Search

The international Smart Cities and the Learning Cities movements are not often linked. However, there are learning questions at stake here. Smart city agendas are often criticised as being technocratic and instrumental, prioritising market-led solutions to urban issues. Such criticism has led to moves to place the citizen at the centre of these discussions. This raises educational challenges: what theories and forms of learning are required for citizens to play a role in the development of digital, urban futures? This paper adopts ethnographic methods to study the assumptions about learning in a Europe-wide smart city project that included a component of citizen-led development. Our argument provides important messages for smart city planners and developers keen to include citizens in smart city development. It suggests that the current 'banking' models of learning adopted in relation to citizen participation are not fit for purpose and that a new model is needed. This needs to recognise citizen learning as situated in social and material contexts and embedded in unequal relations of power, knowledge and resources. We make the case for smart city initiatives to offer city inhabitants critical, creative learning opportunities that begin to address the inequalities that constitute the contemporary smart city.

Background Effective shielding measures and virus mutations have progressively modified the disease between the waves, likewise healthcare systems have adapted to the outbreak. Our aim was to compare clinical outcomes for older people with COVID-19 in Wave 1 (W1) and Wave 2 (W2). Methods All data, including the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS), were collected for COVID-19 consecutive patients, aged ≥65, from 13 hospitals, in W1 (February–June 2020) and W2 (October 2020–March 2021). The primary outcome was mortality (time to mortality and 28-day mortality). Data were analysed with multilevel Cox proportional hazards, linear and logistic regression models, adjusted for wave baseline demographic and clinical characteristics. Results Data from 611 people admitted in W2 were added to and compared with data collected during W1 (N  = 1340). Patients admitted in W2 were of similar age, median (interquartile range), W2 = 79 (73–84); W1 = 80 (74–86); had a greater proportion of men (59.4% vs. 53.0%); had lower 28-day mortality (29.1% vs. 40.0%), compared to W1. For combined W1–W2 sample, W2 was independently associated with improved survival: time-to-mortality adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) = 0.78 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.65–0.93], 28-day mortality adjusted odds ratio = 0.80 (95% CI 0.62–1.03). W2 was associated with increased length of hospital stay aHR = 0.69 (95% CI 0.59–0.81). Patients in W2 were less frail, CFS [adjusted mean difference (aMD) = −0.50, 95% CI −0.81, −0.18], as well as presented with lower C-reactive protein (aMD = −22.52, 95% CI −32.00, −13.04). Conclusions COVID-19 older adults in W2 were less likely to die than during W1. Patients presented to hospital during W2 were less frail and with lower disease severity and less likely to have renal decline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous studies of radiological damage in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have used candidate-gene approaches, or evaluated single genome-wide association studies (GWAS). We undertook the first meta-analysis of GWAS of RA radiological damage to: (1) identify novel genetic loci for this trait; and (2) test previously validated variants. Methods: Seven GWAS (2,775 RA cases, of a range of ancestries) were combined in a meta-analysis. Radiological damage was assessed using modified Larsen scores, Sharp van Der Heijde scores, and erosive status. Single nucleotide polymophsim (SNP) associations with radiological damage were tested at a single time-point using regression models. Primary analyses included age and disease duration as covariates. Secondary analyses also included rheumatoid factor (RF). Meta-analyses were undertaken in trans-ethnic and European-only cases. Results: In the trans-ethnic primary meta-analysis, one SNP (rs112112734) in close proximity to HLA-DRB1, and strong linkage disequilibrium with the shared-epitope, attained genome-wide significance (P = 4.2x10-8). In the secondary analysis (adjusting for RF) the association was less significant (P = 1.7x10-6). In both trans-ethnic primary and secondary meta-analyses 14 regions contained SNPs with associations reaching P<5x10-6; in the European primary and secondary analyses 13 and 10 regions contained SNPs reaching P<5x10-6, respectively. Of the previously validated SNPs for radiological progression, only rs660895 (tagging HLA-DRB1*04:01) attained significance (P = 1.6x10-5) and had a consistent direction of effect across GWAS. Conclusions: Our meta-analysis confirms the known association between the HLA-DRB1 shared epitope and RA radiological damage. The lack of replication of previously validated non-HLA markers highlights a requirement for further research to deliver clinically-useful prognostic genetic markers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. To evaluate whether genetic and environmental factors associated with RA in European and Asian ancestry populations are also associated with RA in African ancestry individuals. Methods. A case control study was undertaken in 197 RA