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"The two concepts at the centre of this book: Europe, and the Second World War, are constantly changing in public perception. Now that 'Europe' is an even more contested idea than ever, this volume informs the current discourse on European identity by analysing Europe's reaction to the tragedy, heroism and disgrace of the Second World War"--

18 páginas, 6 tablas, 7 figuras. ; 1. We carried out a coordinated survey of mountain lakes covering the main ranges across Europe (including Greenland), sampling 379 lakes above the local tree line in 2000. The objectives were to identify the main sources of chemical variability in mountain lakes, define a chemical classification of lakes, and develop tools to extrapolate our results to regional lake populations through an empirical regionalisation or upscaling of chemical properties. 2. We investigated the main causes of chemical variability using factor analysis (FA) and empirical relationships between chemistry and several environmental variables. Weathering, sea salt inputs, atmospheric deposition of N and S, and biological activity in soils of the catchment were identified as the major drivers of lake chemistry. 3. We tested discriminant analysis (DA) to predict the lake chemistry. It was possible to use the lithology of the catchments to predict the range of Ca 2+ and SO4 2) into which a lake of unknown chemistry will decrease. Lakes with lower SO4 2) concentrations have little geologically derived S, and better reflect the variations in atmospheric S loading. The influence of marine aerosols on lakewater chemistry could also be predicted from the minimum distance to the sea and altitude of the lakes. 4. The most remarkable result of FA was to reveal a factor correlated to DOC (positively) and NO3 ) (negatively). This inverse relationship might be the result either of independent processes active in the catchment soils and acting in an opposite sense, or a direct interaction, e.g. limitation of denitrification by DOC availability. Such a relationship has been reported in the recent literature in many sites and at all scales, appearing to be a global pattern that could reflect the link between the C and N cycles. 5. The concentration of NO3 ) is determined by both atmospheric N deposition and the processing capacity of the catchments (i.e. N uptake by plants and soil microbes). The fraction of the variability in NO3 ) because of atmospheric deposition is captured by an independent factor in the FA. This is the only factor showing a clear pattern when mapped over Europe, indicating lower N deposition in the northernmost areas. 6. A classification has been derived which takes into account all the major chemical features of the mountain lakes in Europe. FA provided the criteria to establish the most important factors influencing lake water chemistry, define classes within them, and classify the surveyed lakes into each class. DA can be used as a tool to scale up the classification to unsurveyed lakes, regarding sensitivity to acidification, marine influence and sources of S. ; Funding was provided by the European Union (EMERGE project EVK1-CT-1999-00032), Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology (CICYT grant REN2000-0889 ⁄GLO), and the Austrian Ministry for Education, Science and Culture. ; Peer reviewed

Background: MetabERN is one of the 24 European Reference Networks created according to the European Union directive 2011/24/EU on patient's rights in cross border healthcare. MetabERN associates 69 centres in 18 countries, which provide care for patients with Hereditary Metabolic Diseases, and have the mission to reinforce research and provide training for health professionals in this field. MetabERN performed a survey in December 2017 with the aim to produce an overview documenting research activities and potentials within the network. As the centres are multidisciplinary, separated questionnaires were sent to the clinical, university and laboratory teams. Answers were received from 52 out of the 69 centres of the network, covering 16 countries. A descriptive analysis of the information collected is presented. Results: The answers indicate a marked interest of the respondents for research, who expressed high motivation and commitment, and estimated that the conditions to do research in their institution were mostly satisfactory. They are active in research, which according to several indicators, is competitive and satisfies standards of excellence, as well as the education programs offered in the respondent's universities. Research in the centres is primarily performed in genetics, pathophysiology, and epidemiology, and focuses on issues related to diagnosis. Few respondents declared having activity in human and social sciences, including research on patient's quality of life, patient's awareness, or methods for social support. Infrastructures offering services for medical research were rarely known and used by respondents, including national and international biobanking platforms. In contrast, respondents often participate to patient registries, even beyond their specific field of interest. Conclusions: Taken as a whole, these results provide an encouraging picture of the research capacities and activities in the MetabERN network, which, with respect to the number and representativeness of the investigated centres, gives a comprehensive picture of research on Hereditary Metabolic Diseases in Europe, as well as the priorities for future actions. Marginal activity in human and social sciences points out the limited multidisciplinary constitution of the responding teams with possible consequences on their current capability to participate to patient's empowerment programs and efficiently collaborate with patient's advocacy groups.