Redemption Theology in Mystical Convent Drama : "The Already and the Not Yet" in Hildegard of Bingen's Ordo virtutum and Marcela de San Félix's Breve festejo

Este estudo explora, de forma central, a divindade distintamente corporal revelada através de paradigmas místicos em duas peças da religiosa Hildegard de Bingen (1098-1179): Ordo virtutum, uma peça convincente atribuída à Marcela de São Félix (1605-1687), Breve festejo que se hizo para nuestra Madre priora y a alegrar la comunidad la noce de los reyes deste año 1653. Ela destaca e analisa o fato de que, em ambas as peças, várias relações triádicas apontam a presença essencial da segunda pessoa da Trindade, em Trindade mística. O principal argumento é que uma particular divindade cristocêntrica mística tem conotações teológicas que carregam investigação contra a problematização geral do elemento corpóreo na mística relacional e economia teológica ao longo do século XVII. O documento articula que uma divindade particular humana mística pode ter sido subestimada na prática cristã de misticismo a partir dos tempos medievais e exegetas, porque a tendência para a transcendência sobre a imanência no misticismo pode até ser considerada como teologicamente incompleta à luz da teologia da redenção cristã (católica). Ele termina mostrando como o "já e ainda não" é mencionado em ambas as peças, e tira algumas conclusões teológicas relevantes que estão em resposta à divindade transcendente geralmente privilegiada no misticismo, obedecendo a outras obras, tanto de Bingen e São Félix, para fundamentar a teologia que pode sem dúvida ser atribuída a eles. Ao longo do caminho, os aspectos relevantes de diferentes entendimentos de emoções, entre eles o conceito dos humores, a compreensão aristotélica da relação entre as virtudes (cristão) e o reino emocional, o papel central do eros na prática mística e implicações teológicas do mesmo será elevado, de acordo com o tema de um determinado volume.This study most centrally explores the distinctly corporeal divinity that is revealed through mystical paradigms in two plays by female religious: Hildegard of Bingen's (1098-1179) Ordo virtutum and a play convincingly attributed to Marcela de san Félix (1605-87), Breve festejo que se hizo para nuestra Madre priora y a alegrar la comunidad la noce de los reyes deste año 1653. It highlights and analyzes the fact that, in both plays, various triadic relationships point to the essential presence of the second person of the Trinity in the mystical Godhead. The central argument is that a particularly Christocentric mystical divinity has theological connotations which bear investigation against the general problematization of the corporeal element in the mystical relational and theological economy through the seventeenth century. The paper articulates why a particularly human mystical divinity might have been undervalued in the Christian practice of mysticism from Medieval times onward, and exegetes why the bias toward transcendence over immanence in mysticism might even be regarded as theologically incomplete in the light of (Catholic) Christian redemption theology. It ends by showing how the "already and not yet" is alluded to in both plays, and draws some relevant theological conclusions which stand in answer to the transcendent deity usually privileged in mysticism, hearkening to other works by both Bingen and san Félix to substantiate the theology which can arguably be attributed to them. Along the way, relevant aspects of different understandings of emotions-among them the concept of the humors, the Aristotelian understanding of the relationship between the (Christian) virtues and the emotional realm, and the central role of eros in the mystical practice and the theological implications of the same-will be raised, according to the theme of this particular volume

Refinement and preliminary evaluation of two tablet-based tests of real-world visual function

PURPOSE: To describe, refine, evaluate, and provide normative control data for two freely available tablet-based tests of real-world visual function, using a cohort of young, normally-sighted adults. METHODS: Fifty young (18-40 years), normally-sighted adults completed tablet-based assessments of (1) face discrimination and (2) visual search. Each test was performed twice, to assess test-retest repeatability. Post-hoc analyses were performed to determine the number of trials required to obtain stable estimates of performance. Distributions were fitted to the normative data to determine the 99% population-boundary for normally sighted observers. Participants were also asked to rate their comprehension of each test. RESULTS: Both tests provided stable estimates in around 20 trials (~1-4 min), with only a further reduction of 14%-17% in the 95% Coefficient of Repeatability (CoR95 ) when an additional 40 trials were included. When using only ~20 trials: median durations for the first run of each test were 191 s (Faces) and 51 s (Search); test-retest CoR95 were 0.27 d (Faces) and 0.84 s (Search); and normative 99% population-limits were 3.50 d (Faces) and 3.1 s (Search). No participants exhibited any difficulties completing either test (100% completion rate), and ratings of task-understanding were high (Faces: 9.6 out of 10; Search: 9.7 out of 10). CONCLUSIONS: This preliminary assessment indicated that both tablet-based tests are able to provide simple, quick, and easy-to-administer measures of real-world visual function in normally-sighted young adults. Further work is required to assess their accuracy and utility in older people and individuals with visual impairment. Potential applications are discussed, including their use in clinic waiting rooms, and as an objective complement to Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs)

