Feeling Powerless and Finding Support:Dynamics of Power Perceptions and Empowering Interventions in Legal Conflicts

In this dissertation, I examine the perception of power of individuals in legal conflicts; specifically the perception of facing a more powerful other in conflict. In a cross-sectional study among visitors of the Dutch Legal Aid Desks (N = 700, study 1, chapter 2), a simulated consumer conflict in an experimental study (N = 175, study 2, chapter 3), and a longitudinal field study following individuals through divorce (N = 312, study 3, chapter 4), my co-authors and I looked at the development and consequences of perceptions of power and powerlessness, and the potential of interventions to remedy those. The three studies in this dissertation show the importance of early identification of negative power perceptions, especially in high stakes conflicts such as divorce, where we saw that negative outcomes linked to initial negative power perceptions persisted, even when the initial perceived powerlessness was resolved. These studies also show the importance of tailoring interventions to diverging needs of those who perceive themselves as powerless or powerful. Finally, we saw that minimal online interventions can reach individuals very early in their conflicts, before they have started negotiations with the other party or have contacted third parties. The studies in this dissertation showed the limitations as well as the potential of such interventions to empower those who need it most

Compensation of elevation angle variations in polarimetric brightness temperature measurements from airborne microwave radiometers

This paper presents a method for compensating the elevation angle fluctuations occurring in airborne radiometry due to aircraft roll and pitch. The correction is based on a radiative transfer model, and is demonstrated by real data from conical scans over the ocean, showing good results.Peer Reviewe

Photon production in high energy proton-nucleus collisions

We calculate the photon production cross-section in $pA$ collisions under the assumption that the nucleus has reached the saturation regime, while the proton can be described by the standard parton distribution functions. We show that due to the strong classical field $O(1/g)$ of the nucleus, bremsstrahlung diagrams become dominant over the direct photon diagrams. In particular, we show that $\gamma-$jet transverse momentum spectrum and correlations are very sensitive to gluon saturation effects in the nucleus.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figure

Induction and reversal of cardiac phenotype of human hypertrophic cardiomyopathy mutation cardiac troponin T-Q92 in switch on–switch off bigenic mice

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to establish reversibility of cardiac phenotypes in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) by generating bigenic mice in which expression of the mutant transgene could be turned on and off as needed.BackgroundAdvances in molecular therapeutics could ultimately lead to therapies aimed at correcting the causal mutations. However, whether cardiac phenotypes, once established, are permanent, or could be reversed, if expression of the mutant protein is turned off, is unknown.MethodsWe generated ligand-inducible bigenic mice, turned on and off expression of cardiac troponin T-Q92 (cTnT-Q92), responsible for human HCM, and characterized molecular, histologic, and functional phenotypes.ResultsWe established six lines and in dose-titration studies showed that treatment with 1,000 μg/kg of mifepristone consistently switched on cTnT-Q92 expression in the heart. Short-term (16 days) induced expression enhanced myocardial systolic function without changing myocardial cyclic adenosine monophosphate levels. Levels of PTEN, a regulator of cardiac function, phospho-protein kinase C-Ζλ-Thr538 and phosphor-protein kinase D-Ser744-748 were reduced, whereas messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) levels of NPPA, NPPB, and sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium adenine triphosphatase 2 (ATP2A2) (hypertrophic markers) and procollagen COL1A1, COL1A2, and COL3A1were unchanged. Long-term (70 days) induced expression increased COL1A1and COL1A3 mRNAs levels and collagen volume fraction and reduced levels of NPPAand NPPB. Switching off expression of the cTnT-Q92 reversed functional, molecular, and histologic phenotypes completely.ConclusionsThe initial phenotype induced by cTnT-Q92 is enhanced myocardial systolic function followed by changes in signaling kinases and interstitial fibrosis. Established phenotypes in HCM reverse upon turning off expression of the mutant protein. These findings provoke pursuing specific therapies directed at correcting the underlying the genetic defect in HCM

On Board Accurate Calibration of Dual-Channel Radiometers Using Internal and External References

