Reading projects

"By reading only six hours a day", says Marianne Dashwood, outlining her plan of future application to her sister Elinor in Sense and Sensibility, "I shall gain in the course of a twelve-month a great deal of instruction which I now feel myself to want." She adds: "Our own library is too well known to me, to be resorted to for any thing beyond mere amusement. But there are many works well worth reading at the Park; and there are others of more modern production which I know I can borrow of Colonel Brandon" (301). We know, to some extent, what was in the Dashwoods' own library – volumes of Cowper, Scott and Thomson are mentioned. But what might Marianne have borrowed at Barton Park and Delaford? Which publications would Colonel Brandon have considered most appropriate for her project of self-improvement? Elinor considers Marianne's plan excessive, but what would have been a more realistic amount of time for her to spend reading each day, and where might she have done it

Integrating evolutionary theory and social-ecological systems research to address the sustainability challenges of the Anthropocene

The rapid, human-induced changes in the Earth system during the Anthropocene present humanity with critical sustainability challenges. Social-ecological systems (SES) research provides multiple approaches for understanding the complex interactions between humans, social systems, and environments and how we might direct them towards healthier and more resilient futures. However, general theories of SES change have yet to be fully developed. Formal evolutionary theory has been applied as a dynamic theory of change of complex phenomena in biology and the social sciences, but rarely in SES research. In this paper, we explore the connections between both fields, hoping to foster collaboration. After sketching out the distinct intellectual traditions of SES research and evolutionary theory, we map some of their terminological and theoretical connections. We then provide examples of how evolutionary theory might be incorporated into SES research through the use of systems mapping to identify evolutionary processes in SES, the application of concepts from evolutionary developmental biology to understand the connections between systems changes and evolutionary changes, and how evolutionary thinking may help design interventions for beneficial change. Integrating evolutionary theory and SES research can lead to a better understanding of SES changes and positive interventions for a more sustainable Anthropocene. This article is part of the theme issue 'Evolution and sustainability: gathering the strands for an Anthropocene synthesis'

Endoscopic tissue sampling - Part 2 : Lower gastrointestinal tract. European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE) Guideline

1: ESGE suggests performing segmental biopsies (at least two from each segment), which should be placed in different specimen containers (ileum, cecum, ascending, transverse, descending, and sigmoid colon, and rectum) in patients with clinical and endoscopic signs of colitis.Weak recommendation, low quality of evidence. 2: ESGE recommends taking two biopsies from the right hemicolon (ascending and transverse colon) and, in a separate container, two biopsies from the left hemicolon (descending and sigmoid colon) when microscopic colitis is suspected.Strong recommendation, low quality of evidence. 3: ESGE recommends pancolonic dye-based chromoendoscopy or virtual chromoendoscopy with targeted biopsies of any visible lesions during surveillance endoscopy in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Strong recommendation, moderate quality of evidence. 4: ESGE suggests that, in high risk patients with a history of colonic neoplasia, tubular-appearing colon, strictures, ongoing therapy-refractory inflammation, or primary sclerosing cholangitis, chromoendoscopy with targeted biopsies can be combined with four-quadrant non-targeted biopsies every 10 cm along the colon. Weak recommendation, low quality of evidence. 5: ESGE recommends that, if pouch surveillance for dysplasia is performed, visible abnormalities should be biopsied, with at least two biopsies systematically taken from each of the afferent ileal loop, the efferent blind loop, the pouch, and the anorectal cuff.Strong recommendation, low quality of evidence. 6: ESGE recommends that, in patients with known ulcerative colitis and endoscopic signs of inflammation, at least two biopsies be obtained from the worst affected areas for the assessment of activity or the presence of cytomegalovirus; for those with no evident endoscopic signs of inflammation, advanced imaging technologies may be useful in identifying areas for targeted biopsies to assess histologic remission if this would have therapeutic consequences. Strong recommendation, low quality of evidence. 7: ESGE suggests not biopsying endoscopically visible inflammation or normal-appearing mucosa to assess disease activity in known Crohn's disease.Weak recommendation, low quality of evidence. 8: ESGE recommends that adequately assessed colorectal polyps that are judged to be premalignant should be fully excised rather than biopsied.Strong recommendation, low quality of evidence. 9: ESGE recommends that, where endoscopically feasible, potentially malignant colorectal polyps should be excised en bloc rather than being biopsied. If the endoscopist cannot confidently perform en bloc excision at that time, careful representative images (rather than biopsies) should be taken of the potential focus of cancer, and the patient should be rescheduled or referred to an expert center.Strong recommendation, low quality of evidence. 10: ESGE recommends that, in malignant lesions not amenable to endoscopic excision owing to deep invasion, six carefully targeted biopsies should be taken from the potential focus of cancer.Strong recommendation, low quality of evidence

