European Meeting Research Articles

Traditional and new aspects in the treatment of BPH (on Materials of the 11th South Eastern European Meeting (SEEM) of European Association of Urology)

Traditional and new aspects in the treatment of BPH (on Materials of the 11th South Eastern European Meeting (SEEM) of European Association of Urology)

International Association of Pancreatology (IAP)/European Pancreatic Club (EPC) consensus review of guidelines for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most devastating diseases with an extremely high mortality. Medical organizations and scientific societies have published a number of guidelines to address active treatment of pancreatic cancer. The aim of this consensus review was to identify where there is agreement or disagreement among the existing guidelines and to help define the gaps for future studies. A panel of expert pancreatologists gathered at the 46th European Pancreatic Club Meeting combined with the 18th International Association of Pancreatology Meeting and collaborated on critical reviews of eight English language guidelines for the clinical management of pancreatic cancer. Clinical questions (CQs) of interest were proposed by specialists in each of nine areas. The recommendations for the CQs in existing guidelines, as well as the evidence on which these were based, were reviewed and compared. The evidence was graded as sufficient, mediocre or poor/absent. Only 4 of the 36 CQs, had sufficient evidence for agreement. There was also agreement in five additional CQs despite the lack of sufficient evidence. In 22 CQs, there was disagreement regardless of the presence or absence of evidence. There were five CQs that were not addressed adequately by existing guidelines. The existing guidelines provide both evidence- and consensus-based recommendations. There is also considerable disagreement about the recommendations in part due to the lack of high level evidence. Improving the clinical management of patients with pancreatic cancer, will require continuing efforts to undertake research that will provide sufficient evidence to allow agreement.

Improving structural development in oncology: transformation of theoretical health care standards and knowledge into a practical approach -- 2nd European Roundtable Meeting (ERTM), May 8, 2015, Berlin, Germany.

It is widely accepted that National Cancer Control Plans (NCCPs) are essential to improve cancer care. They often describe the structural requirements such as cancer centers, clinical cancer registries and quality control. During the 2nd European roundtable meeting, the implementation processes were analyzed and discussed. Communication strategies between cancer registries and cancer centers need to be developed. Analyses and discussion of collected data have to be performed by multidisciplinary teams. This has to be followed by appropriate actions to improve quality of care. It is essential to describe the clinical procedures, organizational processes and communication between individuals and professional teams. The patients' perspectives have to be included in the development of cancer care networks. The patients' feedback on cancer care is a routine quality indicator. NCCPs that include the description of structural requirements are important. In addition, it is essential to develop cancer care networks including multidisciplinary organizational processes to guarantee high quality. These have to consider patients preferences.

Abstract B58: Underserved populations in kidney cancer research and treatment

Abstract B58: Underserved populations in kidney cancer research and treatment

Does Proxy Voting Advisory Matter in European Markets? Empirical Evidence from German Annual General Meetings

This paper responds to the discussion initiated by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) about the role of proxy advisors at European annual general meetings (AGMs) by providing novel descriptive evidence on the influence and method consistency of these advisors for a major European market. We analyze a sample of 1,664 AGM agenda items for 185 unique firms and the corresponding proxy voting recommendations issued by Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) for the German proxy season 2010. We find that a negative ISS voting recommendation is on average associated with an 8.5 percent decrease in shareholder support. This effect is even more pronounced for firms with high free float, low voting turnout, and high ISS client base. Additional analyses further reveal that ISS’s recommendations significantly correlate with ISS’s commercially available corporate governance ratings (GRId). This finding highlights a potential method consistency with respect to ISS’s employed governance standards. Overall, this paper extends the growing literature on proxy voting advisory and contributes to the current European debate on the regulation of proxy advisors.

