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Genetic characterization of rat hepatitis E virus (Rocahepevirus ratti) in urban brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) in Helsinki, Finland
Get PDFMicrobial BiotechnologyAnimal sciencesScience Communication and Societ
Assessment of the minimal clinically important difference for the health assessment questionnaire disability index in patients with arthralgia at risk for progression to rheumatoid arthritis
Get PDFIntroduction Patients with arthralgia at-risk for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) experience considerable functional disability, though generally less than at RA diagnosis. Secondary prevention trials have shown that treatment can improve disability in patients with arthralgia. However, interpreting the clinical relevancy of the improvements in Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ-DI) is hampered by the lack of a defined minimal clinically important difference (MCID) in this disease stage. Results from other disciplines than rheumatology suggested that the MCID depends on absolute severity values. Therefore, we hypothesised that the MCID for HAQ-DI in RA depends on absolute values. We aimed to investigate this and, if so, to determine the MCID for disability in the risk setting.Methods We studied the literature and determined the correlation of baseline HAQ-DI and MCID estimates in RA. To determine the MCID in arthralgia, we studied 97 patients treated with methotrexate in the TREAT EARLIER trial with HAQ-DI data at baseline and 12 months. At 12 months, a short-form 36 questionnaire anchor question compared patients' general health to that of 1 year before. The MCID was determined using the mean change in HAQ-DI score of patients reporting 'somewhat better' and 'somewhat worse'.Results In RA, the MCID estimates ranged from -0.06 to -0.38, and higher absolute HAQ values correlated with a higher MCID. In the at-risk patients studied, the MCID for improvement was -0.07 +/- 0.28. Likewise, for deterioration, the MCID was +0.05 +/- 0.6.Conclusion In arthralgia at-risk for RA, the MCID for improvement in HAQ-DI is -0.07. This is lower than generally reported in RA. This implies that in arthralgia, compared with RA, smaller improvements in HAQ-DI are clinically relevant.Pathophysiology and treatment of rheumatic disease
Freedom of thought, conscience, and religion supporting peaceful plural living together
Get PDFThe Legitimacy and Effectiveness of Law & Governance in a World of Multilevel Jurisdiction
Introduction: (de)constructing trust in high-stakes intercultural mediation
No full textThis article serves both as a critical reflection of theoretical models of trust across varied settings and modalities of translation and as an editorial introduction to the special issue of Translation Studies on trust in intercultural mediation. It examines how trust is (de)constructed, contested, and instrumentalised amid shifting power relations, identity politics, and growing anxieties about automation. This article argues that trust works beyond an essentialist moral ideal and is better seen as a relational and strategic resource shaped by risk and uncertainty. It highlights how the contributions gathered in this special issue collectively advocate for a non-essentialist, empirical approach to testing trust in translations and translation agents. These examine how trust emerges and is at times de-constructed through interactional practices, technological interaction and shifting socio-political configurations, setting the stage for a broader rethinking of trust as a constitutive condition for intercultural communication.Theoretical and Experimental Linguistic
Securing the future of black labor: covert attempts to reopen the transatlantic slave trade in Louisiana, 1853-1861
Get PDFIn the late antebellum period, several southern states in the United States advocated for a reopening of the transatlantic slave trade from West Africa. The literature on the southern reopening movement is not only scarce, but has also overemphasized the role of South Carolina in this movement, leaving the role of Louisiana largely overlooked. Securing the Future of Black Labor: Covert Attempts to Reopen the Transatlantic Slave Trade in Louisiana, 1853-1861 constitutes the first study to focus on the role of Louisiana in this movement. While arguments to repeal the 1808 slave trade ban appeared to have been mainly used symbolically in South Carolina to reach the larger goal of secession, this study demonstrates that the Louisiana elite was serious about reopening the international slave trade from West Africa. It investigates what the motivations and strategies of the Louisiana elite were to reopen this trade. The central argument is that Louisiana elitists tried to reopen the transatlantic slave trade because they wanted to secure the future of Black labor in the United States; not only by expanding slavery but also by experimenting with alternative forms of Black freedom. In making that argument, this study aims to complicate our understanding of the meaning of Black freedom in the US in the late antebellum period by introducing the concept of African apprenticeship. Cities, Migration and Global Interdependence 1350-200
