Open research Europe最新文献

This paper develops a new concept and framework for understanding resilient digital democracy in an age defined by polarisation, cascading crises, and the global rise of digital authoritarianism. It begins by tracing the concept of resilience from systems theory to social and political life, showing that resilience in democracy is not a mechanical property of systems but a dynamic, human-driven practice grounded in agency, resistance, and collective self-determination. The paper argues that with emerging challenges in the digital sphere, such as misinformation, surveillance capitalism, platform monopolies, deepfakes, and hybrid warfare, democracy can only endure if its digital dimensions are protected and transformed. Building on this foundation, the paper introduces a holistic approach to resilient digital democracy that spans environmental, technological, economic, political, and cultural domains, and advances strategies such as public-commons digital infrastructures, platform co-operatives, public service Internet platforms, free/libre open source software (FLOSS), participatory innovations, and hybrid offline/online democratic practices. The result is a fresh, interdisciplinary vision of how democracy can be reinvented in the digital age.

Metabolism disrupting chemicals (MDCs) elicit negative effects on metabolically active organs such as the liver and the pancreas, altering normal metabolic processes. Chemicals that are known, or suspected MDCs include compounds found in everyday consumer products and food, making low-dose, continuous exposure inevitable for humans. Through the discovery of chemically induced metabolic disruption, a concern has surfaced whether and how MDCs impact human health and the development of metabolic diseases. This has accelerated research around the topic, and it has been found that exposure to MDCs is linked to increased incidence of metabolic diseases including obesity and liver steatosis. Effective regulatory action is hindered by the lack of accurate methods to identify MDCs. The NEMESIS project addresses this regulatory gap by investigating the mechanisms through which MDCs cause metabolic disruption. The project aims at identifying novel biomarkers of exposure and link exposure to disease outcomes. As chemical toxicity testing is rapidly moving towards new approach methodologies (NAMs), NEMESIS promotes non-animal methodologies by employing state-of-the-art in vitro methods, epidemiological data, systems biology approaches, and seeks to replace mammalian in vivo experiments with alternative models. By understanding mechanisms of MDC-induced metabolic health effects, and through the development of reliable effect biomarkers and testing strategies, the NEMESIS project aims to facilitate more effective regulatory measures to improve and protect the health and well-being of EU citizens. The project is particularly focused on maximizing its impact through effective dissemination and communication efforts, to ensure that the project's message and results reach a broad audience and are tailored to different population groups. These actions will improve the risk assessment of MDCs and ensure that the EU citizens are informed and protected from the harmful effects of MDCs and can adapt their consumer patterns and behaviors to prevent exposure.

The fragmentation and decentralization of medical data, including radiological imaging, continue to challenge large-scale observational research across Europe. Artificial Intelligence (AI) applied to big datasets is transforming diagnosis and treatments towards precision medicine across many diseases, yet the lack of findable, accessible, and interoperable datasets still limits model development, validation, and final clinical translation. The European Federation for Cancer Images (EUCAIM) project was launched in 2023 to address these challenges by establishing a secure centralized and federated infrastructure for the secondary use of large-scale oncological imaging and related clinical data. By consolidating fragmented datasets, EUCAIM lays the groundwork for harmonized data governance and trusted cross-border sharing. Implementing a robust documentation framework is essential to ensure regulatory compliance, safeguard data integrity, and support secure data flows across institutional and national boundaries, fully aligned with European regulations and ethical standards. EUCAIM builds on the AI for Health Imaging (AI4HI) initiative (Predictive In-silico Multiscale Analytics to support cancer personalized diagnosis and prognosis, empowered by imaging biomarkers - PRIMAGE, Accelerating the lab to market transition of AI tools for cancer management - CHAIMELEON, Novel pan-European imaging platform for artificial intelligence advances in oncology - EuCanImage, An AI Platform integrating imaging data and models, supporting precision care through prostate cancer's continuum - ProCancer-I, A multimodal AI-based toolbox and an interoperable health imaging repository for the empowerment of imaging analysis related to the diagnosis, prediction and follow-up of cancer - INCISIVE and integrates over 94 partners and more than 180 stakeholders spanning medical imaging, high performance computing, data standardization, innovation, and legal compliance. This large collaborative ecosystem reinforces EUCAIM's role as a reference for General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and European Health Data Space Regulation (EHDSR) adherence. This publication presents the real-world experience of integrating imaging and clinical data from a reference university hospital into the EUCAIM infrastructure. It outlines the procedural, ethical, and legal challenges encountered, and details the strategies implemented to ensure compliance with data protection regulations, including privacy, security, and ethical standards. These insights offer a practical framework for future large-scale oncological imaging datasets harmonization and AI development, contributing to scalable, reproducible, and legally compliant research that strengthens Europe's capacity for trustworthy AI-driven oncology solutions.

