The "Bone Involvement in Arthritis" International Meeting was first held in Venice, in 2004, with the objective of bringing together distinguished international experts in the fields of bone metabolism and rheumatic diseases to discuss emerging knowledge regarding the interplay between rheumatic diseases and the bone tissue. The growing interest and the continuous progresses on the topic led to the organization of six other meetings, which included several different established clinicians and/or researchers.Since its origin, the meeting focused on the interactions between the bone tissue, the immune system and the cartilage in osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and spondyloarthropathies, always considering the two sides of the coin: the basic and clinical. In past years, as well as this year, specific sessions were dedicated to osteoarthritis (OA), rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and ankylosing spondylitis, respectively, with a starting session considering the general aspects of the topic. In this context, the bone damage as an early manifestation of arthritides, the systemic skeletal involvement in RA, the crucial role played by subchondral bone in the pathogenesis and progression of OA, the pathophysiology of glucocorticoids damage on the bone tissue, and the potential beneficial effects of newly approved agents such as bisphosphonates and biologics, but not only, were discussed.In 2011, the meeting has been named, for its first time, "Osteo-Rheumatology", thus implying the necessity of giving a more clear definition to topics presented and the issues raised. Even this year, experts in bone and rheumatic diseases interacted to improve our knowledge regarding the bone involvement in arthritis and to raise issues to be addressed in the future.


AbstractZombrus bicolor (Enderlein) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Doryctinae) in a Tuscan vineyard of the Siena province  represents the first record of this species in western Europe. A female was captured in summer 2009 with a malaise trap located in an organic vineyard. Until this finding, the species was recorded only in the Oriental regions of continental China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan and, very recently, in the eastern and southern parts of the Palaearctic region.The finding of  Zombrus bicolor (Enderlein) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Doryctinae) was collected in June 2009 in a malaise trap located in a vineyard (cv Sangiovese) of an organic farm in the Montalcino district . The trap was installed at ca 180 m above sea level in a typical rural Tuscan landscape, with vineyards included in rolling, gentle hills surrounded by cultivated grassland areas, PageBreakwoods and strips of shrubs, and wild bushes of deciduous trees. Until the current finding, Zombrus bicolor had only been reported as an Eastern Palaearctic and Oriental species, based on the description of specimens collected in Taiwan, China, Mongolia, Japan, Korea and, very recently, in Kyrgyzstan and in the European part of Russia (Astrakhan province)  .Zombrus bicolor are two males stored in the collection of the Museum of the Zoology Institute in Warsaw (Poland). These males were collected by H. Sauter in 1907 in Takao (Formosa), the old name of the current city of Kaohsiung in south-western Taiwan, and subsequently described by The type specimens of Zombrus bicolor  (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)  . This wo in 2007 .These sp in 2007 , are con in 2007 .Anoplophora chinensis in the areas where we collected Zombrus bicolor, we cannot exclude that the braconid, in its movement to West Europe, had been carried by these or other specific hidden hosts.Though data are not available at the moment on the presence of


More than 13 billion years ago, the universe emerged and continued expending after the Big Bang. 4.6 billion Years ago, our earth was formed in solar system with no oxygen and no any signs of life. 3.8 billion years ago, primitive elements of life of RNA and DNA were accidently formed within rocky vent in deep water of Atlantic Ocean. From single cell to multiple cell life, and to multi-organ species, it took billions years. The ocean turned blue, the land got green and oxygen fills our air. The life started move on to the land. The lives were evolving for adapting with the surrounding environment and the forms of life were diversified.However, inside each basic block of life, the cell, our common ancestor inscribed the deep common marks. From genome to protein, to signal transduction, to organelles, to cell membrane, we all life on earth are in a big family. This is the basis for our human who benefit from using our sister species to do medical experiments.The fates of life are also in common. Through the journey of birth, growth, aging and death, we all reach the same destiny. Cells are subject to the fates of senescence, mutation, apoptosis, and necrosis. The clock of life is tickling down in according with the shortening of telomeres.Once our tissue is injured, regardless of either from inside of autoimmune response or metabolic disorder, or from outside micro-organism invasion or traumatic damage, our repairing potential is intrigued, which induces the common reactions include inflammatory cells infiltration, extracellualr matrix formation. Once the damage is repaired, the inflammatory cells commit programed death, the apoptosis, and healing is achieved. If the injure continues and inflammation persists, the fibrosis and scaring process dominate, and then, the organ lost function and slides to end stage.Understanding the nature of common origin of life and exploring common path of disease would help us to see a big picture about life science, and lead to generate big ideas to deal with disease. With integration of multi-discipline collaborations, the common targets for treatment of diseases are being identified and right strategies can be developed. Efficiently developing new drugs and wisely applying old ones, rationally combining biologic with small molecule, focusing on both physical and mental would speed successes in translation and achieve the healthy lives in human being, and even dial the life clock back.


The complex and controversial history of this centuries-old public health strategy offers guidance for its future use. In the new millennium, the centuries-old strategy of quarantine is becoming a powerful component of the public health response to emerging and reemerging infectious diseases. During the 2003 pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome, the use of quarantine, border controls, contact tracing, and surveillance proved effective in containing the global threat in just over 3 months. For centuries, these practices have been the cornerstone of organized responses to infectious disease outbreaks. However, the use of quarantine and other measures for controlling epidemic diseases has always been controversial because such strategies raise political, ethical, and socioeconomic issues and require a careful balance between public interest and individual rights. In a globalized world that is becoming ever more vulnerable to communicable diseases, a historical perspective can help clarify the use and implications of a still-valid public health strategy. The risk for deadly infectious diseases with pandemic potential  is increasing worldwide, as is the risk for resurgence of long-standing infectious diseases  and for acts of biological terrorism. To lessen the risk from these new and resurging threats to public health, authorities are again using quarantine as a strategy for limiting the spread of communicable diseases  was adopted as an obligatory means of separating persons, animals, and goods that may have been exposed to a contagious disease. Since the fourteenth century, quarantine has been the cornerstone of a coordinated disease-control strategy, including isolation, sanitary cordons, bills of health issued to ships, fumigation, disinfection, and regulation of groups of persons who were believed to be responsible for spreading the infection  of ships with suspected plague-infected passengers or crew. In 1683 in Marseille, new laws required that all persons suspected of having plague be quarantined and disinfected. In ports in North America, quarantine was introduced during the same decade that attempts were being made to control yellow fever, which first appeared in New York and Boston in 1688 and 1691, respectively  virus, began spreading in China in February 1957 and worldwide later that year. Vaccines had been developed in Western countries but were not yet available when the pandemic began to spread simultaneously with the opening of schools in several countries. Control measures  varied from country to country but, at best, merely postponed the onset of disease for a few weeks pdm09 pandemic. The history of quarantine—how it began, how it was used in the past, and how it is used in the modern era—is a fascinating topic in history of sanitation. Over the centuries, from the time of the Black Death to the first pandemics of the twenty-first century, public health control measures have been an essential way to reduce contact between persons sick with a disease and persons susceptible to the disease. In the absence of pharmaceutical interventions, such measures helped contain infection, delay the spread of disease, avert terror and death, and maintain the infrastructure of society. Quarantine and other public health practices are effective and valuable ways to control communicable disease outbreaks and public anxiety, but these strategies have always been much debated, perceived as intrusive, and accompanied in every age and under all political regimes by an undercurrent of suspicion, distrust, and riots. These strategic measures have raised (and continue to raise) a variety of political, economic, social, and ethical issues (,The historical perspective helps with understanding the extent to which panic, connected with social stigma and prejudice, frustrated public health efforts to control the spread of disease. During outbreaks of plague and cholera, the fear of discrimination and mandatory quarantine and isolation led the weakest social groups and minorities to escape affected areas and, thus, contribute to spreading the disease farther and faster, as occurred regularly in towns affected by deadly disease outbreaks. But in the globalized world, fear, alarm, and panic, augmented by global media, can spread farther and faster and, thus, play a larger role than in the past. Furthermore, in this setting, entire populations or segments of populations, not just persons or minority groups, are at risk of being stigmatized. In the face of new challenges posed in the twenty-first century by the increasing risk for the emergence and rapid spread of infectious diseases, quarantine and other public health tools remain central to public health preparedness. But these measures, by their nature, require vigilant attention to avoid causing prejudice and intolerance. Public trust must be gained through regular, transparent, and comprehensive communications that balance the risks and benefits of public health interventions. Successful responses to public health emergencies must heed the valuable lessons of the past (List of publications chronicling the influenza pandemic of 1918–1919.


Cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the world, and the global burden of cancer is predicted to grow rapidly in the coming decade. While cancer affects all communities indiscriminately, there are striking differences in the incidence and mortality among different populations. These large differences reflect a combination of differences in the prevalence of risk factors, differences in genetic susceptibility, and/or variations in cancer detection, reporting, classification systems, treatment, and follow-up. Unfortunately, developing nations or nations in the so called economical transition are those with the fastest growing cancer problem. The International Agency for Research on Cancer estimated that over a half of newly diagnosed cases and two-thirds of cancer deaths occur in low and medium-income countries . PrioritThere are striking variations in the regional cancer patterns. Among European countries, wide differences are observed in the quality of cancer care, especially between developed and low-resource, transitional countries . In geneIn order to appropriately allocate financial and other resources in the fight against cancer it is essential to have epidemiological information, plan treatment strategies, and address access issues. An important first step that could provide a basis on which to plan future epidemiology projects and ultimately to improve the quality of cancer care in Croatia is gaining accurate knowledge on the cancer registry data in Croatia.Croatian Medical Journal (CMJ) publishes six articles by different groups of authors led by Dr Ariana Znaor from Croatian National Institute of Public Health (This issue of the c Health -9. They c Health ,11. In pc Health . Of courc Health . Early dc Health ,12.The most important factors that influence cancer mortality rates are adequate cancer prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment . Also, tCMJ, the incidence data were obtained from the Croatian National Cancer Registry and the mortality data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics or from the World Health Organization mortality database. In addition to incidence and mortality data collected by cancer registries, data related to underlying risk factors and treatment of patients should become more available, leading to more important and valuable information from a health outcomes point of view.In the articles published in this issue of the In conclusion, new and comprehensive data about selective cancer incidence and mortality in Croatia highlight the importance of the subject and the need to invest more in all known activities related to the fight against cancer – education, prevention, early detection, better access to adequate anticancer treatments, and multidisciplinary work.


Halmstad University's profile as the University of Innovation consists of the strong area of Health and Lifestyle. As many European societies are characterized by societal challenges, this strong area will turn out to be an area of research that has strong future relevance. Challenges related to an aging population, increased mental illness among young people, marginalization of disabled people, and the issues related to working life and health will be monitored by researchers within work and welfare with the help of qualitative studies.Although indicated as divided, the research areas of welfare and working life are intimately intertwined because welfare systems need to be organized. As welfare systems are based on the fact that health and well-being are dependent on organizational principles of stable structures that enable individual freedom and equal opportunities, the opposite of organizing will probably lead to health problems, both within a wider society and within organizations. Thus, the division work and welfare focuses on innovative approaches to health and well-being from a structural, organizational, and individual perspective. The division has an interdisciplinary approach with research in fields such as welfare and education systems and their impact on vulnerable groups, different aspects of working life and work organization, and culture and social life (Jonasson, it involves human existence through social and embodied and subjective experiences that affect health and well-being (see Merleau-Ponty, All types of organizations create different conditions for health and well-being. The research concerning work, health, and well-being will continue to explore the relation between the organizations of humans, and the health and well-being consequences from an individual, group, and society level. In different words, Theoretical and methodological development concerning work, well-being, and health will also be developed within this division of the journal. It involves observations, interviews, action research, and ongoing as well as summative evaluation approaches, many of which may be placed within the traditions of phenomenology, ethnomethodology, and wider qualitative methods (Garfinkel, Qualitative studies of work, welfare, and health also aspire to participate with research that propels innovations and can be utilized in response to future societal challenges. The division of work and welfare has committed to the university strategy for innovations. Research concerning work and welfare will therefore include focus on humans, work, welfare, marginalized groups, organizations, and health and life styles, where qualitative approaches will be important for producing research that is of benefit for society.Mikael JonassonDepartment of Social- and Health Sciences, Halmstad University


The first Asia Pacific Bioinformatics Conference was held in 2003 in Adelaide, Australia, and has been an annual event ever since. While the locations of the previous conferences have been in the Pacific Rim, this is the first time that APBC is being held in South Asia. India is not just an emerging economy but also a burgeoning center for biotechnology and related sciences.This ISCB affiliated event was well publicized through the web, various related mailing lists and carefully targeted poster displays. We received a healthy number of submissions from 31 countries: Netherlands, Denmark, Chile, Sweden, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Portugal, Philippines, Malaysia, France, Ireland, Iran, New Zealand, United Arab Emirates, Norway, Israel, United Kingdom, Italy, Switzerland, Australia, Singapore, Japan, Republic of Korea, Germany, Bangladesh, Canada, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, United States and India. We are happy to observe that the participation covers all continents, with the exception of Africa. While the list here has been compiled using the location of the affiliated institutes, we are certain that the authors themselves represent a wider geography than this.We received 231 submissions, about forty percent more than we expected (and surpassing each of the numbers in the previous editions of APBC). We have deliberately used a very flexible definition of "bioinformatics", as it is a continually evolving field, to define the scope of the conference. The diverse composition of the program committee (see Additional file The program committee, working in all time-zones, did an excellent job, burning the midnight oil when required. We targeted about three independent reviews for each of the submissions. We received four reviews for 1 paper, two reviews for 49 papers and three reviews for each of the remaining. None of the papers with two reviews were close-calls. At the end of the day, we made the difficult decision of selecting 67 papers for oral presentation at the conference and publication in BMC Bioinformatics. We are cognizant of the fact that due to the typical constraints of a conference setting many worthy submissions did not make it to this short list. Judging by the diversity of the topics as well as the reviews, we have decided deliberately not to indulge in 'best paper' assignments. We are very grateful to the program committee members who invested a significant amount of time and energy, in spite of their busy schedules, to carry out their tasks in an objective and timely manner.The authors declare that they have no competing interests.Program Committee.Click here for file


In the Funding statement, an additional grant from the Korea National Cancer Center is incorrectly omitted. The Funding statement should read: "This study was supported by grant-in-aids from the Korea National Cancer Center  and a grant (2009-022) from the Asan Institute for Life Sciences, Seoul, Republic of Korea. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript."


