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In the current context of globalization, firms have concentrated their efforts on the development of international brands. As a result, international brand portfolios have been restructured, and many successful local brands have been eliminated. This article's objective is to improve the understanding of local brand differences and competitive advantages relative to international brands. To achieve this, the authors reanalyzed the Young & Rubicam database Brand Asset Valuator and examined more than 744 brands across the four largest countries in Europe: the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Italy. The authors discuss the managerial implications of the findings for international marketers as they develop their ideal international brand portfolios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine and compare the clinical characteristics and treatment of youth with type 2 diabetes (T2D) in two registries: one in Europe and one in the United States. Methods: Youth with onset of T2D at 10 to 18 years of age with current age <20 years and an office visit after diabetes duration >1 year were identified in the European (Prospective Diabetes Follow‐up, DPV) and the United States (Pediatric Diabetes Consortium, PDC) databases. Demographic, physical and clinical characteristics and treatment at diagnosis as well as physical characteristics, treatment, laboratory data, and diabetes adverse events at most recent visit were analyzed from both registries. Results: At diagnosis, the majority were female and obese; 70% of DPV vs 34% of PDC youth were diagnosed by targeted diabetes testing. PDC youth were younger, 12 vs 13 years (P < 0.001), had a greater body mass index‐SDS, 3.07 vs 2.74 (P < 0.001), a higher hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), 9.9% vs 7.1% (P < 0.001), were more likely to present in DKA, 7.5% vs 1.3% (P < 0.001) and more likely to be treated with insulin, 62% vs 32% (P < 0.001); insulin treatment difference was not significant when adjusted for HbA1c. At follow‐up, DPV youth had shorter diabetes duration, 2.1 vs 3.2 years (P < 0.001), lower HbA1c, 6.5% vs 7.8% (P < 0.001), were less likely to be treated with insulin, 36% vs 56%, (P < 0.001), and were more likely to have dyslipidemia and hypertension than PDC youth. PDC youth had a higher rate of microalbuminuria. Conclusions: Both DPV and PDC youth have multiple risks for diabetes complications. Understanding reasons for persistently higher HbA1c in PDC youth requires further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Our aim was to determine the prevalence of tuberculosis (TB), the number needed to screen (NNS), and the diagnostic accuracy of chest X-ray (CXR) screening to detect active pulmonary TB during the 2015 European refugee crisis.Materials and Methods: We evaluated data of all refugees who underwent CXR screening in a single-centre of one German metropolitan area in 2015. We determined the prevalence of TB, NNS, and accuracy of CXR to detect active pulmonary TB. Reference method for active TB was the database of all definite TB cases registered at the Department of Public Health.Results: A total of 17,487 immigrants underwent single-centre CXR screening in 2015; prevalence of definite pulmonary TB was 0.103%. The NNS for detecting one case of active pulmonary TB was 1749. CXR had a sensitivity of 55.6% [95% confidence interval (CI) 30.8-78.5%) and a specificity 98.3% (CI 98.1-98.5%) to reveal one case of active TB.Conclusion: Our single-centre study indicates that chest X-ray screening for TB during the 2015 European refugee crisis was of low yield due the low prevalence of TB and high number needed to screen, thus implicating the need for improved screening algorithms adapted to the overwhelming number of refugees.Key Points: • Prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) among refugees in 2015 was low (0.103%). • The number needed to screen to detect one case of active pulmonary TB was 1749. • Tuberculosis X-ray screening resulted in a low sensitivity and high specificity. • Tuberculosis X-ray screening during the European refugee crisis is of low yield. • Improved screening algorithms are needed due to the overwhelming the number of refugees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the demographics, injury patterns, and outcomes following major trauma between Alpine skiing, snowboarding, and sledding winter sports. Methods: An international population-based prospective trauma database (TraumaRegister DGU) was analyzed for demographic data, types and severity of injuries [body regions, Injury Severity Score (ISS)], early physiology [Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), blood pressure, body temperature], rescue modality, surgical care, length of stay, and major complications (shock, multiple organ failure mortality). Participating countries included Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Finland, Slovenia, Belgium, Luxembourg, and The Netherlands. Results: A total of 243 winter sport athletes with major trauma were identified (1993-2012), and subjects were divided into Alpine skiers ( n = 174), snowboarders ( n = 29), and sledders ( n = 40). Athletes were predominantly male and presented hypothermic at emergency room arrival, despite a large proportion of air rescue (77 %). Alpine skiing was associated with higher injury severity (ISS 20.8 ± 14.0, p = 0.010) when compared with snowboarding (ISS 18.7 ± 14.0) and sledding (ISS 13.8 ± 9.5). Snowboarding was associated with the highest pre-hospital intubation rate (40.9 %, p = 0.007), despite comparable GCS values and prevalence of loss of consciousness at scene. The injury patterns were different between the three groups. Skiing was associated with head (47.1 %), chest (40.2 %, p = 0.047), and spinal injuries (40.9 %, p = 0.022). Snowboarding was associated with the highest percentage of upper extremity trauma. Sledders had the highest prevalence of facial and lower extremity trauma. Conclusions: Alpine skiing, snowboarding, and sledding result in different injury patterns and affect various age groups. Our data suggest an increased risk for chest and spinal injuries in Alpine skiers. Due to high-energy injury mechanisms, all three winter sports involve a risk of severe multiple trauma. While all athlete groups required a high rate of emergency surgery procedures, the observed in-hospital mortality from winter sports remains low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on the impact of multimorbidity on the frequency of participation of older people in Europe in social leisure activities. Topics include the use of data from the European Project on Osteoarthritis (EPOSA), the concept of multimorbidity, and the individual and environmental factors that predict social leisure activity participation among the elderly. It also discusses the continuity theory of Robert Atchley.