The Anaesthetic Biobank of Cerebrospinal fluid:a unique repository for neuroscientific biomarker research

Background: The pathophysiology of numerous central nervous system disorders remains poorly understood. Biomarker research using cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is a promising way to illuminate the neurobiology of neuropsychiatric disorders. CSF biomarker studies performed so far generally included patients with neurodegenerative diseases without an adequate control group. The Anaesthetic Biobank of Cerebrospinal fluid (ABC) was established to address this. The aims are to (I) provide healthy-control reference values for CSF-based biomarkers, and (II) to investigate associations between CSF-based candidate biomarkers and neuropsychiatric symptoms.&amp; nbsp; &amp; nbsp;Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we collect and store CSF and blood from adult patients undergoing spinal anaesthesia for elective surgery. Blood (20.5 mL) is collected during intravenous cannulation and CSF (10 mL) is aspirated prior to intrathecal local anaesthetic injection. A portion of the blood and CSF is sent for routine laboratory analyses, the remaining material is stored at &amp; minus;80 ?. Relevant clinical, surgical and anaesthetic data are registered. A neurological examination and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) are performed pre-operatively and a subset of patients fill in questionnaires on somatic and mental health (depression, anxiety and stress).&amp; nbsp; Results: Four-hundred-fifty patients (58% male; median age: 56 years) have been enrolled in the ABC. The planned spinal anaesthetic procedure was not attempted for various reasons in eleven patients, in fourteen patients the spinal puncture failed and in twelve patients CSF aspiration was unsuccessful. A mean of 9.3 mL CSF was obtained in the remaining 413 of patients. Most patients had a minor medical history and 60% scored in the normal range on the MoCA (median score: 26).&amp; nbsp; Conclusions: The ABC is an ongoing biobanking project that can contribute to CSF-based biomarker research. The large sample size with constant sampling methods and extensive patient phenotyping provide excellent conditions for future neuroscientific research.</p

The social gradient in adolescent mental health: mediated or moderated by belief in a just world?

PURPOSE: A social gradient in adolescent mental health exists: adolescents with higher socioeconomic status (SES) have fewer mental health problems than their peers with lower SES. Little is known about whether adolescents' societal beliefs play a role in this social gradient. Belief in a just world (BJW) may be a mediator or moderator of the social gradient in adolescent mental health. METHODS: Using data from 848 adolescents (Mage = 17) in the Netherlands, path analyses examined whether two indicators of BJW (general and personal) mediated or moderated the associations between two indicators of SES (family affluence and perceived family wealth), and four indicators of adolescent mental health problems (emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity, and peer problems). RESULTS: Adolescents with lower family affluence and lower perceived family wealth reported more emotional symptoms, and the association between perceived family wealth and emotional symptoms was mediated by lower personal and general BJW. Furthermore, higher personal BJW amplified the negative association between SES and peer problems. CONCLUSION: This study suggests BJW may both mediate and amplify the social gradient in adolescent mental health. Adolescents' beliefs about society may be important to include in research aimed at understanding this social gradient

Habitual dietary intake of IBD patients differs from population controls:a case-control study

BACKGROUND: Since evidence-based dietary guidelines are lacking for IBD patients, they tend to follow "unguided" dietary habits; potentially leading to nutritional deficiencies and detrimental effects on disease course. Therefore, we compared dietary intake of IBD patients with controls. METHODS: Dietary intake of macronutrients and 25 food groups of 493 patients (207 UC, 286 CD), and 1291 controls was obtained via a food frequency questionnaire. RESULTS: 38.6% of patients in remission had protein intakes below the recommended 0.8 g/kg and 86.7% with active disease below the recommended 1.2 g/kg. Multinomial logistic regression, corrected for age, gender and BMI, showed that (compared to controls) UC patients consumed more meat and spreads, but less alcohol, breads, coffee and dairy; CD patients consumed more non-alcoholic drinks, potatoes, savoury snacks and sugar and sweets but less alcohol, dairy, nuts, pasta and prepared meals. Patients with active disease consumed more meat, soup and sugar and sweets but less alcohol, coffee, dairy, prepared meals and rice; patients in remission consumed more potatoes and spreads but less alcohol, breads, dairy, nuts, pasta and prepared meals. CONCLUSIONS: Patients avoiding potentially favourable foods and gourmandizing potentially unfavourable foods are of concern. Special attention is needed for protein intake in the treatment of these patients

