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Shelever N. V. Implementation of the principle of social justice in relationship with social support in the condition of the COVID-19 pandemic: experience of the Ukraine and European Union countries. – Article.In the article the author investigates the implementation of the principle of social justice in the relationship of social support during the pandemic of the coronavirus COVID-19. Social support is an organizational and legal form of social security. Due to the lack of research on the implementation of the principle of justice inrelations with social support of Ukrainians during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the author aims to study the national experience on this issue and the experience of leading European countries to implement it into domestic legislation. In the article the author draws attention to the fact that the support of the state should be based on the principle of justice, and in our state such a principle is very often violated. The sphere of social support is no exception. Currently, the consequence of such a violation is legal nihilism, mass migration of Ukrainians to the member states of the European Union.An analysis of the current legislation states that social support of the population, paradoxically, is not the duty of the state, but only its right. Ukraine's social security system is imperfect, and the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has resulted in even higher unemployment and «working poor». During the quarantine, Ukraine signed a loan agreement and received funds to support vulnerable groups. However, CEDOS recognizes Ukraine's housing policy as socially unfair, as the state provides subsidies to people who are not poor. This organization identifies the following socially vulnerable categories of persons: internally displaced persons, young people, migrants. In Australia, business investment support is provided; supported cash flows for employers; payments are made to households to support their growth. According to the author, in Ukraine the violation of the principle of ...

Substances with modulatory capabilities on certain aspects of human cognition have been revered as nootropics from the dawn of time. The plant kingdom provides most of the currently available nootropics of natural origin. Here, in this systematic review, we aim to provide state-of-the-art information regarding proven and unproven effects of plant-derived nootropics (PDNs) on human cognition in conditions of health and disease. Six independent searches, one for each neurocognitive domain (NCD), were performed in parallel using three independent scientific library databases: PubMed, Cochrane and Scopus. Only scientific studies and systematic reviews with humans published between January 2000 and November 2021 were reviewed, and 256 papers were included. Ginkgo biloba was the most relevant nootropic regarding perceptual and motor functions. Bacopa monnieri improves language, learning and memory. Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) modulates anxiety and social-related cognitions. Caffeine enhances attention and executive functions. Together, the results from the compiled studies highlight the nootropic effects and the inconsistencies regarding PDNs that require further research. ; Support for this work was provided by the Research and Education Council of the Comunidad de Madrid, Spain (2018-T1/BIO-10633) and Ministry of Science and Innovation, Spain (PID2020-114885RB-C21). Dr Aida Serra acknowledges a grant from the Talento Program 2018 of the Comunidad de Madrid. Dr. Xavier Gallart-Palau acknowledges grants from Sara Borrell postdoctoral program (CD19/00243) and Miguel Servet tenure track program (CP21/00096) of the ISCIII-Ministry of Science and Innovation (Spain), respectively awarded on the 2019 and 2021 calls under ISCIII-Health Strategy Actions [These grants are co-funded with European Union ERDF Funds (European Regional Development Fund)]. Cristina Lorca's PhD is funded by the Regional Ministry of Science, Universities and Innovation of the Community of Madrid and the European Social Fund for the recruitment of pre-doctoral researchers (PEJD-2019 PRE/BIO-16475)

Proceeding of: 31st Annual Conference of the European Association for Education in Electrical and Information Engineering (EAEEIE 2022), Coimbra, Portugal, 26 June-1 July 2022 ; Many of the new mobile communication devices will be things that power and monitor our homes, city infrastructure and transport. Controlling drones thousands of miles away, performing remote surgeries or being immersed in video with no latency will also be a huge game changer. Those are some of the few things that make the fifth generation (5G) a revolution expected to be a thrust to the economy. To that end, the design and density of deployment of new networks is also changing becoming more dense, what introduces new challenges into play. What else will it add to previous generations? The MOOC about Ultra-dense networks for 5G and its evolution has been prepared by the researchers of an European MSCA ITN, named TeamUp5G, and introduces the most important technologies that support 5G mobile communications, with an emphasis on increasing capacity and reducing power. The content spans from aspects of communication technologies to use cases, prototyping and the future ahead, not forgetting issues like interference management, energy efficiency or spectrum management. The aim of the MOOC is to fill the gap in graduation and post-graduation learning on content related to emerging 5G technologies and its applications, including the future 6G. The target audience involves engineers, researchers, practitioners and students. This paper describes the content and the learning outcomes of the MOOC, the main tasks and resources involved in its creation, the joint contributions from the academic and non-academic sector, and aspects like copyright compliance, quality assurance, testing and details on communication and enrollment, followed by the discussion of the lessons learned. ; This work has received funding from the European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie ETN TeamUp5G, grant agreement No. ...

