Care of elderly people by the general practitioner and the geriatrician in Belgium: a qualitative study of their relationship

Objectives. The care of elderly people is a large part of the general practitioners’ work. The growing elderly population requires a reflection on the management of care. Within this large field, we focused on the relationship between general practitioners (GPs) and hospital geriatricians (HGs). Methods. Focus group discussions (FGDs) were performed to describe the collaboration between GPs and HGs: four groups with only GPs, two groups with only HGs and one group with GPs and hospital specialists. Participants were invited to speak about their bad or good experiences of inter-collaboration. The discussions were recorded, transcribed and coded. Results. An important regional disparity was observed: areas that benefit from a wider range of geriatric services were characterised by a perception of better relationships and easier collaboration. In areas with few geriatric services, doctors knew little of other professionals and reported suspicion and even conflicts. Positive experiences and exchanges favour good relationships. Conclusions. The collaboration between GPs and HGs should be enhanced: information, exchanges, reflection on roles and competencies are essential

Verkennend onderzoek langs de Witte Nete (provincie Antwerpen): een geomorfologische benadering van archeologisch-landschappelijk diagnostisch onderzoek in de Kempen

The valley of the Kleine Nete river is archaeologically a poorly documented region, primarily due to lack of archaeological surveys. This lack of knowledge stands in the way of developing efficient archaeological management strategies in light of planning- or development schemes. When an advice was asked for drawing up a basin management plan for the Nete basin, we decided for a period from end 2004 to march 2005 to focus attention within the department of the Central Archaeological Inventory (CAI) of the Flemish Heritage Institute on this region. For this purpose the data in the CAI was revised, a number of amateur archaeologists active in the region were contacted and thus some new findspots were recorded, and a sample fieldwalking survey was executed with the main upper course of the Kleine Nete (the Witte Nete) as central focuspoint. This survey is the subject of this article. Our aims were to 1) collect primary archaeological data, and 2) develop a methodology for regional diagnostic research and evaluation mapping taking into account the unknown archaeological heritage, without using the classic predictive modelling strategies. For this purpose the following steps were undertaken: 1) Creation of a basic geomorphological map of the area 2) Archaeological fieldwalking survey, aiming to equally sample all geomorphological units (if possible) 3) Comparing the results from steps 1 & 2 and identification of patterns 4) Augering survey to test the geomorphological model and assess the physical preservation of landscape elements 5) Interpretation and modelling preservation- and research potential. To develop the basic geomorphological map a number of sources were used: quaternary geological maps, soil maps, recent and historical topographical maps, aerial photographs, and the digital terrain model of Flanders. This last instrument was developed very recently (2004), and is a dtm covering the whole of Flanders. The basic notion behind the research was to integrate and interpret the landscape and archaeological data in one matrix, as a result of intertwined depositional and post-depositional processes. The result is a model of preservation potential and research possibilities. Rare landscape elements such as late glacial dune ridges, palaeochannels, etc. were identified and mapped, and it was possible to assess the historical and subrecent erosion processes in developing a general preservation model with the identification of strongly physically degraded areas. This approach also identified a number of important gaps in our geomorphological knowledge: primarily the phasing in the evolution and stratigraphy of the Holocene valleys, and the internal morphology of the Holocene dune areas. The archaeological artefacts collected during the fieldwalking survey were interpreted and assessed in light of the identified post-depositional processes and geomorphological units. In this interpretation distributional patterns could be distinguished which can be ascribed on the one hand to preferences in landuse patterns in different periods, on the other hand resulting from post- depositional processes, finally to the data collection strategy (fieldwalking). When comparing the patterns discovered during this study with archaeological prediction models used in the region, we had come to the conclusions that: 1) The available sources for the creation of good prediction models (in the classic, processual meaning of the term) are insufficient and lack detail 2) The classic prediction models are strongly simplified documents, taking into account only a minor number of parameters 3) The predicted patterns in these models, when applied to our study, are very unaccurate. On the basis of the resulting model pro-active strategies can be developed which include research strategies to fill in our gaps in the knowledge, and further evaluation and preservation strategies for the identified well preserved areas. Zones of rare preservation potential can be detected and in a next phase evaluated. In light of development schemes appropriate preventive measures can be formulated for each geomorphological unit. The research here described had mainly a methodological focus. Despite the small scale of the research we succeeded in creating a basic model for archaeological regional diagnostics for the Campine area, which is mainly based on geo-archaeological approaches. This model will be further refined in the future, attempting to fill in the gaps in the geomorphological knowledge, and gathering more basic data with additional surveys in the Campine area

Frequency cavity pulling induced by a single semiconductor quantum dot

We investigate the emission properties of a single semiconductor quantum dot deterministically coupled to a confined optical mode in the weak coupling regime. A strong pulling, broadening and narrowing of the cavity mode emission is evidenced when changing the spectral detuning between the emitter and the cavity. These features are theoretically accounted for by considering the phonon assisted emission of the quantum dot transition. These observations highlight a new situation for cavity quantum electrodynamics involving spectrally broad emitters

Rising incidence of breast cancer among female cancer survivors: implications for surveillance.

