Cervical collagen and biomechanical strength in non-pregnant women with a history of cervical insufficiency

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>It has been suggested that cervical insufficiency (CI) is characterized by a "muscular cervix" with low collagen and high smooth muscle concentrations also in the non-pregnant state. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the biomechanical properties, collagen concentration, smooth muscle cell density, and collagen fiber orientation in cervical biopsies from non-pregnant women with a history of CI.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Cervical punch biopsies (2 × 15 mm) were obtained from 57 normal non-pregnant women and 22 women with a history of CI. Biomechanical tensile testing was performed, and collagen content was determined by hydroxyproline quantification. Histomorphometry was used to determine the volume densities of extracellular matrix and smooth muscle cells from the distal to the proximal part of each sample. Smooth muscle cells were identified using immunohistoche-mistry. Finally, collagen fiber orientation was investigated. Data are given as mean +/- SD.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Collagen concentration was lower in the CI group (58.6 +/- 8.8%) compared with the control group (62.2 +/- 6.6%) (p = 0.033). However, when data were adjusted for age and parity, no difference in collagen concentration was found between the two groups. Maximum load of the specimens did not differ between the groups (p = 0.78). The tensile strength of cervical collagen, i.e. maximum load normalized per unit collagen (mg of collagen per mm of specimen length), was increased in the CI group compared with controls (p = 0.033). No differences in the volume density of extracellular matrix or smooth muscle cells were found between the two groups. Fibers not oriented in the plane of sectioning were increased in CI patients compared with controls.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Cervical insufficiency does not appear to be associated with a constitutionally low collagen concentration or collagen of inferior mechanical quality. Furthermore, the hypothesis that a "muscular cervix" with an abundance of smooth muscle cells contributes to the development of cervical insufficiency is not supported by the present study.</p

Når værdighed rimer på uafhængighed: En antropologisk analyse af ældrepolitikkens fordringer om aktivitet og selvhjælp

Dansk ældrepolitik har det seneste årti været præget af stærke idéer om aktiv alderdom, uafhængighed og værdighed. Med afsæt i etnografiske indsigter om ældre danskere viser denne artikel, hvordan ældrepolitikkens fordringer om aktivitet og selvhjælp har gjort det delvist illegitimt at være svækket og plejekrævende. Artiklen argumenterer dermed for, at ældrepolitik, der primært baserer sig på aktivitetsteori, risikerer at bryde med den sociale kontrakt mellem individ og samfund, som har kendetegnet den danske velfærdsstat siden 1950’erne. Den viser også, at den sociale relation mellem plejekrævende ældre og omsorgsmedarbejdere ændrer sig som en konsekvens heraf

David Mosse: Cultivating Development: An Ethnography of Aid Policy and Practice

Anmeldes af Bjarke Oxlund &nbsp

TAVSHEDENS KONFIGURATION: Hiv, aids og frygten for social død i Sydafrika

Denne artikel viser, at til trods for mange års hiv- og aids-oplysning under overskriften „Bryd tavsheden“ vedbliver hiv og aids med at være omgærdet af tavshed og hemmelighedskræmmeri på lokalsamfundsniveau i Sydafrika. Gennem en analyse af flere fortællinger om unge mennesker ved Limpopo Universitet, der lider af dårligt helbred, og med inspiration fra klassiske begreber som renhed og urenhed, undersøger artiklen, hvordan disse tavsheder er konfigureret. I kontrast til den måde, hvorpå hiv-relateret tavshed, stigma og benægtelse tidligere er blevet direkte forbundet med seksuelle tabuer og moralsk kvababbelse over promiskuøsitet, viser artiklen, at de stigmatiserende elementer i højere grad knytter an til frygten for social død, som truer med at blokere for de unge menneskers sociale tilblivelsesproces. Ved at gøre analytisk brug af det grammatiske begreb konjunktiv, der også kan betegnes ønskemåde, og som er en måde at begrebsliggøre håb på, forklarer artiklen, hvorfor mange sydafrikanere ikke ønsker at tage en hiv-test, selv om landets sundhedscentre siden 2004 er begyndt at tilbyde medicinsk behandling for aids. Overordnet set viser artiklen, at de studerende ved Limpopo Universitet frygter de sociale og psykiske konsekvenser af hiv og aids mere, end de frygter de fysiske konsekvenser, hvilket er grunden til, at de forfølger en tilstand af tavshed og uvished snarere end at søge at opnå den biomedicinske vished, som en hiv-test medfører. Søgeord: hiv, aids, tavshed, social død, stigma, Sydafrika &nbsp

Affect and Effect in Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration

Research across disciplines is often described as beset with problems of epistemological hierarchies and incommensurable categories. We recognize these problems working in two large interdisciplinary research projects on obesity and cholesterol lowering medicine in Denmark. We explore the affective tensions that arise in concrete situations when we meet other researchers around a shared research object. We propose that sensitivity towards such differences, and exploration of the affects they foster, can generate new epistemological and political openings. Analysing four interdisciplinary situations we suggest that embodied experiences of amusement, awkwardness, boredom and doubts are signposts of both differences and connections between people and concerns. Inspired by Haraway’s notion of “response-ability” (1997) and Verran’s concept of “generative critique” (2001) we propose that attention to affective tensions in interdisciplinary research collaboration can be generative of effects not only on modes of collaboration, but also on the ways we engage the world as researchers