New editorial leadership: new ideas, but same old values

Editorial: Going beyond "Same Old, Same Old"

New Ideas About Old Drugs

The nitrovasodilators are a diverse group of pharmacological agents that produce vascular relaxation by releasing nitric oxide. The mechanisms by which these compounds release nitric oxide vary, depending on their chemical structure. Compounds with lower oxidation states of nitrogen such as nitroprusside, nitrosamines, and nitrosothiols release nitric oxide nonenzymatically. In the case of nitr...

Pluralism; an Old but New Phenomenon in Socio-political Processes

This paper presents pluralism as a historical process. The term pluralism frequently appears not only in the field of political philosophy but also in social sciences. In one sense, the growing literature is stimulating and enriching, nevertheless the abundance of material attempting to explain the various interpretations of pluralist theory can be convoluted and overwhelming. Despite the const...

Same Old Bugs, New Diseases

Blood-borne mycoplasmas, known collectively as hemotropic mycoplasmas or hemoplasmas, are small, pleomorphic, epicellular bacteria that adhere to the host’s red blood cells. They cannot be cultured. They can be detected microscopically in blood smears and, more reliably, through use of PCR assays on whole blood. The hemoplasmas vary in severity of disease caused to the host and most infected an...

Asthma: new ideas about an old disease.

Asthma is a common and important disease, characterized by widespread bronchial obstruction that is reversible either spontaneously or with therapy. Its principal causes seem to be allergy, infections, irritants, and psychophysiologic reactions, usually in combinations. Induction of asthma by allergens is related to the presence of IgE antibodies fixed to mast cells and basophils. When these an...