Erroneous Statements Research Articles

Comments on “Taxonomy of cyanobacteria: a contribution to consensus approach”, by K. A. Palinska and W. Surosz (Hydrobiologia 740: 1–11, 2014, doi:10.1007/s10750-014-1971-9)

In their recent paper in Hydrobiologia (Palinska & Surosz, 2014) and in an earlier publication (Palinska et al., 2006), Katarzyna Palinska and coworkers presented an admirable account of a novel approach toward the harmonization of classical, morphology-based, and modern molecular taxonomic approaches for the cyanobacteria, based on molecular studies of type material preserved in herbaria. The Palinska & Surosz (2014) paper also provided a nice summary of the current problems with the nomenclature of the cyanobacteria as the group is covered by two Codes of Nomenclature: the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (McNeill et al., 2012) and the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes (Lapage et al., 1992; Parker et al., in press; for updates since the 1990 revision see http://www.bacterio.net/-code.html). In spite of recent attempts to harmonize the nomenclature of the group between the two Codes (Oren, 2004; Oren & Tindall, 2005, and further references cited by Palinska & Surosz, 2014), little progress has been made thus far. Unfortunately, the misconception that the ‘‘botanical’’ and the ‘‘bacteriological’’ Codes deal with taxonomy, phylogeny, and classification led to a number of erroneous statements in the text of Palinska & Surosz (2014). The two Codes are agreed conventions for naming biological groups. The rules of nomenclature fixed in these Codes only regulate the process of validating names of organisms; they do not define the scientific validity of the particular taxon definition (Krichevsky, 2012). The International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes even explicitly states ‘‘Nothing in this Code may be construed to restrict the freedom of taxonomic thought or action’’ (De Vos & Truper, 2000). The only Code of biological nomenclature that also deals with taxonomy and classification is the International Code of Virus Classification and Nomenclature (http://ictvonline.org/codeofvirus classification_2012.asp). Here follows a list of problematic statements in the Palinska & Surosz, 2014 paper:

La congiura dei Pazzi: I documenti del conflitto fra Lorenzo de’ Medici e Sisto IV. Le bolle di scomunica, la “Florentina synodus,” e la “Dissentio” insorta tra la Santità del Papa e i Fiorentini. Edizione critica e commento ed. by Tobias Daniels (review)

