The occurrence of reptiles in Barn Owl diet in Europe

Capsule We present a review of the propensity to eat reptiles in the Barn Owl Tyto alba in Europe. Based on the analysis of 591 published studies reporting 3.07 million prey items identified in pellets, only 2402 reptiles (0.08%) were found. Reptiles were most often captured in southern parts of the European continent and on islands. A large proportion of the 1304 identified reptiles to the species level were nocturnal Gekkonidae (77.1%).

HIV and STI behavioural surveillance among men who have sex with men in Europe.

This paper describes behavioural surveillance for HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STI) among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Europe, focusing on the methods and indicators used. In August 2008, questionnaires were sent to European Union Member States and European Free Trade Association countries seeking information on behavioural surveillance activities among eight population groups including MSM. Thirty-one countries were invited to take part in the survey and 27 returned a questionnaire on MSM. Of these 27 countries, 14 reported that there was a system of behavioural surveillance among MSM in their country while another four countries had conducted behavioural surveys of some kind in this subpopulation. In the absence of a sampling frame, all European countries used convenience samples for behavioural surveillance among MSM. Most European countries used the Internet for recruiting and surveying MSM for behavioural surveillance reflecting increasing use of the Internet by MSM for meeting sexual partners. While there was a general consensus about the main behavioural indicators (unprotected anal intercourse, condom use, number of partners, HIV testing), there was considerable diversity between countries in the specific indicators used. We suggest that European countries reach an agreement on a core set of indicators. In addition we recommend that the process of harmonising HIV and STI behavioural surveillance among MSM in Europe continues.

Unstable equilibrium: young adult women in family and career formation in Southern Europe

The paper examines the relationship between family formation (i.e., living with a partner and having children) and women’s occupational career in southern Europe (i.e., Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain). The relationship is explored by analysing the impact that different family structures and male [nvolvement in caring activities have on women’s early occupational trajectories (i.e., remaining in the same occupational status, experiencing downward or upward mobility, or withdrawing from paid work). This research shows that male involvement in caring activities does not really push women ahead in their career, but the absolute lack of male support seems to negatively affect women’s permanence in paid work. These results apply to all southern European countries except Portugal, where the absolute absence of the partners’ support in caring activities does not seem to alter women’s determination to remain in paid work. The methodology applied consists of the estimation of multinomial logit regression models and the analysis is based on eight waves (1994-2001) of the European Community Household Panel (ECHP).

Childhood cancer mortality in Europe, 1970-2007.

To update trends in childhood cancer mortality in Europe, we analysed mortality data derived from the World Health Organization for all childhood neoplasms, bone and kidney cancers, non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL) and leukaemias, in 30 European countries up to 2007. Between 1990-1994 and 2005-2007, mortality from all neoplasms steadily declined in most European countries (from 5.2 to 3.5/100,000 boys and from 4.3 to 2.8/100,000 girls in the European Union, EU). In 2005-2007, however, mortality rates from childhood cancers were still higher in countries from Eastern (4.9/100,000 boys and 3.9/100,000 girls) and Southern (4.0/100,000 boys and 3.1/100,000 girls) Europe than in those from Western (3.1/100,000 boys and 2.5/100,000 girls) and Northern (3.2/100,000 boys and 2.5/100,000 girls) Europe. Similar temporal trends and geographic patterns were observed for leukaemias, with declines from 1.7 to 0.9/100,000 boys and from 1.3 to 0.7/100,000 girls between 1990-1994 and 2005-2007 in the EU. For kidney cancer and NHL mortality rates were low and have been declining in larger European countries over the last 15years. The pattern of trends was less clear for bone cancer, with no systematic downward trends at age 0-14, though some fall was evident at age 15-19. Thus, mortality from childhood cancer continued to decline over more recent years in most European countries. However, the mortality rates in Eastern - but also Southern - European countries in the mid 2000's were similar to those in the Western and Northern European ones in the early 1990's. Some further improvement in childhood cancer mortality is therefore achievable through more widespread and better adoption of currently available treatments.

