Body Counting Research Articles

Therapeutic effects of ciprofloxacin/bushenhuazhuo combination on chronic prostatitis

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical effect of bushenhuazhuo (a Chinese traditional medicine) in combination with ciprofloxacin (an orthodox medicine) in chronic prostatitis (CP) therapy.Methods: A total of 160 patients who suffered from CP and received treatment in the People’s Hospital of Zhengzhou between April 2012 and June 2014 were selected and divided randomly into treatment and control groups, with 80 patients in each group. Control group was given 0.25 g ciprofloxacin hydrochloride tablets twice a day for 4 weeks. In addition to ciprofloxacin administration, patients in the treatment group also received a dose of bushenhuazhuo preparation twice daily for 4 weeks. Clinical outcomes, quality of life as well as lecithin body and white blood cell (WBC) count in expressed prostatic secretions (EPS-WBC) were evaluated.Results: Cure rates in the treatment and control groups were 90 and 72.50 %, respectively; this difference was significant (p < 0.05). Scores for National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI), WBC, and lecithin bodies in the treatment group (8.20 ± 2.20 points, 4.50 ± 1.20 points, and 28.10 ± 2.10 points, respectively) were higher (p < 0.05) than for the control group (12.20 ± 2.20, 6.30 ± 2.20, and 23.30 ± 2.90 points, respectively). The levels of interferon (IFN)-γ and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α in the treatment group (26.20 ± 3.30 and 33.80 ± 5.40 mg/L, respectively) were lower than those in the control group (37.70 ± 3.90 and 48.40 ± 3.70 mg/L, respectively), whereas the level of interleukin (IL)-10 in the treatment group (292.60 ± 23.70 mg/L) was higher (p < 0.05) than that in control group (235.80 ± 25.90 mg/L).Conclusion: Ciprofloxacin combined with the Chinese traditional medicine, bushenhuazhuo preparation, demonstrates a marked therapeutic effect in CP. Its mechanism of action may be related to decreased levels of IFN-γ and TNF-α and increased IL-10.Keywords: Bushenhuazhuo, Interferon – γ, Ciprofloxacin, Chronic prostatitis symptom index

Claudia Card's Concept of Social Death: A New Way of Looking at Genocide

AbstractScholarship in the multidisciplinary field of genocide studies often emphasizes body counts and the number of biological deaths as a way of measuring and comparing the severity and scope of individual genocides. The prevalence of this way of framing genocide is problematic insofar it risks marginalizing the voices and experiences of victims who may not succumb to biological death but nevertheless suffer the loss of family members and other loved ones, and suffer the destruction of relationships, as well as the foundational institutions that give rise to and sustain those relationships. The concept of social death, which Claudia Card offers as the central evil of genocide, marks a radical shift in conceptualizing genocide and provides space for recovering the marginalized voices of many who suffer the evils of genocide but do not suffer biological death. Here her concept of social death is explored, defended, and criticized.

Chornobyl 30 years later: Radiation, pregnancies, and developmental anomalies in Rivne, Ukraine

In the 30 years since the Chornobyl nuclear power plant disaster, there is evidence of persistent levels of incorporated ionizing radiation in adults, children and pregnant women in the surrounding area. Measured levels of Cesium-137 vary by region, and may be influenced by dietary and water sources as well as proximity to nuclear power plants. Since 2000, comprehensive, population-based birth defects monitoring has been performed in selected regions of Ukraine to evaluate trends and to generate hypotheses regarding potential causes of unexplained variations in defect rates. Significantly higher rates of microcephaly, neural tube defects, and microphthalmia have been identified in selected regions of Ukraine collectively known as Polissia compared to adjacent regions collectively termed non-Polissia, and these significantly higher rates were evident particularly in the years 2000–2009. The Polissia regions have also demonstrated higher mean whole body counts of Cesium-137 compared to values in individuals residing in other non-Polissia regions. The potential causal relationship between persistent ionizing radiation pollution and selected congenital anomaly rates supports the need for a more thorough, targeted investigation of the sources of persistent ionizing radiation and the biological plausibility of a potential teratogenic effect.