The neurological and behavioral consequences of dystrophin deficiency in Duchenne muscular dystrophy: insights from mouse models
Get PDFDuchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a severe, progressive disorder, caused by mutations in the DMD gene that disrupt dystrophin production. These mutations leads to muscle degeneration and, in some cases, cognitive and behavioral issues such as autism, ADHD, anxiety, and learning disabilities. From the different dystrophin isoforms, Dp427, Dp140, Dp71, and Dp40 are normally present in the brain, and loss of specific isoforms in DMD is linked to neurological symptoms. Animal models have been essential for understanding DMD and developing treatments. However, the behavioral and neurological deficits are underexplored, especially in models missing multiple dystrophin isoforms. In this thesis, the lack of Dp427 is correlated to deficits in working memory, anxiety, and blood-brain barrier integrity, while the absence of Dp140 and Dp71/Dp40 can further exacerbate behavioral symptoms, especially anxiety and fear reactivity. Short-term corticosteroid treatment had minimal negative impact on cognition, though long-term effects remain unclear. Brain imaging studies revealed reduced cerebral perfusion and disrupted AQP4 organization in mice lacking all isoforms. These findings underscore the complexity of DMD and the importance of addressing both muscular and neurological aspects of the disease. Multidisciplinary research and inclusion of brain-targeted therapies are crucial for improving quality of life for individuals with DMD.LUMC / Geneeskund
Too much of a good thing?: Using tax incentives to stimulate dual-earner couples
Get PDFHervorming Sociale Regelgevin
The consonant Inventory of Proto-Tsonga-Copi
Get PDFRecent studies have greatly furthered our understanding of the Southern Bantu languages, but questions about the internal relationships of the Southern Bantu language subgroups and the validity of the clade as a whole still remain. This study attempts to reconstruct the consonant inventory of one proposed genetic clade, that of Tsonga-Copi (S50–S60). Using published dictionaries and reference works for each language of the subgrouping, a corpus of cognate vocabulary was assembled. Each term was then matched, where possible, to a reconstruction in the Bantu Lexical Reconstructions 3 (BLR3) database. Sound correspondences were identified and used to reconstruct the consonant inventory of Proto-Tsonga-Copi. In addition to the discovery of several typologically unusual sound changes, the results of this study also lend support to existing and developing hypotheses about both the internal relationships of Southern Bantu clades, as well as the nature of language contact in (pre)historic Southern Africa, particularly the influence of Khoisan and other Bantu languages.Descriptive and Comparative Linguistic
Variations in innate immune cell subtypes correlate with epigenetic clocks, inflammaging and health outcomes
Get PDFEpigenetic clocks in blood have shown promise as tools to quantify biological age, displaying robust associations with morbidity and all-cause mortality. Whilst the effect of cell-type heterogeneity on epigenetic clock estimates has been explored, such studies have been limited to studying heterogeneity within the adaptive immune system. Much less is known about whether heterogeneity within the innate immune system can impact epigenetic clock estimates and their associations with health outcomes. Here, we apply a high-resolution DNAm reference panel of 19 immune cell-types, including young and adult monocyte, natural killer, and neutrophil subsets, demonstrating how shifts within these innate subtypes display associations with epigenetic clock acceleration, inflammaging, and all-cause mortality. The associations of monocyte heterogeneity with inflammation are further validated using transcriptomic and metabolomic data. Additionally, a non-negligible fraction of nucleated red blood cell-like cells in circulation is found to associate with inflammaging, markers of dysfunctional erythropoiesis, and is a major risk factor for all-cause mortality. These results extend findings obtained within the adaptive immune system to innate immune and erythrocyte-like cells, demonstrating how heterogeneity within these other blood cell compartments is also associated with inflammaging, epigenetic clocks, and health outcomes.Molecular Epidemiolog