Whole of Government Approach for Institutional and Policy Coherence

The comprehensive structure of cooperation at domestic level reflects on bilateral, regional and global level.

Application of an in vitro drug screening assay based on the release of phosphoglucose isomerase to determine the structure-activity relationship of thiazolides against Echinococcus multilocularis metacestodes

OBJECTIVES: The disease alveolar echinococcosis (AE), caused by the larval stage of the cestode Echinococcus multilocularis, is fatal if treatment is unsuccessful. Current treatment options are, at best, parasitostatic, and involve taking benzimidazoles (albendazole, mebendazole) for the whole of a patient's life. In conjunction with the recent development of optimized procedures for E. multilocularis metacestode cultivation, we aimed to develop a rapid and reliable drug screening test, which enables efficient screening of a large number of compounds in a relatively short time frame. METHODS: Metacestodes were treated in vitro with albendazole, the nitro-thiazole nitazoxanide and 29 nitazoxanide derivatives. The resulting leakage of phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI) activity into the medium supernatant was measured and provided an indication of compound efficacy. RESULTS: We show that upon in vitro culture of E. multilocularis metacestodes in the presence of active drugs such as albendazole, the nitro-thiazole nitazoxanide and 30 different nitazoxanide derivatives, the activity of PGI in culture supernatants increased. The increase in PGI activity correlated with the progressive degeneration and destruction of metacestode tissue in a time- and concentration-dependent manner, which allowed us to perform a structure-activity relationship analysis on the thiazolide compounds used in this study. CONCLUSIONS: The assay presented here is inexpensive, rapid, can be used in 24- and 96-well formats and will serve as an ideal tool for first-round in vitro tests on the efficacy of large numbers of antiparasitic compounds.

The 2002 European registry of cardiac catheter interventions

OBJECTIVE: The tradition of yearly reports on cardiac catheter interventions in Europe has been initiated in 1992. This 11th report presents aggregated data on cardiac catheter procedures in 30 European countries in the year 2002. DESIGN AND SETTING: A detailed questionnaire addressing summary data of all cardiac interventions was mailed to presidents or delegates of the national societies of cardiology in Europe. The questionnaire was distributed to all institutions with cardiac catheterisation programs. All questionnaires were compiled in a national summary data sheet, then entered into a central database and subsequently analysed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Coronary angiography, PTCA, and stenting in absolute numbers and per million inhabitants in the participating countries and the whole of Europe. RESULTS: Overall, 1,901,932 coronary angiograms were reported. The population-adjusted rate of coronary angiograms amounted to an absolute mean of 3358 per 10(6) inhabitants, an increase of 7% compared with 2001. A total of 686,869 PTCA procedures were reported. The mean European number of PTCAs per 10(6) inhabitants increased by 10% from 1103 in 2001 to 1213 in 2002. Procedures with stenting increased by 17% from 508,999 to 593,906. The stenting rate was 86% compared with 82% in 2001. CONCLUSIONS: In pace with epidemiological demand and the need to catch-up from underuse in certain countries, a continuous and considerable growth of coronary interventions can be observed. It will take years to find out whether the announced change of paradigm in the treatment of multivessel disease in the wake of drug-eluting stents will come true.

Evaluation of Swiss slaughterhouse data for integration in a syndromic surveillance system

BACKGROUND: We evaluated Swiss slaughterhouse data for integration in a national syndromic surveillance system for the early detection of emerging diseases in production animals. We analysed meat inspection data for cattle, pigs and small ruminants slaughtered between 2007 and 2012 (including emergency slaughters of sick/injured animals); investigating patterns in the number of animals slaughtered and condemned; the reasons invoked for whole carcass condemnations; reporting biases and regional effects. RESULTS: Whole carcass condemnation rates were fairly uniform (1-2‰) over time and between the different types of production animals. Condemnation rates were much higher and less uniform following emergency slaughters. The number of condemnations peaked in December for both cattle and pigs, a time when individuals of lower quality are sent to slaughter when hay and food are limited and when certain diseases are more prevalent. Each type of production animal was associated with a different profile of condemnation reasons. The most commonly reported one was "severe lesions" for cattle, "abscesses" for pigs and "pronounced weight loss" for small ruminants. These reasons could constitute valuable syndromic indicators as they are unspecific clinical manifestations of a large range of animal diseases (as well as potential indicators of animal welfare). Differences were detected in the rate of carcass condemnation between cantons and between large and small slaughterhouses. A large percentage (>60% for all three animal categories) of slaughterhouses operating never reported a condemnation between 2007 and 2012, a potential indicator of widespread non-reporting bias in our database. CONCLUSIONS: The current system offers simultaneous coverage of cattle, pigs and small ruminants for the whole of Switzerland; and traceability of each condemnation to its farm of origin. The number of condemnations was significantly linked to the number of slaughters, meaning that the former should be always be offset by the later in analyses. Because this denominator is only communicated at the end of the month, condemnations may currently only be monitored on a monthly basis. Coupled with the lack of timeliness (30-60 days delay between condemnation and notification), this limits the use of the data for early-detection.

Socio-Economic Perspectives on Shifting Cultivation Landscapes in Northern Laos

Despite the rapid agricultural transition that has occurred in the past decade, shifting cultivation remains a widespread agricultural practice in the northern uplands of Lao PDR. Little information is available on the basic socio-economic situation and respective possible patterns in shifting cultivation landscapes on a regional level. On the basis of a recent approximation of the extent of shifting cultivation landscapes for two time periods and disaggregated village level census data, this paper characterizes these landscapes in terms of key socioeconomic parameters for the whole of northern Laos. Results showed that over 550,000 people live in shifting cultivation regions. The poverty rate of this population of 46.5 % is considerably higher than the national rural rate. Most shifting cultivation landscapes are located in remote locations and a high share of the population comprises ethnic minorities, pointing to multi-dimensional marginality of these areas. We discuss whether economic growth and increased market accessibility are sufficient to lift these landscapes out of poverty.

Core formation and mantle differentiation on Mars

Geochemical investigation of Martian meteorites (SNC meteorites) yields important constraints on the chemical and geodynamical evolution of Mars. These samples may not be representative of the whole of Mars; however, they provide constraints on the early differentiation processes on Mars. The bulk composition of Martian samples implies the presence of a metallic core that formed concurrently as the planet accreted. The strong depletion of highly siderophile elements in the Martian mantle is only possible if Mars had a large scale magma ocean early in its history allowing efficient separation of a metallic melt from molten silicate. The solidification of the magma ocean created chemical heterogeneities whose ancient origin is manifested in the heterogeneous 142Nd and 182W abundances observed in different meteorite groups derived from Mars. The isotope anomalies measured in SNC meteorites imply major chemical fractionation within the Martian mantle during the life time of the short-lived isotopes 146Sm and 182Hf. The Hf-W data are consistent with very rapid accretion of Mars within a few million years or, alternatively, a more protracted accretion history involving several large impacts and incomplete metal-silicate equilibration during core formation. In contrast to Earth early-formed chemical heterogeneities are still preserved on Mars, albeit slightly modified by mixing processes. The preservation of such ancient chemical differences is only possible if Mars did not undergo efficient whole mantle convection or vigorous plate tectonic style processes after the first few tens of millions of years of its history.

