The History of the Theory of Structures: Searching for Equilibrium

Review of a book written by Karl-Eugen KurrerBespreking van een boek van Karl-Eugen Kurre

L’étude de la science architecturale

RésuméLa formation d’architectes russes « en Hollande » occupe une place cruciale dans l’historiographie de l’architecture russe du début du xviiie siècle. Les dessins de Korobov y figurent d’emblée cette importance de l’architecture et de l’ingénierie hollandaises pour le tsar, pour le développement de Saint-Pétersbourg, ainsi que pour l’évolution de l’architecture russe sur la voie européenne.AbstractThe study of architectural science : The training of a Russian gentleman architect in Brabant and Holland (1718-1727)The “Dutch” training of Russian architects occupies a central place in the historiography of early eighteenth-century Russian architecture. The architectural drawings by Ivan Korobov are the standard graphic illustration of the importance of Dutch architecture and engineering for the tsar, the development of St. Petersburg, as well as the evolution of Russian architecture towards Europeanization

Victor Horta’s staircase ‘12, rue de Turin’. Genesis, canonization and readings of an iconic architectural interior view

The photographic view on the staircase of House Tassel by Victor Horta has become an iconic image of Victor Horta’s work and of European Art Nouveau in general. This contribution will investigate the genesis of this image, its canonization in the historiography of Art Nouveau and of modern architecture, and its multiple readings. In order to do so, I will dive into the context of the early reception of Horta’s work in the illustrated journals and architectural albums during the decade 1895-1905, firstly. Subsequently, I will explore its place in the major writings that established the canon of 20th-century modern architecture and address its multiple interpretations as explicated in the text and image discourses of these publications

Architecture et droit : mimesis théoriques et liaisons pratiques

We are facing two historically different disciplines which have gone through sensitive transformations and become surprisingly connected since the beginning of the XXth century.France did not give any legal definition to architecture until World War II. It was only in the XIXth century through discoveries and the use of new materials that architecture and building changed their objectives and methods. Furthermore and earlier, architecture gained a very technical nature in its practice through “vitruvianism”. This is also true for French law through “humanism”.Law was not only changed during the Revolution and the Codification periods: it was especially transformed during the confrontation with the scientific and technical progress throughout the XIXth century (mechanization transformed liability and challenged even the notion of property). All these changes would have altered the art of building

Patient health information materials in waiting rooms of family physicians: do patients care?

Background: Patient health information materials (PHIMs), such as leaflets and posters are widely used by family physicians to reinforce or illustrate information, and to remind people of information received previously. This facilitates improved health-related knowledge and self-management by patients. Objective: This study assesses the use of PHIMs by patient. It also addresses their perception of the quality and the impact of PHIMs on the interaction with their physician, along with changes in health-related knowledge and self-management. Methods: Questionnaire survey among patients of family practices of one town in Belgium, assessing: (1) the extent to which patients read PHIMs in waiting rooms (leaflets and posters) and take them home, (2) the patients' perception of the impact of PHIMs on interaction with their physician, their change in health-related knowledge and self-management, and (3) the patients judgment of the quality of PHIMs. Results: We included 903 questionnaires taken from ten practices. Ninety-four percent of respondents stated they read PHIMs (leaflets), 45% took the leaflets home, and 78% indicated they understood the content of the leaflets. Nineteen percent of respondents reportedly discussed the content of the leaflets with their physician and 26% indicated that leaflets allowed them to ask fewer questions of their physician. Thirty-four percent indicated that leaflets had previously helped them to improve their health-related knowledge and self-management. Forty-two percent reportedly discussed the content of the leaflets with others. Patient characteristics are of significant influence on the perceived impact of PHIMS in physician interaction, health-related knowledge, and self-management. Conclusion: This study suggests that patients value health information materials in the waiting rooms of family physicians and that they perceive such materials as being helpful in improving patient-physician interaction, health-related knowledge, and self-management

HIV/AIDS -Research and Palliative Care The Gay Men Sex Studies: prevalence of sexual dysfunctions in Belgian HIV + gay men

