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Purpose: To establish the presence of a causal linkage between prevalent systemic diseases and keratoconus (KC)., Design: Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis., Methods: After an exhaustive screening process, genetic variants linked to various systemic diseases were identified as instrumental variables at the genome-wide significance level. Subsequently, MR analyses were conducted to elucidate their potential causal connection with KC (N = 26,742). The encompassed systemic ailments comprise diabetes, hay fever/allergic rhinitis/eczema, obstructive sleep apnea, thyroid dysfunction, aortic aneurysm, major depressive disorder, inflammatory bowel disease (including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis), and mitral valve prolapse. Our study adheres to the principles of Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology Using MR guidelines., Results: Using inverse variance weighting as the primary MR analysis method, our findings revealed that hay fever/allergic rhinitis/eczema (odds ratio, 10.144; 95% CI, 2.441-42.149; P = .001) and ulcerative colitis (odds ratio, 1.147; 95% CI, 1.054-1.248; P = .002) were associated with an increased risk of KC within the largest population under scrutiny. Conversely, the prolonged hyperglycemic state did not exhibit a potentially protective effect in delaying the pathogenesis of KC, and no correlation was observed between the two (odds ratio, 0.320; 95% CI, 0.029-3.549; P = .353). Also, obstructive sleep apnea, thyroid function, aortic aneurysm, major depressive disorder, Crohn's disease, and mitral valve prolapse did not exhibit a causal association with KC (P > .05 for all comparisons)., Conclusions: This study indicates an increased risk of KC related to hay fever/allergic rhinitis/eczema and ulcerative colitis, with diabetes not providing a protective effect. These findings may potentially contribute some insights to inform clinical interventions., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

We introduce an analytical methodological framework that links knowledge generation efficiency with economic efficiency and the corresponding environmental impact for 199 European Regions during 2000-2018, using a benchmarking approach and especially a chain network DEA technique. A clear trade-off between knowledge generation efficiency and productive performance emerges. European regions which exhibit high innovation efficiency enjoy higher overall performance compared to their counterparts. In a second stage, we investigate the convergence patterns of the examined regions with respect to all the three facets of the estimated efficiency where the coexistence of multi-type convergence clubs is revealed., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have not any competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The research evaluation community has devoted multiple efforts to analyze the effects of Framework Programmes. However, there is little empirical evidence on their impact on economic performance. This article presents an empirical analysis of the research project-based networks created by 7th Framework Programme in the field of Information and Communication Technologies and investigates their links with regional total factor productivity. For comparison purposes, the diffusion network created by the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme is also studied. Our results allow us to assess whether (or not) there are any common patterns in the research and diffusion links established by regions in these two European-supported networks and evaluate their (potentially) different connection with productivity. We use tools from Social Network Analysis and, specifically, the novel measure of bridging centrality, which takes into account territories' internal microstructure.

We study drying trends across the central latitude strip of Europe (47.5–52.5°N and 2.5–27.5°E) during 1980–2019 and their links to atmospheric circulation. Daily differences between potential evapotranspiration and precipitation (PET–P) calculated from the E–OBS data are used to characterize dryness, and atmospheric circulation is represented by circulation types classified using daily sea level pressure patterns from the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis. Circulation types favoring dry conditions in vegetation season (April–September) are identified based on daily PET–P, and their temporal changes, seasonal variations, and links to trends in dryness in individual European regions are analyzed. In the early vegetation season (AMJ), drying trends are observed mainly in Western and Central Europe while in the late vegetation season (JAS), they are located predominantly in Eastern Europe. The dry circulation types include all anticyclonic types in all regions, as well as northeast to south (southwest in Eastern Europe) directional types. Trends of the dry circulation types correspond to those of dryness: the largest increase is found during AMJ in Western and Central Europe but during JAS in Eastern Europe. The results show that trends in dryness in the central latitude strip of Europe in the warm half‐year were associated with changes in atmospheric circulation, as the largest increases in frequency of dry circulation types occurred in the regions and months affected by pronounced drying. The increasing frequency of anticyclonic types in AMJ and reduced inflow of moist air masses from the Atlantic are the key factors supporting intensification of dry conditions in European mid‐latitudes. Plain Language Summary: Drought is a major climatic hazard that threatens many aspects of society and ecosystems. The 2015–2018 dry period and the recent dry summer of 2022 in Europe are mere examples of many recent droughts developing worldwide. We studied how dryness severity progressed in Europe since 1980 and whether trends in dryness were linked to changes in atmospheric circulation. We found distinct regional patterns in drying trends: while Western and Central Europe recorded the largest increases in dryness during the early vegetation season (April–June), Eastern Europe, by contrast, had more distinct drying trends in the late vegetation season (July–September). We linked this pattern to changes in frequency of circulation types favorable to dryness and concluded that increased frequency of anticyclonic (clear‐sky) weather and reduced westerly flow of moist oceanic air contributed to drought intensification in European mid‐latitudes. Key Points: Significant drying trends in European mid‐latitudes since 1980s have been primarily linked to growing potential evapotranspirationDry conditions during early vegetation season have become more frequent and severe particularly in Western and Central EuropeIncreased frequency of circulation types favoring dry conditions corresponds both spatially and temporally to the drying trends [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines interactions between the presence of top-ranked universities and other conditions that encourage regional competitiveness. Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) was conducted to assess the combined effect of the conditions. The analysis yields several noteworthy conclusions. First, no single condition is necessary for a region to be competitive. Second, R&D expenditure is important for regional competitiveness. Third, different configurations of conditions are sufficient for high competitiveness in different regional clusters. Furthermore, some of these configurations do not include the presence of top-ranked universities. A 'magic recipe' consists of the combination of a private research system, an inter-firm collaboration network and high levels of human capital. The analysis shows that university excellence is valuable. However, in terms of its contribution to regional development, it is not crucial and must always be contextualised. This conclusion is important for smart strategic planning of local knowledge systems.

The article discusses the potential of digital healthcare innovations to address the challenges facing European healthcare systems. Topics include the growing demand for healthcare due to ageing populations and chronic illnesses, the promises of digital healthcare solutions such as telemedicine and AI, and the barriers to achieving tangible results, particularly in the context of healthcare professionals' working conditions and the need for careful consideration of stakeholders' needs.

Teacher-directed and inquiry-based science instructional practices have been shown to influence students' performance on science assessments. However, only a small body of research has examined the associations of teacher-directed and inquiry-based science instructional practices with science-related dispositions among adolescent students using nationally representative samples drawn from countries across the globe. Hence, the present study, employing multilevel path analyses as an analytic strategy, investigated the relations of teacher-directed and inquiry-based science instruction to students' science-related dispositions, such as enjoyment of science, interest in broad science topics, instrumental motivation to learn science, science self-efficacy, and epistemological beliefs about science, among 428,197 adolescent students from 15,644 schools in 66 countries. Results of multilevel path analyses, after controlling for student-, school-, and country-level demographic and socio-economic factors, revealed that teacher-directed science instruction was significantly positively related to adolescent students' enjoyment of science, interest in broad science topics, instrumental motivation to learn science, science self-efficacy, and epistemological beliefs about science. Similarly, inquiry-based science instruction was also significantly positively linked to enjoyment of science, interest in broad science topics, instrumental motivation to learn science, and science self-efficacy. However, inquiry-based science instruction was not significantly associated with students' epistemological beliefs about science. The findings of the current study suggest that a blend of teacher-directed and inquiry-based science instruction may be more appropriate for developing and nurturing students' positive dispositions toward science. However, science teachers may require sufficient training and support to successfully implement the blended instruction model in their classrooms.

