2A, the G-JNK immunoblots in the middle row were duplicated. In Fig. 3B, lanes 2 and 7 of the phosphorylated MBP panel were duplicated. In Fig. 5A, lane 1 of the Ras-GTP panel was inappropriately manipulated. Lanes 7 and 11 were duplicated. Because the original data are no longer available, in the interest of maintaining accuracy in the published scientific literature, the authors wish to withdraw this article. However, the authors have full confidence in the findings and conclusions of this paper."

On 2016 Feb 01, Morten Oksvold commented:

Please note that this article is 1 out of 15 publications for which an independent investigation initiated by the University of Copenhagen has found suspicion of scientific dishonesty. The conclusion from the report was published July 23, 2012:

http://news.ku.dk/all_news/2012/2012.8/indications_of_fraud_in_penkowas_early_research/

This articles should therefore not be cited.

On 2013 Jun 15, Wolfgang Huber commented:

We performed a re-analysis of the same data using a variety of other, more standard classification procedures and could not reproduce the reported prediction accuracy. It is possible that the reported prediction accuracy was measured in a way that is sensitive to over-fitting, due to the high-dimensionality of the data and the choices that can be made for data "pre-processing". Our analysis was summarised in Ruschhaupt M, 2004 (pdf: http://www-huber.embl.de/pub/pdf/sagmb_2004.pdf).

On 2015 Nov 30, S A Ostroumov commented:

The results of this study are really interesting and innovative. I had some experience of studying phytoremediation with this plant species, Myriophyllum aquaticum (parrot feather). It has a high potential for decontamination of aquatic environment. This paper provided new facts in support of good prospects of using this plant species. The test system with rotifers (Brachionus calyciflorus) feeding on an algal species (Nannochloropsis spp.) is also an interesting feachure of this paper. This test system was successfully used also in this paper: www.researchgate.net/publication/200578650;

On 2013 Dec 16, Andrew Davison commented:

Source code for the model described in this article is available at ModelDB with accession number 2730

On 2016 May 26, Jeff Kiefer commented:

It looks like DAVID has been updated May 2016 https://david-d.ncifcrf.gov/content.jsp?file=release.html.

On 2016 Mar 17, Jonathan Wren commented:

URL relocated to: https://david.ncifcrf.gov/

On 2015 May 07, Jeff Kiefer commented:

DAVID is continuously being used as evidenced by its numerous citations in current biomedical literature http://bit.ly/1FS1JgT. However, the data resources used by DAVID appear to not have been updated since 2009 http://david.abcc.ncifcrf.gov/helps/update.html. The fact that DAVID has not been updated going on 5 years calls into question the current utility of using this tool.

On 2017 Jan 24, Misha Koksharov commented:

A link to this discussion should be here: http://www.chris-anthony.co.uk/myresearch.html#pqqvit

On 2014 May 15, Andrea Messori commented:

Half-life of Factor VIII in patients with haemophilia A: comparison between B-domain deleted recombinant Factor VIII and full-length recombinant Factor VIII.

The study by Gruppo et al. [1] has described an analysis in which the half-life of Factor VIII was compared among plasma-derived concentrates , B-domain deleted recombinant products (BDD-rFVIII), and full-length recombinant products (FL-rFVIII). While the issue of the differences between plasma-derived concentrates and recombinant products has been debated in very numerous papers, the difference in the half-life between BDD-rFVIII and FL-rFVIII is a quite original finding, particularly because the authors conducted a pooled analysis based on a specific meta-analytical model (random-effect model). In their meta-analysis, however, Gruppo et al. [1] did not present any Forest plot; furthermore, some details were missing concerning the methods (e.g. the statistical software used for the analysis) and the results (e.g. the evaluation of heterogeneity). For this reason, we have re-analyzed the half-life data reported by Gruppo et al. [1] in their Table 3 and Figure 2 for BDD-rFVIII and FL-rFVIII. Our analysis was based on the Open Meta-analyst software (Open Meta-Analyst, version 4.16.12, Tufts University, url http://tuftscaes.org/open_meta/) and included the assessment of heterogeneity. The results of our re-analysis (study-specific and meta-analytic values of half-life with Forest plot and estimates of confidence intervals and heterogeneity) are available at the following Internet link: http://www.osservatorioinnovazione.net/papers/gruppo2003-reanalysis.pdf Our estimates of half-life for BDD-rFVIII and FL-rFVIII are nearly identical to those found by Gruppo et al.[1]. As expected, our results have also confirmed that the half-life of BDD-rFVIII is significantly shorter than that of FL-rFVIII

