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During the COVID-19 pandemic, genomics and bioinformatics have emerged as essential public health tools. The genomic data acquired using these methods have supported the global health response, facilitated the development of testing methods and allowed the timely tracking of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants. Yet the virtually unlimited potential for rapid generation and analysis of genomic data is also coupled with unique technical, scientific and organizational challenges. Here, we discuss the application of genomic and computational methods for efficient data-driven COVID-19 response, the advantages of the democratization of viral sequencing around the world and the challenges associated with viral genome data collection and processing.

Sergii Bulgakov (1871–1944) is one of the preeminent theologians of the 20th century whose work is still being discovered and explored in and for the 21st century. The famous rival of Lenin in the field of economics, was, according to Wassily Kandinsky, "one of the deepest experts on religious life" in early twentieth-century Russian art and culture. As economist, publicist, politician, and later Orthodox theologian and priest, he became a significant "global player" in both the Orthodox diaspora and the Ecumenical movement in the interwar period.
This anthology gathers the papers delivered at the international conference on the occasion of Bulgakov's 150th birthday at the University of Fribourg in September 2021. The chapters, written by established Bulgakov specialists, including Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury (2002–2012), as well as young researchers from different theological disciplines and ecclesial traditions, explore Bulgakov's way of meeting the challenges in the modern world and of building bridges between East and West. The authors bring forth a wide range of new creative ways to constructively engage with Bulgakov's theological worldview and cover topics such as personhood, ecology, political theology and Trinitarian ontology.

Asteroid (2) Pallas is the largest main-belt object not yet visited by a spacecraft, making its surface geology largely unknown and limiting our understanding of its origin and collisional evolution. Previous ground-based observational campaigns returned different estimates of its bulk density that are inconsistent with one another, one measurement1 being compatible within error bars with the icy Ceres (2.16 ± 0.01 g cm−3)2 and the other3 compatible within error bars with the rocky Vesta (3.46 ± 0.03 g cm−3)4. Here we report high-angular-resolution observations of Pallas performed with the extreme adaptive optics-fed SPHERE imager5 on the Very Large Telescope. Pallas records a violent collisional history, with numerous craters larger than 30 km in diameter populating its surface and two large impact basins that could be related to a family-forming impact. Monte Carlo simulations of the collisional evolution of the main belt correlate this cratering record to the high average impact velocity of ~11.5 km s−1 on Pallas—compared with an average of ~5.8 km s−1 for the asteroid belt—induced by Pallas's high orbital inclination (i = 34.8°) and orbital eccentricity (e = 0.23). Compositionally, Pallas's derived bulk density of 2.89 ± 0.08 g cm−3 (1σ uncertainty) is fully compatible with a CM chondrite-like body, as suggested by its spectral reflectance in the 3 μm wavelength region6. A bright spot observed on its surface may indicate an enrichment in salts during an early phase of aqueous alteration, compatible with Pallas's relatively high albedo of 12–17% (refs. 7,8), although alternative origins are conceivable. ; Based on observations collected at the European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere under ESO programme 199.C-0074 (principal investigator: P.V.). This research has made use of the Keck Observatory Archive (KOA), which is operated by the W. M. Keck Observatory and the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute (NExScI), under contract with NASA. M.M. was supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under grant number 80NSSC18K0849 issued through the Planetary Astronomy Program. This work was supported by the French Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA) and Aix-Marseille Université (AMU). P.V., A.D. and B.C. were supported by CNRS/INSU/PNP. J.H., J.D. and P.S. were supported by the grant 18-09470S of the Czech Science Foundation and by the Charles University Research Programme number UNCE/SCI/023. M.Brož was supported by the grant 18-04514J of the Czech Science Foundation. E.J. is a F.R.S.-FNRS Senior Research Associate. The work of T.S.-R. was carried out through grant APOSTD/2019/046 by Generalitat Valenciana (Spain). This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement number 730890.