The article contributes a better understanding of the mechanisms underpinning the intertwining of national and religious identity at the individual level in (some) former Communist and socialist European countries. It starts by retracing from a historical perspective the place religion occupied under the regimes, then paying attention to how, once politicized and ethnicized by the hand of a new class of ethnopolitical entrepreneurs, religion became "the hallmark of nationhood." This excursus allows us to better contextualize both the theoretical argument and findings. The intertwining of national and religious identity is investigated from two main theoretical sources. The first is the debate within sociology and political science on different ideas of nationhood, while the second consists of socio-psychological models of intergroup relations. The empirical investigation is based on survey data from the European values study (EVS, 2017). A comparative approach is used that includes four countries having Catholic large majorities (Poland, Slovenia, Croatia, and Hungary) and, as a benchmark, Romania, having an Orthodox majority. To test the hypotheses, a structural equation model is specified. The causal model seeks to unravel to what extent different conceptions of nationhood (ethno-religious vs. civil), together with national attachment, influence the intergenerational transmission of religious values and distrust of people of another religion/nationality. The research results are in line with the current European trends pointing in the direction of a stronger overlap between the religious and the national in tailoring collective identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human populations underwent range contractions during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) which had lasting and dramatic effects on their genetic variation. The genetic ancestry of individuals associated with the post-LGM Magdalenian technocomplex has been interpreted as being derived from groups associated with the pre-LGM Aurignacian. However, both these ancestries differ from that of central European individuals associated with the chronologically intermediate Gravettian. Thus, the genomic transition from pre- to post-LGM remains unclear also in western Europe, where we lack genomic data associated with the intermediate Solutrean, which spans the height of the LGM. Here we present genome-wide data from sites in Andalusia in southern Spain, including from a Solutrean-associated individual from Cueva del Malalmuerzo, directly dated to ~23,000 cal yr BP. The Malalmuerzo individual carried genetic ancestry that directly connects earlier Aurignacian-associated individuals with post-LGM Magdalenian-associated ancestry in western Europe. This scenario differs from Italy, where individuals associated with the transition from pre- and post-LGM carry different genetic ancestries. This suggests different dynamics in the proposed southern refugia of Ice Age Europe and posits Iberia as a potential refugium for western European pre-LGM ancestry. More, individuals from Cueva Ardales, which were thought to be of Palaeolithic origin, date younger than expected and, together with individuals from the Andalusian sites Caserones and Aguilillas, fall within the genetic variation of the Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze Age individuals from southern Iberia., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Bipartite life histories involve a suite of morphological changes that support the pelagic to demersal transition and an expanded range of prey options and microhabitats. Pelagic individuals are thought to shift (settle) to their preferred benthic habitat at the earliest opportunity once they have attained a minimum level of morphological competency to access their new environment. In theory, early changes in larval morphology (collectively termed 'metamorphosis'), habitat and diet—a measure of habitat‐use—ought to be synchronous. Yet relationships may be decoupled by factors linked to behaviour, prey availability or morphological complexity, and few descriptions exist to allow such synchrony to be assessed. The sand goby, Pomatoschistus minutus, is a common coastal fish across north‐western Europe, with a size at larval metamorphosis and settlement of around 10 and 16–18 mm standard length (SL), respectively. We sampled shoreline larval and juvenile populations to examine relationships between morphology, diet and life stage. Prey diversity increased with body length; however, dietary change was clearest at 16–18 mm SL, with a reduction in calanoid copepods and shift to larger prey such as Nereis polychaetes and mysid and amphipod crustacea. Early growth in five prey capture and processing morphologies was rapid. Four of these showed a subsequent marked shift to slower growth, but none of these changes were aligned with size at metamorphosis and only that of mouth width coincided with body size at settlement. Early life history in P. minutus appears geared towards a protracted morphological reorganization prior to demersal life and an alternative suite of prey resources. Larval metamorphosis seems to be of limited consequence in this regard. Comparable studies of other Baltic Sea fishes would confirm whether these dynamics relate to shared environmental pressures or to factors intrinsic to P. minutus biology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Classifications by self‐organizing maps (SOMs) have been used to study links between extreme weather events and atmospheric circulation. However, SOMs may often provide a too generalized image of circulation, which is too coarse to