References

1. Gruppo RA, Brown D, Wilkes MM, Navickis RJ. Comparative effectiveness of full-length and B-domain deleted factor VIII for prophylaxis--a meta-analysis. Haemophilia. 2003 May;9(3):251-60.

On 2016 Feb 01, Morten Oksvold commented:

Please note that this article is 1 out of 15 publications for which an independent investigation initiated by the University of Copenhagen has found suspicion of scientific dishonesty. The conclusion from the report was published July 23, 2012:

http://news.ku.dk/all_news/2012/2012.8/indications_of_fraud_in_penkowas_early_research/

This articles should therefore not be cited.

On 2018 Jan 19, Natalie Clairoux commented:

Free version of this article available at http://hdl.handle.net/1866/19741

On 2017 Jun 06, Egon Willighagen commented:

A third paper about the CDK was published today in the J. Cheminform.: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13321-017-0220-4

On 2015 May 20, Egon Willighagen commented:

This paper was recently made gold Open Access (CC-BY): http://chem-bla-ics.blogspot.nl/2015/04/cc-by-with-acs-author-choice-cdk-and.html

On 2016 Mar 29, Jonathan Wren commented:

Relocated to: https://loinc.org/

On 2017 Aug 19, thomas samaras commented:

Forsen studied 165,000 military recruits and found that blood pressure increased with height. In addition, he found that birth weight correlated with height and weight at 18 years of age.

On 2016 Sep 23, Alexander Kraev commented:

http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/075671

On 2014 Jan 14, Alex Lancaster commented:

The link in the PubMed Central article is outdated, the current URL of the project is: http://www.pypop.org/

On 2015 Jun 02, thomas samaras commented:

Additional information on height and longevity is available from these publications.

Samaras TT. Evidence from eight different types of studies showing that smaller body size is related to greater longevity. Journal of Scientific Research & Reports. 2014: 3 (16): 2150-2160, 2014; article no. JSRR.2014.16.003.

Samaras TT. Human Scaling and Body Mass Index. In: Samaras TT (ed): Human Body Size and the Laws of Scaling: Physiological Performance, Growth, Longevity and Ecological Ramifications. New York: Nova Science Pub; 2007: pp 17-32.

He Q, Morris BJ, Grove JS, Petrovitch H, Ross W, Masaki KH, et al. Shorter men live longer: Association of height with longevity and FOXO3 genotype in American men of Japanese ancestry. Plos ONE 9(5): e94385. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0094385.

Salaris L, Poulain M, Samaras TT. Height and survival at older ages among men born in an inland village in Sardinia (Italy), 1866-2006. Biodemography and Social Biology, 58:1, 1-13.

Bartke A. Healthy Aging: Is Smaller better? A mini-review. Gerontology 2012; 58:337-43.

On 2016 Feb 01, Morten Oksvold commented:

Please note that this article is based on earlier research data by J. Sudbø, which again originate from data which has been shown to be manipulated and partly fabricated. An independent investigation at Oslo University Hospital concluded that this article should be retracted:

http://www.ous-research.no/general/?k=general%2Fnews_articles&aid=5473

(in Norwegian, please use link at the end of the article to get the full report)

This article should therefore not be cited.

On 2013 Nov 24, John Sotos commented:

The Journal‘s editorial oversight of Mack’s analysis of smallpox (1) was so flawed that the article should have been presented as medical history, not as a contribution to biodefense policy.