Conservation Value, Management and Restoration of Europe’S Semi‑Natural Open Landscapes

Abstract Most semi-natural open habitats in Europe have been traditionally maintained by anthropogenic activities, such as grazing or mowing, preventing the establishment of woody vegetation. These habitats harbour a remarkably rich biodiversity in terms of both plant and animal species, but are also highly threatened, mainly by agricultural intensification and land abandonment. With this Editorial we introduce a Special Issue initiated by the European Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) at the Open Landscapes Conference (Hildesheim, 2013) and the 11th European Dry Grassland Meeting (Kulikovo Pole, 2014). We aim to give a short introduction to the current conservation status, significance and research of semi-natural open habitats in Europe and present the collected articles of the Special Issue. These papers cover a wide range of different semi-natural open habitats, including wood-pastures, heathlands, steppes, semi-dry and dry grasslands across the Palearctic region and address issues related to the assessment methods, threats, management and restoration of these habitats. We conclude that, in order to ensure their conservation and to monitor the changes in open habitats, integrative approaches are needed that take into account not only vegetation records, but also multiple animal taxa, abiotic factors, management practices, ecosystem services and modelling simulations for anticipating possible future scenarios. We also recommend that decision-makers should support actions to conserve open habitats in Europe by addressing such major challenges as the encroachment of woody vegetation. We are convinced that the present Special Issue will contribute to a better understanding of ecosystem functions and support the biodiversity conservation and management of semi-natural open habitats.

Organizing for sustainability: a cybernetic concept for sustainable renewal

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to propose a holistic structural framework for a sustainable renewal that embraces all relevant contexts – individual, organizational, local-regional and worldwide. This should help humanity achieve a future in which society, economy and ecology are united in an evolutionary process based on multiple symbiosis.Design/methodology/approach– An integrative concept for sustainable renewal is presented, based on Beer’s Viable System Model (VSM). The core of that concept is a recursive structure, which organizes the tasks necessary for such renewal. The approach is both analytical and synthetic, proposing a design for the levels of recursion, making up a coherent whole.Findings– A structure is developed that enables agents at all recursive strata to generate variety in balance with the complexities they face. The organizational architecture based on the VSM, applied to each one of those levels, ensures the necessary and sufficient structural preconditions for the sustainability of the system under study.Practical implications– The concept proposed here is ready to be used as a blueprint for organizing the efforts for sustainability. It can help decision makers understand that the quest for sustainable renewal is a recursive issue involving all planes, from individual to global.Originality/value– The quest for the ecological sustainability of planet earth at this stage is not at all successful. The cybernetic model used here organizes the efforts for sustainability in a more effective way than conventional approaches. It also delivers powerful clues for sustainable renewal that are new, in particular a key to the sufficient structural preconditions for sustainability. This paper is an extended version of the Ross Ashby Memorial Lecture delivered by the author at the European Meeting of Cybernetics and Systems Research, Vienna, 24 April 2014, under the title “Organizing for Sustainability”.

The story of side branch predilatation before provisional stenting.

Bifurcation lesions remain a therapeutic challenge and present an increased risk of complications. It also seems clear that the provisional stenting strategy, using only one drug-eluting stent in the main vessel (MV), is the first choice of treatment for most patients. However, provisional stenting is not a unitary approach, and diverse technical possibilities such as the use of final kissing balloon inflation, or the type of drug-eluting stent implanted at the MV may influence the outcome of the procedure. In the context of provisional stenting, predilation of the side branch (SB) before MV stent implantation is another manoeuvre which could facilitate the performance of this technique. However, SB predilation has generated many controversies and it has been discussed at length during several sessions of the European Bifurcation Club meetings. In this paper we analyse the advantages and disadvantages of side branch predilation as well as the most relevant articles dealing with this topic. We conclude that predilation of the SB is in many cases probably not needed, but may be considered in order to simplify the procedure. Predilation of the SB is recommended when SB compromise after MV stenting is highly anticipated, such as in long ostial SB lesions or heavily calcified lesions.

