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Unlabelled: To avoid potentially severe outcomes, phenylketonuria (PKU) must be detected as soon as possible after birth and managed with life-long treatment. A questionnaire-based survey was performed to document diagnosis and management practices for PKU in a region of Southern and Eastern Europe. Prevalence and management data were obtained from 37/59 (63 %) centres within 19/22 (86%) contacted countries (N = 8600 patients). The main results' analysis was based on completed questionnaires obtained from 31 centres (53%) within 15 countries (68%). A median of 10 % of patients per centre had been diagnosed after the newborn period. Metabolic dieticians and specialised adult PKU clinics were lacking in 36 and 84% of centres, respectively. In 26% of centres, treatment initiation was delayed until >15 days of life. Blood phenylalanine (Phe) thresholds to start treatment and upper Phe targets were inconsistent across centres. Ten percent of centres reported monitoring Phe every 2 weeks for pregnant women with PKU, which is insufficient to minimise risk of neonatal sequalae. Sapropterin dihydrochloride treatment was available in 48% of centres, with 24-h responsiveness tests most common (36%). Only one centre among the five countries lacking newborn screening provided a completed questionnaire.Conclusion: Targeted efforts by health care professionals and governments are needed to optimise diagnostic and management approaches for PKU in Southern and Eastern Europe.What Is Known: PKU must be detected early and optimally managed throughout life to avoid poor outcomes, yet newborn screening is not universal and diagnostic and management practices for PKU are known to vary widely between different centres and countries. Targeted efforts by health care professionals and governments are needed to optimise diagnostic and management approaches.What Is New: PKU management practices are documented in 19 South and Eastern European countries indicating a heterogeneous situation across the region. Key areas for improvement identified in surveyed centres include a need for comprehensive screening in all countries, increased number of metabolic dietitians and specialised adult PKU clinics, delayed time to treatment initiation, appropriate Phe thresholds, Phe targets and monitoring frequencies, and universal access to currently available treatment options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the economic and historical literature on debt mutualization in Europe with reference to pre-1914 guaranteed bonds and the current Eurobonds debate. We argue that, notwithstanding the differences in scale and nature, debt mutualization solutions similar to Eurobonds were tried before, and the closest historical examples to the present debate are the pre-1914 guaranteed bonds. We highlight three key characteristics of debt mutualization, which are apparent both in the current debate and in history: moral hazard, debt dilution and conditionality. We show that the fears about short-run dilution and moral hazard were not unknown to pre-1914 market participants. These problems were partly addressed by mechanisms of conditionality such as international financial control. The historical evidence suggests that the dilution of outstanding obligations may be overplayed in the current debate. On the contrary, creditors' moral hazard (ignored in current debt mutualization proposals) was as problematic as the usual debtor's moral hazard -especially when the groups of countries guaranteeing the bonds and the creditor nations did not overlap entirely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Turkish Archives of Otolaryngology / Türk Otolarengoloji Arsivi is the property of Turkish Otorhinolaryngology & Head & Neck Surgery Foundation and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Electronic Turkish Studies is the property of Electronic Turkish Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In 2005/6, nearly 3000 moss samples from (semi-)natural location across 16 European countries were collected for nitrogen analysis. The lowest total nitrogen concentrations in mosses (<0.8%) were observed in northern Finland and northern UK. The highest concentrations (≥1.6%) were found in parts of Belgium, France, Germany, Slovakia, Slovenia and Bulgaria. The asymptotic relationship between the nitrogen concentrations in mosses and EMEP modelled nitrogen deposition (averaged per 50 km × 50 km grid) across Europe showed less scatter when there were at least five moss sampling sites per grid. Factors potentially contributing to the scatter are discussed. In Switzerland, a strong (r 2 = 0.91) linear relationship was found between the total nitrogen concentration in mosses and measured site-specific bulk nitrogen deposition rates. The total nitrogen concentrations in mosses complement deposition measurements, helping to identify areas in Europe at risk from high nitrogen deposition at a high spatial resolution. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Purpose: This study aimed at investigating correlations between heavy metal concentrations in mosses and modelled deposition values as well as other site-specific and regional characteristics to determine which factors primarily affect cadmium, lead and mercury concentrations in mosses. The resulting relationships could potentially be used to enhance the spatial resolution of heavy metal deposition maps across Europe. Materials and methods: Modelled heavy metal deposition data and data on the concentration of heavy metals in naturally growing mosses were integrated into a geographic information system and analysed by means of bivariate rank correlation analysis and multivariate decision trees. Modelled deposition data were validated annually with deposition measurements at up to 63 EMEP measurement stations within the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP), and mosses were collected at up to 7,000 sites at 5-year intervals between 1990 and 2005. Results and discussion: Moderate to high correlations were found between cadmium and lead concentrations in mosses and modelled atmospheric deposition of these metals: Spearman rank correlation coefficients were between 0.62 and 0.67, and 0.67 and 0.73 for cadmium and lead, respectively ( p < 0.001). Multivariate decision tree analyses showed that cadmium and lead concentrations in mosses were primarily determined by the atmospheric deposition of these metals, followed by emissions of the metals. Low to very low correlations were observed between mercury concentrations in mosses and modelled atmospheric deposition of mercury. According to the multivariate analyses, spatial variations of the mercury concentration in mosses was primarily associated with the sampled moss species and not with the modelled deposition, but regional differences in the atmospheric chemistry of mercury and corresponding interactions with the moss may also be involved. Conclusions: At least for cadmium and lead, concentrations in mosses are a valuable tool in determining and mapping the spatial variation in atmospheric deposition across Europe at a high spatial resolution. For mercury, more studies are needed to elucidate interactions of different chemical species with the moss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, mosses have been used successfully as biomonitors of atmospheric deposition of heavy metals. Since 1990, the European moss survey has been repeated at five-yearly intervals. Although spatial patterns were metal-specific, in 2005 the lowest concentrations of metals in mosses were generally found in Scandinavia, the Baltic States and northern parts of the UK; the highest concentrations were generally found in Belgium and south-eastern Europe. The recent decline in emission and subsequent deposition of heavy metals across Europe has resulted in a decrease in the heavy metal concentration in mosses for the majority of metals. Since 1990, the concentration in mosses has declined the most for arsenic, cadmium, iron, lead and vanadium (52–72%), followed by copper, nickel and zinc (20–30%), with no significant reduction being observed for mercury (12% since 1995) and chromium (2%). However, temporal trends were country-specific with sometimes increases being found. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: Among seafoods mussels are the most common ones that are mostly raw consumed raw. Bacterial contamination in foods that cause food poisoning are is known to be due to mainly storage and processhig conditions. Due to mussels' die taly specifications, them filter water and take in its toxic substances and microbial contaminants. Mussel bacterial load prior to consumption is important to demonstrate pollution levels of the hunting regions. Material and Method. In this study, black mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) hunted from seven different stations on two coasts of Dardanelles two coast (Asia: Çardak, Yapıldak, Sançay; Europe: Kilitbahii Eceabat, Çambumu, Gelibolu) were analyzed microbiologically in the months of February and June. Mussel samples were examined for total aerobic mesophilic bacteria (TAMB), coliform group bacteria, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella spp. Results: The mean colony count from all stations was; 54x105±1.6x106 cfu/g LAMB, 1.0x105±2. 6x105 cfu/g coliform group bacteria, 2.6x105±1.4x106 cfu/g E. coli, 2.2x105±1.3x105 cfu/g S. aureus respectively Salmonella spp. were not detected in any mussel samples examined. Black mussels hunted in June had significantly higher microbiological contamination for all bacteria than mussels hunted in February (p<0.0001). When we investigated two coasts as Anatolia (Çardak, Yapıldak, Sançay) and Europe (Kilitbahir, Eceabat, Çamburnu, Gelibolu) in two different periods; contamination on Europe coast was significantly higher for TAMB at february (p=0.01), at the same time S. aureus contamination was significantly higher at Anatolia coast (p=0.02). TAMB (p=0.004) and E.coli (p=0.005) count in samples on Anatolian coast were found to be significantly higher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this study, the indicative value