Mack describes “average” smallpox characteristics in naturally occurring outbreaks. This represents a best-case scenario. The next outbreak will not be natural, and it may not be average.

The Soviets, for example, weaponized a highly virulent variola strain (2) and treated their variola “with plastics and resins to increase its potency and longevity in the air” (3). Responsible policy cannot, therefore, assume that attacks will use an average strain and natural delivery of variola.

Mack’s suggestion that “the media should provide more information about the dangers of vaccination” is exactly opposite the true need. In the same issue, Blendon et al (4) report that 25% of Americans believe death is a “likely” outcome of smallpox vaccination. The Journal should have caught the contradiction, and should have used its bully pulpit with lay readers and journalists to provide reminders of the safety of vaccination in appropriate populations.

(1) Mack T. A different view of smallpox and vaccination. N Engl J Med 2003;348:460-3.

(2) Alibek K. Biohazard. New York: Dell Publishing, 1999. Page 112

(3) Statement for the Record by Richard Preston Before The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism & Government Information and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Chemical and Biological Weapons Threats to America: Are We Prepared? April 22, 1998. Available at: http://judiciary.senate.gov/oldsite/preston.htm

(4) Blendon RJ, DesRoches CM, Benson JM, Herrmann MJ, Taylor-Clark K, Weldon KJ. The public and the smallpox threat. N Engl J Med 2003;348:426-32.

On 2013 Nov 24, John Sotos commented:

Using a mortality-only model of smallpox vaccination policies, Bozzette et al (1) calculate that pre-emptively vaccinating the general population saves lives if the probability of a high-impact airport attack is greater than 0.01.

However, vaccine-related mortality generally occurs almost immediately, while vaccine-related protection fully lasts, it is thought, 3 to 5 years (2)(3). Thus, pre-emptive vaccination saves lives if the probability of attack is greater than 0.01 over 3 to 5 years, i.e. if the annual probability is 0.002 to 0.003 or higher. The 482 deaths predicted to result from a policy of pre-emptively vaccinating the population approximately equal the deaths from lightning strikes in the United States during a 5-year period (4).

Furthermore, although the attack scenarios used in the model were developed in consultation with experts, the evil ingenuity of some humans should not be underestimated. Attack plans targeting entire cities certainly exist (5). Prudent policy-making would, therefore, model an “Attack Scenario X” which is more lethal than the worst attack experts can publicly discuss.

These considerations make a policy of pre-attack population vaccination more attractive.

1. Bozzette SA, Boer R, Bhatnagar V, et al. A model for a smallpox-vaccination policy. New Engl J Med 2003;348:416-25.

2. http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/smallpox/overview/faq.asp, viewed on 9 Feb 2003.

3. Arita I. Duration of immunity after smallpox vaccination: a study on vaccination policy against smallpox bioterrorism in Japan. Jpn J Infect Dis 2002;55:112-6.

4. Lightning-Associated Injuries and Deaths Among Military Personnel — United States, 1998-2001. MMWR 2002;51:859-862.

5. Alibek K. Biohazard: The Chilling True Story of the Largest Covert Weapons Program in the World — Told from the Inside by the Man Who Ran It. New York: Delta, 2000; 21.

On 2014 Jul 24, DATTATRAY PAWAR commented:

An incorrect link has been provided for the full text. Kindly correct it. Regards.

On 2013 Dec 30, Tom Kindlon commented:

My response, published in BMJ USA, "The need for history (and epistemology) lessons"

My response, "The need for history (and epistemology) lessons", can be read at: http://www.bmj.com/rapid-response/2011/10/29/need-history-and-epistemology-lessons

A version of this was published in BMJ USA(1)

References:

[1]. Kindlon TP. The need for history (and epistemology) lessons. BMJ USA 01/2003; BMJ:E190-191. doi:10.1136/bmjusa.03020004

On 2013 Nov 10, GianCarlo Panzica commented:

The conclusions of this study have been partially corrected by the results of a following study (Pierman S, 2008), where we demonstrated that the administration of estradiol and dihydrotestosterone to adult ArKO males restored AVP-immunoreactivity in the lateral septum of ArKO males to levels observed in intact wild type males. Therefore the decrease of AVP immunoreactivity described in the present study is due to a lack of activational effects of estradiol, rather than to an organizational effect.