The risk assessment of pesticide residues in food is a key priority in the area of food safety. Most jurisdictions have implemented pre-marketing authorization processes, which are supported by prospective risk assessments. These prospective assessments estimate the expected residue levels in food combining results from residue trials, resembling the pesticide use patterns, with food consumption patterns, according to internationally agreed procedures. In addition, jurisdictions such as the European Union (EU) have implemented large monitoring programs, measuring actual pesticide residue levels in food, and are supporting large-scale human biomonitoring programs for confirming the actual exposure levels and potential risk for consumers. The organophosphate insecticide chlorpyrifos offers an interesting case study, as in the last decade, its acceptable daily intake (ADI) has been reduced several times following risk assessments by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). This process has been linked to significant reductions in the use authorized in the EU, reducing consumers' exposure progressively, until the final ban in 2020, accompanied by setting all EU maximum residue levels (MRL) in food at the default value of 0.01 mg/kg. We present a comparison of estimates of the consumer's internal exposure to chlorpyrifos based on the urinary marker 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCPy), using two sources of monitoring data: monitoring of the food chain from the EU program and biomonitoring of European citizens from the HB4EU project, supported by a literature search. Both methods confirmed a drastic reduction in exposure levels from 2016 onwards. The margin of exposure approach is then used for conducting retrospective risk assessments at different time points, considering the evolution of our understanding of chlorpyrifos toxicity, as well as of exposure levels in EU consumers following the regulatory decisions. Concerns are presented using a color code, and have been identified for almost all studies, particularly ...

Part of this research was funded by the project RTI2018-096224-J-I00 that has been cofounded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, inside the National Program for Fostering Excellence in Scientific and Technical Research, National Subprogram of Knowledge Generation, 2018 call, in the framework of the Spanish National Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation 2017-2020, and by the European Union, through the European Regional Development Fund, with the main objective of Promoting technological development, innovation and quality research. Part of this work was financially supported by the Italian Ministry of University and Research with the research Grant PRIN 2017 USR342 Urban Safety, Sustainability and Resilience. ; This paper describes the development of novel/state-of-art computational framework to accurately predict the degree of binder activity of a reclaimed asphalt pavement sample as a percentage of the indirect tensile strength (ITS) using a reduced number of input variables that are relatively easy to obtain, namely compaction temperature, air voids and ITS. Different machine learning (ML) techniques were applied to obtain the most accurate data representation model. Specifically, three ML techniques were applied: 6th-degree multivariate polynomial regression with regularization, artificial neural network and random forest regression. The three techniques produced models with very similar precision, reporting a mean absolute error ranging from 12.2 to 12.8% of maximum ITS on the test data set. The work presented in this paper is an evolution in terms of data analysis of the results obtained within the interlaboratory tests conducted by Task Group 5 of the RILEM Technical Committee 264 on Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement. Hence, despite it has strong bonds with this framework, this work was developed independently and can be considered as a natural follow-up ; Spanish Government RTI2018-096224-J-I00 ; European Commission ; Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR) ...

