Background: Generally, a significant portion of healthcare spending consists of out-of-pocket (OOP) expenses. Patients indicate that, in practice, there are often some OOP expenses, incurred when they receive medical care, which are unexpected for them and should have been taken into account when deciding …

Climate change has great ecological consequences for animals. Furthermore, these changes can differ among different geographical areas. In birds it has been found that they can cause mismatches with their food supply as they do not respond to climate change at the same pace. By understanding more about …

The increasing rate of urbanization along with its socio-environmental impact are major global challenges. Therefore, there is a need to assess the boundaries to growth for the future development of cities by the inclusion of the assessment of the environmental carrying capacity (ECC) into spatial management. …

The seeding of mussel seeds is an important factor within the mussel culture as losses can be as high as 75% within the first 4 weeks after seeding. Therefore it is important to get more knowledge about the factors that can cause mortality within the first weeks after seeding. With seeding high local …

As a result of the 1953 floods in the South West areas of the Netherlands, the Zandkreekdam was constructed. A lock within the dam connects the Veerse meer and the Eastern Scheldt. Additionally, it connects the island Noord-Beveland to Zuid-Beveland over the provincial road N256, by means of a movable …

PURPOSE: To document and analyse the decision to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment (LST) in a population of very old patients admitted to the ICU. METHODS: This prospective study included intensive care patients aged ≥ 80 years in 309 ICUs from 21 European countries with 30-day mortality …

During my first visit to Japan in 1990 I got acquainted with the Toshiba DynaBook. Unlike earlier laptops, this one was small, elegant and easily fitted into a backpack. A year later I was able to purchase one. This wonder of compact technology accompanied me during my travels to Berlin and Eastern Europe …

Flexibility in organizations is important, especially when dealing with crises that develop in an unpredictable way. Existing management theory makes clear that organizations are confronted with different environmental dynamics and, therefore, need a mix of operational, structural and strategic flexible …

After the unconditional surrender of the Third Reich in May 1945, Germany no longer existed as a sovereign, independent nation. It was occupied by the four Allied powers: France, Great Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union. When it came to the postwar European recovery, the biggest obstacle …

Following tragic events in the Mediterranean Sea, several actions described in the European Agenda on Migration were put into operation. One of these key actions was the establishment of the EU Action Plan against migrant smuggling in 2015. The main goal of the EU Action Plan is to prevent and counter …