In populations with a seed-bank, individuals can temporarily become dormant and refrain from reproduction until they can become active again. The repository of all dormant individuals in the... Show moreIn populations with a seed-bank, individuals can temporarily become dormant and refrain from reproduction until they can become active again. The repository of all dormant individuals in the population is called the seed-bank. Seed-banks are observed in many taxa, including plants, bacteria and other micro-organisms. Typically, they arise as a response to unfavourable environmental conditions. In this thesis we study the effect of a seed-bank on the genetic diversity in a population. The individuals in the population carry one of two gene types, live in colonies and can be either active or dormant. Active individuals can migrate between the colonies, resample and become dormant. Dormant individuals can only become active: they do not migrate and they do not reproduce themselves. The model is described by a system of interacting Fisher-Wright diffusions. Analysing this system of interacting diffusions, we show that the seed-bank enhances the genetic diversity in a population. If the individuals can become dormant for long enough times, the seed-bank can even prevent that a gene type becomes extinct. Show less
There has never been a more pertinent time to discuss the accountability and the legal responsibility of Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, for fundamental rights violations. In a... Show moreThere has never been a more pertinent time to discuss the accountability and the legal responsibility of Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, for fundamental rights violations. In a period that hosts the first legal actions vis-à-vis the agency and a series of relevant non-judicial investigations, including by the European Parliament, this dissertation aims to address the main problem underlying these accountability efforts, namely the ‘problem of many hands’. As conceptualised by Dennis Thompson, this problem is where the multiplicity of the actors involved obscures the various responsibilities and creates gaps in accountability.To address it, this work contests the dominant ways of looking at the concepts of responsibility and accountability, and reimagines them for their optimal function.It adopts a holistic approach, taking into account not only judicial, but also other forms of accountability, studying not only EU liability law, but also other legal remedies before the CJEU, the ECtHR, and domestic courts, building bridges between international and EU law, and traveling from the empirical to the conceptual, to the normative, and from there to the applied.It creates the foundations for the accountability of the agency inside and outside courts, within the EU borders and beyond. Show less
The non-governmental organizations (NGOs) rescuing migrants off the coast of Libya have been increasingly criminalised. We investigate the discursive underpinnings of this process by analyzing all... Show moreThe non-governmental organizations (NGOs) rescuing migrants off the coast of Libya have been increasingly criminalised. We investigate the discursive underpinnings of this process by analyzing all the articles on sea rescue NGOs published between 2014 and 2019 by two major Italian newspapers located at opposite sides of the political spectrum: Il Giornale and La Repubblica. Our discourse analysis shows that the media salience of non-governmental sea rescue increased enormously following the first public allegations against humanitarians and peaked in 2019 after some standoffs between some NGOs and the Italian government, when the number of migrants rescued at sea had already dropped to a minimum. This inflated and heavily politicised media coverage contains both direct and indirect criminalisation discourses. Though sometimes directly accused of colluding with human smugglers and profiting from irregular migration, sea rescue NGOs have more often been indirectly criminalised through the same framing devices typically used to stigmatise irregular mobility at large, namely associational links, metaphors, frame-jacking, and othering. Show less
Brinke, B. ten; Mathijssen, N.M.C.; Blom, I.F.; Koster, L.A.; Kraan, G.A. 2021
Background The aim of this study was to determine long-term survival and clinical outcomes of the surface replacement trapeziometacarpal joint prosthesis (SR (TM) TMC) and to evaluate implant... Show moreBackground The aim of this study was to determine long-term survival and clinical outcomes of the surface replacement trapeziometacarpal joint prosthesis (SR (TM) TMC) and to evaluate implant migration using radiostereometric analysis (RSA).MethodsIn this clinical long-term follow-up study outcomes of ten patients who received the SR (TM) TMC joint prosthesis were evaluated using DASH and Nelson scores, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) of pain, and key pinch strength. RSA-radiographs were obtained direct postoperatively and 6months, 1, 5 and 10years postoperatively and were analyzed using model-based RSA software.ResultsDuring follow-up, two early revisions took place. Mean pre-operative DASH and Nelson scores were 54 (SD 15) and 54 (SD 17), improved significantly after 6months (DASH 25 (SD 20), Nelson 75 (SD 18)) and remained excellent during long-term follow-up in all patients with a stable implant. At final follow-up, clinical scores deteriorated clearly in two patients with a loose implant in situ.ConclusionsLong-term survival of the SR (TM) TMC joint prosthesis is relatively poor. However, clinical outcomes improved significantly in the short-term and remained excellent in the long-term in those patients with a stable implant, but deteriorated clearly in case of loosening. The role of RSA in TMC joint arthroplasty is potentially valuable but needs to be further investigated. Several challenges of RSA in the TMC joint have been addressed by the authors and suggestions to optimize RSA-data are given.Trial registrationThis study was registered in the Netherlands Trial Register (NL7126). Show less
