Sore throat in primary care : there are still problems in identifying who will develop complications of sore throat in primary care

A

Mapping Specialisation and Fragmentation of Regulatory Bodies

The objective of the Flemish database is to determine the current level of proliferation of regulatory bodies and to map how regulatory regimes are structured (i.e. what kind of organizations are involved and what are their characteristics?). This paper explores whether there are ‘groups’ of regulators who share certain characteristics with other members of the same group, but differ from other groups. In specific, we test whether the sector in which a body is active and the level of government to which it belongs, have an impact on the organisational form of the body and the tasks it performs. We find that economic regulators differ significantly from other areas. They are more insulated from politicians, are more specialised and seem to have a relatively strong legal mandate. The level of government seems to be a relevant explanatory factor as well. Federal bodies are more insulated from government than other levels. In addition, they are more specialised in regulation and have a rather limited legal mandate. The results confirm the relevance of comparing different regulatory areas and levels of government.

Differences in triage and medical confidentiality between prisons of Belgium and the Netherlands

Objectives: The aim of this study is to describe the opinions of prison doctors, and to compare the primary health care in prisons between Belgium and the Netherlands. Methods: Structured interviews, audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim, were conducted with prison doctors in Dutch-speaking prisons in Flanders/Belgium and in the Netherlands. Two investigators analysed the content of the interviews and discussed each individual interview. Results: In total 37 interviews were conducted in 28 prisons (14 in each country). In Belgium, 14 of 17 prison doctors, compared to 1 of 12 in the Netherlands, experienced higher time pressure during their consultations in prison, compared to their private medical work (P < 0.001). In the Netherlands, compared to Belgium, there is more access to psychiatric support (14/14 vs 11/22, P = 0.002), psychological care (13/13 vs 7/22, P < 0.001), and interpreter facilities (15/22 vs 0/14, P < 0.001). Prison doctors in both countries agree that the possibility for a strictly personal encounter with the patient - without the presence of other medical staff - can be very useful (21/22 in Belgium vs 15/15 in the Netherlands). In Belgium, individual consultations with the detainee are not possible. Conclusions: Compared to the situation in the Netherlands, the medical work of prison doctors in Belgium is characterized by time pressure and lack of psychiatric and psychological support. The absence of interpreter facilities in Belgium handicaps the quality of the primary health care in prisons. In addition, the lack of private encounters with a doctor in Belgian prisons violates the patient rights of the detainee

Urban-rural differences in historical demography : introduction

Systematic research on urban-rural variation in demographic behavior is necessary to overcome dichotomous views resulting from studying cities and the countryside separately. After all, a web of interactions facilitating the diffusion of ideas and behavior connects cities and rural areas. That is why it is especially important to study the comportment of migrants moving between urban and rural environments. In line with this argument five case studies are presented in this special issue that use static or dynamic individual-level data to analyze urban-rural demographic differences and life courses of migrants in Europe (Germany, the Netherlands and Scotland), mainly during the nineteenth century. The outcomes show that the places of residence indeed influenced demographic behavior to a considerable extent, although they do not reflect a simple and strict division between cities and rural areas. Rather, demographic behavior was affected by a diversity of local conditions, including various town sizes, calling for a further exploration of the impact of local demographic, working and living conditions. The studies in this issue also warn against simplified views regarding migrants in the past, for instance, their depiction of being of relatively humble social background. For many migrants, their migration was not a definitive break with the place of origin, and they did not assimilate completely to the dominant behavior in their destination. Instead, migrants often remained embedded in and influenced by trans-regional social networks

Introduction: Urban-Rural Differences in Historical Demography

Systematic research on urban-rural variation in demographic behavior is necessary to overcome dichotomous views resulting from studying cities and the countryside separately. After all, a web of interactions facilitating the diffusion of ideas and behavior connects cities and rural areas. That is why it is especially important to study the comportment of migrants moving between urban and rural environments. In line with this argument five case studies are presented in this special issue that use static or dynamic individual-level data to analyze urban-rural demographic differences and life courses of migrants in Europe (Germany, the Netherlands and Scotland), mainly during the nineteenth century. The outcomes show that the places of residence indeed influenced demographic behavior to a considerable extent, although they do not reflect a simple and strict division between cities and rural areas. Rather, demographic behavior was affected by a diversity of local conditions, including various town sizes, calling for a further exploration of the impact of local demographic, working and living conditions. The studies in this issue also warn against simplified views regarding migrants in the past, for instance, their depiction of being of relatively humble social background. For many migrants, their migration was not a definitive break with the place of origin, and they did not assimilate completely to the dominant behavior in their destination. Instead, migrants often remained embedded in and influenced by trans-regional social networks

On the cubic law and variably saturated flow through discrete open rough-walled discontinuities

Fracture flow is fairly well documented with the widespread application of, for instance, the cubic law and assumed smooth parallel plate model. Geometrical intricacies such as aperture, roughness and infill do however significantly influence the validity of the cubic law with even its application to smooth parallel systems being contestable. Rock mechanical discontinuity surveys provide valuable information regarding the discontinuity geometry that can likely contribute to the evaluation of flow through individual fractures with variable properties. The hydraulic aperture is available for the transmission of flow, while normal and shear stresses alter discontinuity properties over time. In this, numerous advances have been made to better accommodate deviations of natural discontinuity geometry to that of smooth parallel plates and at partial saturation. The paper addresses these advances and details conditions under which the cubic law, even in local form, fails to adequately estimate the hydraulic properties. The role of roughness in open discontinuities is addressed in particular, as contact areas and high amplitude roughness cause most extensive deviation from the cubic law. Aperture of open fractures still governs hydraulic properties, but inertial forces control flow in very rough fractures, in which instances the applicability of the cubic law should be revisited. Open questions are finally posed,assessment of which will contribute significantly to the understanding of flow through individual discontinuities as well as fracture networks.The Water Research Commission of South Africa (www.wrc.org.za) for funding of project K5/2052 [68] on Multidisciplinary Vadose Zone Hydrology, as well as project K5/2326 on Quantification of Unsaturated Flow in the Fractured Intermediate Vadose Zone by means of Geotechnical Centrifuge (to be published by the WRC in 2016).http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ijrmms2017-11-30hb2016Geolog

Review of engineering, hydrogeological and vadose zone hydrological aspects of the Lanseria Gneiss, Goudplaats-Hout River Gneiss and Nelspruit Suite Granite (South Africa)

Please read abstract in the article.Water Research Commission of South Africa (WRC) project K5/2052 on Multi-disciplinary Vadose Zone Hydrologyhttp://www.elsevier.com/locate/jafrearscihb201