cases and 868 controls of African ancestry (Black African, Black Caribbean or Black British ethnicity) from South London. Smoking and alcohol consumption data at RA diagnosis was captured. Genotyping was undertaken (Multi-Ethnic Genotyping Array) and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles imputed. The following European/Asian RA susceptibility factors were tested: 99 genome-wide loci combined into a genetic risk score; HLA region [20 haplotypes; shared epitope (SE)]; smoking; and alcohol consumption. The SE was tested for its association with radiological erosions. Logistic regression models were used, including ancestry-informative principal components, to control for admixture. Results. European/Asian susceptibility loci were associated with RA in African ancestry individuals. The genetic risk score provided an odds ratio (OR) for RA of 1.53 (95% CI: 1.31, 1.79; P = 1.3 x 10-7). HLA haplotype ORs in European and African ancestry individuals were highly correlated (r = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.56, 0.94; P = 1.1 x 10-4). Ever-smoking increased (OR = 2.36, 95% CI: 1.46, 3.82; P = 4.6 x 10-4) and drinking alcohol reduced (OR = 0.34, 95% CI: 0.20, 0.56; P = 2.7 x 10-5) RA risk in African ancestry individuals. The SE was associated with erosions (OR = 2.61, 95% CI: 1.36, 5.01; P = 3.9 x 10-3). Conclusion. Gene environment RA risk factors identified in European/Asian ancestry populations are relevant in African ancestry individuals. As modern statistical methods facilitate analysing ancestrally diverse populations, future genetic studies should incorporate African ancestry individuals to ensure their implications for precision medicine are universally applicable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An interview with Alain Platel, a director and choreographer, is presented. He believes that there is a clear association between the development and realisation of the united Europe and the growth of extreme right parties in all countries. He also believes that the Belgian Wave started in the 1980s because there was no strong history in dance or theatre. He describes Flemish theatre as daring, energetic and vital.

Abstract: As a consequence of recent food safety incidents, consumer trust in European food safety management has diminished. A risk governance framework that formally institutes stakeholder (including consumer) consultation and dialogue through a transparent and accountable process has been proposed, with due emphasis on risk communication. This paper delivers actionable policy recommendations based on consumer preferences for different approaches to food risk management. These results suggest that risk communication should be informed by knowledge of consumer risk perceptions and information needs, including individual differences in consumer preferences and requirements, and differences in these relating to socio-historical context associated with regulation. In addition, information about what is being done to identify, prevent and manage food risks needs to be communicated to consumers, together with consistent messages regarding preventative programs, enforcement systems, and scientific uncertainty and variability associated with risk assessments. Cross-cultural differences in consumer perception and information preferences suggest a national or regional strategy for food risk communication may be more effective than one applied at a pan-European level. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Positive Psychotherapy (PPT), founded by Dr. Nossrat Peseschkian, a Persian Bahá’í who has lived in Europe for many years, assumes the functional capacities of the unconscious to be ‘basic capacities.’ PPT makes a distinction between actual capacities and basic capacities. The basic capacities are the capacity to love and the capacity to know. These basic capacities are comprehensive categories underpinning primary and secondary capacities. Based upon Bahá’í teachings, this therapy accepts belief as an implicit aspect of healthy psychological functioning. Moreover, contents of the unconscious in PPT are the conflicts between capacities, and undifferentiated and undeveloped actual capacities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the one-day interdisciplinary conference on "The Politics and Policy of Law and Order: European Perspectives" at the University of Portsmouth. The conference was organized around three themes: "Policing Europe," "Prisons and Prisoners in Europe," and "Researching Law and Order Policy." This conference was organized on October 28, 1995 by the Politics of Law and Order Group, a specialist group of the Political Studies Association of Great Britain. The International Journal of the Sociology of Law is publishing a selection of papers that were presented at this conference in the form of a longitudinal special series, in this issue, two articles by Fergus Carr on "The New Security Politics in Europe" and by John Benyon on "The Politics of Police Co-operation in the European Union' are published. This longitudinal special series addresses key empirical, theoretical and methodological issues in understanding law-and-order politics in contemporary Europe. On the empirical front, there is evidence that domestic politics are being increasingly driven by international pressures, as societies and economies of countries are being prised open by the forces of globalization.

