Simulating the environmental performance of post-harvest management measures to comply with the EU Nitrates Directive.

Nitrate (NO) leaching from farmland remains the predominant source of nitrogen (N) loads to European ground- and surface water. As soil mineral N content at harvest is often high and may increase by mineralisation from crop residues and soil organic matter, it is critical to understand which post-harvest management measures can be taken to restrict the average NO concentration in ground- and surface waters below the norm of 50 mg l. Nitrate leaching was simulated with the EU-rotate_N model on a silty and a sandy soil following the five main arable crops cultivated in Flanders: cut grassland, silage maize, potatoes, sugar beets and winter wheat, in scenarios of optimum fertilisation with and without post-harvest measures.

Clinical predictors at diagnosis of disabling pediatric Crohn's disease.

Background: Identification of children with Crohn's disease (CD) at high risk of disabling disease would be invaluable in guiding initial therapy. Our study aimed to identify predictors at diagnosis of a subsequent disabling course in a population-based cohort of patients with pediatric-onset CD.

Methods: Among 537 patients with pediatric CD diagnosed at <17 years of age, 309 (57%) with 5-year follow-up were included.

The changing pattern of Crohn's disease incidence in northern France: a continuing increase in the 10- to 19-year-old age bracket (1988-2007).

Background: Crohn's disease incidence rates have stabilised in industrialised countries since the 1980s. Conversely, a continuing increase in childhood-onset Crohn's disease incidence has been reported.

Aim: To confirm trends in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) incidence in northern France over an extended time period (1988-2007) with a focus on childhood-onset Crohn's disease.

Nutritional status and growth in pediatric Crohn's disease: a population-based study.

Objectives: Growth retardation and malnutrition are major features of pediatric Crohn's disease (CD). We examined nutritional and growth parameters from diagnosis to maximal follow-up in a population-based pediatric cohort, and we determined predictive factors.

Methods: A total of 261 patients (156 boys, 105 girls) with onset of CD before the age of 17 were identified from 1988 to 2004 through the EPIMAD registry (Registre des Maladies Inflammatoires Chroniques de l'Intestin) in northern France.

Mapping of inflammatory bowel disease in northern France: spatial variations and relation to affluence.

Background: Geographic variations in the incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may reflect variations in the distribution of environmental etiologic factors. We assessed spatial variation in the incidence of IBD in northern France and analyzed its association with a deprivation index.

Methods: All cases of IBD included in the EPIMAD registry between 1990 and 2003 were extracted.

The natural history of pediatric ulcerative colitis: a population-based cohort study.

Objectives: The natural history of ulcerative colitis (UC) has been poorly described in children.

Methods: In a geographically derived incidence cohort diagnosed from 1988 to 2002, we identified 113 UC patients (age 0-17 years at diagnosis) with a follow-up of at least 2 years. The cumulative risk of colectomy was estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method.

Natural history of pediatric Crohn's disease: a population-based cohort study.

Background & Aims: The natural history of pediatric Crohn's disease and risk factors necessitating surgery have not been thoroughly described.

Methods: In a geographically derived incidence cohort diagnosed from 1988 to 2002, we identified 404 Crohn's disease patients (ages, 0-17 years at diagnosis) with a follow-up time >or=2 years.

Results: Median follow-up time was 84 months (range, 52-124 months).

[Epidemiology and risk factors of inflammatory bowel diseases].

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are a public health problem in industrialized countries, where 1 in 1000 people are affected Most patients are young adults. The incidence of IBD has increased considerably in western countries since the second world war but is beginning to level off. On the other hand, the incidence is still rising in low-incidence areas such as Eastern Europe, Asia and developing countries.

Optimization of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) measurements in aqueous samples with high inorganic nitrogen concentrations.

Since dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) concentrations in aqueous samples can only be determined by the subtraction of three independently measured concentrations (total dissolved nitrogen (TDN), nitrate and ammonium), analytical errors are compounded in the calculation of DON concentration. Several methods were tested to increase the recovery and precision of the DON determinations in aqueous samples with high inorganic nitrogen concentrations. The first step was the objective selection of the most accurate TDN analysis method.

[Public health education in France: challenges and future perspectives].

Public health difers from other fields of health education by its vast scope and by the diversity of its target populations. University training in public health is currently ensured in France by more than 300 permanent lecturers with significant research activity. Graduates find employment in hospitals and other public institutions.

Stressful life events as a risk factor for inflammatory bowel disease onset: A population-based case-control study.

Background And Aims: Stress is often perceived by patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) as the leading cause of their disease. The aim of this study was to assess whether stress, evaluated through life event (LE) occurrence, is associated with IBD onset.

Methods: Incident cases of IBD, including 167 patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and 74 with ulcerative colitis (UC), were compared with two control groups, one of 69 patients with acute self-limited colitis (ASLC) and another of 255 blood donors (BDs).

[Epidemiology and risk factors of inflammatory bowel diseases].

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are a public health problem in developed countries as 1 per 1000 people suffers from these diseases. Most of affected people are young adults. The incidence of IBD has increased considerably in western countries since the Second World War and it is beginning to level off.

Incidence, clinical presentation and location at diagnosis of pediatric inflammatory bowel disease: a prospective population-based study in northern France (1988-1999).

Objective: To assess the incidence and location at diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease in children and adolescents in northern France between 1988 and 1999.

