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Investigation of the first participation rate and follow-up results of the Flemish colorectal cancer screening program.In 2013 five age cohorts with an even age between 66 and 74 year old (n=243 335) were invited by mail to return a completed iFOBT. Participants who tested positive (≥75ng/ml) were referred to a follow-up colonoscopy.Participation rate was 48.4% (n=117 774). Overall positivity rate was 10.1%, and 78.1% of those tested positive underwent a colonoscopy. The positive predictive value of colonoscopy for CRC was 8.2%, for advanced adenoma 16.9% and for non-advanced adenoma 36.5%.Based on the EU-guidelines 35% was expected as participation for a first screening round, thus a participation rate of 48.4% is more than acceptable for a first screening year. The high positivity rate can partly be explained by including only the older ages in the start-up-period and by the first year of mass screening in Flanders. (Acta gastroenterol. belg., 2016, 79, 421-428).

Five new species of the new taxon Brunetorhynchus n. gen. are described: B. deconincki n. sp., B. microstylis n. sp. and B. complicatus n. sp. are from the Mediterranean, B. canariensis n. sp. is from the Canary Island Lanzarote, B. cannoni n. sp. is from the Australian East coast and one species from the Galapagos, formerly described as Limipolycystis spec., is transferred to the new genus as B. dubius n. sp.. As in Limipolycystis, these species have a single stylet, (accessory stylet type II), an accessory secretion vesicle (type II) and a prostate vesicle (type III) in the male atrium, although the latter vesicle is absent in some species. Unlike the species of Limipolycystis, where the seminal receptacle is a sclerotized tubule, the species of the new taxon have a pear-shaped seminal receptacle on the oviduct.

Environ Health Perspect 2001 May;109(5):463-70 Related Articles, Books, LinkOut The impact of heat waves and cold spells on mortality rates in the Dutch population. Huynen MM, Martens P, Schram D, Weijenberg MP, Kunst AE. International Centre for Integrative Studies, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands. m.huynen@icis.unimaas.nl We conducted the study described in this paper to investigate the impact of ambient temperature on mortality in the Netherlands during 1979-1997, the impact of heat waves and cold spells on mortality in particular, and the possibility of any heat wave- or cold spell-induced forward displacement of mortality. We found a V-like relationship between mortality and temperature, with an optimum temperature value (e.g., average temperature with lowest mortality rate) of 16.5 degrees C for total mortality, cardiovascular mortality, respiratory mortality, and mortality among those [Greater and equal to] 65 year of age. For mortality due to malignant neoplasms and mortality in the youngest age group, the optimum temperatures were 15.5 degrees C and 14.5 degrees C, respectively. For temperatures above the optimum, mortality increased by 0.47, 1.86, 12.82, and 2.72% for malignant neoplasms, cardiovascular disease, respiratory diseases, and total mortality, respectively, for each degree Celsius increase above the optimum in the preceding month. For temperatures below the optimum, mortality increased 0.22, 1.69, 5.15, and 1.37%, respectively, for each degree Celsius decrease below the optimum in the preceding month. Mortality increased significantly during all of the heat waves studied, and the elderly were most effected by extreme heat. The heat waves led to increases in mortality due to all of the selected causes, especially respiratory mortality. Average total excess mortality during the heat waves studied was 12.1%, or 39.8 deaths/day. The average excess mortality during the cold spells was 12.8% or 46.6 deaths/day, which was mostly attributable to the increase in cardiovascular mortality and mortality among the elderly. The results concerning the forward displacement of deaths due to heat waves were not conclusive. We found no cold-induced forward displacement of deaths.