It's almost 10 years since the computational systems biology concept has been proposed in 2002 [In addition to the progress on individual research works, the past decade also witnessed the boom of societies of computational systems biology. In China, Systems Biology and Bioinformatics have become intensive research topics and attracted many leading scientists working in biology, physics, mathematics, and computer science. Optimization, statistics, and many other mathematical methods have been widely adopted in the field. Four years ago, we launched an international symposium on Optimization and Systems Biology, which focused on bridging opportunities between optimization methodology and systems biology problems. We are happy to see the mutual benefits both in solving specific biological problems and in new theory and algorithm development . In 2010http://www.sysbio-cn.org/). Initially the society has over 120 members and a council with 35 board members representing the universities and research institutes all over China. The board member elected Prof. Luonan Chen, a professor from Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, to be the founding president of this new society. Importantly, the society will keep supporting the series conference of ISB and has made it the annual conference for all the members. In addition, the Technical Committee on Systems Biology of IEEE Systems, Man, and Cyberstics society decided to financially sponsor the 5th International Symposium on Computational Systems Biology (ISB 2011), with the goal to provide a forum for exchanging ideas and information among researchers and engineers in the field of Systems Biology from engineering perspectives.Therefore, Prof. Xiang-Sun Zhang, the honorary president of Operations Research Society of China (ORSC), proposed to establish a computational systems biology society under ORSC to emphasize the integration of experimental and computational research to understand the complex biological systems. The idea was greatly supported by Prof. Ya-Xiang Yuan (the president of ORSC) and also the scientists in this field. As a result, the Computational Systems Biology Society of ORSC in China was formally set up in 2011 . To match the name, we call for the participants from an even wider range. In addition to the sponsorships from IEEE SMC, Computational Systems Biology Society of ORSC, National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), Academy of Mathematics and Systems Sciences of CAS (AMSS), Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences of CAS (SIBS), it was further sponsored by Sun Yat-Sen University.We strongly believe that the joint efforts of societies, funding agencies, research institutes, and universities will further push the development of computational methodologies for systems biology and the practical applications in biology, medicine, drug discovery, and engineering in future.A three-day international conference on Computational and Systems Biology was held in 2-4 September, 2011 (IEEE ISB2011) in Zhuhai, which is a beautiful city in south China. More than 100 researchers including engineers, physicians, mathematicians, and biologists from China mainland, United States, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Australia, and Singapore enjoyed both academic exchanges and natural scenes. In the opening session of IEEE ISB2011, Prof. Luonan Chen announced and all the participants celebrated the establishment of Computational Systems Biology Society in ORSC of China.http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/mostRecentIssue.jsp?punumber=6026104. Sixty-three papers in this volume cover wide range of computational systems biology and all the papers are indexed by EI. Moreover, the reviewers from the Program Committee of IEEE ISB2011 selected 21 papers to be recommended for a special issue in BMC Systems Biology after significant extension of their original versions on the Proceedings. Each submission has been peer reviewed and evaluated by three independent reviewers on the quality, originality, soundness, and significance of its contributions and the significant improvement regarding to the IEEE ISB2011 proceeding paper. Here we focus on some of the highlights of the meeting by categorizing and briefly introducing these selected papers.The Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Computational Systems Biology (IEEE ISB2011) have been published by IEEE and are available online One of the most important keyword for computational systems biology is network ,5. BiomoAnother keyword for systems biology is dynamics . DynamicIn addition to network and dynamics, the most important aspect of systems biology is data analysis and integration . ParticuIn addition to computational study at the systems level, computational systems biology approaches also can be utilized to study the molecular function of single gene or protein, because cellular functions of genes involved in specific biological processes depend on genetic, physical, and other types of interactions. In this issue, Min Xu and Frank Alber proposed a gradient-guided alignment methods based on two subtomogram similarity measures, a real space as well as a Fourier-space constrained score to align and average a large set of cryo-electron subtomogram, which emerges as an important component for structural system biology. Hari Krishna Yalamanchili et al. designed a novel automated protein functional assignment method based on the neural response algorithm, which simulates the neuronal behavior of the visual cortex in the human brain, to fill the gap between the number of sequences and their annotations. Yan Zhang et al. conducted comparative genomics studies to identify a novel DNA-binding protein, YebC, which may serve as a key transcriptional regulator that mainly regulates the gene expression of RuvABC resolvasome in bacteria.From a more general perspective, evolutionary systems biology focuses on one of the core problems of all biology, i.e., the evolutionary interplay between the genotype and the phenotype . The bidThe authors declare that they have no competing interests.YW drafted the manuscript. XSZ and LC read and approved the manuscript.


There were errors in Affiliations of the third author, both in the PDF and the online version. The correct Affiliations for Narayanan Srinivasan is 3. Centre of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, University of Allahabad, Allahabad, India.


The year 2010 will be proclaimed the ‘Thoma Ionescu Year’ for the Romanian medicine. This occasion marks a unique double anniversary: 150 years since the birth of the great scientist and 100 years since his surgical demonstrations during an Anglo–American tour in New York, Philadelphia, Rochester and Chicago.Brother of politician Take Ionescu, Thoma signed up for the University of Medicine in Paris, in 1879, after graduating ‘Sfantul Sava’ High School, while, at the same time, attending the courses of the Faculty of Law, which he graduated in 1882. After this, he passed the exams for non–resident and resident medical studentship, thus completing his clinical and surgical training.Simultaneously with his activity in the hospital as an extern and an intern, he gained the titles of associate anatomy prosector in 1887, and afterwards full anatomy prosector at the Faculty of Medicine in Paris, after passing certain examinations where he got the first prize.th year, for the Surgery Department, and he obtained the second place, thus receiving the silver medal in Surgery. In the same year, his memorial, presented at the competition for the medal, and entitled Internal Retroperitoneal Hernias, obtained the ‘Laborie’ prize of the Academy of Medicine in Paris, a prize worth 5 000 francs, awarded to ‘the work which determined the faster progress in Surgery in the current year’. Together with being granted with this prize, the physician Thoma Ionescu became laureate of the Academy of Medicine in Paris.In 1885, after another examination, he was appointed provisional intern of the hospitals and worked at Bicetre, in Bourneville's Epilepsy Department. In 1886, he was appointed full intern of the hospitals and he spent all four years in surgery, being an intern for Peyrot (Bicetre), Paul Berger (Tenon), Le Dentu (St. Louis) and professor Verneuil . In 1890, he competed for the medal offered to the interns of the 4L'evolution intrauterine du colon pelvien / Intrauterine Evolution of the Pelvic Colon, and, after an exam where he won the first prize again, Thoma Ionescu obtained the title of associate professor in Paris (1892–1894). In the same year, the Ministry of Public Education in Paris commissioned Thoma Ionescu, who was at that time prosector in Paris, to study and report the anatomy teaching methods used at the universities of Germany and Austria.In 1892, he presented his PhD thesis, entitled Anatomie du tube digestif / Anatomy of the Digestive Tract, in the important anatomy treaty elaborated by Poirier and Charpy, where he described for the first time in the medical literature, the duodeno–jejunal fossae, the sigmoid fossae, the rectal sheath and the rectal wings.In 1894, he wrote a chapter entitled In 1895, due to a special law, the Department of Topographical Anatomy and surgical clinic was founded in the Faculty of Medicine in Bucharest, and, Thoma Ionescu was asked to become the chairman. In 1897, he participated in the International Medical Congress in Moscow, where he presented the resection of the cervical sympathetic in exophthalmic goiter and epilepsy.At the 1898 Marseilles Congress of Gynaecology, obstetrics and paediatrics, Professor Thoma Ionescu gave a lecture on the complete abdominal castration in case of uterus–annex septic lesions. Anatomist by formation, then surgeon, he understood from the beginning that the fundamental bases of the surgical education also rely on the knowledge of the surgical anatomy besides the experimental surgery. That is why the Institute of Anatomy was divided by Ionescu into a Department of Topographical Anatomy and one of Experimental Surgery. The knowledge of topographical and operational anatomy allowed both the teacher and his school to imagine or improve a number of surgical techniques and methods, some of which are also valid today .Anatomie topographique du duodenum et hernies duodenales / Topographical Anatomy of the Duodenum and Duodenal Hernias). He innovated numerous fields of surgery, practicing the extraction of tumours of the optic nerve without damaging the globe of the eye; he conceived and accomplished a radical operation of uterine cancer and of the suppurations of the annex glands; he introduced new surgical procedures in splenectomy, by removing the spleen; in the surgery of the duodenal ulcer, the rachianesthesia for abdominal surgery, the resection of the rectum; the resection of the stomach in case of severe ulcers; he introduced a special procedure in the temporal–maxillary ankylosis; in herniorrhaphy, in craniotomy, by cutting a section of the skull for brain operations, etc. As a morphologist, he published important studies regarding the topographical anatomy of the pyloric region of the duodenum, of the pelvic colon. He presented the results of his researches in numerous scientific works, among which: Tuberculose herniare / Hernial Tuberculosis (1891); Gastrectomies pour cancer / Gastrectomies for Cancer (1891); Technique operatoire des gastrectomies pour cancer / The Surgical Procedure of  the Gastrectomies for Cancer (1891); Sur la resection du nerf maxillaire et du ganglion de Meckel / On the Resection of the Maxillary Nerve and of Meckel's ganglion (1896); Resection totale et bilaterale du sympathique cervical dans le traitement du goitre exophtalmique et de l'epilepsie / Complete and Bilateral Resection of the Cervical Sympathetic in Curing Exophthalmic Goiter and Epilepsy (1897); Nouveaux procedes pour la cure radicale des henies inguinales / New Procedures for the Radical Cure of the Inguinal Hernias (1897); Temporary Craniotomy (1898); Treating Glaucoma by Resecting the Cervical Sympathetic (1898); Preliminary Cystotomy in the Resection of  the Urethra (1898); La splenectomie / The Splenectomy (1898); Traitement chirurgical du cancer de l'uterus / Surgical Treatment in the Uterine Cancer (1900) and so on and so forth. He was also an innovator in the field of Anaesthesiology, promoting high class rachianesthesia, used in surgical procedures of the head and the neck, procedure known as the ‘Romanian method’ ; he also conceived a high number of surgical instruments, many of them for the use in the abdominal cavity.His other contributions, considered classic, regard the anatomical study of the pharynx, peritoneum, abdomen, duodenum, pelvic colon, etc. .Between 1909 and 1910, in New York and afterwards in Rochester, in brothers' Mayo clinic, Ionescu did surgical demonstrations on upper segments of the body, under high rachianesthesia. In the field of gynaecology, he described the procedure of Cuneo'hysterectomy for the correction of the retro deviations of the uterus and was one of the first in the world to accomplish the resection of the sacral sympathetic in pelvic pains, by using his own technique.Le sympathique cervico–thoracique / The Cervico–thoracic Sympathetic  monograph.In 1902, while dealing with the cancer of the cervix, he proved, on the basis of the histological examinations of pelvic ganglions, that the Wertheim operation is incomplete and he recommended the extended lymphadenectomy of the pelvis. Thoma Ionescu is one of the first surgeons in the world preoccupied with the surgery of the sympathetic. He extended the exeresis of the cervical sympathetic chain to the first thoracic ganglion in Basedow disease and in epilepsy, before Jaboulay. He extended the indication of this kind of intervention in glaucoma, essential migraine and angina pectoris, and associated stellectomy with the cervical–thoracic sympathectomy . These studies are included in He founded the journals ‘Archives des Sciences Medicales’ (1896) and ‘Revue de Chirurgie’ (1897), being also the founder and organizer, together with Constantin Dumitrescu Severeanu, of the Surgery Society in Bucharest, in 1898.Thoma Ionescu was elected three times Dean of the Faculty of Medicine in Bucharest, between 1906–1912, 1921–1923, and 1925–1926. Between 1912 and 1915 he was Rector of the University of Bucharest.He was one of the supporters of the creation of the Romanian national state: in 1918 he took part in the National Council of Unity of the Romanians in Paris. He was the first Romanian delegate to the sessions of the United Nations, between 1920 and 1921.In June 1925 he became a member of honour of the Romanian Academy.