BackgroundFrequent activation of the co-transcriptional factor YAP is observed in a large number of solid tumors. Activated YAP associates with enhancer loci via TEAD4-DNA-binding protein and... Show moreBackgroundFrequent activation of the co-transcriptional factor YAP is observed in a large number of solid tumors. Activated YAP associates with enhancer loci via TEAD4-DNA-binding protein and stimulates cancer aggressiveness. Although thousands of YAP/TEAD4 binding-sites are annotated, their functional importance is unknown. Here, we aim at further identification of enhancer elements that are required for YAP functions.ResultsWe first apply genome-wide ChIP profiling of YAP to systematically identify enhancers that are bound by YAP/TEAD4. Next, we implement a genetic approach to uncover functions of YAP/TEAD4-associated enhancers, demonstrate its robustness, and use it to reveal a network of enhancers required for YAP-mediated proliferation. We focus on Enhancer(TRAM2), as its target gene TRAM2 shows the strongest expression-correlation with YAP activity in nearly all tumor types. Interestingly, TRAM2 phenocopies the YAP-induced cell proliferation, migration, and invasion phenotypes and correlates with poor patient survival. Mechanistically, we identify FSTL-1 as a major direct client of TRAM2 that is involved in these phenotypes. Thus, TRAM2 is a key novel mediator of YAP-induced oncogenic proliferation and cellular invasiveness.ConclusionsYAP is a transcription co-factor that binds to thousands of enhancer loci and stimulates tumor aggressiveness. Using unbiased functional approaches, we dissect YAP enhancer network and characterize TRAM2 as a novel mediator of cellular proliferation, migration, and invasion. Our findings elucidate how YAP induces cancer aggressiveness and may assist diagnosis of cancer metastasis. Show less
Between the American Revolutionary War and the US Civil War (roughly 1775-1861), thousands of enslaved African Americans fled from the US South to the northern ‘free’ states and British Canada.... Show moreBetween the American Revolutionary War and the US Civil War (roughly 1775-1861), thousands of enslaved African Americans fled from the US South to the northern ‘free’ states and British Canada. While many fled to British lines during wartime, other self-emancipators availed of interracial freedom networks commonly known as the Underground Railroad. Within their respective receiving societies, slave refugees established new lives as free men and women. At the same time, they encountered numerous challenges and obstacles, such as poverty and unemployment, racial prejudice and discrimination, and the threat of re-enslavement. Through a comparative and transnational lens, Northward Bound re-examines the various migrations of African American freedom seekers from the South to the North and Canada. It explores the motivations behind self-emancipation, the routes taken by freedom seekers, and the nature of escape to the North and Canada. Furthermore, Northward Bound analyzes the experiences of slave refugees in the northern US, the Canadian Maritimes, and southwestern Ontario. Following Damian Pargas’ recent typology, this study demonstrates that British Canada emerged as a space of ‘formal’ freedom for African American freedom seekers, whereas the northern US developed into a space of ‘semi-formal’ freedom. Show less
Based on multisited fieldwork in Kigali, Rwanda, Belgium, and the Netherlands following the political crisis in Burundi in 2015, we explore decisions and plans for the future among Burundians in... Show moreBased on multisited fieldwork in Kigali, Rwanda, Belgium, and the Netherlands following the political crisis in Burundi in 2015, we explore decisions and plans for the future among Burundians in exile. In this way, we contribute to research about future making and social reproduction in families in a transnational social field affected by crisis. Adding to the literature, we show the specific effects of crisis on transnational families’ practices and aspirations, such as parental efforts to prevent traumatic world views and the constant need for families to readjust their plans to ongoing crisis dynamics. We argue that as the violence has disrupted the migrant parents’ hopes for a better future for themselves, they redirect their efforts towards their children’s futures. We thus argue that not only future making practices but also aspirations should be seen as social and relational, particularly in times of crisis. In particular, the Burundians living in Rwanda, Belgium and the Netherlands seek to provide their offspring with the skills to become educated, social and moral beings, even it entails sacrificing their own lives and aspirations. Moreover, adding to debates on migrants’ efforts to reproduce their own cultural values and practices in host societies, we find that the Burundian parents attempt to change what they perceive as a ‘culture of hatred and vengeance’ with parenting practices. As such, we argue that many migrant parents explicitly pursue social transformation through their children. Show less
During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, (im)mobility policies affected individuals’ citizenship rights and movement within countries and across international borders. Prior to the pandemic, the... Show moreDuring the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, (im)mobility policies affected individuals’ citizenship rights and movement within countries and across international borders. Prior to the pandemic, the mobility regime in South America was relatively open for regional migrants, bolstered on free residence and equal rights. In this analysis, we focus on human mobility and citizenship rights in South America by examining local and national government responses to Covid-19 between March and August 2020. Using databases, newspaper columns, government websites, and legislation, we outline the region’s travel restrictions and exceptions, closures and militarization of borders, internal movement procedures, and economic subsidies to ease Covid-19’s impact. While the regional mobility regime had already been under stress since 2015, exceptions to border closures and internal mobility further stratified people based on legal and economic statuses. Deeply affecting individual-state relations, access to mobility and citizenship rights such as labor, housing, and healthcare varied between nationals and non-nationals and between regular and irregular migrants. Reactions may have longer term effects, especially for Venezuelans, since the crisis created new inequalities and contradictions within the regional mobility regime, originally aimed at reducing them. Show less