The number of female cancer survivors has been rising rapidly. We assessed the occurrence of breast cancer in these survivors over time. We computed incidence of primary breast cancer in two cohorts of female cancer survivors with a first diagnosis of cancer at ages 30+ in the periods 1975–1979 and 1990–1994. Cohorts were followed for 10 years through a population-based cancer registry. Over a period of 15 years, the incidence rate of breast cancer among female cancer survivors increased by 30% (age-standardised rate ratio (RR-adj): 1.30; 95% CI: 1.03–1.68). The increase was significant for non-breast cancer survivors (RR-adj: 1.41, 95% CI: 1.04–2.75). During the study period, the rate of second breast cancer stage II tripled (RR-adj: 3.10, 95% CI: 1.73–5.78). Non-breast cancer survivors had a significantly (P value=0.005) more unfavourable stage distribution (62% stage II and III) than breast cancer survivors (32% stage II and III). A marked rise in breast cancer incidence among female cancer survivors was observed. Research to optimise follow-up strategies for these women to detect breast cancer at an early stage is warranted

On the use of MnO2 cartridges for the plutonium determination in seawater

To analyze plutonium (Pu) in open ocean waters can be challenging due to the low seawater concentrations. In this study we compared two techniques for Pu determination, one in-situ MnO2 cartridge system and the more commonly used MnO2 precipitation technique. During the pre-pilot GEOTRACES cruise ANT XXX-1 (2005) we tested MnO2 cartridges for the pre-concentration of Pu from seawater at 19 sampling stations on a transect in the southeastern Atlantic Ocean between Vigo (Spain) and Cape Town (South Africa). Our in-situ sampling setup consisted of one particle cartridge followed by three MnO2 cartridges in a series. Through the system we pumped between 956 and 2700 I of surface seawater with a flow rate between 1.6 and 5.21/min. We found that the adsorption efficiency of a single MnO2 cartridge to adsorb Pu was rather constant and on average a 58 +/- 7%. The adsorption efficiency was also found to be independent of seawater: temperature in the range of 18.3-29.2 degrees C, salinity range 34.2-37.1 parts per thousand, and conductivity in the range of 46.8-58.4 mS/cm. In parallel with the in-situ sampling, discrete surface water samples between 259 and 281 I were taken and Pu was pre-concentrated using the MnO2 precipitation method. We find a good agreement between the Pu concentrations determined with the two different techniques. The in-situ pre-concentration technique requires more radiochemical work in the laboratory but has the advantage that large seawater volumes can be sampled without the necessity for radiochemical processing on-board the ship. The much larger volumes sampled with the in-situ technique compared with the precipitation technique, enables accurate determination of Pu-isotopic ratios with a low relative standard deviation. We have shown in this study that in-situ MnO2 cartridge technique can be used in a reliable way for the determination of dissolved Pu seawater concentration in open ocean waters.Peer reviewe

The variability processing and analysis of the Gaia mission

We present the variability processing and analysis that is foreseen for the Gaia mission within Coordination Unit 7 (CU7) of the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC). A top level description of the tasks is given.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure. To be published in the proceedings of the GREAT-ITN conference "The Milky Way Unravelled by Gaia: GREAT Science from the Gaia Data Releases", 1-5 December 2014, University of Barcelona, Spain, EAS Publications Series, eds Nicholas Walton, Francesca Figueras, and Caroline Soubira

Revision der Gattung Dichodontium (Musci, Dicranaceae)

The eight species so far comprised in the genus Dichodondium are reduced to three. Dichodontium verrucosum Card. is regarded as conspecific with D. pellucidum ( Hedw.) Schimp. Dichodontium opacifolium Dix. is regarded as conspecific with D. brasiliense Broth. The placement of this species in the genus Dichodontium is doubtful. Dichodontium nelsonii Kindb. proved to be Bartramia pomiformis Hedw. Dichodontium debile Broth. and D. integrum Sak. remain dubious species because of a lack of type material and references. Dichodontium pellucidum (Hedw.) Schimp. is lectotypified.Die 8 bisher in der Gattung Dichodontium eingeschlossenen Arten werden auf 3 reduziert. Dichodontium verrucosum Card. ist synonym mit D. pellucidum (Hedw.) Schimp. Dichodontium opacifolium Dix. ist synonym mit D. brasiliense Broth., wobei die Zugehörigkeit dieser Art zur Gattung Dichodontium nicht vollkommen geklärt ist. Dichodontium nelsonii Kindb. stellte sich als Bartramia pomiformis Hedw. heraus. Dichodontium debile Broth. und D. integrum Sak. bleiben aufgrund von fehlendem Typusmaterial unrevidiert. Dichodontium pellucidum (Hedw.) Schimp. wird lektotypifiziert