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The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic exposed multiple shortcomings in national and international capacity to respond to an outbreak of infectious disease. See Table S1 for data by country. gl Some countries reported disruptions or changes of data procedures related to the pandemic that may impact on quality or completeness, particularly for preliminary data. In these cases, we asked for information about the availability of data to generate stillbirth, preterm birth, low birthweight and caesarean rates, as they are often available earlier than data on neonatal or infant deaths. When several sources were used to generate Euro-Peristat data, we requested information on birth data that could be used to generate stillbirth, preterm and low birthweight rates (as opposed to neonatal or infant deaths, which may become available later). [Extracted from the article]

Multiple myeloma is a bone marrow neoplasia with an incidence of 6/100,000/year in Europe. While the disease remains incurable, the development of novel treatments such as autologous stem cell transplantation, proteasome inhibitors and monoclonal antibodies has led to an increasing subset of patients living with long-term myeloma. However, more than two thirds of patients suffer from bone pain, often described as severe, and knowledge on the pain mechanisms and its effect on their health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is limited. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms of myeloma bone disease, the currently available anti-myeloma treatments and the lessons learnt from clinical studies regarding HRQoL in myeloma patients. Moreover, we discuss the mechanisms of cancer-induced bone pain and the knowledge that animal models of myeloma-induced bone pain can provide to identify novel analgesic targets. To date, information regarding bone pain and HRQoL in myeloma patients is still scarce and an effort should be made to use standardised questionnaires to assess patient-reported outcomes that allow inter-study comparisons of the available clinical data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Monitoring severe acute maternal morbidity (SAMM) appears essential for optimising care and informing health care policies, especially given changes in obstetric practices and mother profiles. International comparisons can identify areas where improvement is needed, but the comparability of indicators must be evaluated., Objective: To assess the feasibility of monitoring SAMM using common definitions from hospital discharge databases across Europe., Methods: We used hospital discharge data in eight countries (2 826 868 deliveries) to identify women with SAMM among all hospitalisations of women of reproductive age admitted for antenatal or delivery care. Five SAMM indicators were investigated: eclampsia, septicaemia, hysterectomy, hysterectomy associated with a diagnosis of obstetric haemorrhage, and red blood cell (RBC) transfusion associated with a diagnosis of obstetric haemorrhage. Between-country variation was described, by the ratio of the highest to lowest rates, while external validation was assessed by comparing with population-based studies on maternal morbidity., Results: Ratios for hysterectomy and red blood cell (RBC) transfusion in the context of obstetric haemorrhage were 1:2.1 and 1:3.5, respectively. High values of hysterectomy and low values of transfusion were both consistent with high maternal mortality from haemorrhage (France, Italy, Portugal). Ratios across countries were relatively low for eclampsia (1:3.4) but very high for septicaemia (1:22.5). Compared to population-based morbidity estimates, eclampsia was over-reported in hospital databases whereas the two indicators of severe haemorrhage had good external validity., Conclusions: In association with diagnosis codes indicating obstetric haemorrhage, hysterectomy and RBC transfusion appear to be good candidates for surveillance of maternal morbidity in Europe., (© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Measurement of BCR activator of RhoGEF and GTPase -ABL proto-oncogene 1, non-receptor tyrosine kinase (BCR-ABL1) mRNA levels by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RTqPCR) has been critical to treatment protocols and clinical trials in chronic myeloid leukaemia; however, interlaboratory variation remains a significant issue. Reverse transcriptase droplet digital PCR (RTddPCR) has shown potential to improve testing but a large-scale interlaboratory study is required to definitively establish this. In the present study, 10 BCR-ABL1-positive samples with levels ranging from molecular response (MR) 1·0 -MR 5·0 were tested by 23 laboratories using RTddPCR with the QXDX BCR-ABL %IS kit. A subset of participants tested the samples using RTqPCR. All 23 participants using RTddPCR detected BCR-ABL1 in all samples to MR 4·0 . Detection rates for deep-response samples were 95·7% at MR 4·5 , 78·3% at MR 4·7 and 87·0% at MR 5·0 . Interlaboratory coefficient of variation was indirectly proportional to BCR-ABL1 level ranging from 29·3% to 69·0%. Linearity ranged from 0·9330 to 1·000 (average 0·9936). When results were compared for the 11 participants who performed both RTddPCR and RTqPCR, RTddPCR showed a similar limit of detection to RTqPCR with reduced interlaboratory variation and better assay linearity. The ability to detect deep responses with RTddPCR, matched with an improved linearity and reduced interlaboratory variation will allow improved patient management, and is of particular importance for future clinical