Purpose: The paper explains critical changes to investment funding occurred over the past fifteen years in the European Union and explores the added value that National Development Banks create for sustainable finance. The delivery of the European Green Deal and the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic require an unprecedented scale of resources. The need to adopt a new sustainable investment approach and adjust the operation of the financial system has become inevitable. Existing research has underlined the role national development banks play in counter-cyclical measures and promotion of the government's public policy goals. However, their standing in the sustainable finance landscape has enjoyed less attention so far. The paper, therefore, looks at how the remit of the Banks has evolved and assesses their progress and further development needs in relation to promoting sustainable finance. Design/Methodology/Approach: The research has followed a two-phase design. The first phase has included the examination of the operational setting of National Development Banks and their impact on overcoming market failures and improving access to finance. The second phase concentrated on drawing a comparison between the new regulatory requirements, in particular the European Green Deal, the EU Taxonomy Regulation and the functioning of the National Development Banks. The methodology has included a detailed literature review, desk research, data collection and re-assessment of earlier surveys, which has been used for prescriptive comparative analysis and cluster analysis. Findings: The paper concludes that National Development Banks, despite their common goals and mandates, demonstrate important variations in terms of government involvement in strategic direction and decision-making and the Banks' actual contribution to national policy goals. The outcome confirms the hypothesis that recent changes to the EU strategic and regulatory framework only require minor amendments to the direction of NDB investments. Their original ...

Context: According to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) people who inject drugs (PWID) make up a significant part of the population that needs to be looked after to eliminate infectious diseases such as those caused by HIV and HCV. This situation has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. As COVID-19 rapidly spread across the globe, governments implemented various prevention measures which not only caused an increase in problem drug use (PDU) because of their negative impact on mental health and socioeconomic conditions but also prompted a decrease in drug services provided. Therefore, new challenges appeared, such as increased demand for drugs and diversification of clients, and new needs. Nevertheless, in clear contradiction to what was needed, the EMCDDA's initial reports suggested that there was a decline in European drug services both in providing treatment and harm reduction interventions. COVID-19 increased the need to access drug services, healthcare, and support services creating an increased demand for opioid substitution therapy and other medication. Thus, comprehensive, and sustainable policies are needed to combat the public health threats associated with these challenges and to ensure the continuity of care. Policy Options: The challenging circumstances brought by the COVID-19 pandemic require policymakers need to take action to build capacity and resiliency for those facing drug-related health and social problems. These should include the adoption of integrated strategies that combine drug consumption rooms, substance-specific therapies, provision of free needles and naloxone, primary healthcare, and social support. Recommendations: The creation of an integrated drug policy framework addressed to European Union member states is necessary to create robust drug services capable of surviving a crisis. This is guided by a relevant policy design and implementation framework, alongside tangible action principles in line with low-threshold service provision. ...

This guide presents a joint effort of projects funded under the European Research Area for Climate Services (ERA4CS) (http://www.jpi-climate.eu/ERA4CS), a co- funded action initiated by JPI Climate with co-funding by the European Union (Grant 690462), 15 national public Research Funding Organisations (RFOs), and 30 Research Performing Organisations (RPOs) from 18 European countries. This guide sets out to increase the understanding of different pathways, methods, and approaches to improve knowledge co-production of climate services with users as a value-added activity of the ERA4CS Programme. Reflecting on the experiences of 16 of the 26 projects funded under ERA4CS, this guide aims to define and recommend good practices for transdisciplinary knowledge co-production of climate services to researchers, users, funding agencies, and private sector service providers. Drawing on responses from ERA4CS project teams to a questionnaire and interviews, this guide maps the diversity of methods for stakeholder identification, involvement, and engagement. It also conducts an analysis of methods, tools, and mechanisms for engagement as well as evaluation of co-production processes. This guide presents and discusses good practice examples based on the review of the ERA4CS projects, identifying enablers and barriers for key elements in climate service co-production processes. These were: namely (i) Forms of Engagement; (ii) Entry Points for Engagement; and, (iii) Intensity of Involvement. It further outlines key ingredients to enhance the quality of co-producing climate services with users and stakeholders. Based on the analysis of the lessons learned from ERA4CS projects, as well as a review of key concepts in the recent literature on climate service co-production, we provide a set of recommendations for researchers, users, funders and private sector providers of climate services. ; This report is not externally peer-reviewed Revisions: 2022-02-11 The report PDF was published. 2022-05-06 An incorrect spelled author name was ...

