Ethical Point Research Articles

Telemedicine with special focus on allergic diseases and asthma-Status 2022: An EAACI position paper.

Efficacious, effective and efficient communication between healthcare professionals (HCP) and patients is essential to achieve a successful therapeutic alliance. Telemedicine (TM) has been used for decades but during the COVID-19 pandemic its use has become widespread. This position paper aims to describe the terminology and most important forms of TM among HCP and patients and review the existing studies on the uses of TM for asthma and allergy. Besides, the advantages and risks of TM are discussed, concluding that TM application reduces costs and time for both, HCP and patients, but cannot completely replace face-to-face visits for physical examinations and certain tests that are critical in asthma and allergy. From an ethical point of view, it is important to identify those involved in the TM process, ensure confidentiality and use communication channels that fully guarantee the security of the information. Unmet needs and directions for the future regarding implementation, data protection, privacy regulations, methodology and efficacy are described.

Ethical Analysis of Hulga and the Family Relationships in Good Country People

Good Country People is one of the representative works of Flannery O 'Connor. The heroine in the story, Hulga or Joy, is a distinct image created by the author. The adult-baby’s disability, rebellion, intertextuality, together with her self-conceit contributes to the sharpening of the special grotesque character of Hulga.This paper will explore the characteristics of Hulga, the ethical dilemma of the family relations and the ethical choice of the protagonists in the story from five aspects: the first part is an introduction; the second part briefly introduces the creation background, author background and the plot of the novel; the third part will analyze Hulga's characteristics including advocating nihilism, inferiority and blind arrogance, and then continue to discuss the reasons for the formation of her grotesque characteristics; the fourth part will analyze the ethical dilemma of the family relations; the fifth part will concern the the ethical choice of the protagonists. The conclusion will focus on some effective suggestions for the families who are suffering ethical crisis and point out that this work has a very high research value to the contemporary construction of harmonious society.

Models of quantitative relationship “Structure – activity” in performing preliminary toxicological assessment of chemicals

Introduction. In vivo testing of a huge number of chemical compounds is difficult from an ethical point of view, time-consuming, depends on a large number of objects of animal origin and requires large material costs for conducting experiments. Therefore, there is a need for new thinking to optimize the conduct of toxicological studies.
 The purpose of this study is to substantiate the possibility of using structure-activity models in the framework of a preliminary assessment of chemicals toxicity.
 Materials and methods. The study included three groups of chemicals including organothiophosphates, triazoles, and carbamates. The calculation of descriptors based on SMILES, the construction and validation of regression models was carried out using the tools of the Scikit-learn Version 1.2.2 library in an interactive cloud environment working with the Google Colaboratory program code.
 Results. When comparing a number of models for predicting oral toxicity, it was revealed that a model based on decision trees has the best predictive ability for organothiophosphates and triazoles: 70.1% and 69.5% of cases of descriptor changes led to a change in the endpoint value, respectively; a model for predicting carbamate toxicity based on a random forest explains 53.1% of the observed variance common log (1/DL50).
 Limitations. The study is limited to the area of distribution of the obtained mathematical models.
 Conclusion. As the study showed, the constructed models can explain only some part of the studied effect, therefore, models based on the structure-activity relationship should be used exclusively for preliminary assessment of the toxicity of chemicals, as a screening tool.

Speaking of God in the Realm of Aesthetics: Religion in Hölderlin

This article considers the work and reception of Friedrich Hölderlin with regard to the impact of German Idealism on religion. To this end, two questions must be clarified in advance: can Hölderlin, who is known primarily as a poet, also be placed in the context of German Idealism, and does his work have a significant relationship to religion? I argue that both questions should be answered in the affirmative. Ernst Cassirer’s study Hölderlin und der deutsche Idealismus (1918/19) clearly laid the foundation for appreciating Hölderlin’s place within German Idealism, and the question of God is a leitmotif of Hölderlin’s entire oeuvre. I seek to trace Hölderlin’s influence on understanding religion in three steps: First, I want to show that Hölderlin, in a critical continuation of Kant, does not consider religion solely within the matrix of practical reason, but brings into play the dimension of aesthetics. By situating religion in relation to the two focal points of ethics and aesthetics, a fundamental question of the philosophy of religion is addressed. Second, I employ several examples to show the various conceptions of the divine that the poet elucidates and juxtaposes in his work (Christian motifs, Greek mythology, pantheistic concepts, etc.). This leads to a philosophy of religion that is not determined by dogmatic boundaries. Third, I point out how religion plays a major role in the reception of Hölderlin.