Background: Promoting Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) is a major strategy of the "Science with and for Society" work program of the European Union's Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. RRI aims to achieve a better alignment of research and innovation with the values, needs, and expectations of society. The RRI strategy includes the "keys" of public engagement, open access, gender, ethics, and science education. The Structural Transformation to Attain Responsible BIOSciences (STARBIOS2) project promotes RRI in 6 European research institutions and universities from Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Poland, and the United Kingdom, in partnership with a further 6 institutions from Brazil, Denmark, Italy, South Africa, Sweden, and the United States. Objective: The project aims to attain RRI structural change in 6 European institutions by implementing action plans (APs) and developing APs for 3 non-European institutions active in the field of biosciences; use the implementation of APs as a learning process with a view to developing a set of guidelines on the implementation of RRI; and develop a sustainable model for RRI in biosciences. Methods: The project comprises interrelated research and implementation designed to achieve the aforementioned specific objectives. The project is organized into 6 core work packages and 5 supporting work packages. The core work packages deal with the implementation of institutional APs in 6 European institutions based on the structural change activation model. The supporting work packages include technical assistance, learning process on RRI-oriented structural change, monitoring and assessment, communication and dissemination, and project management. Results: The project is funded by Horizon 2020 and will run for 4 years (May 2016-April 2020). As of June 2018, the initial phase has been completed. The participating institutions have developed and approved APs and commenced their implementation. An observation tool has been launched by the Technical Assistance Team to collect information from the implementation of APs; the Evaluation & Assessment team has started monitoring the advancement of the project. As part of the communication and dissemination strategy, a project website, a Facebook page, and a Twitter account have been launched and are updated periodically. The International Scientific Advisory Committee has been formed to advise on the reporting and dissemination of the project's results. Conclusions: In the short term, we anticipate that the project will have a considerable impact on the organizational processes and structures, improving the RRI uptake in the participating institutions. In the medium term, we expect to make RRI-oriented organizational change scalable across Europe by developing guidelines on RRI implementation and an RRI model in biosciences. In the long term, we expect that the project would help increase the ability of research institutions to make discoveries and innovations in better alignment with societal needs and values.

This Editorial presents the focus, scope and policies of the inaugural issue of Nature Conservation, a new open access, peer-reviewed journal bridging natural sciences, social sciences and hands-on applications in conservation management. The journal covers all aspects of nature conservation and aims particularly at facilitating better interaction between scientists and practitioners. The journal will impose no restrictions on manuscript size or the use of colour. We will use an XML-based editorial workflow and several cutting-edge innovations in publishing and information dissemination. These include semantic mark-up of, and enhancements to published text, data, and extensive cross-linking within the journal and to external sources. We believe the journal will make an important contribution to better linking science and practice, offers rapid, peer-reviewed and flexible publication for authors and unrestricted access to content. ; The journal Nature Conservation was established within the framework of the European Union's Framework Program 7 large-integrated project SCALES: Securing the Conservation of biodiversity across Administrative Levels and spatial, temporal, and Ecological Scales, www.scales-project.net (grant 226852; Henle et al. 2010).

(10) Hygiea is the fourth largest main belt asteroid and the only known asteroid whose surface composition appears similar to that of the dwarf planet (1) Ceres1,2, suggesting a similar origin for these two objects. Hygiea suffered a giant impact more than 2 Gyr ago3 that is at the origin of one of the largest asteroid families. However, Hygeia has never been observed with sufficiently high resolution to resolve the details of its surface or to constrain its size and shape. Here, we report high-angular-resolution imaging observations of Hygiea with the VLT/SPHERE instrument (~20 mas at 600 nm) that reveal a basin-free nearly spherical shape with a volume-equivalent radius of 217 ± 7 km, implying a density of 1,944 ± 250 kg m−3 to 1σ. In addition, we have determined a new rotation period for Hygiea of ~13.8 h, which is half the currently accepted value. Numerical simulations of the family-forming event show that Hygiea's spherical shape and family can be explained by a collision with a large projectile (diameter ~75–150 km). By comparing Hygiea's sphericity with that of other Solar System objects, it appears that Hygiea is nearly as spherical as Ceres, opening up the possibility for this object to be reclassified as a dwarf planet. ; P.V., A.D. and B.C. were supported by CNRS/INSU/PNP. M.Brož was supported by grant 18-04514J of the Czech Science Foundation. J.H. and J.D. were supported by grant 18-09470S of the Czech Science Foundation and by the Charles University Research Programme no. UNCE/SCI/023. This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programmes under grant agreement nos 730890 and 687378. This material reflects only the authors' views, and the European Commission is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained herein. TRAPPIST-North is a project funded by the University of Liège, in collaboration with Cadi Ayyad University of Marrakech (Morocco). TRAPPIST-South is a project funded by the Belgian Fonds (National) de la Recherche Scientifique (F.R.S.-FNRS) under grant FRFC 2.5.594.09.F. E.J. and M.G. are F.R.S.-FNRS Senior Research Associates.

Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works. E. Khoury , B. Vesnicer, J. Franco-Pedroso, R. Violato, Z. Boulkenafet, L.M. Mazaira Fernández, M. Díez, J. Kosmala, H. Khemiri, T. Cipr, R. Saeidi, M. Gunther, J. Zganec-Gros, R. Zazo Candil, F. Simöes, M. Bengherabi, A. Álvarez Marquina, M. Penagarikano, A. Abad, M. Boulayemen, P. Schwarz,, D. Van Leeuwen, J. González-Domínguez, M. Uliani Neto, E. Boutellaa, P. Gómez Vilda, A. Varona, D. Petrovska-Delacretaz, P. Matejka, J. González-Rodríguez, T. Pereira, F. Harizi, L. J. Rodríguez-Fuentes, L. El Shafey, M. Angeloni, G. Bordel, G. Chollet, S. Marcel, "The 2013 speaker recognition evaluation in mobile environment" in International Conference on Biometrics (ICB), Madrid (Spain), 2013, 1-8 ; This paper evaluates the performance of the twelve primary systems submitted to the evaluation on speaker verification in the context of a mobile environment using the MOBIO database. The mobile environment provides a challenging and realistic test-bed for current state-of-the-art speaker verification techniques. Results in terms of equal error rate (EER), half total error rate (HTER) and detection error trade-off (DET) confirm that the best performing systems are based on total variability modeling, and are the fusion of several sub-systems. Nevertheless, the good old UBM-GMM based systems are still competitive. The results also show that the use of additional data for training as well as gender-dependent features can be helpful. ; This evaluation was supported by the European Union under the project BEAT contract no. FP7-284989 , as well as the Swiss National Science Foundation under the LOBI project.

This summary report is based on the outcome of a study carried out by the AGMEMOD Partnership under the management of the Agricultural Economics Research Institute (LEI, in the Netherlands), in cooperation with the Joint Research Centre – Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (JRC-IPTS) to generate projections for the main agricultural commodity markets for each year from 2005 until 2015. The report gives a general overview of the modelling approach, the description and implementation of the baseline, further CAP reform and exchange rate change scenarios. It outlines the main results for the aggregates EU-10, EU-15, EU-25 and EU-27, focusing in particular on the features implemented in this study, and addresses issues that need further attention. Detailed documentation on the AGMEMOD modelling approach, along with the outcome of the study, is published in five reports in the JRC-IPTS technical paper series under the heading "Impact analysis of Common Agricultural Policy reform on the main agricultural commodities".

