Open research Europe最新文献

Parkinson's disease (PD) affects more than one million people in the EU. It currently has no definitive cure, meaning that patients rely only on symptomatic treatments, which themselves are burdened by side effects. The need for advancements in both knowledge and available treatments is thus strongly felt by patients, caregivers, and health operators. This unmet need sparked the idea of orchestrating a collaborative effort via a common network - IMMUPARKNET (The role of IMMUnity in tackling PARKinson's disease through a Translational NETwork). The IMMUPARKNET COST Action focuses on challenges in PD and its related crosstalk with immune response. Although widely recognized, the role of immunity in the onset and development of PD is still unclear. The main goal of IMMUPARKNET is to fill this knowledge gap by establishing an innovative, interdisciplinary research network and fostering exchanges of expertise among specialists from different countries and institutions. As we gather scientists and clinicians who study immunity in PD and related fields, IMMUPARKNET will establish the first nucleus of a multidisciplinary ecosystem that aims to harmonize efforts and approaches, both in research and clinical practice, to boost the development of ground-breaking treatments for PD. Through meetings, training schools, webinars, position papers, and review manuscripts, IMMUPARKNET will lead fruitful exchanges of know-how among experts in the field. The IMMUPARKNET structure revolves around 5 working groups, with a total of 157 active members from 34 different countries. Of these active members, 58.5% are young researchers, while 67.5% come from Inclusiveness Target Countries (ITC - less research-intensive COST Members; https://www.cost.eu/about/members/). IMMUPARKNET output will facilitate the improved sharing and development of research resources, straightening the road to novel treatments and identifying where existing ones can be repurposed, all, ultimately and hopefully, finding a cure for PD.

Background: In the 1920s and 1930s Flinders Petrie excavated several sites in British Mandate Palestine (Tell Jemmeh, Tell Fara and Tell el-'Ajjul), encountering numerous burials dating from the Chalcolithic period down to the Ottoman period. The osteological finds were thought to have been discarded, until the authors identified a curated selection of skeletal human remains from these tombs at the Duckworth Laboratory in Cambridge in 2017/2018.

Methods: Rachael Sparks conducted archival research to explore how the human remains from Petrie's excavations in the Southern Levant were recovered, recorded, curated and studied. This drew on original excavation records, contemporary publications, official and private correspondence, unpublished research notes, and the evidence of the human skeletal remains themselves.Following on this archival investigation, Nina Maaranen conducted skeletal analyses on individuals from Bronze Age contexts - recording crania and mandibles using various non-invasive, macroscopic techniques to estimate age, sex and ancestry.

Results: It was established that selected skulls were sent to Karl Pearson's Biometric Laboratory at University College in London for craniometric study as part of wider programmes of research into ancient populations. After the war, changes in the organisation of the Eugenics Department at the University led to the transfer of Pearson's collection of human skulls to the Duckworth Laboratory in Cambridge, where attempts to get the material published were unsuccessful.The current skeletal analysis of the assemblage revealed a preference for adult individuals, in line with the curation motivations of the original investigators. Earlier research on these remains was compared with our new data and contextualised within the theoretical and methodological development of bioanthropology and osteology.

Conclusions: Our investigation successfully identified the history of this assemblage, and revealed ethical issues surrounding the collection and subsequent use of some of these human remains, particularly where there may be familial links to modern Palestinian populations.

The European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) is envisioned as a transformative platform for advancing Open Science, aimed at benefiting a diverse array of stakeholders, including researchers, innovators, institutions, and the broader public. To fully harness EOSC's potential as a common good, capable of delivering services to the research community such to potentially transform the way scientific production and communication is done, we address critical barriers that may actually restrict the equitable access and the optimal use of such services. In particular, we emphasize that key resources as required to access and exploit EOSC's advanced FAIR-data services - such as data-processing algorithms - are, in fact, intrinsically limited and the access will be competitive. Governance and funding of EOSC present challenges associated with its effective openness in terms of accessibility to resources for its advanced exploitation.