On 2016 Jan 06, S A Ostroumov commented:

In the top 25% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259402820; Article titled: Identification of a New Type of Ecological Hazard of Chemicals: Inhibition of Processes of Ecological Remediation. DOI 10.1023/A:1019929305267; www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12469618; http://www.altmetric.com/details/3052799

On 2015 Dec 03, S A Ostroumov commented:

Full text of this article is available, online free: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259402820

On 2015 Dec 03, S A Ostroumov commented:

ABSTRACT: Identification of a New Type of Ecological Hazard of Chemicals: Inhibition of Processes of Ecological Remediation. - Doklady Biological Sciences, Vol. 385, 2002, pp. 377–379. Translated from Doklady Akademii Nauk, Vol. 385, No. 4, 2002, pp. 571–573. The author (Moscow University) discovered and quantitatively characterized a new type of ecological hazard of chemical pollution of water, which involves inhibition of important processes of ecological remediation of ecosystems (water filtration by aquatic bivalves). Experiments were performed using mollusks (oysters), Crassostrea gigas Thunberg, and a cell suspension in the seawater. The cell suspension was a model of suspended matter in aquatic ecosystem; this species of one-cell organisms was taken just for convenience, as a model of suspended particles. The laundry detergent Lanza-Automat inhibited water filtration by oysters (Crassostrea gigas). As a result, the removal of the suspended particles from water was inhibited. This demonstrated a new type of ecological hazard caused by water pollution with chemical pollutants at sublethal concentrations. This hazard is associated with the fact that chemical pollution of water causes inhibition of the physiological activity of filter-feeders, thereby inhibiting the important ecological processes of water filtration. These ecological processes contribute significantly to improving water quality, water purification and the related remediation of aquatic ecosystems (their ecological repair).

On 2014 Nov 24, Ivan Oransky commented:

The first author of this paper has agreed to retract it and five others following a finding of misconduct by the Office of Research Integrity: http://retractionwatch.com/2014/11/20/former-vanderbilt-scientist-faked-nearly-70-images-will-retract-6-papers-ori/

On 2016 Feb 19, E M Martínez-Cáceres commented:

In the light of the recent PubMed comment by Morten Oksvold, the referenced research study was performed entirely in our research centre by the research team led by Dr. Martínez-Cáceres at the time with Dr. Espejo as predoctoral researcher. Hence, the EAE in vivo experiments were performed in Barcelona with no involvement from Dr. Penkowa, who was engaged as an expert histopathologist. Dr. Penkowa received processed and encoded samples with which she performed some of the histopathological studies. The results were returned to us for overall analysis and submission for publication. It was agreed that Dr. Penkowa would be co-author of the published work.

On 2016 Feb 01, Morten Oksvold commented:

Please note that this article is 1 out of 15 publications for which an independent investigation initiated by the University of Copenhagen has found suspicion of scientific dishonesty. The conclusion from the report was published July 23, 2012:

http://news.ku.dk/all_news/2012/2012.8/indications_of_fraud_in_penkowas_early_research/

This articles should therefore not be cited.

On 2014 Oct 30, induprabha yadev commented:

the only one prospective study included in the recent systematic review by Goh et all

On 2013 Oct 21, Gary Ward commented:

This is a seminal paper in the field, for two reasons:

1) It reported the development of a new, Tet-transactivator-based system for controlling gene expression in T. gondii. This system has since been widely adopted as a way to make conditional knockout parasites and is particularly useful for studying the function of essential genes in this haploid organism. For a powerful extension of this system based on promoter replacement, see Sheiner et al PLOS Pathogens 7 (2011) e1002392.