Reviewed by: La congiura dei Pazzi: I documenti del conflitto fra Lorenzo de’ Medici e Sisto IV. Le bolle di scomunica, la “Florentina synodus,” e la “Dissentio” insorta tra la Santità del Papa e i Fiorentini. Edizione critica e commento ed. by Tobias Daniels Melissa Meriam Bullard La congiura dei Pazzi: I documenti del conflitto fra Lorenzo de’ Medici e Sisto IV. Le bolle di scomunica, la “Florentina synodus,” e la “Dissentio” insorta tra la Santità del Papa e i Fiorentini. Edizione critica e commento. Edited by Tobias Daniels. [Studi di Storia e Documentazione Storica.] (Florence: EDIFIR Edizioni Firenze. 2013. Pp. 206. €18,00 paperback. ISBN 978-88-7970-649-0.) “The pen is mightier than the sword.” So spoke Cardinal Richelieu’s character in Edward Bulwer Lytton’s popular 1839 play Richelieu; Or the Conspiracy. The playwright could just as easily have written that line about the hostile propaganda campaigns [End Page 159] launched between Pope Sixtus IV and the Florentines that erupted following the Pazzi Conspiracy. Tobias Daniels’s critical edition and comment brings together for the first time Sixtus IV’s three bulls of excommunication against Lorenzo de’ Medici and his Florentine supporters; the Florentina Synodus, a Florentine defense against them written by Gentile Becchi; and a further little-known papal response, the Dissentio. The latter, aimed to arouse anti-Medici feeling at the imperial court in Germany, was apparently not widely circulated in Italy. The most famous document associated with the Pazzi Conspiracy, Angelo Poliziano’s defense of Lorenzo and condemnation of the Pazzi in his Coniurationis commentarium, is not included in this collection. The second half of the volume contains the documents in their original Latin. Daniels’s meticulous editing records numerous variations in manuscript and incunabular versions of the texts, and he provides erudite notes on persons and events referenced. Close editing is labor-intensive and commendable work, as is the assemblage of the texts themselves. Placed side-by-side, they demonstrate that the exchange of invective reached beyond personal animosities between Sixtus IV and Lorenzo. Rather, it had wider ecclesiastical and European import when viewed in the context of the grander fifteenth-century contests between papal and conciliar authority in which swirled many a war of words. Becchi crafted the Florentine Synodus for Lorenzo to use in drumming up interest, especially at the court of French king Louis XI, for summoning a church council to depose the pope for immoral conduct and abuse of authority. On the other side, in the bulls and Dissentio, Sixtus IV and his secretaries sought to arose support for the expulsion of Lorenzo as unjust tyrant of Florence and for disrespect of the Church. The historical introduction in the first half of the volume leaves one uneasy on several counts for its lacunae and unsubstantiated attributions. The author perememptorily excludes discussing the political implications in the Pazzi Conspiracy regarding the roles of King Ferrante of Naples and Federigo da Montefeltro, duke of Urbino. The latter served as condottiere in papal hire and, according to the most recent scholarship by Marcello Simonetta, was certainly implicated in the anti-Medici plot. Strangely, Simonetta’s work (New York, 2008) remains unacknowledged by the author. Yet at the same time, Daniels goes into excruiating detail on other aspects of the Pazzi Conspiracy, most of it derived from the many publications of Riccardo Fubini, author of the preface. In his treatment of the Synodus, Daniels ignores Simonetta’s 2012 edition and commentary, which he dismisses with the erroneous statement that it had been based on a later printed edition by Fabroni rather than an autograph manuscript in the Florentine state archive. For another example, when discussing Giovanni Caroli’s dissent from the Florentines’ call for a church council (pp. 76–78), Daniels makes no mention, even in a footnote, of recent scholarship on the Dominican friar and his views on the Medici. The massive bibliography at the volume’s end obscures these and other lacunae. Daniels’s work is useful but oddly skewed. [End Page 160] Melissa Meriam Bullard University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Copyright © 2015 The Catholic University of America Press

Critique of “Footprint of uncertainty for type-2 fuzzy sets”

In this Letter we provide some critiques of the 2014 Information Sciences paper by Mo, et al. [9], and point out and correct six erroneous statements and false impressions that have been made in this paper.

Erratum for the Editorial Guide: “2014: Signaling Breakthroughs of the Year” by J. D. Berndt and W. Wong

The editors correct an erroneous statement about the findings of a paper cited in an editorial guide.

Uniform entropy vs topological entropy

AbstractWe discuss the connection between the topological entropy and the uniform entropy and answer several open questions from [10, 15]. We also correct several erroneous statements given in [10, 18] without proof.

Collisionless damping of plasma waves as a real physical phenomenon does not exist

Trivial logic of collisionless plasma waves is reduced to using complex exponentially damping/growing wave functions to obtain a complex dispersion equation for their wave number 1 k and the decrement/increment 2 k (for a given real frequency  and complex wave number k  k1  ik2 ), whose solutions are ghosts 1 2 k , k which do not have anything to do at 2 k  0 with the real solution of the dispersion equation for the initial exponentially damping/growing real plasma waves with the physically observable quantities 1 2 k , k , for which finding should be added, in this case, the second equation of the energy conservation law. Using a complex dispersion equation for the simultaneous determination of 1 k and 2 k violates the law of energy conservation, leads to a number of contradictions, is logical error, and finally also the mathematical error leading to both erroneous statement on the possible existence of exponentially damping/growing harmonic wave solutions and to erroneous values 1 k and 2 k . Mathematically correct conclusion about the damping/growing of virtual complex waves of collisionless plasma is wrongly attributed to the actual real plasma waves.