Purpose: The European 'Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence' (HELENA) project evaluated two different approaches to harmonize the matching procedures between 24-h recall data and food composition databases. In the first approach, the 24-h recall data were linked to the local/national food composition databases using standardized procedures, while in the second approach, the 24-h recall data were linked to the German BLS database which includes a larger food list. The aim of this paper was to compare the intakes of energy and eight nutrient components calculated via both approaches. Methods: Two non-consecutive 24-h recalls were performed in 1268 adolescents. Energy, carbohydrates, proteins, fat, fiber, water, alcohol, calcium and vitamin C were calculated via the two approaches at individual level. Paired samples t test and Pearson's correlations were used to compare the mean intakes of energy and the eight mentioned nutrients and to investigate the possible associations between the two approaches. Results: Small but significant differences were found between the intakes of energy and the eight food components when comparing both approaches. Very strong and strong correlations (0.70-0.95) were found between both methods for all nutrients. Conclusion: The dietary intakes obtained via the two different linking procedures are highly correlated for energy and the eight nutrients under study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides information from various aspects of the field of international serials and electronic resource management. Abstracts for several research articles are included on topics such as scholarly electronic books (e-books) and open source data in academic publishing. Additionally, awards and grants presented by the American Library Association (ALA) in 2011 are highlighted along with notes on the reorganization of the United Kingdom Serials Group (UKSG). Brief information regarding the 2012 conference for the UKSG and a list of online resources related to serials librarians are also included.

The article discusses research on book bindings and compares two databases that have been created as reservoirs of information on that research. The purpose of studying book binding is sketched as an aesthetic avocation and a key to a work's origin and provenance. The author evaluates "Einbanddatenbank," the major German database on the subject, and compares it to smaller German and European electronic book binding information repositories.

The article presents information on data provided by the Forschungsinformations system Sozialwis senschaften (FORIS) and Sozialwissenschaftlichen Literaturinformationssystem (SOLIS) databases for the period between 2001 and 2004 related to parliamentary research in Central and Eastern Europe and in Germany. FORIS contains a survey of social science research projects in the Federal Republic of Germany. It gives detailed information on all work with a theoretical and/or empirical orientation, commissioned research, expert reports, institute projects, self-financed or funded research, habilitations, and dissertations, which scientists are currently working on, planning, or have already completed. SOLIS contains lists of scholarly work published in German, including, monographs, articles, papers in volumes, "grey literature," accompanied by bibliographic information and abstracts. Some of the research projects in the FORIS database are: "Die Abgeordneten im Bundestag und in den Landtagen: Einschätzungen und Meinungen," by Florian Wenzel; and "Politische Karrieren Thüringer Parlamentarier und Parlamentarierinnen," by Katrin Hochheiser.

Background: In accordance the WHO framework of health system functions and by using the indicators collected within the EURO-HEALTHY project, this work aims to contribute to the discussion on the classification of EU health systems.Methods: Three methods were used in this article: factor analysis, cluster analysis and descriptive analysis; data were mainly collected from the WHO and Eurostat databases.Results: The most relevant result is the proposed classification of health systems into the following clusters: Austria-Germany, Central and Northern Countries, Southern Countries, Eastern Countries 'A' and Eastern Countries 'B'.Conclusions: The proposed typology contributes to the discussion about how to classify health systems; the typology of EU health systems allows comparisons of characteristics and health system performance across clusters and policy assessment and policy recommendation within each cluster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]