2) In the first application of the new system, the authors demonstrated directly the importance of the parasite’s Class XIV myosin, TgMyoA, for gliding motility, host cell invasion and host cell egress. This observation led to a great deal of subsequent work on the myosin motor complex and its role in the biology of T. gondii and other apicomplexan parasites.

Posted by Gary Ward on behalf of the University of Vermont Toxoplasma Journal Club (UVM ToxoJC); members include Jenna Foderaro, Anne Kelson, Shruthi Krishnamurthy, Jacqueline Leung, Pramod Rompikuntal, Luke Tilley & Gary Ward

On 2014 Aug 01, Amanda Capes-Davis commented:

Please be aware that this article has been retracted. Cell line TEC61 is not a thyroid cell line; it is actually JEG3, which is a choriocarcinoma cell line. Many thanks to the authors for providing this information.

On 2014 Dec 10, Kath Wright commented:

Other search filters are available from the InterTASC Information Specialists' Sub-Group Search Filter Resource at https://sites.google.com/a/york.ac.uk/issg-search-filters-resource/home

On 2016 Nov 07, David Juurlink commented:

The primary outcome reported in this study differs considerably from the originally intended outcome. Readers are directed to our Cochrane Review Buckley NA, 2011 and an earlier related review Buckley NA, 2005 for details.

On 2013 Dec 28, Måns Magnusson commented:

Probably similar to post saccadic oscillations

On 2017 May 10, Misha Koksharov commented:

Could a Neuroscientist Understand a Microprocessor? http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/05/26/055624 - Jonas E, 2017 (This one also has several other interesting references, e.g. Marom S, 2009, Brown JW, 2014)

And another one to the collection: "Can a Systems Biologist Fix a Tamagotchi?"

On 2017 May 09, Sophien Kamoun commented:

Can a biologist fix a smartphone? https://bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12915-017-0378-2

On 2015 Mar 03, Ivan Oransky commented:

The journal has issued an Expression of Concern: http://retractionwatch.com/2015/03/03/heart-journal-issues-expression-of-concern-after-fraud-report/

On 2014 Nov 24, Ivan Oransky commented:

The fourth author of this paper has agreed to retract it and five others following a finding of misconduct by the Office of Research Integrity: http://retractionwatch.com/2014/11/20/former-vanderbilt-scientist-faked-nearly-70-images-will-retract-6-papers-ori/

On 2015 Jun 02, thomas samaras commented:

Additional information on height, CHD, and longevity is available from these recent publications.

Samaras TT. Shorter height is related to lower cardiovascular disease risk—A narrative review. Indian Heart Journal 2013; 65: 66-71.

Samaras, TT. Is short height really a risk factor for coronary heart disease and stroke mortality? A review. Med Sci Monit 2004; 10(4): RA63-76.

Samaras TT. Evidence from eight different types of studies showing that smaller body size is related to greater longevity. Journal of Scientific Research & Reports. 2014: 3 (16): 2150-2160, 2014; article no. JSRR.2014.16.003.

Samaras TT. Human Scaling and Body Mass Index. In: Samaras TT (ed): Human Body Size and the Laws of Scaling: Physiological Performance, Growth, Longevity and Ecological Ramifications. New York: Nova Science Pub; 2007: pp 17-32.

He Q, Morris BJ, Grove JS, Petrovitch H, Ross W, Masaki KH, et al. Shorter men live longer: Association of height with longevity and FOXO3 genotype in American men of Japanese ancestry. Plos ONE 9(5): e94385. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0094385.

Salaris L, Poulain M, Samaras TT. Height and survival at older ages among men born in an inland village in Sardinia (Italy), 1866-2006. Biodemography and Social Biology, 58:1, 1-13.

Bartke A. Healthy Aging: Is Smaller better? A mini-review. Gerontology 2012; 58:337-43.

On 2015 Jun 02, thomas samaras commented:

None

On 2014 Feb 12, Diana Frame commented:

A note for researchers, MESH indexing terms on this article erroneously tag it as non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). It should be under Small Cell Lung Carcinoma[MeSH].

