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Background The use of chemotherapy to manage newly diagnosed low grade glioma (LGG) was first introduced in the 1980s. One randomised trial has studied two- versus four-drug regimens with a duration of 12 months of treatment after resection. Methods Within the European comprehensive treatment strategy for childhood LGG, the International Society of Paediatric Oncology–Low Grade Glioma (SIOP LGG) Committee launched a randomised trial involving 118 institutions and 11 countries to investigate the addition of etoposide (100 mg/m 2 , days 1, 2 & 3) to a four-course induction of vincristine (1.5 mg/m 2 × 10 wkly) and carboplatin (550 mg/m 2 q 3 weekly) as part of 18-month continuing treatment programme. Patients were recruited after imaging diagnosis, resection or biopsy with progressive disease/symptoms. Some 497 newly diagnosed patients (M/F 231/266; median age 4.26 years (interquartile range (IQR) 2.02–7.06)) were randomised to receive vincristine carboplatin (VC) (n = 249) or VC plus etoposide (VCE) during induction (n = 248), stratified by age and tumour site. Findings No differences between the two arms were found in term of survival and radiological response. Response and non-progression rates at 24 weeks for VC and VCE, were 46% versus 41%, and 93% versus 91% respectively; 5-year Progression-Free Survival (PFS) and Overall Survival (OS) were 46% (StDev 3.5) versus 45% (StDev 3.5) and 89% (StDev 2.1) versus 89% (StDev 2.1) respectively. Age and diencephalic syndrome are adverse clinical risk factors for PFS and OS. 5-year OS for patients in early progression at week 24 were 46% (StDev 13.8) and 49% (StDev 16.5) in the two arms, respectively. Interpretation The addition of etoposide to VC did not improve PFS or OS. High non-progression rates at 24 weeks justify retaining VC as standard first-line therapy. Infants with diencephalic syndrome and early progression need new treatments to be tested. Future trials should use neurological/visual and toxicity outcomes and be designed to discriminate between the impact on disease outcomes of ‘duration of therapy’ and ‘age at stopping therapy’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Privatization and fiscal deficits have been linked theoretically as emerging market countries completed transitions from command to market-based economies. This study examines the joint relationships among relative fiscal deficits, privatization, and exogenous factors for twenty-five Central and Eastern European emerging market countries. Pooled regression models suggest that increased privatization does not reduce fiscal deficits, but fiscal deficits increase as privatization increases over time. These effects are dependent upon the set of countries considered and the privatization measure employed. There is limited support for the hypothesis that privatization is increased when fiscal deficits decline for the nine early privatizers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faecal contamination of bivalve molluscan shellfish (BMS) can lead to infections from enteric pathogens if consumed. Across Europe, the faecal indicator bacteria Escherichia coli , is used to determine contamination of BMS harvesting areas. The reference most probable number (MPN) method for E. coli in BMS takes around 48 h from sample receipt to result. In this study, an alternative method was developed in which the final, E. coli confirmation step in the MPN method (usually carried out on chromogenic TBX agar) was replaced by presence/absence real-time PCR (qPCR). This qPCR-MPN method was directly compared with the reference TBX-MPN method using 194 BMS samples consisting of mussels (Mytilus spp.), Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) and common cockles (Cerastoderma edule). The qPCR-MPN method correlated positively with the TBX-MPN method (Kendall's tau coefficient = 0.812). However, the strength of this correlation varied between BMS species, with mussels having the poorest correlation (0.677) followed by Pacific oysters (0.795) and common cockles (0.890). There were some samples for which the difference between the two methods was higher than might be expected by statistical probability alone. Variations in the way in which the two confirmation methods work may account for much of this variation. This method may serve as an ad hoc, rapid assessment method that is complementary to the official reference method and could be easily implemented in many official control laboratories. • Rapid, qPCR-based MPN method for E. coli enumeration in bivalves was developed. • An internal amplification control was developed and was vital for reliable results. • The qPCR-MPN method compares well with the reference MPN method. • Some improvements to the method may be required and are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rigid tools can confer advantages at certain stages of manufacturing off-axis mirror segments, but the misfit due to surface asphericity and asymmetry poses constraints on their application. Types of misfit are classified and, using least squares, the best-fit tool forms with different distances from the pole of the parent asphere are calculated. The outer mirror segment for the European extremely large telescope is taken as a case-study, assuming a rigid tool size of 150 mm. A simple independent approximation validates the calculation. A close parallel is wavefront misfit in subaperture interferometry, which is also considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of the project was to identify risk factors associated with visual progression and treatment indications in pediatric patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 associated optic pathway glioma (NF1-OPG)., Methods: A multidisciplinary expert group consisting of ophthalmologists, pediatric neuro-oncologists, neurofibromatosis specialists, and neuro-radiologists involved in therapy trials assembled a cohort of children with NF1-OPG from 6 European countries with complete clinical, imaging, and visual outcome datasets. Using methods developed during a consensus workshop, visual and imaging data were reviewed by the expert team and analyzed to identify associations between factors at diagnosis with visual and imaging outcomes., Results: Eighty-three patients (37 males, 46 females, mean age 5.1 ± 2.6 y; 1-13.1 y) registered in the European treatment trial SIOP LGG-2004 (recruited 2004-2012) were included. They were either observed or treated (at diagnosis/after follow-up).In multivariable analysis, factors present at diagnosis associated with adverse visual outcomes included: multiple visual signs and symptoms (adjusted odds ratio [adjOR]: 8.33; 95% CI: 1.9-36.45), abnormal visual behavior (adjOR: 4.15; 95% CI: 1.20-14.34), new onset of visual symptoms (adjOR: 4.04; 95% CI: 1.26-12.95), and optic atrophy (adjOR: 3.73; 95% CI: 1.13-12.53). Squint, posterior visual pathway tumor involvement, and bilateral pathway tumor involvement showed borderline significance. Treatment appeared to reduce tumor size but improved vision in only 10/45 treated patients. Children with visual deterioration after primary observation are more likely to improve with treatment than children treated at diagnosis., Conclusions: The analysis identified the importance of symptomatology, optic atrophy, and history of vision loss as predictive factors for poor visual outcomes in children with NF1-OPG., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Neuro-Oncology.)