Mitigating the adverse effects of AI with the European Union's artificial intelligence act: Hype or hope?

AbstractIn light of the rise of generative AI and recent debates about the socio‐political implications of large‐language models, chatbots, and the like, this paper analyzes the E.U.’s Artificial Intelligence Act (AIA), the world's first comprehensive attempt by a government body to address and mitigate the potentially negative impacts of AI technologies. The paper critically analyzes the AIA from a business and computer ethics point of view—a perspective currently lacking in the academic (e.g., GBOE‐related) literature. It evaluates, in particular, the AIA's strengths and weaknesses and proposes reform measures that could help to strengthen the AIA. Among the AIA's strengths are its legally binding character, extra‐territoriality, ability to address data quality and discrimination risks, and institutional innovations such as the AI Board and publicly accessible logs and database for AI systems. Among its main weaknesses are its lack of effective enforcement, oversight, and control, absence of procedural rights and remedy mechanisms, inadequate worker protection, institutional ambiguities, insufficient funding and staffing, and inadequate consideration of sustainability issues. Reform suggestions include establishing independent conformity assessment procedures, strengthening democratic accountability and judicial oversight, introducing redress and complaint mechanisms, ensuring the participation and inclusion of workers, guaranteeing political independence of the AI Board, providing enhanced funding and staffing of market surveillance authorities, and mandating “green AI.”

Invited review. Milk clotting enzymes: A transcendental decision in goat´s milk cheese quality

Cheese production has increased more than 3.5-fold since 1960, while animal rennet production has declined, thus other proteolytic enzymes have been developed. Cheese quality depend on many factors, some of them are linked to milk composition (genetic aspects: species, breed and animal, lactation stage and number, type of kidding, animal feeding and health, offspring season, etc.) and other due to cheesemaking aspects and storage processing (raw or pasteurized milk, coagulation enzymes and coagulation parameters (temperature and time), moulding, drainage, salting, ripening, smoking, etc.). All these factors interact and only under experimental conditions it is possible to analyse the effect of any particular feature by itself. Between all these factors, milk coagulation process is one of the most important steps for the cheese final characteristics. The differences in protein matrix degradation due the origin of coagulant agents affect cheese texture, odour, flavour and taste and consequently consumer’s preference. This last assertion is especially important for the economic choices of the dairy firm. In the past, cheesemakers used animal rennet for curdling milk; it was produced by macerating the stomachs obtained from suckling ruminants according to the local uses, although plant coagulant was used in some typical specific cheesemaking processes. Nowadays, several types of coagulant are available, with different origin and variability in proteases for milk coagulation: animal origin rennet and vegetable coagulants than can be both artisan or commercial, microbial proteases and recombinant from genetically modified microorganism with cDNA for chymosin. In this paper the state of the art of these enzymes used in goat´s cheese industry is presented, also focused on artisan cheeses. Coagulant effect in physical-chemical and sensory profile of cheeses is analysed, also under an ethical and religious point of view. Finally, the importance of the market target in producing new cheese with vegetable coagulant is met, with an overview on the trends on cheese labelling issue.

More on Williams on Ethical Knowledge and Reflection

This essay is concerned with Bernard Williams’ contention in Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy that, in ethics, reflection can destroy knowledge. I attempt to defend this contention from the charge of incoherence. I do this by taking seriously the idea that ethical knowledge is knowledge from an ethical point of view. There nevertheless remains an issue about whether the contention is consistent with ideas elsewhere in Williams’ own work, in particular with what he says about knowledge in Descartes. In an earlier essay I argued that it is not. In a subsequent essay I indicated that I had changed my mind and gave a more sympathetic account of Williams’ contention. In this essay I set out the issues and say some more about my change of mind.

