Nanosafety forum for young scientists: a meeting report

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Pietroiusti ◽  
Lang Tran ◽  
Luisa Campagnolo

AbstractIn October of 2014, a meeting jointly organized by the EU Nanosafety Cluster and the COST Action TD 1204, was held on the beautiful island of Ortygia in Syracuse (Sicily). The meeting was specifically conceived to give the opportunity to young researchers in the field of nanotoxicology to present and discuss the results of their research. Presentations were divided into eight sessions over 2 days, reflecting the eight working groups of the Nanosafety Cluster. This report gives a description of the meeting activities and a summary of the data presented there.

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Louise Robinson ◽  
Clarissa Pedrosa da Costa Gomes ◽  
Ines Potočnjak ◽  
Jan Hellemans ◽  
Fay Betsou ◽  
...  

The EU-CardioRNA Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action is a European-wide consortium established in 2018 with 31 European country members and four associate member countries to build bridges between translational researchers from academia and industry who conduct research on non-coding RNAs, cardiovascular diseases and similar research areas. EU-CardioRNA comprises four core working groups (WG1–4). In the first year since its launch, EU-CardioRNA met biannually to exchange and discuss recent findings in related fields of scientific research, with scientific sessions broadly divided up according to WG. These meetings are also an opportunity to establish interdisciplinary discussion groups, brainstorm ideas and make plans to apply for joint research grants and conduct other scientific activities, including knowledge transfer. Following its launch in Brussels in 2018, three WG meetings have taken place. The first of these in Lisbon, Portugal, the second in Istanbul, Turkey, and the most recent in Maastricht, The Netherlands. Each meeting includes a scientific session from each WG. This meeting report briefly describes the highlights and key take-home messages from each WG session in this first successful year of the EU-CardioRNA COST Action.


Author(s):  
Matej Kušar ◽  
Poul Linneberg ◽  
Joao Amado ◽  
Snežana Mašović ◽  
Nikola Tanasić ◽  
...  

<p>The main objective of the COST Action TU1406 is to develop a guideline for the establishment of Quality Control plans for roadway bridges. The guideline is based on conclusions of Working groups 1 and 2 of the Action and is further developed with the contributions and findings of members of Working group 3. The paper presents the overview of the developed framework, where gradual damage processes as well as sudden events are being addressed in evaluation of Key Performance Indicators. The proposed framework relies on data from design and construction phase, as well as from results from visual inspections that are used for an assessment of safety and serviceability - the primary concerns of bridge managers. Special attention is aimed at possible Failure modes and related bridge Vulnerable zones. These are, for instance high moment regions, high shear regions and constructions joints, but can also be zones of bridge conceptual weaknesses. Since there are differences in design and materials for various bridge types, the suitability of the framework is tested separately for girder/frame bridges and arch bridges. Due to the specifics of sudden events, the application of the framework is given separately from gradual damage processes. Emphasis is given on flooding and scour as these are the most common culprits of bridge failures. The steps in the implementation of the framework are briefly shown and an illustrative example is presented.</p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guenter Langergraber ◽  
Bernhard Pucher ◽  
Lena Simperler ◽  
Johannes Kisser ◽  
Evina Katsou ◽  
...  

Abstract Resource depletion, climate change and degradation of ecosystems are challenges faced by cities worldwide and will increase if cities do not adapt. In order to tackle those challenges, it is necessary to transform our cities into sustainable systems using a holistic approach. One element in achieving this transition is the implementation of nature-based solutions (NBS). NBS can provide a range of ecosystem services beneficial for the urban biosphere such as regulation of micro-climates, flood prevention, water treatment, food provision and more. However, most NBS are implemented serving only one single purpose. Adopting the concept of circular economy by combining different types of services and returning resources to the city, would increase the benefits gained for urban areas. The COST Action Circular City aims to establish a network testing the hypothesis that: ‘A circular flow system that implements NBS for managing nutrients and resources within the urban biosphere will lead to a resilient, sustainable and healthy urban environment’. In this paper we introduce the COST Action Circular City by describing its main objectives and aims. The paper also serves as introduction to the review papers of the Action's five Working Groups in this Special Issue.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natasa Atanasova ◽  
Guenter Langergraber

&lt;p&gt;Resource depletion, climate change and degradation of ecosystems are challenges faced by cities worldwide and will increase if cities do not adapt. In order to tackle those challenges, it is necessary to transform our cities into sustainable systems using a holistic approach. One element in achieving this transition is the implementation of nature-based solutions (NBS). They can provide a range of ecosystem services beneficial for the urban biosphere such as regulation of micro-climates, flood prevention, water treatment, food provision and more. However, most NBS are implemented serving only one single purpose. Adopting the concept of circular economy by combining different types of services and returning resources to the city, would increase the benefits gained for urban areas.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The COST Action CA17133 &quot;Implementing nature-based solutions for creating a resourceful circular city&quot; aims to establish a network testing the hypothesis that a circular flow system that implements NBS for managing nutrients and resources within the urban biosphere will lead to a resilient, sustainable and healthy urban environment.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;To tackle this challenge the Action comprises five working groups (WGs):&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;WG1: Built environment&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;WG2: Sustainable urban water utilisation&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;WG3: Resource recovery&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;WG4: Urban Farming&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;WG5: Transformation tools&lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;The network of researches, companies and stakeholders from more than 40 countries spread over whole Europe brings together a large diversity of disciplines and is therefore well equipped taking holistic approach on embedding NBS within circular economy. In the presentation we will present the first results already achieved and the future plans of the Action.&lt;/p&gt;


