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Naast een korte reis is er nog veel meer gebeurd bij de B.I.L. sinds de laatste Bestuurskundige Berichten. Zo is er een brainstormavond geweest en is er een knallende Tweedaagse met feest neergezet. We hebben dan ook twee B.I.L.-leden gevraagd om hier een verslag over te schrijven, zodat je kunt teruglezen wat er de afgelopen maanden allemaal gebeurd is

Spiral Ganglion Stem Cells Can Be Propagated and Differentiated Into Neurons and Glia

Abstract The spiral ganglion is an essential functional component of the peripheral auditory system. Most types of hearing loss are associated with spiral ganglion cell degeneration which is irreversible due to the inner ear's lack of regenerative capacity. Recent studies revealed the existence of stem cells in the postnatal spiral ganglion, which gives rise to the hope that these cells might be useful for regenerative inner ear therapies. Here, we provide an in-depth analysis of sphere-forming stem cells isolated from the spiral ganglion of postnatal mice. We show that spiral ganglion spheres have characteristics similar to neurospheres isolated from the brain. Importantly, spiral ganglion sphere cells maintain their major stem cell characteristics after repeated propagation, which enables the culture of spheres for an extended period of time. In this work, we also demonstrate that differentiated sphere-derived cell populations not only adopt the immunophenotype of mature spiral ganglion cells but also develop distinct ultrastructural features of neurons and glial cells. Thus, our work provides further evidence that self-renewing spiral ganglion stem cells might serve as a promising source for the regeneration of lost auditory neurons

Principles of condom provision programs in prisons from the standpoint of European prison health experts: a qualitative study

Background Condom provision is one of the most effective harm reduction interventions to control sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV/AIDS and viral hepatitis in prisons. Yet, very few countries around the world provide prisoners with condoms. The present study aimed to elucidate principles of effective prison-based condom programs from the perspective of European public health and prison health experts. Methods As a part of the “Joint Action on HIV and Co-infection Prevention and Harm Reduction (HA-REACT)” twenty-one experts from the field of prison health from eight European countries were invited to discuss the principles of condom provision programs in prisons within two focus groups. The audio records were transcribed verbatim, coded, categorized, and analyzed using thematic analysis method. Results Six components emerged from the analysis as essential for successful condom programs in prisons: (1) highlighting the necessity of condom provision in prisons, (2) engagement of internal and external beneficiaries in all stages of designing and implementing the program, (3) conducting a pilot phase, (4) condom program in a comprehensive package of harm reduction interventions, (5) vending machine as the best method of condom distribution in prisons and (6) assuring the sustainability and quality of the intervention. Conclusion Results of the present study can help prison health policy makers to design and conduct acceptable, accessible and high-quality prison-based condom provision programs, and consequently to mitigate the burden of STIs in prisons. Having access to high-quality healthcare services including condom provision programs is not only the right of prisoners to health, but also is a move towards achieving the sustainable development goal 3 of “leaving no one behind.”Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL

Availability, accessibility, and coverage of needle and syringe programs in prisons in the European Union

Needle and syringe programs (NSPs) are among the most effective interventions to control infection transmission among people who inject drugs in prisons. This review aimed to evaluate the availability, accessibility, and coverage of NSP in prisons in the European Union countries. In line with the “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses” criteria, four databases of peer-reviewed publications (PubMed/Medline, ISI Web of Science, EBSCO, and ScienceDirect), and 53 databases for grey literature were systematically searched to collect data published from January 2008 to August 2018. A total of 23,969 documents (17,297 papers and 6,672 grey documents) were identified, of them 26 were included into the study. In 2018, imprisonment rates in 28 EU countries ranged between 51 per 100,000 in Finland and 235 per 100,000 in Lithuania. Only four countries namely Germany (in one prison), Luxemburg (no coverage data were found), Romania (available in more than 50% of prisons), and Spain (in all prisons) have needle and syringe programs in prisons. Portugal stopped the program after a six-months pilot phase. Despite the protective impact of the prison-based NSP on infection transmission, only four EU countries distribute sterile syringes among people who inject drugs in prisons, and coverage of the program within these countries is very low. Since most prisoners will eventually return to the community, lack of NSP in EU prisons is not only a threat to the health of prisoners but also endangers public health

Unintended consequences of drug policies experienced by young drug users in contact with the criminal justice systems

The aim of this paper is to assess to what extent prohibitive drug policies hamper the management of drug problems from the perspective of young people who have experience with the criminal justice systems (CJS). Qualitative, in-depth interviews were carried out in six European countries (Austria, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Poland, and the UK) following a common interview guide to obtain comparative data on the life trajectories of drug experienced youth. Altogether 198 interviews with people aged 14–25 years were collected and analysed by national teams following a common coding book. Unintended consequences of drug policies for the individual and society were identified. Individual consequences included health consequences and traumatic experiences with law enforcement. Social consequences included those affecting social relations such as stigmatisation and those impacting on institutions, for example, focusing on drug use and neglecting other problems. This paper confirmed earlier research indicating unintended consequences of prohibitive drug policies but also added to the literature its cross-national perspective and use of young people narratives as a source of analyses. There are, however, policy measures available that may reduce the volume and range of unintended effects. Their implementation is crucial to reduce the array of unintended consequences of prohibitive drug policies