Fine‐scale spatiotemporal dynamics of fungal fruiting: prevalence, amplitude, range and continuity

Despite the critical importance of fungi as symbionts with plants, resources for animals, and drivers of ecosystem function, the spatiotemporal distributions of fungi remain poorly understood. The belowground life cycle of fungi makes it difficult to assess spatial patterns and dynamic processes even with recent molecular techniques. Here we offer an explicit spatiotemporal Bayesian inference of the drivers behind spatial distributions from investigation of a Swiss inventory of fungal fruit bodies. The unique inventory includes three temperate forest sites in which a total of 73 952 fungal fruit bodies were recorded systematically in a spatially explicit design between 1992 and 2006.Our motivation is to understand how broad‐scale climate factors may influence spatiotemporal dynamics of fungal fruiting within forests, and if any such effects vary between two functional groups, ectomycorrhizal (ECM) and saprotrophic fungi. For both groups we asked: 1) how consistent are the locations of fruiting patches, the sizes of patches, the quantities of fruit bodies, and of prevalence (occupancy)? 2) Do the annual spatial characteristics of fungal fruiting change systematically over time? 3) Are spatial characteristics of fungal fruiting driven by climatic variation?We found high inter‐annual continuity in fruiting for both functional groups. The saprotrophic species were characterised by small patches with variable fruit body counts. In contrast, ECM species were present in larger, but more distinctly delimited patches. The spatial characteristics of the fungal community were only indirectly influenced by climate. However, climate variability influenced overall yields and prevalence, which again links to spatial structure of fruit bodies. Both yield and prevalence were correlated with the amplitudes of occurrence and of fruit body counts, but only prevalence influenced the spatial range. Summarizing, climatic variability affects forest‐stand fungal distributions via its influence on yield (amount) and prevalence (occupancy), whereas fungal life‐history strategies dictate fine‐scale spatial characteristics.

A study of assorted data on suicide bombings in Pakistan

Suicide terrorism is one of the most dreadful challenges for Pakistan as the country has been the primary and most frequent target of suicide terrorism in the world during recent years. Pakistan had two major sources of data on suicide bombings and related terrorism activities, the Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies and the Pakistan Body Count; however, these sources lacked comprehensive databases on these incidents and related news. The most reliable sources of information have been international data providers such as the Chicago Project on Security and Terrorism, the Global Terrorism Database Portal, and others. Recently, the Pakistan Body Count launched an improved version of its database with several new variables, updated information records, and error corrections. This study analyzes the datasets available from international organizations, the Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies, and the Pakistan Body Count and the variables recorded in them. It explains the benefits of the Pakistan Body Count data over other similar efforts, elaborates on the data collection methodology, provides a glimpse of possible analytics that can be performed using the updated dataset, and identifies areas of further improvement for this database.

Reconstruction of Internal and External Exposures of Fukushima Residents.

After the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident, the internal and external exposures of the residents have been very important issues and concerns. Fukushima prefectural government and Fukushima medical university have been performing the Fukushima Health Management Survey, and the external exposures of the residents have been estimated in the survey by using NIRS external dose estimation system. The doses of 66.3% residents were >1 mSv, and 94.8 % were >2 mSv. For estimating internal exposures of the residents, thyroid measurements, whole body counter measurements and simulation have been applied. These three approach estimations showed that the 90 percentile of thyroid equivalent doses were 10-30 mSv for 1-year-old baby and were 10-20 mSv or less for adults.

Team Training in the Perioperative Arena: A Methodology for Implementation and Auditing Behavior.

Preventable medical errors in the operating room are most often caused by ineffective communication and suboptimal team dynamics. TeamSTEPPS is a government-funded, evidence-based program that provides tools and education to improve teamwork in medicine. The study hospital implemented TeamSTEPPS in the operating room and merged the program with a surgical safety checklist. Audits were performed to collect both quantitative and qualitative information on time out (brief) and debrief conversations, using a standardized audit tool. A total of 1610 audits over 6 months were performed by live auditors. Performance was sustained at desired levels or improved for all qualitative metrics using χ2 and linear regression analyses. Additionally, the absolute number of wrong site/side/person surgery and unintentionally retained foreign body counts decreased after TeamSTEPPS implementation.

EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL EXPOSURE TO FUKUSHIMA RESIDENTS.