of mosses as biomonitors of atmospheric nitrogen (N) depositions and air concentrations on the one hand and site-specific and regional factors which explain best the total N concentration in mosses on the other hand were investigated for the first time at a European scale using correlation analyses. The analyses included data from mosses collected from 2781 sites across Europe within the framework of the European moss survey 2005/6, which was coordinated by the International Cooperative Programme on Effects of Air Pollution on Natural Vegetation and Crops (ICP Vegetation). Modelled atmospheric N deposition and air concentration data were calculated using the Unified EMEP Model of the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP) of the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP). The modelled deposition and concentration data encompass various N compounds. In order to assess the correlations between moss tissue total N concentrations and the chosen predictors, Spearman rank correlation analysis and Classification and Regression Trees (CART) were applied. The Spearman rank correlation analysis showed that the total N concentration in mosses and modelled N depositions and air concentrations are significantly correlated (0.53 ≤ rs  ≤ 0.68, p < 0.001). Correlations with other predictors were lower than 0.55. The CART analysis indicated that the variation in the total N concentration in mosses was best explained by the variation in NH4 + concentrations in air, followed by NO2 concentrations in air, sampled moss species and total dry N deposition. The total N concentrations in mosses mirror land use-related atmospheric concentrations and depositions of N across Europe. In addition to already proven associations to measured N deposition on a local scale the study at hand gives a scientific prove on the association of N concentration in mosses and modelled deposition at the European scale. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objectives: An insulin resistant state is characteristic of patients with type 2 diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome, and metabolic syndrome. Identification of insulin resistance (IR) is most readily achievable using formulae combining plasma insulin and glucose results. In this study, we have used data from the European Biological Variation Study (EuBIVAS) to examine the biological variability (BV) of IR using the Homeostasis Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) and the Quantitative Insulin sensitivity Check Index (QUICKI)., Methods: Ninety EuBIVAS non-diabetic subjects (52F, 38M) from five countries had fasting HOMA-IR and QUICKI calculated from plasma glucose and insulin samples collected concurrently on 10 weekly occasions. The within-subject (CV I ) and between-subject (CV G ) BV estimates with 95 % CIs were obtained by CV-ANOVA after analysis of trends, variance homogeneity and outlier removal., Results: The CV I of HOMA-IR was 26.7 % (95 % CI 25.5-28.3), driven largely by variability in plasma insulin and the CV I for QUICKI was 4.1 % (95 % CI 3.9-4.3), reflecting this formula's logarithmic transformation of glucose and insulin values. No differences in values or BV components were observed between subgroups of men or women below and above 50 years., Conclusions: The EuBIVAS, by utilising a rigorous experimental protocol, has produced robust BV estimates for two of the most commonly used markers of insulin resistance in non-diabetic subjects. This has shown that HOMA-IR, in particular, is highly variable in the same individual which limits the value of single measurements., (© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston.)

Background: Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is central in the diagnosis of prostate cancer. However, high-quality biological variation (BV) estimates for PSA are scarce. Here BV estimates from the European Biological Variation Study (EuBIVAS) for total (tPSA), free (fPSA), conjugated PSA (cPSA), and percent free PSA (%fPSA) are provided., Method: EuBIVAS samples were collected weekly from thirty-seven healthy males (22-59 years) for 10 weeks. All samples, stored at -80 °C, were measured in duplicate with a Roche Cobas e801. Outlier and homogeneity analysis were performed followed by CV-ANOVA to determine BV, analytical variation, analytical performance specifications (APS), reference change values (RCV) and the number of samples required to estimate the homeostatic set points., Results: Within-subject BV estimates were for tPSA 6.8% (6.1-7.4); fPSA 7.1% (6.5-7.7) cPSA: 8.8% (8.0-9.7) and %fPSA 5.3% (4.8-5.8), delivering RCV for increase of 15-20% and indicating that one sample is sufficient to estimate the homeostatic set points within ±15%. BV estimates for tPSA were lower than previously published estimates. Estimates for fPSA, cPSA and %fPSA have not previously been reported in healthy subjects., Conclusions: Highly powered EuBIVAS BV estimates of tPSA, fPSA, cPSA and %fPSA provide updated APS and RCV for monitoring for prostate cancer., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)