properly resolve meteorological extremes. Several approaches have been used to circumvent this limitation, including an increase in the number of nodes and/or relaxation of the stress on topological ordering of nodes, through adjusting the neighbourhood radius. Here, we (1) test whether weighting of training fields based on extremity of their circulation could lead to SOMs that would better represent circulation extremes without impairing the topological ordering of nodes, and (2) we investigate whether Sammon maps (SM), which have so far been limited to validation of SOMs in climatology, could provide a viable alternative to SOMs in studying weather extremes. We show that removing a certain percentage of circulation fields closest to the climatological mean has a greater effect on the representation of circulation extremes than more than doubling the SOM array size. Additionally, this step allows for decreasing the neighbourhood radius, the parameter responsible for topological ordering, which would not otherwise be possible without impairing the topology of the map. The SOMs are compared with two newly developed methods that discretize SMs based on arbitrarily chosen and distribution‐based bins. We demonstrate the usefulness of both methods in climate model validation and show that both methods are able to capture circulation variability in its extremes in more detail than the SOMs. The distribution‐based method does not suffer from sample‐size issues and outperforms all other classifications in extracting ERA5 patterns leading to extreme temperature minima over central Europe. Our results suggest that classifications based on SM could be a viable alternative to SOMs when SOMs lack the ability to discriminate circulation outliers leading to temperature extremes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mesozoic rise of the European freshwater gastropod fauna is still poorly understood. Compared to the well documented Cenozoic history, little is known about the patterns and processes underlying the early diversification preceding their extinction crisis at the K-Pg boundary. We assess what is probably a first pulse of diversification of the Cenozoic-type fauna in the Late Cretaceous along with the potential abiotic and biotic controls for shifts in species diversification. We find strong support that the increase in the speciation rate in the Santonian (~ 85 Myr ago) is linked to a global sea level rise, which caused extensive flooding of continental areas and the formation of vast brackish-water ecosystems. The following decline of the speciation rate coincides with a rise in diversity and reflects increasing interspecific competition. The peak in the speciation rate postdates the Cenomanian-Turonian Thermal Maximum, which probably limited the potential for diversification among freshwater gastropods due to ecological constraints. The peak coincides moreover with the end phase of the Cretaceous Terrestrial Revolution, which sparked the radiation of angiosperms. The expansion and diversification of flowering plants, being an important food source for freshwater gastropods today, could have formed a necessary basis for gastropod diversification., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

• Investigation focuses on coupling link inspection, integral safety components to train screw coupling systems. • Plastic deformation increase, during operational use, did not affect yield stress or ultimate tensile strength. • Fractured links showed ductile fractures with distinctive surface structures. • 83 % of links, tested after 30 years in operation, exceeded the minimum breaking force. • Train brake analysis suggests a decrease in link failures due to other component issues. This paper presents an analysis of train screw coupling used mainly in Europe as mechanical connection of wagons in train. An analysis of train breaks apart incidents revealed that less than 30 % of the cases were caused by elements of the screw coupling, with coupling links accounting for only 5 % of the failures. Therefore, the investigation focused on testing the coupling links, which are safety elements of the screw coupling. The coupling links underwent various inspections, including visual inspection, dimensional control, non-destructive testing, examination of chemical composition, and mechanical tests. Dimensional control found longitudinal plastic deformations of the links. Chemical examination revealed that the links were made of different material than recommended, but their mechanical properties generally met the recommended values. However, variations were observed among different links, likely due to different rates of deformation during testing and operational conditions. Overall, the analysis and inspections provided insights into the condition and performance of coupling links in the screw coupling system, highlighting the importance of monitoring and maintaining these elements to ensure safe and efficient railway operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public banks have played an important role in financing public water and sanitation services in Europe for over a century, but these activities have been largely ignored in the academic literature. This special issue is an initial corrective to this research gap, providing conceptual insights and empirical information on eight countries and regions in Europe, covering a wide range of public banks working with public water operators. This introductory article provides background rationale for the research, outlines our methodologies, frames the theoretical potentials of public banks in the water sector, highlights key findings and points