The spirit of science

—which literally means science democracy—is a popular phrase among the Chinese research community. The exact meaningdemands anexplanation.Why?Science, frequently used in combination with the word research, pertains to the investigation of unknowns, or simply, to seek truth. Any breakthrough in science is always accomplished by one or a handful of individuals, who represent a negligible minority in the research community. Consequently, pioneering scientists need to educate and convince the community at large to accept the new findings.Democracy, on the other hand, refers to a compromised solution of resolving split opinions: thewill of the simplemajority is respected over that of the minority.Democracy is most frequently invoked in the political realm. Science and democracy are very different concepts and observe strikingly dissimilar protocols. Prior tomy return toChina, I hadnever noticed a single occasion of placing these twowords next to each other.The situation is starkly different in China.This phrase is frequently invoked in newspapers, research conferences, grant review processes, and science policymeetings.The phrase refers to the practice of ‘one person one vote’ in the selection of honorific prizes and grant applications.On the surface, the practice appears to be fair: each scientist is supposed to vote on the basis of his/her judgment on the scholarship of the prize nominees and grant applicants. In reality, however, the outcome is often surprising, with prizes and grants skipping clearlymore deserving individuals.How can this happen?The answer is straightforward: a sizable fraction of the selection committee members have chosen not to vote on the basis of scholarship, but on other considerations that the Chinese scientists know all too well. The consequence of this practice is a research culture of uniquely Chinese characteristic— an all-out lobbying effort is often orchestrated by the nominee/applicant and his/her institution. Sadly, the outcome often correlates positively with the veracity of the lobbying effort. Ironically, democracy is practiced in these ever-recurring incidences, but has undoubtedly failed to produce a result that respects the spirit of science. Those who knowingly voted against the lines of scholarship have violated his/her sacred duty of being a referee, but more seriously, may have committed scientific misconduct. This form of science democracy is nothing but contrary to the spirit of science and runs the risk of becoming a synonym for irresponsible behavior. Unfortunately, such practice is widely tolerated in China. Some people argue that, despite the immediate unfairness, the more deserving scientists can always get funding, either later or from elsewhere. Others claim that, although the selected awardees are not the best, they are competitive enough. Neither of these rationales is in line with the spirit of science. An evenmore bizarre notion suggests that the funding system in the USA is also inundated with non-science considerations. Such blatantly erroneous statements, often from individuals who superficially understand theUS system, enjoy empathy from quite a crowd, including some researchers and government officials. In the USA, the NIH Study Sections determine the fate of grant applications and are operated by a healthymix of scientific authority and democracy—where merit-based opinions always prevail. Notably, with comparable scholarship and grantsmanship, junior investigators are usually favoredover established scientists during panel discussion. A heated debate always erupts on any borderline application, with reviewers, discussants, and other participants speaking their beliefs. Scientific authority— scientific leaders in their chosen research fields—usually guides the discussion through forceful merit-based arguments. A consensus opinion is reached and a narrow score range is suggested. Any member who wishes to vote outside the suggested score range must publicly declare his/her intention of doing so. Consequently, reviewers are rarely, if ever, surprised by the winning applications. Needless to say, any form of lobbying effort by grant applicant is strictly forbidden and may result in outright disqualification if reported. Perhaps this practice exemplifies scientific democracy. Interestingly, elite research institutions such as Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) rely more heavily on scientific authority, rather than democracy, tomake award decisions. How can China improve its research culture?Most often the blame is placed on the policy and the system. Yes, improving the system is important, but an excellent system in China is usually defeated by all kinds of unspoken, under-table deals and agreements. Thus, no matter what the rules stipulate, conscientious self-discipline by reviewersmust be exercised. In the spirit of science, scientific leaders must speak out at all relevant occasions, advocating a merit-based evaluation system and promoting the interests of young scientists. Unless our scientific authority upholds ahigh level of integrity, the culturewon’t change for better. The tall order of improving China’s research culture is a prerequisite for China’s dream of becoming a world power in scientific discovery and technological innovation. Thepressure is squarely onChina’s scientific leaders to spearhead ahealthy research culture through advocating a trulymeritbased evaluation system.

