Exploring gated eco-developments - contributing towards urban performance and sustainability: a case study of Chapman's Bay Estate, Noordhoek, Cape Town

South African cities maintain an apartheid legacy through their spatial layout, which is characterised by sprawl, fragmentation and separation. These characteristics have devastating implications for spatial justice, which cannot be isolated from urban performance and sustainability. Yet, the proliferation of gated developments and eco-estates is becoming an increasingly popular form of development both internationally and within South Africa. Often the sustainability debate allows for the glossing over of issues of social justice. These exclusive enclaves act as a microcosm for broader issues of social polarization and ecological fragmentation. This dissertation explores the complexities of this radical urban form and its implications for urban performance and sustainability. Through an understanding of the drivers and consequences of gating, it explores the conflict in which planners often find themselves: between the ideals of an integrated, accessible city and the contextual realities. This study of gated developments has been founded upon a theoretical debate as well as a case study analysis of Chapman's Bay Estate in Noordhoek, Cape Town, South Africa. This included a spatial and legislative analysis of the CoCT's Gated Development Policy as well as relevant spatial plans, through the lens of Chapman's Bay Estate. The research has revealed the perpetuating nature of gated developments in the urban realm. Furthermore, it has exposed gaps between the visions, goals and objectives of planning and the outcomes in practise. Additionally, it has revealed fragmentation between policies, plans and built environment professionals. Through this dissertation, I seek add to the current debate regarding gated developments and their implication on urban form. Furthermore, I address these findings through a review of the City of Cape Town's Gated Development Policy, as well as the harmonization and integration of relevant policies and plans

Human dignity and the law in post-war Europe

Diese Forschungsarbeit leistet einen Beitrag zu einem besseren Verständnis der Menschenwürde als Rechtsnorm, die nun im EU Recht verankert ist, und in einem weiteren Sinne zum Verständnis des Rechtsbegriffs der Menschenwürde in Europa. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, Genese, Anwendung und Auswirkungen von Artikel 1 der EU Grundrechtscharta sowie den Rechtsbegriff der Menschenwürde im Allgemeinen aufzuzeigen.This research should contribute to a better understanding of the legal principle of human dignity now enshrined in EU law as well as the legal concept of human dignity in Europe in a broader sense. It aims to provide an insight into the genesis, application and consequences of article 1 EU Charter and the legal concept of human dignity in general, by analyzing the main post-War schools of thought and related historical and legal-historical developments that have shaped the notion of human dignity in Europe until today

The effectiveness, efficiency, and acceptability of EMDR vs. EMDR 2.0 vs. the Flash technique in the treatment of patients with PTSD: study protocol for the ENHANCE randomized controlled trial

Background: Several widely studied therapies have proven to be effective in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, there is still room for improvement because not all patients benefit from trauma-focused treatments. Improvements in the treatment of PTSD can be achieved by investigating ways to enhance existing therapies, such as eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, as well as exploring novel treatments. The purpose of the current study is to determine the differential effectiveness, efficiency, and acceptability of EMDR therapy, an adaptation of EMDR therapy, referred to as EMDR 2.0, and a novel intervention for PTSD, the so-called Flash technique. The second aim is to identify the moderators of effectiveness for these interventions. This study will be conducted among individuals diagnosed with PTSD using a randomized controlled trial design. Methods: A total of 130 patients diagnosed with (complex) PTSD will be randomly allocated to either six sessions of EMDR therapy, EMDR 2.0, or the Flash technique. The primary outcomes used to determine treatment effectiveness include the presence of a PTSD diagnosis and the severity of PTSD symptoms. The secondary outcomes of effectiveness include symptoms of depression, symptoms of dissociation, general psychiatric symptoms, and experiential avoidance. All patients will be assessed at baseline, at 4-week post-treatment, and at 12-week follow-up. Questionnaires indexing symptoms of PTSD, depression, general psychopathology, and experiential avoidance will also be assessed weekly during treatment and bi-weekly after treatment, until the 12-week follow-up. Efficiency will be assessed by investigating the time it takes both to lose the diagnostic status of PTSD, and to achieve reliable change in PTSD symptoms. Treatment acceptability will be assessed after the first treatment session and after treatment termination. Discussion: This study is the first to investigate EMDR 2.0 therapy and the Flash technique in a sample of participants officially diagnosed with PTSD using a randomized controlled trial design. This study is expected to improve the available treatment options for PTSD and provide therapists with alternative ways to choose a therapy beyond its effectiveness by considering moderators, efficiency, and acceptability. Trial registration: The trial was retrospectively registered in the ISRCTN registry at 10th November 2022 under registration number ISRCTN13100019

Activity in human reward-sensitive brain areas is strongly context dependent.

