Mapping the increasing risk of human alveolar echinococcosis in Limburg, The Netherlands

The parasite Echinococcus multilocularis was first detected in The Netherlands in 1996 and repeated studies have shown that the parasite subsequently spread in the local population of foxes in the province of Limburg. It was not possible to quantify the human risk of alveolar echinococcosis because no relationship between the amount of parasite eggs in the environment and the probability of infection in humans was known. Here, we used the spread of the parasite in The Netherlands as a predictor, together with recently published historical records of the epidemiology of alveolar echinococcosis in Switzerland, to achieve a relative quantification of the risk. Based on these analyses, the human risk in Limburg was simulated and up to three human cases are predicted by 2018. We conclude that the epidemiology of alveolar echinococcosis in The Netherlands might have changed from a period of negligible risk in the past to a period of increasing risk in the forthcoming years.

The multifaceted roles of Eph/ephrin signaling in breast cancer

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22568950

An Analysis of Capacities, Moral Hierarchies, and the Moral Status of Non-Human Animals in Contemporary Animal Rights Work

The primary objective of this thesis is to demonstrate the pernicious impact that moral hierarchies have on our perception and subsequent treatment of non-human animals. Moral hierarchies in general are characterized by a dynamic in which one group is considered to be fundamentally superior to a lesser group. This thesis focuses specifically on the moral hierarchies that arise when humans are assumed to be superior to non-human animals in virtue of their advanced mental capabilities. The operative hypothesis of this thesis is essentially that moral hierarchies thwart the provision of justice to non-human animals in that they function as a justification for otherwise impermissible actions. When humans are assumed to be fundamentally superior to non-human animals then it becomes morally permissible for humans to kill non-human animals and utilize them as mere instrumentalities. This thesis is driven primarily by an in-depth analysis of the approaches to animal rights that are provided by Peter Singer, Tom Regan, and Gary Francione. Each of these thinkers claim that they overcome anthropocentrism and provide approaches that preclude the establishment of a moral hierarchy. One of the major findings of this thesis, however, is that Singer and Regan offer approaches that remain highly anthropocentric despite the fact that each thinker claims that they have overcome anthropocentrism. The anthropocentrism persists in these respective approaches in that each thinkers gives humans Regan and Singer have different conceptions of the criteria that are required to afford a being moral worth, but they both give preference to beings that have the cognitive ability to form desires regarding the future.. As a result, a moral hierarchy emerges in which humans are regarded to be fundamentally superior. Francione, however, provides an approach that does not foster a moral hierarchy. Francione creates such an approach by applying the principle of equal consideration of interests in a consistent manner. Moreover, Francione argues that mere sentience is both a necessary and sufficient condition for being eligible and subsequently receiving moral consideration. The upshot of this thesis is essentially that the moral treatment of animals is not compatible with the presence of a moral hierarchy. As a result, this thesis demonstrates that future approaches to animal rights must avoid the establishment of moral hierarchies. The research and analysis within this thesis demonstrates that this is not a possibility, however, unless all theories of justice that are to accommodate animals abandon the notion that cognition matters morally.

A Transformation of the Philosophical Thought of West European Liberalism in the Multi-National Central and South-Eastern European Milieu

This work was devoted to individual child development. Psychogenetic research has emphasised the importance of social factors in children's intellectual development and two social factors are looked at here, family size and birth order. The effect of the formal parameters is, however, very unstable and they should therefore be considered together with certain informal factors. Of these, parental educational style, which is an expression of national traditions at the family level, is of particular interest. Educational style is culture-dependent and only a comparative cross-cultural study can reveal the real mechanisms through which educational style influences children's intellectual and personality development. Dumitrascu carried out an experimental cross-cultural study dedicated to the effects of family environment on child intellectual development. This involved three distinct populations, each of which has a distinct status in their geographical area, namely Romanians, Romanies from Romania, and Russians from the Republic of Moldova. It showed a significant difference between child intelligence in those from large families and in only children, with a huge gap in the case of Romany children. This suggests that the simultaneous action of several negative factors (low socio-economic status, large family size, socio-cultural isolation of the population) may delay a child's development. Subjected to such a precarious environment, Romany children do not seek self-realisation but rather struggle to overcome hardship and the majority remain outside civilisation. Unfortunately, adult Romanies rarely show concern about their children's successful social integration, placing no value on the school as a major socialising tool. This leads to the conclusion that a major effort is needed to help Romanies' social integration.

The evaluation of the oxidative state of low-density lipoproteins in intrauterine growth restriction and preeclampsia

To evaluate the oxidative state of lipoproteins in pregnancies complicated by intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) in comparison to preeclampsia (PE) and healthy pregnant control subjects (CN).