Objectives To summarize participation and coverage rates in population mammographic screening programmes for breast cancer in Europe. Methods We used the European Network for Information on Cancer (EUNICE), a web-based data warehouse (EUNICE Breast Cancer Screening Monitoring, EBCSM) for breast cancer screening, to obtain information on programme characteristics, coverage and participation from its initial application in 10 national and 16 regional programmes in 18 European countries. Results The total population targeted by the screening programme services covered in the report comprised 26.9 million women predominantly aged 50-69. Most of the collected data relates to 2005, 2006 and/or 2007. The average participation rate across all programmes was 53.4% (range 19.4-88.9% of personally invited); or 66.4% excluding Poland, a large programme that initiated personal invitations in 2007. Thirteen of the 26 programmes achieved the European Union benchmark of acceptable participation (>70%), nine achieved the desirable level (>75%). Despite considerable invitation coverage across all programmes (79.3%, range 50.9-115.2%) only 48.2% (range 28.4-92.1%) of the target population were actually screened. The overall invitation and examination coverage excluding Poland was 70.9% and 50.3%, respectively. Conclusions The results demonstrate the feasibility of European-wide screening monitoring using the EBCSM data warehouse, although further efforts to refine the system and to harmonize standards and data collection practices will be required, to fully integrate all European countries. The more than threefold difference in the examination coverage should be taken into account in the evaluation of service screening programmes.

Objective To estimate the cumulative risk of a false-positive screening result in European mammographic screening programmes, and examine the rates and procedures of further assessment. Methods A literature review was conducted to identify studies of the cumulative risk of a false-positive result in European screening programmes (390,000 women). We then examined aggregate data, cross-sectional information about further assessment procedures among women with positive results in 20 mammographic screening programmes from 17 countries (1.7 million initial screens, 5.9 million subsequent screens), collected by the European Network for Information on Cancer project (EUNICE). Results The estimated cumulative risk of a false-positive screening result in women aged 50-69 undergoing 10 biennial screening tests varied from 8% to 21% in the three studies examined (pooled estimate 19.7%). The cumulative risk of an invasive procedure with benign outcome ranged from 1.8% to 6.3% (pooled estimate 2.9%). The risk of undergoing surgical intervention with benign outcome was 0.9% (one study only). From the EUNICE project, the proportions of all screening examinations in the programmes resulting in needle biopsy were 2.2% and 1.1% for initial and subsequent screens, respectively, though the rates differed between countries; the corresponding rates of surgical interventions among women without breast cancer were 0.19% and 0.07%. Conclusion The specific investigative procedures following a recall should be considered when examining the cumulative risk of a false-positive screening result. Most women with a positive screening test undergo a non-invasive assessment procedure. Only a small proportion of recalled women undergo needle biopsy, and even fewer undergo surgical intervention.

The observations from 1998 April 20 taken with the Coronal Diagnostics Spectrometer CDS on SOHO of a coronal loop on the limb have shown that the plasma was multi-thermal along each line of sight investigated, both before and after background subtraction. The latter result relied on Emission Measure Loci plots, but in this Letter, we used a forward folding technique to produce Differential Emission Measure curves. We also calculate DEM-weighted temperatures for the chosen pixels and find a gradient in temperature along the loop as a function of height that is not compatible with the flat profiles reported by numerous authors for loops observed with EIT on SOHO and TRACE. We also find discrepancies in excess of the mathematical expectation between some of the observed and predicted CDS line intensities. We demonstrate that these differences result from well-known limitations in our knowledge of the atomic data and are to be expected. We further show that the precision of the DEM is limited by the intrinsic width of the ion emissivity functions that are used to calculate the DEM. Hence we conclude that peaks and valleys in the DEM, while in principle not impossible, cannot be confirmed from the data., Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, Accepted by ApJ Letters

Les arythmies aiguës comprennent une variété large de troubles du rythme. Les auteurs proposent des recommandations pratiques pour l’approche et le traitement du patient souffrant d’une arythmie aiguë. Ainsi sont discutées les brady-cardies et les tachycardies. Les tachycardies sont divisées en tachycardies à complexes QRS fins et celles à complexes larges. Par ailleurs, une importante distinction concernant la stabilité hémodynamique du patient est faite ; celle-ci va entraîner des conséquences thérapeutiques immédiates. Des arbres décisionnels clairs avec schémas diagnostiques et thérapeutiques des différentes arythmies sont proposés, de même que les considérations pratiques concernant la cardioversion électrique.