Abstract: The aim of this Internet-based survey was to investigate the prevalence and associated predictors of sexual dysfunctions in Belgian self-reported HIV-positive men who have sex with other men. Of the 72 participants, 56% had a mild-to-severe erectile dysfunction, and 15% reported a hypoactive sexual desire disorder. The prevalence of premature ejaculation and anodyspareunia was 18% for both. Independent predictors for erectile dysfunction were frequency of masturbation, frequency of sex with partner, use of erectile enhancement drugs, having a passive sex role, and not having a steady relationship. Independent predictors for hypoactive sexual desire disorder were frequency of masturbation and having a lower lifetime number of sexual partners. Independent predictors for premature ejaculation were not having a steady relationship, having a lower lifetime number of sexual partners, and a lower level of education. The only independent predictor for anodyspareunia was having an active sex role

Association of objective health factors with self-reported health

Objectives. There is a strong relationship between subjective health and mortality, level of functional ability and medical con- sumption. The aim of this study was to describe the correlation of objective health-related factors with self-reported health (SRH) of a sample of the Belgian population. Methods. Participants were recruited during an exhibition at the Brussels Exhibition Centre. They completed a visual analogue scale assessing their SRH. Medical history and health related parameters of the participants were recorded. Results. In total 974 visitors participated. From the multivariate analysis we found an association between low SRH and diabe- tes (OR 0.23-0.80), increased body mass index (OR 0.52-0.74), coronary heart disease (OR 0.28-0.97), smoking (OR 0.38-0.89), speaking Dutch (OR 0.40-0.92), not knowing length (OR 0.36- 0.99), family history of breast cancer (OR 0.41-0.94), family history of coronary heart disease (OR 0.45-095) and aging (OR 0.84-0.99). Following a cholesterol-lowering diet was associated with a high SRH (OR 1.10-2.44). Conclusions. Most of the factors associated with low SRH are known and confirm what has previously been reported in literature. However, the associations between low SRH and not knowing your length, speaking Dutch or having a family history of breast or colon cancer, as well as the association between high SRH and being on a cholesterol-lowering diet are interesting new findings

Declining Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Incidence in Dutch Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Positive Men Who Have Sex With Men After Unrestricted Access to HCV Therapy

Background Direct-acting antivirals (DAAa) cure hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections in 95% of infected patients. Modeling studies predict that universal HCV treatment will lead to a decrease in the incidence of new infections but real-life data are lacking. The incidence of HCV among Dutch human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)–positive men who have sex with men (MSM) has been high for >10 years. In 2015 DAAs became available to all Dutch HCV patients and resulted in a rapid treatment uptake in HIV-positive MSM. We assessed whether this uptake was followed by a decrease in the incidence of HCV infections. Methods Two prospective studies of treatment for acute HCV infection enrolled patients in 17 Dutch HIV centers, having 76% of the total HIV-positive MSM population in care in the Netherlands. Patients were recru

A clinically relevant gene signature in triple negative and basal-like breast cancer

Introduction: Current prognostic gene expression profiles for breast cancer mainly reflect proliferation status and are most useful in ER-positive cancers. Triple negative breast cancers (TNBC) are clinically heterogeneous and prognostic markers and biology-based therapies are needed to better treat this disease. Methods: We assembled Affymetrix gene expression data for 579 TNBC and performed unsupervised analysis to define metagenes that distinguish molecular subsets within TNBC. We used n = 394 cases for discovery and n = 185 cases for validation. Sixteen metagenes emerged that identified basal-like, apocrine and claudin-low molecular subtypes, or reflected various non-neoplastic cell populations, including immune cells, blood, adipocytes, stroma, angiogenesis and inflammation within the cancer. The expressions of these metagenes were correlated with survival and multivariate analysis was performed, including routine clinical and pathological variables. Results: Seventy-three percent of TNBC displayed basal-like molecular subtype that correlated with high histological grade and younger age. Survival of basal-like TNBC was not different from non basal-like TNBC. High expression of immune cell metagenes was associated with good and high expression of inflammation and angiogenesis-related metagenes were associated with poor prognosis. A ratio of high B-cell and low IL-8 metagenes identified 32% of TNBC with good prognosis (hazard ratio (HR) 0.37, 95% CI 0.22 to 0.61; P < 0.001) and was the only significant predictor in multivariate analysis including routine clinicopathological variables. Conclusions: We describe a ratio of high B-cell presence and low IL-8 activity as a powerful new prognostic marker for TNBC. Inhibition of the IL-8 pathway also represents an attractive novel therapeutic target for this disease