Contains fulltext : 55984.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access)Functional neuroimaging research in humans has identified a number of brain areas that are activated by the delivery of primary and secondary reinforcers. The present study investigated how activity in these reward-sensitive regions is modulated by the context in which rewards and punishments are experienced. Fourteen healthy volunteers were scanned during the performance of a simple monetary gambling task that involved a "win" condition (in which the possible outcomes were a large monetary gain, a small gain, or no gain of money) and a "lose" condition (in which the possible outcomes were a large monetary loss, a small loss, or no loss of money). We observed reward-sensitive activity in a number of brain areas previously implicated in reward processing, including the striatum, prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate, and inferior parietal lobule. Critically, activity in these reward-sensitive areas was highly sensitive to the range of possible outcomes from which an outcome was selected. In particular, these regions were activated to a comparable degree by the best outcomes in each condition-a large gain in the win condition and no loss of money in the lose condition-despite the large difference in the objective value of these outcomes. In addition, some reward-sensitive brain areas showed a binary instead of graded sensitivity to the magnitude of the outcomes from each distribution. These results provide important evidence regarding the way in which the brain scales the motivational value of events by the context in which these events occur

Impaired executive function in male MDMA ("ecsatsy") users.

Rationale: Long-term users of ecstasy have shown impaired performance on a multitude of cognitive abilities (most notably memory, attention, executive function). Research into the pattern of MDMA effects on executive functions remains fragmented, however. Objectives: To determine more systematically what aspects of executive function are affected by a history of MDMA use, by using a model that divides executive functions into cognitive flexibility, information updating and monitoring, and inhibition of pre-potent responses. Methods: MDMA users and controls who abstained from ecstasy and other substances for at least 2 weeks were tested with a computerized cognitive test battery to assess their abilities on tasks that measure the three submodalities of executive function, and their combined contribution on two more complex executive tasks. Because of sex-differential effects of MDMA reported in the literature, data from males and females were analyzed separately. Results: Male MDMA users performed significantly worse on the tasks that tap on cognitive flexibility and on the combined executive function tasks; no differences were found on the other cognitive tasks. Female users showed no impairments on any of the tasks. Conclusions: The present data suggest that a history of MDMA use selectively impairs executive function. In male users, cognitive flexibility was impaired and increased perseverative behavior was observed. The inability to adjust behavior rapidly and flexibly may have repercussions for daily life activities

Painful skin lesions and squamous cell carcinoma predict overall mortality risk in organ transplant recipients:a cohort study

Item does not contain fulltextBACKGROUND: Organ transplant recipients (OTRs) have a highly increased risk of cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs). Sensation of pain in cutaneous tumours is a powerful patient-reported warning signal for invasive SCCs in OTRs. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the impact of painful vs. painless skin lesions and SCC vs. other skin lesions on the overall mortality risk in OTRs. METHODS: We followed 410 OTRs from 10 different centres across Europe and North America between 2008 and 2015. These patients had been enrolled in an earlier study to define clinically meaningful patient-reported warning signals predicting the presence of SCC, and had been included if they had a lesion requiring histological diagnosis. Cumulative incidences of overall mortality were calculated using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, and risk factors were analysed with Cox proportional hazard analysis. RESULTS: There was an increased overall mortality risk in OTRs who reported painful vs. painless skin lesions, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.6 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.97-2.7], adjusted for age, sex and other relevant factors. There was also an increased overall mortality risk in OTRs diagnosed with SCC compared with other skin lesions, with an adjusted HR of 1.7 (95% CI 1.0-2.8). Mortality due to internal malignancies and systemic infections appeared to prevail in OTRs with SCC. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that OTRs have an increased overall mortality risk if they develop painful skin lesions or are diagnosed with cutaneous SCC

Updating of working memory in ecstasy polydrug users: Findings from fNIRS.

AIMS/OBJECTIVES: Cognitive deficits are now well documented in ecstasy (MDMA) users with type and relative demand of task emerging as important factors. The updating component of executive processes appears to be particularly affected. The study reported here used functional near infrared spectroscopy imaging to investigate changes in cortical haemodynamics during memory updating. METHOD: Twenty ecstasy users and 20 non-users completed verbal and spatial memory updating tasks and brain blood oxygenation and deoxygenation change was measured using functional near infrared spectroscopy. RESULTS: There was no interaction between group and difficulty on the updating tasks, though there was a significant main effect of difficulty on both tasks. The effects of group approached significance on the verbal updating task. There were significant differences in blood oxygenation and deoxygenation change at optodes centred over the right and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, with ecstasy users showing greater blood oxygenation than the other groups. DISCUSSION: The lack of a behavioural difference on both tasks but presence of blood oxygenation and deoxygenation changes in letter updating provides support for the notion that ecstasy-polydrug users are investing more effort to achieve the same behavioural output. Total lifetime dose was high, and recency of use was significantly related to most changes, suggesting that heavy and recent use may be particularly detrimental