While it has almost become a truism of comparative linguistics that linguistic diversity is unevently distributed across the globe, the reasons are poorly understood up to the present day. Linguists are thus in the embarassing situation that they do not understand significant regularities in the way the objects of their study -languages- pattern. In this essay, I explore three interrelated strands of thought to create a perspective on the question that is different from those explored so far: first, I suggest that instead of looking at present-day levels of diversity statically, we should take an approach that looks into how these distributions were generated. Related to this point and in contradistinction to extant work, second, I advocate an inductive approach that departs from qualitative case studies that inform theory-building. Third, I ponder that, in contrast to the traditional focus of historical linguistics on language diversification and expansion, understanding how the ranges of languages are reduced might be the key missing piece of evidence in a global theory of language diversity and its genesis. This new perspective is also able to address the striking correlation between linguistic and biological diversity that suggest that the processes that created and maintain both are, on some level, qualitatively similar.

Background: Collaborative Workspaces are rapidly growing and evolving across the world. Traditionally understood as an urban phenomenon, most research understands them as either 'entrepreneurial-led', as profit-driven and commercial spaces such as business incubators and accelerators, or 'community-led' as being bottom-up, not-for-profit ventures aimed at catering for the needs of their community. Recent years however have seen their diffusion beyond large urban agglomerations to small towns and villages, with their functions assumed to be more community-orientated. At the same time, social innovation, or social innovation processes have been gaining prominence in academia, policy, and practice, as they address societal problems and hold potential for new forms of social relations. This paper attempts to provide a novel framework towards understanding the transformative potential of rural collaborative workspaces, as they engage in processes of social innovation, by drawing from diverse and community economies literature and assemblage thinking.

Methods: The paper uses international case study comparison between rural Austria and Greece (One case from each country). Methods applied were: semi-structured interviews (N=28), participant observation and focus groups (2).

Results: Community-led rural collaborative workspaces hold transformative potential from i) their ability to assist rural actors with their capacities and realizing their desires and ii) changing individual subjectivities towards collective. Through changing social relations in praxis and perceptions, we examine how social innovation processes through collaborative workspaces can be understood as a means of opening new economic subjectivities towards creating community economies as their transformative potential.

Conclusions: Although rural collaborative workspaces hold potential for societal transformation, they require further institutionalization and support to move beyond the interstitial and symbiotic stages of transformation.

Blastocystis, a common protist in the human gastrointestinal tract, exhibits substantial genetic diversity and has been linked to varying clinical outcomes. However, its role in human health remains debated, with studies suggesting both commensal and pathogenic interactions. This scoping review aims to systematically map the existing evidence on the association between Blastocystis presence and human clinical outcomes. Herein, we present our proposed protocol, where, using systematic search methods, studies will be identified from multiple databases, focusing on diagnostic procedures, clinical outcomes, and treatment options. Findings will provide a comprehensive evidence map, highlighting knowledge gaps and guiding future research. The resulting data is intended to inform clinical and public health perspectives on Blastocystis and its potential implications for human health.

While the stramenopile Blastocystis, first discovered in 1911, is considered the most prevalent enteric protist in humans, its biology remains largely unexplored. Clinical studies have only recently begun investigating the role of Blastocystis in the gut and its relationship with the gut microbiome, and whether it plays a pathogenic role in human and animal health. Aiming to gather leading researchers in the field to encourage and stimulate cross-disciplinary dialogue while fostering long-term international collaborations, the Fourth International Blastocystis Conference was hosted from the 17 ^th to the 19 ^th of September 2024 in Heraklion (Crete, Greece). The event was mainly supported by the COST Action CA21105, " Blastocystis under One Health", and the Microbiology Society. The multi- and interdisciplinary conference programme covered all aspects related to Blastocystis evolutionary biology and advances in omics, intestinal ecology (gut microbiome), clinical significance and association with disease, diagnosis and molecular characterisation, as well as epidemiology and One Health. The high-quality presentations discussed at the conference provided researchers with a synthesis of recent advancements, while key research questions, knowledge gaps, and future steps in Blastocystis research were identified. Herein, we aim to provide a thorough overview of the presentations at the congress. The COST Action CA21105, 'Blastocystis under One Health,' will build on the insights and collaborations fostered during the conference, promoting integrative research approaches, advancing our understanding of Blastocystis, and driving future efforts to translate these findings into improved public health strategies.

Background: The research within the Citizen Science (CS) project on tenant electricity focused on an inclusive research approach by involving actors such as citizen scientists (CSs), scientists, policymakers, and the private sector. The main objective was to jointly explore the barriers and drivers for and motivations to participate in the tenant electricity model in Germany, and to identify behavioural changes (based on the energy culture concept) of the CSs by being involved in local electricity production and consumption.