On 2014 Jun 02, Pedro Reche commented:

RANKPEP is now available at: http://imed.med.ucm.es/Tools/rankpep.html

On 2015 Jul 07, Bill Cayley commented:

A good example of when "less" is "more" - https://lessismoreebm.wordpress.com/2015/05/11/suturing-versus-conservative-management-of-lacerations-of-the-hand-randomised-controlled-trial/

On 2015 Oct 12, James Tsung commented:

Link to video: https://youtu.be/qocmUqu8Rqs

On 2015 May 15, Christopher Southan commented:

Full text http://figshare.com/articles/Proteomic_approaches_to_central_nervous_system_disorders/1415926

On 2017 Sep 09, Michael Allen commented:

The equations for disease impact number (DIN) and population impact number (PIN) are confusing according to the following examples in which the proportion with the diseased exposed to the treatment and the proportion of the population with the disease are both 0.1

In example 1 NNT=100; DIN=1000; PIN=10000 In example 2 NNT=10; DIN=100; PIN=1000

In these examples the only difference is the NNT (100 in example 1; 10 in example 2). A smaller NNT indicates a larger effect.

However changing the NNT from 100 to 10 leads to a smaller DIN and PIN indicating a smaller effect.

I have checked the way I calculated DIN and PIN against the authors' examples and they are correct.

It seems the authors' equations for the DIN and PIN may be incorrect. Or am I missing something?

On 2014 Dec 10, Kath Wright commented:

Other search filters are available from the InterTASC Information Specialists' Sub-Group Search Filter Resource at https://sites.google.com/a/york.ac.uk/issg-search-filters-resource/home

On 2015 Mar 29, Harri Hemila commented:

English translation is available at: http://www.mv.helsinki.fi/home/hemila/T10.pdf

On 2014 Apr 02, Vinay Gopalani commented:

this is not a free article

On 2013 Oct 21, Hilda Bastian commented:

The two ongoing studies discussed in this review have since been published. They are Ishikawa H, 2005 and Burn J, 2011, as discussed in this blog post.

On 2013 Oct 21, Hilda Bastian commented:

The predominant weight for safety concerns about single-session debriefing in this systematic review are carried by a single trial, at high risk of bias. See discussion in my comment here: Bisson JI, 1997. The method of imputation of adverse events in this trial does not appear to be described in this review.

A critical quality assessment of that trial was in part made by a systematic review author who was also an author of the trial. A more recent systematic review conducted by others (Gartlehner G, 2013), found the evidence on this intervention to be generally weak. There is further discussion in this blog post.

On 2015 Aug 31, Steve Alexander commented:

This article was retracted in 2005 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006291X05011563

On 2016 Jan 06, S A Ostroumov commented:

In the top 25% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259579921 DOI: 10.1023/A:1015398125876; PMID: 12053567 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]; www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12053567;

http://www.altmetric.com/details/3046537

On 2015 Dec 03, S A Ostroumov commented:

ABSTRACT: System of principles for conservation of the biogeocenotic function and the biodiversity of filter-feeders.- Doklady Biological Sciences. 2002. Vol. 383: 147-150. Bibliogr. 15 refs. ISSN 0012-4966 (Print) 1608-3105 (Online). Distributed by Springer, orderdept@springer-sbm.com. ** Text of the ABSTRACT: As a result of the author’s studies of filter-feeders (previous publications in Russian: Doklady akademii nauk [DAN], 1998, Vol. 362, P. 574-576; Doklady akademii nauk [DAN], 2001, Vol. 378, P. 283-285), it is clear that the filtering activity of populations of filter-feeders in natural habitats might be significantly reduced if the concentrations of some pollutants reach certain levels. The role of filter-feeders as factors of water purification in ecosystems is so important that their inhibition is a danger for the entire ecosystem. The author emphasizes that not only the biodiversity of filter-feeders but also their level of functional (filtration) activity is to be protected. In order to do so, the author suggested establishing a new type of protected areas whose main purpose is to protect functionally active populations of filter-feeders, including bivalves and other organisms. Those protected areas could be named hydrobiological (some variants: biofiltering, or malacological) reserves (some variants: refuges, sanctuaries, etc.). The author formulated 5 principles of nature conservation requirements in malacological and hydrobiological reserves (Tabl. 3). Among them is principle 2, "conservation of filtration activity of organisms and populations". The paper contains data on how 5 detergents (1-50 mg/L) inhibited the filtration activity of Unio tumidus, Mytilus galloprovincialis, Crassostrea gigas (Tabl. 2); on effects on the efficiency of elimination (EEE) of suspended matter from water were measured (Tabl. 2); on the number of days (0.3 – 10) needed to filter the volume of aquatic (freshwater and marine) ecosystem by the local bivalves (a review of data from literature) (Tabl. 1). "I suggest that the existing system of protected terrestrial and water areas should be supplemented with special sites intended to conserve populations of filter-feeders. In addition to biodiversity conservation, these populations should be conserved because they fulfill a very important biogeocenotic function of water filtration and purification" (p.149). "The system of five principles…is proposed to provide an ecological basis of the environment conservation conditions at these sites (malacological and hydrobiological reserves)" (p.149).]. DOI 10.1023/A:1015398125876; www.springerlink.com/index/1MNVLNAYW36TC92R.pdf

On 2015 Dec 03, S A Ostroumov commented:

Full text, free, available online: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259579921

On 2016 Jan 12, S A Ostroumov commented:

This article has also its Russian version, published in the journal of Russian Academy of Sciences. The Russian version of this article is cited here: Rozenberg G.S. Idealizing object and fundamental notions of the modern ecology (with examples from vegetation ecology). ПОВОЛЖСКИЙ ЭКОЛОГИЧЕСКИЙ ЖУРНАЛ. 2002. № 3. С. 246 – 256.

On 2016 Jan 12, S A Ostroumov commented:

DOI: 10.1023/a:1015393924967

On 2016 Jan 12, S A Ostroumov commented:

In the top 25% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric

On 2016 Jan 12, S A Ostroumov commented:

Citation of this article, in Chile: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277720835_La_transformacion_del_paisaje_rural-urbano_y_su_efecto_sobre_los_servicios_ecosistemicos_en_una_microcuenca_de_Santiago_Chile

On 2016 Jan 12, S A Ostroumov commented:

At World Catalog, the paper was reviewed and rated as excellent.

On 2015 Dec 14, S A Ostroumov commented:

Full text of a review (with favorable evaluation) of this paper: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286865472

On 2015 Dec 12, S A Ostroumov commented:

Review (favorable) of this article was published. See: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286625953

On 2015 Dec 03, S A Ostroumov commented:

Full text of this article, free, is available online: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/200577836

On 2015 Dec 03, S A Ostroumov commented:

ABSTRACT: Ostroumov S.A. New definitions of the concepts and terms ecosystem and biogeocenosis. - Doklady Biological Sciences, 2002, Volume 383, p. 141-143. [MAIK Nauka/Interperiodica distributed by Springer Science+Business Media LLC. ISSN 0012-4966 (Print) 1608-3105 (Online)]. In 1935, the term 'ecosystem' was coined by Prof.A. Tansley. In the 1940s, another important term 'biogeocoenosis' was introduced by Prof. V. N. Sukachev. Since that time, a significant amount of new facts was accumulated in ecology. It is necessary to revisit the formulation of the basic concepts and terms in ecology, including the two terms mentioned above. The author proposed some new variants of the definition of the two terms that (1) reflect the modern understanding of the basics of ecology; and (2) avoid the vicious circle of using other terms that in turn request their definitions. The author realizes that the new variants of the terms cannot be ideal and some other variants of the definitions are also possible. 5 specific features of the proposed definition of ecosystem (Table 1). 8 specific features of the proposed definition of biogeocenosis, and 8 distinctions between the proposed definition and the classical definition by V.N.Sukachev (Table 2)].

On 2015 Dec 03, S A Ostroumov commented: