Rossiniana

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Collective redress and workers' rights in the Netherlands

This contribution discusses the Dutch possibilities of collective redress in the domain of labour law. More specifically, it examines the legal options of bringing collective actions and obtaining collective redress in Dutch courts in labour cases, and elaborates on the relevant legal framework as well as the extent to which these opportunities have been used in practice. Findings imply that the Netherlands was among one of the first European countries to introduce a general collective action system. This general collective action regime allows unions and other interest groups to raise cases to protect workers’ rights, even outside the scope of collective labour agreements. Such a collective action regime, however, is not commonly used in practice. Nevertheless, as of January 2020 the admissibility criteria for this general collective redress mechanism have been expanded and it has become an ‘opt-out’ regime, without the need for individual workers to initiate individual follow-up proceedings in the event of a successful case. The latter could improve the effective enforcement of workers’ rights in practice and could provide an incentive for trade unions and other organisations that are active in the protection of workers’ rights to incite a collective action

Music in Medicine: Enhancing Emotion Recognition in Medical Students

Previous studies have shown that visual art courses for medical students have improved their diagnostic skills. A music course in a similar fashion may enhance their ability to recognize patient emotion in the patient’s voice. Identifying patient emotion via auditory cues allows future physicians to appropriately respond to patients’ mental states and provide empathetic care. This study proposes that medical students who complete a course in recognizing emotional cues in music will outperform a control group in correctly identifying emotion in the human voice. Participants were randomly divided into control and experimental groups, in which only the latter completed a lesson in recognizing varying emotional styles in a musical passage. After completion of the music course by the experimental group, both groups were asked to match the emotions “happy,” “sad,” “angry,” “hesitant,” and “curious” to recordings of the human voice with those emotional inflections. The latter two were considered to be the more challenging emotions to identify. Each group’s scores were compared using an independent t-test. The experimental group mean score was 0.84, which was significantly higher compared to that of the control group, 0.34 (P\u3c.05). Additionally, the control group was more likely to incorrectly identify the voice recordings with the inflections “hesitant” and “curious,” considered to be more challenging than the remaining three emotions. These results corroborated the hypothesis that students receiving a primer course in recognizing emotional cues in music would be better prepared to identify emotion in human voice. The results also imply that the music course may aid students in identifying more complex emotions that may not be explicit in a patient’s tone of voice. Medical students who are aware of their patients’ emotional state without being explicitly told may be able to foster a greater degree of doctor-patient trust via their heightened sense of empathy

Anti-Inflammatory and Antioxidant Activities of Methanol Extracts and Alkaloid Fractions of four Mexican Medicinal Plants of Solanaceae

Background: Methanol extracts and alkaloid fractions of different parts of four plant species belonging to Solanaceae family and used in Mexican traditional medicine were investigated for their total phenolic contents, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.Materials and Methods: The total phenolic compounds of each extract was determined according to the Folin-Ciocalteu method, while the in vitro radical scavenging activities of the extracts were assessed using the DPPH and ABTS radicals. The in vivo anti-inflammatory activity was determined using the TPA-induced mouse ear edema model.Results: The methanol extracts contained the highest concentrations of phenolic compounds and also exhibited the best reducing power on the DPPH and ABTS radicals, in a concentration-dependent fashion. However, the anti-inflammatory activity did not follow the same trend, as some alkaloid fractions that showed low radical reducing power exhibited the strongest anti-inflammatory activity.Conclusion: The methanol extract obtained from the flowers of Nicotiana glauca presented the best overall performance with the largest amount of phenolic compounds (111 μg garlic acid equivalents/g of extract), the best antioxidant activity (94.80% inhibition of DPPH and 97.57% of ABTS) and the highest anti-inflammatory activity (81.93% inhibition of the inflammation).Keywords: Solanaceae family, antioxidant activity, anti-inflammatory activity

Formative peer assessment in a CSCL environment

In this case study our aim was to gain more insight in the possibilities of qualitative formative peer assessment in a computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment. An approach was chosen in which peer assessment was operationalised in assessment assignments and assessment tools that were embedded in the course material. The course concerned a higher education case-based virtual seminar, in which students were asked to conduct research and write a report in small multidisciplinary teams. The assessment assignments contained the discussion of assessment criteria, the assessment of a group report of a fellow group, and writing an assessment report. A list of feedback rules was one of the assessment tools. A qualitative oriented study was conducted, focussing on the attitude of students towards peer assessment and practical use of peer assessment assignments and tools. Results showed that students’ attitude towards peer assessment was positive and that assessment assignments had added value. However, not all students fulfilled all assessment assignments. Recommendations for implementation of peer assessment in CSCL environments as well as suggestions for future research are discussed

Professionalization in Universities and European Convergence

The constant assessment of the quality of higher education within the framework of European convergence is a challenge for all those universities that wish their degrees and diplomas to reflect a unified Europe. As is the case in any assessment, change and review process, the quest to improve quality implies measuring achievement of the objectives set, which in turn means defining the most relevant functions shared by universities. One of the many functions that a university fulfils in society is enabling university students to take up certain occupations. Thus, analyzing the employment pattern of a university’s graduates and identifying their competences becomes an indicator of the quality of the education provided by that university and, hence, one of the bases on which degrees are defined within the European Higher Education Area

Markers of neural degeneration and regeneration in Down syndrome patients

On the trisomy Down syndrome Critical Region (DSCR1) is located the APP gene, which accelerates amyloid peptide protein (APP) expression leading to cerebral accumulation of APP-derived amyloid-beta peptides (Ab) and age-dependent cognitive sequelae. Also DSCR1 attenuates endothelial cell proliferation and angiogenesis required for tissue repair. The aim of the present work is to determine markers of neural degeneration and regeneration in the blood of young and adolescent Down syndrome (DS) patients as well as controls. Markers of regeneration were measured in terms of circulating mononuclear cells expressing Nestin and CD34, while markers of degeneration were measured in terms of plasma Ab42 and advanced glycation end products receptors (RAGES). Results showed a significant increase in plasma Ab42 (20 ± 5.1 vs. 11.9 ± 3.4) and RAGES leucocytes mRNA relative expression (1.9 ±0.2 vs. 1.1 ±0.6) in adolescentDS patients compared to young DS. Both parameters were also significantly increased in DS compared to controls: Ab42 (15.4 ± 5.9 vs. 12. 3± 4.5); RAGES (1.4 ± 0.5 vs. 0.7± 0.2). Nestin (5.2 ± 1.4 vs. 6.3± 0.6) and CD34 (52 ± 2.5 vs. 53± 4.7) were non-significantly lower in adolescent DS patients compared to young DS, but significantly lower in DS patients compared to controls: Nestin (6.3 ± 1.5 vs. 9±4.4); CD34 (54 ± 3.4 vs. 60± 4.8). The significant decrease in the number of mononuclear cells bearing Nestin and CD34 markers accompanied by a significantincrease in Ab42 and RAGES indicate that degeneration in DS is an ongoing process, which is not counterbalanced by the regenerative mechanism