Boko Haram: From local grievances to violent insurgency

This report responds to the question of how we might approach and understand the Boko Haram insurgency. In providing an answer, the report addresses three main controversies within the field of Boko Haram studies. First, whether local grievances or religious radicalisation is the main driver of the insurgency. Second, to what extent Boko Haram is mainly a local/national or regional/international group. Finally, to what extent Boko Haram and their leaders act according to a well-planned military strategy or on a more ad hoc basis. The report explores how these diverging perspectives co-exist. How to approach Boko Haram depends upon how Boko Haram and their activities are framed. Thus, a main argument of the report is that framing Boko Haram as part of a larger regional terrorist threat may mobilise support for Western military operations. If defined only as militant jihadists operating in "an arc of terrorism" it may seem as if a military response is the only right one. However, religious political violence cannot be addressed through military means alone but requires a comprehensive approach including separate socio-economic perspectives on contending incitements to engage in illicit economic activities and terrorism. Since the inauguration of a regional multinational joint task force with considerable support from international security actors in January 2015, attacks in Nigeria´s neighbouring countries have increased remarkably. Thus, it appears as if more international and regional military responses are contributing to the strengthening of the group. In view of this development, we want to bring forward the claim that according to the logic of retaliation that Boko Haram seems to predominately obey, there is a dynamic and mutually constitutive relationship between the way in which the Nigerian state, its neighbouring countries and the international community names and frames responses to Boko Haram, and the way in which Boko Haram operates and stages itself as a global jihadist group. Rather than rephrasing de-contextualised discourses of trans-Saharan terrorism, global jihad and international connections to Islamic State it seems more possible that the situation in north-east Nigeria is heading towards a fragmented protracted conflict with very complex social tensions. The key issues in the approach to Boko Haram are to understand and include the local dynamics of the insurgency. Therefore there is a need to pay attention in future debates and potential interventions to current military operations by Niger, Chad and Cameroon, to avoid that they repeat the same mistakes as Nigeria in 2013: human rights violations and economic sanctions that might transform a jihadist uprising into a people´s revolt. Furthermore, the report emphasises the need to include gender perspectives and the role of women within Boko Haram, and as protesters against Boko Haram, in future interventions and policymaking. Finally, strengthening of the public sectors in Nigeria and its neighbouring countries to deliver social protection to the citizens living in highly fragile environments should be supported, in order to (re)establish the social contract between state and citizens and avoid mistrust that may force some people to search out alternative forms of protection from radical jihadist groups

Randomised controlled trial of the effect of long-term selenium supplementation on plasma cholesterol in an elderly Danish population

AbstractAlthough cross-sectional studies have shown a positive association between Se and cholesterol concentrations, a recent randomised controlled trial in 501 elderly UK individuals of relatively low-Se status found that Se supplementation for 6 months lowered total plasma cholesterol. The Danish PRECISE (PREvention of Cancer by Intervention with Selenium) pilot study (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT01819649) was a 5-year randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial with four groups (allocation ratio 1:1:1:1). Men and women aged 60–74 years (n491) were randomised to 100 (n124), 200 (n122) or 300 (n119) μg Se-enriched yeast or matching placebo-yeast tablets (n126) daily for 5 years. A total of 468 participants continued the study for 6 months and 361 participants, equally distributed across treatment groups, continued for 5 years. Plasma samples were analysed for total and HDL-cholesterol and for total Se concentrations at baseline, 6 months and 5 years. The effect of different doses of Se supplementation on plasma lipid and Se concentrations was estimated by using linear mixed models. Plasma Se concentration increased significantly and dose-dependently in the intervention groups after 6 months and 5 years. Total cholesterol decreased significantly both in the intervention groups and in the placebo group after 6 months and 5 years, with small and nonsignificant differences in changes in plasma concentration of total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, non-HDL-cholesterol and total:HDL-cholesterol ratio between intervention and placebo groups. The effect of long-term supplementation with Se on plasma cholesterol concentrations or its sub-fractions did not differ significantly from placebo in this elderly population.</jats:p

