De zekerheid van het geloof — Bucer’s antwoord aan pighius

The religious disputes (i.a. Regensburg, 1541) achieved a certain consensus regarding the central theme of justification through faith. Both Rome and Luther turned this down. Bucer defended the result against Roman Catholic theologians such as Eck and Pighius. In an extensive work Pighius uttered his critique on the consensus. Entering into discussion with Pighius, Bucer kept to the views that were accepted among the reformers, at the same time trying to keep open the way for mutual understanding. He wanted to keep the way open for the Word that has an efficiency of its own and offers the strongest motivation for an ensuing reformation of the church. His own forensic-effective view of justification allowed him to have such an approach

Rechtvaardiging en recht in de kerk: Over de theologische achtergronden van het gereformeerde kerkrecht

Justification and law in the church: The theological background of reformed church lawIn reformed church law there is a connection between ecclesiastical structure (disciplina) and ecclesiastical doctrine (doctrina). Luther’s doctrine of justification disrupted the hierarchical structure of the church. For him, whose conception of the church started from the principle of the unique priesthood of Christ, church law was ius divinum. The Calvinists paid more attention to the church and her organisation than Luther did. Because they related the church order to the ordo salutis, the church came to serve the true doctrine, which is her primary characteristic

Older people in dental practice:Oral health and oral health care

The study in community-dwelling older people who still visit the dental practice shows that they are relatively healthy and in most cases have a higher socioeconomic status. Nevertheless, these older people also show an increase in health problems, the number of medicines being used and the number of oral health problems as they get older. The tipping point in most cases is around the age of 75. In the assessments of the oral health status, older patients themselves assess their own oral health more positively than the dentists do. The most frequently chosen treatment strategy focuses on conservation of the dentition. Up until now, there is little collaboration with other health care professionals involved in the care of older persons. The barriers perceived in dental practice, in providing oral health care to older people are mainly related to their health problems, the sometimes occurring challenging behaviour and the poor performance of daily oral hygiene care by older people. Previously, a lack of knowledge about the (side) effects of medications used by older people appeared to be a barrier among dentists as well. The study also showed that the current financial reimbursement for providing oral health care is not a significant barrier in practice. It is proposed to advocate basic dental care insurance from the age of 75 and to collaborate with other disciplines to improve oral health care for older people

Economic benefits of reducing aviation taxes in Latin America and the Caribbean.

IATA commissioned SEO Amsterdam Economics to prepare a study to independently quantify the economic benefits of reducing aviation taxes in Latin America and the Caribbean. The study provides evidence on the substantial economic benefits that a removal of aviation taxes and a reduction of passenger-based charges can bring to the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean for consumers and businesses. The study also shows that significant potential benefits of connectivity growth will be foregone for consumers and businesses if taxes remain at their current levels. Removing aviation taxes and reducing passenger based charges delivers immediate consumer benefits of 5.8-7.9 billion USD. By 2035, these consumer welfare benefits accumulate to 13.5-18.5 billion. In terms of macro-economic impact, removal of aviation taxes will results in a total GDP impact of 87 billion USD (+1.6%) and 912 thousand jobs (0.3% increase)

The effectiveness of a training for patients with unexplained physical symptoms: protocol of a cognitive behavioral group training and randomized controlled trial

Abstract: BACKGROUND: In primary care, up to 74% of physical symptoms is classified as unexplained. These symptoms can cause high levels of distress and healthcare utilization. Cognitive behavioral therapy has shown to be effective, but does not seem to be attractive to patients. An exception herein is a therapy based on the consequences model, which distinguishes itself by its labeling of psychosocial distress in terms of consequences rather than as causes of physical symptoms. In secondary care, 81% of the patients accepts this therapy, but in primary care the outcome is poor. We assume that positive outcome can also be reached in primary care, when the consequences model is modified and used bottom-up in an easily accessible group training, in which patients are relieved of being blamed for their symptoms. Our aim is to investigate the (cost-)effectiveness of this training. METHODS AND DESIGN: A randomized controlled trial is designed. One hundred patients are randomized to either the group training or the waiting list. Physicians in general practices and outpatients clinics of general hospitals refer patients. Referral leads to inclusion if patients are between 18 and 65 years old, understand Dutch, have no handicaps impeding participation and the principal DSM-IV-TR classification is undifferentiated somatoform disorder or chronic pain disorder. In contrast to other treatment effect studies, the co-morbidity of a personality disorder does not lead to exclusion. By this, we optimize the comparability between the study population and patients in daily practice enlarging the generalization possibilities. Also in contrast to other effect studies, we chose quality of life (SF-36) instead of physical symptoms as the primary outcome measure. The SF-6D is used to estimate Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs). Costs are measured with the Trimbos/iMTA Questionnaire for Costs associated with Psychiatric Illness. Measurements are scheduled at baseline, after the training or waiting list, three and twelve months after the training. The differences between measurements are analyzed according to the intention-to-treat principle. The cost-effectiveness is expressed as costs per QALY, using multiple sensitivity analyses on the basis of a probabilistic model of the trial. DISCUSSION: If we show that our group training is (cost-)effective, more patients could be served, their quality of life could be improved while costs might be reduced. As the training is investigated in a heterogeneous patient group i

How to study determinants related to medication adherence in newly diagnosed polyarthritis patients for the development of a prediction instrument

Introduction: For patients with a chronic disease, the appropriate use of medication is the key to manage their illness

Effective group training for patients with unexplained physical symptoms: A randomized controlled trial with a non-randomized one-year follow-up

Background: Although cognitive-behavioral therapy for Unexplained Physical Symptoms (UPS) is effective in secondary care, studies done in primary care produced implementation problem

The Prevention of WEight Regain in diabetes type 2 (POWER) study

Background: Obesity is of major pathogenetic importance to type 2 diabetes, it contributes to poor glycemic control and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. Over 80% of patients with diabetes type 2 are overweight. To achieve a more favourable risk profile, changes in diet and lifestyle are needed. However, current treatment programs for obese DM type 2 patients are not effective in the long term. In this RCT, we compare the effectiveness of a Combined Psychological Intervention (CPI) and usual care in maintaining the favourable effects on weight and risk profile during 2 years of follow-up after a Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD). Methods and design. In a randomised parallel group intervention study, 140 patients with type 2 diabetes and overweight (BMI>27 kg/m2) will be recruited from the outpatient department of the Erasmus Medical Centre.After obtaining ≥5% of weight loss with a VLCD, participants will be randomly assigned to CPI or usual care for 10 weeks. CPI consists of cognitive behaviour therapy, problem solving therapy and proactive coping.Primary outcome measure is weight change (kg).Other outcome measures are Body Mass Index (BMI = weight (kg)/length (m)2), waist circumference (cm), systolic blood pressure (mmHg), HbA1c (mmol/mol), lipid levels (LDL, HDL, TG (mmol/l) and cho