Background: Living Labs have become established in European research as environments for user-centered innovation and co-creation. Yet, their potential as pedagogical infrastructures remains underexplored. This study investigates how Living Labs can foster experiential learning within EU-funded security research, focusing on the Horizon Europe project TENACITy, which integrates Living Labs into law enforcement training, offering a unique opportunity to examine how such settings can enhance adult and professional learning.

Methods: A qualitative research design was applied, combining semi-structured interviews with officers from Passenger Information Units (PIUs) who participated in Living Lab sessions and document analysis of project materials, including Deliverable D4.1 Training Methodology and Curricula. Thematic analysis was used to identify patterns in participants' accounts, interpreted through the theoretical lenses of experiential learning, andragogy, transformative learning and communities of practice.

Results: Five interrelated dimensions of learning were identified: (1) active engagement and concrete experience, (2) processing and dialoguing, (3) linking experience to theory and practice, (4) testing and applying new knowledge and (5) preparation, support, and learning conditions. These dimensions demonstrate how Living Labs operationalize Kolb's experiential learning cycle, embody Knowles' principles of self-directed and problem-centered learning, align with Illeris' holistic model integrating cognitive, emotional, and social dimensions, and reflect Wenger's emphasis on collective meaning-making. Limitations included tool immaturity, reliance on synthetic datasets, and uneven facilitation.

Conclusions: Living Labs represent hybrid ecosystems that combine innovation and learning. When intentionally designed and pedagogically facilitated, they can strengthen professional capacity building by linking technological development with authentic, reflective, and collaborative learning. The findings suggest that Living Labs should be embedded as integral, sustained components of training in EU-funded research projects, reinforcing the reciprocal relationship between innovation and education.

Background: Chronic hepatitis B (HBV) infection is a leading cause of cirrhosis and liver cancer globally. The current approved drugs for chronic HBV management include pegylated interferons and nucleoside analogs but these have limited efficacies and some adverse side effects. There is an urgent need to find safer and more effective antivirals for chronic HBV management. This study aimed to evaluate the in vitro immunostimulatory properties of the aqueous and ethanolic leaf extracts of the plants Moringa oleifera and Phyllanthus niruri on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from chronic HBV-infected persons yet to commence therapy and HBV-negative persons.

Methods: Plant extracts were freeze-dried and stock solutions prepared for phytochemical analysis. Extracts were used to stimulate cultured PBMCs from HBV-infected and HBV-negative persons and the levels of selected cytokines in culture supernatants measured by a multiplexed Luminex assay. The MTT assay was used to assess extract cytotoxicity.

Results: Aqueous and ethanol extracts of both plants were not cytotoxic but rather increased cell metabolic activity. The extracts induced the release of IL-6, IL-1β, IFN-γ, IL-10, TNF-α and IFN-α in PBMCs from both healthy individuals and chronic HBV patients, but cytokine levels were in most instances significantly higher in PBMCs from healthy individuals compared to HBV infected persons and may be related to the reduced immune responsiveness associated with chronic HBV infection. The reduced responsiveness of immune cells from chronic HBV-infected persons to stimulation may explain viral persistence and development of the chronic state. Overall, leaf extracts from both plants were safe and stimulated the release of HBV replication-limiting cytokines and may be important for chronic HBV management.

Conclusions: These findings lay the foundation for the potential integration of these extracts into HBV management strategies and provide promising data for future therapeutic development aimed at improving immune responses in chronic HBV patients.

Background: Megara Hyblaia, a Greek colony founded in the third quarter of the 8th century BC on Sicily's eastern coast, exemplifies early Western Greek urbanism. By the early 7th century BC, Megara had likely reached its maximum intramural size of approximately 60 hectares. This study focuses on that formative phase to evaluate whether the community possessed the resources to undertake two key construction projects: the first city fortification and residential expansion. Methods: Archaeological evidence shows that residential structures spread across the Southern Plateau and toward the Archaic West Gate by the early 7th century BC. This urban spread correlates with the construction of the city's earliest defensive structure, an "agger-wall". The article investigates the feasibility of these projects using two case studies: the agger-wall and the house on plot 113W4. Using data from stratigraphic excavation, 3D modelling, Building Information Modelling (BIM), and architectural energetics, the study estimates construction time and labour requirements. Results The aforementioned methods allowed us to estimate the construction of the agger-wall defence line at 11478 p-d (person-day) and the building of the house on plot 113W4 at 187-196 p-d. These figures then need to be put into perspective with an estimated population of 404-538 individuals in the first quarter of the 7th century BC, of whom roughly half are considered fit for construction work and available for it for five to six months per year. Conclusions: In evaluating the feasibility of early construction projects at Megara Hyblaia, findings suggest that the second-generation population could have built both the fortifications and sufficient housing within a year, without disrupting agriculture or essential tasks. Thus, 7th-century BC inhabitants likely had sufficient workforce for fortifications and housing. This study also highlights the promise and limitations of BIM tools in reconstructing ancient architecture and informing future digital heritage research.