Three-Year Outcomes of Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration in Eyes That Do Not Develop Macular Atrophy or Subretinal Fibrosis

Purpose: To report the 36-month treatment outcomes of eyes with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) receiving vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitors in daily practice who did not develop either subretinal fibrosis (SRFi) or macular atrophy (MA). Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of data from the Fight Retinal Blindness registry. Treatment-naïve eyes starting intravitreal injection of VEGF inhibitors for nAMD from January 1, 2010, to September 1, 2017, and did not have SRFI and MA at baseline were tracked. Results: We identified 2478 eligible eyes, of which 1712 eyes did not develop SRFi or MA, 291 developed extrafoveal SRFI or MA, and 475 developed subfoveal SRFi or MA over 36 months. The estimated visual acuity stabilized from 6 months to 36 months in eyes that did not develop SRFI or MA with a mean (95% confidence interval [CI]) change in VA of -1 (-2, 0) letters, whereas eyes that developed extrafoveal (-3 [-5, -2] letters) or subfoveal (-10 [-11, -8] letters) SRFi or MA declined in vision in the same period. Eyes with no or extrafoveal SRFi or MA over 36 months were more likely to maintain their visual improvement from six months to 36 months (odds ratio [OR; 95% CI] = 2.3 [1.5, 3.3] for absence vs. subfoveal SRFi or MA, P ≤ 0.01 and OR = 2.0 [1.2, 3.4] for extrafoveal vs. subfoveal MA or SRFi, P = 0.01). Conclusions: Treatment-naïve nAMD eyes receiving VEGF inhibitors maintain their initial six-month visual improvement over three years if they do not develop SRFI or MA. Translational relevance: The nAMD is still a major cause of blindness despite antiangiogenic treatments. We found that eyes that did not develop subretinal fibrosis or macular atrophy maintained their initial vision improvement for at least three years, suggesting that identifying treatments for these complications is the final barrier to achieving excellent outcomes in nAMD

Erratum in: Three-Year Outcomes of Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration in Eyes That Do Not Develop Macular Atrophy or Subretinal Fibrosis

Purpose: To report the 36-month treatment outcomes of eyes with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) receiving vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitors in daily practice who did not develop either subretinal fibrosis (SRFi) or macular atrophy (MA). Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of data from the Fight Retinal Blindness registry. Treatment-naïve eyes starting intravitreal injection of VEGF inhibitors for nAMD from January 1, 2010, to September 1, 2017, and did not have SRFI and MA at baseline were tracked. Results: We identified 2478 eligible eyes, of which 1712 eyes did not develop SRFi or MA, 291 developed extrafoveal SRFI or MA, and 475 developed subfoveal SRFi or MA over 36 months. The estimated visual acuity stabilized from 6 months to 36 months in eyes that did not develop SRFI or MA with a mean (95% confidence interval [CI]) change in VA of -1 (-2, 0) letters, whereas eyes that developed extrafoveal (-3 [-5, -2] letters) or subfoveal (-10 [-11, -8] letters) SRFi or MA declined in vision in the same period. Eyes with no or extrafoveal SRFi or MA over 36 months were more likely to maintain their visual improvement from six months to 36 months (odds ratio [OR; 95% CI] = 2.3 [1.5, 3.3] for absence vs. subfoveal SRFi or MA, P ≤ 0.01 and OR = 2.0 [1.2, 3.4] for extrafoveal vs. subfoveal MA or SRFi, P = 0.01). Conclusions: Treatment-naïve nAMD eyes receiving VEGF inhibitors maintain their initial six-month visual improvement over three years if they do not develop SRFI or MA. Translational relevance: The nAMD is still a major cause of blindness despite antiangiogenic treatments. We found that eyes that did not develop subretinal fibrosis or macular atrophy maintained their initial vision improvement for at least three years, suggesting that identifying treatments for these complications is the final barrier to achieving excellent outcomes in nAMD