to future possible research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tobacco smoking remains one of the leading causes of preventable illness and death and is heritable with complex underpinnings. Converging evidence suggests a contribution of the polygenic risk for smoking to the use of tobacco and other substances. Yet, the underlying brain mechanisms between the genetic risk and tobacco smoking remain poorly understood. Methods: Genomic, neuroimaging, and self-report data were acquired from a large cohort of adolescents from the IMAGEN study (a European multicenter study). Polygenic risk scores (PGRS) for smoking were calculated based on a genome-wide association study meta-analysis conducted by the Tobacco and Genetics Consortium. We examined the interrelationships among the genetic risk for smoking initiation, brain structure, and the number of occasions of tobacco use. Results: A higher smoking PGRS was significantly associated with both an increased number of occasions of tobacco use and smaller cortical volume of the right orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). Furthermore, reduced cortical volume within this cluster correlated with greater tobacco use. A subsequent path analysis suggested that the cortical volume within this cluster partially mediated the association between the genetic risk for smoking and the number of occasions of tobacco use. Conclusions: Our data provide the first evidence for the involvement of the OFC in the relationship between smoking PGRS and tobacco use. Future studies of the molecular mechanisms underlying tobacco smoking should consider the mediation effect of the related neural structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding drivers of success for alien species can inform on potential future invasions. Recent conceptual advances highlight that species may achieve invasiveness via performance along at least three distinct dimensions: 1) local abundance, 2) geographic range size, and 3) habitat breadth in naturalized distributions. Associations among these dimensions and the factors that determine success in each have yet to be assessed at large geographic scales. Here, we combine data from over one million vegetation plots covering the extent of Europe and its habitat diversity with databases on species' distributions, traits, and historical origins to provide a comprehensive assessment of invasiveness dimensions for the European alien seed plant flora. Invasiveness dimensions are linked in alien distributions, leading to a continuum from overall poor invaders to super invaders-abundant, widespread aliens that invade diverse habitats. This pattern echoes relationships among analogous dimensions measured for native European species. Success along invasiveness dimensions was associated with details of alien species' introduction histories: earlier introduction dates were positively associated with all three dimensions, and consistent with theory-based expectations, species originating from other continents, particularly acquisitive growth strategists, were among the most successful invaders in Europe. Despite general correlations among invasiveness dimensions, we identified habitats and traits associated with atypical patterns of success in only one or two dimensions-for example, the role of disturbed habitats in facilitating widespread specialists. We conclude that considering invasiveness within a multidimensional framework can provide insights into invasion processes while also informing general understanding of the dynamics of species distributions., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interest.

In some Scandinavian countries, the United Kingdom and the United States, there is evidence of a dramatic decline in adolescent emotional wellbeing, particularly among girls. It is not clear to what extent this decline can be generalised to other high-income countries. This study examines trends over time (2005-2009-2013-2017) in adolescent wellbeing in the Netherlands, a country where young people have consistently reported one of the highest levels of wellbeing across Europe. It also assesses parallel changes over time in perceived schoolwork pressure, parent-adolescent communication, and bullying victimization. Data were derived from four waves of the nationally representative, cross-sectional Dutch Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study (N = 21,901; 49% girls; M age  = 13.78, SD = 1.25). Trends in emotional wellbeing (i.e., emotional symptoms, psychosomatic complaints, life satisfaction) were assessed by means of multiple regression analyses with survey year as a predictor, controlling for background variables. Emotional wellbeing slightly declined among adolescent boys and girls between 2009 and 2013. A substantial increase in perceived schoolwork pressure was associated with this decline in emotional wellbeing. Improved parent-adolescent communication and a decline in bullying victimization may explain why emotional wellbeing remained stable between 2013 and 2017, in spite of a further increase in schoolwork pressure. Associations between emotional wellbeing on the one hand and perceived schoolwork pressure, parent-adolescent communication, and bullying victimization on the other were stronger for girls than for boys. Overall, although increasing schoolwork pressure may be one of the drivers of declining emotional wellbeing in adolescents, in the Netherlands this negative trend was buffered by increasing support by parents and peers. Cross-national research into this topic is warranted to examine the extent to which these findings can be generalised to other high-income countries.

