The authors replies

Standardisation of lung function testing: the authors' replies to readers' comments.

Rationale The end of test (EOT) criteria are applied in order to ensure that efforts are made to achieve the best estimate of FVC. When a subject cannot meet the plateau criterion (,25 mL exhaled in the previous second of the blow) this may be for reasons other than premature volitional cessation of the blow. For example, in some young subjects or patients with a rigid chest wall, it is chest w...

Adequacy of authors’ replies to criticism raised in electronic letters to the editor: cohort study

OBJECTIVE To investigate whether substantive criticism in electronic letters to the editor, defined as a problem that could invalidate the research or reduce its reliability, is adequately addressed by the authors. DESIGN Cohort study. SETTING BMJ between October 2005 and September 2007. Inclusion criteria Research papers generating substantive criticism in the rapid responses section on bm...

Replies to the Critics ∗

Menzel’s commentary is a tightly focused, extended argument and it may be summarized as follows: (a) though Zalta gathers a range of phenomena under a small set of concepts, unfortunately, the framework is a possibilist one; (b) Zalta justifies possibilism by arguing that it provides the simplest and most natural explanation and analysis of such phenomena as ordinary modal discourse; but (c) by...

The Authors’ Reply

The Authors’ Reply