Goed Bestuur in de West: een verkorte versie van het proefschrift van Dhr. Nauta over de vergelijking tussen het bestuur op de Britse en de Nederlandse koloniën

In dit proefschrift is beschreven hoe in 1954 democrati e en autonomie hun intrede deden in het territorium van wat toen nog ‘Gebiedsdeel Curaçao’ heett e. Uit de beschrijving blijkt dat de wijze waarop daar de deugdelijkheid van bestuur gewaarborgd wordt grotendeels het Nederlandse voorbeeld volgt en weinig onvolkomenheden kent. Het systeem van checks-and-balances in de Caribische rijksdelen zou, wanneer de politi eke actoren consequente opvolging geven aan de wett elijke plichten, zodoende vanzelf tot goed bestuur moeten leiden. De prakti jk blijkt echter weerbarsti g. Daar waar Nederland naar internati onale maatstaven van goed bestuur tot de absolute top behoort, scoren de Caribische rijksdelen aanzienlijk lager (Daniel Kaufmann et al., 2009)

Guided Act and Feel Indonesia (GAF-ID) – Internet-based behavioral activation intervention for depression in Indonesia: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background: Depression is a leading cause of disease burden across the world. However, in low-middle income countries (LMICs), access to mental health services is severely limited because of the insufficient number of mental health professionals available. The WHO initiated the Mental Health Gap Action Program (mhGAP) aiming to provide a coherent strategy for closing the gap between what is urgently needed and what is available in LMICs. Internet-based treatment is a promising strategy that can be made available to a large number of people now that Internet access is increasing rapidly throughout the world. The present study will investigate whether such an Internet-based treatment for depression is effective in Indonesia.  Methods: An Internet-based behavioral activation treatment, with support by lay counselors who will provide online feedback on the assignments and supportive phone contact to encourage participants to work in the program (Guided Act and Feel Indonesia/GAF-ID), is compared to an online-delivered minimal psychoeducation without any support (psychoeducation/PE). Initial assessment for inclusion is based on a Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) score of at least 10 and meeting criteria for major depressive disorder or persistent depressive disorder as assessed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 (SCID-5). Participants with depression (N=312) will be recruited and randomly assigned to GAF-ID or PE. Overall assessments will be done at baseline, post intervention (10 weeks from baseline) and follow-ups (3 months and 6 months from baseline). The primary outcome is the reduction of depression symptoms as measured by the PHQ-9 after 10 weeks from baseline.  Discussion: To our knowledge, this is the first study in Indonesia that examines the effectiveness of an Internet-based intervention for depression in a randomized controlled trial. The hope is that it can serve as a starting point for bridging the mental health gap in Indonesia and other LMICs. Trial registration: Nederlands Trial Register ( www.trialregister.nl ): NTR5920 , registered on 1 July 2016

A continuous-discontinuous model for crack branching

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Tamayo, E. [et al.]. A continuous-discontinuous model for crack branching. "International journal for numerical methods in engineering", 5 Octubre 2019, vol. 120, núm. 1, p. 86-104, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/nme.6125. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.A new continuous-discontinuous model for fracture that accounts for crack branching in a natural manner is presented. It combines a gradient-enhanced damage model based on nonlocal displacements to describe diffuse cracks and the extended finite element method (X-FEM) for sharp cracks. Its most distinct feature is a global crack tracking strategy based on the geometrical notion of medial axis: the sharp crack propagates following the direction dictated by the medial axis of a damage isoline. This means that, if the damage field branches, the medial axis automatically detects this bifurcation, and a branching sharp crack is thus easily obtained. In contrast to other existing models, no special crack-tip criteria are required to trigger branching. Complex crack patterns may also be described with this approach, since the X-FEM enrichment of the displacement field can be recursively applied by adding one extra term at each branching event. The proposed approach is also equipped with a crack-fluid pressure, a relevant feature in applications such as hydraulic fracturing or leakage-related events. The capabilities of the model to handle propagation and branching of cracks are illustrated by means of different two-dimensional numerical examples.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Interpretation of ambiguous situations: evidence for a dissociation between social and physical threat in Williams syndrome

There is increasing evidence that Williams syndrome (WS) is associated with elevated anxiety that is non-social in nature, including generalised anxiety and fears. To date very little research has examined the cognitive processes associated with this anxiety. In the present research, attentional bias for non-social threatening images in WS was examined using a dot-probe paradigm. Participants were 16 individuals with WS aged between 13 and 34 years and two groups of typically developing controls matched to the WS group on chronological age and attentional control ability respectively. The WS group exhibited a significant attention bias towards threatening images. In contrast, no bias was found for group matched on attentional control and a slight bias away from threat was found in the chronological age matched group. The results are contrasted with recent findings suggesting that individuals with WS do not show an attention bias for threatening faces and discussed in relation to neuroimaging research showing elevated amygdala activation in response to threatening non-social scenes in WS

The Critique of Scholastic Language in Renaissance Humanism and Early Modern Philosophy

This article studies some key moments in the long tradition of the critiqueof scholastic language, voiced by humanists and early-modern philosophers alike. It aims at showing how the humanist idiom of “linguistic usage,” “convention,” “custom,” “common” and “natural” language, and “everyday speech” was repeated and put to new use by early-modern philosophers in their own critique of scholastic language. Focusing on Valla, Vives, Sanches, Gassendi, Hobbes, and Leibniz, the article shows that all these thinkers shared a conviction that scholastic language, at least in its more baroque forms, was artificial, unnatural, uninformative, ungrammatical, and quasi-precise. The scholastics were accused of having introduced a terminology that was a far cry from the common language people spoke, wrote, and read. But what was meant by “common language” and such notions? They were not so easy to define. For the humanists, it meant the Latin of the great classical authors, but this position, as the article suggests, had its tensions. In the later period it became even more difficult to give positive substance to these notions, as the world became, linguistically speaking, increasingly more pluralistic. Yet the attack on scholasticlanguage continued to be conducted in these terms. The article concludes that the long road of what we may call the democratization of philosophical language, so dear to early-modern philosophers, had its roots – ironically perhaps – in the humanist return to classical Latin as the common language

Cardiosphere-derived cells suppress allogeneic lymphocytes by production of PGE2 acting via the EP4 receptor

derived cells (CDCs) are a cardiac progenitor cell population, which have been shown to possess cardiac regenerative properties and can improve heart function in a variety of cardiac diseases. Studies in large animal models have predominantly focussed on using autologous cells for safety, however allogeneic cell banks would allow for a practical, cost-effective and efficient use in a clinical setting. The aim of this work was to determine the immunomodulatory status of these cells using CDCs and lymphocytes from 5 dogs. CDCs expressed MHC I but not MHC II molecules and in mixed lymphocyte reactions demonstrated a lack of lymphocyte proliferation in response to MHC-mismatched CDCs. Furthermore, MHC-mismatched CDCs suppressed lymphocyte proliferation and activation in response to Concanavalin A. Transwell experiments demonstrated that this was predominantly due to direct cell-cell contact in addition to soluble mediators whereby CDCs produced high levels of PGE2 under inflammatory conditions. This led to down-regulation of CD25 expression on lymphocytes via the EP4 receptor. Blocking prostaglandin synthesis restored both, proliferation and activation (measured via CD25 expression) of stimulated lymphocytes. We demonstrated for the first time in a large animal model that CDCs inhibit proliferation in allo-reactive lymphocytes and have potent immunosuppressive activity mediated via PGE2

Reproductive Performance, Udder Health, and Antibiotic Resistance in Mastitis Bacteria isolated from Norwegian Red cows in Conventional and Organic Farming

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The objectives of this study were to investigate whether there were differences between Norwegian Red cows in conventional and organic farming with respect to reproductive performance, udder health, and antibiotic resistance in udder pathogens.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Twenty-five conventional and 24 organic herds from south-east and middle Norway participated in the study. Herds were matched such that geographical location, herd size, and barn types were similar across the cohorts. All organic herds were certified as organic between 1997 and 2003. All herds were members of the Norwegian Dairy Herd Recording System. The herds were visited once during the study. The relationship between the outcomes and explanatory variables were assessed using mixed linear models.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There were less > 2nd parity cows in conventional farming. The conventional cows had higher milk yields and received more concentrates than organic cows. Although after adjustment for milk yield and parity, somatic cell count was lower in organic cows than conventional cows. There was a higher proportion of quarters that were dried off at the herd visit in organic herds. No differences in the interval to first AI, interval to last AI or calving interval was revealed between organic and conventional cows. There was no difference between conventional and organic cows in quarter samples positive for mastitis bacteria from the herd visit. Milk yield and parity were associated with the likelihood of at least one quarter positive for mastitis bacteria. There was few <it>S. aureus </it>isolates resistance to penicillin in both management systems. Penicillin resistance against Coagulase negative staphylococci isolated from subclinically infected quarters was 48.5% in conventional herds and 46.5% in organic herds.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>There were no large differences between reproductive performance and udder health between conventional and organic farming for Norwegian Red cows.</p

Exercise training in pediatric patients with end-stage renal disease

The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility and efficacy of an exercise training program to improve exercise capacity and fatigue level in pediatric patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Twenty children on dialysis intended to perform a 12-week graded community-based exercise program. Exercise capacity and fatigue level were studied; muscle force and health-related quality of life were secondary outcomes. All outcomes were measured at baseline (T = 0) and after intervention (T = 1). Fourteen of the 20 patients (70%) either did not start the program or did not complete the program. Of these patients, seven did not complete or even start the exercise program because of a combination of lack of time and motivational problems. Six patients were not able to continue the program or were unable to do the follow-up measurements because of medical problems. Exercise capacity and muscle strength was higher after the exercise program in the children who completed the training. In conclusion, exercise training is difficult to perform in children with ESRD and is not always feasible in real-life situations for many children with ESRD