The Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission: reconciling or re-dividing Liberia?

After 14 years of civil war and violence followed by the momentous and rather unusual elections of 2005, in which a woman defeated a footballer for the presidency, Liberia has seen over six years of state reconstruction and relative peace. Two recent announcements have, however, served as a warning to the extent of progress. The most recent is President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf’s declaration that she will, despite previous statements to the contrary, stand for re-election in 2011 due to shortcomings in progress. The announcement preceding Johnson-Sirleaf’s was made in the form of the report of the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). It recommended that Johnson-Sirleaf, and indeed many others accused of involvement in the war, should be barred from public office for the next 30 years, and still more should stand trial on charges of war crimes. Four important questions arise. First, what was the mandate and findings of the TRC? Second, how has Liberia and the wider international community reacted to the final report? Third, has the TRC fulfilled its mandate and contributed to a process of reconciliation? Finally, and in a much broader sense, where does the TRC stand relative to the much wider liberal peace model

SARS-CoV-2 update from the World Small Animal Veterinary Association

Priorities in veterinary preventive healthcare for dogs and cats under COVID-19 pandemic restrictions: -Routine prophylactic vaccines -Parasite control measures -Other preventive or health monitoring measure

Development of a core outcome set for oral health services research involving dependent older adults (DECADE): a study protocol

Background: Oral healthcare service provision for dependent older adults is often poor. For dental services to provide more responsive and equitable care, evidence-based approaches are needed. To facilitate future research, the development and application of a core outcome set would be beneficial. The aim of this study is to develop a core outcome set for oral health services research involving dependent older adults. Methods: A multi-step process involving consensus methods and including key stakeholders will be undertaken. This will involve identifying potentially relevant outcomes through a systematic review of previous studies examining the effectiveness of strategies to prevent oral disease in dependent older adults, combined with semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders. Stakeholders will include dependent older adults, family members, carers, care-home managers, health professionals, researchers, dental commissioners and policymakers. To condense and prioritise the long list of outcomes generated by the systematic review and semi-structured interviews, a Delphi survey consisting of several rounds with key stakeholders, as mentioned above, will be undertaken. The 9-point Likert scale proposed by the GRADE Working Group will facilitate this consensus process. Following the Delphi survey, a face-to-face consensus meeting with key stakeholders will be conducted where the stakeholders will anonymously vote and decide on what outcomes should be included in the finalised core outcome set. Discussion: Developing a core set of outcomes that are clinically and patient-centred will help improve the design, conduct and reporting of oral health services research involving dependent older adults, and ultimately strengthen the evidence base for high-quality oral health care for dependent older adults. Trial registration: The study was registered with the COMET initiative on 9 January 2018 http://www.cometinitiative.org/studies/details/1081?result=true

2013 AAFP Feline Vaccination Advisory Panel Report

Rationale: This Report was developed by the Feline Vaccination Advisory Panel of the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) to provide practical recommendations to help clinicians select appropriate vaccination schedules for their feline patients based on risk assessment. The recommendations rely on published data as much as possible, as well as consensus of a multidisciplinary panel of experts in immunology, infectious disease, internal medicine and clinical practice

Generation and analysis of recombinant Bunyamwera orthobunyaviruses expressing V5 epitope-tagged L proteins

The L protein of Bunyamwera virus (BUNV; family Bunyaviridae) is an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, 2238 aa in length, that catalyses transcription and replication of the negative-sense, tripartite RNA genome. To learn more about the molecular interactions of the L protein and to monitor its intracellular distribution we inserted a 14 aa V5 epitope derived from parainfluenza virus type 5, against which high-affinity antibodies are available, into different regions of the protein. Insertion of the epitope at positions 1935 or 2046 resulted in recombinant L proteins that retained functionality in a minireplicon assay. Two viable recombinant viruses, rBUNL4V5 and rBUNL5V5, expressing the tagged L protein were rescued by reverse genetics, and characterized with respect to their plaque size, growth kinetics and protein synthesis profile. The recombinant viruses behaved similarly to wild-type (wt) BUNV in BHK-21 cells, but formed smaller plaques and grew to lower titres in Vero E6 cells compared with wt BUNV. Immunofluorescent staining of infected cells showed the L protein to have a punctate to reticular distribution in the cytoplasm, and cell fractionation studies indicated that the L protein was present in both soluble and microsomal fractions. Co-immunoprecipitation and confocal microscopic assays confirmed an interaction between BUNV L and N proteins. The recombinant viruses expressing tagged L protein will be highly valuable reagents for the detailed dissection of the role of the BUNV L protein in virus replication

AMANDA SIVES, Elections, Violence and the Democratic Process in Jamaica 1944–2007

status: publishe