Microbiological food safety surveillance is a system that collects data regarding food contamination by foodborne pathogens, parasites, viruses, and other harmful microbiological factors. It helps to understand the spectrum of food safety, timely detect food safety hazards, and provide relevant data for food safety supervision, risk assessment, and standards-setting. The study discusses the microbiological surveillance of food safety in China, and introduces the policies and history of the national microbiological surveillance system. In addition, the function and duties of different organizations and institutions are provided in this work, as well as the generation and content of the surveillance plan, quality control, database, and achievement of the microbiological surveillance of food safety in China. Food safety is one of the most important concerns of humans, and closely related to health, economic development, and social stability . In receIn 2000, the Department of Health began the surveillance of foodborne pathogens according to the planning of the Global Environment Monitoring System-Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment Program. As the supporting organization for national food safety, the Institute of Nutrition and Food Safety of China Center for Disease Control and Prevention commissioned some provincial Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to launch surveillance and establish the National Surveillance Network of foodborne pathogens based on a project from the Ministry of Science and Technology . In AuguThe Food Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China was issued in 2009 and legally clarified the role and duties of the national food safety surveillance system for contamination and hazard factors in food . One regListeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., and E coli O157:H7 in over 1900 samples, including raw meat, cured meat, yoghourt, raw milk, ice cream, and aquatic products of animal origin for eating raw [Development of the microbiological surveillance system of food safety in China has passed through two stages. The first stage encompassed the surveillance of foodborne pathogens from 2000 to 2009. It aimed to evaluate food safety risk, develop policy and standards, and guide food hygiene supervision, production, and consumption. The number of participating provinces gradually expanded from 32.3% (10/31) in 2000 to 71.0% (22/31) in 2009, and prefecture-level cities covered from 10.5% (35/334) in 2000 to 51.2% (171/334) in 2009. In 2000 the surveillance only tracked contamination of ting raw . With tiThe second stage was the establishment of the National Microbiological Surveillance Network in 2010. For the implementation of food safety surveillance required by the food safety law of the People’s Republic of China issued in 2009 , the NatFor efficiency, the national food safety surveillance plan was jointly issued by NHFPC, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), the Food and Drug Administration (CFDA), and the State Administration of Grain (SAG), according to the Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China and its implementation regulations .The national microbiological surveillance program aimed to obtain the levels and trends of main microbiological contaminants of major foods in China, determine the potential sources and distributions of the hazards, provide a scientific basis for food safety risk assessment, standards setting, and tracking and evaluation; these actions help in taking appropriate risk control measures timely.The China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment (CFSA) is responsible for providing technology guidance to the national food safety surveillance, personnel training and quality control; in addition, CFSA gathers, analyzes and manages the surveillance data, and identifies food safety problems and puts forward timely proposals. When the national surveillance is issued yearly, the CFSA gathers experts from epidemiology, microbiology, statistics, and quality control fields to draft and revise the manual guiding future surveillance work.The provincial Health and Family Planning Administrative Departments must establish regional surveillance programs according to the national surveillance plan’s content and requirements. It should clearly appoint the technological institutions for implementation, management, trainings, analysis of the regional surveillance data, and notification and consultation of the surveillance results.Food safety surveillance in China is very different from the European Union. In China, the national government pays most of the costs of annual food safety surveillance, and every province must complete all of the work according to the national surveillance plan, and, additionally, provide a real-time report of all detailed surveillance results to the central government ,12. An a(1)Foods with greatest health hazards and highest risks must be included;(2)Food easily causing health effects on special groups such as infants and young children must be emphasized;(3)Foods with wide and significant consumption should be taken into consideration;(4)Foods and items ever involved in domestic food safety accidents in the past or with high attention by consumers must be included;(5)Foods involved in health hazards abroad, with evidence of possible existence domestically must be included.The Health and Family Planning Commission issues an annual notice of advice and proposal to the National Food Safety Surveillance Plan from the Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, State Administration for Industry and Commerce, State Food and Drug Administration, and relevant research institutes and industry associations. CFSA is responsible for the summary and analysis of all concerns and suggestions, and invites experts from different departments involved in food safety supervision, industrial management, food inspection, and laboratory quality control for panel discussion. The resulting draft is proposed to related departments, and, after consultation, a final food safety surveillance plan is formed with the approval of all relevant departments. The surveillance items and content of the plan must be guided by the following principles:Salmonella in raw meat and Vibrio parahaemolyticus in fish. Special surveillance explores the contamination source and critical control points, which includes processing surveillance and surveillance of food chains, e.g., Cronobacter spp. in infant powdered formula processing surveillance and Vibrio parahaemolyticus in aquaculture, sales, and catering of freshwater fish. These two kinds of surveillance are closely related. For example, routine surveillance showed that the contamination level of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in freshwater aquatic products of animal origin is similar to seawater aquatic products of animal origin, and special surveillance was initiated to trace the source of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in freshwater fish. The surveillance of the food chain enables detection of hazards so that systematic control and intervention strategies can be adopted. Emergency surveillance is a quick-start process used only in the event of food safety emergency incidents, when unplanned risk assessment is needed.There are three types of microbiological surveillance: routine, special, and emergency surveillances. Routine surveillance includes a wide range of representative organisms to obtain the overall microbial contamination and its trend in foods, e.g., To ensure scientific and accurate sampling and data analysis, and to improve the ability of surveillance institutions, CFSA organizes technological trainings in sampling, examination methods, and data reporting every year. Provincial-level institutes should train the municipal-level counterparts with the same contents, and amplify the training contents according to the actual situation, e.g., internship in the laboratory. There is detailed requirement for the design of a concrete implementation plan for sampling, quality control, analysis methods, information reporting, and data management in the annual manual of surveillance.Surveillance work in every institute should incorporate a quality management system. CFSA organizes and develops methods for quality control, for example, to distribute quality control analysis samples for examination, evaluate data quality and work performance yearly in each province, and communicate at the annual work conference and training meeting the outstanding experiences. Provincial-level institutes should be responsible for the improvement of municipal-level institutes with wrong examination results and other mistakes.All these data are submitted to CFSA by the Network System of National Food Microorganism surveillance . In ordeSalmonella, Cronobacter spp., Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Vibrio parahaemolyticus,Campylobacter jejuni and Clostridium botulinum, as well as hygiene indicator bacteria such as E. coli and other Enterobacteriaceae. Parasites are relatively less monitored, and mainly include nematodes, Angiostrongylus cantonensis, and Trichina spp. The only virus monitored is Norovirus. The information database of food microbial contamination in China has been established, which gradually clarifies food contamination of main foodborne pathogens in different regions, seasons, packaging types, food categories, brands, and sampling sites in China. The contamination data regarding main foodborne pathogens and indicator bacteria are well representative, but it is still necessary to strengthen the surveillance of foodborne viruses, parasites and several pathogens due to the fact that only part of the laboratories can perform an analysis. For example, Campylobacter jejuni is one of the world’s most important food poisoning pathogens [There are over two million pieces of data from about 500,000 samples, including various kinds of major foods and local foods related to foodborne diseases. Surveillance items include mainly foodborne pathogens such as athogens , howeverThe nationwide network and system for food microbiological surveillance is the responsibility of CFSA, who acts as the technical leader in this work, the provincial and prefecture level institutions as technical support and backbone, respectively.Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes often contaminate cooked meat. In addition, the contamination rate of Salmonella spp. in raw chicken is higher than that in live chicken, due to cross contamination in the slaughterhouse. As favorite and delicious foods of many Chinese, raw aquatic products pose a high risk for foodborne diseases because of Vibrio parahaemolyticus and listeria monocytogenes.Through continuous surveillance and accumulating scientific data, the basic contamination levels and trends in major foods, such as meat and meat products, milk and dairy products, eggs and egg products, animal products, cooked rice flour products, infant and young children foods, and many other kinds of Chinese meals, are now clarified. The current monitoring results show that the overall situation of relevant foods is good, although some food safety problems remain. The microbiological contamination level in bulk products is higher than that of prepackaged products. However, foodborne pathogens were still isolated from prepackaged products, especially those produced by contract manufacturers and small businesses. Seasonal differences also occur, with higher detection levels in the second and third quarters for microbial contamination of bulk products, but not prepackaged products. Microbiological contamination is higher in street stalls, especially unlicensed mobile stalls when compared with other sampling sites. However, there are exceptions. For example, bulk ice cream at a large hotel has higher microbiological risk than that served in the fast-food cafe, perhaps due to the length of shelf life in the big hotel. Cross contamination during food processing is common; for example, fruit salad is higher risk than whole fruit, and Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat food have been used in the food safety risk assessment project “quantitative risk assessment of Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat food, where suggestions were provided to the classification and revision of “National Food Safety Criteria For Foodborne Pathogen” (GB 29921-2013) [Bacillus cereus in powdered infant formula from 2011 to 2013 [Bacillus cereus contamination in powdered infant formula and the necessity of setting-up relevant microbiological criteria.Food surveillance provides basic data and technical support for risk assessment and standards-setting, and promulgation of food safety laws. The surveillance results provide advices and tips for assessment projects, relevant analysis methods, and standards of food safety. For example, the data regarding 21-2013) . Accordi to 2013  and crit to 2013 , Austral to 2013 , the relCronobacter spp. occurrence in this retail product decreased rapidly from 1.1% in 2012 to 0.35% in 2013. Additionally, the surveillance system has changed the focus of food safety priorities. For example, the notification of contamination by Cronobacter spp. and Bacillus cereus in goat powdered infant formula provided clues for the supervision and administration of this kind of food. A 0.94% and 2.51% occurrence of Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes in bulk packed cooked meat products in the Chinese retail market is higher than these in the pre-packed cooked meat with an occurrence of 0.03 % and 0.28 %. However, as one of the most popular foods for Chinese and one of the most common sources of food poisoning in China, there is no microbiological food safety criteria for bulk packed cooked meat in China, which has caused particular attention of the government and highlights that the next step of risk assessment and criteria development is necessary.To give full play to the role of food safety surveillance, CFSA timely analyzes the reported results, immediately organizes examination when necessary, and identifies possible potential hazards based on timely and accurate principles. For example, the control of production process of powdered infant formula was initiated from 2013 to 2014 to find the contamination source due to persistent contamination of retail products from 2011 to 2012. The contamination of foodborne pathogens decreased greatly in the infant powdered formula by this two-year action, and the incidence of The national microbiological surveillance data only reflect the overall Chinese food safety situation, but not special aspects of every province, autonomous region, and municipality. The sample numbers are relatively low to complete a comprehensive and systematic risk assessment at the provincial level. Therefore, it is recommended to establish a local investment and safeguard mechanism to develop local microbiological surveillance, especially for local characteristic foods.It is very important to apply information technology in the development of surveillance. Currently, the value and significance of spatial analysis technology of a Geographic Information System in the application of risk analysis and early warning is being explored. An exchange platform will be built to share the national food safety surveillance data between different organizations and institutions. These advances in data security, data analysis, and early warning will improve the timeliness of data utilization and response. In addition, the use of network information will become an important field of food safety risk assessment, with the continuous advance of the "big data" era on the internet.It’s been proved that surveillance system is a powerful tool for increasing food safety. The Chinese government has worked hard to build a comprehensive surveillance system, but there is still much work that needs to be done despite the rapid development over the past six years.


