Landmark Publication Research Articles

Early stage identification of breakthroughs at the interface of science and technology: lessons drawn from a landmark publication

Certain scholarly publications or patent publications may signal breakthroughs in basic scientific research or radical new technological developments. Are there bibliographical indicators that enable an analysis of RD it provides a link between theory, experimental verification, and new technological applications. The publication of this landmark discovery marks a sharp rise in the number of scholarly publications, and not much later an increase in the number of filings for related patent applications. Noticeable within 2 years after publication is an above average influx of researchers and of organisations. Changes in the structure of co-citation term maps point to renewed interest from theoretical physicists. The analysis uncovered criteria that can help in identifying at early stage potential breakthroughs that link science and technology.

Boveri at 100: Theodor Boveri and genetic predisposition to cancer.

One hundred years have passed since the publication of Theodore Boveri's Zur Frage der Entstehung maligner Tumouren [Concerning the Origin of Malignant Tumours]. This prescient publication created the foundations for much of our understanding of the origins of cancer and in particular the genetic basis of some cancers. In his work, Boveri suggested that loss of key cellular attributes, now known as tumour suppressor genes, are a key driver event in the development of cancer and inheritance could play a role in cancer susceptibility. He also predicted that chromosomal (genomic) instability as a key hallmark of cancer. Whilst these key insights that still inform the practice of cancer genetics, they were not the main theme of Boveri's text, which was to describe the role of chromosomal abnormalities in the development of cancer. In making his case he also suggested that genetic information could be contained in distinct packages (genes) that are linearly arranged along chromosomes and that cancers arise from single cells. These remarkably accurate hypotheses add weight to the need to celebrate this landmark publication for its accurate prediction of so much that we take for granted. Here we focus on Boveri's contributions to our understanding of hereditary cancers, which, alongside the astute clinical observations of Paul Broca and Aldred Scott Warthin, were published decades before the field became respectable, yet could still inform anyone studying hereditary cancers.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension: yesterday, today, tomorrow.

With more than 25 centuries of efforts to resolve its mysteries, the pulmonary circulation continues to inspire and humble researchers, frustrate clinicians, and scare patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Its mysteries lie in lost manuscripts written in the 12th-century Syria; within the pages of one of the rarest books in history written in 1531 by an author burned alive with his books, condemned by the Inquisition; within a publication from a young urologist self-experimenting 30 years before he received the Nobel prize…What kind of disease is this one that in the age of planning missions to Mars, no medical therapy can save its victims? It is certainly a disease that deserves our respect. The objective of this compendium is to present the state of the art in PAH, but mostly emphasize its future, discussing several evolving theories on its pathogenesis. Its objective is also to comprehensively summarize our current clinical approach to the disease, with patients in mind. In addition to researchers, clinicians, health professionals, students, and residents, its target audience includes patients: the patients who suffer, desperate for answers, and the patients who, one way or another, not only participate in but also fund our research through their taxes and donations. In the age of instant and easy information dissemination, many patients are already quite informed when they visit a specialist. How do we describe the cutting-edge developments in this complex disease to the informed patient? It is not easy, but most would agree that only the expert who really understands his/her subject is able to describe it in lay terms and pass its main messages. Humbled by the complexity of PAH and its challenges, we need to focus on what drives all of us fighting this disease. In addition to our patients, it is scientific curiosity: PAH …

Erwin Blumenfeld: photographs, drawings and photomontages

A revelatory book about the life and work of an important fashion photographer and artist Erwin Blumenfeld (1897-1969) was one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century. His work offers a unique perspective on the society and politics of the 1930s through the 60s. Born in Berlin, Blumenfeld's peripatetic career took him first to Amsterdam and then to Paris, where his work in fashion photography began at Vogue in 1938. After two years in a French concentration camp, he made his way to the United States and established himself as an eminent fashion photographer. Over one hundred of his photographs featured on the covers of prominent fashion and general interest magazines, including Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Life, Look, and Cosmopolitan. Often minimalist, mainly in color, these photographs testify to Blumenfeld's lifelong interest in experimentation. This landmark publication broadens our understanding of Blumenfeld's innovations, reuniting all the media used by the artist throughout his long career: drawing, photography, photomontage, and collage. The motifs of his experimental, sometimes overtly political, black-and-white photographs appear alongside numerous self-portraits and celebrity portraits, as well as the fashion photographs for which he is most known. Presenting some 150 images, this book provides a fresh understanding of Blumenfeld's photography for the commercial worlds of fashion and advertising.

