President Trump bringing back waterboarding would make both Europe and America less secure

In the last two years, numerous terrorist attacks have taken place in EU countries, notably in France and Belgium. Gijs de Vries assesses how governments should react to the threat of terrorism, writing that authorities must maintain perspective to avoid unintentionally legitimising the actions of terrorists. He argues that Donald Trump’s suggestion that the United States should bring back waterboarding in the fight against terrorism would be counter-productive, and that the fear of terrorism can do as much damage to the fabric of western society as terrorism itself

A hard Brexit will see criminals taking back control

How will Brexit affect British security? A hard Brexit would see both the UK and its European partners lose access to much-needed information, but even a soft Brexit will come at a price. Gijs de Vries (LSE) explains

Security: the UK should not relinquish power by voting for a Brexit

With only a few days to go until the UK’s referendum on EU membership, both sides of the campaign are making their final appeals to the electorate. Gijs de Vries writes that the UK has played a leading role at the EU level in efforts to tackle terrorism, ensure security, and deal with external threats such as the Iranian nuclear programme and Russia’s annexation of Crimea. He argues that Brexit would leave British citizens less secure, Europe weaker, and the UK a smaller country on the global stage

Long read: future British-European security relations are a matter of trust

Trust between the EU and the UK is in short supply. This poses risks to British-European security relations, writes Gijs de Vries (LSE). As Brexit unfolds, three issues, in particular, may give rise to tensions: data protection, human rights, and external security cooperation

Bullying and Victimization Trajectories in the First Years of Secondary Education:Implications for Status and Affection

Bullying is known to be associated with social status, but it remains unclear how bullying involvement over time relates to social position (status and affection), especially in the first years at a new school. The aim of this study was to investigate whether (the development of) bullying and victimization was related to the attainment of status (perceived popularity) and affection (friendships, acceptance, rejection) in the first years of secondary education (six waves). Using longitudinal data spanning the first- and second year of secondary education of 824 adolescents (51.5% girls; M(age) T1 = 12.54, SD = 0.45) in the SNARE-study, joint bullying and victimization trajectories were estimated using parallel Latent Class Growth Analysis (LCGA). The four trajectories (decreasing bully, stable high bully, decreasing victim, uninvolved) were related to adolescents’ social position using multigroup analysis that examined differences in slope and intercepts (T1 and T6) of social positions, and indicated that the relative social position of the different joint trajectories was determined at the start of secondary education and did not change over time, with one exception: adolescents continuing bullying were besides being popular also increasingly rejected over time. Although bullying is functional behavior that serves to optimize adolescents’ social position, anti-bullying interventions may account for the increasing lack of affection that may hinder bullies’ long-term social development

Human Paramyxovirus Infections Induce T Cells That Cross-React with Zoonotic Henipaviruses

Humans are infected with paramyxoviruses of different genera early in life, which induce cytotoxic T cells that may recognize conserved epitopes. This raises the question of whether cross-reactive T cells induced by antecedent paramyxovirus infections provide partial protection against highly lethal zoonotic Nipah virus infections. By characterizing a measles virus-specific but paramyxovirus cross-reactive human T cell clone, we discovered a highly conserved HLA-B*1501- restricted T cell epitope in the fusion protein. Using peptides, tetramers, and single cell sorting, we isolated a parainfluenza virus-specific T cell clone from a healthy adult and showed that both clones cleared Nipah virus-infected cells. We identified multiple conserved hot spots in paramyxovirus proteomes that contain other potentially cross-reactive epitopes. Our data suggest that, depending on HLA haplotype and history of paramyxovirus exposures, humans may have cross-reactive T cells that provide protection against Nipah virus. The effect of preferential boosting of these cross-reactive epitopes needs to be further studied in light of paramyxovirus vaccination studies

Increased rate of respiratory symptoms in children with Down syndrome:A 2-year web-based parent-reported prospective study

To compare the incidence of respiratory symptoms and short-term consequences between children with Down syndrome and children from the general population, we conducted a prospective parent-reported observational study. Children with Down syndrome (≤ 18 years) were included between March 2012 and June 2014. Caregivers received a baseline questionnaire with follow-up 1-2 years after inclusion. Caregivers received a weekly questionnaire about respiratory symptoms, fever, antibiotic prescriptions, doctor's visits, and consequences for school and work attendance. Children with Down syndrome were compared to a cohort of the general population ("Kind en Ziek" study) with similar weekly questionnaires. A total of 9,011 childweeks were reported for 116 participants with Down syndrome (75% response rate). The frequency of respiratory symptoms was higher in children with Down syndrome than in children from the general population (30% vs 15.2%). In addition, symptoms subsided later (around 8 vs 5 years of age). The seasonal influence was limited, both in children with Down syndrome and children from the general population. Consequences of respiratory disease were significant in children with Down syndrome compared to children from the general population, with a higher rate of doctor's visits (21.3% vs 11.8%), antibiotic prescriptions (47.8% vs 26.3%), and absenteeism from school (55.5% vs 25.4%) and work (parents, 9.4% vs 8.1%). Conclusion: Children with Down syndrome have a higher frequency of respiratory symptoms and symptoms last until a later age, confirming the impression of professionals and caregivers. Individualized treatment plans might prevent unfavorable consequences of chronic recurrent respiratory disease in children with Down syndrome. What is Known: • Children with Down syndrome have an altered immune system and are prone to a more severe course of respiratory tract infections. • The overall conception is that patients with Down syndrome suffer from respiratory tract infections more often. What is New: • Children with Down syndrome suffer from respiratory symptoms more frequently than children from the general population. • The respiratory symptoms in children with Down syndrome subside at a later age compared to children from the general population