Practical aspects of designing for and evaluating structural integrity

The application of procedures for designing and evaluating structural integrity of various construction techniques is discussed. The fatigue performance improvement of the following conditions is described: (1) conical fasteners, (2) hole preparation, (3) interference fit, and (4) interference protection. The application of fatigue tests to determine fail-safe conditions is analyzed

Cross-border territorial cooperation between France and Germany: evolution, convergence and perspectives

Over the past thirty years, new forms and mechanisms of governance have multiplied in the border regions of Europe. The French-German border has seemed to distinguish itself as an early adopter of new cooperation frameworks, often instigated by developments on the European level on the one hand and by bilateral national cooperation on the other hand. This paper delivers an analysis of French and German policies for territorial cooperation, and of the evolution of cross-border cooperation between the two countries. Taking the example of the Greater Region and the UpperRhine Region, we scrutinise two different representations of cross-border institutionalisation in-depth. We then discuss the renewed prospects for border regions stemming from the bilateral French-German Aachen Treaty. Following this analysis, we make use of three conceptual lenses - multi-level governance, soft spaces and inter-territoriality - to reflect on the evolution of territorial cooperation across this border. In conclusion, our reflections on the French-German situation inspire recommendations for a next phase in the development of European cross-border cooperation

Post-COVID symptoms in EU cross-border cooperation

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the conditions of normal life in many aspects. However, it most impacted the life of people around national borders. What is more, while in other regions, after the successful vaccination campaigns, life begins to return normal, the borderlands still display signs of the effect of the pandemic, what we could call post-COVID symptoms. The study points out the symptoms which seem likely to stay with us for a long time and formulates recommendations for treatment.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Cohesion Policy Contributing to Territorial Cohesion – Future Scenarios

The Barca Report advocates for developmental policies to be ‘place-based’: integrated as far as they affect ‘places’. The debate on territorial cohesion is equally concerned with integrating relevant policies and actions. This requires well-established democratic institutions and adequate responses to the demands of technical systems and of markets. Following Lisbeth Hooghe and Gary Marks, the respective arrangements are described as Governance Type I and Type II. All levels of government, including that of the EU, partake in both types, but relations between them are problematic, particularly in the context of Europe 2020: Will this EU strategy be mainly a matter for Directorate-Generals and their various clients pursuing their policies (Governance Type II), or will Cohesion policy, with its more integrated and decentralised approach, involving many levels of government and stakeholders (Governance Type I) form platforms for integrating them? This paper presents four scenarios; each based on a combination of strong/weak Governance Type I and Type II, which are labelled as the ‘Anglo-Saxon’, ‘Saint-Simonian’, ‘Rhineland’ and the ‘European’ Scenarios. The authors prefer the latter, but the best one can hope for in the short term is for this option not to fall by the wayside

Grenzüberschreitende territoriale Zusammenarbeit zwischen Frankreich und Deutschland: Entwicklung, Konvergenz und Perspektiven

In den letzten drei Jahrzehnten haben sich in den europäischen Grenzregionen neue Formen und Mechanismen der Governance herausgebildet. Die deutsch-französische Grenze scheint sich als frühes Anwendungsbeispiel neuer Kooperationsrahmen auszuzeichnen, die oft durch Entwicklungen auf europäischer Ebene einerseits und durch bilaterale nationale Kooperationen andererseits angestoßen wurden. Dieser Beitrag analysiert die französische und deutsche Politik der territorialen Zusammenarbeit und die Entwicklung der grenzüberschreitenden Zusammenarbeit zwischen den beiden Ländern. Am Beispiel der Großregion und des Oberrheingebiets werden zwei unterschiedliche Darstellungen der grenzüberschreitenden Institutionalisierung eingehend untersucht. Anschließend werden die neuen Perspektiven für Grenzregionen diskutiert, die sich aus dem deutsch-französischen Vertrag von Aachen ergeben. Im Anschluss an diese Analyse wird die Entwicklung der territorialen Zusammenarbeit über die Grenze hinweg anhand von Konzepten wie Multi-Level-Governance, Soft Spaces und Interterritorialität untersucht. Abschließend geben unsere Überlegungen zur deutsch-französischen Situation Anregungen für die nächste Phase der Entwicklung der europäischen grenzüberschreitenden Zusammenarbeit.Over the past thirty years, new forms and mechanisms of governance have multiplied in the border regions of Europe. The French-German border has seemed to distinguish itself as an early adopter of new cooperation frameworks, often instigated by developments on the European level on the one hand and by bilateral national cooperation on the other hand. This paper delivers an analysis of French and German policies for territorial cooperation, and of the evolution of cross-border cooperation between the two countries. Taking the example of the Greater Region and the UpperRhine Region, we scrutinise two different representations of cross-border institutionalisation in-depth. We then discuss the renewed prospects for border regions stemming from the bilateral French-German Aachen Treaty. Following this analysis, we make use of three conceptual lenses - multi-level governance, soft spaces and inter-territoriality - to reflect on the evolution of territorial cooperation across this border. In conclusion, our reflections on the French-German situation inspire recommendations for a next phase in the development of European cross-border cooperation

