Loess stratigraphy in Dutch and Belgian Limburg

Ziel dieser Veröffentlichung ist es, für einen Abschnitt entlang des Albert Kanals in Niederländisch und Belgisch Limburg eine Übersicht zur Lössstratigraphie zu erstellen. Die Arbeit gründet sich vor allem auf Feldaufnahmen und Schwermineralanalysen. An Talhängen und zwischen Flussterrassen kam es zur Sedimentation und Erhaltung mächtiger, reich gegliederter Lössablagerungen. Die Wände des Albert Kanals, Lössaufschlüsse im angrenzenden Gebiet und vier große archäologische Ausgrabungen wurden untersucht. Auf Grund von charakteristischen lithologischen und paläopedologischen Leithorizonten, mineralogischen und chronologischen Daten und deren Korrelation mit Lössaufschlüssen in Hessen wurde eine lössstratigraphische Übersicht für die Zeit seit dem Holstein-Interglazial erstellt, welche sich mit Ozean- und Eisisotopenabfolgen sowie mit festländischen Pollenzonen korrelieren lassen. Es lassen sich vier glaziale Lösszyklen und fünf interglaziale Paläoböden auf der Rothem Terrasse der Maas ausmachen.researc

The Third-party Model: Enhancing Volunteering through Governments, Corporations and Educational Institutes

Volunteering is perceived as important for creating social capital and civil society, and therefore has become a fundamental part of social policies across most Western countries. In this article, we examine the involvement of governments, corporations and educational institutes in encouraging volunteering, and pinpoint their role in developing volunteering circles. Based on essential concepts presented here (volunteerability and recruitability), we develop the third-party model, and show how third parties get involved. We identify new ways in which these parties can enhance volunteering, and discuss their impact on volunteerability and recruitability. The potential negative impacts of volunteerism and ways in which these can be ameliorated are also acknowledged. Finally, issues that arise due to such involvement are also discussed, thereby offering an important contribution to social policy research in the area of volunteerism

Vijf jaar nadien: met de mond vol tanden?

Bij een onderzoek naar de mond(status) van bewoners van twee psycho-geriatrische afdelingen in een verpleeghuis door vierdejaars mondhygiënistes in opleiding is bij één bewoner geconstateerd dat zijn boven- en ondergebitsprothese sinds opname, 2 jaar geleden, niet uit zijn mond was geweest omdat de verzorgenden dachten dat hij zijn eigen tanden nog had

Measuring volunteerability and the capacity to volunteer among non-volunteers: implications for social policy

As volunteering and its benefits gain global recognition, social policymakers can sustain and increase volunteering through social policy, legislation and other types of involvement. A key performance practice is to measure the rate of volunteering based on the percentage of the population that volunteer or the number of hours donated. The focus of this article, however, is on the capacity to volunteer by non‐volunteers as well as by volunteers. The concept and theory of volunteerability (an individual's ability to overcome related obstacles and volunteer, based on his or her willingness, capability and availability) offers a richer understanding of how people can be assisted to overcome barriers to maximize their volunteer potential and thus increase volunteering. The article details the definitions and benefits of volunteering and covers examples of related social policy, as well as explaining the concept of volunteerability and how it can be measured using existing and new scales. Based on a mixed methods study in Australia, the article offers specific measures to examine the concept of volunteerability and reveals important differences between volunteers and non‐volunteers. The article also details major barriers to volunteering and how social policies can be developed to overcome them

Evidence of Presence of the Eltville Tuff Layer in Dutsch and Belgian Limbourg and the Consequences for the Loess Stratigraphy

Anfang 1979 ist zum ersten Male in den Niederlanden ein vulkanischer Tuff in den Lößablagerungen von Süd-Limburg gefunden worden (Meijs 1980a). Auf Grund der stratigraphischen Lage, des makroskopischen Aussehens und der mineralogischen Zusammensetzung wurde dieser Tuff mit dem Eltviller Tuff korreliert. In dieser Veröffentlichung werden die Korrelierungsbeweisgründe eingehend behandelt und mit den Ergebnissen mikromorphologischer und röntgenologischer Untersuchungen ergänzt. Die Entdeckung des Eltviller Tuffs in dieser Region gerade unter dem Kesselt-Paläoboden (= Nagelbeek Horizont) bedeutet, daß dieser Paläoboden ein stratigraphisches Äquivalent des E4-Naßbodens ist. Dieses steht im Widerspruch mit der in Belgien und den Niederlanden herrschenden Ansicht, laut der der Kesselt-Paläoboden mit dem im Denekamp Interstadial geformten Stillfried-B Paläoboden korreliert wird (z. B. Zagwijn & Paepe 1968). Der letztgenannte Paläoboden liegt aber stratigraphisch unter dem Eltviller Tuff und ist ungefähr 10.000 Jahr älter als der E4-Naßboden (Semmel 1967, Vogel & van der Hammen 1967).researc

Pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma crisis: case series from a tertiary referral center for pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas

Pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma (PPGL)-induced catecholamine crisis is a rare endocrine emergency leading to life-threatening hemodynamic instability causing end-organ damage or dysfunction. As it is associated with a significant mortality rate of approximately 15%, recognizing the signs and symptoms and making the appropriate diagnosis are critical. For this purpose, we report the clinical course of the crisis in four out of a total of six patients with a PPGL crisis from a cohort of 199 PPGL patients of a single tertiary referral center for PPGL patients in the Netherlands diagnosed between 2002 and 2020. Successful treatment of a PPGL crisis demands prompt diagnosis, vigorous pharmacological therapy, and emergency tumor removal if the patient continues to deteriorate.Diabetes mellitus: pathophysiological changes and therap

Interleukin-6 producing pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma: case series from a tertiary referral centre for pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas

Introduction In addition to catecholamines, pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas (PPGL) may secrete interleukin-6 (IL-6). IL-6 contributes to the development of unusual symptoms, which may hinder the diagnosis. Patients and methods We report the clinical course and subsequent treatment of IL-6 producing PPGL in three patients from a single tertiary referral centre for PPGL patients in the Netherlands. Conclusion PPGL combined with persistent elevated inflammatory markers, either in the presence or absence of pyrexia, raised suspicion of IL-6 overproduction in these three patients. Although surgical resection of the tumour is the only curative treatment option, our case series adds to the accumulating evidence that alpha-blockers might be effective in these patients.Diabetes mellitus: pathophysiological changes and therap

Predicting COVID-19 prognosis in the ICU remained challenging: external validation in a multinational regional cohort

Objective: Many prediction models for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been developed. External validation is mandatory before implementation in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). We selected and validated prognostic models in the Euregio Intensive Care COVID (EICC) cohort. Study design and setting: In this multinational cohort study, routine data from COVID-19 patients admitted to ICUs within the Euregio Meuse-Rhine were collected from March to August 2020. COVID-19 models were selected based on model type, predictors, outcomes, and reporting. Furthermore, general ICU scores were assessed. Discrimination was assessed by area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs) and calibration by calibration-in-the-large and calibration plots. A random-effects meta-analysis was used to pool results. Results: 551 patients were admitted. Mean age was 65.4±11.2 years, 29% were female, and ICU mortality was 36%. Nine out of 238 published models were externally validated. Pooled AUCs were between 0.53 and 0.70 and calibration-in-the-large between -9% and 6%. Calibration plots showed generally poor but, for the 4C Mortality score and SEIMC score, moderate calibration. Conclusion: Of the nine prognostic models that were externally validated in the EICC cohort, only two showed reasonable discrimination and moderate calibration. For future pandemics, better models based on routine data are needed to support admission decision-making