Elliptic modular invariants and numerical ranges

We prove the -invariant of an irreducible elliptic curve associated with a 3-by-3 or 4-by-4 matrix is real and greater than or equal to 1. Additionally, we correct an erroneous statement appearing in Kippenhahn’s argument about the boundary generating curves of the numerical ranges of matrices.

Sir John Macpherson, the first but sometimes overlooked Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Sydney.

To chronicle the creation of the Chair of Psychiatry at the University of Sydney, and the career and legacy, in New South Wales, of the first incumbent, Professor Sir John Macpherson CB MD FRCPE. The creation of the Chair, Macpherson's appointment, and his contributions to psychiatry in Sydney during the 52 months of his tenure, are well documented in contemporaneous sources and demonstrate that he was a very worthy Foundation Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Sydney. There are several possible reasons why Macpherson has been overlooked, including an erroneous statement in The World History of Psychiatry (1975) that William Siegfried Dawson, his successor from 1927 to 1952, was the first Professor of Psychiatry.

Reply to: "Palmitoylethanolamide: problems regarding micronization, ultra-micronization and additives" Inflammopharmacology DOI:10.1007/s10787-014-0202-3.

This is a reply to a recently published Commentary: "Palmitoylethanolamide: problems regarding micronization, ultra-micronization and additives" Inflammopharmacology DOI: 10.1007/s10787-014-0202-3 , written in relation to our review article: Skaper SD, Facci L, Fusco M, della Valle MF, Zusso M, Costa B, Giusti P (2014) "Palmitoylethanolamide, a naturally occurring disease-modifying agent in neuropathic pain" Inflammopharmacology 22:79-94 DOI: 10.1007/s10787-013-0191-7 . We believe that the Commentary by Kriek contains a number of erroneous statements and misinterpretations of the published scientific/medical literature which our reply shall elaborate on. Further, the writer of the Commentary has a direct connection to a company, JP Russell Science Ltd that sells palmitoylethanolamide. The take-home message of our review remains as originally stated: "Collectively, the findings presented here propose that palmitoylethanolamide merits further consideration as a disease-modifying agent for controlling inflammatory responses and related chronic and neuropathic pain".

Setting the Record Straight: Comment on Gurley, Piechowski, Sheehan, and Gray (2014) on the Admissibility of the Rorschach Performance Assessment System (R-PAS) in Court

Gurley et al. (Psychological Injury and Law 7:9–17, 2014) express reservations about the admissibility of testimony based on the Rorschach Performance Assessment System (R-PAS) in court. They question whether there is sufficient evidentiary foundation in the underlying psychometrics and adequate general acceptance among psychologists for R-PAS-based testimony to meet either the Daubert or Frye criteria for admissibility and also raise doubts about how well it meets the criteria for the use of forensic tests proposed by Heilbrun (Law and Human Behavior 16:257–272, 1992). This invited comment addresses their concerns about the admissibility of R-PAS-based testimony and corrects some erroneous statements about the psychometrics of R-PAS and the pertinent empirical literature. Gurley et al. characterize R-PAS as being in competition with the established Comprehensive System (CS; Exner 2003), though we clarify that it is actually an evolutionary development from the CS and designed to be a replacement for it. We also point out how their conclusion that R-PAS-based forensic testimony may be hazardous or premature is based on an insufficient familiarity with the R-PAS scientific and professional literature, a misinterpretation of the Frye and Daubert evidentiary standards, and a mischaracterization of several of Heilbrun’s (Law and Human Behavior 16:257–272, 1992) criteria for the use of tests in forensic testimony.