This article is framed in the specific migration scenario seen in recent years, in which migrants arrive at the external border of the European Union (mainly Andalusia and the Canary Islands), transit through the Spanish mainland to the border between the Spanish and French States (located in the autonomous region of the Basque Country) with the intention of continuing on to other countries in northern Europe, such as France, Belgium or Germany, among others. The aim of this paper is to offer a general descriptive overview of these movements of people in transit through a European State, as well as to identify the challenges faced by institutional resources and processes that have had to be created recently, in order to offer assistance to people to help them in their journey, or to receive them when the circumstances or their transit projects become difficult or are altered. Keywords: migration in transit, institutional resources, reception, borders, Basque Country, Spain. ●●●●●● Acest articol se încadrează în secnariul de migrație specific, ce s-a putut vedea în ultimii ani, în care migranții ajung la granița externă a Uniunii Europene (de obicei, Andaluzia și Insulele Canare), tranzitează prin partea continentală a Spaniei, spre granița dintre Spania și Franța (situată în regiunea autonomă a Țării Bascilor), cu intenția de a continua să meargă mai departe, spre alte țări din Nordul Europei, cum sunt Franța, Belgia sau Germania, printre altele. Scopul acestui articol este acela de a oferi o privire generală descriptivă a acestor mișcări de oameni în tranzit printr-un stat european, ca și acela de a identifica provocările pe care le resimt procesele și resursele instituționale ce a trebuit să fie create recent pentru a oferi asistență oamenilor în a-i ajuta în drumul lor, sau spre a-i primi, atunci când circumstanțele proiectelor lor de tranzit devin dificile sau sunt alterate. Cuvinte-cheie: migrație de tranzit, resurse instituționale, primirea migranților, granițe, Țara Bascilor, Spania.

The legislative process before the adoption of the revised European Union renewable energy directive mobilised various actors around the forest biomass issue in Europe. Which storylines do actors use to discuss and define the sustainability of forest biomass, how are the differences between the existing storylines explained, and can distinct 'discourse coalitions' of actors be observed as following each storyline? These questions are addressed through a discourse analysis to critically evaluate the debate around the utilisation of forest biomass for European renewable energy to identify persistent storylines adopted by discourse coalitions as they communicate their understanding of the issue, and compete to influence the policymaking and public perception. The hypotheses are that there are more than the hypothetical binary arrangement of pro versus anti storylines, and that some actors follow multiple storylines. Locating the methodological approach on the two dimensions; text versus context and critical versus constructivist, this study pays closer attention to context rather than on individual linguistic elements of texts. Regarding the second dimension, this study builds upon constructivist epistemology, being concerned with understanding which truths these storylines produce for their speakers, and their external influences upon alternative storylines and actors. The three storylines presented here represent three competing discourses regarding forest biomass usage in European renewable energy: forestry prioritised, climate focussed and critical. Each of these are promoted by actors aiming to gain discursive hegemony on the issue, both in terms of the impact of their discourse upon EU policy making and in the eyes of the public. Despite the discursive differences created by these deeply held opposing views of what sustainability and nature are and what this means for forest biomass, there were several points where narrative elements overlapped. These can provide insight for developing a more constructive debate on the sustainability of forest biomass.

