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‘Nobody is born knowing how to be a parent’:navigating tensions in the experiences of teenage mothers within the child protection system
No full textAdolescent motherhood has historically been viewed as a public health issue, often associated with a range of challenges in the lives of young women. When teenage mothers find themselves within child protection systems, the social perceptions of adolescent pregnancy intersect with factors such as histories of abuse and neglect, the stigma associated with being in care, and the social hardships arising from often impoverished backgrounds. This study explores the tensions surrounding the experiences of teen mothers through their social representations of adolescent motherhood. Using interviews with six teenage mothers residing in residential care, we conducted an inductive reflexive thematic analysis to examine the complexities of their experiences. Three key themes emerged: (1) Social Expectations: How I perceive others view me; (2) The Ambivalence of Receiving Support vs. Being Hyper-surveilled as Mothers under Gendered Mandates; and (3) Present, Past, Future: Embodying Motherhood. The paper discusses the implications for practice within child welfare, highlighting the importance of studying adolescent motherhood from an intersectional perspective. Furthermore, it underscores the significance of amplifying adolescent voices in reshaping child protection policies and practices, challenging the traditional adult-centric views that shape our understanding of their experiences.</p
Vainik e.a. t. Estland (EHRM, 17982/21) – Het recht om te roken in de gevangenis?:Vainik e.a. als een uitspraak zonder ‘smoking gun’
No full textCross-Border Disputes Under the Revised Consumer ADR Directive:A Renaissance?
No full textConsumers buy more and more products and services online. This development was initially internal to individual Member States and the European Union, but third-country traders like Temu or Shein now start to dominate certain markets. Consumers wanting to get recourse against foreign sellers can rely on European Union Private International Law to receive protection against foreign jurisdictions and laws. In state adjudication, at least. Consumers choosing for alternative dispute resolution (CADR) miss much of this protection under the current CADR Directive. In September 2025, however, the likely-to-be-final text of a revised CADR Directive was published. This article investigates what the proposed changes mean to cross-border CADR in the European Union. It discusses issues of ‘jurisdiction’ (i.e. where can the consumer start CADR proceedings), applicable law (which standards govern the dispute), quality of CADR (i.e. expertise of the ‘judges’), recognition and enforcement of a decision abroad, and the role of National Contact Points in supporting consumers. An analysis at the intersection of CADR and Private International Law shows that also the revised Directive severely lacks safeguards to ensure effective cross-border CADR. The article suggests multiple changes to the Directive that would improve the situation. Its main critique is that the revised Directive’s inclusion of third-country traders is at best symbolic and that the European Union legislator should have been inspired by the rules on consumer jurisdiction in Articles 17-19 Brussels Ibis Regulation when drafting the revised Directive
Measuring self-sufficiency in unaccompanied refugee minors. The inter-rater reliability and construct validity of the SSM-D-UM
No full textThe majority of unaccompanied refugee minors are 16 or 17 years old when they arrive in the Netherlands. Most of them are placed in a small care facility, but when they turn 18, they have to move out of the facility. Little is known about the self-sufficiency of these minors during this transition, and there is no instrument to measure their self-sufficiency. This study assessed the psychometric properties of the Self-Sufficiency Matrix for Unaccompanied Minors (Dutch version; SSM-D-UM). The sample consists of 92 unaccompanied refugee minors aged 16–19 with a residence permit in the Netherlands. The new instrument (SSM-D-UM) consists of 13 domains that can be scored on a 4-point scale. The inter-rater reliability and construct validity were determined by calculating weighted kappas and conducting a Mokken Scale Analysis, respectively. The construct validity of the newly developed scale (9 domains) was found to be satisfactory, and for eight out of these nine domains the inter-rater reliability was also satisfactory. The domains that did not fit into the scale appeared to be either those that were externally guaranteed for unaccompanied minors under the age of 18 (i.e. income and housing) or were influenced by mastery of Dutch (activities of daily living and knowledge of society), resulting in a lack of spread in these domains. The new Self-Sufficiency Scale for Unaccompanied Minors has the potential to be a useful tool to map the self-sufficiency of these young people during their challenging transition to adulthood.</p