Improving the Quality of Linked Data Using Statistical Distributions

Linked Data on the Web is either created from structured data sources (such as relational databases), from semi-structured sources (such as Wikipedia), or from unstructured sources (such as text). In the latter two cases, the generated Linked Data will likely be noisy and incomplete. In this paper, we present two algorithms that exploit statistical distributions of properties and types for enhancing the quality of incomplete and noisy Linked Data sets: SDType adds missing type statements, and SDValidate identifies faulty statements. Neither of the algorithms uses external knowledge, i.e., they operate only on the data itself. We evaluate the algorithms on the DBpedia and NELL knowledge bases, showing that they are both accurate as well as scalable. Both algorithms have been used for building the DBpedia 3.9 release: With SDType, 3.4 million missing type statements have been added, while using SDValidate, 13,000 erroneous RDF statements have been removed from the knowledge base.

A reconsideration and response to Parrott AC (2013) “Human psychobiology of MDMA or ‘Ecstasy’: an overview of 25 years of empirical research”

Parrott recently published a review of literature on MDMA/ecstasy. This commentary is a response to the content and tenor of his review, which mischaracterizes the literature through misstatement and omission of contrary findings, and fails to address the central controversies in the literature. The review makes several erroneous statements concerning MDMA-assisted psychotherapy, such as incorrect statements about research design and other statements that are baseless or contradicted by the literature. Though it critiques an attempt by other authors to characterize the risks of MDMA, the review fails to produce a competing model of risk assessment, and does not discuss potential benefits. Parrott does not represent an even-handed review of the literature, but instead recites dated misconceptions about neurotoxicity concerns involving the recreational drug ecstasy, which do not relate directly to the use of pure MDMA in a therapeutic setting. Unchallenged, Parrott's report may deter researchers from further investigating an innovative treatment that in early clinical trials has demonstrated lasting benefits for people with chronic, treatment-resistant post-traumatic stress disorder.

Eleazar Albin in Don Saltero's coffee-house in 1736: how the Jamaican mango hummingbird got its name,Trochilus mango

The Jamaican hummingbird that Eleazar Albin called the “Mango Bird”, which was the basis for the Linnean name Trochilus mango, is shown likely to have been based on a specimen he saw in Don Saltero's Coffee-House in Chelsea, London, in 1736, that was probably a gift of Sir Hans Sloane. The name “mango-bird” has long been in wide use for certain south Asian orioles, especially the Indian Golden Oriole (Oriolus kundoo), at least one specimen and nest of which was also on display in Don Saltero's. Albin's text concerning two species of Jamaican hummingbirds contains numerous dubious or erroneous statements and his use of “Mango Bird” for the hummingbird was most likely a lapsus confounding another bird he had heard of at Don Saltero's, particularly in light of the fact that the mango tree (Mangifera indica) was not introduced into Jamaica until 1782. Thus, the modern use of the word “mango” in connection with an entire group of hummingbirds arose through a purely fortuitous mistake and the birds never had any association with the mango tree.

Corrigendum

Entomologia Experimentalis et ApplicataVolume 148, Issue 2 p. 201-201 CorrigendumFree Access Corrigendum This article corrects the following: Pyrosequencing of the adult tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris, and characterization of messages important in metabolism and development Leonardo C. Magalhaes, Jaap B. van Kretschmar, Kevin V. Donohue, R. Michael Roe, Volume 146Issue 3Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata pages: 364-378 First Published online: February 5, 2013 First published: 18 July 2013 https://doi.org/10.1111/eea.12103AboutSectionsPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat The authors would like to withdraw an erroneous statement in Magalhaes et al. (2013), page 373, second column, beginning of last paragraph). The sentence “In insects, adiponectin… (Gade et al., 2004).” and the corresponding reference on page 376 should be withdrawn. Reference Magalhaes LC, van Kretschmar JB, Donohue KV & Roe RM (2013) Pyrosequencing of the adult tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris, and characterization of messages important in metabolism and development. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 146: 364– 378. Wiley Online LibraryCASWeb of Science®Google Scholar Volume148, Issue2August 2013Pages 201-201 ReferencesRelatedInformation

