European integration and European identity : case study : the European dimension in secondary schooling

This thesis explores some of the issues concerning the concept of European identity. In particular, the aim is to assess how far school education is a suitable method to foster a European identity and support for European integration. In this context, the thesis aims to investigate whether the historic and more recent political and national developments in England and Germany have resulted in different attitudes to European integration, European identity and subsequently to a European dimension in education. The analysis also compares the general attitude towards national and European identity and European integration in England and Germany and assesses if different attitudes have resulted in a different implementation of a European dimension in education. To facilitate this analysis, the political and national development in England and Germany as well as the emergence of the European idea and the history of European integration will be discussed. The assessment of a European dimension in secondary education in England and Germany includes an analysis of documentary material and selected curricula. In addition, a survey has been carried out among a sample of German and English head and subject teachers to explore aspects of the practical implementation of a European dimension. The findings show that there are significant differences between the two countries concerning their understanding and implementation of a European dimension in education. Many of these differences can be attributed to different attitudes to national and European identity and European integration

Introduction: The no-man’s-land of displacement

Human displacement has always been a consequence of war, written into the myths and histories of centuries of warfare. However, the global conflicts of the twentieth century brought displacement to civilizations on an unprecedented scale, as the two World Wars shifted participants around the globe. Although driven by political disputes between European powers, the consequences of Empire ensured that Europe could not contain them. Soldiers traversed continents, and civilians often followed them, or found themselves living in territories ruled by unexpected invaders. Both wars saw fi ghting in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Far East, and few nations remained neutral. Both wars saw the mass upheaval of civilian populations as a consequence of the fi ghting. Displacements were geographical, cultural, and psychological; they were based on nationality, sex/gender or age. They produced an astonishing range of human experience, recorded by the participants in diff erent ways. This book brings together a collection of inter-disciplinary works by scholars who are currently producing some of the most innovative and infl uential work on the subject of displacement in war, in order to share their knowledge and interpretations of historical and literary sources. The collection unites historians and literary scholars in addressing the issues of war and displacement from multiple angles. Contributors draw on a wealth of primary source materials and resources including archives from across the world, military records, medical records, films, memoirs, diaries and letters, both published and private, and fictional interpretations of experience

Time Is of the Essence: Early Detection of Incipient Alzheimer Pathology

With the possible advent of disease-modifying treatments by targeting β-amyloid metabolism or deposition, it becomes crucial to identify individuals at risk for Alzheimer dementia as early as possible, preferably before the onset of overt cognitive impairment. Accessibility of screening tools in underserved areas will be important, despite a lack of neurologic or neuropsychological expertise. Long wait times, which are now common for dementia specialist care, will become even more unacceptable if the wait means delaying a disease-modifying treatment. Given the prevalence of Alzheimer disease and related disorders, such screening is likely to place high demands on the medical system

Changes in MEG resting-state networks are related to cognitive decline in type 1 diabetes mellitus patients

OBJECTIVE: Integrity of resting-state functional brain networks (RSNs) is important for proper cognitive functioning. In type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) cognitive decrements are commonly observed, possibly due to alterations in RSNs, which may vary according to microvascular complication status. Thus, we tested the hypothesis that functional connectivity in RSNs differs according to clinical status and correlates with cognition in T1DM patients, using an unbiased approach with high spatio-temporal resolution functional network.; METHODS: Resting-state magnetoencephalographic (MEG) data for T1DM patients with (n=42) and without (n=41) microvascular complications and 33 healthy participants were recorded. MEG time-series at source level were reconstructed using a recently developed atlas-based beamformer. Functional connectivity within classical frequency bands, estimated by the phase lag index (PLI), was calculated within eight commonly found RSNs. Neuropsychological tests were used to assess cognitive performance, and the relation with RSNs was evaluated.; RESULTS: Significant differences in terms of RSN functional connectivity between the three groups were observed in the lower alpha band, in the default-mode (DMN), executive control (ECN) and sensorimotor (SMN) RSNs. T1DM patients with microvascular complications showed the weakest functional connectivity in these networks relative to the other groups. For DMN, functional connectivity was higher in patients without microangiopathy relative to controls (all p<0.05). General cognitive performance for both patient groups was worse compared with healthy controls. Lower DMN alpha band functional connectivity correlated with poorer general cognitive ability in patients with microvascular complications.; DISCUSSION: Altered RSN functional connectivity was found in T1DM patients depending on clinical status. Lower DMN functional connectivity was related to poorer cognitive functioning. These results indicate that functional connectivity may play a key role in T1DM-related cognitive dysfunction

Imaging outcome measures for progressive multiple sclerosis trials

Imaging markers that are reliable, reproducible and sensitive to neurodegenerative changes in progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) can enhance the development of new medications with a neuroprotective mode-of-action. Accordingly, in recent years, a considerable number of imaging biomarkers have been included in phase 2 and 3 clinical trials in primary and secondary progressive MS. Brain lesion count and volume are markers of inflammation and demyelination and are important outcomes even in progressive MS trials. Brain and, more recently, spinal cord atrophy are gaining relevance, considering their strong association with disability accrual; ongoing improvements in analysis methods will enhance their applicability in clinical trials, especially for cord atrophy. Advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques (e.g. magnetization transfer ratio (MTR), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), spectroscopy) have been included in few trials so far and hold promise for the future, as they can reflect specific pathological changes targeted by neuroprotective treatments. Position emission tomography (PET) and optical coherence tomography have yet to be included. Applications, limitations and future perspectives of these techniques in clinical trials in progressive MS are discussed, with emphasis on measurement sensitivity, reliability and sample size calculation

Slowly expanding/evolving lesions as a magnetic resonance imaging marker of chronic active multiple sclerosis lesions.

BACKGROUND:Chronic lesion activity driven by smoldering inflammation is a pathological hallmark of progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). OBJECTIVE:To develop a method for automatic detection of slowly expanding/evolving lesions (SELs) on conventional brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and characterize such SELs in primary progressive MS (PPMS) and relapsing MS (RMS) populations. METHODS:We defined SELs as contiguous regions of existing T2 lesions showing local expansion assessed by the Jacobian determinant of the deformation between reference and follow-up scans. SEL candidates were assigned a heuristic score based on concentricity and constancy of change in T2- and T1-weighted MRIs. SELs were examined in 1334 RMS patients and 555 PPMS patients. RESULTS:Compared with RMS patients, PPMS patients had higher numbers of SELs (p = 0.002) and higher T2 volumes of SELs (p &lt; 0.001). SELs were devoid of gadolinium enhancement. Compared with areas of T2 lesions not classified as SEL, SELs had significantly lower T1 intensity at baseline and larger decrease in T1 intensity over time. CONCLUSION:We suggest that SELs reflect chronic tissue loss in the absence of ongoing acute inflammation. SELs may represent a conventional brain MRI correlate of chronic active MS lesions and a candidate biomarker for smoldering inflammation in MS