Refinement and preliminary evaluation of two tablet-based tests of real-world visual function

PurposeTo describe, refine, evaluate, and provide normative control data for two freely available tablet-based tests of real-world visual function, using a cohort of young, normally-sighted adults. MethodsFifty young (18-40 years), normally-sighted adults completed tablet-based assessments of (1) face discrimination and (2) visual search. Each test was performed twice, to assess test-retest repeatability. Post-hoc analyses were performed to determine the number of trials required to obtain stable estimates of performance. Distributions were fitted to the normative data to determine the 99% population-boundary for normally sighted observers. Participants were also asked to rate their comprehension of each test.ResultsBoth tests provided stable estimates in around 20 trials (~1-4 min), with only a further reduction of 14%-17% in the 95% Coefficient of Repeatability (CoR95) when an additional 40 trials were included. When using only ~20 trials: median durations for the first run of each test were 191 s (Faces) and 51 s (Search); test-retest CoR95 were 0.27 d (Faces) and 0.84 s (Search); and normative 99% population-limits were 3.50 d (Faces) and 3.1 s (Search). No participants exhibited any difficulties completing either test (100% completion rate), and ratings of task-understanding were high (Faces: 9.6 out of 10; Search: 9.7 out of 10).ConclusionsThis preliminary assessment indicated that both tablet-based tests are able to provide simple, quick, and easy-to-administer measures of real-world visual function in normally-sighted young adults. Further work is required to assess their accuracy and utility in older people and individuals with visual impairment. Potential applications are discussed, including their use in clinic waiting rooms, and as an objective complement to Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs).</div

Lifelines NEXT:a prospective birth cohort adding the next generation to the three-generation Lifelines cohort study

Epidemiological research has shown there to be a strong relationship between preconceptional, prenatal, birth and early-life factors and lifelong health. The Lifelines NEXT is a birth cohort designed to study the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic determinants on health and disease in a four-generation design. It is embedded within the Lifelines cohort study, a prospective three-generation population-based cohort study recording the health and health-related aspects of 167,729 individuals living in Northern Netherlands. In Lifelines NEXT we aim to include 1500 pregnant Lifelines participants and intensively follow them, their partners and their children until at least 1 year after birth. Longer-term follow-up of physical and psychological health will then be embedded following Lifelines procedures. During the Lifelines NEXT study period biomaterials-including maternal and neonatal (cord) blood, placental tissue, feces, breast milk, nasal swabs and urine-will be collected from the mother and child at 10 time points. We will also collect data on medical, social, lifestyle and environmental factors via questionnaires at 14 different time points and continuous data via connected devices. The extensive collection of different (bio)materials from mother and child during pregnancy and afterwards will provide the means to relate environmental factors including maternal and neonatal microbiome composition) to (epi)genetics, health and developmental outcomes. The nesting of the study within Lifelines enables us to include preconceptional transgenerational data and can be used to identify other extended families within the cohort

Cohort profile: LifeLines DEEP, a prospective, general population cohort study in the northern Netherlands:Study design and baseline characteristics

Purpose There is a critical need for population-based prospective cohort studies because they follow individuals before the onset of disease, allowing for studies that can identify biomarkers and disease-modifying effects, and thereby contributing to systems epidemiology. Participants This paper describes the design and baseline characteristics of an intensively examined subpopulation of the LifeLines cohort in the Netherlands. In this unique subcohort, LifeLines DEEP, we included 1539 participants aged 18 years and older. Findings to date We collected additional blood (n=1387), exhaled air (n=1425) and faecal samples (n=1248), and elicited responses to gastrointestinal health questionnaires (n=1176) for analysis of the genome, epigenome, transcriptome, microbiome, metabolome and other biological levels. Here, we provide an overview of the different data layers in LifeLines DEEP and present baseline characteristics of the study population including food intake and quality of life. We also describe how the LifeLines DEEP cohort allows for the detailed investigation of genetic, genomic and metabolic variation for a wide range of phenotypic outcomes. Finally, we examine the determinants of gastrointestinal health, an area of particular interest to us that can be addressed by LifeLines DEEP. Future plans We have established a cohort of which multiple data levels allow for the integrative analysis of populations for translation of this information into biomarkers for disease, and which will offer new insights into disease mechanisms and prevention