Somatic mosaic IDH1 and IDH2 mutations are associated with enchondroma and spindle cell hemangioma in Ollier disease and Maffucci syndrome

Ollier disease and Maffucci syndrome are non-hereditary skeletal disorders characterized by multiple enchondromas (Ollier disease) combined with spindle cell hemangiomas (Maffucci syndrome). We report somatic heterozygous mutations in IDH1 (c.394C>T encoding an R132C substitution and c.395G>A encoding an R132H substitution) or IDH2 (c.516G>C encoding R172S) in 87% of enchondromas (benign cartilage tumors) and in 70% of spindle cell hemangiomas (benign vascular lesions). In total, 35 of 43 (81%) subjects with Ollier disease and 10 of 13 (77%) with Maffucci syndrome carried IDH1 (98%) or IDH2 (2%) mutations in their tumors. Fourteen of 16 subjects had identical mutations in separate lesions. Immunohistochemistry to detect mutant IDH1 R132H protein suggested intraneoplastic and somatic mosaicism. IDH1 mutations in cartilage tumors were associated with hypermethylation and downregulated expression of several genes. Mutations were also found in 40% of solitary central cartilaginous tumors and in four chondrosarcoma cell lines, which will enable functional studies to assess the role of IDH1 and IDH2 mutations in tumor formation

Evidence use in conservation practice : Using interviews to understand the opinions of conservation practitioners on the use, availability, and diversity of evidence in conservation practice

There has been a discussion in the last decades about a perceived lack of scientific evidence use in conservation practice, affecting its legitimacy and efficiency. Some researchers argue that peer-reviewed science is rarely used in conservation practice. Others argue that more engagement with different evidence types is needed to make informed decisions, especially local ecological knowledge (LEK). However, little is known about the types of evidence that conservation practitioners use in their decision-making, nor what they think about their usability and accessibility. This study uses a grounded theory approach to explore this issue by conducting semi-structured interviews with eight NGO practitioners engaged in community-based conservation, asking questions about what they consider evidence and how they engage with different types of knowledge. The results show that conservation practitioners engage with a wide range of evidence types, such as peer-reviewed science, LEK but also expert opinion, grey literature, and NGO-generated data. The popularity of expert opinion and LEK suggests that locally sourced knowledge, regardless of whether it is peer-reviewed science, LEK or another knowledge type, is especially valued by practitioners. Participants value peer-reviewed evidence but criticize its availability and accessibility, mainly focusing on a lack of relevant research, paywalled content, and use of inaccessible language by scientists. Some practitioners working in developed areas do not feel the need to engage more with science, suggesting that a degree of “evidence saturation” is happening in developed countries. All participants value LEK, many considering it at least equally important to scientific knowledge, and want it to be more valued and respected in conservation practice. These results suggest that practitioners use a wide range of evidence types which should be held into account by academics and NGOs who wish to improve conservation outcomes. NGOs could equip their practitioners with more tools to engage with this variety of evidence types, and promote the generation of locally sourced knowledge. More research is needed to understand how and how often practitioners engage with evidence