Methods: A 12-year prospective population-based study was conducted by gastroenterologists and pediatric gastroenterologists of northern France (1,312,141 children <17 years of age).

Results: From 1988 to 1999, 509 cases of childhood inflammatory bowel disease were recorded (7.

Environmental risk factors in paediatric inflammatory bowel diseases: a population based case control study.

Background: Environmental exposures in early life have been implicated in the aetiology of inflammatory bowel disease.

Objective: To examine environmental risk factors prior to the development of inflammatory bowel disease in a paediatric population based case control study.

Methods: A total of 222 incident cases of Crohn's disease and 60 incident cases of ulcerative colitis occurring before 17 years of age between January 1988 and December 1997 were matched with one control subject by sex, age, and geographical location.

Quantification of the effect of fumigation on short- and long-term nitrogen mineralization and nitrification in different soils.

The effect of soil fumigation on N mineralization and nitrification needs to be better quantified to optimize N fertilizer advice and predict NO(-)(3) concentrations in crops and NO(-)(3) leaching risks. Seven soils representing a range in soil texture and organic matter contents were fumigated with Cyanamid DD 95 (a mixture of 1,3-dichloropropane and 1,3-dichloropropene). After removal of the fumigant, the fumigated soils and unfumigated controls were incubated for 20 wk and N mineralization and nitrification were monitored by destructive sampling.

Opposite evolution in incidence of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis in Northern France (1988-1999).

Background: Northern France was characterised by a high incidence of Crohn's disease (CD) and a low incidence of ulcerative colitis (UC) according to the first inquiry undertaken in the late 1980s.

Aims: To assess the trends in the incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) over a 12 year period (1988-1999) in the same area of Northern France.

Patients: Patients living in Northern France (Nord, Pas-de-Calais, Somme, and Seine Maritime--total of 5,790,526 inhabitants) between 1988 and 1999 were included in the study.

Higher carbohydrate intake is associated with decreased incidence of newborn macrosomia in women with gestational diabetes.

Objective: To study the influence of energy and macronutrient intake on infant birthweight in women with gestational diabetes mellitus undergoing intensive management.

Design: This prospective study evaluated the impact of intensive management of gestational diabetes on maternal and fetal morbidity, and addressed the relationship between food intake and infant birthweight.

Setting: Fifteen maternity hospitals in northern France.

Environmental exposure to lead in a population of adults living in northern France: lead burden levels and their determinants.

As part of the assessment of a site in northern France polluted by metals from two smelters (in particular, lead, cadmium and mercury), a cross-sectional study was carried out which intended to estimate the levels of the lead burden of the adult population living on the site and the factors associated with these levels. The exposed zone included 10 municipalities in the Nord-Pas de Calais region, located in the vicinity of two non-ferrous metal smelters. The soils in these municipalities contained between 100 and 1700 ppm of lead.

Environmental lead exposure in a population of children in northern France: factors affecting lead burden.

Background: This study is part of the assessment of a site in northern France polluted by lead from industrial emissions. Our objectives were to look for the factors that influence lead burden in children aged 8-11 years.

Methods: A cross-sectional population-based study took place in 1996-97 and included 400 children (200 of whom lived on the metal-polluted site).

[Cost of early management of chronic inflammatory intestinal disease].

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the cost of the first management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) from the onset of first symptoms until 6 weeks after the diagnosis. This cost was calculated in French francs (FF) for all IBD and namely for Crohn's disease (CD), ulcerative colitis (UC), and ulcerative proctitis (UP).

Material And Methods: Data concerning 258 patients were collected by the mean of a standardized questionnaire from 3 different sources: the patient, his general practitioner, and his gastroenterologist.

[Diagnostic and therapeutic management of patients with chronic inflammatory bowel disease].

Background: The period of time required for the diagnosis of a chronic illness depends on initial clinical symptoms and their perception by the patient and the physicians. The aim of this study was to describe the procedures of diagnosis of incident cases of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).

Methods: Patients reported by the Registry of inflammatory bowel disease of northern France (EPIMAD) in 1994 were included.

Handwashing quality: impact of a special program.

To evaluate the impact of a program on basic handwashing quality, a before-after audit was performed in a university hospital. We defined a 13-step protocol to describe a proper basic handwash (BHW). The proportion of BHW that satisfied this checklist increased significantly, from 4.

Comparison between fat intake assessed by a 3-day food record and phospholipid fatty acid composition of red blood cells: results from the Monitoring of Cardiovascular Disease-Lille Study.

We investigated the relationship between assessment of fatty acid intake by a 3-day food record and by capillary gas chromatography of erythrocyte phospholipid fatty acid. The study was performed in a sample of 244 men aged 45 to 66 years from the general population who were participating in the Monitoring of Cardiovascular Disease (MONICA)-Lille survey. The relationship between each nutrient and food item and erythrocyte phospholipid fatty acid was investigated by a regression model on proportion including each food item and nutrient as a dependent variable and percentage of fatty acid and covariables (nonalcoholic energy intake, age, alcohol intake, and smoking) as independent variables.

Incidence of inflammatory bowel disease in northern France (1988-1990).

There were no data concerning the incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in France. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis in northern France. This prospective population based study was realised through the gastroenterologists of the region Nord-Pas de Calais and the Somme Department.