The search for dark matter has been ongoing for decades within both astrophysics and particle physics. Both fields have employed different approaches and conceived a variety of methods for constraining the properties of dark matter, but have done so in relative isolation of one another. From an astronomer's perspective, it can be challenging to interpret the results of dark matter particle physics experiments and how these results apply to astrophysical scales. Over the past few years, the ESCAPE Dark Matter Test Science Project has been developing tools to aid the particle physics community in constraining dark matter properties; however, ESCAPE itself also aims to foster collaborations between research disciplines. This is especially important in the search for dark matter, as while particle physics is concerned with detecting the particles themselves, all of the evidence for its existence lies solely within astrophysics and cosmology. Here, we present a short review of the progress made by the Dark Matter Test Science Project and their applications to existing experiments, with a view towards how this project can foster complementary with astrophysical observations.

Background: Industrial content and infrastructure are in constant danger from atmospheric corrosion, which affects economies globally. However, there is a lack of a consistent set of comprehensive data that completely surrounds the range of this problem in diverse climate and locations. The purpose of the research is to evaluate the factors that contribute to atmospheric corrosion and its diverse effects on materials in various environments.

Methods: By creating a comprehensive dataset by collecting and standardizing corrosion data from diverse environments and geographic regions and initially analyzing the data, it helped indicate the main parameters affecting corrosion. This guided the selection of future features for further modeling. Several machine learning algorithms were tested, such as linear regression, decisions tree, neural network, and, most especially, promising methods, for their corrosion rate prediction capabilities. These models were assessed based on their prediction's accuracy, and computational efficiency, with special attention to refining their performance through detailed feature engineering and hyperparameter adjustment.

Results: Upon evaluating the performance of conventional predictive models, the research indicated that the machine learning approaches, especially with random forests methods of dress, were excellent in predicting corrosion rates, significantly improved upon these capabilities. By analyzing various machine learning approaches, it became clear that it was important to enhance their accuracy by selecting the best features and customizing them.

Conclusions: This work represents a significant advancement in the predictive modeling of atmospheric corrosion. It highlights the invaluable role of machine learning in this field. By integrating varied data sets and applying sophisticated machine learning techniques, it has established a foundation for ongoing research and the practical application of corrosion management strategies. The exceptional performance of ensemble methods, like random forests, signals their potential to improve prediction capabilities and guide more effective corrosion prevention measures.

Background: As Southeast Asia embraces digital technology, governments use it to make public services more efficient and accessible. This study explores Thailand's digitalization efforts, focusing on how government agencies implement e-government services to improve services and reduce costs.

Methods: Using survey data from 288 representatives across central and regional government institutions, the research identifies key focus areas of Thailand's digital strategy and evaluates its effectiveness through factor and descriptive analysis.

Results: The results show that digital tools are widely used in such sectors as defence, environmental protection, healthcare, and education. The results show that in Thailand, the digital tools contribute to enhancing service delivery, reduce administrative burden, and improve transparency. However, the results show that the financial benefits are frequently underassessed during project planning and evaluation. Only a small number of agencies report to systematically measure the financial returns of ICT projects, despite their long-term potential to strengthen public finances. Challenges to effective digital transformation include uneven digital literacy, low service maturity and limited data integration across agencies. Moreover, concerns about data security and access disparities between urban and rural populations pose further challenges.

Discussion/conclusions: Thailand's case demonstrates that digitalization can drive both efficiency and inclusivity, but its success depends on coordinated implementation, robust evaluation and targeted efforts to improve digital skills among citizens and public sector employees.

This article delves into the collaborative work of the interspecies dance collective, Mapped to the Closest Address (MaCA), focusing on MaCA's living archival practice and exploration of choreography with other-than-human persons. Through encounters with various species and environments, MaCA seeks to shift anthropocentric perspectives, interrogate its orientation towards modernity and coloniality, and question its understanding/administration/entanglement/devotion of, with, and to nature. The collective's journey, from a digital residency during the COVID-19 pandemic to site research, installations, and performance at the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale 2022, is documented and analyzed. The collective's collaborative process involves relinquishing control to allow for the emergence of disobedient movements and the exploration of choreography from the perspective of other-than-human perspectives. This practice includes encounters with kudzu vines and mountains, weaving their movements and patterns into performances and installations. The authors discusses the immersive performance Turn Off the House Lights, in which MaCA integrates stories from local communities with gestures inspired by the landscape. Through the collective's living archival practice, MaCA aims to transmit a collective memory of intra-actions among organisms and environments. and highlight the intra-connectedness of humans and the other creatures of the Earth. The article reflects on the significance of choreography beyond human-centric notions, emphasizing the emergent forms of ecological performance and the dissolution of boundaries between human and non-human realms. Drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives including dance, visual art, and theatre, MaCA's work exemplifies an intra-disciplinary approach to expressing the choreography of other-than-human persons. This approach not only presents audiences with immersive experiences but also responds to the future ecosystem through artistic exploration. Ultimately, MaCA's living archival practices contribute to awareness of the collective lives of other-than-human persons and offer insights into navigating the collective's enmeshment with the natural world.