The Cancer Screenee Cohort Study was first established in 2002 by the National Cancer Center in South Korea to investigate all possible risk factors related to cancers and to expand biological specimen banking for the development of effective methodologies for cancer detection, diagnosis, and prevention. As of July in 2014, total 41,105 participants were enrolled in this cohort. Data were collected via questionnaire, clinical examination, cancer screening, and biological specimen testing including blood, urine, and exfoliated cervical cells. The highest incidence was found to be thyroid cancer, according to a nested case-control study that was linked to the National Cancer Registry information as of December 31, 2011. Case-control, cross-sectional, and cohort studies have been published using these data since 2009. Diet and nutrition was the most published topic, followed by genetics, hepatitis B virus and liver cancer screening, methodologies, physical activity, obesity, metabolic syndrome, smoking and alcohol consumption, and blood type. Evidence from the Cancer Screenee Cohort Study is highly anticipated to reduce the burden of cancer in the Korean population and aid in the detection, diagnosis, and prevention of cancer. A cohort study is one type of observational research design performed over a specific follow-up period in which individuals with an incident disease of interest are compared with those who do not develop the disease. In South Korea, the Korean Multi-Center Cancer Cohort study (KMCC) was established in four geographically-defined urban and rural regions in 1993 and included adults in the general population-based over 35 . The KoGOther developed countries such as the US, Japan, and Europe initiated large cohort studies throughout the last few decades to investigate the associations between risk factors and cancers. For example, the Japan Public Health Center-based prospective study on cancer and cardiovascular diseases was based in 11 public health centers and included a study population of more than 140,000 participants who had been followed from 1990 (cohort I) and 1993 (cohort II) . This EuAdapted after careful review of these previously implemented cohort studies, the Cancer Screenee Cohort Study was established in 2002 by the Center for Cancer Prevention and Detection at the National Cancer Center (NCC) in South Korea. The purpose of this study is to investigate possible risk factors related to cancers and to expand the banking of biological specimens for the development of effective methodologies for cancer detection, diagnosis, and prevention in the Korean population. In last decade, several influential cohort studies have been established and developed with the help of Korean government. In particular, the NCC collects some of the most representative data on cancer epidemiology, and it is highly anticipated that these data will help reduce the burden of cancer in the Korean population. Herein, this paper is to introduce the establishment and achievements of the Cancer Screenee Cohort Study at both national and international levels since 2002.From August 2002 till July 2014, 41,105 participants aged between 30 and 70 years were enrolled in this cohort study. Collected demographic data included the participants’ age, gender, marital status, education level, household income, job, smoking habits, alcohol consumption, and family history of cancer . ParticiThe institutional review board of NCC approved this study in August 2002. All participants provided informed consent, were informed of their right to withdraw from the study at any time without penalty, and were informed that the purpose of this study is to detect, diagnose, and prevent cancer in South Korea.By matching resident registration numbers with participants, the incidence of cancer cases in the cohort was confirmed by linking with the Korea National Cancer Incidence Database of the Korea Central Cancer Registry . The incSince 2009, the results of this study have been published in scientific journals. Published topics include diet and nutrition (14 publications) -23, geneData from this cohort study will help determine risk factors of specific cancers in the Korean population. The findings of this study are also expected to be used for the development of a scientific model to determine the influence of interactions between genetic and environmental factors, and provide evidence-based preventive medicine at an individual level. Moreover, the findings of this study will aid in the design and evaluation of policies on a national level and in the exchange of scientific knowledge and manpower to coordinated future national and international studies.