Simulating the impact of four control strategies on the population dynamics of Neospora caninum infection in Swiss dairy cattle

A dynamic deterministic simulation model was developed to assess the impact of different putative control strategies on the seroprevalence of Neospora caninum in female Swiss dairy cattle. The model structure comprised compartments of "susceptible" and "infected" animals (SI-model) and the cattle population was divided into 12 age classes. A reference model (Model 1) was developed to simulate the current (status quo) situation (present seroprevalence in Switzerland 12%), taking into account available demographic and seroprevalence data of Switzerland. Model 1 was modified to represent four putative control strategies: testing and culling of seropositive animals (Model 2), discontinued breeding with offspring from seropositive cows (Model 3), chemotherapeutic treatment of calves from seropositive cows (Model 4), and vaccination of susceptible and infected animals (Model 5). Models 2-4 considered different sub-scenarios with regard to the frequency of diagnostic testing. Multivariable Monte Carlo sensitivity analysis was used to assess the impact of uncertainty in input parameters. A policy of annual testing and culling of all seropositive cattle in the population reduced the seroprevalence effectively and rapidly from 12% to <1% in the first year of simulation. The control strategies with discontinued breeding with offspring from all seropositive cows, chemotherapy of calves and vaccination of all cattle reduced the prevalence more slowly than culling but were still very effective (reduction of prevalence below 2% within 11, 23 and 3 years of simulation, respectively). However, sensitivity analyses revealed that the effectiveness of these strategies depended strongly on the quality of the input parameters used, such as the horizontal and vertical transmission factors, the sensitivity of the diagnostic test and the efficacy of medication and vaccination. Finally, all models confirmed that it was not possible to completely eradicate N. caninum as long as the horizontal transmission process was not interrupted.

The diagnostic yield of vitrectomy specimen analysis in chronic idiopathic endogenous uveitis

PURPOSE: The low diagnostic yield of vitrectomy specimen analysis in chronic idiopathic uveitis (CIU) has been related to the complex nature of the underlying disease and to methodologic and tissue immanent factors in older studies. In an attempt to evaluate the impact of recently acquired analytic methods, the authors assessed the current diagnostic yield in CIU. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of consecutive vitrectomy specimens from patients with chronic endogenous uveitis (n = 56) in whom extensive systemic workup had not revealed a specific diagnosis (idiopathic) and medical treatment had not resulted in a satisfying clinical situation. Patients with acute postoperative endophthalmitis served a basis for methodologic comparison (Group 2; n = 21). RESULTS: In CIU, a specific diagnosis provided in 17.9% and a specific diagnosis excluded in 21.4%. In 60.7% the laboratory investigations were inconclusive. In postoperative endophthalmitis, microbiological culture established the infectious agent in 47.6%. In six of eight randomly selected cases, eubacterial PCR identified bacterial DNA confirming the culture results in three, remaining negative in two with a positive culture and being positive in three no growth specimens. A double negative result never occurred, suggesting a very high detection rate, when both tests were applied. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnostic yield of vitrectomy specimen analysis has not been improved by currently routinely applied methods in recent years in contrast to the significantly improved sensitivity of combined standardized culture and PCR analysis in endophthalmitis. Consequently, the low diagnostic yield in CIU has to be attributed to insufficient understanding of the underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms.

Impact of culture conditions on the proliferative lifespan of human T cells in vitro

BACKGROUND: In human T cells, telomerase is transiently expressed upon activation and stimulation and, as shown previously, telomerase levels are able to control the lifespan of T cells. To improve T-cell expansion it is of critical importance to understand the effects of culture parameters on telomerase activity and lifespan. METHODS: We investigated the influence of culture condition (FCS, human AB serum and autologous serum) and stimulation (PHA/feeder cells, anti-CD3/CD28 beads) on the lifespan, clonogenicity (number of positive wells), cell cycle, telomerase activity and telomere length of T cells in vitro. RESULTS: The proliferative lifespan of T cells expanded with PHA/feeder cells and autologous serum from different donors was doubled compared with stimulation with PHA/feeder cells and AB serum. No or only a small difference was found for T cells expanded with anti-CD3/CD28 beads and autologous or AB serum. The use of autologous serum also increased the clonogenicity to about three-fold compared with the use of AB serum or FCS, without any signs of differences in the fractions of cycling cells. Interestingly, T cells cultured with autologous serum exhibited a significantly higher telomerase activity at day 6 after stimulation and a reduced decline of telomerase activity compared with cultures with AB serum. DISCUSSION: The use of autologous serum combined with PHA stimulation and feeder cells remarkably extends the proliferative lifespan and clonogenicity and increases the telomerase activity of human T cells in vitro. This might be useful for applications where large numbers of specific T cells are required.