Taking into account the public health importance of the human papillomavirus (HPV) control in the future, it is mandatory to assess the effect of the vaccination campaigns on the control of HPV spread and the associated diseases using reliable mathematical models. We propose a computational random network model with the aim of studying the transmission dynamics of HPV infections. This model reflects the herd immunity effect in the heterosexual network more accurately than the classical models. We perform a sensitivity analysis of the sexual behavior changes consisting of increasing the number of men who have sex with men (MSM), increasing the frequency of the intercourses and increasing the number of sexual partners. We find that large changes in the sexual behavior, in some extent, only have minor effects on the decline of the HPV infections in women and men in the current vaccination campaign in Spain (vaccination of young girls with a coverage of 70%). Therefore, the current vaccination program in Spain is robust for the heterosexuals. However, we cannot say the same for MSM, where they do not benefit by the herd immunity effect of the vaccination of girls, and consequently, the circulation of the virus among them remains unchanged. A consequence of the present study is that the effect of other external factors that may affect the transmission dynamics of the HPV, for instance, the tourism or the immigration, does not influence the protection provided by the current Spanish vaccination program. ; This work has been supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (MINECO), the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER UE) grant MTM2017-89664-P. This paper has been supported by the European Union through the Operational Program of the [European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) / European Social Fund (ESF)] of the Valencian Community 2014-2020. Files: GJIDI/2018/A/010 and GJIDI/2018/A/009.

From 1990 until 2017, global air-pollution related mortality increased by 40%. Few studies addressed the renal responses to ultrafine particulate [3.5/>2.5 mg per mmol creatinine in women/men) were correlated in individual participants via their residential address with PM2.5 [median 13.1 (range 0.3-2.9) mu g/m(3)] and BC [1.1 (0.3-18) mu g/m(3)], using mixed models accounting for address clusters. Cross-sectional and longitudinally, no renal outcome was associated with PM2.5 or BC in models adjusted for sex and baseline or time varying covariables, including age, blood pressure, heart rate, body mass index, plasma glucose, the total-to-HDL serum cholesterol ratio, alcohol intake, smoking, physical activity, socioeconomic class, and antihypertensive treatment. The subject-level geocorrelations of eGFR change with to BC and PM2.5 were 0.13 and 0.02, respectively (P >= 0.68). In conclusion, in a population with moderate exposure, renal function was unrelated to ultrafine particulate. ; FLEMENGHO was supported by the European Union (Grants IC15-CT98-0329-EPOGH, LSHM CT 037093-InGenious HyperCare, HEALTH-201550-HyperGenes, HEALTH-278249-EU-MASCARA, HEALTH-305507 HOMAGE), the European Research Council (Advanced Researcher Grant-2011–294713-EPLORE and Proof-of-Concept Grant-713601 uPROPHET), the European Research Area Net for Cardiovascular Diseases (JTC2017-046-PROACT), and the Research Foundation Flanders, Ministry of the Flemish Community, Brussels, Belgium. APPREMED (URL: http://www.appremed.org) received a non-binding grant from OMRON Healthcare Co., Ltd., Kyoto, Japan. Te National Science Fund in China (Grant Numbers: 81470566 and 81670765) supported collaboration between Youan Hospital, Beijing, China and the Research Unit Hypertension and Cardiovascular Epidemiology, Leuven, Belgium. Bram Janssen is a postdoctoral fellow supported by the Research Foundation Flanders (Grant Number: 12W3218). Te authors gratefully acknowledge the expert clerical assistance of Vera De Leebeeck and Renilde Wolfs, Research Unit Hypertension and Cardiovascular Epidemiology, KU Leuven Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Leuven, Belgium.

© 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). ; Anti-obesity drugs in the amphetamine (AMPH) class act in the brain to reduce appetite and increase locomotion. They are also characterized by adverse cardiovascular effects with origin that, despite absence of any in vivo evidence, is attributed to a direct sympathomimetic action in the heart. Here, we show that the cardiac side effects of AMPH originate from the brain and can be circumvented by PEGylation (PEGyAMPH) to exclude its central action. PEGyAMPH does not enter the brain and facilitates SNS activity via theβ2-adrenoceptor, protecting mice against obesity by increasing lipolysis and thermogenesis, coupled to higher heat dissipation, which acts as an energy sink to increase energy expenditure without altering food intake or locomotor activity. Thus, we provide proof-of-principle for a novel class of exclusively peripheral anti-obesity sympathofacilitators that are devoid of any cardiovascular and brain-related side effects. ; This work was supported by the Fundação Para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT - PTDC-BIM-MET-3750-2014 and LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-030892), the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO - Installation Grant 3037), the Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP - RGY0070/2016), Maratona da Saúde (Diabetes - 2016), the European Research Council (ERC-2017-COG-771431), and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute/Wellcome International research scholar award (HHMI - 208576/Z/17/Z). G.J.L.B. is a Royal Society university Research Fellow (URF\R\180019) and FCT Investigator (IF/00624/2015). B.J. and A.K. were supported by the BBSRC (BB/M027252/1/bbsrc). We also acknowledge the Portuguese Mass Spectrometry Network (LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-022125), the Project EU_FT-ICR_MS, funded by the European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement no. 731077. The contribution of Y.S., M.O., and F.C. was supported by Ministerio de Ciencia, ...

