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Modern media bombard us on a near daily basis with stories and images of sacred and highly symbolical spaces that have been violently desecrated. These are usually accompanied by pleas for help directed at fellow believers around the world or at policy makers at home and abroad. Inevitably, modern audiences have become all too familiar with these stories and the standard repertoire of prejudice, inter-communal strife, and physical horrors they contain. Closer scrutiny of such narratives and images in Late Antiquity reveals that, regardless of whether these were fashioned by orthodox or heterodox Christian communities, such stories tend to exhibit very similar characteristics and employ some of the very same rhetorical strategies to frame the ways in which they convey their sense of victimhood to the outside world. There are nuances and differences, of course, but what emerges overall is a common idiom that readily cuts across Christianity’s religious boundaries, and similar ways in which victimhood and outrage at the violent desecration of symbolic space and imagery is expressed, or, in fact, produced. In this thesis I want to uncover and explain the nature and dynamics of this remarkable phenomenon. As such, my thesis is centred on the hypothesis that this common desecration idiom has its roots in the first half of the fourth century C.E., that it specifically arose out of the new religious constellation characteristic for this period, and that the parameters that were set then and there help explain why the typical reporting on the desecration of Christian religious space assumes the standardized format it does throughout Late Antiquity. In practical terms, my thesis seeks to unravel these developments by studying and comparing the narratology and symbolism of a carefully selected set of late antique stories that describe the violent desecration and destruction of religious space

Modern media bombard us on a near daily basis with stories and images of sacred and highly symbolical spaces that have been violently desecrated. These are usually accompanied by pleas for help directed at fellow believers around the world or at policy makers at home and abroad. Inevitably, modern audiences have become all too familiar with these stories and the standard repertoire of prejudice, inter-communal strife, and physical horrors they contain. Closer scrutiny of such narratives and images in Late Antiquity reveals that, regardless of whether these were fashioned by orthodox or heterodox Christian communities, such stories tend to exhibit very similar characteristics and employ some of the very same rhetorical strategies to frame the ways in which they convey their sense of victimhood to the outside world. There are nuances and differences, of course, but what emerges overall is a common idiom that readily cuts across Christianity’s religious boundaries, and similar ways in which victimhood and outrage at the violent desecration of symbolic space and imagery is expressed, or, in fact, produced. In this thesis I want to uncover and explain the nature and dynamics of this remarkable phenomenon. As such, my thesis is centred on the hypothesis that this common desecration idiom has its roots in the first half of the fourth century C.E., that it specifically arose out of the new religious constellation characteristic for this period, and that the parameters that were set then and there help explain why the typical reporting on the desecration of Christian religious space assumes the standardized format it does throughout Late Antiquity. In practical terms, my thesis seeks to unravel these developments by studying and comparing the narratology and symbolism of a carefully selected set of late antique stories that describe the violent desecration and destruction of religious space

Item does not contain fulltext, OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of red blood cell (RBC) transfusion on quality of life in acutely anaemic women after postpartum haemorrhage. DESIGN: Randomised non-inferiority trial. SETTING: Thirty-seven Dutch university and general hospitals. POPULATION: Women with acute anaemia (haemoglobin 4.8-7.9 g/dl [3.0-4.9 mmol/l] 12-24 hours postpartum) without severe anaemic symptoms or severe comorbidities. METHODS: Women were allocated to RBC transfusion or non-intervention. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary outcome was physical fatigue 3 days postpartum (Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory, scale 4-20; 20 represents maximal fatigue). Non-inferiority was demonstrated if the physical fatigue difference between study arms was maximal 1.3. Secondary outcomes were health-related quality of life and physical complications. Health-related quality of life questionnaires were completed at five time-points until 6 weeks postpartum. RESULTS: In all, 521 women were randomised to non-intervention (n = 262) or RBC transfusion (n = 259). Mean physical fatigue score at day 3 postpartum, adjusted for baseline and mode of delivery, was 0.8 lower in the RBC transfusion arm (95% confidence interval: 0.1-1.5, P = 0.02) and at 1 week postpartum was 1.06 lower (95% confidence interval: 0.3-1.8, P = 0.01). A median of two RBC units was transfused in the RBC transfusion arm. In the non-intervention arm, 33 women received RBC transfusion, mainly because of anaemic symptoms. Physical complications were comparable. CONCLUSIONS: Statistically, non-inferiority could not be demonstrated as the confidence interval crossed the non-inferiority boundary. Nevertheless, with only a small difference in physical fatigue and no differences in secondary outcomes, implementation of restrictive management seems clinically justified.

Item does not contain fulltext, OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of red blood cell (RBC) transfusion on quality of life in acutely anaemic women after postpartum haemorrhage. DESIGN: Randomised non-inferiority trial. SETTING: Thirty-seven Dutch university and general hospitals. POPULATION: Women with acute anaemia (haemoglobin 4.8-7.9 g/dl [3.0-4.9 mmol/l] 12-24 hours postpartum) without severe anaemic symptoms or severe comorbidities. METHODS: Women were allocated to RBC transfusion or non-intervention. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary outcome was physical fatigue 3 days postpartum (Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory, scale 4-20; 20 represents maximal fatigue). Non-inferiority was demonstrated if the physical fatigue difference between study arms was maximal 1.3. Secondary outcomes were health-related quality of life and physical complications. Health-related quality of life questionnaires were completed at five time-points until 6 weeks postpartum. RESULTS: In all, 521 women were randomised to non-intervention (n = 262) or RBC transfusion (n = 259). Mean physical fatigue score at day 3 postpartum, adjusted for baseline and mode of delivery, was 0.8 lower in the RBC transfusion arm (95% confidence interval: 0.1-1.5, P = 0.02) and at 1 week postpartum was 1.06 lower (95% confidence interval: 0.3-1.8, P = 0.01). A median of two RBC units was transfused in the RBC transfusion arm. In the non-intervention arm, 33 women received RBC transfusion, mainly because of anaemic symptoms. Physical complications were comparable. CONCLUSIONS: Statistically, non-inferiority could not be demonstrated as the confidence interval crossed the non-inferiority boundary. Nevertheless, with only a small difference in physical fatigue and no differences in secondary outcomes, implementation of restrictive management seems clinically justified.

Item does not contain fulltext, OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of red blood cell (RBC) transfusion on quality of life in acutely anaemic women after postpartum haemorrhage. DESIGN: Randomised non-inferiority trial. SETTING: Thirty-seven Dutch university and general hospitals. POPULATION: Women with acute anaemia (haemoglobin 4.8-7.9 g/dl [3.0-4.9 mmol/l] 12-24 hours postpartum) without severe anaemic symptoms or severe comorbidities. METHODS: Women were allocated to RBC transfusion or non-intervention. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary outcome was physical fatigue 3 days postpartum (Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory, scale 4-20; 20 represents maximal fatigue). Non-inferiority was demonstrated if the physical fatigue difference between study arms was maximal 1.3. Secondary outcomes were health-related quality of life and physical complications. Health-related quality of life questionnaires were completed at five time-points until 6 weeks postpartum. RESULTS: In all, 521 women were randomised to non-intervention (n = 262) or RBC transfusion (n = 259). Mean physical fatigue score at day 3 postpartum, adjusted for baseline and mode of delivery, was 0.8 lower in the RBC transfusion arm (95% confidence interval: 0.1-1.5, P = 0.02) and at 1 week postpartum was 1.06 lower (95% confidence interval: 0.3-1.8, P = 0.01). A median of two RBC units was transfused in the RBC transfusion arm. In the non-intervention arm, 33 women received RBC transfusion, mainly because of anaemic symptoms. Physical complications were comparable. CONCLUSIONS: Statistically, non-inferiority could not be demonstrated as the confidence interval crossed the non-inferiority boundary. Nevertheless, with only a small difference in physical fatigue and no differences in secondary outcomes, implementation of restrictive management seems clinically justified.

Vleermuizen vormen een sterk bedreigde diergroep. Alle soorten zijn dan ook Europees beschermd via de Habitatrichtlijn. Een van de verplichtingen van die richtlijn is dat de lidstaten om de zes jaar moeten rapporteren over de staat van instandhouding, zeg maar hoe goed of hoe slecht het met de soort (of het habitattype) is gesteld. In dit artikel bespreken we de resultaten van de rapportage voor de vleermuissoorten in Vlaanderen in 2013.

Gauging Orosius' narrative on the sack of Rome in the context of late antique violence and church controversy.

Gauging Orosius' narrative on the sack of Rome in the context of late antique violence and church controversy.