At least since the late twentieth century, historians of science have discussed the skills, character and virtues that make for good scholarship. Different virtues have been emphasized by different... Show moreAt least since the late twentieth century, historians of science have discussed the skills, character and virtues that make for good scholarship. Different virtues have been emphasized by different authors. These virtues include love of truth, impartiality and imagination. In my study I look at virtues of scholarship in the practice of everyday scholarly life, such as collaborating on a text edition, editing a scholarly journal and evaluating one’s peers in book reviews and letters of recommendation.I take a close look at peer networks of leading late nineteenth-century German academics. I mostly focus on the orientalist Theodor Nöldeke, the experimental psychologist Wilhelm Wundt and the bacteriologists Robert Koch and Emil Behring. This interdisciplinary perspective allows me to identify virtues shared by scholars with very different intellectual backgrounds who use different methods to study different matters.My research shows that loyal collegiality and critical independence were the virtues that were central to all practices of scholarship across all disciplines. The relations between these virtues, however, were complicated. Academics continuously struggled to balance loyalty and independence vis-à-vis each other, institutions of scholarship, the state and the private sector, in what is best described as a moral economy of scholarship. Show less
Mechanical bowel preparation is a long standing practice in elective open colon surgery dating from the 1970's. It has always been believed to reduce the rate of postoperative complications in the... Show moreMechanical bowel preparation is a long standing practice in elective open colon surgery dating from the 1970's. It has always been believed to reduce the rate of postoperative complications in the form of anastomotic leakage and wound infection. In this thesis we broadly and thoroughly examine the various aspects and the value of mechanical bowel preparation in elective open colon surgery. - Mechanical bowel preparation in elective open colon surgery does not reduce the rate of anastomotic leak or wound infection nor does it reduce peritoneal bacterial contamination. It is however poorly tolerated by patients and the total workload for the nursing staff and health care costs are considerable. Therefore, it is superfluous in elective open colon surgery and should be abandoned. - The intraoperative subcutaneous bacterial swab is a powerful negative predictor of a postoperative wound infection in elective open colon surgery. -Mechanical bowel preparation with polythylene glycol causes no significant additional histopathologic damage of colonic tissue, in comparison with patients receiving a normal meal the night before open colon surgery. - Mechanical bowel preparation with polyethylene glycol does not significantly interfere with colon anastomotic healing in rats. - There is no significant benefit of a single dose of intraluminal 3.0 mMn-butyrate on colon anastomotic healing in rats after polyethylene glycol bowel preparation. Show less