Consumption risk and the cross-section of government bond returns

Acknowledgments We are grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their constructive suggestions which helped us to improve the manuscript. We would also like to thank David Babbel, Angela Black, Jordi Caballe, Laurence Copeland, Antonio Diez de los Rios, Kabir Dutta, Javier Gil-Bazo, Lynda Khalaf, Chung-Ming Kuan, Patrick Minford, Francisco Penaranda, Jesper Rangvid, Enrique Sentana and seminar participants at the Universities of Aarhus, Aberdeen, Autonoma de Barcelona, Cardiff, Carlos III de Madrid, Essex, National Central University (Taiwan), National Taiwan University, Pompeu Fabra, Reading and the participants at the 2009 Warsaw International Economic Meeting, 2009 Econometric Society European Meeting Barcelona, 2009 ASSET Istanbul, XVII Foro Finanzas Madrid, XXXIV SAEe Valencia, 5th PhD Meeting of RES London for helpful discussions and comments.

Introduction by the guest editors.

The guest editors introduce the collection of papers from the 8th European Meeting on Solar Chemistry & Photocatalysis: Environmental Applications (SPEA 8), held in Thessaloniki between 25th and 28th June, 2014.

Formación especializada en geriatría: normativa actual y opinión de los residentes

ObjectiveTo evaluate the level of compliance with the official curriculum residence programme by geriatrics trainees, and to analyse their level of satisfaction. Material and methodsA questionnaire was developed including these sections: trainee filiation, and questions related to their clinical training, academic formation, research training, satisfaction, and other comments. The survey was performed in Survey Monkey and sent to a geriatric trainee per hospital in March 2014. The results were collected between March and April of 2014. ResultsResponses were received from 41% of the trainees of 23 Geriatric Teaching Units. Rates of over 95% were observed as regards clinical rotations in the basic period, while in the specific period these percentages varied between 34% and 69%, probably because some of the trainees had not yet arrived at the period in which these rotations are programmed. An external rotation could be performed by 83% of the trainees, and 90% do the recommended number of shifts. The mean number of instruction sessions per week was 2.3, and the number of meetings with the tutor was 2.5 times per year. The median number of presentations in congresses was 3.7 per trainee, with 0.2 publications during training. Each trainee attended 1.2 national meetings, 0.3 European meetings, and 0.1 American. Most of the trainees (85%) were satisfied or very satisfied with their training. ConclusionsGeriatrics curricula for trainees are followed in the basic aspects, but not so much in the specific ones. The average level satisfaction of the trainees is very high. The recommended training activities within the specific department (sessions, etc.) are not always fulfilled. The research activity, evaluated by publications and presentations at meetings, is low. Following these data, reflection and the establishment of improvements are required in Geriatrics training at post-graduate level.

Allo-SCT for myelofibrosis: reversing the chronic phase in the JAK inhibitor era?

At present, allo-SCT is the only curative treatment for patients with myelofibrosis (MF). Unfortunately, a significant proportion of candidate patients are considered transplant ineligible due to their poor general condition and advanced age at the time of diagnosis. The approval of the first JAK inhibitor, ruxolitinib, for patients with advanced MF in 2011 has had a qualified impact on the treatment algorithm. The drug affords substantial improvement in MF-associated symptoms and splenomegaly but no major effect on the natural history. There has, therefore, been considerable support for assessing the drug's candidacy in the peritransplant period. The drug's precise impact on clinical outcome following allo-SCT is currently not known; nor are the drug's long-term efficacy and safety known. Considering the rarity of MF and the small proportion of patients who undergo allo-SCT, well designed collaborative efforts are required. In order to address some of the principal challenges, an expert panel of laboratory and clinical experts in this field was established, and an independent workshop held during the 54th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting in New Orleans, USA on 6 December 2013, and the European Hematology Association's Annual Meeting in Milan, Italy on 13 June 2014. This document summarizes the results of these efforts.

Pharmacovigilance Discussion Forum--The European Generic Medicines Association's 8th Annual Meeting (January 21, 2015--London, UK).