trials focussed on achieving and maintaining treatment-free remission., (© 2021 The Authors. British Journal of Haematology published by British Society for Haematology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background Despite concerns about worsening pregnancy outcomes resulting from healthcare restrictions, economic difficulties and increased stress during the COVID-19 pandemic, preterm birth (PTB) rates declined in some countries in 2020, while stillbirth rates appeared stable. Like other shocks, the pandemic may have exacerbated existing socioeconomic disparities in pregnancy, but this remains to be established. Our objective was to investigate changes in PTB and stillbirth by socioeconomic status (SES) in European countries. Methods The Euro-Peristat network implemented this study within the Population Health Information Research Infrastructure (PHIRI) project. A common data model was developed to collect aggregated tables from routine birth data for 2015–2020. SES was based on mother's educational level or area-level deprivation/maternal occupation if education was unavailable and harmonized into low, medium and high SES. Country-specific relative risks (RRs) of PTB and stillbirth for March to December 2020, adjusted for linear trends from 2015 to 2019, by SES group were pooled using random effects meta-analysis. Results Twenty-one countries provided data on perinatal outcomes by SES. PTB declined by an average 4% in 2020 {pooled RR: 0.96 [95% confidence intervals (CIs): 0.94–0.97]} with similar estimates across all SES groups. Stillbirths rose by 5% [RR: 1.05 (95% CI: 0.99–1.10)], with increases of between 3 and 6% across the three SES groups, with overlapping confidence limits. Conclusions PTB decreases were similar regardless of SES group, while stillbirth rates rose without marked differences between groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To estimate the frequency of prolonged pregnancy and study its associated maternal morbidity., Methods: Abstracts and articles were searched using Pubmed and Cochrane Library., Results: Nearly 15% of pregnant women in France are concerned by prolonged pregnancy (≥41(+0) weeks), whereas post-term pregnancy (≥42(+0) SA) only concern 1% of them. The post-term pregnancy frequency is heterogeneous between Europe and United States. It varies between 0.5% and 10% (EL2). In Europe, Scandinavian countries present discrepancies with high proportions of post-term pregnancies between 5 and 7%. These observations identified time variations and variations between countries. They can be explained by two factors: pregnancy datation by ultrasound and the evolution of labor induction practices. Moreover, post-term pregnancy constitute a risk factor of maternal complications as: cesarean section, postpartum haemorrhages, infections and perineum lacerations (EL2). On the contrary, limited conclusions about associations between prolonged pregnancies and labor inductions are due to insufficient data and the lack of high quality studies. Nowadays, we still ignore if labor inductions in the particular context of prolonged pregnancies are associated or not to an increase of maternal morbidities., Conclusion: Prolonged pregnancy is associated with an excess of maternal morbidity., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Satellite-derived agricultural drought indices can provide a complementary perspective of terrestrial vegetation trends. In addition, their integration for drought assessments under future climates is beneficial for providing more comprehensive assessments. However, satellite-derived drought indices are only available for the Earth observation era. In this study, we aim to improve the agricultural drought assessments under future climate change by applying deep learning (DL) to predict satellite-derived vegetation indices from a regional climate simulation. The simulation is produced by the Terrestrial Systems Modeling Platform (TSMP) and performed in a free evolution mode over Europe. TSMP simulations incorporate variables from underground to the top of the atmosphere (ground-to-atmosphere; G2A) and are widely used for research studies related to water cycle and climate change. We leverage these simulations for long-term forecasting and DL to map the forecast variables into normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and brightness temperature (BT) images that are not part of the simulation model. These predicted images are then used to derive different vegetation and agricultural drought indices, namely NDVI anomaly, BT anomaly, vegetation condition index (VCI), thermal condition index (TCI), and vegetation health index (VHI). The developed DL model could be integrated with data assimilation and used for downstream tasks, i.e., for estimating the NDVI and BT for periods where no satellite data are available and for modeling the impact of extreme events on vegetation responses with different climate change scenarios. Moreover, our study could be used as a complementary evaluation framework for TSMP-based climate change simulations. To ensure reliability and to assess the model's applicability to different seasons and regions, we provide an analysis of model biases and uncertainties across different regions over the pan-European domain. We further provide an analysis about the contribution of the input variables from the TSMP model components to ensure a better understanding of the model prediction. A comprehensive evaluation of the long-term TSMP simulation using reference remote sensing data showed sufficiently good agreements between the model predictions and observations. While model performance varies on the test set between different climate regions, it achieves a mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.027 and 1.90 K with coefficient of determination (R2) scores of 0.88 and 0.92 for the NDVI and BT, respectively, at 0.11° resolution for sub-seasonal predictions. In summary, we demonstrate the feasibility of using DL on a TSMP simulation to synthesize NDVI and BT satellite images, which can be used for agricultural drought forecasting. Our implementation is publicly available at the project page (https://hakamshams.github.io/Focal-TSMP , last access: 4 April 2024). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigate applying deep learning (DL) models on a regional climate simulation produced by the Terrestrial Systems Modelling Platform (TSMP Ground to Atmosphere G2A) for vegetation health modeling and agricultural drought assessment. The TSMP simulation is performed in a free mode and the DL model is used in an intermediate step to synthesize Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Brightness Temperature (BT) images from the TSMP simulation over Europe. These predicted images are then used to derive different vegetation and drought indices like NDVI anomaly, BT anomaly, Vegetation Condition Index (VCI), Thermal Condition Index (TCI), and Vegetation Health Index (VHI). To ensure reliability and to assess the model applicability with different seasonality and spatial variability, we provide an analysis of model biases and uncertainties across different regions over the Pan-Europe domain. We further provide an analysis about the contribution of the input variables from the TSMP model components to ensure a better understanding of the model prediction. A comprehensive evaluation on the long-term TSMP using reference remote sensing data showed sufficiently good agreements between the model predictions and observations. While model performance varies on the test set between different climate regions, it achieves a mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.027 and 1.90 K° with coefficient of determination (R2) scores of 0.88 and 0.92 for NDVI and BT, respectively, at 0.11° resolution for sub-seasonal predictions. Our study could be used as a complimentary evaluation framework for climate change simulations with TSMP. Moreover, the developed DL model could be integrated with data assimilation and used for down-stream tasks, i.e., modelling the impact of extreme events on vegetation responses with different climate change scenarios. In summary, we demonstrate the feasibility of using DL on a TSMP simulation to synthesize NDVI and BT, which can be used for agricultural drought forecasting. Our implementation is publicly available at the project page (https://hakamshams.github.io/Focal-TSMP). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Persistence is an important concept in meteorology. It refers to surface weather or the atmospheric circulation either remaining in approximately the same state (quasi-stationarity) or repeatedly occupying the same state (recurrence) over some prolonged period of time. Persistence can be found at many different timescales; however, sub-seasonal to seasonal (S2S) timescales are especially relevant in terms of impacts and atmospheric predictability. For these reasons, S2S persistence has been attracting increasing attention from the scientific community. The dynamics responsible for persistence and their potential evolution under climate change are a notable focus of active research. However, one important challenge facing the community is how to define persistence from both a qualitative and quantitative perspective. Despite a general agreement on the concept, many different definitions and perspectives have been proposed over the years, among which it is not always easy to find one's way. The purpose of this review is to present and discuss existing concepts of weather persistence, associated methodologies and physical interpretations. In particular, we call attention to the fact that persistence can be defined as a global or as a local property of a system, with important implications in terms of methods and impacts. We also highlight the importance of timescale and similarity metric selection and illustrate some of the concepts using the example of summertime atmospheric circulation over western Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The progress in chemical analytics and understanding of pesticide dynamics in surface waters allows establishing robust data on compounds with frequent exceedances of quality standards. The current chemical, temporal, and spatial coverage of the pesticide monitoring campaigns differs strongly between European countries. A questionnaire revealed differences in monitoring strategies in seven selected European countries; Nordic countries prioritize temporal coverage, while others focus on spatial coverage. Chemical coverage has increased, especially for non-polar classes like synthetic pyrethroids. Sweden combines monitoring data with agricultural practices for derived quantities, while the Netherlands emphasizes spatial coverage to trace contamination sources. None of the EU member states currently has established a process for linking chemical surface water monitoring data with regulatory risk assessment, while Switzerland has recently established a legally defined feedback loop. Due to their design and objectives, most strategies do not capture concentration peaks, especially 2-week composite samples, but also grab samples. Nevertheless, for substances that appear problematic in many data sets, the need for action is evident even without harmonization of monitoring programs. Harmonization would be beneficial, however, for cross-national assessment including risk reduction measures., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