Food safety is a global priority and an important public-health issue as foodborne diseases (FBDs), infections, and intoxications are a major cause of morbidity, mortality, and economic burden worldwide. Recognizing the importance of food safety in preventing and controlling FBD as an important cause of illness and deaths worldwide, the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted Resolution WHA 53.15 in 2002, establishing food safety and the prevention and control of FBD as a global priority. Further, in May 2010, the WHO adopted Resolution WHA 63.3 urging its Member States to improve evidence-based food safety efforts by conducting disease burden studies. Similarly, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), as the WHO Regional Office for the Americas, included food safety as one of its strategic objectives in its 2008-2012 Strategic Plan and FBD Surveillance as one of the five components of its hemispheric Plan of Action for Food Protection.Precise information on the burden of illness (BOI) is needed to help guide the FBD control efforts. In response to the gap in data, the WHO launched an initiative to estimate the global burden of FBD in collaboration with multiple partners in 2006 and developed a rigorous approach for BOI estimation worldwide. For several years, PAHO/WHO has been catalyzing the creation of capacity in Member States to quantify the national burden of foodborne diseases. Recently, some countries in the Americas published estimates of foodborne disease burden. Nevertheless, in large parts of the Americas, such estimates are completely lacking.In the Caribbean countries, the epidemiology of food- and waterborne illnesses at the community level is poorly understood. Little information on disease burden and aetiology is available, thereby limiting appropriate prevention measures. To better understand the epidemiology of FBD, measure its burden and impact, and thereby develop appropriate prevention and control measures, PAHO/WHO and the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC), in collaboration with Member States and strategic partners, executed a Caribbean BOI study from 2008 to 2012 in seven countries . These BOI studies provide evidence-based information to guide the allocation of limited resources intended for the health agenda, appropriate intervention measures, and to ensure the sustainability of the Caribbean tourism economies.At the time when these studies were done, CAREC was a PAHO/WHO centre. As of January 2013, CAREC became part of the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), the latter being governed by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). CARPHA continues with the responsibility for preventing disease, promoting heath, and responding to public-health priorities in the Caribbean region. The strategic partners in the Caribbean BOI studies were: Public Health Agency of Canada, University of Laval in Canada, University of the West Indies in Trinidad, Ross University in Dominica, St. George's University in Grenada, and the Caribbean Eco-Health Programme (CEHP). The CEHP was designed to address the challenge of building capacity and capabilities, translating and transferring knowledge, technology, and skills to public and environmental health professionals working in the CARICOM region. The PAHO/WHO and CAREC-led Caribbean BOI studies were one of four components of the CEHP. Funding was provided by PAHO, CAREC, Member States, and largely by a grant from the International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada, that was obtained by the CEHP.As of June 2012, the BOI studies estimated the prevalence and burden of acute gastroenteritis (AGE), specific FBD pathogens, risk factors of infections, economic costs, and gaps in AGE surveillance and, thus, provided information to guide appropriate FBD reduction efforts and food safety policy interventions for the seven countries in the Caribbean region. This Supplement of JHPN presents the findings of the burden of illness studies in respective countries. All countries used a similar methodology to conduct the population-based and laboratory-based surveys. Using a series of multipliers derived from the two national surveys, the burden of AGE, FBD, and specific FBD pathogens was calculated. Saint Lucia conducted the first BOI study. Lessons learnt from this pilot study were used in improving the implementation of the studies in other countries of the region.These BOI studies are the first to be conducted by the Caribbean Member States to estimate the prevalence and burden of AGE and FBD. The findings are profound and have provided valuable information to guide appropriate FBD reduction efforts and food safety policy interventions for the Caribbean. This syndromic approach is a relatively simple and low-cost initial step in gathering reliable information on the burden of disease associated with food consumption. However, we recognize that complementary approaches are needed to define better the burden of diarrhoeal illness associated specifically with the transmission of foodborne pathogens. Foodborne diseases are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in the Caribbean. The calculation of the cost of unsafe food, and especially of the burden arising from microbiological contaminants in food, is a starting point for determining the real burden of disease. The Caribbean BOI studies will continue under CARPHA, with support from PAHO, using additional data being obtained in Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, and Bermuda.www.idrc.ca) and the Cooperative Agreement of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USA.I would like to thank the national authorities in each country for the support in conducting the studies; CAREC/CARPHA and PAHO secretariats for the coordination and management of country-specific studies and for support for publication of this JHPN Supplement. This work is made possible with the aid of a grant from the International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada (Again, thanks to all involved in this great work.


The first Euroanalysis conference took place in Heidelberg, Germany, more than 30 years ago. Since 1972, the meeting have focused on various analytical chemistry issues, and been established as a forum for the analytical community from academia, governance, and industry in Europe with worldwide recognition. Euroanalysis, held biannually, with the venue rotating among European countries, was hosted so far by Austria, Belgium, France, twice in Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, and twice in Poland (the last in 2013). The main organizer of the Euroanalysis conferences is the Division of Analytical Chemistry of the European Association for Chemical and Molecular Sciences (EuCheMS).The 17th European Conference on Analytical Chemistry, held in Poland from August 25 to 29, 2013, was organized by the Polish Chemical Society and Committee on Analytical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Supported by EuCheMS, IUPAC, and the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the event was jointly organized by the Faculties of Chemistry of the Warsaw University of Technology and the University of Warsaw.The main aim of Euroanalysis XVII was to share ideas on recent developments of instrumentation and application in the field of analytical chemistry towards human well-being and sustainable development. Continuing previous successful conferences, both fundamental research and practical analytical applications were discussed.The conference was held in Warsaw, a city of opportunities, entertainments, art, and science.The conference began with well-attended short courses, organized for Sunday, 25th August. The opening ceremony conducted at the Great Hall at the Technical University of Warsaw was followed by the special plenary lecture given by Professor Adam Hulanicki, distinguished and worldwide recognized Polish analytical chemist. You can read his view on the history of Polish analytical chemistry in this issue.A special session was dedicated to the DAC EuCheMS Award Ceremony of the Robert Kellner Lecture; this time the award was given to Jurgen Popp. After the special laudation given by Paul Worsfold, Raman spectroscopy and its use for biomedical analysis were intensely discussed by Jurgen Popp.The conference program was divided into various thematic sessions, covering environmental, biomedical, forensic, and food analysis; trace elements and speciation; industrial and process analysis; separation techniques; electrochemical methods and devises; as well as recent progress in modern analysis. Analytical methods for cultural heritage and art, education in analytical chemistry as well as chemometrics, quality assurance, and metrology were discussed during the conference. The scientific program was concluded by the special keynote lecture on “Quantification of human errors in chemical analysis using expert judgments” given by I. Kuselman. Close to 600 posters were presented during the entire conference, and six of them were awarded Best Poster Awards by Springer. Besides the presentation given by senior scientists, it is worth highlighting the large number of young scientists and the high scientific level of their contributions.The social program aimed to provide an occasion for informal discussion and enriching friendships with analytical chemistry societies. The key points were as follows: Sunday evening get-together in the main building of the Warsaw University of Technology to greet friends and welcome them to Warsaw; Beer Barbecue party in “Gościniec Wiecha” in Heritage Park outside of Warsaw, an excellent opportunity to taste local specialties of the Mazovian village cuisine on Monday evening; beautiful costumes, live folk music, and dance given by dancers on the stage of the famous “Teatr Polski” gave the chance for a music-and-dance trip around various regions of Poland during the enjoyable Tuesday evening; last but not least was the conference Gala Dinner, which took place on Wednesday in the Main Hall of the Warsaw University of Technology, which specially for this evening was turned into a unique ballroom complemented by a spectacular composition of light and music.The very intense program of Euroanalysis made the days in Warsaw pass extremely quickly. During the closing ceremony, held on Friday, the participants expressed their appreciation to the organizing committee for all their effort to assure an excellent atmosphere during the conference.The next Euroanalysis event will be organized in 2015, in Bordeaux; good luck to our friends from France!