Polyurea-based multimodal interaction nanogels for synergistic bacterial biofilm eradication and prevention of re-colonization
No full textBacterial biofilm eradication and prevention of re-colonization are critical for effective treatment of biofilm-associated infections. Although significant progress has been made in nanovehicle-assisted antimicrobial platforms for biofilm eradication, strategies to address re-colonization remain underdeveloped. In this study, we constructed a versatile antimicrobial delivery platform based on multimodal interaction polyurea nanogels (MIPN). MIPN demonstrated excellent biocompatibility and could effectively load various antimicrobials with high capacity due to the multiple intermolecular interactions between the antimicrobials and nanocarriers, including hydrogen bonding, electrostatic, and hydrophobic interactions. By incorporating self-synthesized quorum sensing inhibitors (QSI) within MIPN, bacteria re-colonization was successfully prevented by blocking the quorum sensing pathway and disrupting surface-associated bacterial motilities. Furthermore, MIPN coloaded with QSI- and antibiotics showed a synergistic effect on biofilm eradication and re-colonization prevention, significantly enhancing the healing of biofilm-associated infections in chronic wounds.</p
Intra-erythrocyte creatine, plasma creatine and long-term outcomes in stable kidney transplant recipients:Results from the TransplantLines Biobank and Cohort study
No full textIntroduction: Kidney transplant recipients (KTR) have excess mortality compared to the general population and show altered creatine homeostasis. Creatine, an endogenous nitrogenous compound, is essential for energy metabolism. We investigated determinants of circulating creatine and their sex-specific associations with mortality in KTR.Methods: Intra-erythrocyte and plasma creatine were quantified by nuclear magnetic resonance in samples from KTR and living kidney donors (healthy controls) from the TransplantLines Biobank and Cohort study (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03272841). Determinants of intra-erythrocyte and plasma creatine were assessed using linear regression; associations with mortality were evaluated with Cox regression.Results: 815 KTR and 53 healthy controls were included. Compared with controls, KTR had higher intra-erythrocyte but lower plasma creatine, with women having higher concentrations of each in both groups. In KTR, plasma creatine, BMI, erythrocyte count, reticulocyte count, lactate dehydrogenase, and erythropoietin use were positively associated with intra-erythrocyte creatine, whereas hemoglobin, haptoglobin, ferritin, transferrin saturation, proliferation inhibitor use were negatively associated. In univariable analyses, higher intra-erythrocyte creatine was associated with higher risk of mortality in male KTR (HR: 2.30 (1.50; 3.54), P<0.001), with a weaker, nonsignificant trend in female KTR (HR: 1.51 (0.76; 3.02), P=0.23). Furthermore, higher plasma creatine was associated with higher risk of mortality in male KTR (HR: 1.36 (1.07; 1.73), P=0.01), but not in female KTR (HR: 0.94 (0.68; 1.28), P=0.68). These associations persisted after adjustment for potential confounders.Conclusion: KTR have increased intra-erythrocyte and decreased plasma creatine compared with healthy controls. Intra-erythrocyte creatine was linked to markers of erythrocyte turnover, suggesting potential mechanisms. Elevated intra-erythrocyte and plasma creatine were associated with higher mortality in male, but not female, KTR. These findings highlight the need to further explore sex-specific mechanisms underlying creatine metabolism and clinical outcomes in KTR.</p
The Anthropometric History of Brazil:Evidence from Military Records
No full textThis chapter analyzes trends in height within Brazil, focusing on how economic, political, and regional factors influenced growth patterns across the country. The investigation also focuses on height inequality, examining height distributions and how occupational and regional disparities in stature evolved. Drawing on evidence from the Arquivo Histórico do Exército (AHEX) dataset, which is composed of over 19,500 military recruitment records spanning individuals born between the 1850s and 1950s, this study finds that living standards in Brazil improved significantly in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries due to public health reforms and infrastructural investments. However, regional disparities persisted as the economic growth and state investments in public health drove early stature gains in the Southeast, while the Northeast lagged behind until the 1910s. Hence, the findings reveal the existence of “two Brazils,” characterized by stark regional disparities between the Southeast and Northeast. Overall, this investigation contributes to our understanding of Brazil’s long-term development of both progress and persistent inequality