A reassessment of family reunification in Europe. The case of Senegalese couples

Contemporary policy makers in most European destination countriesexpress a great concern about reunification of migrants’ families. Newrestrictions multiply in almost all countries, on the grounds thatmigrants would take advantage of a too lax system and that it wouldfoster an influx of non-desirable migrants. So far, quantitative evidenceis scarce on migrants’ practices in matter of family reunification.Taking advantage of a unique longitudinal dataset that includesSenegalese individuals surveyed both at origin (in Senegal) and inEurope (France, Italy and Spain), we perform event-history analyses toshow three things. First, couple separation is very often a long lastingsituation. Second, when separated because of international migration,wives and husbands do not only reunify in Europe but quite commonlyin Senegal. And third, those who reunify in Europe are those who arethe most adapted or adaptable to the European culture and economy.

Appropriateness of colonoscopy in Europe (EPAGE II): presentation of methodology, general results, and analysis of complications.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: Appropriate use of colonoscopy is a key component of quality management in gastrointestinal endoscopy. In an update of a 1998 publication, the 2008 European Panel on the Appropriateness of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (EPAGE II) defined appropriateness criteria for various colonoscopy indications. This introductory paper therefore deals with methodology, general appropriateness, and a review of colonoscopy complications. METHODS:The RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method was used to evaluate the appropriateness of various diagnostic colonoscopy indications, with 14 multidisciplinary experts using a scale from 1 (extremely inappropriate) to 9 (extremely appropriate). Evidence reported in a comprehensive updated literature review was used for these decisions. Consolidation of the ratings into three appropriateness categories (appropriate, uncertain, inappropriate) was based on the median and the heterogeneity of the votes. The experts then met to discuss areas of disagreement in the light of existing evidence, followed by a second rating round, with a subsequent third voting round on necessity criteria, using much more stringent criteria (i. e. colonoscopy is deemed mandatory). RESULTS: Overall, 463 indications were rated, with 55 %, 16 % and 29 % of them being judged appropriate, uncertain and inappropriate, respectively. Perforation and hemorrhage rates, as reported in 39 studies, were in general < 0.1 % and < 0.3 %, respectively CONCLUSIONS: The updated EPAGE II criteria constitute an aid to clinical decision-making but should in no way replace individual judgment. Detailed panel results are freely available on the internet (www.epage.ch) and will thus constitute a reference source of information for clinicians.

Asymmetries in the opportunity structure. Intergenerational mobility trends in Europe

It remains unclear whether social mobility is increasing in the advancednations. The answer may depend on mobility patterns within very recentbirth cohorts. We use the inter-generational module in the 2005 EUSILCwhich allows us to include more recent cohorts. Comparingacross two Nordic and three Continental European countries, weestimate inter-generational mobility trends for sons both indirectly, viasocial origin effects on educational attainment, and directly in terms ofadult income attainment. In line with other studies we find substantiallymore mobility in Scandinavia, but also that traditionally less mobilesocieties, like Spain, are moving towards greater equality. We focusparticularly on non-linear relations. Most interestingly, we revealevident asymmetries in the process of equalizing life chances, inDenmark. The disadvantages associated with low social class originshave largely disappeared, but the advantages related to privilegedorigins persist.

The Generational contract in the family : explaining regime differences in financial transfers from parents to children in Europe

The exchange of social and economic support between the generationsis one of the main pillars of both family life and welfare systems. Thedebate on how to reform the generational contract is still truncated, however, by focusing on its public dimension only, especially on pensions and health care provisions. For a full account, the transfer of resources between adult generations in the family needs to be included as well. In our previous research we have shown that intergenerationalexchange is more likely to take place but less intense in the Nordicwelfare regime than in the Continental and Southern ones. In thepresent paper we analyze the social mechanisms that create and explain this nexus between patterns of intergenerational transfers and welfare regimes. The notion that Southern European family support networksare stronger and more effective than those of Continental and Northern European countries is only partially confirmed. In Southern (and partly in Continental) countries, children are mostly supported by means of co-residence with their parents till their complete economicindependence. However, once they have left the parental home thereare fewer transfers; support tends to be restricted to children who have special needs (such as for the formation of their own family), and depends more on their parents’ resources. In the Nordic countries, in contrast, transfers are less driven by children’s needs and parentalresources.

