The database of the PREDICTS (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems) project.

The PREDICTS project-Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.

Predicting bee community responses to land-use changes: Effects of geographic and taxonomic biases.

Land-use change and intensification threaten bee populations worldwide, imperilling pollination services. Global models are needed to better characterise, project, and mitigate bees' responses to these human impacts. The available data are, however, geographically and taxonomically unrepresentative; most data are from North America and Western Europe, overrepresenting bumblebees and raising concerns that model results may not be generalizable to other regions and taxa.

Delivery of crop pollination services is an insufficient argument for wild pollinator conservation.

There is compelling evidence that more diverse ecosystems deliver greater benefits to people, and these ecosystem services have become a key argument for biodiversity conservation. However, it is unclear how much biodiversity is needed to deliver ecosystem services in a cost-effective way. Here we show that, while the contribution of wild bees to crop production is significant, service delivery is restricted to a limited subset of all known bee species.

[Evaluating individual doctors in the IFMS programme].

The 'Individueel functioneren medisch specialisten' (Individual Functioning of Medical Specialists, IFMS) programme is a formative evaluation tool.- The aim of the IFMS programme is to consolidate good practices and to ameliorate those less desirable. - It is an integral system that takes the complexity of the medical profession, the physician as an individual and the expectations and demands from the individual's surroundings into account.

The medical alliance: from placebo response to alliance effect.

The natural human response to illness is to seek to understand what is happening and to look for help from others. In all cultures, one finds healers, who provide explanations and offer care. Their interventions often have a placebo effect through activation of natural healing processes in the patient.

Effects of bevacizumab and hyperthermia in a rodent model of hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC).

Background: Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is more and more used in the treatment of patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) of different primary tumours. However, survival of patients with PC is still poor. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of preoperatively administered bevacizumab and temperature of the perfusion in an experimental model of HIPEC.

Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemoperfusion with high dose oxaliplatin: Influence of perfusion temperature on postoperative outcome and survival.

Unlabelled: Introduction : Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is becoming a standard therapy in the treatment of peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC). Compared to systemic chemotherapy, HIPEC improves survival in patients with PC. This therapy has high morbidity rates (up to 41%).

Mucinous subtype as prognostic factor in colorectal cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Mucinous adenocarcinoma (MAC) of the colorectum has been known and studied for many years. The prognostic significance of this histological subtype remains controversial. The authors reviewed the prognostic significance of mucinous differentiation in colorectal cancer.

Use of pneumatic nebulization and laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry to study the distribution and bioavailability of an intraperitoneally administered Pt-containing chemotherapeutic drug.

Quadrupole-based inductively coupled-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) with pneumatic nebulization as a means of sample introduction was employed for quantification of platinum in blood and tissue samples of rats with peritoneal carcinomatosis, receiving intraperitoneal treatment with the Pt-containing chemotherapeutic drug oxaliplatin, and in the perfusate solution used for this purpose. The Pt levels were measured for various treatment conditions, i.e.

Flip angle optimization for dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI-studies with spoiled gradient echo pulse sequences.

Spoiled gradient echo pulse (SPGRE) sequences are commonly used in dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) studies to measure the contrast agent concentration in a tissue of interest over time. However, due to improper tuning of the SPGRE parameters, concentration uncertainty can be very high, even at high signal-to-noise ratio in the MR measurement. In this work, an optimization procedure is proposed for selecting the optimal value of the SPGRE-flip angle FA(opt), given the expected concentration range.

Lidocaine 5% patch for localized neuropathic pain: progress for the patient, a new approach for the physician.

Neuropathic pain (NeP) syndromes remain a difficult-to-treat medical entity. Despite a growing number of pharmacological and invasive analgesic therapies the results remain less than optimal because of insufficient analgesic efficacy and/or occurrence of pronounced side effects. Current guidelines propose the use of multimodal and balanced pharmacological therapies, focused on the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms (mechanistic approach).

Management of neuropathic pain after surgical and non-surgical trauma with lidocaine 5% patches: study of 40 consecutive cases.

Objective: To determine the efficacy of lidocaine 5% patches [Versatis, commercialised by Grünenthal GmbH, Aachen, Germany] in patients with PNCCP.

Background: This study focuses on chronic pain states of a neuropathic nature, located at the scar or over a larger area of the skin around the scar. This post-operative/post-traumatic neuropathic chronic cutaneous pain (PNCCP) may be a side-effect of any incision of the skin in the context of a surgical procedure or a traumatic event.

On the relationship between farmland biodiversity and land-use intensity in Europe.

Worldwide agriculture is one of the main drivers of biodiversity decline. Effective conservation strategies depend on the type of relationship between biodiversity and land-use intensity, but to date the shape of this relationship is unknown. We linked plant species richness with nitrogen (N) input as an indicator of land-use intensity on 130 grasslands and 141 arable fields in six European countries.

[Supra and infra hyoid midline cervical cysts or hyoglossal abnormalies: a propos of 45 cases].

Objectives: To specify the embryologic origin of the sus and sub hyoidal midline cervical cysts after studying a series of 45 patients.

Materials And Methods: 45 files were analyzed retrospectively between 1983 and 2004.

Results: The population concerns 21 women and 24 men with ages going from 3 to 71 years (8 children of less than 10 years).

Demographic mechanisms in the coexistence of two closely related perennials in a fluctuating environment.

The demographic variability and life history differentiation of two closely related shrubs (Atriplex canescens and A. acanthocarpa) were investigated in the Chihuahuan Desert, and the results were interpreted in the context of theories of coexistence in fluctuating environments. Demographic information was recorded during three annual intervals and analyzed employing matrix projection models.

Mixed biodiversity benefits of agri-environment schemes in five European countries.

Agri-environment schemes are an increasingly important tool for the maintenance and restoration of farmland biodiversity in Europe but their ecological effects are poorly known. Scheme design is partly based on non-ecological considerations and poses important restrictions on evaluation studies. We describe a robust approach to evaluate agri-environment schemes and use it to evaluate the biodiversity effects of agri-environment schemes in five European countries.

Assessment of acid neutralizing capacity and potential mobilisation of trace metals from land-disposed dredged sediments.

In the past decades, large amounts of contaminated sediments have been dredged and spread out along rivers. The understanding of the fate and the behaviour of contaminants in dredged sediments is essential to deal with the management of contaminated sediments. Heavy metal leaching behaviour in dredged sediments of different ages since disposal, varying from 10 to 70 years, was assessed by pH(stat) leaching test and potentiometric titrations.

[The infrahyoid musculocutaneous flap: experience of 153 cases in the reconstruction of the oropharynx and oral cavity after tumoral excision].

The infrahyoid musculocutaneous flap was described by Wang in 1986. The authors utilize this type of flap since 1994 with an importance that increases in the field of head and neck reconstructive surgery. Their experience of 153 reconstructions in oropharynx and oral cavity showed 128 (84%) cases with good cicatrisation and 25 (16%) with complications.

[A retrospective study of 91 injections of botulinus toxin into the upper sphincter of the oesophagus].

Objective: To evaluate the results of botulinus toxin in dysphagia arising in the upper sphincter of the oesophagus.

Materials And Methods: Since June 1995, 64 patients have had botulinus toxin injected into the upper sphincter of the oesophagus for major swallowing disorders. All cases were treated in the dysphagia service, and underwent clinical assessment, video-swallow screening, and swallowing therapy.

Lower urinary tract dysfunction in children with generalized hypermobility of joints.

Purpose: We assessed the relationship between general joint hypermobility (GJH) and lower urinary tract symptoms presenting as nonneurogenic bladder sphincter dysfunction in children.

Materials And Methods: Parents of 89 children 5 to 12 years old who were diagnosed with GJH according to the Beighton and Bulbena scales were asked to fill out a questionnaire concerning symptoms of nonneurogenic bladder sphincter dysfunction, namely daytime urinary incontinence, nighttime urinary incontinence, urinary tract infection, constipation and fecal soiling. The control group comprised 116 healthy schoolchildren 5 to 12 years old.