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The European Commission has become a major player in education and training in member countries and beyond. For many years education did not feature on the Commission's agenda but, following the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 and the Lisbon Strategy in 2000, it has become an integral part of the Commission's work. Its specific remit is to promote cooperation with national governments so as to improve the provision of education and training, and to administer quite substantial funding programmes. Much progress has been made but many challenges remain to be met before one can speak meaningfully of a European education space.

The farm-gate value of extensive beef production from the northern Gulf region of Queensland, Australia, is ~$150 million annually. Poor profitability and declining equity are common issues for most beef businesses in the region. The beef industry relies primarily on native pasture systems and studies continue to report a decline in the condition and productivity of important land types in the region. Governments and Natural Resource Management groups are investing significant resources to restore landscape health and productivity. Fundamental community expectations also include broader environmental outcomes such as reducing beef industry greenhouse gas emissions. Whole-of-business analysis results are presented from 18 extensive beef businesses (producers) to highlight the complex social and economic drivers of management decisions that impact on the natural resource and environment. Business analysis activities also focussed on improving enterprise performance. Profitability, herd performance and greenhouse emission benchmarks are documented and discussed.

Hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) results in increased iron absorption and subsequent deposition in tissue. This condition occurs predominantly in individuals of Northern European and Celtic origin with Ireland having one of the highest allele frequencies in the world. This study examines the hypothesis that homozygosity for either the C282Y or H63D mutations in the HFE gene may be associated with aseptic loosening following total hip arthroplasty (THA). Two groups of individuals were screened for the C282Y and H63D mutations associated with HH. Group 1 were individuals who had undergone primary hip arthroplasty and group 2 were individuals who had undergone revision hip arthroplasty for aseptic loosening. Exclusion criteria included rheumatoid or other inflammatory arthropathies and revision due to causes other than aseptic loosening. Significantly more patients in the revision THA group were homozygous for the C282Y genotype (P = 0.014). Aseptic loosening occurred earlier in these patients (P = 0.009), in particular in the patients who had clinical signs of hemochromatosis. No association was seen with the H63D mutation and revision THA. The incidence of HH in the group of primary THA patients was no higher than the background incidence. Patients who require primary THA and who are homozygous for the C282Y mutation have an increased risk of developing aseptic loosening, leading to revision THA. Moreover C282Y homozygosity appears to be associated with earlier aseptic loosening than in individuals without the C282Y mutation.

This paper reports a field trial transmission carrying live voice, data, and video traffic without using Raman amplification and regeneration across an ultra-long haul DWDM transport system of installed standard side mode fibre (SSMF) using conventional EDFAs only.

Introduction EUS-FNA as an investigative technique for pancreatic lesions and deep-seated lymphadenopathy is now well established. We carried out an audit of our practice, in particular the decrease in insufficient or non-diagnostic specimens when adequacy is assessed at the time of procedure. Aims/Background A total of 91 patients underwent EUS-FNA over a one-year period at the Belfast City Hospital where there are 2 weekly sessions performed by Gastrointestinal endoscopists on consecutive days one of which is attended by a consultant cytopathologist +/− cytotechnician for on-site cytological assessment. Method The cytology reports from those patients who underwent an EUS-FNA in our institution were retreived from the files of the Cytology Department, and assessed for diagnosis, adequacy, and necessity for further investigations. Results Overall, 19/94 (20.2%) of the cases were reported as benign while 31/94 (33%) were malignant. 9.5% (9/94) were equivocal and 20% of samples were inadequate for diagnosis. However the inadequate sample rate fell from 33% to 7% when one session was attended by cytologist assessing the sample on-site. Three quarters of the cases were of abdominal lesions including a majority of pancreatic masses and surrounding lymph nodes. 2 were of intramural gastric and 2 liver lesions. The remaining quarter were of mediastinal lesions or lymphadenopathy. 5 cases of granulomatous lymphadenitis and 1 case of malignant lymphoma were diagnosed cytologically. Conclusion EUS-FNA is a well-tolerated investigative technique to obtain a tissue diagnosis for further management decisions but the presence of on-site cytological assessment to provide immediate feedback ensures a higher diagnostic yield and increases the cost-effectiveness of the procedure.