58 research outputs found
Under Familiar Fire: Making Decisions during the "Kivu Crisis" 2008 in Goma, DR Congo
This paper explores the decision-making processes used by the inhabitants of Goma during the Kivu Crisis in October 2008. The paperâs aim is twofold: After providing a short history of the October 2008 events, it seeks in the empirical part to distinguish and clarify the role of rumours and narratives in the setting of violent conflict as well as to analyse their impact on decision-making processes. As the epistemological interest lies more on the people who stay rather than those who flee, in the second part the paper argues that the practice of routinization indicates a conscious tactic whose purpose is to counter the non-declared state of exception in Goma. Routinization is defined as a means of establishing order in everyday life by referring to narratives based on lived experiences
Genocidal Gender and Sexual Violence: The legacy of the ICTR, Rwanda's ordinary courts and gacaca courts
Der Weg der paramilitÀrischen Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia zur politischen Anerkennung
Im Rahmen der Friedensverhandlungen zwischen kolumbianischer Regierung und den paramilitĂ€rischen Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC) wurde erstmals öffentlichkeitswirksam ĂŒber deren Demobilisierung verhandelt. Die AUC beabsichtigen damit, ihre Transformation vom militĂ€rischen hin zum politi- schen Akteur in der Ăffentlichkeit zu vollziehen, wobei sich jedoch eine reale Auflösung der militĂ€rischen, wirtschaftlichen und sozialen Strukturen der paramilitĂ€rischen Netzwerke nicht abzeichnet. Anhand einer diskursanalytischen Untersuchung wird der Wandlungsprozess im Diskurs der AUC betrachtet, der ihnen den Weg zu ihrer politischen Legitimierung und rechtlichen Legalisierung geebnet hat
"I am an Intellectual". War, Youth and Higher Education in Goma (Eastern Congo)
The purpose of this paper is to explore, at an empirical level and with a processual view, the relationship between higher education, war, and youthsâ aspirations in Eastern Congo. Students are a relevant social group and an adequate ethnographic lens to describe moments and processes of self-staging, identity formation and social positionality. Therefore, this article explores how students imagine their life chances and how they aspire to accomplish their yearnings in the future. I argue that university is a contested space that mirrors society. Thus, studentsâ experiences and social practices in relation to the educational realm offer important insights into the complex nature of patrimonial politics, shifting power balances, social belonging and intimacy, which are, as I argue, at the heart of the youthful imagination of a better future
Sleep apnoea and the heart
Sleep apnoea is associated with significant daytime functioning impairment and marked cardiovascular morbidities, leading to a significant increase in mortality. Sympathetic activation, oxidative stress and systemic inflammation have been shown to be the main intermediary mechanisms associated with sleep apnoea and intermittent hypoxia. There are now convincing data regarding the association between hypertension, arrhythmias, coronary heart disease, heart failure, increased cardiovascular mortality and sleep apnoea. This has been evidenced in sleep apnoea patients and is supported by experimental data obtained in intermittent hypoxia. Whether treating sleep apnoea enables chronic cardiovascular consequences to be reversed is not fully established as regard coronary heart disease, arrhythmias and heart failure. In this late condition, complex bidirectional relationships occur, with obstructive sleep apnoea being a risk factor for heart failure whilst central sleep apnoea mainly appears as a consequence of heart failure. It remains to be established in adequately designed studies, i.e. large randomised controlled trials, whether treating sleep apnoea can improve heart failure morbidity and mortality
Once-weekly prophylaxis with 40 IU/kg nonacog beta pegol (N9-GP) achieves trough levels of >15% in patients with haemophilia B: Pooled data from the paradigmâą trials.
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A Systematic Review of the Efficacy and Toxicity of Brachytherapy Boost Combined with External Beam Radiotherapy for Nonmetastatic Prostate Cancer
CONTEXT: The optimum use of brachytherapy (BT) combined with external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) for localised/locally advanced prostate cancer (PCa) remains uncertain.OBJECTIVE: To perform a systematic review to determine the benefits and harms of EBRT-BT.EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, and EBM Reviews-Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases were systematically searched for studies published between January 1, 2000 and June 7, 2022, according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) statement. Eligible studies compared low- or high-dose-rate EBRT-BT against EBRT ± androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and/or radical prostatectomy (RP) ± postoperative radiotherapy (RP ± EBRT). The main outcomes were biochemical progression-free survival (bPFS), severe late genitourinary (GU)/gastrointestinal toxicity, metastasis-free survival (MFS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), and overall survival (OS), at/beyond 5 yr. Risk of bias was assessed and confounding assessment was performed. A meta-analysis was performed for randomised controlled trials (RCTs).EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: Seventy-three studies were included (two RCTs, seven prospective studies, and 64 retrospective studies). Most studies included participants with intermediate-or high-risk PCa. Most studies, including both RCTs, used ADT with EBRT-BT. Generally, EBRT-BT was associated with improved bPFS compared with EBRT, but similar MFS, CSS, and OS. A meta-analysis of the two RCTs showed superior bPFS with EBRT-BT (estimated fixed-effect hazard ratio [HR] 0.54 [95% confidence interval {CI} 0.40-0.72], p < 0.001), with absolute improvements in bPFS at 5-6 yr of 4.9-16%. However, no difference was seen for MFS (HR 0.84 [95% CI 0.53-1.28], p = 0.4) or OS (HR 0.87 [95% CI 0.63-1.19], p = 0.4). Fewer studies examined RP ± EBRT. There is an increased risk of severe late GU toxicity, especially with low-dose-rate EBRT-BT, with some evidence of increased prevalence of severe GU toxicity at 5-6 yr of 6.4-7% across the two RCTs.CONCLUSIONS: EBRT-BT can be considered for unfavourable intermediate/high-risk localised/locally advanced PCa in patients with good urinary function, although the strength of this recommendation based on the European Association of Urology guideline methodology is weak given that it is based on improvements in biochemical control.PATIENT SUMMARY: We found good evidence that radiotherapy combined with brachytherapy keeps prostate cancer controlled for longer, but it could lead to worse urinary side effects than radiotherapy without brachytherapy, and its impact on cancer spread and patient survival is less clear.</p
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