After publication of this work , we note1*, David Altshuler1, Margit Chadwell2, Juliann Binienda2.Mio NakamuraMN made substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation of data, and drafted the manuscript. DA made substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation of data. MC made substantial contributions to the inception of the study, revision of the manuscript, and is Medical Director of the student-run free clinic. JB made substantial contributions to conception and design, analysis and interpretation of data, and revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.


In the PDF download of this article, the publication date is listed incorrectly. The correct publication date is March 4, 2015.The Funding section also contains an error. The Funding statement is repeated, appearing twice instead of just once. The correcting Funding statement is: Financial support was received from the DFID Animal Health Programme , the DFID/RCUK programme on Zoonoses and Emerging Livestock Systems , and the ICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analyses, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.


The grant number for the second funder, the Natural Science Foundation of Liaoning Province, is incorrect. The correct grant number is: 201102247. Please see the full, correct funding statement below.The funders of Scientific and Technological Project of Liaoning Province (Grant No.2009225007-7) played an important role in study design, data analysis, preparation of the manuscript and decision to publish, the Natural Science Foundation of Liaoning Province (Grant No. 201102247) played an important role in the sample collection and diagnosis of the NSCL/P.


Over the past century, the study of genetics has revolutionized our understanding of life on earth. Our knowledge of trait heritability from parent to offspring has been central to predict the trajectory of evolution, studying disease, and successful breeding of crops and animals. The field of genetics continues to grow in leaps and bounds due to next-generation sequencing, metagenomic approaches, genetic engineering, a better understanding of epigenetics, and, most recently, the creation of synthetic chromosomes , but the potential for application of this knowledge seems limitless.


Improving on previous social protection schemes, in 2000, policy-makers created the Mexican Social Protection System in Health (SPSS), an insurance scheme to expand financial coverage for health care, and especially to reduce and eliminate out-of-pocket health expenditures by the poorest households. Mexico has been widely applauded for achieving universal health coverage, meaning financial coverage, in 2012. However, such an achievement does not, by itself, result in adequate services for women's sexual and reproductive health and rights . Two key SPSS programmes prioritise SPSS enrollment for pregnant women and their families, and send out mobile units to work with rural midwives. SPSS also provides financial support for the treatment of cervical cancer, breast cancer and mental health, as well as other services that are critical over a woman's lifetime.While the SPSS has helped reduce the risk of crippling health costs for many of the poor, only limited information is available on the percentage of SPSS coverage that applies to SRHR services, and the impact on SRHR has been inadequate. For example, if the pace of the decline in the maternal mortality ratio, from 56.1 in 2002 to 43 in 2013, continues, Mexico will not meet its Millennium Development Goals (MDG) 5 goal of 22.2 (Government of Mexico, Office of the President, At least three factors inhibit progress and must be improved in the years ahead. First, the SPSS emphasis on financing has meant that the following key aspects of care have been neglected: improving the quality of services; strengthening and modifying the distribution of services within the health infrastructure; developing effective referral systems; increasing the number of skilled health workers, especially midwives and other primary- and mid-level providers; and ensuring access to translation for indigenous women in order to facilitate their effective use of services (CIDE & CONAPRED, Second, Mexico is a Federal Republic, and meeting the right to health for all is the responsibility of 32 states, posing some major challenges for quality assurance and the efficiency of resource spending, among other areas.Third, many women face other significant barriers to accessing SRHR services, including low levels of education; subordination within families and communities; lack of transportation; violence; as well as stigma and discrimination based on ethnicity, sexuality, race and age; all of which require stronger multi-sector policies and programmes to overcome.It is critical for the SPSS, and similar initiatives in other countries, to reduce and eliminate profound inequalities affecting women's access to health services, especially those that are based on income, age, ethnic origin and geographical residence. This requires allocating the maximum available resources, a human rights standard, to public health financing, particularly for SRHR.Finally, the international right-to-health standards for the availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality of goods, services and facilities need to be central to the next stages of health services development. This requires transparency in health sector budgeting and expenditures, effective accountability mechanisms and data collection and monitoring systems that, among other things, enable programme managers, policy-makers and others to track quality of care and individual health outcomes, not just services provided. It further requires mechanisms through which redress can be sought when human rights are abused or the government does not live up to its obligations under international human rights law.