The Great East Japan Earthquake of 11 March 2011, caused the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident, which resulted in the release of a large amount of radioactive materials into the environment, and there is a serious concern about the radiation effects on the health of residents living in the affected areas. The evaluation of exposure dose is fundamental for the estimation of health effects, and whenever possible, the exposure dose should be evaluated by actual measurements as opposed to estimations. Here,the outline of the exposure doses of residents estimated from surveys or obtained by measurements is described. Fukushima Health Management Survey reported the results for 460 408 residents during the first 4 months after the accident; 66.3% received doses <1 mSv, 94.9% received <2 mSv, 99.7% received <5 mSv and the maximum dose was 25 mSv. Thus, it was demonstrated that the results from personal dosemeter measurements were comparable to the estimations. The dose assessment of internal exposure of 184 205 residents conducted by Fukushima Prefecture by using whole body counter showed that 99.986% received<1 mSv, with the maximum dose being 3 mSv. Regarding exposure of the thyroid, there is not enough data for the Fukushima accident, but it is presumed that thyroid doses are much lower than those from Chernobyl. The outline of exposure doses of residents in result of the accident is still being clarified, questions and uncertainties in dose assessment remain and further efforts for more accurate dosimetry are required continuously.

Review: Body Counts: The Vietnam War and Militarized Refuge(es) by Yến Lê Espiritu

Review: Body Counts: The Vietnam War and Militarized Refuge(es) by Yến Lê Espiritu

Practical Whole Body Counter Training for Integrated Learning in Radiation Education

This article was migrated. The article was not marked as recommended. Radiation education for medical students, especially in the field of human radiation effects and its protection for public health, was one of the issues of social concern in Japan after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident. After the incident, it was felt that all physicians should be required to have an understanding of the fundamentals of radiation sciences; however, the education traditionally given was insufficient and did not address the publics' anxieties of the health effects from radioactive materials in and around the affected areas of the accident. In an attempt to address this problem, practical training of a whole body counter was conducted on a trial basis at an elective course for first year medical students. This program was intended to instruct them in four new subjects: radiation measurement of the human body, physiological kinetics of radioactive materials, understanding a subject's anxiety in respect to their contamination by radioactive materials and how to get a medical and personal history from a subject for assessing the cause of internal contamination. This practical training of the whole body counter may have the potential to be one of the education methods of teaching basic radiation sciences for medical students.

Before the Body Count: Homicide Statistics and Everyday Security in Latin America

AbstractHomicide statistics are a widely accepted metric of security and democracy. This article argues for a focus on how bodies come or do not come to be counted – of what happens before states enumerate. The experience of São Paulo relates that how many people die and how many do not is connected to the governance of an organised crime group known as the PCC. The punishment practices of the PCC and groups like it throughout Latin America reshape the lived paradigm of governance over life and death, albeit in concealed ways. Statistics are produced by and are productive of a de jure state, different from the state de facto. The acceptance of state-made homicide figures, whether for analysis, visualisation or political claims, is consequential for the future of lived security and social science knowledge production.

Comments on the 2014 Helsinki Consensus Report on Asbestos

BackgroundThe Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH) convened an Expert Committee in 2014 to update the 1997 and 2000 Helsinki criteria on asbestos, asbestosis, and cancer. MethodsThe Collegium Ramazzini reviewed the criteria for pathological diagnosis of the diseases caused by asbestos presented in the 2014 Helsinki Consensus Report and compared them with the widely used diagnostic criteria developed in 1982 by the College of American Pathologists and the National Institutes of Occupational Safety and Health (CAP-NIOSH). FindingsThe sections of the Helsinki Consensus Report dealing with pathological diagnosis are based on a biased and selective reading of the scientific literature. They are heavily influenced by the outdated and incorrect concept that analysis of lung tissue for asbestos bodies and asbestos fibers can provide accurate information on past exposure to asbestos. Five specific problems are : 1.Over-reliance on the detection of “asbestos bodies” as indicators of past exposure to asbestos.2.Over-reliance on asbestos fiber counts in lung tissue as an indicator of past exposure to asbestos.3.Use of the scanning electron microscope (SEM) at low magnification as a tool for evaluation of asbestos-related disease.4.Failure to recognize that chrysotile is the predominant type of asbestos fiber found in pleural mesothelioma tissue.5.Postulating the existence of a threshold for development of an asbestos-related lung cancer. ConclusionAccurate diagnosis of the diseases caused by asbestos must be based on a carefully obtained history of occupational exposure. An accurate exposure history is a far more sensitive and specific indicator of asbestos exposure than asbestos body counting or lung fiber burden analysis. Ethical noteThe sections of the 2014 Helsinki Consensus Report on asbestos, asbestosis, and cancer dealing with pathologic diagnosis of the diseases caused by asbestos appear to have been influenced by members of the Expert Committee with undisclosed financial conflicts of interest.

