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When evaluating the effectiveness of an intervention, the evaluation approach must match the intervention complexity, ensuring that the chosen evaluation is “fit for purpose.” For simple interventions, evaluating short-, mid-, and long-term outcomes is appropriate. However, for complex interventions, an additional outcome that must be considered is the essential system property that emerges as a result of the interaction of interdependent intervention components. By focusing on the emergent system property, evaluators are better able to assess the holistic effectiveness of a complex intervention. This article illustrates this principle through a comparative case study of a simple intervention and a complex intervention within a National Institute of Health (NIH) funded Clinical Translational Research center. The analysis illustrates that a more effective and appropriate evaluation results when a complex intervention, deemed to be operating and functioning as a system, is evaluated as a system than could have been achieved by treating each component as independent and evaluating the short-, mid-, or long-term outcomes of each component.

This article examines recent use of the key phrase ‘common good’ in Catholic social teaching as well as in the Anglican tradition. It explores who first developed the term, and looks at the evidence for Anglican use of it before such language became widespread among Catholics. Use of the ‘common good’ by Henry Scott Holland and William Temple is surveyed. It is argued that Thomas Hill Green, first, and Jacques Maritain, second, are the real architects of the modern use of ‘common good’.

Objective In autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI), there is no consensus about used bioscaffolds. The aim of this study was to perform an in vitro comparative analysis of 2 clinically applied biomaterials for cartilage lesion treatment. Design Monolayer expanded human chondrocytes ( n = 6) were embedded in a collagen scaffold (CS) and a hyaluronic acid–based hydrogel (HA). Cells were cultured in chondropermissive medium supplemented with and without interleukin-10 (IL-10) and bone morphogenetic protein–2 (BMP-2). Gene expression of chondrogenic markers (COL1A1, COL2A1, COL10A1, ACAN, SOX9) was detected via quantitative real-time–polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Biosynthesis of matrix compounds, cell viability, morphology as well as migration from surrounding native bovine cartilage into cell-free scaffolds were analyzed histologically. Adhesion of the material to adjacent cartilage was investigated by a custom-made push-out test. Results The shift of COL1/2 ratio toward COL2A1 was more pronounced in HA, and cells displayed a more spherical morphology compared with CS. BMP-2 and IL-10 significantly increased COL2A1, SOX9, and ACAN expression, which was paralleled by enhanced staining of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and type 2 collagen in histological sections of CS and HA. COL10A1 was not significantly expressed in HA and CS. Better interfacial integration and enhanced cell invasion was observed in CS. Push-out tests using CS showed higher bonding strength to native cartilage. Conclusion HA-based hydrogel revealed a more chondrocyte-like phenotype but only allowed limited cell invasion, whereas CS were advantageous in terms of cellular invasion and interfacial adhesion. These differences may be clinically relevant when treating cartilaginous or osteochondral defects.

A disquieting aspect of some contemporary public discourse is its seeming indifference to or abandonment of any pretense to truth. Among other things, unsubstantiated and misleading claims have been made about the efficacy of vaccines and other purported treatments for SARS-COVID, the 2020 U.S. presidential election, and the January 6, 2021, insurrection on the U.S. Capitol. In addition, a spate of legislation restricting classroom discussion and instruction related to race, bias, privilege, and discrimination has been or is pending passage in U.S. state legislatures. These restrictions are antithetical to core functions of education, which are to inculcate the values, virtues, and advanced literacy skills that support democratic deliberation about controversial issues. This article discusses the increasing political polarization and partisan attacks on the processes of education and the threats to liberal democracy posed by this disregard for the truth. In addition, it reviews the cultural and psychological factors that increase our susceptibility to misinformation and presents a perspective about the pursuit of truth that highlights the educational affordances of disciplinary inquiry, democratic deliberation, and reasonable argumentation. The contemporary challenges are manifestations of long-standing political and cultural divisions, and their mitigation will depend on developing communities of informed citizens that are committed to the values and virtues that are foundational to liberal democracy.

Risk preference impacts how people make key life decisions related to health, wealth, and well-being. Systematic variations in risk-taking behavior can be the result of differences in fitness expectations, as predicted by life-history theory. Yet the evolutionary roots of human risk-taking behavior remain poorly understood. Here, we studied risk preferences of chimpanzees (86 Pan troglodytes; 47 females; age = 2–40 years) using a multimethod approach that combined observer ratings with behavioral choice experiments. We found that chimpanzees’ willingness to take risks shared structural similarities with that of humans. First, chimpanzees’ risk preference manifested as a traitlike preference that was consistent across domains and measurements. Second, chimpanzees were ambiguity averse. Third, males were more risk prone than females. Fourth, the appetite for risk showed an inverted-U-shaped relation to age and peaked in young adulthood. Our findings suggest that key dimensions of risk preference appear to emerge independently of the influence of human cultural evolution.

Peer reviewed: True, Skazka Skazok/Tale of Tales (Yuri Norstein, 1979) has delighted and puzzled audiences and critics ever since its release. It presents a series of beautifully-animated episodes that seem to make narrative sense at the micro-level and that appear to fit together as a whole, but leaves the audience bemused as to why this should be so. The article discusses the history and context of the film, arguing that the ways in which sound and, particularly, music are deployed in relation to its visual elements provide powerful clues and cues as to the film’s over-arching narrative significances. Close analysis of the film’s music, sound and visuals reveals teleological underpinnings that are realized by means of alignment and re-alignment of music and image, leading to a new understanding of how the film and its success can be interpreted.

Myxomas are rare tumors in neonates and tend to have a different presentation compared to adults. We present an infant with a left atrial myxoma presenting with episodic tachycardia who underwent successful surgical excision. In addition, we performed a review of the literature, identifying 17 cases of neonatal myxomas. Unlike adults, neonatal myxomas are more common in males and occur more often on the right side of the heart. Constitutional symptoms such as fever or embolism are rare among neonates. Most patients have favorable outcomes following surgical excision, refuting earlier claims that neonatal myxomas are associated with poor outcomes.