Background: Deceased donor kidneys are preserved in cold hypoxic conditions. Providing oxygen during preservation might improve post-transplant outcomes, particularly for kidneys subjected to greater degrees of preservation injury. This study aimed to investigate whether supplemental oxygen during hypothermic machine perfusion (HMP) could improve the outcome of kidneys donated after circulatory death.Methods: This randomised, double-blind, paired, phase 3 trial was done in 19 European transplant centres. Kidney pairs from donors aged 50 years or older, donated after circulatory death, were eligible if both kidneys were transplanted into two different recipients. One kidney from each donor was randomly assigned using permuted blocks to oxygenated hypothermic machine perfusion (HMPO2), the other to HMP without oxygenation. Perfusion was maintained from organ retrieval to implantation. The primary outcome was 12-month estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) using the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equation in pairs of donated kidneys in which both transplanted kidneys were functioning at the end of follow-up. Safety outcomes were reported for all transplanted kidneys. Intention-to-treat analyses were done. This trial is registered with the ISRCTN Registry, ISRCTN32967929, and is now closed.Findings: Between March 15, 2015, and April 11, 2017, 197 kidney pairs were randomised with 106 pairs transplanted into eligible recipients. 23 kidney pairs were excluded from the primary analysis because of kidney failure or patient death. Mean eGFR at 12 months was 50·5 mL/min per 1·73 m2 (SD 19·3) in the HMPO2 group versus 46·7 mL/min per 1·73m2 (17·1) in HMP (mean difference 3·7 mL/min per 1·73m2, 95% CI -1·0 to 8·4; p=0·12). Fewer severe complications (Clavien-Dindo grade IIIb or more) were reported in the HMPO2 group (46 of 417, 11%, 95% CI 8% to 14%) than in the HMP group (76 of 474, 16%, 13% to 20%; p=0·032). Graft failure was lower with HMPO2 (three [3%] of 106) compared with HMP (11 [10%] of 106; hazard ratio 0·27, 95% CI 0·07 to 0·95; p=0·028).Interpretation: HMPO2 of kidneys donated after circulatory death is safe and reduces post-transplant complications (grade IIIb or more). The 12-month difference in eGFR between the HMPO2 and HMP groups was not significant when both kidneys from the same donor were still functioning 1-year post-transplant, but potential beneficial effects of HMPO2 were suggested by analysis of secondary outcomes.Funding: European Commission 7th Framework Programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we describe the Research Centre launched by the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) in 2020. The Centre aims to facilitate collaborative research on rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMD) across Europe. RMDs disable millions of people in Europe and worldwide. Despite progress with improved therapeutics and strategic interventions in several RMDs, there are no cures, and their collective impact remains substantial. Access to RMD-related care, policies prioritizing RMDs, and related research, education, training, and funding differ significantly across European countries. Building a new equipoise in opportunity and capacity across Europe will facilitate optimal understanding of those different factors that influence the epidemiology, pathogenesis, treatment, and outcomes in RMDs. The EULAR Research Centre aims to address the significant barriers to accelerating RMD research across Europe. It provides an RMD research roadmap of unmet needs, expert services, infrastructures, networks, research resources, training, education, and mentoring. It will place RMD research in the ideal position to benefit from forthcoming remarkable advances in digital, biological, and social science anticipated in the coming decades., Competing Interests: Competing interests: Since 2019, KR has served as a scientific advisor to EULAR and, as such, is affiliated with EULAR. Due to her more than 10 years of experience with virtual research centres and research networks, KR was actively invited to help develop a virtual EULAR research centre, which evolved into the EULAR Research Centre described in this paper. She received compensation from EULAR for her work as a scientific advisor and consultant on EULAR projects, including her time effort spent on this paper. Her current academic home is the SUNY Upstate Medical University in the USA., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)