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
J Haagsma ◽  
M Majdan ◽  
S M Pires ◽  
R Assunção

Abstract The burden of disease landscape in Europe is currently scattered with experts from diverse professional backgrounds, ranging from experts in infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, injuries and risk factors, to experts in more comprehensive national, regional and global burden of disease studies. Currently there is little interaction between these experts and existing burden of disease efforts. The European burden of disease network (burden-eu) COST Action aims to bring together expertise across different domains and professional backgrounds. During the course of the burden-eu COST Action, several steps will be taken to facilitate interaction between existing burden of disease efforts. First, a survey has been sent around to all members of the EU burden of disease network to map burden of disease studies that have been carried out in their country. Apart from general details about the year of the study and cause of disease categories, items of the survey included data sources, methodological approach and collaborations with institutes of other countries. In the first month, the survey has been completed for over 70 studies that have been carried out in twelve countries. Second, comparison of existing burden of disease initiatives allows for the identification of the various domains for which burden of disease has been assessed, highlight methodological differences as well as similarities, and facilitate improvements and harmonization of methods and approaches. Furthermore, the data collected from the survey will be included in a continuously updated burden of disease database that lists all past and current burden of disease activities. Lastly, burden-eu will facilitate regular meetings and workshops. Each of these steps will make it possible to move beyond the currently scattered burden of disease landscape and increase interaction between professionals and burden of disease efforts.


2005 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 609-623 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eves Fouilleux ◽  
Jacques de Maillard ◽  
Andy Smith

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 101-102
Author(s):  
Frank Wells

This paper presents a review, conducted by the ethics working party of the European Forum for Good Clinical Practice, of the structures and functions of research ethics committees across the member states of the EU. The findings demonstrate widespread differences, and further working groups have been established to develop thinking across Europe, in respect of the training of REC members, ethics committee quality assurance and the involvement of vulnerable subjects in research. In practical terms the differences do not matter, but they should be recognized. The review itself is considered a dynamic document and will be updated every six months.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-37
Author(s):  
Alena Dorakh

Despite recent concerns about the increasing influence of outside investors on the European Union (EU) and Western Balkans, the developed European countries are still a dominant source of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the region, confirming the benefits of EU membership. At the same time, fast-growing connectivity and lower trade costs in accession and neighboring countries determine the FDI growth from China, particularly via the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). By applying panel data over 2000-2019 for 34 countries, which form 89% of all European FDI, we first examine FDI patterns around Europe, compare the EU, NMS, and Western Balkans; verify the importance of EU membership for FDI, caused reducing trade costs and improving connectivity. Thus, the new EU member states (NMS) and Western Balkans appear both as a home country and as a pre- entry destination to the EU. Then, we calculate trade costs indices for each selected country and partners over time and find that Europe and China are closely interconnected through trade and FDI. It means that stronger ties with China can be realized for the sample countries at the cost of easing relations with the EU. Finally, incorporating trade costs indices into the FDI model; we evaluate the impact of connectivity on FDI and estimate how BRI affected FDI in Europe. Additionally, we validate that the old framework of horizontal and vertical FDI not representative well and even new complex vertical or export-oriented FDI strategies are shifting today.


Author(s):  
Jerzy Cieślik ◽  
Eugene Kaciak ◽  
André van Stel

Countries vary widely and systematically in the extent to which the ambitions of their entrepreneurs differ from their realisations. We label this discrepancy entrepreneurial overconfidence (EOC). Although a certain level of EOC may be beneficial for an economy, we provide empirical support for the argument that if entrepreneurial ambitions substantially and systematically exceed realisations, this may be at the cost of economic and societal prosperity. Therefore, we need to know more about country levels of EOC and their determinants, particularly with respect to the growth-oriented segment of entrepreneurship. Combining data on entrepreneurial ambitions from Global Entrepreneurship Monitor and data on realisations from Eurostat, we construct a measure of EOC at the country level and correlate its variation across 23 European Union (EU) countries over the period 2004–2015 with a set of economic and cultural factors. Among other findings, our results show that ambitions exceed realisations in almost all countries, but that this discrepancy is significantly greater for new member countries entering the EU since 2004. Policy implications of our results are discussed, particularly for promoting ambitious entrepreneurship in countries at the intermediate development stage.


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