Introduction: Argument Studies in Poland

Contemporary argument studies in Poland began with the research of the LvovWarsaw School and its successors in Artificial Intelligence and legal theory, as well as with the studies of Polish rhetoricians (Koszowy and Araszkiewicz 2014; Budzynska et al. 2014) (see also van Eemeren et al. 2015; Koszowy 2011; Zalȩska 2012). The last decade has witnessed a major transformation in the Polish landscape, beginning with several landmark publications (see e.g. Dignum et al. 2001; Grabowski 2003; Lichanski 2003; Smolak 2003; Szymanek et al. 2003; Bogolȩbska 2006; Tokarz 2006; Holowka 2007; Dunin-Kȩplicz and Verbrugge 2010; Gizbert-Studnicki 2012) which have attracted an ever-growing number of young researchers and students. As a result, the research movement of the Polish School of Argumentation has begun to emerge (see Sect. 1). In 2008, the nationwide initiative ArgDiaP (http://argdiap.pl/) was established in order to provide infrastructure facilitating the networking process and to foster research on argumentation in Poland, including the research of the Polish School of Argumentation (see Sect. 2). In 2013, the 11th ArgDiaP workshop hosted an interdisciplinary group of Polish scholars, who discussed the present state of the art and future directions of argument studies in Poland. This discussion resulted in a Manifesto co-authored by 55 representatives of the School and published as the opening article (Budzynska et al. 2014) of this special issue.

My tribute to Mary ellen avery.

My tribute to Mary ellen avery.

The evolution of the S-D logic approach and its impact on service science

The S-D Logic approach has developed into a solid theoretical framework influencing the field of service science and marketing since its introduction by Vargo and Lusch in 2004. Many research papers were published, forums and conferences were founded and a vivid discussion took place over S-D Logic. However, S-D Logic still has not been established as a holistic theory. Thus, the aim of this paper is to analyze the evolution of the S-D Logic approach and its influence on marketing theory and service science, as well as its critical factors based on qualitative literature analysis and conceptual research. As an outcome, the paper provides a timeline featuring landmark publications, and important milestones of the SD Logic approach associated with real world implications.

History of design: decorative arts and material culture, 1400-2000

A survey of spectacular breadth, covering the history of decorative arts and design worldwide over the past six hundred years Spanning six centuries of global design, this far-reaching survey is the first to offer an account of the vast history of decorative arts and design produced in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Indian subcontinent, and the Islamic world, from 1400 to the present. Meticulously documented and lavishly illustrated, the volume covers interiors, furniture, textiles and dress, glass, graphics, metalwork, ceramics, exhibitions, product design, landscape and garden design, and theater and film design. Divided into four chronological sections, each of which is subdivided geographically, the authors elucidate the evolution of style, form, materials, and techniques, and address vital issues such as gender, race, patronage, cultural appropriation, continuity versus innovation, and high versus low culture. Leading authorities in design history and decorative arts studies present hundreds of objects in their contemporary contexts, demonstrating the overwhelming extent to which the applied arts have enriched customs, ceremony, and daily life worldwide over the past six hundred years. This ambitious, landmark publication is essential reading, contributing a definitive classic to the existing scholarship on design, decorative arts, and material culture, while also introducing these subjects to new readers in a comprehensive, erudite book with widespread appeal.

Prospective observational cohort studies for studying rare diseases: the European PedNet Haemophilia Registry.

Haemophilia is a rare disease. To improve knowledge, prospective studies of large numbers of subjects are needed. To establish a large well-documented birth cohort of patients with haemophilia enabling studies on early presentation, side effects and outcome of treatment. Twenty-one haemophilia treatment centres have been collecting data on all children with haemophilia with FVIII/IX levels up to 25% born from 2000 onwards. Another eight centres collected data on severe haemophilia A only. At baseline, details on delivery and diagnosis, gene mutation, family history of haemophilia and inhibitors are collected. For the first 75 exposure days, date, reason, dose and product are recorded for each infusion. Clinically relevant inhibitors are defined as follows: at least two positive inhibitor titres and a FVIII/IX recovery <66% of expected. For inhibitor patients, results of all inhibitor- and recovery tests are collected. For continued treatment, data on bleeding, surgery, prophylaxis and clotting factor consumption are collected annually. Data are downloaded for analysis annually. In May 2013, a total of 1094 patients were included: 701 with severe, 146 with moderate and 247 with mild haemophilia. Gene defect data were available for 87.6% of patients with severe haemophilia A. The first analysis, performed in May 2011, lead to two landmark publications. The outcome of this large collaborative research confirms its value for the improvement of haemophilia care. High-quality prospective observational cohorts form an ideal source to study natural history and treatment in rare diseases such as haemophilia.