In Europe, an increasing number of human milk banks (HMBs) collect donor human milk to feed preterm infants when their mother's milk is not available or not enough. Moreover, donor milk is a bridge to breastfeeding, with positive clinical and psychological advantages for both mother and infant. Italy, with 41 HMBs actively operating in 2022, has the highest number of HMBs in Europe. The process of human milk donation is complex, so activity of HMBs must be regulated according to well-established rules. The present recommendations have been prepared as a tool to standardize the organization, management, and procedures of HMBs operating in Italy and to determine the minimal essential requirements to establish new HMBs. This article covers all the aspects of human milk donation and human milk banking, including general recommendations, donor recruitment and screening, expression, handling and storage of donor human milk, milk screening, and milk treatment (pasteurization). A pragmatic approach was taken to drafting the recommendations. Items for which there was consensus or robust published evidence on which to base recommendations were included. When there were differences that could not be resolved by reference to published research, a statement of explanation based on the expert opinion of the authors (all members of the Italian Association of Human Milk Banks) was included. Implementation of these recommendations can contribute to promotion of breastfeeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess changes in caesarean section (CS) rates in Europe from 2015 to 2019 and utilise the Robson Ten Group Classification System (TGCS) to evaluate the contribution of different obstetric populations to overall CS rates and trends., Design: Observational study utilising routine birth registry data., Setting: A total of 28 European countries., Population: Births at ≥22 weeks of gestation in 2015 and 2019., Methods: Using a federated model, individual-level data from routine sources in each country were formatted to a common data model and transformed into anonymised, aggregated data., Main Outcome Measures: By country: overall CS rate. For TGCS groups (by country): CS rate, relative size, relative and absolute contribution to overall CS rate., Results: Among the 28 European countries, both the CS rates (2015, 16.0%-55.9%; 2019, 16.0%-52.2%) and the trends varied (from -3.7% to +4.7%, with decreased rates in nine countries, maintained rates in seven countries (≤ ± 0.2) and with increasing rates in 12 countries). Using the TGCS (for 17 countries), in most countries labour induction increased (groups 2a and 4a), whereas multiple pregnancies (group 8) decreased. In countries with decreasing overall CS rates, CS tended to decrease across all TGCS groups, whereas in countries with increasing rates, CS tended to increase in most groups. In countries with the greatest increase in CS rates (>1%), the absolute contributions of groups 1 (nulliparous term cephalic singletons, spontaneous labour), 2a and 4a (induction of labour), 2b and 4b (prelabour CS) and 10 (preterm cephalic singletons) to the overall CS rate tended to increase., Conclusions: The TGCS shows varying CS trends and rates among countries of Europe. Comparisons between European countries, particularly those with differing trends, could provide insight into strategies to reduce CS without clinical indication., (© 2023 The Authors. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background Stillbirth is a major public health problem, but measurement remains a challenge even in high-income countries. We compared routine stillbirth statistics in Europe reported by Eurostat with data from the Euro-Peristat research network. Methods We used data on stillbirths in 2015 from both sources for 31 European countries. Stillbirth rates per 1000 total births were analyzed by gestational age (GA) and birthweight groups. Information on termination of pregnancy at ≥22 weeks' GA was analyzed separately. Results Routinely collected stillbirth rates were higher than those reported by the research network. For stillbirths with a birthweight ≥500 g, the difference between the mean rates of the countries for Eurostat and Euro-Peristat data was 22% [4.4/1000, versus 3.5/1000, mean difference 0.9 with 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.8–1.0]. When using a birthweight threshold of 1000 g, this difference was smaller, 12% (2.9/1000, versus 2.5/1000, mean difference 0.4 with 95% CI 0.3–0.5), but substantial differences remained for individual countries. In Euro-Peristat, missing data on birthweight ranged from 0% to 29% (average 5.0%) and were higher than missing data for GA (0–23%, average 1.8%). Conclusions Routine stillbirth data for European countries in international databases are not comparable and should not be used for benchmarking or surveillance without careful verification with other sources. Recommendations for improvement include using a cut-off based on GA, excluding late terminations of pregnancy and linking multiple sources to improve the quality of national databases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the roles played by musicians in the activities of confraternities in the patronage of the arts in Europe. History of the Holy Name of Jesus guild; Social assistance provided by guilds; Source of income and provisions for religious activities.