This report is based on the outcome of a study carried out by the AGMEMOD Partnership under the management of the Agricultural Economics Research Institute (LEI, the Netherlands), in cooperation with the Joint Research Centre – Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (JRC-IPTS) to generate yearly projections for the main agricultural commodity markets from 2005 until 2015. This report describes the modelling techniques used by the AGMEMOD Partnership, with emphasis on new commodities modelled and policy modelling approaches. Detailed documentation on the AGMEMOD modelling approach, along with the outcome of the study, is published in five reports in the JRC-IPTS Scientific and Technical Report Series under the heading "Impact analysis of Common Agricultural Policy reform on the main agricultural commodities"

This report is based on a study carried out by the AGMEMOD Partnership under the management of the Agricultural Economics Research Institute (LEI, in the Netherlands), in cooperation with the Joint Research Centre – Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (JRC-IPTS) to generate projections for the main agricultural commodity markets for each year from 2005 until 2015. The report outlines the results of the baseline projections of agricultural commodity markets, further CAP reform scenario impact analyses and exchange rate change sensitivity analyses for each EU-25 Member State (except Malta and Cyprus). For Bulgaria and Romania enlargement and non-enlargement scenarios are analysed. Detailed documentation on the AGMEMOD modelling approach, along with the outcome of the study, is published in five reports in the JRC-IPTS technical paper series under the heading "Impact analysis of Common Agricultural Policy reform on the main agricultural commodities".

[Abstract] The alkaline comet assay, or single cell gel electrophoresis, is one of the most popular methods for assessing DNA damage in human population. One of the open issues concerning this assay is the identification of those factors that can explain the large inter-individual and inter-laboratory variation. International collaborative initiatives such as the hCOMET project - a COST Action launched in 2016 - represent a valuable tool to meet this challenge. The aims of hCOMET were to establish reference values for the level of DNA damage in humans, to investigate the effect of host factors, lifestyle and exposure to genotoxic agents, and to compare different sources of assay variability. A database of 19,320 subjects was generated, pooling data from 105 studies run by 44 laboratories in 26 countries between 1999 and 2019. A mixed random effect log-linear model, in parallel with a classic meta-analysis, was applied to take into account the extensive heterogeneity of data, due to descriptor, specimen and protocol variability. As a result of this analysis interquartile intervals of DNA strand breaks (which includes alkali-labile sites) were reported for tail intensity, tail length, and tail moment (comet assay descriptors). A small variation by age was reported in some datasets, suggesting higher DNA damage in oldest age-classes, while no effect could be shown for sex or smoking habit, although the lack of data on heavy smokers has still to be considered. Finally, highly significant differences in DNA damage were found for most exposures investigated in specific studies. In conclusion, these data, which confirm that DNA damage measured by the comet assay is an excellent biomarker of exposure in several conditions, may contribute to improving the quality of study design and to the standardization of results of the comet assay in human populations. ; This article is based upon work from COST Action hCOMET CA15132, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology www.cost.eu) - STSM fellowships for Mirta Milić (IMROH, EU 19); IMROH, Zagreb, Croatia, Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health (IMROH), Zagreb, Croatia, and the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia (Grant No. 022-0222148-2125) (EU4); Cancer Plan for PestiBG; Grant number: no ENV201401(EU 8, EU9); Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research PRIN 2005, prot. 2005058197 and Cariplo Foundation (Milan, Italy), Rif. Pratica 2007-5810 and Rif. Pratica 2010.2303 (EU 18); Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro (AIRC) (IG 2015/17564). (EU19); European Union Integrated Projects New Generis, 6th Framework Programme, Priority 5: Food Quality and Safety; Newborns and Genotoxic Exposure Risks, FOOD-CT-2005-016320 (EU22); ACT project No. 036APy/09 and No. 005DBB/12 (EU 24); FCT-SFRH/BPD/96196/2013, SFRH/BPD/100948/2014, Portugal (EU 26); MZ 2012/8-UKBA-8; VEGA 1/0703/13, APVV 15-0063 (EU30); Xunta de Galicia (XUGA 10605B98; INCITE08PXIB106155PR; ED481B2016/190-0; Grants ED431B2019/02), Spain (EU 32); Grant 01 173034, Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia (EU 42); The Centre for Industrial and Technological Development within National Strategic Consortia for Techical Research (Industrial Research diets and food with specific characteristics for elderly, SENIFOOD); University of Navarra LE/97; Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBER Obn); Carlos III Health Research Institute (CB12/03/30002); Ministerio de Economia y Compatitividad ('Ramón y Cajal' Programme, RYC-2013-14370) of the Spanish Government for personal support (EU 45); the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic project Healthy Aging in Industrial Environment HAIE (CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_019/0000798) which is co-financed by the European Union (European Structural and Investment funds; Operation Programme Research, Development and Education); MYES LO 1508 (EU 46); MICRODIAB Study; ClinicalTrials.org (#NCT02231736) (EU 52); The study was funded by the Italian Ministry for Education, University and Scientific Research (MIUR) - Research No. 2005-062547 (EU14, EU53); Projects financed from Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development #11146002, #175035, #173034 (EU 54); Mehr foundation organisation, UK (EU 55); MCTI/CNPQ No. 01/2016-Universal; FAPESC No. 09/2015; MEC/MCTI/CAPES/CNPQ/FAPS/ No. 09/2014, Brazil (CSA 6); the National Nuclear Energy Agency of Indonesia (Badan Tenaga Nuklir Nasional) with contract number 080.01.06 3447.001 001.052.A (AS4); Slovak Grant Agency (APVT-21 013202, APVT-21- 017704); Ministry of Health, Slovak Republic (2005/43-SZU-21, 2006/07- SZU-02 MZ SR, 2005/42-SZU-20