Koncepcia spravodlivej vojny v stredovekej a rano-novovekej sociálno-právnej filozofii

The aim of the study is to point out the fact that the evolution of human society is accompanied by constant wars, which demanded a response to its existence also at the level of socio-legal philosophy. It deals with this issue from a legal, moral, and ethical point of view, which, in this case, are basically intertwined in the concept of a just war. Its roots go back to antiquity, and it is also a part of modern war law and philosophy. A relatively significant shift in this concept occurred precisely in the Middle Ages because of Christian wars, or under the influence of medieval teachings. This development continued in the early modern period in connection with the colonization of America. Therefore, in this study, we will focus on the views of Thomas Aquinas (as a representative of the High Middle Ages and scholasticism) and Francisco de Vitoria (as a representative of the Early Modern Age and the School of Salamanca). This topic is even more relevant because nowadays theories of just war are no longer viewed only at the level of a harmless academic debate, but they are beginning to be more and more accentuated as tools serving specific goals of the time.

Ethical Review on Teachers' Relations with the School Environment

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship of teachers with the school environment from an ethical point of view, according to teachers' opinions. In the research, case study design from the qualitative research method was used. The research data were obtained by face-to-face interviews with 20 teachers working in Sultanbeyli, Pendik and Kartal districts of Istanbul. The data collection tool of the research is the semi-structured interview form developed by the researchers. The data obtained from the interviews were analyzed with the descriptive analysis technique and the participant opinions were gathered under five themes (ethic behaviors of teachers, ethical decision making, increasing ethical sensitivity, unethical behaviors and harms of unethical behaviors). As a result of the research, it was determined that the ethical competencies of the teachers should be increased, that the teachers should be a role model for their followers, and that teachers should have a large number of ethical competencies, and that teachers had some unethical behaviors that harm the environment and students. In order for teachers to make ethical decisions in their relations with the environment, it is considered important that decision makers implement functional policies to increase their ethical awareness level.

Current trials in erythropoietic protoporphyria: are placebo controls ethical?

A new active substance called “dersimelagon” (MT-7117) is being tested as an alternative treatment option for Erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP). At the moment, dersimelagon is being tested both in the US and in Europe in a phase III placebo-controlled RCT. However, given the availability of an already approved treatment option for EPP the use of a placebo arm is questionable from an ethics point of view. We analyze the issue and suggest that a noninferiority active-control trial without placebo is an ethically and scientifically more valid design to test the efficacy of dersimelagon as well as other EPP treatments.

Nursing care and its humanization from the ethical and an esthetic

Introduction: nursing has been postulated as a science since the birth of modern Nursing, when it emerged in Nightingale's thought to train professionals in this area of knowledge. However, considering its humanization from the ethical and aesthetic is the focus of researchers' attention. The postulates in this regard show several aspects, which leave Nursing care and its concepts in perspective. Objective: analyze humanization nursing care from the ethical and aesthetic point of view. Methods: integrative review for a critical and reflective analysis of contents of documents published between 2019-2023 with a methodology and theoretical reference. Keywords identified in DeCS and MeHS and Boolean operators were used: “Nursing care” AND “Nursing” AND “Holistic nursing” AND “Nursing theory” AND “science”. The search strategy was carried out in the SciELO, Medigraphic, index databases. The flow chart (PRISMA) was used to formulate the search strategy, 76 articles were identified and reviewed, of which 12 were useful regarding the evolution of the category. The following inclusion criteria were considered: original or review studies, available in full text, that declared the methodology applied, published in English and Spanish. Conclusions: the systematization and analysis of the conceptions of Nursing care in its humanized approach from ethics and aesthetics shows congruences marked by the interpersonal relationships in which affections and communication converge, as a dynamic process that allows the demonstration of professional skills.