Krömmelbein Mesozic ostracod collections

Karl Krömmelbein (1920–1979) worked on both Paleozoic and Mesozoic sequences but is best remembered for his pioneering work on late Jurassic–early Cretaceous ostracod assemblages from Brazil and West Africa, clearly demonstrating in a series of publications between 1961 and 1972 the presence of comparable marginal-marine and non-marine faunas in continental margin basins on each side of the modern South Atlantic. These ostracods and their biostratigraphical distributions have assumed great importance in recent years consequent on the discovery of hydrocarbons, especially offshore Brazil. All Krömmelbein's published and background material is housed the the Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum, Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany with the sole exception of the material figured in Krömmelbein & Weber (1971) which is housed in the Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe and Landesamt für Bergbau, Energie und Geologie, Hannover, Germany. Do Carmo et al. (2008) make a number of erroneous statements about the material, i.e., that material of Krömmelbein (1965) was moved from Hannover to Frankfurt, and that Do Carmo et al.'s figured specimens from the Krömmelbein Collection in Frankfurt are ‘types’ when they are exclusively topotypic and not primary types. A statement in Poropat and Colin (2012, p. 701) attempts to clarify this situation, however, Antonietto et al. (2012, p. 663) compound the confusion by stating that the holotype of Hourcqia angulata salitrensis Krömmelbein and Weber, 1971 is housed in the Senckenberg, which it is not. The confusion may have arisen as a result of a temporary loan of the Krömmelbein and Weber (1971) specimens to Senckenberg.

Comment on “Plume spreading in groundwater by stretching and folding” by D. C. Mays and R. M. Neupauer

The recent paper of Mays and Neupauer [2012] presents one such novel methodology for the acceleration of plume spreading with punctuated injection protocols that result in fluid stretching and folding which are the hallmarks of chaotic dynamics in continuous systems. This protocol shows excellent promise as a means to accelerate dispersion for groundwater remediation, recovery, and so on. Our comment regarding this paper does not directly pertain to this method but rather corrects an erroneous statement that has important implications for a wide class of intervention methods which involve ''recycled'' injection, whereby extracted fluid is reinjected elsewhere in the subsurface to impart continuous fluid flow and deformation.

The Mg–C phase equilibria and their thermodynamic basis

AbstractThe Mg–C binary phase equilibria and thermodynamic data are critically evaluated in this work. The necessity is demonstrated to meticulously evaluate the original experimental literature instead of relying on erroneous statements in a previous review that had led to a completely different phase diagram. The two Mg carbides, Mg2C3and MgC2, are both shown to be metastable based on the examination of the thermodynamic data and the original experimental work on their formation and decomposition. Using the Calphad method, a thermodynamic description of the Mg–C system is developed. The stable phase diagram at 1 bar was calculated without assuming any binary interaction parameters. The solubilities of C in liquid Mg, having recently been measured to be tens of ppm between 800°C and 900°C, verify the calculated phase diagram. The metastable Mg2C3and MgC2phases were also modeled and their descriptions were directly derived from the thermodynamic data. The complete Mg–C description allows the calculation of metastable phase equilibria involving these carbides by suspending graphite and diamond.

Standard-dose tegafur-uracil (UFT) is not a safe alternative in partial dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase-deficient patients