Political mobilisation and models of trade unionism : Southern Europe in comparative perspective

The relationship between union membership and political mobilization has been studied under many perspectives, but quantitative cross-national analyses have been hampered by the absence of international comparable survey data until the first round of the European Social Survey (ESS-2002) was made available. Using different national samples from this survey in four moments of time (2002, 2004 and 2006), our paper provides evidence of cross-country divergence in the empirical association between political mobilisation and trade union membership. Cross-national differences in union members’ political mobilization, we argue, can be explained by the existence of models of unionism that in turn differ with respect to two decisive factors: the institutionalisation of trade union activity and the opportunities left-wing parties have available for gaining access to executive power.

Chlamydiaceae and Chlamydia-like organisms in free-living small mammals in Europe and Afghanistan.

Few data are available on the occurrence of chlamydial infections in wild small mammals. We investigated the significance of free-living small mammals as reservoirs or transmission hosts for microorganisms of the phylum/class Chlamydiae. We obtained 3,664 tissue samples from 911 animals in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Afghanistan. Samples included internal organs (n = 3,652) and feces (n = 12) from 679 rodents (order Rodentia) and 232 insectivores (order Soricomorpha) and were tested by three TaqMan® real-time PCRs specific for members of the family Chlamydiaceae and selected Chlamydia-like organisms such as Parachlamydia spp. and Waddlia spp. Only one of 911 (0.11%) animals exhibited a questionable positive result by Chlamydiaceae-specific real-time PCR. Five of 911 animals were positive by specific real-time PCR for Parachlamydia spp. but could not be confirmed by quantitative PCR targeting the Parachlamydia acanthamoebae secY gene (secY qPCR). One of 746 animals (0.13%) was positive by real-time PCR for Waddlia chondrophila. This result was confirmed by Waddlia secY qPCR. This is the first detection of Chlamydia-like organisms in small wildlife in Switzerland. Considering previous negative results for Chlamydiaceae in wild ruminant species from Switzerland, these data suggest that wild small mammals are unlikely to be important carriers or transport hosts for Chamydiaceae and Chlamydia-like organisms.

Estats de l'Empire des Turqs en Europe, subdivisés suivant l'estendüe des Beglerbeglicz, ou Gouvernements dans lesquels sont marquées les résidences des Sangiacz qui en dépendent. ou sont encor la Transilvanie, la Valaquie, la Moldavie, la Petite Tartarie, &c. Tributaires des Turqs. Dressé sur les Memoires les plus Nouveaux / Par le Sr. Sanson, ... ; Dedié au roy ; Par... Hubert Iaillot, ... ; Cordier Sculpsit

Échelle(s) : [1:4 100 000 environ], Mille Pas Geometriques, ou Mille d'Italie 180 [= 8 cm]

Estats de l'Empire des Turqs en Europe, subdivisés suivant l'estendüe des Beglerbeglicz, ou Gouvernements dans lesquels sont marquées les résidences des Sangiacz qui en dépendent. ou sont encor la Transilvanie, la Valaquie, la Moldavie, la Petite Tartarie, &c. Tributaires des Turqs. Dressé sur les Memoires les plus Nouveaux / Par le Sr. Sanson, ... ; Dedié au roy ; Par... Hubert Iaillot, ... ; Cordier Sculpsit

Échelle(s) : [1:4 100 000 environ], Mille Pas Geometriques, ou Mille d'Italie 180 [= 8 cm]

The Nationalism of stateless nations and Europe. The Catalan case

This paper analyzes how the ideas and concepts of Europe have developed in Catalonia, under the conditions of a decentralizing “nation-state” (Spain) on one hand, and the European integration process on the other. It analyzes the programmes, manifestations of political leaders, and political actions of the Catalan political parties, specially the nationalists, from the setting up of the Spanish state of autonomies (1977-1982) until today. The paper tries to show how, in multilevel governance, holistic and enthusiastic visions of an economically and political integrating Europe as a “natural ally” of a Catalan nationalism were partially replaced by more pragmatic and even more critical assessments.

Partie méridionale de la Turquie d'Europe où sont les Beglerbeglicz de Romélie et de la Mer dans lesquels sont remarquées les Résidences des Sangiacs qui en dépendent : ou sont encor l'Isle et Royaume de Candie, et les Isles de Corfou, Céphalonie, Zante et autres Places sur les Costes qui appartiennent aux Vénitiens / par le Sr. Sanson

Échelle(s) : [1:2 921 000 environ], Lieües Commes de France 25 [= 3,8 cm]