Crypt apoptotic body counts in normal ileal biopsies overlap with graft-versus-host disease and acute cellular rejection of small bowel allografts

Crypt apoptosis in intestinal epithelium is an important diagnostic feature of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and acute cellular rejection (ACR) of intestinal transplants (ITx). In ITx pathology, 2 or fewer apoptotic bodies in 10 consecutive crypts are considered normal, whereas 6 or more is consistent with mild ACR. The presence of 3 to 5 apoptotic bodies is problematic and is often classified as indeterminate for ACR. The minimum diagnostic threshold for GVHD is controversial but also depends on the apoptotic body count (ABC). We investigated how many crypt apoptotic bodies could be identified in histologically normal ileal biopsies from healthy subjects (native intestines, no bone marrow transplant) who underwent screening colonoscopy and had ileal biopsy to confirm complete colonoscopy. We recorded the number of biopsy pieces per specimen and the maximum ABC in 10 consecutive crypts. Twenty-six of 40 patients (65%) had an ABC of 3 or more in 10 crypts, thus only 35% were "normal." Four (10%) had an ABC of ≥6 (positive for ACR). Twenty-two (55%) had 3-5 (indefinite for ACR). Depending on the criteria, up to 60% of the cases could be diagnosed as positive for GVHD.

Collegium Ramazzini: Comments on the 2014 Helsinki consensus report on asbestos.

Collegium Ramazzini: Comments on the 2014 Helsinki consensus report on asbestos.

Asbestos content of lung tissue in patients with malignant peritoneal mesothelioma: A study of 42 cases

ABSTRACTLung tissue from 42 peritoneal mesothelioma cases was analyzed by light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectrometry. There were 34 men and 8 women with a mean age of 61 ± 10 years. Also, 17% of cases had histologically confirmed asbestosis, and 26% had only parietal pleural plaques. The asbestos body count exceeded our normal range in 22 of 42 cases (52%). Cases with asbestos-related pulmonary disease had higher fiber burdens than those without. The vast majority of fibers were commercial amphiboles (amosite with lesser amounts of crocidolite). These findings concur with previously published epidemiological observations.

Body Potassium Content and Radiation Dose from 40K for the Urals Population (Russia).

Long-term whole-body monitoring of radionuclides in residents of the Urals Region has been performed at the Urals Research Center for Radiation Medicine (URCRM, Chelyabinsk). Quantification of 40K was achieved by measuring the 40K photopeak with four phoswich detectors in whole body counter SICH-9.1M. The current study presents the results of 40K measurements in 3,651 women and 1,961 t-test; U-test men aged 11–90; measurements were performed in 2006–2014. The residents belonged to two ethnic groups, Turkic (Tatar, Bashkir) and Slavs (mainly Russian). The levels of 40K-body contents depend upon gender, age, and body mass. Significant ethnic-differences were not found in 40K-body contents and 40K concentrations in terms of Bq per kg of body weight (in groups homogenous by age and gender). Both 40K-body contents and concentrations were significantly higher in men than in women in all age-groups; the difference was about 25%. The measured 40K-body content in men of 20–50 years was about 4200 Bq (134 g of K) and about 3000 Bq (95 g of K) in women. By the age of 80 these values decreased to 3200 Bq (102 g of K) in men and 2500 Bq (80 g of K) in women. Annual dose rates were maximal in the age group of 20–30 years– 0.16 mGy/y for men and 0.13 mGy/y for women. Further, the dose-rates decreased with age and in the groups of 60–80 years were 0.13 mGy/y for men and 0.10 mGy/y for women. Within groups homogeneous by age and gender, individual dose rates are described by a normal statistical distribution. The coefficient of variation ranges from 9 to 14%, and on the average is 12.5%. Doses from naturally occurring 40K accumulated over 70 years were found to be 9.9 mGy for men and 8.3 mGy for women; over 90 years - 12.5 and 10.4 mGy.