Possible applications of poultry immunoglobulins focusing on mycotoxin environmental loads and human influence

In addition to their role, immunoglobulins can be used in animal and human diagnostic (immunoassay-based) measurements, prophylaxis and (immuno)therapy. For these purposes, today's "alternative" that is advantageous from an animal ethical point of view is the bird immunoglobulin Y isolated from egg yolk. Its development and production are cost-effective, the complexity is low, and due to its advantageous properties, it can be used in assays or even more so in medical therapies (primarily passive immunization). It is widely used (against pathogens or their toxins) in treatments of intestinal or metabolic diseases and inflammations. Its application in human diagnostics is limited, some markers are measured using immunoglobulin Y as assay component. In this study, a possible application, which is less common today, is presented. The problem of environmental impacts is becoming significant. Due to human activities, industrialization, environmental changes increase the appearance of natural environmental pollutants, including the effects of mycotoxins produced by molds locally and/or globally, which (mainly through nutrition) affect humans. Such agents often appear together, several mycotoxins affect the individual. As a result of their persistence, mycotoxins absorbed in the intestinal tract and accumulated in organs, can already reach levels that can cause physiological and/or behavioral effects. Although the examination of sources (contaminated foods) is regulated by law, the extent of accumulation has not been or cannot be examined and is often insufficiently taken into account. Due to the nature of the technique, the anti-mycotoxin avian immunoglobulin Y could be used both for detection of (deposited) mycotoxin(s) and/or even for immunotherapy (e.g., mycotoxin neutralization). Demonstrating the endocrine-disrupting mycotoxins using the example of zearalenone (with an explanation of its reproductive and immunological effects), we present generation of zearalenone (and mycotoxin-specific) avian immunoglobulin developments, advocate its use in human detection, urging the development of measurements that are suitable for detecting (multiple) accumulation. Orv Hetil. 2023; 164(39): 1527-1536.

Van evidencebased medicine naar shared decision-making bij diabetes mellitus

From evidence-based medicine to shared decision-making in diabetes mellitus Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic disease with a worldwide prevalence of more than 450 million people. It is estimated that only 14.3% of this population achieves the targets with regard to HbA1c, blood pressure and cholesterol levels. DM prevention and management are getting more and more attention. Thanks to shared decision-making (SDM), the patient’s personal context can be identified and therapy can be adjusted if needed. Currently, there is little guidance for physicians on how they should implement SDM in practice. Healthcare organizations can play a role in providing education to support the use of SDM. Various barriers such as time pressure, paternalism and ignorance hamper the use of SDM. New technologies are making it increasingly easy to exchange information between doctors and patients in a patient-friendly manner. Given the actual increase of patient participation in practice, SDM will become increasingly important. From an ethical point of view, patient education is necessary in order to achieve complete autonomy of the patient and to enable SDM. The diabetes educator plays an important role to achieve this, complemented by the use of technological tools that become more and more available such as apps, web-based applications, continuous glucose monitoring, etc. SDM has the opportunity to combine an ethical approach with scientific evidence and consequently transforming care in making the best decision for each patient.

Enjeux éthiques de la chirurgie de réassignation sexuelle

Gender reassignment raises complex ethical issues. It questions gender identity and the right to self-determination. Some highlight the right to access the medical care necessary to live according to one's perceived gender. Others worry about the potential rush into major medical decisions, especially among minors. The need for a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria can be seen as pathologizing. The requirement for surgery for marital status change, while not mandatory in many places, remains controversial. The balance between informed consent and access to treatment, as well as stigma and discrimination, contribute to the complexity of ethical issues. Finally, the issues surrounding the competence of health professionals, the quality of care and the integration of individual needs make these decisions particularly sensitive from an ethical point of view.

