When the universal is particular: a re-examination of the common morality using the work of Charles Taylor.

Beauchamp and Childress' biomedical principlism is nearly synonymous with medical ethics for most clinicians. Their four principles are theoretically derived from the "common morality", a universal cache of moral beliefs and claims shared by all morally serious humans. Others have challenged the viability of the common morality, but none have attempted to explain why the common morality makes intuitive sense to Western ethicists. Here I use the work of Charles Taylor to trace how events in the Western history of ideas made the common morality seem plausible and yet, ironically, underscore the cultural particularity of the so-called common morality. I conclude that the supposedly universal common morality is actually quite culturally contained. Importantly, this should give us pause about the global authority of principlism and Beauchamp and Childress' claim to a global bioethics project.

Still Human: A Call for Increased Focus on Ethical Standards in Cadaver Research.

Research on human cadavers is an important mechanism of scientific progress and comprises a large industry in the United States. However, despite its importance and influence, there is little ethical or regulatory oversight of cadaver-based research. This lack of transparency raises important ethical questions. Thus, this paper serves as a call for ethicists and regulators to pay increased attention to cadaver research. I argue that cadaver research ought to be considered a subset of human subjects research and held accountable to higher ethical standards. After describing current practices, I argue that oversight of cadaver research as a form of human subjects research is appropriate because cadaver research is similar to other types of human research, participants in cadaver research incur risks of harm, and a current lack of oversight has allowed the cadaver industry to entice research participation through ethically questionable practices. This paper urges greater dialogue among human subjects research ethicists and regulators about what constitutes appropriate protections for participants in cadaver research.

Attachments: The Colliding Worlds of Telepsychiatry, Social Media, and COVID-19.

While flipping through my university's newspaper recently, I came across a startling headline: "Ditch Your Therapist, Start a Finsta."1 A portmanteau of "fake" and "Instagram," Finstas are secondary Instagram accounts young people use to post less polished photos of themselves. Paradoxically meant to be more authentic than Rinsta (real + Instagram) accounts, Finstas are intended for small, curated audiences. The student journalist dispensed her advice boldly: "Finsta is a good place for all the minutiae you don't want to share with your therapist, don't have time to share with your therapist, or don't want to be completely honest or authentic with your therapist about."1 Sure, I already knew my students and patients turned to social media for mental health advice. But the explicitness with which this author suggested carving up one's problems between social media and clinicians was striking.

Haemophilus influenzae type b carriage among young children in metropolitan Atlanta in the context of vaccine shortage and booster dose deferral.

Short-term deferral of the Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine booster dose during a recent U.S. Hib vaccine shortage did not result in widespread Hib carriage in Atlanta, as the Hib carriage rate was found to be 0.3% (1/342). Hib colonization was significantly more common among males and day care attendees.

sodC-based real-time PCR for detection of Neisseria meningitidis.

Real-time PCR (rt-PCR) is a widely used molecular method for detection of Neisseria meningitidis (Nm). Several rt-PCR assays for Nm target the capsule transport gene, ctrA. However, over 16% of meningococcal carriage isolates lack ctrA, rendering this target gene ineffective at identification of this sub-population of meningococcal isolates. The Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase gene, sodC, is found in Nm but not in other Neisseria species. To better identify Nm, regardless of capsule genotype or expression status, a sodC-based TaqMan rt-PCR assay was developed and validated. Standard curves revealed an average lower limit of detection of 73 genomes per reaction at cycle threshold (C(t)) value of 35, with 100% average reaction efficiency and an average R(2) of 0.9925. 99.7% (624/626) of Nm isolates tested were sodC-positive, with a range of average C(t) values from 13.0 to 29.5. The mean sodC C(t) value of these Nm isolates was 17.6±2.2 (±SD). Of the 626 Nm tested, 178 were nongroupable (NG) ctrA-negative Nm isolates, and 98.9% (176/178) of these were detected by sodC rt-PCR. The assay was 100% specific, with all 244 non-Nm isolates testing negative. Of 157 clinical specimens tested, sodC detected 25/157 Nm or 4 additional specimens compared to ctrA and 24 more than culture. Among 582 carriage specimens, sodC detected Nm in 1 more than ctrA and in 4 more than culture. This sodC rt-PCR assay is a highly sensitive and specific method for detection of Nm, especially in carriage studies where many meningococcal isolates lack capsule genes.