English

This study was conducted to determine tick burden and immunological parameters of resistance to East Coast fever (ECF) in Tarime and Sukuma cattle. Tick load, packed cell volume (PCV), Theileria parva (T. parva)&nbsp; specific antibody percent positivity (PP), and prevalence of T. parva parasites were studied in relation to dipping regime, strains, and season. A total of 50 experimental cattle were included in this study. Tick load was determined by whole body counts, antibody percent positivity was determined by the polymorphic immunodominant molecule (PIM)-based T. parva enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and prevalence of T. parva parasites was detected by a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based on the p104 gene. Dipping frequency on tick burden showed no statistically significant differences when cattle of either strain were dipped either once every 2 or 3 weeks in the dry and wet seasons. However, Tarime cattle had higher (p&lt;0.05) tick count than Sukuma cattle and non dipped groups maintained high tick infestation throughout the experimental period. The PCV values were within the physiological range, although this parameter was lower in Tarime cattle (p&lt;0.05). All cattle regardless of strain were seropositive, although Tarime cattle maintained higher PP compared to Sukuma by 15%. Conversely, the prevalence of T. parva parasites was lower in Tarime (38%) compared to Sukuma cattle (38.5%), but the difference was not significant (p&gt;0.05). During the study period, 20% (5/25) of Sukuma cattle contracted ECF, but none of the Tarime cattle showed clinical signs for the disease. The differences between the two strains shown in terms of PP and T. parva parasite prevalence may indicate the ability of individual cattle to resist tick infestation and ECF infection under natural challenge. Higher antibody levels but lower parasite prevalence attained by Tarime cattle, suggests inherent ability of Tarime cattle to resist clinical development of ECF infection, but to remain as T. parva carriers. Key words: Carrier state, Theileria parva, ticks, seropositivity.

Thirteen Women (1932): An Unacknowledged Horror Classic

although david archainbaud's Thirteen (1932) has earned brief mention several compendia of films, it has never received extended analysis. In insightful review of the DVD, which was released as part of the Warner Archive Collection 2012, John Beifuss notes that Thirteen is exactly a film, yet he goes on to map its numerous horror themes, drawing a line from Archainbaud's film to both Friday the 13th (Sean S. Cunningham, 1980) and the Final Destination franchise (2000-11).1 We argue that despite Beifuss's hedging, Thirteen is fact a film. Released just one year after Tod Browning's Dracula (1931) and James Whale's Frankenstein (1931), it incorporates important themes of 1930s horror, even as it introduces a quite human monster and anticipates the insecure paranoid that by all accounts did not emerge until the late 1960s.2 While this article stakes a claim, then, for the place of Thirteen within the tradition-indeed, for its shaping of that tradition-it argues that the film was ahead of its time, partaking as much of post-1960s as of classic horror.Based on the best-selling novel by Tiffany Thayer, Thirteen was produced by David O. Selznick for R. K. O. Radio Pictures and was released September 1932. Like so many subsequent films, Thirteen features a vengeful killer stalking members of a sorority, all of whom attended St. Albans Seminary northern California.3 Several years after graduation, the women start sending round robin letters to keep touch with each other, and after one of them mentions the famous astrologer Swami Yogadachi (C. Henry Gordon), they all write to him for their horoscopes. Unbeknownst to the women, however, the swami is under the influence of their former classmate, the half-Hindu Ursula Georgi (Myrna Loy). Ursula rewrites the swami's horoscopes order to exact her revenge on the sisters who had, while they were school, denied her access to the protections of the white world. Substituting her own predictions for those of the swami, Ursula wields the power of suggestion to lead trapeze artist June Raskob to drop her sister, May, during their circus act, causing May's death and June's insanity; she drives Hazel Cousins to stab her husband; she coerces Helen Frye to shoot herself; and she compels the swami to throw himself under a train. Ursula meets her match the former president of the Kappas and the most rational of the women, Laura Stanhope (Irene Dunne), who enlists the police her efforts to thwart Ursula's prediction that her son Bobby will die before his next birthday. Ursula's efforts to kill Bobby get more desperate (escalating to the unlikely heights of a rubber ball with dynamite it) as she draws Laura's chauffeur, Burns (Edward Pawley), into her plan. After her final confrontation with Laura on a train, however, and faced with the police and no way out, Ursula realizes that her reign of terror is over, and she throws herself onto the tracks.Thirteen was not called a film upon its release 1932, but as David Skal writes, the term horror movie was in many ways invention of 1931, the year Dracula and Frankenstein were released (144). Even those two iconic films were most frequently described as melodramas by contemporary reviewers, as were The Mummy (Karl Freund, 1932) and Dracula's Daughter (Lambert Hillyer, 1936) (Weaver, Brunas, and Brunas 33, 47, 72; Berenstein 11), so it is notable that reviews of Thirteen (unfortunately sparse) suggest that something a little darker than melodrama was unfolding.4 Variety called it a butcher shop drama, presumably highlighting the high body count (Thirteen Women 15). The New York Times noted that the film bends under an uncommonly violent assortment of murders and suicides, commenting, It is without laughter, that is too awful to be modish, and pointing to uncomfortable absence of hearty male chatter this demoniacal intrigue (Another Murder Mystery 13). …