To evaluate the origin, genetic diversity, and population structure of domesticated rabbits in Kenya, a 263-base pair region of mtDNA D-loop region of 111 rabbits sampled from Kakamega, Vihiga, and Bungoma counties in the western region, Laikipia and Nyandarua counties in the central region, and Kitui, Machakos, and Makueni in the eastern region of the country were analyzed. The average haplotype (0.40702) and nucleotide (0.01494) diversities observed were low, indicating low genetic diversity of domesticated rabbits in Kenya. This study resolved 5 unique haplotypes in the mtDNA D-loop region. A population genetic structure distinguishing Europe grouping and domesticated rabbits in Kenya was obtained on incorporating 32 known haplotypes. Domesticated rabbits in Kenya clustered together with rabbits from other geographic regions, suggesting common origin. The results suggested that the Kenyan domesticated rabbits may have originated from Europe. Integration of exotic breeds into breeding programmes could have contributed to the low genetic diversity. These results provide useful information for breeding and conservation decisions by the relevant stakeholders in the agriculture industry in Kenya. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of English medieval funerary practice have paid limited attention to the curation of human remains in charnel houses. Yet analysis of architectural, archaeological and documentary evidence, including antiquarian accounts, suggests that charnelling was more widespread in medieval England than has hitherto been appreciated, with many charnel houses dismantled at the sixteenth-century Reformation. The survival of a charnel house and its human remains at Rothwell, Northamptonshire permits a unique opportunity to analyse charnel practice at a medieval parish church. Employing architectural, geophysical and osteological analysis, we present a new contextualisation of medieval charnelling. We argue that the charnel house at Rothwell, a subterranean room constructed during the thirteenth century, may have been a particularly sophisticated example of an experiment born out of beliefs surrounding Purgatory. Our approach enables re-evaluation of the surviving evidence for charnel practice in England and enhances wider narratives of medieval charnelling across Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Robson's Ten Group Classification System (TGCS) creates clinically relevant sub-groups for monitoring caesarean birth rates. This study assesses whether this classification can be derived from routine data in Europe and uses it to analyse national caesarean rates., Design: Observational study using routine data., Setting: Twenty-seven EU member states plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and the UK., Population: All births at ≥22 weeks of gestational age in 2015., Methods: National statistical offices and medical birth registers derived numbers of caesarean births in TGCS groups., Main Outcome Measures: Overall caesarean rate, prevalence and caesarean rates in each of the TGCS groups., Results: Of 31 countries, 18 were able to provide data on the TGCS groups, with UK data available only from Northern Ireland. Caesarean birth rates ranged from 16.1 to 56.9%. Countries providing TGCS data had lower caesarean rates than countries without data (25.8% versus 32.9%, P = 0.04). Countries with higher caesarean rates tended to have higher rates in all TGCS groups. Substantial heterogeneity was observed, however, especially for groups 5 (previous caesarean section), 6, 7 (nulliparous/multiparous breech) and 10 (singleton cephalic preterm). The differences in percentages of abnormal lies, group 9, illustrate potential misclassification arising from unstandardised definitions., Conclusions: Although further validation of data quality is needed, using TGCS in Europe provides valuable comparator and baseline data for benchmarking and surveillance. Higher caesarean rates in countries unable to construct the TGCS suggest that effective routine information systems may be an indicator of a country's investment in implementing evidence-based caesarean policies., Tweetable Abstract: Many European countries can provide Robson's Ten-Group Classification to improve caesarean rate comparisons., (© 2021 The Authors. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The history of daily university life is increasingly garnering the attention of contemporary scholars. This paper focuses on providing a general estimate of the total expenses of a medieval European university student, as well as the proportions of each major expense item. Generally speaking, at medieval European universities, the various expenses for room and board, obtaining a degree, and tuition accounted for the majority of university student expenditures, while the high annual registration fees that students at modern universities pay at the start of term were nearly negligible in the medieval era. Furthermore, the expenses of university students varied by era, region, major, and social class. Universities often collected fees on the principle of wealth differentiation, thus allowing both rich and poor students access to approximately equal educational opportunities. Donations and financial assistance by religious and secular leaders and the wealthy also contributed to the students’ completion of a university education. It is clear that the overall reduction of fees was not the only path to allow poor students to enter university and complete their studies: this could also be achieved by mitigating some portion of the fees, or exempting poor students altogether. However, in medieval Europe, the costs of attending university were generally quite high, and the majority of university students were the scions of a wealthy minority. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Landslide early warning systems (EWSs) have to be implemented in areas with large risk for populations or infrastructures when classical structural remediation measures cannot be set up. This paper aims to gather experiences of existing landslide EWSs, with a special focus on practical requirements (e.g., alarm threshold values have to take into account the smallest detectable signal levels of deployed sensors before being established) and specific issues when dealing with system implementations. Within the framework of the SafeLand European project, a questionnaire was sent to about one-hundred institutions in charge of landslide management. Finally, we interpreted answers from experts belonging to 14 operational units related to 23 monitored landslides. Although no standard requirements exist for designing and operating EWSs, this review highlights some key elements, such as the importance of pre-investigation work, the redundancy and robustness of monitoring systems, the establishment of different scenarios adapted to gradual increasing of alert levels, and the necessity of confidence and trust between local populations and scientists. Moreover, it also confirms the need to improve our capabilities for failure forecasting, monitoring techniques and integration of water processes into landslide conceptual models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Please cite this paper as: Bouvier-Colle M, Mohangoo A, Gissler M, Novak-Antolic Z, Vutuc C, Szamotulska K, Zeitlin J for The Euro-Peristat Scientific Committee. What about the mothers? An analysis of maternal mortality and morbidity in perinatal health surveillance systems in Europe. BJOG 2012;119:880-890. Objective To assess capacity to develop routine monitoring of maternal health in the European Union using indicators of maternal mortality and severe morbidity. Design Analysis of aggregate data from routine statistical systems compiled by the EURO-PERISTAT project and comparison with data from national enquiries. Setting Twenty-five countries in the European Union and Norway. Population Women giving birth in participating countries in 2003 and 2004. Methods Application of a common collection of data by selecting specific International Classification of Disease codes from the 'Pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium' chapter. External validity was assessed by reviewing the results of national confidential enquiries and linkage studies. Main outcome measures Maternal mortality ratio, with distribution of specific obstetric causes, and severe acute maternal morbidity, which included: eclampsia, surgery and blood transfusion for obstetric haemorrhage, and intensive-care unit admission. Results In 22 countries that provided data, the maternal mortality ratio was 6.3 per 100 000 live births overall and ranged from 0 to 29.6. Under-ascertainment was evident from comparisons with studies that use enhanced identification of deaths. Furthermore, routine cause of death registration systems in countries with specific systems for audit reported higher maternal mortality ratio than those in countries without audits. For severe acute maternal morbidity, 16 countries provided data about at least one category of morbidity, and only three provided data for all categories. Reported values ranged widely (from 0.2 to 1.6 women with eclampsia per 1000 women giving birth and from 0.2 to 1.0 hysterectomies per 1000 women). Conclusions Currently available data on maternal mortality and morbidity are insufficient for monitoring trends over time in Europe and for comparison between countries. Confidential enquiries into maternal deaths are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Short abstracts are presented of historical articles of interest published primarily in 2009 in numerous journals, including "20th Century British History," "Anglo-Norman Studies," "Annales de Bretagne," and many others.