Scientific methods

“工欲善其事,必先利其器” --‘If a workman wishes to do a good job, he must first sharpen his tools.’ This ancient adage from Confucius maintains its relevance even now in the information age where the potential applications of new technology are limited only by the imagination. Historically, the development and dissemination of novel techniques &amp; methods has served as a catalyst for scientific progress by re-defining what is possible within the laboratory. It is worth recounting that the breakthroughs in genetic engineering that led to the production of the first recombinant protein and the birth of biotechnology occurred within a decade of the discovery of the first restriction enzyme. Once again, we are on the cusp of a paradigm shift in the biological sciences following the discovery of yet another mechanism of prokaryotic immunity; the CRISPR/Cas system. A series of landmark publications involving a single enzyme in this system have seen it emerge as an incredibly versatile and powerful tool capable of manipulating the transcriptome, epigenome and even the genome itself. The rate at which such technology can be adapted and repurposed by the scientific community is a testament to the power of open access resources, and their capacity to facilitate and accelerate the exchange of ideas. Given the importance of reliable techniques and methodologies in advancing scientific research, we are pleased to announce the launch of the Journal of Biological Methods (JBM, ISSN 2326-9901), a peer-reviewed open access journal dedicated to the publication of innovative, cutting-edge methods and techniques across the spectrum of life sciences.

Variability in the use of invasive services: sign of poor quality of care or an opportunity to improve care?

> Variability is the law of life,…and no two individuals react alike and behave alike under the abnormal conditions which we know as disease. > > —William Osler National efforts to improve the quality of care were greatly enhanced by the Institute of Medicine’s landmark publication, Crossing the Quality Chasm .1 The report concludes that a fundamental redesign of the healthcare system is needed to achieve the core needs of health care to be safe, effective, patient-centric, timely, efficient, and equitable. One goal has been to reduce inequity in care by reducing sex, race, and socioeconomic and geographic variability because inequality was felt to represent lack of adherence to optimal standard of care. The Dartmouth Healthcare Atlas project was the first to demonstrate significant regional differences in Medicare spending in the United States without an improvement in quality.2 This group and others have also shown wide geographic variations in the use of procedures such as coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary angioplasty (PCI).2–4 The causes for this large difference in practice are unclear, but it has been speculated that it is because of both underuse and overuse of these procedures.5,6 Several factors have been shown to relate to the variation in practice, including the operator, hospital, sex, race, the availability of a cardiac catheterization laboratory, the type of hospital, rural location, the type of health insurance, and socioeconomic class.3,7–9 Efforts to reduce the variability in care have focused on overuse through adoption of appropriate use criteria (AUC), performance measures, public reporting, and pay for performance. The Rand Corporation first developed AUC in 1986 using a modified Delphi process. Based on guidelines, registry studies, and expert opinion, a panel of experts developed a consensus on several indications for common procedures including angioplasty. …

AACR Celebrates 50 Years of Tobacco Research and Policy

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Surgeon General's Report on Smoking and Health . This landmark publication found a definitive, causal link between smoking and lung cancer in men, and, along with the subsequent reports, spurred a series of important public health initiatives that

Historiography and narration in transnational history

AbstractThe ‘transnational turn’ has been one of the most widely debated historiographical directions in the past decade or so. This article explores one of its landmark publications: The Palgrave dictionary of transnational history (2009), which presents around 400 entries on transnational history written by around 350 authors from some 25 countries. Drawing on narrative theory and the sociology of knowledge, the article develops an extensive quantitative and qualitative analysis of the most prominent narrative structures that can be found across the Dictionary, thus piecing together a coherent historiographical portrait of the book's many and multifarious entries. In doing so the article wishes to demonstrate a possible methodology for analysing the growing body of reference works – in the form of dictionaries, encyclopaedias, and handbooks – that are currently mushrooming in expanding research areas across the social sciences and the humanities such as international relations, governance, and globalization studies.

