Aspekte van die Judaïes-Christelike en die Boeddhistiese in die poësie van Breyten Breytenbach

Concepts of life and death, time and self-denial are investigated in the poetry of Breyten Breytenbach, with specific reference to the similarities and differences between the Judeo-Christian and the Buddhist traditions. Biblical references in the poetry are examined, and their underlying concepts compared to related concepts in Tantric Buddhism and Zen-Buddhism. The conclusion is drawn that the biblical concepts are transposed in the poetry in order to create Buddhist concepts of life and death, time and a form of self-denial. De-sacralisation of the Christian. concepts is inevitable in this creative process. However, the primary intention of the author is not de-sacralisation, but the implementation 'of the Buddhist philosophy of life in which everything is experienced as "totally one". A comparison between the reconstructed intended reader of Breytenbach's poetry and elements of the Afrikaans reading public suggests that political comment on segregated South African society is intended. Breytenbach's poetry is compared to canonized Afrikaans poetry with respect to Buddhist influence, national protest, aspiration to holiness and transposed biblical concepts. The conclusion is that his poetry is highly innovative in these respects. In the broader spectrum of South African literature his poetry is compared, with reference to transposed biblical concepts and national protest, to the poetry of Black poets writing in English, and (where material is available) to those writing in Afrikaans. The conclusion is that Breytenbach's poetry is strongly linked to this poetry. However, the complexity of Breytenbach's poetry, and the advanced aesthetic level and linguistic code required of the intended reader determine his placing within the canon of Afrikaans poetry

Jonson's Satire of Puritanism in 'The Alchemist'

It has become a commonplace in Jonsonian criticism to refer to the dramatically effective use of cant, particularly in The Alchemist and Bartholomew Fair. Alexander Sackton has identified Jonson's contribution to the modem connotation of the word 'cant' as 'the use of the special phraseology of a particular class or subject' while Jonas Barish has made a detailed study of the 'linguistic caricature', focusing in an illuminating way on the characteristic cliches, formulas and rhythms of the Puritan pulpit and the logic of the casebook as a means of suggesting hypocrisy in Bartholomew Fair. What has not been adequately explored, however, is the accuracy with which Jonson contextualizes his Puritan figures

Care of elderly in Portugal: Official data and scientific and professional challenges

First published online: 10 August 2019The world has never been so active in approaching human needs and human rights. As the population has become older, new kind of pressures has been made over health and protective services, as well as on research targeted to older adults. This chapter presents the scientific and practical developments in the field of elder mistreatment in Portugal. An overview of the scientific trends in Portuguese research is presented. National research on elder mistreatment has been increasing slowly. The current national scenery is focused on prevalence data and identifying risk and vulnerabilities. This chapter will also discuss the support structures available for mistreated older adults in Portugal, namely the current legal framework and the institutions/entities that offer aid to the victims. Legally, elder mistreatment in Portugal is no different from domestic violence, though some legislative advances have been seen in abandonment. Some structures have been developed over the years to offer aid to older adults, from special programs in the police to private institutions, passing by government supported initiatives.This study was conducted at Psychology Research Centre (UID/PSI/01662/2013), University of Minho, and supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education through national funds and co-financed by FEDER through COMPETE2020 under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007653). The first author was funded by a scholarship from the Portuguese Foundations for Science and Technology - FCT - (PD/BD/105965/2014

