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The power of technology to transform religions, science, and political institutions has often been presented as nothing short of revolutionary. Does technology have a similarly transformative influence on societies’ morality? Scholars have not rigorously investigated the role of technology in moral revolutions, even though existing research on technomoral change suggests that this role may be considerable. In this paper, we explore what the role of technology in moral revolutions, understood as processes of radical group-level moral change, amounts to. We do so by investigating four historical episodes of radical moral change in which technology plays a noteworthy role. Our case-studies illustrate the plurality of mechanisms involved in technomoral revolutions, but also suggest general patterns of technomoral change, such as technology’s capacity to stabilize and destabilize moral systems, and to make morally salient phenomena visible or invisible. We find several leads to expand and refine conceptual tools for analysing moral change, specifically by crystallizing the notions of ‘technomoral niche construction’ and ‘moral payoff mechanisms’. Coming to terms with the role of technology in radical moral change, we argue, enriches our understanding of moral revolutions, and alerts us to the depths of which technology can change our societies in wanted and unwanted ways.

Since the publication of Annette Baier’s agenda-setting article entitled ‘Trust and Antitrust’, trust has become an increasingly popular topic, not only in moral philosophy and epistemology but also in the fields of economics, psychology, anthropology and the social sciences. Yet, the importance of K.E. Løgstrup’s highly original work on trust is still not fully recognised. In this article, we try to remedy this oversight by comparing three dominant trends in the broad and varied field of contemporary writings on trust with Løgstrup’s conception of the phenomenon of basic trust. The three trends are the attempts to develop theories providing explanations or justifications of trust and the almost all-pervasive individualism of contemporary thinking on trust. Our aim is to show how Løgstrup’s concept of basic trust, along with his understanding of vulnerability, interdependence, and the relational character of our lives gives us reasons to be critical of these dominant trends. Furthermore, we argue that Løgstrup offers us valuable insights into the fundamental and ubiquitous, but often overlooked phenomenon of basic trust, and that this form of trust is essentially relational in character.

One prominent trend in moral philosophy today is an interest in the rich textures of actual human practices and lives. The work of these philosophers is informed by, for instance, anthropology (e.g. Lear 2008), literature (e.g. Cavell 1999; Nussbaum 1992), the empirical sciences (e.g. Appiah 2009; Turner 2010) and history (e.g. Appiah 2011; Guenther 2013; Kitcher 2014). In these and other ways, moral thinkers engage in forms of contextual ethics. These engagements motivate reflections on why and how context is important ethically, and such metaethical reflection is what this article undertakes. Unlike Anscombe, I have found the thinking of past philosophers useful in shining a light on my subject. My main inspirations are the later Wittgenstein and the Danish theologian K.E. Løgstrup. In the following, I first describe one way in which context plays a central role with regard to ethical meaning and normativity. I then look into how ‘context’ is to be defined, and finally I discuss some of the questions which arise when giving context prominence in ethics, namely how to delimit the scope of relevant context, the relevant traits of a particular context and what ‘the ethical’ is.

The theme of change is one of the most prominent traits of Wittgenstein’s later work, and his writings have inspired many contemporary thinkers’ discussions of changes in e.g. concepts, ‘aspect-seeing’, practices, worldviews, and forms of life. However, Wittgenstein’s conception of the dynamics of change has not been investigated in its own right. The aim of this paper is to investigate which understanding of the dynamics of changes can be found in the later Wittgenstein’s work. I will argue that what emerges is a rich and complex picture that has the potential to aid our thinking in politics and elsewhere when developing strategies for creating changes. It can do so both as source of inspiration and by countering tempting, yet ultimately problematic ways of conceptualizing change like the hope for transforming harmful traditions and social practices with the help of a general explanatory theory of the fundamental dynamics of changes.