The practice and science of pharmacovigilance first emerged following the disaster caused by thalidomide in 1961, which led to the initiation of systemic international efforts to address drug safety issues spearheaded by the WHO. Systems were developed in member states of the WHO to analyze cases of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and collate these data into a central database to aid national drug regulatory authorities in improving safety profiles of medicines. Pharmacovigilance is a key public health function for monitoring all medicinal products to assess their quality, efficacy and safety before and following authorization. These medicines are continually assessed to detect any aspect that could compromise their safety, and ensure that the necessary measures are taken. In July 2012, new legislation for pharmacovigilance in the E.U. came into effect as a result of the changes set out in the Directive 2010/84/EU and the European Commission (EC) implementing Regulation (EU) No 520/2012 to reduce the increasing number of ADRs. The latest developments in pharmacovigilance in Europe, including news on E.U. pharmacovigilance legislation, were discussed at the 8th European Generic Medicines Association (EGA) Pharmacovigilance Discussion Forum. The meeting facilitated constructive dialogue between regulators and industry on a range of topics including how to simplify pharmacovigilance activities and improve the processes of risk management plans, periodic safety update reports, signal detection, joint studies and inspections.

Meta-analysis: is combination of tetracycline and amoxicillin suitable for Helicobacter pylori infection?

To access the efficacy of combination with amoxicillin and tetracycline for eradication of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), thus providing clinical practice guidelines. PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Science Citation Index, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, and Chinese Biomedical Literature databases and abstract books of major European, American, and Asian gastroenterological meetings were searched. All clinical trials that examined the efficacy of H. pylori eradication therapies and included both tetracycline and amoxicillin in one study arm were selected for this systematic review and meta-analysis. Statistical analysis was performed with Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Software (Version 2). Subgroup, meta-regression, and sensitivity analyses were also carried out. Thirty-three studies met the inclusion criteria. The pooled odds ratio (OR) was 0.90 (95%CI: 0.42-1.78) for quadruple therapy with amoxicillin and tetracycline vs other quadruple regimens, and total eradication rates were 78.1% by intention-to-treat (ITT) and 84.5% by per-protocol (PP) analyses in the experimental groups. The pooled eradication rates of 14-d quadruple regimens with a combination of amoxicillin and tetracycline were 82.3% by ITT and 89.0% by PP, and those of 10-d regimens were 84.6% by ITT and 93.7% by PP. The OR by ITT were 1.21 (95%CI: 0.64-2.28) for triple regimens with amoxicillin and tetracycline vs other regimens and 1.81 (95%CI: 1.37-2.41) for sequential treatment with amoxicillin and tetracycline vs other regimens, respectively. The effectiveness of regimens employing amoxicillin and tetracycline for H. pylori eradication may be not inferior to other regimens, but further study should be necessary.

Review Of The Main Welfare Risks Related To Electrical Stunning Of Small Ruminants (Ovine And Caprine Species)

EFSA commissioned a comprehensive review of the welfare aspects of electrical stunning methods for small ruminants with an emphasize on low ampere stunning to establish the state of the art in the field and to assess whether scientific studies would address criteria outlined in an EFSA guidance on the assessment criteria for studies evaluating the effectiveness of stunning interventions regarding animal protection at the time of killing (EFSA Journal 2013;11(12):3486). The review was not formulated as a systematic review with a focused question instead the review followed the approach to assessing the literature described by the EFSA guidance. The key databases searched were: Science Citation Index (1900-2014), CAB Abstracts (1910-2014) and Medline (1990-2014). Key conferences proceedings and the bibliographies of review articles were manually searched. The search yielded 1599 records. 706 duplicate records were removed and 894 records assessed for relevance. Relevant studies reported electronic stunning of small ruminants and outcomes associated with onset and duration of unconsciousness. Eighteen papers reported electrical approaches to stunning in sheep. No goats were studied. None of the papers reported all of the parameters detailed in the EFSA guidance (EFSA, 2013) and a risk of bias assessment was not conducted. No studies reported the appearance of the electrodes. When the frequency (Hz) applied to the animal was reported, it was not specified whether this represented a minimum or maximum frequency. Only one study explicitly reported an effect size for amperes. The study suggested that the odds of a poor stun were higher for amperes of 0.6 (odds ratio (OD) of 6.27 with 95% confidence interval (CI) of 1.98-20.7) and 0.8 (OR of 24.4 with 95% CI of 6.98-85.2) when compared to a poor stun at 1.25 ampere. © European Food Safety Authority, 2015