Methods: The CS project adopted a mixed-method approach, combining qualitative data analysis from workshops with quantitative data from an energy consumption monitoring scheme and a panel survey on energy-related practices.Results and conclusions: Identified barriers for the tenant electricity model encompassing both structural (e.g. model complexity) and inherent challenges (lack of information). Drivers for scaling up include the reduction of the complexity and bureaucratic hurdles of the model as well as regulations and financial incentives and targeted information to relevant actors.The main motivation for participating in tenant electricity was sustainability and local production of electricity, while the electricity price played a minor role. Regarding changes in energy culture, the participation in tenant electricity led to a stronger exchange among neighbours about further sustainability options and to a higher interest in sustainability or society engagement.Feedback on regular consumption data was perceived by almost all participants as useful for further measures to save electricity. Electricity data collected from installed meters showed, on average, a reduction in consumption for more than half of the households compared to the start month of the research period.Further, a cluster analysis was conducted to identify different profiles and gain deeper understanding of the characteristics of CSs. In total five clusters were identified, with differences in energy consumption patterns, energy efficient appliances, knowledge about energy consumption, and changes in energy practices.

Background: Universal Mental Health Training for Frontline Professionals (UMHT) is an educational programme developed and piloted in Ukraine in 2021-2023. The UMHT trains frontline professionals (FLPs) to interact with, support, and refer individuals with mental health conditions for professional help.

Methods: To assess the UMHT feasibility in four focus areas (programme's demand, acceptability, adaptability, and extendability), we used statistics on the actual use of the programme, as well as data from satisfaction and usability surveying of 144 programme deliverers and 714 trained frontline professionals. A combination of Kruskal-Wallis and Post Hoc Dunn tests was used to identify statistically significant intergroup differences in the UMHT usability.

Results: Programme's demand increased through years of implementation (2021, 2022, 2023) in terms of the numbers of training events (27, 35, 90), trained frontline professionals (596, 779, 1548), involved donors and supporters (1, 4, 9) and implementers (2, 10, 18). The UMHT acceptability as satisfaction with the programme content and delivery, measured out of 5, is 4.81 (SD=0.291) for the UMHT trainers and 4.78(SD=0.434) for trained FLPs. The UMHT preparedness to use trained skills after participation in the training events, on the same scale, is 4.57 (SD=0.438) for the UMHT trainers and 4.46 (SD=0.650) for trained FLPs. The highest levels of usability of all UMHT skills on a scale from 0 to 1 were found for educators (0.68 [SD=0.118]), police officers (0.67 [SD=0.098]), and social workers (0.66 [SD=0.113]).

Conclusions: The UMHT offers a universal frame of interaction with people with mental health conditions for frontline professionals. Assessment of the UMHT feasibility shows the programme's potential for further development and implementation. Programme trainers as its deliverers and frontline professionals as its recipients report high satisfaction with training content and delivery as well as preparedness to apply gained knowledge and skills in practice.

Background: The NextFood Project ( www.nextfood-project.eu) started work in 2018 to identify 'Categories of Skills' that students should be equipped with to address the upcoming global challenges within agrifood and forestry disciplines. The skill groups are Innovative Mindset, Life-Long Learning, Network-Building, Strategic Management, Sustainability, Systems Perspective, Technological Knowledge and Versatility. This study is based on the initial skills and competencies mapping, but takes a different methodological approach. Instead of investigating what the research literature and professionals think are important skills for the future, this study asks how existing education programmes include or exclude these skills in the description of their programs.

Methods: Python-based web-scraping scripts were used to collect texts from a selection of European Masters program websites, which were then analysed using statistical tools including Partial Least Squares regression and network analysis. A total of 14 countries, 27 universities, 1303 European Masters programs, 3305 web-pages and almost two million words were studied using this approach.

Results: While agrifood and forestry Masters programs were aligned with the NextFood Project 'Categories of Skills' equal to or more often than unrelated Masters programs, we found evidence for the relative underuse of words associated with networking skills, such as collaboration, communication and eamwork. Agriculture-related programs used these words the least among the agrifood Masters programs. In contrast, agrifood programs used words associated with sustainability and system thinking more than the non-agrifood Masters programs.

Conclusions: The informatics approach provides evidence that many European agrifood and forestry Masters programs are following the educational paths for meeting future challenges as outlined by the NextFood Project, with the possible exception of networking skills. This approach allows a complementary and time-efficient overview of the current state of education in the agrifood system in Europe.