Coopération territoriale transfrontalière entre la France et l'Allemagne: Évolution, convergence et perspectives

Over the past thirty years, new forms and mechanisms of governance have multiplied in the border regions of Europe. The French-German border has seemed to distinguish itself as an early adopter of new cooperation frameworks, often instigated by developments on the European level on the one hand and by bilateral national cooperation on the other hand. This paper delivers an analysis of French and German policies for territorial cooperation, and of the evolution of cross-border cooperation between the two countries. Taking the example of the Greater Region and the Upper-Rhine Region, we scrutinise two different representations of cross-border institutionalisation in-depth. We then discuss the renewed prospects for border regions stemming from the bilateral French-German Aachen Treaty. Following this analysis, we make use of three conceptual lenses - multi-level governance, soft spaces and interterritoriality - to reflect on the evolution of territorial cooperation across this border. In conclusion, our reflections on the French-German situation inspire recommendations for a next phase in the development of European cross-border cooperation

Direct admission to the intensive care unit from the emergency department and mortality in critically ill hematology patients

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the benefit of direct ICU admission from the emergency department (ED) compared to admission from wards, in patients with hematological malignancies requiring critical care. Methods: Post hoc analysis derived from a prospective, multicenter cohort study of 1011 critically ill adult patients with hematologic malignancies admitted to 17 ICU in Belgium and France from January 2010 to May 2011. The variable of interest was a direct ICU admission from the ED and the outcome was in-hospital mortality. The association between the variable of interest and the outcome was assessed by multivariable logistic regression after multiple imputation of missing data. Several sensitivity analyses were performed: complete case analysis, propensity score matching and multivariable Cox proportional-hazards analysis of 90-day survival. Results: Direct ICU admission from the ED occurred in 266 (26.4%) cases, 84 of whom (31.6%) died in the hospital versus 311/742 (41.9%) in those who did not. After adjustment, direct ICU admission from the ED was associated with a decreased in-hospital mortality (adjusted OR: 0.63; 95% CI 0.45-0.88). This was confirmed in the complete cases analysis (adjusted OR: 0.64; 95% CI 0.45-0.92) as well as in terms of hazard of death within the 90 days after admission (adjusted HR: 0.77; 95% CI 0.60-0.99). By contrast, in the propensity score-matched sample of 402 patients, direct admission was not associated with in-hospital mortality (adjusted OR: 0.92; 95% CI 0.84-1.01). Conclusions: In this study, patients with hematological malignancies admitted to the ICU were more likely to be alive at hospital discharge if they were directly admitted from the ED rather than from the wards. Assessment of early predictors of poor outcome in cancer patients admitted to the ED is crucial so as to allow early referral to the ICU and avoid delays in treatment initiation and mis-orientation

Post-COVID Symptoms in EU Cross-Border Cooperation

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the conditions of normal life in many aspects. However, it most impacted the life of people around national borders. What is more, while in other regions, after the successful vaccination campaigns, life begins to return normal, the borderlands still display signs of the effect of the pandemic, what we could call post-COVID symptoms. The study points out the symptoms which seem likely to stay with us for a long time and formulates recommendations for treatment.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Safety and effectiveness of isavuconazole in real-life non-neutropenic patients

Objectives: Information is scarce on clinical experiences with non-neutropenic patients with invasive fungal infection (IFI) receiving isavuconazole. We aimed to report the safety and effectiveness of this drug as a first-line treatment or rescue in real life. Methods: A retrospective, observational multicentric study of non-neutropenic patients who received isavuconazole as an IFI treatment at 12 different university hospitals (January 2018-2022). All patients met criteria for proven, probable or possible IFI according to EORTC-MSG. Results: A total of 238 IFIs were treated with isavuconazole during the study period. Combination therapy was administered in 27.7% of cases. The primary IFI was aspergillosis (217, 91.2%). Other IFIs treated with isavuconazole were candidemia (n = 10), mucormycosis (n = 8), histoplasmosis (n = 2), cryptococcosis (n = 2), and others (n = 4). Median time of isavuconazole treatment was 29 days. Only 5.9% (n = 14) of cases developed toxicity, mainly hepatic-related (10 patients, 4.2%). Nine patients (3.8%) had treatment withdrawn. Successful clinical response at 12 weeks was documented in 50.5% of patients. Conclusion: Isavuconazole is an adequate treatment for non-neutropenic patients with IFIs. Toxicity rates were low and its effectiveness was comparable to other antifungal therapies previously reported. (c) 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Society for Infectious Diseases. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/