Introduction: The Many Facets of Precautionary Logic

The collection of contributions to this issue of Erasmus Law Review illustrates the breadth of the academic writing on the theme of precaution. This broadening of academic interest in precaution can be explained by the fact that the application of the PP is often highly contested. The European Union’s claim that the PP is a received principle of international environmental law is problematic, at least in the sense that questions of when and how to apply it always give rise to considerable controversy. The PP can therefore be considered a ‘contested concept’

Verantwoordelijkheid en voorzorg bij 'de overgewichtepidemie'. Onzekerheid en transparantie bij preventief leefstijlbeleid

Dat overgewicht gezondheidsrisico’s zoals hartkwalen en suikerziekte met zich meebrengt, wordt door onder andere de WHO geclaimd maar door anderen juist ontkend. Toch vormt het idee van een ‘obesogene samenleving’ de kern van het huidige overgewichtbeleid in Nederland. Het is daarbij de verantwoordelijkheid van de overheid om ervoor te zorgen dat ‘de gezonde keus gemakkelijk is’. Het blijft de verantwoordelijkheid van de burger om ‘de gezonde keus’ te maken. Bezien vanuit het heersende medisch paradigma is hierbij sprake van evenwichtige interventies. Een kritische analyse van dat paradigma roept hierover echter twijfel op. De onzekerheid van de medische kennis, het ontbreken van effectieve interventies en het meewegen van stigmatisering als negatieve bijwerking van het beleid vragen om serieuze heroverweging van het overgewichtbeleid. zeker in relatie met de noodzaak van transparantie in een democratische rechtsstaat

Dubbelzinnig Recht

De drie artikelen in deze bundel zijn speciaal geschreven voor de cursus Inlei-ding Rechtssociologie. Het fundament van de cursus is De samenleving als schouwspel en op die basis wordt in deze artikelen verder gewerkt. De tekst over Dahrendorf en 'Dubbelzinnig recht' werden eerder gebruikt in de cursus van 1996/1997. 'Rechtssociologische inzichten' is een nieuwe tekst. Er worden onderwerpen in uitgewerkt die in de twee andere teksten kort worden aan-geroerd. Daarom zijn die teksten – in vergelijking met het vorige cursusjaar – enigszins aangepast.Pieterman, R. (1998) Dubbelzinnig Recht. Rotterdam: Donner

Food Safety At The Molecular Level: Crossing The Ecological Threshold

The zero-tolerance precautionary approach to ban certain antibiotics from food has proven unworkable as a result of continuing analytical progress. New regulatory standards on chemical residues do not adequately address the situation, leaving technical progress, not toxicological relevance, to determine undesirable levels. As new chemical substances are identified in nature, detection must identify toxicity in terms of actual levels of exposure, but also whether a causal link between chemical and illegal conduct can be established

Induction of broad multifunctional CD8+ and CD4+ T cells by hepatitis B virus antigen-based synthetic long peptides ex vivo

Introduction: Therapeutic vaccination based on synthetic long peptides (SLP®) containing both CD4+ and CD8+ T cell epitopes is a promising treatment strategy for chronic hepatitis B infection (cHBV). Methods: We designed SLPs for three HBV proteins, HBcAg and the non-secreted proteins polymerase and X, and investigated their ability to induce T cell responses ex vivo. A set of 17 SLPs was constructed based on viral protein conservation, functionality, predicted and validated binders for prevalent human leukocyte antigen (HLA) supertypes, validated HLA I epitopes, and chemical producibility. Results: All 17 SLPs were capable of inducing interferon gamma (IFNɣ) production in samples from four or more donors that had resolved an HBV infection in the past (resolver). Further analysis of the best performing SLPs demonstrated activation of both CD8+ and CD4+ multi-functional T cells in one or more resolver and patient sample(s). When investigating which SLP could activate HBV-specific T cells, the responses could be traced back to different peptides for each patient or resolver. Discussion: This indicates that a large population of subjects with different HLA types can be covered by selecting a suitable mix of SLPs for therapeutic vaccine design. In conclusion, we designed a set of SLPs capable of inducing multifunctional CD8+ and CD4+ T cells ex vivo that create important components for a novel therapeutic vaccine to cure cHBV.</p

The monocyte-derived cytokine response in whole blood from preterm newborns against sepsis-related bacteria is similar to term newborns and adults

IntroductionSepsis is characterized by a dysregulated innate immune response. It is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in newborns, in particular for newborns that are born premature. Although previous literature indicate that the pro-inflammatory response may be impaired in preterm newborns, serum levels of monocyte-derived cytokines, such as TNF-α and IL-6, vary highly between newborns and can reach adult-like concentrations during sepsis. These contradictory observations and the severe consequences of neonatal sepsis in preterm newborns highlight the need for a better understanding of the pro-inflammatory cytokine response of preterm newborns to improve sepsis-related outcomes.Methods and resultsUsing an in vitro model with multiple read outs at the transcriptional and protein level, we consistently showed that the monocyte-derived cytokine response induced by sepsis-related bacteria is comparable between preterm newborns, term newborns and adults. We substantiated these findings by employing recombinant Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands and showed that the activation of specific immune pathways, including the expression of TLRs, is also similar between preterm newborns, term newborns and adults. Importantly, we showed that at birth the production of TNF-α and IL-6 is highly variable between individuals and independent of gestational age.DiscussionThese findings indicate that preterm newborns are equally capable of mounting a pro-inflammatory response against a broad range of bacterial pathogens that is comparable to term newborns and adults. Our results provide a better understanding of the pro-inflammatory response by preterm newborns and could guide the development of interventions that specifically modulate the pro-inflammatory response during sepsis in preterm newborns