A sample of 13 articles was selected. studies have highlighted the decrease of urinary tract infection related tocatheterism through reminder systems to decrease of people submitted to urinarycatheterism, audits about nursing professionals practice and bundles expansion.the present review systemizes the knowledge of used strategies by healthprofessionals on introduction to international recommendations, describing a ratedecrease of such infection in clinical practice. About 15% to 25% of hospitalized people are submitted to vesicalcatheterization. In most cases, this technique is used without proper indication, extendingits unnecessary use. CAUTI is referred to in several studies about increase on mortalityand morbidity, as well as hospitalization, and, consequently, associatedcosts.Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) is frequent on hospitalized people.On infections associated to health care, catheter-associated urinary tract infectioncorresponds to 40%. About determined that UTI rate was superior to 560 thousands when compared toother HAIs, with a mortality rate of 2.3%, and bacteriuria (which develop bactareamia)cases lower than 5%. UTI is the main cause of infecctions on secondary nosocomialbloodstream, about 17% of nosocomial bactareamia origin from urinary, with an associatedmortality of 10%. Society for Healthcare Epidemology of America (SHEA) estimates between17% and 69% of CAUTI can be prevented through infection control recommendations, basedon evidences.However, it is pointed out that when compared to other healthcare-associated infections(HAI), urinary tract infection (UTI) presents a low morbidity. A study carried out inthe USA determi. Currently, the practice based on evidences is a highlight in a culturethat aims a quality standard for safe care. However, it is pointed out that many timesprofessionals face a few embarrassments regarding the connection between results fromthe most current and practical investigation. The way actions and/or strategies areapplied for implementations, in one document, providing practical changeable tools toreaders, based in measurable results. This systematic review supplies the answer to thisneed, gathering the scattered knowledge on literature and facilitating the access tosafe practices based on evidences. The study's goal was to search evidences regardingstrategies that health professionals found out on practice to apply/implement of CDCrecommendations and CAUTI prevention. The investigation suggests that CAUTI prevention goes through recommended actions, andbased on evidences that lower the rate for this infection. Simple initiatives as handhygiene, use of a reliable technique, maintenance and the way the catheter is removedcan contribute to prevent the associated infection. An unnecessary urinary catheterismand the period of permanency of catheter influence the infection development, beingmodifiable factors. CurrenThe structure of this systematic review on literature was based on the CAUTI thematic,elaborating the initial question, defining eligibility criteria, selecting articlesamples and further analysis and results discussion. To obtain the answer to the initialquestion "What are the strategies health professionals use for implementing the Centersfor Disease Control and prevention (CDC) guidelines for CAUTI prevention?". A systematicreview of the literature was made to reach this goal. As a research strategy, the following health descriptors were used: urinary ANDinfection AND catheter AND nurs*. To find answers to this question, the goal was toperceive how nurses operationalized the recommendations of the Centers for DiseaseControl and prevention on praxis and intervention on CAUTI prevention.(r), Nursing & Allied Health Collection,Cochrane Plus Collection, MedicLatina, MEDLINE(r), Academic Search Complete,ACS - American Chemical Society, Health Reference Center Academic, Nursing ReferenceCenter, ScienceDirect Journals, and Wiley Online Library. Face to the studiedphenomenon, the eligibility criteria were established according to The temporal limit of research was from January 2007 to December 2014, for fullyavailable papers, as a way to contextualize the thematic in the past seven years. Thedatabases used were CINAHLComparison [C] was removed. Wealso considered, when selecting the studies, the bibliographic referencesmentioned. On the initial phase, 92 articles were obtained, from which, 38 wereexcluded by their titles. After reading 53 abstracts, 29 articles were rejected.Twenty-five articles were fully analyzed, from which 12 were rejected, according theinclusion/exclusion criteria, leading to 13 articles selected to perform the systematicreview on literature. We would like to highlight that the exclusion of articles was also related to lack ofinformation about parameters considered important for the analysis; participants,interventions, results, study's draw. Facing the studies' diversity and non-relevance tothe investigation question, the parameterentioned. On th, determining that most of the selected articles presented a high level ofevidence, considering about 70% are on evidence level Ib. On evidence level Ib, thescientific evidence comes from, at least, a random clinical trial. Following twoarticles placed on evidence level IIa, and two articles on level Ia, the last one beingthe higher evidence level. On level IIa, the evidence was obtained through a forward study controlledand well designed, without randomization. On level Ia, the scientific evidence obtainsthrough a met-analysis of random clinical trials. The 13 selected articles, accordingthe evidence level, are presented on Afterwards, the articles were classified in accordance to evidence level, determce level. On levThe results are presented in table, with the analysis of studies selected to reviewliterature, specifying each one according to author, year, country, participants,interventions, results and design . Wemade, promoting a more consistent validity for the resolution of theproblem.In the search for better evidence, we concluded that the articles present a high levelof evidence for the answer to the matter being investigated. They are in between thelevels I and II of evidence, promot(11-12) what was defined was the time of development ofthe studies, and not the number of clients.The number of participants in the analyzed studies varied between 50 and 4,963. In tworetrospective studies (-), the results were similar in comparison to smaller groups. We determinedthat, despite the difference in the methodology applied, the results of the studies areanalogous. In the majority of them, there was an intervention phase and apost-intervention one. Some studies motivate the formation of nurses about the guidelines ofprevention of CAUTI, revealing extreme importance in their duties .Although big difference between the number of participants in different studies, havinggroups with more than 2,000-7, thies ,-,17.Taking into account the obtained results, according to (15) - UCAM - based on scientific recommendationfor the prevention of CAUTI, the nurses managed to improve the records under themanipulation done in the technique of vesical catheterization. The records, asindicators of vesical catheterization and evaluation of the necessity to keep thecatheter, have motivated the removal of the catheters considered unnecessary(-). According to the guidelines of CDC , the early removal of the urinary catheter contributes for the preventionof the infection associated to this device.By making the audit document - UCAM -ssary-. Accord of CDC , the ea. The justification used by the nurses was based on appropriate indicatorsdescribed on scientific evidence, concerning the need of the urinary catheter. In thecases in which the catheters were not removed, the duration of the catheterizationdecreased, so did the incidence of CAUTI.One of the strategies used by the nurses was to remind the doctor about the necessity ofthe urinary catheter-,10. T. The term bundle was developed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement(18) to describe a set of intervention, based on evidence and directed tothe clients/population who are under inherent risks care. This set of intervention, whenimplemented together, originate significantly better results than those implementedindividually. The bundle used were related to the insertion technique and themaintenance of the vesical catheter, to avoid the urinary catheter, and also, limitingits duration.The dominant strategy throughout the studies is the application of bundles of manyformats in the prevention of CAUTI -,-14. Trovement to descr. On the other hand, when the indication for the usage of catheter was notpresent, it was removed after analysis with the doctor. With the application of thealgorithm it was subjacent the daily evaluation of the necessity of the urinarycatheter. Both studies allowed the reduction of the usage of the vesical catheter andthe incidence of CAUTI.Another identified strategy was the creation of the algorithm for the maintenance of theurinary catheter, based on evidence, whenever really necessary ,17. O. In this study, there is a decline of the usage and unnecessary usage ofthe vesical catheter. The decision making is based on evidence of the nurses insuspending the vesical catheterization. The nurses were based on the recommendation ofscientific evidence for the making of protocols of performance in the prevention ofCAUTI, from its insertion and maintenance, until the evaluation of the necessity ofcatheterization.With the purpose of assessing the necessity of the urinary catheter on clients, theimpact of the daily participation of a nurse with management duties (nurse-led) wasevaluated in the multidisciplinary visit and the assessment proposing the removal of thecatheter . In thi(19-20).Determining the crucial and decisive role that the health professional play in theprevention and control of urinary infection associated to urinary catheter. Theawareness of the professionals for this problematic is a fundamental starting point forthis supported practice, seen in some studies in which education was one of the tools for the starting point of thischange.In summary, the health professionals, based on CAUTI prevention guidelines, present manymethods of implementation, responding, in an efficient way, to this problematic. Theattention during the procedure, handling of the vesical catheter, duration of thecatheterization and staff training are of extreme importance1-20.Detedies,-,17 in The strategies applied in the implementation of guidelines have lessened the incidenceof CAUTI, however, they appear in the literature in a disperse way. This review bringsup knowledge, once it systematizes results of the practice and it allows the healthprofessionals access to effective, up-to-date infection control strategies, withpositive results in the quality of health care., as well as, the absence of the nurs* descriptor associated to the researchto other professionals and, consequently, other strategies of practical implementationof international recommendation. At last, the selected sample for the review was of areduced number and more studies are necessary to increase the number of strategicevidence of implementation, as well as its contribution for effective changes in carepractice.As limitations of this study, we highlight the process of selecting the sample done onlyby a reviewer and the usage of the nurs* descriptor on the research strategy. The criticanalysis of the criteria on the series of studies by two reviewers would result betterconsistency in this review, as wel The intervention based on evidence can promote the evaluation of the necessity ofurinary catheterization and removing the catheter when not necessary and allowing thereduction of the CAUTI rate.In relation to the goal of this study and in summary, the main strategies ofimplementation of the guidelines were the performance of audition to the procedure,reminder systems for the assessment of the necessity of urinary catheterization and theimplementation of bundles. The strategies found by the nurses to respond to thisproblematic were efficient, with the development of the health team, based on theprevention and control of the infection and the improvement of the safety of the personwho seeks the health services and are put through this technique. In practice, policiesshould be implemented to promote the early removal of the catheters, as well as, thosethat are not necessary, avoiding negative consequences to the client and theinstitution, namely the hospitalization period. This review, besides systematizing thestrategies found by the health professional in the implementation of the guidelines inthe prevention of CAUTI, opens the gates to new investigation on this area, as astarting point and gaps that can arise. It is important to emphasize the necessity ofmore studies about the intervention of health professionals in the performance andmaintenance of the vesical catheterization technique and, consequently, in theprevention of CAUTI. The strategies described by them are not enough, they need healthprofessionals awareness and motivation on this problematic and studies on other sectionsthat can contribute to the prevention and control of infection associated to healthcare.


An exhausting process of bureaucratization, an ever-changing stream of rules dictated by fluctuating succession of parliamentary majorities and new governments, an irregular system of evaluation and recruitment of new human resources: this is the photography, raw but real, of the current situation concerning University and Research in Italy. The alarm was recently launched in an open letter addressed to the Minister of Education, University and Research, signed by forty-eight senior members of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, the oldest scientific academy in the world and the highest Italian cultural institution . A shareTo exacerbate the already dramatic framework, indeed, the status of Italians doctoral students and post-docs who, according to a just published survey, at the end of their training would have very little chance to work in a more or less stable manner in the world of research and career prospects virtually nil . You can