This paper presents a method for combining internal noise injection and external reference standard looks to accurately calibrate an airborne dual-channel radiometer. The method allows real-time estimation of the correct values of the radiometer gains and offsets, even for nontemperature-stabilized radiometers and with minimum loss of measurement time spent in external load measurement. Crosstalk and leakage introduced by the noise injection circuitry is also taken into account, thus providing high gain and offset estimation accuracy. The method was implemented on a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration airborne instrument, the Polarimetric Scanning Radiometer, which was used to obtain an extensive set of radiometric measurements over oceanic convection during CAMEX3 in August–September 1998

Large mass Q-Qbar production from the Color Glass Condensate

We compute quark-antiquark pair production in the context of the Color Glass Condensate model for central heavy-ion collisions. The calculation is performed analytically to leading order in the density of hard sources present in the projectiles, and is applicable to quarks with a mass large compared to the saturation momentum. The formulas derived in this paper are compared to expressions derived in the framework of collinearly factorized perturbative QCD and in kt factorization models. We comment on the breaking of kt factorization which occurs beyond leading order in our approach.Comment: 24 pages, 3 postscript figure

Determining the temporal profile of intracranial pressure changes following transient stroke in an ovine model

Cerebral edema and elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) are the leading cause of death in the first week following stroke. Despite this, current treatments are limited and fail to address the underlying mechanisms of swelling, highlighting the need for targeted treatments. When screening promising novel agents, it is essential to use clinically relevant large animal models to increase the likelihood of successful clinical translation. As such, we sought to develop a survival model of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) in the sheep and subsequently characterize the temporal profile of cerebral edema and elevated ICP following stroke in this novel, clinically relevant model. Merino-sheep (27M;31F) were anesthetized and subject to 2 h tMCAO with reperfusion or sham surgery. Following surgery, animals were allowed to recover and returned to their home pens. At preselected times points ranging from 1 to 7 days post-stroke, animals were re-anesthetized, ICP measured for 4 h, followed by imaging with MRI to determine cerebral edema, midline shift and infarct volume (FLAIR, T2 and DWI). Animals were subsequently euthanized and their brain removed for immunohistochemical analysis. Serum and cerebrospinal fluid samples were also collected and analyzed for substance P (SP) using ELISA. Intracranial pressure and MRI scans were normal in sham animals. Following stroke, ICP rose gradually over time and by 5 days was significantly (p < 0.0001) elevated above sham levels. Profound cerebral edema was observed as early as 2 days post-stroke and continued to evolve out to 6 days, resulting in significant midline shift which was most prominent at 5 days post-stroke (p < 0.01), in keeping with increasing ICP. Serum SP levels were significantly elevated (p < 0.01) by 7 days post-tMCAO. We have successfully developed a survival model of ovine tMCAO and characterized the temporal profile of ICP. Peak ICP elevation, cerebral edema and midline shift occurred at days 5-6 following stroke, accompanied by an elevation in serum SP. Our findings suggest that novel therapeutic agents screened in this model targeting cerebral edema and elevated ICP would most likely be effective when administered prior to 5 days, or as early as possible following stroke onset.Annabel J. Sorby-Adams, Anna V. Leonard, Levi E. Elms, Oana C. Marian, Jan W. Hoving, Nawaf Yassi, Robert Vink, Emma Thornton and Renée J. Turne

Pathogenic variants in three families with distal muscle involvement

Three families suspected of distal hereditary motor neuropathy underwent genetic screening with the aim to identify the molecular defect underlying the disease. The description of the identification reflects the shift in molecular diagnostics that was made during the last decades. Our candidate gene approach yielded a known pathogenic variant in BSCL2 (p.Asn88Ser) in one family, and via a CMT-capture, in HSPB1 (p.Arg127Trp), in addition to five other variations in Charcot-Marie-Tooth-related genes in the proband of the second family. In the third family, using whole exome sequencing, followed by linkage-by-location, a three base pair deletion in exon 33 of MYH7 (p.Glu1508del) was found, a reported pathogenic allele albeit for a myopathy. After identification of the causative molecular defect, cardiac examination was performed for patients of the third family and this demonstrated abnormalities in three out of five affected family members. Heterogeneity and expansion of clinical phenotypes beyond known characteristics requires a wider set of genes to be screened. Whole exome/genome analysis with limited prior clinical information may therefore be used to precede a detailed clinical evaluation in cases of large families, preventing screening of a too narrow set of genes, and enabling the identification of novel disease-associated genes. In our cases, the variants had been reported, and co-segregation analysis confirmed the molecular diagnosis