Why Are Companies Too Creative in Accounting? An Empirical Study in Slovakia

Why Are Companies Too Creative in Accounting? An Empirical Study in Slovakia

The Problem of Universal Digitalization in the Mirror of Russian Audiovisual Orthodox Media (On the Example of the Spas TV Channel)

This scientific work is devoted to explaining how the problem of digitalization is understood in the broadcast of Russian audiovisual Orthodox media. Religious, in particular Orthodox, mass media are aimed at understanding events and processes from a value-worldview perspective: by determining the position of the media in relation to digitalization, it is possible to identify an assessment of the phenomenon from an ethical point of view. According to the author, the most representative TV channel is Spas (more specifically, the program Glavnoye (The Main Thing). The paper is aimed at determining which manifestations of digitalization in the life of society and man are discussed in the channel’s program, how the TV channel assesses the universal introduction of digital technologies. It is supposed to study the semantic content of the program, therefore, the main method of research is the analysis of media texts (journalistic materials of the TV channel).As a result of the study, it turned out that such manifestations of digitalization as the Internet and cyberspace, urban video surveillance systems, biometrics, unified databases, artificial intelligence, chipization of the population and digital learning are being analyzed by program. The journalists of Spas do not give an unambiguous assessment of digital transformation. The following position is stated on the air: like any phenomenon, digitalization produces both positive and negative effects. Transformations can represent improvements in response to modern challenges. How[1]ever, at the same time, it is necessary to take into account the potential and real threats that digitalization poses to a person and society. In the virtual environment, such problems as the security of personal information and personal space, the effectiveness of digital education in comparison with the classical face-to-face, the cybercivilization practice advance of the regulatory framework development and the need to regulate the legislation of the Russian Federation to stop the processes taking place in the gray legal zone are becoming more acute. Cyberspace is a new sphere of human habitation, where maximum security, including privacy, should be ensured in the absence of excessive control.

Artifical intelligence use in orthopedics: an ethical point of view.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being utilized in orthopedics practice. Ethical concerns have arisen alongside marked improvements and widespread utilization of AI. Patient privacy, consent, data protection, cybersecurity, data safety and monitoring, bias, and accountability are some of the ethical concerns.

Ethics of Quantum Computing: an Outline

This paper intends to contribute to the emerging literature on the ethical problems posed by quantum computing and quantum technologies in general. The key ethical questions are as follows: Does quantum computing pose new ethical problems, or are those raised by quantum computing just a different version of the same ethical problems raised by other technologies, such as nanotechnologies, nuclear plants, or cloud computing? In other words, what is new in quantum computing from an ethical point of view? The paper aims to answer these two questions by (a) developing an analysis of the existing literature on the ethical and social aspects of quantum computing and (b) identifying and analyzing the main ethical problems posed by quantum computing. The conclusion is that quantum computing poses completely new ethical issues that require new conceptual tools and methods.

Old Age and Frailty in Deceased Organ Transplantation and Allocation-A Plea for Geriatric Assessment and Prehabilitation.

Due to demographic ageing and medical progress, the number and proportion of older organ donors and recipients is increasing. At the same time, the medical and ethical significance of ageing and old age for organ transplantation needs clarification. Advanced age is associated with the frailty syndrome that has a negative impact on the success of organ transplantation. However, there is emerging evidence that frailty can be modified by suitable prehabilitation measures. Against this backdrop, we argue that decision making about access to the transplant waiting list and the allocation of donor organs should integrate geriatric expertise in order to assess and manage frailty and impairments in functional capacity. Prehabilitation should be implemented as a new strategy for pre-operative conditioning of older risk patients' functional capacity. From an ethical point of view, advanced chronological age per se should not preclude the indication for organ transplantation and the allocation of donor organs.

Sexual assistance as a form of support for the sexual needs of people with physical disabilities in Japan

The sexuality of people with disabilities has long been a taboo. The most controversial, mainly from an ethical point of view, is sexual assistance, which in many countries around the world is not only allowed, but also financed by the government. The aim of the article is to look at this form of supporting sexual needs and learn how sexual assistants function in Japan. Attention is drawn to the presentation of two non-governmental organisations: White Hands and Noir, which support and improve the quality of life of men with physical disabilities.