International audience ; Objective: Thirty years ago it was demonstrated that folic acid taken before pregnancy and in early pregnancy reduced the risk of a neural tube defect (NTD). Despite Public Health Initiatives across Europe recommending that women take 0.4 mg folic acid before becoming pregnant and during the first trimester, the prevalence of NTD pregnancies has not materially decreased in the EU since 1998, in contrast to the dramatic fall observed in the USA. This study aimed to estimate the number of NTD pregnancies that would have been prevented if flour had been fortified with folic acid in Europe from 1998 as it had been in the USA.Design and Setting: The number of NTD pregnancies from 1998 to 2017 that would have been prevented if folic acid fortification had been implemented in the 28 countries who were members of the European Union in 2019 was predicted was predicted using data on NTD prevalence from 35 EUROCAT congenital anomaly registries and literature searches for population serum folate levels and folic acid supplementation.Results: From 1998 to 2017 an estimated 95,213 NTD pregnancies occurred amongst 104 million births in the 28 countries in the EU, a prevalence of 0.92 per 1,000 births. The median serum folate level in Europe over this time period was estimated to be 14.1 mu g/L. There is a lack of information about women taking folic acid supplements before becoming pregnant and during the first trimester of pregnancy, with one meta-analysis indicating that around 25% of women did so. An estimated 14,600 NTD pregnancies may have been prevented if the European countries had implemented fortification at the level adopted by the USA in 1998 and 25% of women took folic acid supplements. An estimated 19,500 NTD pregnancies would have been prevented if no women took folic acid supplements.Conclusions: This study suggests that failure to implement mandatory folic acid fortification in the 28 European countries has caused, and continues to cause, neural tube defects to occur in almost 1,000 ...

International audience ; Objective: Thirty years ago it was demonstrated that folic acid taken before pregnancy and in early pregnancy reduced the risk of a neural tube defect (NTD). Despite Public Health Initiatives across Europe recommending that women take 0.4 mg folic acid before becoming pregnant and during the first trimester, the prevalence of NTD pregnancies has not materially decreased in the EU since 1998, in contrast to the dramatic fall observed in the USA. This study aimed to estimate the number of NTD pregnancies that would have been prevented if flour had been fortified with folic acid in Europe from 1998 as it had been in the USA.Design and Setting: The number of NTD pregnancies from 1998 to 2017 that would have been prevented if folic acid fortification had been implemented in the 28 countries who were members of the European Union in 2019 was predicted was predicted using data on NTD prevalence from 35 EUROCAT congenital anomaly registries and literature searches for population serum folate levels and folic acid supplementation.Results: From 1998 to 2017 an estimated 95,213 NTD pregnancies occurred amongst 104 million births in the 28 countries in the EU, a prevalence of 0.92 per 1,000 births. The median serum folate level in Europe over this time period was estimated to be 14.1 mu g/L. There is a lack of information about women taking folic acid supplements before becoming pregnant and during the first trimester of pregnancy, with one meta-analysis indicating that around 25% of women did so. An estimated 14,600 NTD pregnancies may have been prevented if the European countries had implemented fortification at the level adopted by the USA in 1998 and 25% of women took folic acid supplements. An estimated 19,500 NTD pregnancies would have been prevented if no women took folic acid supplements.Conclusions: This study suggests that failure to implement mandatory folic acid fortification in the 28 European countries has caused, and continues to cause, neural tube defects to occur in almost 1,000 ...