How & Why “Immigrants” became “Muslims

Over the last ten years or so, migrants to Europe who used to be labelled as Moroccans, Turks, Algerians, Pakistani, and so on, have increasingly come to be labelled in religious terms. This article provides a brief analysis of how and why this transformation of public discourse in European contexts has taken place, and discusses the consequences of defining immigrants with Muslim background in terms of an essentialized religious identity. The current text is based on the workshop “Public Debates about Islam in Europe” held in March 2006 in Montecatini. Details about this workshop can be found on page 56

Somatotopic Mapping of the Developing Sensorimotor Cortex in the Preterm Human Brain

Dall’Orso S, Steinweg J, Allievi AG, Edwards AD, Burdet E, Arichi T. Somatotopic Mapping of the Developing Sensorimotor Cortex in the Preterm Human Brain. Cerebral Cortex. 2018;28(7):2507-2515

Strong and auxiliary forms of the semi-Lagrangian method for incompressible flows

We present a review of the semi-Lagrangian method for advection-diusion and incompressible Navier-Stokes equations discretized with high-order methods. In particular, we compare the strong form where the departure points are computed directly via backwards integration with the auxiliary form where an auxiliary advection equation is solved instead; the latter is also referred to as Operator Integration Factor Splitting (OIFS) scheme. For intermediate size of time steps the auxiliary form is preferrable but for large time steps only the strong form is stable

“There Is Freedom of Religion in Finland, But…” The Helsinki Mosque Debate

In this chapter, we examine statements of Finnish municipal election candidates regarding plans to build a “grand mosque” and cultural centre in central Helsinki. Despite proclaiming support for the universal freedom of religion, the candidates were hesitant to apply it to the mosque case. Opponents of the mosque project emphasized the Christian heritage of Finland and portrayed the proposed mosque as a channel through which foreign conflicts could enter Finnish society. The mosque was also opposed because it was seen as a “political” project instead of a “religious” one. The proponents of the mosque, in turn, considered it to be a “Muslim church” and therefore entitled to the same treatment as Christian houses of worship. The mosque was also seen as important to the local Muslim community, but very few candidates considered the possibility of the mosque (or Islam) making a positive contribution to the broader society. Besides identifying the key discourses, we reflect on them from a religious literacy perspective.Peer reviewe

No evidence of association between genetic variants of the PDCD1 ligands and SLE

To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links fieldPDCD1, an immunoreceptor involved in peripheral tolerance has previously been shown to be genetically associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). PDCD1 has two ligands whose genes are located in close proximity on chromosome 9p24. Our attention was drawn to these ligands after finding suggestive linkage to a marker (gata62f03, Z=2.27) located close to their genes in a genome scan of Icelandic families multiplex for SLE. Here, we analyse Swedish trios (N=149) for 23 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the genes of the PDCD1 ligands. Initially, indication of association to eight SNPs was observed, and these SNPs were therefore also analysed in Mexican trios (N=90), as well as independent sets of patients and controls from Sweden (152 patients, 448 controls) and Argentina (288 patients, 288 controls). We do not find support for genetic association to SLE. This is the first genetic study of SLE and the PDCD1 ligands and the lack of association in several cohorts implies that these genes are not major risk factors for SLE.Genes and Immunity (2007) 8, 69-74. doi:10.1038/sj.gene.6364360; published online 30 November 2006

2017 WSES and SICG guidelines on acute calcolous cholecystitis in elderly population 11 Medical and Health Sciences 1103 Clinical Sciences

Background: Gallstone disease is very common afflicting 20 million people in the USA. In Europe, the overall incidence of gallstone disease is 18.8% in women and 9.5% in men. The frequency of gallstones related disease increases by age. The elderly population is increasing worldwide. Aim: The present guidelines aims to report the results of the World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES) and Italian Surgical Society for Elderly (SICG) consensus conference on acute calcolous cholecystitis (ACC) focused on elderly population. Material and methods: The 2016 WSES guidelines on ACC were used as baseline; six questions have been used to investigate the particularities in elderly population; the answers have been developed in terms of differences compared to the general population and to statements of the 2016 WSES Guidelines. The Consensus Conference discusses, voted, and modified the statements. International experts contributed in the elaboration of final statements and evaluation of the level of scientific evidences. Results: The quality of the studies available decreases when we approach ACC in elderly. Same admission laparoscopic cholecystectomy should be suggested for elderly people with ACC; frailty scores as well as clinical and surgical risk scores could be adopted but no general consensus exist. The role of cholecystostomy is uncertain. Discussion and conclusions: The evaluation of pro and cons for surgery or for alternative treatments in elderly suffering of ACC is more complex than in young people; also, the oldest old age is not a contraindication for surgery; however, a larger use of frailty and surgical risk scores could contribute to reach the best clinical judgment by the surgeon. The present guidelines offer the opportunity to share with the scientific community a baseline for future researches and discussion

focus groups in migration research a forum for public thinking

This chapter outlines how to use focus groups (FGs) in migration studies, considering this method a forum for "public thinking" and discussing controversial issues. Moreover, the use of FGs allows us to understand the process of creating consensus and dissent via interaction. The chapter is structured in five sections: the first one introduces what FGs are and why they are useful for migration research; the second focuses on how to build the groups and how to do comparative migration research with FGs; the third illustrates how to prepare and to facilitate group discussion, and how to ask questions and engage participants in collaborative migration research; the fourth introduces how to interpret discussions and how to analyse the everyday naturalization of nation, ethnicity and race; the final section discusses how to communicate FG results. Each section is devoted to a specific methodological issue and it includes at least one "box" with an example from European migration research

Pelvic trauma : WSES classification and guidelines

Complex pelvic injuries are among the most dangerous and deadly trauma related lesions. Different classification systems exist, some are based on the mechanism of injury, some on anatomic patterns and some are focusing on the resulting instability requiring operative fixation. The optimal treatment strategy, however, should keep into consideration the hemodynamic status, the anatomic impairment of pelvic ring function and the associated injuries. The management of pelvic trauma patients aims definitively to restore the homeostasis and the normal physiopathology associated to the mechanical stability of the pelvic ring. Thus the management of pelvic trauma must be multidisciplinary and should be ultimately based on the physiology of the patient and the anatomy of the injury. This paper presents the World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES) classification of pelvic trauma and the management Guidelines.Peer reviewe