To the editor, With interest we read the article by Dr Cubero and colleagues, in which they evaluated the safety of tegafur-uracil (UFT®) in five cases with partial dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) deficiency [Cubero et al. 2012]. Based on our previous experience [Deenen et al. 2010], however, we would like to express our concern about their conclusion that UFT is a safe alternative for the treatment of patients with partial DPD deficiency. Cubero and colleagues make the erroneous and unproven statement that the presence of uracil in UFT creates an artificial DPD deficiency, and that the DPD activity in patients with normal DPD activity would then be similarly as low as in DPD-deficient patients. This assumption, however, is incorrect. As uracil is a competitive inhibitor of DPD, it competes with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) for DPD-mediated metabolism. This does not mean that the activity of DPD is depleted, as suggested by Cubero and colleagues, in contrast, its activity is fully utilized, as well as for the metabolism of uracil, as for the metabolism of 5-FU. We would like to caution that treating patients with partial DPD deficiency with the standard dose of UFT may unnecessarily lead to severe, potentially lethal toxicity. Unlike the cases described by Cubero and colleagues, we could previously describe four cases presenting with comparable severe toxicity profiles upon treatment with UFT as had previously occurred during treatment with capecitabine or 5-FU. In all subjects an underlying partial DPD deficiency was identified by genotype and phenotype analyses [Deenen et al. 2010]. Furthermore, there are several pharmacological lines of argument that support our clinical observation, i.e. that the standard dose of UFT is not safe in (partial) DPD-deficient patients. First, pharmacokinetic studies have shown that DPD remains essential for the metabolism of UFT, with significantly longer half-lives of 5-FU after administration of UFT compared with 5-FU administered intravenously [Ho et al. 1998]. This is due to the presence of uracil in UFT. Since DPD-deficient patients already have longer half-lives of 5-FU than other patients [Mattison et al. 2006], presence of uracil increases its half-life even further. This in turn leads to prolonged and elevated circulating levels of 5-FU, with a subsequently increased risk of 5-FU-induced severe toxicity. Another argument underscoring the importance of normal DPD function in the safe application of UFT, is the experience with S-1. S-1 is another drug combination of tegafur, consisting of tegafur, 5-chloro-2,4-dihydroxypyridine (CDHP) and potassium oxonate in a molar ratio of 1:0.4:1. CDHP inhibits DPD 200-fold more potently than does uracil [Shirasaka et al. 1996a, 1996b]. Even after administration of S-1, the primary 5-FU metabolite formed by DPD is observed in significant concentrations in plasma [Kim et al. 2007]. Thus, DPD remains an essential detoxification enzyme of 5-FU, even when its activity is strongly inhibited. The ultimate proof of theory is the occurrence of 18 treatment-related deaths in patients with cancer and herpes zoster given UFT plus the antiviral drug sorivudine [Pharmaceutical Affairs Bureau, 1994]. Subsequent studies in rats showed that a metabolite of sorivudine, (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)uracil, instantly and irreversibly inactivates DPD by covalent binding, which has been identified as the underlying mechanism of these toxic deaths [Ogura et al. 1998; Okuda et al. 1998]. It is for these arguments that the Summary of Product Characteristics of UFT notes a known DPD deficiency as a contra-indication [Merck Serono, 2011]. The fact that the patients described by Cubero and colleagues did not develop significant toxicity might be due to patient selection, the slightly decreased dose intensity of 90%, or despite their DPYD*2A genotype a DPD enzyme activity within the (lower) range of normal. We are not aware of this, because DPD enzyme activity was not determined in these patients. In summary, we would like to state that standard-dose UFT is not a safe treatment in (partial) DPD-deficient patients. Instead, dose reductions of on average 50% of either capecitabine, 5-FU or UFT with careful monitoring of safety and further dose titration are proposed as the standard of care [Deenen et al. 2011].

Erratum to: Case Report: High Chromium and Cobalt Levels in a Pregnant Patient with Bilateral Metal-on-Metal Hip Arthroplasties

Erratum to: Clin Orthop Relat Res DOI 10.1007/s11999-012-2398-0 In our article, High Chromium and Cobalt Levels in a Pregnant Patient with Bilateral Metal-on-Metal Hip Arthroplasties published online June 13, 2012, the patient described in the case report did not receive bilateral Birmingham Hip Resurfacing (BHR) implants (Smith & Nephew, Inc, Memphis, TN, USA). This erroneous statement was made throughout the article including in the figure legends and as the last point in Table 3. In the operative report of the first revision surgery that was available to us, the preexisting prostheses were mentioned to be McMinn prostheses leading us to the assumption that BHR implants were used. The orthopaedic surgeon who currently cares for the patient informed us that instead, Conserve® Plus Total Resurfacing Implants (Wright Medical Technology, Inc, Arlington, TN, USA) were implanted. We regret this error.