The use of new autonomous and Lagrangian platforms (e.g. gliders, drifters, etc.) has revolutionized sampling of the ocean. The incorporation of in vivo chlorophyll-a fluorometers into these platforms for characterizing chlorophyll-a concentrations and phytoplankton biomass has reinforced the need for a thorough understanding of the variability and biases associated with basic fluorescence measurements. Seaglider, a long-range autonomous glider, has been deployed routinely in Northeast Pacific waters off the Washington coast, USA. Measurements of chlorophyll-a fluorescence (proxy for chlorophyll-a concentration) and optical backscattering (proxy for particle concentration) were collected on the continental shelf and along a V-shaped transect that extended 200 km from the continental shelf into deep oceanic waters. Daytime fluorescence quenching (i.e. the reduction in the fluorescence quantum yield often observed during daylight hours) could be detected throughout the dataset, with near-surface daytime fluorescence quenched by as much as 80% during summer. Quenching was observed throughout the region, at all times of year, and to depths greater than 50 m. The degree of quenching was positively correlated with incoming solar radiation and the observed pattern was remarkably similar to what has been observed in other areas, suggesting some degree of universality for the underlying relationship.

BACKGROUND: Patients with bone marrow failure secondary to chemotherapy often develop thrombocytopenia and require platelet transfusion. Fibrinogen plays an important role in platelet aggregation and the establishment of the primary haemostatic plug.OBJECTIVES: To compare the effects of in vivo platelet transfusion on clot firmness in thrombocytopenic patients with in vitro-performed fibrinogen concentrate substitution.MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty patients with haematological malignancy admitted for platelet transfusion were included. Haemostatic effects from platelet transfusion and ex vivo addition of fibrinogen concentrate at three different doses were evaluated by thromboelastometry, with clot firmness as the primary endpoint (A30 ExTEM assay). Secondary endpoints were other thromboelastometry parameters, thrombin generation parameters, activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), prothrombin time PT, fibrinogen and factor XIII levels and a clinical bleeding score.RESULTS: Twenty patients (66%) had clinical bleeding signs by prior to transfusion. Platelets increased from 17 (range, 1-109) to 40 (range 2-139) × 10(9) L(-1) following transfusion, with a median corrected count increment of 16·7 (range, 0·8-43·5). The A30 value increased significantly by platelet transfusion from 35 ± 11 to 47 ± 10 mm, with no changes in thrombin generation. Fibrinogen concentrate dose-dependently increased A 30 (to 43 ± 10, 49 ± 9 and 50 ± 9 mm, respectively) and reduced parameters of thrombin generation at high doses. Platelet transfusion, together with fibrinogen concentrate, further increased clot firmness. APTT and PT were within normal range, whereas fibrinogen levels were slightly elevated.CONCLUSION: Fibrinogen concentrate increased clot firmness to the same degree as platelet transfusion in patients with low platelet count requiring platelet transfusion.

New oral anticoagulants like the direct thrombin inhibitor, dabigatran (Pradaxa®), and factor Xa-inhibitors, rivaroxaban (Xarelto®) and apixaban (Eliquis®) are available for prophylaxis and treatment of thromboembolic disease. They are emerging alternatives to warfarin and provide equal or better clinical outcome together with reduced need for routine monitoring. Methods for measuring drug concentrations are available, although a correlation between plasma drug concentrations and the risk of bleeding has not been firmly established. Standard laboratory measures like prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time are not sensitive enough to detect thrombin or factor Xa inhibition provided by new oral anticoagulants. Thus, these standard tests may only be used as a crude estimation of the actual anticoagulation status. Further challenges regarding patients receiving new oral anticoagulants who presents with major bleeding or need for emergency surgery pose a unique problem. No established agents are clinically available to reverse the anticoagulant effect, although preclinical data report prothrombin complex concentrate as more efficient than fresh frozen plasma or other prohaemostatic agents. This review summaries current knowledge on approved new oral anticoagulants and discusses clinical aspects of monitoring, with particular focus on the management of the bleeding patient.