A stratigraphic framework for abrupt climatic changes during the Last Glacial period based on three synchronized Greenland ice-core records: refining and extending the INTIMATE event stratigraphy

Due to their outstanding resolution and well-constrained chronologies, Greenland ice-core records provide a master record of past climatic changes throughout the Last Interglacial–Glacial cycle in the North Atlantic region. As part of the INTIMATE (INTegration of Ice-core, MArine and TErrestrial records) project, protocols have been proposed to ensure consistent and robust correlation between different records of past climate. A key element of these protocols has been the formal definition and ordinal numbering of the sequence of Greenland Stadials (GS) and Greenland Interstadials (GI) within the most recent glacial period. The GS and GI periods are the Greenland expressions of the characteristic Dansgaard–Oeschger events that represent cold and warm phases of the North Atlantic region, respectively. We present here a more detailed and extended GS/GI template for the whole of the Last Glacial period. It is based on a synchronization of the NGRIP, GRIP, and GISP2 ice-core records that allows the parallel analysis of all three records on a common time scale. The boundaries of the GS and GI periods are defined based on a combination of stable-oxygen isotope ratios of the ice (δ18O, reflecting mainly local temperature) and calcium ion concentrations (reflecting mainly atmospheric dust loading) measured in the ice. The data not only resolve the well-known sequence of Dansgaard–Oeschger events that were first defined and numbered in the ice-core records more than two decades ago, but also better resolve a number of short-lived climatic oscillations, some defined here for the first time. Using this revised scheme, we propose a consistent approach for discriminating and naming all the significant abrupt climatic events of the Last Glacial period that are represented in the Greenland ice records. The final product constitutes an extended and better resolved Greenland stratotype sequence, against which other proxy records can be compared and correlated. It also provides a more secure basis for investigating the dynamics and fundamental causes of these climatic perturbations.

ПРОСТОРНО-УРБАНИ РАЗВОЈ ТЕМЕРИНА

Temerin is settlements in the municipality of the same name, and њhose is center. This settlement by its characteristics is a very specific for area of Bačke and Vojvodina. One of its main characteristic is a specific spatial and urban development. Although the site of the present Temerin revealed several archaeological sites that attest to the presence of humans in prehistoric times, today’s settlement, under this name, is mentioned first time in the early 14th century. Over the centuries the Temerin developed and expanded in phases, forming elements of the composition of settlements with a number of specific features. Especially in this regard emphasize shape, structure and physiognomy of the settlement. The main characteristic of the physiognomy of the settlement is a large elongated north to south axis of Temerin, which is the main street, and also the longest street in the whole of Serbia (13 km). Along the major axis, and in some places there are strains in relation to linear the square in the form of parts as a result of subsequent colonization and phase expansion of Temerin. This paper aims to study the expansion and urban development Temerin throughout history.

Ethical procedures and patient consent differ in Europe.

BACKGROUND Research ethics approvals, procedures and requirements for institutional research ethics committees vary considerably by country and by type of organisation. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the requirements and procedures of research ethics committees, details of patient information and informed consent based on a multicentre European trial. DESIGN Survey of European hospitals participating in the prospective observational study on chronic postsurgical pain (euCPSP) using electronic questionnaires. SETTING Twenty-four hospitals in 11 European countries. PARTICIPANTS From the 24 hospitals, 23 local investigators responded; 23 answers were analysed. OUTCOME MEASURES Comparison of research ethics procedures and committee requirements from the perspective of clinical researchers. Comparison of the institutions' procedures regarding patient information and consent. Description of further details such as costs and the duration of the approval process. RESULTS The approval process lasted from less than 2 weeks up to more than 2 months with financial fees varying between 0 and 575 &OV0556;. In 20 hospitals, a patient information sheet of variable length (half page up to two pages) was provided. Requirements for patients' informed consent differed. Written informed consent was mandatory at 12, oral at 10 and no form of consent at one hospital. Details such as enough time for consideration, possibility for withdrawal and risks/benefits of participation were provided in 25 to 30% of the institutions. CONCLUSION There is a considerable variation in the administrative requirements for approval procedures by research ethics committees in Europe. This results in variation of the extent of information and consent procedures for the patients involved. TRIAL REGISTRATION euCPSP in Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT01467102; PAIN-OUT in Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT02083835.