In a recent article, Andy Egan (2007) has presented some compelling counterexamples to causal decision theory (CDT). In this article, I shall outline a new theory of rational decision. This theory is designed to stay as close as possible to CDT, while accommodating Egan’s intuitive counterexamples in a principled way. In recent philosophical debates, the most prominent rival to causal decision ...

Aim This study evaluated the frequency of C. difficile and CDAD in the ICU of Shahid Bahonhar Hospital, Kerman, Iran. Background Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) is the most important antibiotic associated diarrhea agent in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Based on its toxin producing ability, C .difficile is divided to toxigenic and non-toxigenic strains. Methods A total of 233 diar...

The binary toxin Clostridium difficile transferase (CDT) is frequently observed in C. difficile strains and is associated with an increased severity of C. difficile infection. CDT-producing C. difficile infections cause higher fatality rates than infections with CDT negative isolates. Thus, the rapid and accurate identification of a CDT positive C. difficile infection is critical for effective ...

Select nontyphoidal Salmonella enterica (NTS) serotypes were recently found to encode the Salmonella cytolethal distending toxin (S-CDT), an important virulence factor for serotype Typhi, the causative agent of typhoid fever. Using a PCR-based assay, we determined that among 21 NTS serotypes causing the majority of food-borne salmonellosis cases in the United States, genes encoding S-CDT are co...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the long-term effects of complex decongestive therapy (CDT) on edema reduction in breast cancer-related lymphedema patients after axillary dissection, according to the initial volume of edema. METHODS A retrospective review of 57 patients with unilateral arm after an axillary dissection for breast cancer was performed. The patients, treated with two weeks of CDT and s...

Carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) is a generic term that refers to the transferrin glycoforms whose concentration in blood is temporarily increased by sustained alcohol consumption. Due to high clinical specificity, CDT was proposed as a biomarker of heavy alcohol use and has been available for about 20 years. A number of methods have been developed for CDT measurement based on different...

The composition of the human microbiota influences tumorigenesis, notably in colorectal cancer (CRC). Pathogenic Escherichia coli possesses a variety of virulent factors, among them the Cytolethal Distending Toxin (CDT). CDT displays dual DNase and phosphatase activities and induces DNA double strand breaks, cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in a broad range of mammalian cells. As CDT could promo...

Cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) is a newly identified virulence factor produced by several pathogenic bacteria implicated in chronic infection. Seventy three strains of periodontopathogenic bacteria were examined for the production of CDT by a HeLa cell bioassay and for the presence of the cdt gene by PCR with degenerative oligonucleotide primers, which were designed based on various regions ...

OBJECTIVE The role of alcohol misuse in the genesis of seizures is probably often undetected. The aim was to investigate the utility of carbohydrate deficient transferrin (CDT) compared with other biomarkers and clinical examination in the diagnosis of alcohol related seizures. METHODS The study included consecutively 158 seizure patients-83 men and 75 women-with mean age 45 (16-79) years. Se...