The Christian churches have considerably declined in popularity, power, and prestige over the twentieth century in Britain and Europe. This decline has stimulated many attempts to characterise the attitudes towards religion of people who are neither involved with organised religion nor consciously opposed to it. Grace Davie has founded one such effort on the concept of 'vicarious religion'. The idea of vicarious religion rests on two principles: that a minority of people are religious on behalf of a silent majority and that those in the majority appreciate their efforts. We agree that examples of the phenomenon can be found, but we question whether popular sympathy for religion provides evidence for this conjecture. We review the various illustrations provided by Davie and offer alternative readings that seem more plausible. We also argue that the trajectory of change in marginal religious involvement seriously weakens its ability to diminish the evidence of secularisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay is a critical historiographical overview of the ongoing debate about the role of the Protestant Reformation in the process of' the disenchantment of the world'. It considers the development of this thesis in the work of Max Weber and subsequent scholars, its links wit/i wider claims about the origins of modernity, and the challenges to this influential paradigm that have emerged in the last twenty-five years. Setting the literature on England within its wider European context, it explores the links between Protestantism and the transformation of assumptions about the sacred and the supernatural, and places renewed emphasis on the equivocal and ambiguous legacy left by the upheavals of/he sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Attention is also paid to the ways in which the Reformation converged with other intellectual, cultural political, and social developments which cumulatively brought about subtle, but decisive, transformations in individual and collective mentalities. It is suggested that thinking in terms of cycles of desacralization and resacralization may help to counteract the potential distortions of a narrative that emphasizes a linear path of development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Johnsons were a family of merchants who left behind an extensive body of correspondence, covering the period 1542–52, preserved in The National Archives. By 1542 the Johnsons and many of their social network were already ‘Protestant’, although when they converted and why is unknown. Through their letters we get a first-hand account of many of the events of the Reformation, both in England and Europe, and their authors’ opinions on them. Using the correspondence, which remains almost completely unknown, this article analyses the nature of their Protestantism within the context of the early Reformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SummaryInformation relating to disclosure of infection status in families affected by HIV and the existence of plans for the future social care of children with infected parents was collected as part of a larger survey on clinical and psychosocial service use of these families. Parents and alternative carers of HIV-affected children in follow-up in 10 paediatric centres from seven European countries were surveyed. A total of 182 questionnaires were returned: most (73%) were completed by parents, of whom 92% were HIV-infected. Of the 226 children cared for by the respondents, most (62%) were HIV-infected. Disclosure of both the child’s and the parent’s infection status was rare and found to be associated with child’s age in both cases. Infected children living with their parents were less likely to know their diagnosis than those living in alternative care. Uninfected parents and carers were significantly more likely to want professional help with disclosing to an infected child than infected parents. Infected parents also face difficult decisions regarding the issue of who will care for their children when they are unable to. Half of the infected parents had made long-term plans for their children’s future social care. European parents were more likely to have made such plans than those from elsewhere (mainly Africa) and parents with plans had known about their HIV infection for significantly longer than those without. Increasing numbers of vertically infected children are reaching adolescence as a result of improvements in the management of paediatric HIV infection. As both disclosure and planning for the future social care of HIV-affected children have been found to be strongly associated with child’s age, the changing epidemiology of paediatric HIV highlights the need for more information on these issues in order to support families more effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traces the origins of the dissolution of the monasteries in Europe. Tracing back to the suppressions of smaller houses authorized in 1528; Desirability of partial dissolution; Anti-clerical agitation of 1529; Dissolution for financial reasons in 1529; Collection of damaging evidence monastic corruption during the visitations of 1535.