Producing translationally cold, ground-state CO molecules

Carbon monoxide molecules in their electronic, vibrational, and rotational ground state are highly attractive for trapping experiments. The optical or ac electric traps that can be envisioned for these molecules will be very shallow, however, with depths in the sub-milliKelvin range. Here we outline that the required samples of translationally cold CO (X$^1\Sigma^+$, $v"$=0, $N"$=0) molecules can be produced after Stark deceleration of a beam of laser-prepared metastable CO (a$^3\Pi_1$) molecules followed by optical transfer of the metastable species to the ground state \emph{via} perturbed levels in the A$^1\Pi$ state. The optical transfer scheme is experimentally demonstrated and the radiative lifetimes and the electric dipole moments of the intermediate levels are determined

Novel circulating microRNA signature as a potential non-invasive multi-marker test in ER-positive early-stage breast cancer:A case control study

INTRODUCTION: There are currently no highly sensitive and specific minimally invasive biomarkers for detection of early-stage breast cancer. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are present in the circulation and may be unique biomarkers for early diagnosis of human cancers. The aim of this study was to investigate the differential expression of miRNAs in the serum of breast cancer patients and healthy controls.METHODS: Global miRNA analysis was performed on serum from 48 patients with ER-positive early-stage breast cancer obtained at diagnosis (24 lymph node-positive and 24 lymph node-negative) and 24 age-matched healthy controls using LNA-based quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). A signature of miRNAs was subsequently validated in an independent set of 111 serum samples from 60 patients with early-stage breast cancer and 51 healthy controls and further tested for reproducibility in 3 independent data sets from the GEO Database.RESULTS: A multivariable signature consisting of 9 miRNAs (miR-15a, miR-18a, miR-107, miR-133a, miR-139-5p, miR-143, miR-145, miR-365, miR-425) was identified that provided considerable discrimination between breast cancer patients and healthy controls. Further, the ability of the 9 miRNA signature to stratify samples from breast cancer patients and healthy controls was confirmed in the validation set (p = 0.012) with a corresponding AUC = 0.665 in the ROC-curve analysis. No association between miRNA expression and tumor grade, tumor size, menopausal- or lymph node status was observed. The signature was also successfully validated in a previously published independent data set of circulating miRNAs in early-stage breast cancer (p = 0.024).CONCLUSIONS: We present herein a 9 miRNA signature capable of discriminating between ER-positive breast cancer and healthy controls. Using a specific algorithm based on the 9 miRNA signature, the risk for future individuals can be predicted. Since microRNAs are highly stable in blood components, this signature might be useful in the development of a blood-based multi-marker test to improve early detection of breast cancer. Such a test could potentially be used as a screening tool to identify individuals who would benefit from further diagnostic assessment.</p

Long non-coding RNA expression profiles predict metastasis in lymph node-negative breast cancer independently of traditional prognostic markers

INTRODUCTION: Patients with clinically and pathologically similar breast tumors often have very different outcomes and treatment responses. Current prognostic markers allocate the majority of breast cancer patients to the high-risk group, yielding high sensitivities in expense of specificities below 20%, leading to considerable overtreatment, especially in lymph node-negative patients. Seventy percent would be cured by surgery and radiotherapy alone in this group. Thus, precise and early indicators of metastasis are highly desirable to reduce overtreatment. Previous prognostic RNA-profiling studies have only focused on the protein-coding part of the genome, however the human genome contains thousands of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and this unexplored field possesses large potential for identification of novel prognostic markers. METHODS: We evaluated lncRNA microarray data from 164 primary breast tumors from adjuvant naïve patients with a mean follow-up of 18 years. Eighty two patients who developed detectable distant metastasis were compared to 82 patients where no metastases were diagnosed. For validation, we determined the prognostic value of the lncRNA profiles by comparing the ability of the profiles to predict metastasis in two additional, previously-published, cohorts. RESULTS: We showed that lncRNA profiles could distinguish metastatic patients from non-metastatic patients with sensitivities above 90% and specificities of 64-65%. Furthermore; classifications were independent of traditional prognostic markers and time to metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first study investigating the prognostic potential of lncRNA profiles. Our study suggest that lncRNA profiles provide additional prognostic information and may contribute to the identification of early breast cancer patients eligible for adjuvant therapy, as well as early breast cancer patients that could avoid unnecessary systemic adjuvant therapy. This study emphasizes the potential role of lncRNAs in breast cancer prognosis. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13058-015-0557-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

β-Catenin is a pH sensor with decreased stability at higher intracellular pH.