Poster Abstracts

ImmunologyVolume 143, Issue s1 p. 12-42 Poster AbstractsFree Access Poster Abstracts First published: 08 October 2014 https://doi.org/10.1111/imm.12384AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Volume143, Issues1Special Issue: Proceedings of the 9th European Mucosal Immunology Group Meeting, Bute Hall, University of Glasgow, Scotland, October 2014. Guest Editor: Allan Mowat and Simon MillingOctober 2014Pages 12-42 RelatedInformation

15th Biennial European Meeting of the Society for Medical Decision Making

15th Biennial European Meeting of the Society for Medical Decision Making

Aspect of Romania's Representation at the European Council

Representation of Romania at the European Council's meetings has been a controversial issue, a subject of reflection for the Constitutional Court which pronounced three decisions on this matter, each of them expressing distinct opinions.Romania's representation at the European Council's meetings has become a topic of great interest with the onset of a constitutional legal conflict between the President and the Prime Minister. This conflict occurred in the summer of 2012, when it raised the issue of who would represent Romania at the European Council's meeting on June 28-29th of the same year.The Constitutional Court has pronounced two decisions on the matter - Decision no. 683/2012 and Decision no. 784/2012-, which provide “in the exercise of his attributions, The President of Romania participates at the European Council's meetings as head of state. This attribution may be delegated by the President of Romania, expressly, to the Prime Minister.In this context, the Constitutional Court was notified by the head of state with an objection of unconstitutionality of certain provisions of the Law on the Cooperation between Parliament and Government in European affairs. So, the Constitutional Court pronounced the third decision whereby it changed some aspects of its own jurisprudence on the matter.This study reveals and comments on the three decisions of the Constitutional Court and presents the opinions expressed by the doctrine on the subject under analysis. Finally, mainly for reasons of efficiency, we make some arguments in favour of the participation of the Prime Minister at European Council's meetings.

Percutaneous coronary intervention for coronary bifurcation disease: consensus from the first 10 years of the European Bifurcation Club meetings

The European Bifurcation Club (EBC) is an independent, non-political and informal "think tank" of scientists with a particular interest in clinical, technical and fundamental aspects of the management of coronary artery bifurcation disease. Bifurcations account for 15-20% of all percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) and remain one of the most challenging lesions in interventional cardiology in terms of procedural success rate as well as long-term cardiac events. The optimal management is, despite a fast growing scientific literature, still the subject of considerable debate, one of the main concerns being the potential increased risk of late stent thrombosis associated with treatment complexity. The EBC was initiated in 2004 and aims to facilitate an exchange of ideas on management of bifurcation disease. The EBC hosts an annual, compact meeting dedicated to bifurcations which brings together physicians, engineers, biologists, physicists, epidemiologists and statisticians for detailed discussions. Every meeting is finalised with a consensus statement which reflects the unique opportunity of combining the opinion of interventional cardiologists with the opinion of a large variety of other scientists on bifurcation management. This year the EBC celebrates its 10-year anniversary. This consensus document represents the summary of the consensus from the last ten years of the annual EBC meetings.

Special issue based on the 14th European Meeting on Fire Retardancy and Protection of Materials, held at Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Lille (U. Lille-1), France, July 2013

Special issue based on the 14th European Meeting on Fire Retardancy and Protection of Materials, held at Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Lille (U. Lille-1), France, July 2013