Ontwerp en implementatie van een flexibele transputerkaart vooruniversele toepassingen

SIGLEKULeuven Campusbibliotheek Exacte Wetenschappen / UCL - Université Catholique de LouvainBEBelgiu

What evidence exists regarding the impact of biodiversity on human health and well-being? A systematic map protocol

Background: Global biodiversity is rapidly declining, yet we still do not fully understand the relationships between biodiversity and human health and well-being. As debated, the loss of biodiversity or reduced contact with natural biodiversity may lead to more public health problems, such as an increase in chronic disease. There is a growing body of research that investigates how multiple forms of biodiversity are associated with an increasingly diverse set of human health and well-being outcomes across scales. This protocol describes the intended method to systematically mapping the evidence on the associations between biodiversity from microscopic to planetary scales and human health and well-being from individual to global scales. Methods: We will systematically map secondary studies on the topic by following the Collaborations for Environmental Evidence Guidelines and Standards for Evidence Synthesis in Environment Management. We developed the searching strings to target both well established and rarely studied forms of biodiversity and human health and well-being outcomes in the literature. A pairwise combination search of biodiversity and human health subtopics will be conducted in PubMed, Web of Science platform (across four databases) and Scopus with no time restrictions. To improve the screening efficiency in EPPI reviewer, supervised machine learning, such as a bespoke classification model, will be applied at title and abstract screening stage, with priority screening as a promoter in training the model with sufficient dataset and fall-back option if the model does not perform well. A consistency check between at least two independent reviewers will be conducted during screening (both title-abstract and full-text) and data extraction process. No critical appraisal will be undertaken in this map. We may use topic modelling (unsupervised machine learning) to cluster the topics as a basis for further statistical and narrative analysis

What evidence exists regarding the impact of biodiversity on human health and well-being? A systematic map protocol

Abstract Background Global biodiversity is rapidly declining, yet we still do not fully understand the relationships between biodiversity and human health and well-being. As debated, the loss of biodiversity or reduced contact with natural biodiversity may lead to more public health problems, such as an increase in chronic disease. There is a growing body of research that investigates how multiple forms of biodiversity are associated with an increasingly diverse set of human health and well-being outcomes across scales. This protocol describes the intended method to systematically mapping the evidence on the associations between biodiversity from microscopic to planetary scales and human health and well-being from individual to global scales. Methods We will systematically map secondary studies on the topic by following the Collaborations for Environmental Evidence Guidelines and Standards for Evidence Synthesis in Environment Management. We developed the searching strings to target both well established and rarely studied forms of biodiversity and human health and well-being outcomes in the literature. A pairwise combination search of biodiversity and human health subtopics will be conducted in PubMed, Web of Science platform (across four databases) and Scopus with no time restrictions. To improve the screening efficiency in EPPI reviewer, supervised machine learning, such as a bespoke classification model, will be trained and applied at title and abstract screening stage. A consistency check between at least two independent reviewers will be conducted during screening (both title-abstract and full-text) and data extraction process. No critical appraisal will be undertaken in this map. We may use topic modelling (unsupervised machine learning) to cluster the topics as a basis for further statistical and narrative analysis

Methylome analysis for spina bifida shows SOX18 hypomethylation as a risk factor with evidence for a complex (epi)genetic interplay to affect neural tube development

Neural tube defects (NTDs) are severe congenital malformations that arise from failure of neurulation during early embryonic development. The molecular basis underlying most human NTDs still remains largely unknown. Based on the hypothesis that folic acid prevents NTDs by stimulating methylation reactions, DNA methylation changes could play a role in NTDs. We performed a methylome analysis for patients with myelomeningocele (MMC). Using a candidate CpG analysis for HOX genes, a significant association between HOXB7 hypomethylation and MMC was found.status: publishe