International audience ; Toxicology has been an active research field for many decades, with academic, industrial and government involvement. Modern omics and computational approaches are changing the field, from merely disease-specific observational models into target-specific predictive models. Traditionally, toxicology has strong links with other fields such as biology, chemistry, pharmacology and medicine. With the rise of synthetic and new engineered materials, alongside ongoing prioritisation needs in chemical risk assessment for existing chemicals, early predictive evaluations are becoming of utmost importance to both scientific and regulatory purposes. ELIXIR is an intergovernmental organisation that brings together life science resources from across Europe. To coordinate the linkage of various life science efforts around modern predictive toxicology, the establishment of a new ELIXIR Community is seen as instrumental. In the past few years, joint efforts, building on incidental overlap, have been piloted in the context of ELIXIR. For example, the EU-ToxRisk, diXa, HeCaToS, transQST, and the nanotoxicology community have worked with the ELIXIR TeSS, Bioschemas, and Compute Platforms and activities. In 2018, a core group of interested parties wrote a proposal, outlining a sketch of what this new ELIXIR Toxicology Community would look like. A recent workshop (held September 30th to October 1st, 2020) extended this into an ELIXIR Toxicology roadmap and a shortlist of limited investment-high gain collaborations to give body to this new community. This Whitepaper outlines the results of these efforts and defines our vision of the ELIXIR Toxicology Community and how it complements other ELIXIR activities.

International audience ; Toxicology has been an active research field for many decades, with academic, industrial and government involvement. Modern omics and computational approaches are changing the field, from merely disease-specific observational models into target-specific predictive models. Traditionally, toxicology has strong links with other fields such as biology, chemistry, pharmacology and medicine. With the rise of synthetic and new engineered materials, alongside ongoing prioritisation needs in chemical risk assessment for existing chemicals, early predictive evaluations are becoming of utmost importance to both scientific and regulatory purposes. ELIXIR is an intergovernmental organisation that brings together life science resources from across Europe. To coordinate the linkage of various life science efforts around modern predictive toxicology, the establishment of a new ELIXIR Community is seen as instrumental. In the past few years, joint efforts, building on incidental overlap, have been piloted in the context of ELIXIR. For example, the EU-ToxRisk, diXa, HeCaToS, transQST, and the nanotoxicology community have worked with the ELIXIR TeSS, Bioschemas, and Compute Platforms and activities. In 2018, a core group of interested parties wrote a proposal, outlining a sketch of what this new ELIXIR Toxicology Community would look like. A recent workshop (held September 30th to October 1st, 2020) extended this into an ELIXIR Toxicology roadmap and a shortlist of limited investment-high gain collaborations to give body to this new community. This Whitepaper outlines the results of these efforts and defines our vision of the ELIXIR Toxicology Community and how it complements other ELIXIR activities.