EURO.NIS, is conceived as a multicentric, prospective evaluation of the real incidence of pneumonia in I.C.U.'s all over Western Europe. As one of the 29 Belgian participants in this study, we performed the registration as required by the standard protocol, but also investigated our local incidence of nosocomial pneumonia in more detail. All patients hospitalized in the ICU for more than 24 hours during a survey period of 1 month are included. Recorded at the end of the first 24 hours are sex, year of birth, clinical classification, risk factors, severity score; at discharge from the ICU are recorded: mechanical ventilation and humidification equipment, sedation and relaxation, gastrointestinal bleeding prophylaxis and SDD, data on pneumonia and outcome; finally three days after discharge are clinical signs of pneumonia and survival status recorded. The overall European incidence rate of pneumonias acquired in the ICU's is 11.8%; the incidence rate in the Belgium ICU's is 10.2% and as for Bruges it is 12.8%. The incidence rate of deaths associated with pneumonia is respectively 3.5%, 3% and 3.2%. These results warrant further study of causes and prevention of nosocomial infections in our ICU.

This paper reviews the health dimension and sociocultural, economic, and ecological determinants of health in existing global scenario studies. Not even half of the 31 scenarios reviewed gave a good description of future health developments and the different scenario studies did not handle health in a consistent way. Most of the global driving forces of health are addressed adequately in the selected scenarios, however, and it therefore would have been possible to describe the future developments in health as an outcome of these multiple driving forces. To provide examples on how future health can be incorporated in existing scenarios, we linked the sociocultural, economic, and environmental developments described in three sets of scenarios (special report on emission scenarios (SRES), global environmental outlook-3 (GEO3), and world water scenarios (WWS)) to three potential, but imaginary, health futures ("age of emerging infectious diseases", "age of medical technology", and "age of sustained health"). This paper provides useful insights into how to deal with future health in scenarios and shows that a comprehensive picture of future health evolves when all important driving forces and pressures are taken into account.

Although administrative health care databases have long been used to evaluate adverse drug effects, responses to drug safety signals have been slow and uncoordinated. We describe the establishment of the Canadian Network for Observational Drug Effect Studies (CNODES), a collaborating centre of the Drug Safety and Effectiveness Network (DSEN). CNODES is a distributed network of investigators and linked databases in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia. Principles of operation are as follows: (1) research questions are prioritized by the coordinating office of DSEN; (2) the linked data stay within the provinces; (3) for each question, a study team formulates a detailed protocol enabling consistent analyses in each province; (4) analyses are “blind” to results obtained elsewhere; (5) protocol deviations are permitted for technical reasons only; (6) analyses using multivariable methods are lodged centrally with a methods team, which is responsible for combining the results to provide a summary estimate of effect. These procedures are designed to achieve high internal validity of risk estimates and to eliminate the possibility of selective reporting of analyses or outcomes. The value of a coordinated multi-provincial approach is illustrated by projects studying acute renal injury with high-potency statins, community-acquired pneumonia with proton pump inhibitors, and hyperglycemic emergencies with antipsychotic drugs. CNODES is an academically based distributed network of Canadian researchers and data centres with a commitment to rapid and sophisticated analysis of emerging drug safety signals in study populations totalling over 40 million.