Cardiac T 1 Imaging

T(1) mapping of the heart has evolved into a valuable tool to evaluate myocardial tissue properties, with or without contrast injection, including assessment of myocardial edema and free water content, extracellular volume (expansion), and most recently cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. The magnetic resonance imaging pulse sequence techniques developed for these applications have had to address at least 2 important considerations for cardiac applications: measure magnetization-inversion recoveries during cardiac motion with sufficient temporal resolution for the shortest expected T(1) values, and, second, obtain these measurements within a time during which a patient can comfortably suspend breathing. So-called Look-Locker techniques, and variants thereof, which all sample multiple points of a magnetization recovery after each magnetization preparation, have therefore become a mainstay in this field. The rapid pace of advances and new findings based on cardiac T(1) mapping for assessment of diffuse fibrosis or myocardial edema show that these techniques enrich the capabilities of magnetic resonance imaging for myocardial tissue profiling, which is arguably unmatched by other cardiac imaging modalities.

Reading Olive Schreiner Reading W. E. B. Du Bois

In October 1905, the South African novelist Olive Schreiner received a copy of W. E. B. Du Bois’s The Souls of Black Folk. Schreiner, whose thinking about race in South Africa had been developing considerably since the landmark publication of The Story of an African Farm (1883), found herself deeply moved by Du Bois’s book. In a letter to her friend Edward Carpenter she wrote that, “the book makes me feel so much that sometimes I can’t look at it; it seems to come from within me.” In the first decade of the twentieth century, whose central political issue Du Bois had predicted would be “the problem of the color line,” Schreiner found Du Bois’s formulations startlingly apt as she attempted to come to terms with the particular racial crisis South Africa confronted between the end of the South African War (1899–1902) and the formation of the Union of South Africa (1910). Both in content and style, Souls resonated deeply with Schreiner as she wrestled with the “native question” in pre-Union South Africa. Very little notice has been taken of Schreiner’s reading of Du Bois, however, even though her transnational, transracial identification exemplifies the kind of crossnational anticolonial interdiscursivity that Elleke Boehmer and other critics have drawn attention to over the last decade or so. This essay first suggests reasons for the lack of attention to the Schreiner-Du Bois connection and then goes on to analyze the connection’s significance in relation to the com plex discourses of race, class, gender, and nationality and their intersections with systems of imperialism, capitalism, and modernity at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Chemotherapy and its evolving role in the management of advanced prostate cancer

Advanced prostate cancer has been recognized as being responsive to androgen deprivation since the 1940s when Charles Huggins first described the role of surgical castration in managing these patients. However, androgen deprivation only results in transient disease control for the vast majority of men, with those progressing in spite of castrate testosterone levels labeled as having castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Until 2004, the therapeutic arena for these patients had remained stagnant, with no agent having shown a survival gain in the CRPC setting. Two landmark publications changed the prostate cancer treatment landscape by providing ‘level-1 evidence’ that docetaxel-based chemotherapy led to prolongation in overall survival (OS). This was followed by the approval of cabazitaxel in 2010 on the basis of Phase III data demonstrating its efficacy in patients pretreated with docetaxel. More recently, a number of next-generation androgen-directed agents (e.g. abiraterone and enzalutamide) have also been shown to lead to a survival benefit in men with CRPC. With so many new treatment options available, a number of questions remain. These include: how to best sequence chemotherapy with these newer hormonal agents, the clinical implication of cross-resistance between taxanes and androgen-directed agents and which subsets of patients may benefit most from early use of chemotherapy. This review will provide an overview of the evolving role of chemotherapy in the management of advanced prostate cancer in the current era.

Review

Reviewed by: German Popular Stories. By the Brothers Grimm. Adapted by Edgar Taylor ed. by Jack Zipes Jennifer Schacker (bio) German Popular Stories. By the Brothers Grimm. Adapted by Edgar Taylor. Edited by Jack Zipes. Kent, UK: Crescent Moon, 2012. 387 pp. The bicentennial anniversary of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm’s Kinder- und Hausmärchen (KHM) generated renewed dialogue about the significance of that landmark publication, including the international scope of its influence in the nineteenth century and beyond. It is in this context that Crescent Moon has issued a reprint of the first English treatment of the Grimms’ fairy tales: Edgar Taylor’s German Popular Stories, with an introductory essay and appendixes by Jack Zipes. Working with the 1819 edition of the KHM, Taylor took many liberties as a translator, combining stories, Anglicizing names and titles, eliminating some religious references, downplaying violence and bloody detail, rendering threatening figures comical, and so on. Such choices have generated nearly 200 years of unfavorable critique (at least from many scholars), and Taylor has become a relatively obscure figure in fairy-tale studies today. Nevertheless, the 1823 edition of German Popular Stories, Translated from the Kinder und Haus Märchen [sic] Collected by M.M. Grimm, from Oral Tradition, illustrated by George Cruikshank and published by Charles Baldwyn, was an immensely popular and influential book. It was reprinted in 1824 and 1825, followed by a second volume in 1826 and a revised edition in 1837 (shortly before Taylor’s death). In fact, the publishing history of German Popular Stories rivals that of the KHM in its complexity. To begin with, Taylor was not the sole translator of the first volume, but neither his name nor that of his collaborator, David Jardine, appears on that book. Moreover, the edition of German Popular Stories cited most frequently—and the one on which this reprint edition is based—is a single-volume edition published by John Camden Hotten thirty years after Taylor’s death. The 1868 edition combined the contents of the 1823 and 1826 volumes and was introduced by John Ruskin (himself a small child when the book first appeared). The current volume is neither a facsimile edition nor an annotated one, but in addition to the introduction, Zipes has included [End Page 394] important documents as appendixes: Ruskin’s influential introductory essay from the 1868 edition (which offers a snapshot of later Victorian debates about the nature of the genre and its audiences); letters to Taylor from Sir Walter Scott and Taylor’s correspondence with the Grimms, all from the 1820s; and the opening pages and introduction to the 1837 edition of German Popular Stories, which firmly established Grimms’ fairy tales as English children’s literature. In his own introduction Zipes traces the complex history of German Popular Stories and offers critical context for what he calls “a revolutionary book” (16). Zipes argues persuasively that the success of German Popular Stories canonized Grimms’ fairy tales as English literature for children and established a specific vision of the fairy tale as viable print commodity. Importantly, Taylor’s interest in the KHM and his initial approach to the project were informed by the ideas and rhetoric of antiquarianism, and to his credit Taylor did address some of his editing choices in the notes he appended to each of the 1823 and 1826 editions, combined and included (with only minor emendations) in Hotten’s 1868 edition and also in the current Crescent Moon reprint. Those first editions of German Popular Stories stand as early examples of a marriage between popular print culture and scholarly discourse so characteristic of nineteenth-century British folklore study, and the Grimms’ own “small edition” of 1825 was inspired by the success of Taylor’s English book (see pages 26 and 360–66). Although Zipes addresses the ways in which both the Grimms and Taylor negotiated that borderline between scholarly and popular discourses, his main concern in the introductory essay is the role that Taylor played (perhaps inadvertently) in transforming the Grimms’ collection into “amusing popular reading material for children” (32). As a result, Zipes attends less than he might to the book’s history as a story of textual experimentation or the...

Investing in health: why, what, and three reflections

When Dean Jamison proposed in 2012 that he and Lawrence Summers should reprise their work on investing in health—their 1993 World Development Report (WDR) 1 The World BankWorld development report 1993: investing in health. World Bank and Oxford University Press, Washington, DC1993 Crossref Google Scholar remains the only World Bank annual publication dedicated to health—it seemed a huge and daunting task. WDR 1993, as it came to be known, is surrounded in global health mythology. For some, it was a milestone in making the case for health to heads of state and finance ministers. For others, it opened the door to private sector colonisation of health care, a door that, once opened, could never be closed again. Whatever one's view, it is uncontroversial to say that WDR 1993 was a landmark document in health. Its 20-year anniversary deserves reflection. Global health 2035: a world converging within a generationPrompted by the 20th anniversary of the 1993 World Development Report, a Lancet Commission revisited the case for investment in health and developed a new investment framework to achieve dramatic health gains by 2035. Our report has four key messages, each accompanied by opportunities for action by national governments of low-income and middle-income countries and by the international community. Full-Text PDF Reinvesting in health post-2015During the past few years we have jointly forged a strong case for health and its links to sustainable development in the post-2015 agenda, with an overarching goal that seeks to maximise health at all stages of life, and with universal health coverage and access as the key means to its achievement. We have acknowledged the need to accelerate progress on the current Millennium Development Goals; to broaden the agenda to encompass non-communicable diseases; and to give more prominence to sexual and reproductive health, with particular emphasis on the health of adolescents. Full-Text PDF Time for even greater ambition in global healthEvery so often, significant global trends can be traced back to a source. The 1993 World Development Report (WDR)1 was such a catalyst in global health and development policy, demonstrating to finance ministers, economists, and philanthropists that health is an investment with positive economic returns—and not simply a drain on scarce resources. The report helped set the stage for a major scale-up of health investments at global, regional, and national levels. Full-Text PDF Investing in health: progress but hard choices remainThe world has changed radically since the World Development Report (WDR) Investing in Health1 was published 20 years ago, so it is valuable and timely to look ahead once again. The Lancet Commission's optimistic report on investing in health2 confirms my view that the best times for public health are still ahead of us. Full-Text PDF Towards a more robust investment framework for healthOn the 20th anniversary of the 1993 World Development Report (WDR),1 the report of the Lancet Commission on Investing in Health reaffirms that investing in health is a strategic investment with enormous economic returns.2 In recognition of the intrinsic value of health, the Commission used a “full income” approach to demonstrate an even higher total return from health investments than previously calculated. Measuring economic and intrinsic values together clearly shows that investments in health are investments in human development—in enlarging people's choices, freedoms, and capabilities to lead lives they value. Full-Text PDF A grand convergence and a historic opportunityThe 1993 World Development Report (WDR)1 was a landmark publication: it put health squarely on the radar as a mainstream development opportunity. WDR 1993 made the important linkage between health gains and economic development, and it did so with arguments, metrics, and an audience that would have a substantial impact on how the world's decision makers prioritised and financed health. Full-Text PDF Dean Jamison: putting economics at the heart of global healthDean Jamison, health economist, Professor of Global Health at the University of Washington in Seattle, and co-chair of the Lancet Commission on Investing in Health, chuckles when I ask him about the need for a new Commission 20 years after the World Bank's seminal 1993 World Development Report (WDR), Investing in Health, which he led. “It has been a fun project to work on again, given the enormous change in the landscape of global health in the past 20 years”, he remarks. “Health conditions have improved more than we thought possible 20 years ago. Full-Text PDF