Calculation of Blood Dose in Patients Treated With 131I Using MIRD, Imaging, and Blood Sampling Methods.

Radioiodine therapy is known as the most effective treatment of differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) to ablate remnant thyroid tissue after surgery. In patients with DTC treated with radioiodine, internal radiation dosimetry of radioiodine is useful for radiation risk assessment. The aim of this study is to describe a method to estimate the absorbed dose to the blood using medical internal radiation dosimetry methods.In this study, 23 patients with DTC with different administrated activities, 3.7, 4.62, and 5.55 GBq after thyroidectomy, were randomly selected. Blood dosimetry of treated patients was performed with external whole body counting using a dual-head gamma camera imaging device and also with blood sample activity measurements using a dose calibrator. Absorbed dose to the blood was measured at 2, 6, 12, 24, 48, and 96 hours after the administration of radioiodine with the 2 methods.Based on the results of whole body counting and blood sample activity dose rate measurements, 96 hours after administration of 3.7, 4.62, and 5.55 GBq of radioiodine, absorbed doses to patients’ blood were 0.65 ± 0.20, 0.67 ± 0.18, 0.79 ± 0.51 Gy, respectively. Increasing radioiodine activity from 3.7 to 5.55 GBq increased blood dose significantly, while there was no significant difference in blood dose between radioiodine dosages of 3.7 and 4.62 GBq.Our results revealed a significant correlation between the blood absorbed dose and blood sample activity and between the blood absorbed dose and whole body counts 24 to 48 hours after the administration of radioiodine.

Westmoreland's War: Reassessing American Strategy in VietnamGregory A.Daddis. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.

Westmoreland's War: Reassessing American Strategy in Vietnam Gregory A. Daddis. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.Until now, the historical fate of General William Westmoreland can best be compared to that of British Field Marshal Douglas Haig, who, during World War I, commanded the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front from 1915 through the end of the war in 1918. Haig led his troops into the bloodbaths of the Battle of the Somme and Passchendaele. In the years after the Great War, Haig's command came to symbolize the murderous attritional warfare of the trenches; he was seen as one of the donkeys who sacrificed a generation of young British lions in the bloody mud of Flanders. In recent years, a new generation of scholars has attempted to rehabilitate Haig's reputation, arguing that he was a capable and, at times, even an innovative general, who was forced to work within constraints imposed by the new industrialized technologies of destruction which had been unleashed in 1914. William Westmoreland, who headed the United States's Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) from 1964 to 1968, receives much of the blame for American failure in the Vietnam War. Like Haig, he is derided as yet another military practitioner of attrition, fixating on body counts in a conflict where such bloody statistics were beside the point. Typical of this perspective is Lewis Sorley's Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam (2011). As the title of Sorley's book makes clear, he believes that Westmoreland lost a winnable war in Vietnam by focusing on conventional tactics rather than on counter-insurgency warfare. Westmoreland also figures prominently and unhappily in Thomas E. Ricks's The Generals: American Military Command from World War II to Today (2012), where he is an exemplar of what Ricks sees as the modern American general, bureaucratically savvy, but unable to produce military victories.Gregory A. Daddis, a colonel in the United States Army who teaches history at West Point, takes issue with the conventional wisdom in Westmoreland's War. He boldly contradicts the stereotypical picture of William Westmoreland. He does so in classic revisionist style by revisiting and reexamining the primary sources. A virtue of Daddis's book is his attention to the institutional culture of the United States Army during the early 1960s. He creates a context for his study of Westmoreland by analyzing trends in American military thinking in the early Cold War. …