Experimental and Numerical Investigation of the Performance of Self-sensing Smart Concrete Railway Sleepers with Hanging Sleeper Defect
No full textRailway track monitoring has been a critical issue, recently. Therefore, several new methods have been proposed so far to the track authorities. Here, in this paper, application of smart sleeper to detect railway track defects has been studied using wheel drop test with different drop height and hanging sleeper defect. A numerical model of wheel drop test is developed for further study of different hanging heights. Different drop height of 20 and 50 mm are studied with and without hanging defect. The vibration response of track panel and self-sensing response of smart sleeper are recorded and compared. Smart railway sleeper studied in this research is developed using smart self-sensing concrete. The mould used to implement smart railway sleeper is a mono block reinforced concrete sleeper. The results show that the outer electrodes have a significant change in self-sensing response due to hanging sleeper defect compared with inner electrode results. The self-sensing response for 20 and 50 mm drop height increase by 50%, and the ratios of change for outer electrodes remain as 2.03. The maximum acceleration peaks of 70 mm drop height for full ballast support increases by 36% and 5% for hanging defect and crackled sleepers, respectively. The maximum acceleration values obtained as 121, 189, and 127 m/s2 for full ballast support, hanging defect and cracked sleeper. The significant increase due to hanging defect can be detected by smart sleeper self-sensing response.</p
De zorgwekkende actualiteit van regimewisseling
No full textDe arrestatie van de Venezolaanse president Maduro laat zien dat Amerikaanse interventie in de binnenlandse politiek van andere landen allerminst een historisch verschijnsel is uit de Koude Oorlog. Ook toen speelden de Verenigde Staten wereldwijd een actieve rol bij het omverwerpen van communistische regimes en het onderdrukken van communistische bewegingen. Nu de Nederlandse vertaling van Vincent Bevins’ De Jakartamethode is verschenen, vraagt historicus Clemens Six zich af of dit boek ook nieuwe, actuele inzichten biedt in hedendaagse regimewisselingen.De arrestatie van de Venezolaanse president Maduro laat zien dat Amerikaanse interventie in de binnenlandse politiek van andere landen allerminst een historisch verschijnsel is uit de Koude Oorlog. Ook toen speelden de Verenigde Staten wereldwijd een actieve rol bij het omverwerpen van communistische regimes en het onderdrukken van communistische bewegingen. Nu de Nederlandse vertaling van Vincent Bevins’ De Jakartamethode is verschenen, vraagt historicus Clemens Six zich af of dit boek ook nieuwe, actuele inzichten biedt in hedendaagse regimewisselingen
DNA methylation and copy number signatures in bone and soft tissue tumors:impact on classification and therapy response prediction
No full textBone and soft tissue tumors are rare and often difficult to diagnose. An accurate diagnosis is essential, as these tumors vary widely in clinical behavior and treatment. Therefore, cases are discussed in the multidisciplinary bone and soft tissue panel, where clinical information, imaging, and tissue analysis are integrated to achieve the most accurate diagnosis. Nevertheless, a definitive classification is not always possible, highlighting the need for additional diagnostic tools.In my thesis, I investigate two molecular techniques that may support this process: DNA methylation profiling and copy number variation (CNV) analysis. Although these methods are already successfully applied in the classification of brain tumors, they are still rarely used for bone and soft tissue tumors. Our research demonstrates that they also provide significant added value in this field.We show that methylation and CNV profiles effectively distinguish benign fibro-osseous lesions from malignant osteosarcomas in the craniofacial bones. In addition, odontogenic myxomas were found to have a unique molecular profile, offering new insights into this rare benign jaw tumor.We also demonstrate that atypical pleomorphic lipomatous tumors frequently harbor TP53 alterations, in contrast to spindle cell lipomas, and that methylation and CNV analysis assist in distinguishing these tumors from malignant liposarcomas.Finally, these techniques have not only diagnostic but also prognostic utility. They improve risk stratification in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors, and a deletion on chromosome 11q24.1 appears to be a promising predictive marker for radiotherapy response in myxofibrosarcomas and undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcomas