Suchergebnisse

BACKGROUND: 'Candidatus Phytoplasma ulmi' is the agent associated with elm yellows and has been categorised in the European Union as a quarantine pathogen. For central and northern European countries, information on the occurrence and distribution of the pathogen and its impact on elms is scarce, so a survey of native elm trees has been conducted in Germany. RESULTS: About 6500 samples from Ulmus minor, Ulmus laevis and Ulmus glabra, were collected nationwide. Phytoplasma detection was performed by applying a universal 16Sr DNA-based quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay and a novel 'Ca. P. ulmi' specific qPCR assay targeting the 16S–23S spacer region. Both assays revealed that 28% of the samples were infected by 'Ca. P. ulmi', but infection rates of the elm species and regional incidences differed. The phytoplasma presence in the trees was not correlated to disease-specific symptoms. The survey identified a regional disparity of infection which was high in east, south and central Germany, whereas only a few infected sites were found in the western and northern parts of the country. Monitoring the seasonal titre of 'Ca. P. ulmi' in an infected tree by qPCR revealed a high colonisation in all parts of the tree throughout the year. CONCLUSIONS: 'Ca. P. ulmi' is widely present in elms in Germany. The rare occurrence of symptoms indicates either a high degree of tolerance in elm populations or a low virulence of pathogen strains enabling high infection rates in a long-living host.

Ships for drilling need to operate in the territorial waters of many different countries which can have different technical standards and procedures. For example, the European Union and European Economic Area EU/EEA product safety directives exclude from their scope drilling ships and related equipment onboard. On the other hand, the EU/EEA offshore safety directive requires the application of all the best technical standards that are used worldwide in the oil and gas industry. Consequently, it is not easy to select the most appropriate technical standards that increase the overall level of safety and environmental protection whilst avoiding the costs of additional certifications. We will show how some technical standards and procedures, which are recognized worldwide by the petroleum industry, can be accepted by various standardization bodies, and how they can fulfil the essential health and safety requirements of certain directives. Emphasis will be placed on the prevention of fire and explosion, on the safe use of equipment under pressure, and on the protection of personnel who work with machinery. Additionally considered is how the proper use of adequate procedures available at the time would have prevented three large scale offshore petroleum accidents: the Macondo Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010; the Montara in the Timor Sea in 2009; the Piper Alpha in the North Sea in 1988. ; Web of Science ; 8 ; 8 ; art. no. 555

Background: 'Candidatus Phytoplasma ulmi' is the agent associated with elm yellows and has been categorised in the European Union as a quarantine pathogen. For central and northern European countries, information on the occurrence and distribution of the pathogen and its impact on elms is scarce, so a survey of native elm trees has been conducted in Germany. Results: About 6500 samples from Ulmus minor, Ulmus laevis and Ulmus glabra, were collected nationwide. Phytoplasma detection was performed by applying a universal 16Sr DNA-based quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay and a novel 'Ca. P. ulmi' specific qPCR assay targeting the 16S–23S spacer region. Both assays revealed that 28% of the samples were infected by 'Ca. P. ulmi', but infection rates of the elm species and regional incidences differed. The phytoplasma presence in the trees was not correlated to disease-specific symptoms. The survey identified a regional disparity of infection which was high in east, south and central Germany, whereas only a few infected sites were found in the western and northern parts of the country. Monitoring the seasonal titre of 'Ca. P. ulmi' in an infected tree by qPCR revealed a high colonisation in all parts of the tree throughout the year. Conclusions: 'Ca. P. ulmi' is widely present in elms in Germany. The rare occurrence of symptoms indicates either a high degree of tolerance in elm populations or a low virulence of pathogen strains enabling high infection rates in a long-living host.

Contamination of ergot (Claviceps purpurea) in grains continues to be a problem in outcrossing plants like rye, especially in years of favorable infection (cold, rainy) conditions.The problem is not the yield loss, but the contamination of the grains by toxic alkaloids leading to strict critical values within the European Union. This study was conducted to (1) partition the variation of genotype, inoculation treatments and environment for ergot infection of 12 winter rye genotypes, (2) the effect of varying proportions of a non-adapted restorer gene on ergot, and to (3) reveal within the genotype the relative importance of male pollen fertility and female receptivity on the ergot reaction of single crosses bearing different restorer genes. In total, 12 rye genotypes and two factorial crossing designs with each of five female and four male lines differing in their restorer genes were tested by artificial infection in up to 16 environments in four European countries. High and significant genotypic variation regarding the ergot severity and pollen-fertility restoration were observed. Furthermore significant general combining ability and specific combining ability variances and interactions with environment were obtained. The pollen-fertility restoration of the male had by far the highest importance for ergot severity, the female component, however, also revealed a significant effect. In conclusion, selecting for superior restoration ability is the most promising way on the short term, but there are also possibilities to improve the maternal site in future breeding programs.

Contamination of ergot (Claviceps purpurea) in grains continues to be a problem in outcrossing plants like rye, especially in years of favorable infection (cold, rainy) conditions.The problem is not the yield loss, but the contamination of the grains by toxic alkaloids leading to strict critical values within the European Union. This study was conducted to (1) partition the variation of genotype, inoculation treatments and environment for ergot infection of 12 winter rye genotypes, (2) the effect of varying proportions of a non-adapted restorer gene on ergot, and to (3) reveal within the genotype the relative importance of male pollen fertility and female receptivity on the ergot reaction of single crosses bearing different restorer genes. In total, 12 rye genotypes and two factorial crossing designs with each of five female and four male lines differing in their restorer genes were tested by artificial infection in up to 16 environments in four European countries. High and significant genotypic variation regarding the ergot severity and pollen-fertility restoration were observed. Furthermore significant general combining ability and specific combining ability variances and interactions with environment were obtained. The pollen-fertility restoration of the male had by far the highest importance for ergot severity, the female component, however, also revealed a significant effect. In conclusion, selecting for superior restoration ability is the most promising way on the short term, but there are also possibilities to improve the maternal site in future breeding programs.

Background:Diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) help to identify unusually high dose levels in medicalprocedures involving radiation. This will subsequently, stimulate quality control. There arelegislations and guidelines requiring the Member States of the European Union to adopt DRLs. While about72% of European countries, as well as the United States, have complied, and with subsequent reviewsdemonstrating significant dose reductions (16% – 30%), no evidence links any African country toreplicate the same. Objective:This work briefly reviewed the progress of Nigeria with regards to diagnostic reference levels(DRLs) and with particular attention to efforts by radiographers. Methods:Google search was made with keywords of diagnostic reference levels as well as radiation dose inNigeria. Over forty works were retrieved but only twenty- two which had specific relevance to thefocus of the review were archived and read. The works were subsequently scrutinized to piecetogether the trend of DRLs globally, and locally. Results:Publications on x-ray, mammography, fluoroscopy and computed tomography dose abound in Nigeria.Doses had wide variations in all modalities. There was no accessible evidence to indicate that anyregulatory agency in Nigeria had keyed into the imperative of dose investigation, monitoring andreporting. Conclusion:In conclusion, diagnostic reference levels in x-ray, mammography and computed tomography have beenrecommended by independent researchers in Nigeria. Regulatory agencies are urged to summon the willto give guidelines on the implementation of these DRLs in order to improve the optimization ofprotection for patients.

Abstract
Flexicurity is the combination of more flexibility for employers and more security for workers. It is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon that lacks a well-developed monitoring framework or a statistically consistent grouping of the indicators. First, this paper proposes a conceptual framework by building upon the Wilthagen and Tros (2004) flexicurity matrix and the Danish Golden Triangle. It constructs flexicurity "drivers" by pooling together variables that are conceptually related to each other and a specific type of flexibility or security. Then, it obtains statistically consistent aggregate measures for each driver and selects three drivers that represent the three corners of the Danish "golden triangle": external numerical flexibility, employment security, and income security. It conducts an empirical analysis on the evolution of the selected flexicurity drivers over time and across European Union (EU) countries and on the relationship between selected flexicurity drivers and social outcomes from the Social Scoreboard of the European Pillar of Social Rights. It finds evidence of convergence on external numerical flexibility and polarization on employment and income security across the EU. It finds that higher flexibility at the onset of the crisis contributed to a reduction in the unemployment rates after the crisis, while a more generous welfare system contributed to reducing poverty. Employment security, however, appears to be linked to the presence of higher levels of income inequality after the crisis.

Primary care (PC) is a strong determinant of overall health care. Children make up around a fifth of the population of the European Union and European Economic Area and have their own needs and uptake of PC. However, there is little research into how well PC services address their needs. There are large differences in childhood mortality and morbidity patterns in the EU and EEA countries, and there has been a major epidemiological shift in the past half century from predominantly communicable disease, to non-communicable diseases presenting and increasingly managed in PC. This increase in multifactorial morbidities, such as obesity and learning disability, has led to the need for PC systems to adapt to accommodate these changes. Europe presents a challenging picture of unexplained variation in health care delivery and style and of children's different health experiences and health-related behaviour. The Models of Child Health Appraised (MOCHA) project aimed to describe the PC systems in detail, analyse their components and appraise them from a number of different viewpoints, including professional, public, political and economic lenses. It did this through nine work packages supported by a core management team, and a network of national agents, individuals in each MOCHA country who had the expertise in research and knowledge of their national health care system to answer a wide range of questions posed by the MOCHA scientific teams.

The European Union (EU) market for sweet potatoes has increased by 100% over the last five years, and sweet potato cultivation in southern European countries is a new opportunity for the EU to exploit and introduce new genotypes. In view of this demand, the origins of the principal Italian sweet potato clones, compared with a core collection of genotypes from Central and Southern America, were investigated for the first time. This was accomplished by combining a genetic analysis, exploiting 14 hypervariable microsatellite markers, with morphological and chemical measurements based on 16 parameters. From the molecular analyses, Italian accessions were determined to be genetically very similar to the South American germplasm, but they were sub-clustered into two groups. This finding was subsequently confirmed by the morphological and chemical measurements. Moreover, the analysis of the genetic structure of the population suggested that one of the two groups of Italian genotypes may have descended from one of the South American accessions, as predicted on the basis of the shared morphological characteristics and molecular fingerprints. Overall, the combination of two different characterization methods, genetic markers and agronomic traits, was effective in differentiating or clustering the sweet potato genotypes, in agreement with their geographical origin or phenotypic descriptors. This information could be exploited by both breeders and farmers to detect and protect commercial varieties, and hence for traceability purposes.

The European Union (EU) market for sweet potatoes has increased by 100% over the last five years, and sweet potato cultivation in southern European countries is a new opportunity for the EU to exploit and introduce new genotypes. In view of this demand, the origins of the principal Italian sweet potato clones, compared with a core collection of genotypes from Central and Southern America, were investigated for the first time. This was accomplished by combining a genetic analysis, exploiting 14 hypervariable microsatellite markers, with morphological and chemical measurements based on 16 parameters. From the molecular analyses, Italian accessions were determined to be genetically very similar to the South American germplasm, but they were sub-clustered into two groups. This finding was subsequently confirmed by the morphological and chemical measurements. Moreover, the analysis of the genetic structure of the population suggested that one of the two groups of Italian genotypes may have descended from one of the South American accessions, as predicted on the basis of the shared morphological characteristics and molecular fingerprints. Overall, the combination of two different characterization methods, genetic markers and agronomic traits, was effective in differentiating or clustering the sweet potato genotypes, in agreement with their geographical origin or phenotypic descriptors. This information could be exploited by both breeders and farmers to detect and protect commercial varieties, and hence for traceability purposes.

Gibraltar provided the first outcome of the Brexit referendum with 96% voting against it in June 2016. This outcome, together with the impact of the exit of the UK from the European Union, recently brought the attention of the British media to this part of the Mediterranean. Other countries with border issues that will be affected by Brexit obviously include the Republic of Ireland, and the Republic of Cyprus, if we take into consideration the British bases in the Republic of Cyprus Akrotiri and Dhekelia. Gibraltar, like other British Overseas Territories, is of strategic importance for both the current and for a post-Brexit British Foreign Policy. The British bases in Cyprus for example are also of considerable geopolitical importance especially considering that Cyprus is not a member of NATO, but Spain joined the North-Atlantic Alliance in 1982 during the negotiations of its membership to the EU (European Community at that time). However, there are several issues of mainly a political nature that places Gibraltar in an exceptional situation. The discussion over Gibraltar between the UK and Spain started with the Utrecht Treaty in 1713 when the disagreement over the sovereignty of the isthmus took place. Since then, and ongoing during the 20th century, other events such as the development of the airport over territory that is considered by Spain to be their own, has added another layer to this long-standing problem.

During the last ten years, there has been an increasing development of the Net Zero Energy Building in industrial countries. For example, the European Union mandates that by 2020 all new public buildings must comply with the European Directive for nearly Zero Energy Buildings. In the context, of knowledge transfer and investigation of the implementation potential of high-performance building in Chile, this paper presents the findings of a comparative study that was done considering the Belgian regulation landscape. The study focuses on school buildings and the challenge of sustainable building design, construction and operation. The aim of this research is to present a roadmap to Chilean policy makers and designers to progressively understand and implement the Net Zero Energy Schools concept in all new constructions. The research methodology followed a mixed approach combing a literature review of the performance standards, case study comparison, and focus group discussions with Belgian and Chilean experts. The results of the comparative analysis indicate the need to set out a low-tech concept for Net Zero Energy Schools. The focus group discussions resulted in the validation of a novel roadmap and the identification of the most important performance aspects to consider for its implementation. Finally, the paper provides valuable guidelines and technical recommendations besides a roadmap that can be used for strategical planning to implement Net Zero Energy Schools in Chile. ; Peer reviewed

Malta is experiencing a strong economic growth which is attracting increasing numbers of foreign workers. This study investigates the working conditions experienced by Filipinos in Malta, the largest group of migrants from outside the European Union. Survey data collected from a sample of 317 Filipino workers was compared to the results of the Sixth European Working Conditions Survey. While most respondents experience positive work outcomes, a significant minority grapples with negative conditions and perceptions. Overall, the Filipino respondents in Malta appear to face more difficult working conditions than other migrants in Europe. Nearly half of the respondents report that their health or safety is at risk because of their work and over a fourth suffered from discrimination during the year leading to the research. A substantial minority of Filipinos work below their skill levels and more than 40 hours per week. About a third of the respondents are not satisfied with their working conditions, claim not to be treated fairly at work and do not find sufficient help and support from their managers and colleagues. This study indicates the need to take into consideration the realities of both the home and host countries when analyzing the working situation of migrants. It highlights the employment vulnerability of migrant Filipino workers in Malta, and points to an apparent structural deficiency in the Maltese society to protect them.

Slacks that arise when nonparametrically constructing technologies are relevant because they can be an important source of technical inefficiency. This paper extends the measurement of dynamic inefficiency in the full input–output space in the adjustment-cost theory framework to account for slacks. In particular, the paper develops the dynamic weighted additive model in Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and shows its main properties. Additionally, the approach is illustrated by a real application. The empirical applica- tion concerns data on large firms in the dairy-manufacturing industry in the main dairy-producing coun- tries in the European Union (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, and the Czech Republic) from 2005 to 2012. The results show the differences in average dynamic inefficiency between the analyzed countries. The findings also indicate that, not surprisingly, firms are, on average, closer to their own-country fron- tier than the common frontier comprising all firms, regardless of country. Greater inefficiency was also found, on average, in the new approach when related to the dynamic framework that does not account for slacks ; We thank three anonymous referees for providing constructive comments and help in improving the contents and presentation of this paper. Additionally, the authors appreciate the financial support from the Spanish Ministry for Economy and Competitiveness (Ministerio de Economia, Industria y Competitividad), the State Research Agency (Agencia Estatal de Investigacion) and the European Regional Development Fund (Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional) under grant MTM2016-79765-P (AEI/FEDER, UE).

Ausländer haben das Existenzgründungsgeschehen in den Jahren 2007 bis 2016 sowohl in Deutschland als auch Nordrhein-Westfalen in erheblichem Maße mitgeprägt. Eine besonders große Rolle haben ausländische Gründer im gewerblichen Bereich gespielt. Differenzierende Analysen auf Basis der Gewerbeanzeigenstatistik zeigen, dass der Gründungsboom unter den Ausländern ausschließlich auf die Bürger der ost- und mitteleuropäischen EUBeitrittsstaaten von 2004 und 2007 zurückging. Unter den übrigen Ausländern war im betrachteten Zeitraum ebenso wie unter den Deutschen ein Rückgang bei den gewerblichen Gründungen zu beobachten. Die Gründungen von Ausländern weisen teils andere Tätigkeitsschwerpunkte und eine im Durchschnitt geringere wirtschaftliche Substanz auf als die der deutschen Gründer. Diese Unterschiede sind wiederum zu einem großen Teil auf die Bürger der genannten EU-Beitrittsstaaten zurückzuführen, deren Anteil am gewerblichen Gründungsgeschehen seit 2014 aber rückläufig ist. ; In the years 2007 to 2016, foreign citizens increasingly influenced the start-up activities in Germany as well as in Northrhine-Westfalia. Foreign founders played a prominent role in the trade and a lesser one in the liberal professions. Further analyses based on the business registration statistic show that only citizens of the eastern and central European countries which entered the European Union in 2004 and 2007 could register rising numbers of startups whereas the start-up activities of the remaining foreign citizens were declining as well as the start-up activities of German citizens. Foreigners started their businesses more often in construction and less often in the service sector than Germans. Their start-ups are of less economic substance than the start-ups of Germans. These differences between start-ups of foreigners and Germans are again mainly due to the citizens of the mentioned EU entry states. Since 2014, however, their share in the start-up activities in the trade is declining.