Extracellular Myocardial Volume in Patients With Aortic Stenosis

BACKGROUND: Myocardial fibrosis is a key mechanism of left ventricular decompensation in aortic stenosis and can be quantified using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) measures such as extracellular volume fraction (ECV%). Outcomes following aortic valve intervention may be linked to the presence and extent of myocardial fibrosis. OBJECTIVES: This study sought to determine associations between ECV% and markers of left ventricular decompensation and post-intervention clinical outcomes. METHODS: Patients with severe aortic stenosis underwent CMR, including ECV% quantification using modified Look-Locker inversion recovery-based T1 mapping and late gadolinium enhancement before aortic valve intervention. A central core laboratory quantified CMR parameters. RESULTS: Four-hundred forty patients (age 70 ± 10 years, 59% male) from 10 international centers underwent CMR a median of 15 days (IQR: 4 to 58 days) before aortic valve intervention. ECV% did not vary by scanner manufacturer, magnetic field strength, or T1 mapping sequence (all p > 0.20). ECV% correlated with markers of left ventricular decompensation including left ventricular mass, left atrial volume, New York Heart Association functional class III/IV, late gadolinium enhancement, and lower left ventricular ejection fraction (p < 0.05 for all), the latter 2 associations being independent of all other clinical variables (p = 0.035 and p < 0.001). After a median of 3.8 years (IQR: 2.8 to 4.6 years) of follow-up, 52 patients had died, 14 from adjudicated cardiovascular causes. A progressive increase in all-cause mortality was seen across tertiles of ECV% (17.3, 31.6, and 52.7 deaths per 1,000 patient-years; log-rank test; p = 0.009). Not only was ECV% associated with cardiovascular mortality (p = 0.003), but it was also independently associated with all-cause mortality following adjustment for age, sex, ejection fraction, and late gadolinium enhancement (hazard ratio per percent increase in ECV%: 1.10; 95% confidence interval [1.02 to 1.19]; p = 0.013). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with severe aortic stenosis scheduled for aortic valve intervention, an increased ECV% is a measure of left ventricular decompensation and a powerful independent predictor of mortality

Hundreds of variants clustered in genomic loci and biological pathways affect human height

Most common human traits and diseases have a polygenic pattern of inheritance: DNA sequence variants at many genetic loci influence the phenotype. Genome-wide association (GWA) studies have identified more than 600 variants associated with human traits, but these typically explain small fractions of phenotypic variation, raising questions about the use of further studies. Here, using 183,727 individuals, we show that hundreds of genetic variants, in at least 180 loci, influence adult height, a highly heritable and classic polygenic trait. The large number of loci reveals patterns with important implications for genetic studies of common human diseases and traits. First, the 180 loci are not random, but instead are enriched for genes that are connected in biological pathways (P = 0.016) and that underlie skeletal growth defects (P < 0.001). Second, the likely causal gene is often located near the most strongly associated variant: in 13 of 21 loci containing a known skeletal growth gene, that gene was closest to the associated variant. Third, at least 19 loci have multiple independently associated variants, suggesting that allelic heterogeneity is a frequent feature of polygenic traits, that comprehensive explorations of already-discovered loci should discover additional variants and that an appreciable fraction of associated loci may have been identified. Fourth, associated variants are enriched for likely functional effects on genes, being over-represented among variants that alter amino-acid structure of proteins and expression levels of nearby genes. Our data explain approximately 10% of the phenotypic variation in height, and we estimate that unidentified common variants of similar effect sizes would increase this figure to approximately 16% of phenotypic variation (approximately 20% of heritable variation). Although additional approaches are needed to dissect the genetic architecture of polygenic human traits fully, our findings indicate that GWA studies can identify large numbers of loci that implicate biologically relevant genes and pathways.

RARE-Bestpractices: a platform for sharing best practices for the management of rare diseases

No abstract available

RARE-Bestpractices: a platform for sharing best practices for the management of rare diseases

No abstract available

Discovery and Fine-Mapping of Glycaemic and Obesity-Related Trait Loci Using High-Density Imputation

Reference panels from the 1000 Genomes (1000G) Project Consortium provide near complete coverage of common and low-frequency genetic variation with minor allele frequency ≥0.5% across European ancestry populations. Within the European Network for Genetic and Genomic Epidemiology (ENGAGE) Consortium, we have undertaken the fi

The genetics of blood pressure regulation and its target organs from association studies in 342,415 individuals

To dissect the genetic architecture of blood pressure and assess effects on target-organ damage, we analyzed 128,272 SNPs from targeted and genome-wide arrays in 201,529 individuals of European ancestry and genotypes from an additional 140,886 individuals were used for validation. We identified 66 blood pressure loci, of which 17 were novel and 15 harbored multiple distinct association signals. The 66 index SNPs were enriched for cis-regulatory elements, particularly in vascular endothelial cells, consistent with a primary role in blood pressure control through modulation of vascular tone across multiple tissues. The 66 index SNPs combined in a risk score showed comparable effects in 64,421 individuals of non-European descent. The 66-SNP blood pressure risk score was significantly associated with target-organ damage in multiple tissues, with minor effects in the kidney. Our findings expand current knowledge of blood pressure pathways and highlight tissues beyond the classic renal system in blood pressure regulation