β-Catenin functions as an adherens junction protein for cell-cell adhesion and as a signaling protein. β-catenin function is dependent on its stability, which is regulated by protein-protein interactions that stabilize β-catenin or target it for proteasome-mediated degradation. In this study, we show that β-catenin stability is regulated by intracellular pH (pHi) dynamics, with decreased stability at higher pHi in both mammalian cells and Drosophila melanogaster β-Catenin degradation requires phosphorylation of N-terminal residues for recognition by the E3 ligase β-TrCP. While β-catenin phosphorylation was pH independent, higher pHi induced increased β-TrCP binding and decreased β-catenin stability. An evolutionarily conserved histidine in β-catenin (found in the β-TrCP DSGIHS destruction motif) is required for pH-dependent binding to β-TrCP. Expressing a cancer-associated H36R-β-catenin mutant in the Drosophila eye was sufficient to induce Wnt signaling and produced pronounced tumors not seen with other oncogenic β-catenin alleles. We identify pHi dynamics as a previously unrecognized regulator of β-catenin stability, functioning in coincidence with phosphorylation

Systemic or vaginal hormone therapy after early breast cancer:A danish observational cohort study

BACKGROUND: Women treated for breast cancer (BC) often suffer genitourinary syndrome of menopause. These symptoms may be alleviated by vaginal estrogen therapy (VET) or menopausal hormone therapy (MHT). However, there are concerns of risks of recurrence of BC and death following treatment.METHODS: Our study included longitudinal data from a national cohort of postmenopausal women, diagnosed 1997-2004 with early-stage invasive estrogen receptor-positive nonmetastatic BC, who received no treatment or 5 years of adjuvant endocrine therapy. We ascertained prescription data on hormone therapy, VET or MHT, from a national prescription registry. We evaluated mortality and risk of recurrence associated with use of VET and MHT vs non-use using multivariable models adjusted for potential confounders.RESULTS: Among 8461 women who had not received VET or MHT before BC diagnosis, 1957 and 133 used VET and MHT, respectively, after diagnosis. Median follow-up was 9.8 years for recurrence and 15.2 years for mortality. The adjusted relative risk of recurrence was 1.08 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.89 to 1.32) for VET (1.39 [95% CI = 1.04 to 1.85 in the subgroup receiving adjuvant aromatase inhibitors]) and 1.05 (95% CI = 0.62 to 1.78) for MHT. The adjusted hazard ratios for overall mortality were 0.78 (95% CI = 0.71 to 0.87) and 0.94 (95% CI = 0.70 to 1.26) for VET and MHT, respectively.CONCLUSIONS: In postmenopausal women treated for early-stage estrogen receptor-positive BC, neither VET nor MHT was associated with increased risk of recurrence or mortality. A subgroup analysis revealed an increased risk of recurrence, but not mortality, in patients receiving VET with adjuvant aromatase inhibitors.</p

Consequences of a short pulse of pesticide exposure for survival and reproduction of \u3ci\u3eGammarus pulex\u3c/i\u3e

The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of a short and environmentally realistic pulse exposure of different life stages of the freshwater amphipod, Gammarus pulex, to the pyrethroid insecticide, esfenvalerate. We were particularly interested in determining the extent to which detectable effects on key life-history traits persisted following cessation of a brief exposure to this pesticide. Our results indicate that environmentally realistic exposure concentrations of this widely used insecticide can have a significant effect on the survival and reproduction of Gammarus pulex. Comparison of LC50 values indicates that G. pulex has a similar sensitivity to esfenvalerate as the standard test invertebrate, Daphnia magna and is more sensitive than other common stream invertebrates. Despite 100% survival during pulses of up to 2 μg l−1, mortality increased, in some cases markedly, following transfer to clean conditions. Pulse exposure to esfenvalerate at concentrations in the range 0.1–0.6 μg l−1 for as little as 1 h can have effects on G. pulex survival, pairing behavior, and reproductive output that can still be detected at least 2 weeks following the pulse. Reproductive traits were very sensitive to esfenvalerate, and exposure to 0.05 μg l−1 for 1 h led to immediate disruption of reproducing pairs, release of eggs or offspring from the brood pouch, and substantial delays in pair formation and subsequent reproduction following transfer to clean water. The kinds of effects on reproductive behavior observed in this study could potentially impact the population dynamics of G. pulex in the field. Whether such effects occur will depend on the frequency, duration, timing, and spatial extent of pesticide exposure in freshwater stream ecosystems, about which relatively little is known. Such information is essential if effects on non-target aquatic species are to be more accurately assessed