Fullerene&amp;ndash;biomolecule conjugates and their biomedicinal applications

Fullerenes are among the strongest antioxidants and are characterized as “radical sponges.” The research on biomedicinal applications of fullerenes has achieved significant progress since the landmark publication by Friedman et al in 1993. Fullerene–biomolecule conjugates have become an important area of research during the past 2 decades. By a thorough literature search, we attempt to update the information about the synthesis of different types of fullerene–biomolecule conjugates, including fullerene-containing amino acids and peptides, oligonucleotides, sugars, and esters. Moreover, we also discuss in this review recently reported data on the biological and pharmaceutical utilities of these compounds and some other fullerene derivatives of biomedical importance. While within the fullerene–biomolecule conjugates, in which fullerene may act as both an antioxidant and a carrier, specific targeting biomolecules conjugated to fullerene will undoubtedly strengthen the delivery of functional fullerenes to sites of clinical interest.

Comparison of the “Real-life” Diagnostic Value of Two Recently Published Electrocardiogram Methods for the Differential Diagnosis of Wide QRS Complex Tachycardias

The diagnostic values of the aVR lead or "Vereckei algorithm," and the lead II R-wave peak time (RWPT) criterion, recently devised for the differential diagnosis of wide QRS complex tachycardias (WCTs), were compared. A total of 212 WCTs (142 ventricular tachycardias [VTs], 62 supraventricular tachycardias [SVT], and eight preexcitation SVTs) from 145 patients with proven electrophysiologic diagnoses were retrospectively analyzed by seven examiners blinded to the electrophysiologic diagnoses. The overall test accuracy of the Vereckei algorithm was superior to that of the RWPT criterion (84.3% vs. 79.6%; p = 0.0003). The sensitivity of the Vereckei algorithm for VT diagnosis was greater than that of RWPT criterion (92.4% vs. 79.1%; p < 0.0001). The negative predictive value (NPV) for the Vereckei algorithm was also greater (77.8%; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 73.6% to 82.1%) than that of the RWPT criterion (61.6%; 95% CI = 57.6% to 65.6%). The specificity of the Vereckei algorithm was lower than that of the RWPT criterion (64.7% vs. 80.9%; p < 0.0001). The positive predictive value (PPV) was also lower for the Vereckei algorithm (86.4%; 95% CI = 84.4% to 88.4%) than for the RWPT criterion (90.9%; 95% CI = 89.1% to 92.8%). Incorrect diagnoses made by the Vereckei algorithm were mainly due to misdiagnosis of SVT as VT (65.7% of cases), and those made by the RWPT criterion were due to the more dangerous misdiagnosis of VT as SVT (72.5% of cases). The Vereckei algorithm was superior in overall test accuracy, sensitivity, and NPV for VT diagnosis and inferior in specificity and PPV to the RWPT criterion. All of these parameters were lower in "real life" than those reported by the original authors for each of the particular electrocardiographic methods.