Background: Sacubitril/valsartan (SV) is a novel and effective therapy for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Despite several sex-specific particularities that may influence drug effects, there has been no prior study evaluating the safety of SV in women with HFrEF in the “real-world.” Methods: We performed a literature search to identify observational studies evaluating SV. We contacted all authors to obtain sex-specific data on major adverse outcomes. We compared all-cause and cardiovascular (CV) deaths, heart failure hospitalizations, hyperkalemia, and hypotension in men and women. Results: We identified five cohort studies enrolling 8,981 patients; 6,092 men (67.8%) and 2,889 women (32.2%). The mean age was 67 years in both sexes. The rates for all-cause mortality, CV mortality, heart failure hospitalizations, hypotension, and hyperkalemia were similar between women and men. Although the unadjusted aggregate rates of all-cause and CV mortalities were numerically higher in men than in women, these differences did not reach statistical differences. Conclusion: Our meta-analysis showed similar rates of major adverse events in men and women with HFrEF treated with SV. Larger observational studies with longer duration and a higher number of women are needed to confirm the long-term safety of SV in women in the clinical practice. Résumé: Contexte: Le sacubitril/valsartan (SV) est un médicament novateur et efficace contre l’insuffisance cardiaque à fraction d’éjection réduite (ICFER). Malgré le fait que plusieurs particularités sexospécifiques peuvent influencer les effets du médicament, aucune étude préalable n’a été menée pour évaluer l’innocuité du SV chez les femmes atteintes d’ICFER dans la ''vraie vie''. Méthodologie: Nous avons effectué une recherche de la littérature pour recenser les études observationnelles évaluant le SV Nous avons communiqué avec tous les auteurs pour obtenir des données sexospécifiques sur les principaux issus défavorables. Nous avons comparé les données sur les décès toutes causes confondues et les décès d’origine cardiovasculaire (CV), les hospitalisations pour cause d’insuffisance cardiaque, l’hyperkaliémie et l’hypotension tant chez les hommes que chez les femmes. Résultats: Nous avons recensé cinq études de cohortes auxquelles ont participé 8 981 patients, soit 6 092 hommes (67,8 %) et 2 889 femmes (32,2 %). L’âge moyen était de 67 ans chez les patients des deux sexes. Les taux de décès toutes causes confondues, de décès d’origine CV, d’hospitalisation pour cause d’insuffisance cardiaque, d’hypotension et d’hyperkaliémie chez les femmes étaient similaires à ceux notés chez les hommes. Les taux globaux non ajustés de décès toutes causes confondues et de décès d’origine CV étaient numériquement plus élevés chez les hommes que chez les femmes, mais il n’y avait pas de différence sur le plan statistique. Conclusion: Notre méta-analyse a mis en évidence des taux similaires d’événements indésirables majeurs chez les hommes et chez les femmes atteints d’ICFER traités par le SV. Des études observationnelles à plus grande échelle avec de plus longue durée et un nombre plus élevé de femmes devront être menées pour confirmer l’innocuité à long terme du SV en pratique clinique chez les femmes.

Ni- and Rh-based structured catalysts were prepared by electrosynthesis of hydrotalcite-type compounds on a FeCrAlY foam, followed by calcination. The effect of the electrosynthesis conditions on both the properties of the film coating and the catalytic activity was investigated. The coating growth and the morphology of the final catalytic layer were controlled by the applied potential and deposition time. By tuning the deposition parameters, it was possible to prepare Ni- and Rh-based catalysts which were very active in the steam reforming and catalytic partial oxidation of methane.

The deposition of vanadia on silica and titania/silica supports was achieved by chemisorption of a reactive vanadium precursor (VO(O-Pr i ) 3 ) onto surface hydroxyl groups of the mentioned supports. This method was also used for the preparation of the (TiO 2 /SiO 2 ) support by grafting tetra-isopropoxide on the silica. A detailed study of the chemical adsorption of vanadyl alkoxide on the surface of the TiO 2 /SiO 2 support was carried out. The influence of this preparation method on the surface structure, acidic properties and catalytic activity was demonstrated by examining also the corresponding conventionally impregnated catalysts. The catalysts were characterized by chemical analysis, BET, TPD, RAMAN and XPS spectroscopies and tested in the ODH of methanol to formaldehyde. The main findings of this work showed that the surface dispersion of vanadia species is an important parameter to obtain good performances both in terms of activity and selectivity.

Louvain La Neuve, Belgio