Creativity as opening toward new beginnings

The initiative to organize an issue of Academic Quarter on creativity originates from the 32th International Human Science Research Conference (IHSRC), which took place at the University of Aalborg in the Northern Denmark in August 2013. Here the overall theme of the conference was ’Creativity in Human Science Research, Methodology and Theory’. More than 150 human scientists from all over the world participated in the conference in Denmark. According to the conference flyer:   "All human sciences exist in a tension between tradition and renewal. At the conference, we hope that participants will discuss how to renew the human sciences creatively, and also to present ideas about what creativity is as a basic human phenomenon. How can phenomenological, hermeneutic and other human science traditions be respected and yet renewed in creative directions? How – and how much – should human scientists experiment with creative methodological practices when researching human phenomena? What role can the arts play? Are there limits to creativity? Can human beings become too creative – in life as well as in research? And what can human scientists actually contribute with to the current creativity discourse?"   Many of those who have contributed to the present issue attended the conference. This issue raises a fundamental question that must be of importance for every human scientist: What is creativity really? And how can and why should a more ‘creative’ approach in human science be understood and defended? In what ways can phenomenology and hermeneutics become more open to insights into the nature of creativity and how should we talk about creative ways of doing phenomenology, hermeneutics, and human science as such? In the current issue, you will find many different answers to what creativity is and what a creative human science approach could look like, and how to practice it. We have organized the content of this issue (28 articles) under four main themes: • Promoting Creativity • Creativity and Research Methods • Educational Approaches and Methods • Design, Aesthetics and Creativit

Comparison of two immunoassay systems for hCGβ and PAPP-A in prenatal screening for trisomy 21, 18, and 13 in the first trimester

Objectives: The biochemical serum markers free β-human chorionic gonadotropin (hCGβ) and pregnancy associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A), used in screening for trisomy 21 (T21), trisomy 18 (T18), and trisomy 13 (T13) during the first trimester, can be measured on different laboratory instruments e.g. Kryptor (Brahms) and Cobas (Roche). We compared the performance of these two analytical instruments when used for first trimester combined testing. Design and methods: Serum samples from 944 singleton pregnant women attending for first trimester combined testing were routinely assayed for hCGβ and PAPP-A on Kryptor, and re-analyzed on Cobas. In addition, serum samples from 70 pregnant women carrying a fetus affected by T21, T18 or T13, were re-assayed on Cobas. Results: For the screening population, the hCGβ and PAPP-A results in multiples of the median (MoM) from Kryptor and Cobas were significantly lower on Cobas when compared to Kryptor. The number of pregnant women with a risk above 1:300 for T21 was 48 for both Cobas and Kryptor, although a few patients only had a high risk with one of the methods. Overall, the screen positive rate was 5.1% for both instruments. In the trisomy groups the calculated risks for T21, T18, and T13 agreed well between Cobas and Kryptor. Conclusions: The screen positive rate for T21 (5.1%) did not differ between the two analytical platforms in our screening population, although PAPP-A measurements form Cobas were significantly lower than those from Kryptor. The calculated risks for the pregnancies affected by trisomies using hCGβ MoM and PAPP-A MoM from Kryptor agreed well with those from Cobas. Keywords: Aneuploidy, Combined first trimester screening, First trimester risk assessment, Free β-human chorionic gonadotropin (hCGβ), Pregnancy associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A), Trisomy screenin

Gene Expression Profiling of Placentas Affected by Pre-Eclampsia

Several studies point to the placenta as the primary cause of pre-eclampsia. Our objective was to identify placental genes that may contribute to the development of pre-eclampsia. RNA was purified from tissue biopsies from eleven pre-eclamptic placentas and eighteen normal controls. Messenger RNA expression from pooled samples was analysed by microarrays. Verification of the expression of selected genes was performed using real-time PCR. A surprisingly low number of genes (21 out of 15,000) were identified as differentially expressed. Among these were genes not previously associated with pre-eclampsia as bradykinin B1 receptor and a 14-3-3 protein, but also genes that have already been connected with pre-eclampsia, for example, inhibin beta A subunit and leptin. A low number of genes were repeatedly identified as differentially expressed, because they may represent the endpoint of a cascade of events effectuated throughout gestation. They were associated with transcriptional regulation and vasoregulative pathways, along with a number of hypothetical proteins and gene sequences with unknown functions

Self-reported cardiorespiratory fitness:prediction and classification of risk of cardiovascular disease mortality and longevity--a prospective investigation in the Copenhagen City Heart Study

BACKGROUND: The predictive value and improved risk classification of self‐reported cardiorespiratory fitness (SRCF), when added to traditional risk factors on cardiovascular disease (CVD) and longevity, are unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 3843 males and 5093 females from the Copenhagen City Heart Study without CVD in 1991–1994 were analyzed using multivariate Cox hazards regression to assess the predictive value and survival benefit for CVD and all‐cause mortality from SRCF. The category‐free net reclassification improvement from SRCF was calculated at 15‐year follow‐up on CVD and all‐cause mortality. Overall, 1693 individuals died from CVD. In the fully adjusted Cox model, those reporting the same (hazard ratio [HR], 1.17; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.04 to 1.32) and lower (HR, 1.91; 95% CI, 1.62 to 2.24) SRCF than peers had an increased risk of CVD mortality, compared with individuals with higher SRCF. Compared with individuals with higher SRCF, those with the same and lower SRCF had 1.8 (95% CI, 1.0 to 2.5) and 5.1 (95% CI, 4.1 to 6.2) years lower life expectancy, respectively. Individuals with lower SRCF had a significantly increased risk of CVD mortality, compared with individuals with higher SRCF, within each strata of leisure time physical activity and self‐rated health, and SRCF significantly predicted CVD mortality independently of self‐rated health and walking pace. A net reclassification improvement of 30.5% (95% CI, 22.1% to 38.9%) for CVD mortality was found when adding SRCF to traditional risk factors. Comparable findings were found for all‐cause mortality. CONCLUSIONS: SRCF has independent predictive value, is related to a considerable survival benefit, and improves risk classification when added to traditional risk factors of CVD and all‐cause mortality. SRCF might prove useful in improved risk stratification in primary prevention