Refugees suffer from a lack of institutional and administrative continuity and experience a succession of separations. Compassionate and sustained links with a single institution, whatever ups and downs they encounter on their journey in Europe, can encourage integration and support the individual therapeutic work. The care can thereby become a factor in a more collective transmission within the population supported by the same institution., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Globally, traditional food security fears have been supplemented by concerns about food system sustainability that link current agricultural production practices to damages of environmental ecosystems and the world's climate, thus threatening the natural resource base of future generations. This paper aims at creating a better understanding of the evolution of diet sustainability from 1961 to 2013. Data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations were used to investigate the situation for the world as a whole as well as for its macro-regions Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and Oceania. We define diet sustainability by (a) the share of daily per capita calorie intake derived from vegetable/plant products and (b) the variety of vegetable/plant products consumed, measured by the Simpson diversity index. Moreover, total calorie consumption is considered. Then the correlations between diet sustainability and (a) macro-regional life expectancy rates and (b) food system greenhouse gas emissions are calculated. The results show that diet sustainability has not changed much during the last 50 years. Moreover, the nexus between diets and health and climate outcomes is not fully evident at the macro-regional level. Therefore, Malthus 2.0, i.e., scientific food pessimism, should be avoided. In particular, the limitations of dietary contributions to human and planetary health ought to be more widely acknowledged., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

The connections between European rainfall variability in winter (from January to March) and Northern Hemisphere circulation patterns, as represented by 500-hPa geopotential height, are investigated in the period 1900–2014. Initially, three statistically significant pairs of linearly-related circulation and precipitation patterns, explaining 45% of the variance in the latter field, are identified. The first two essentially represent the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the East Atlantic (EA) patterns, while the third corresponds to a structure described in recent literature as a blend of the Pacific North America (PNA) pattern and the so-called Asia Bering North America (ABNA) pattern. The residual precipitation field is then examined for patterns that can introduce non-linear modulations into the circulation-precipitation links. It is so found that the NAO impact on European rainfall is modulated by North American and Pacific factors controlling cyclogenesis over Newfoundland. The positive-phase EA rainfall anomalies over Central Europe and the British Isles seem to be markedly affected by the NAO phase. Finally, a possible signature from the Circumglobal Teleconnection Pattern disrupting the NAO influence on East Mediterranean precipitation anomalies is detected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In Europe, the highest proportion of HIV diagnoses are in gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM). Globally, HIV prevalence is particularly high among males who report selling sex, but rates among men who buy sex from other men are less clear. This study analyzed the association of transactional sex (TS) and HIV diagnosis, sexually transmitted infection (STI) diagnoses, and various drug use; and examined the variations in TS by payment direction., Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, non-randomized, observational study. This European MSM Internet Survey recruited MSM from 38 European countries. For descriptive purposes we stratified according to TS behavior (frequently selling sex, frequently buying sex, neither frequently selling nor buying sex in the previous 12 months), and we constructed separate multivariable logistic regression models to investigate whether engaging in TS accounted for some of the HIV- and STI diagnoses and drug use in this population., Results: Of almost 161,000 sexually active MSM, 12.2% engaged in TS. The multivariable logistic regression results showed that relative to not frequently engaging in TS, frequently selling sex was independently associated with a higher odds of reporting diagnosed HIV (ever, adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.60, confidence interval [CI] 95% 1.39 to 1.85), bacterial STIs (past 12 months, aOR 1.75 CI 95% 1.54 to 2.00), using heroin or crack cocaine or injecting drugs (aOR 3.17, CI 95% 2.70 to 3.73), and using benzodiazepines (aOR 2.13, CI 95% 1.88 to 2.41). Compared to men not engaging in frequent TS, frequently buying sex was associated with a higher odds of using benzodiazepines (aOR 2.13, CI 95% 1.88 to 2.41)., Conclusions: MSM who frequently sell sex suffer greater sexual- and substance use risks than other MSM, but both men who frequently sell and those who buy sex are more likely to use benzodiazepines. MSM who sell sex to other men constitute an important at-risk population who must be offered targeted health services.

• Damage from wind, bark beetle, wildfire, root rot, snow and ice were considered. • Links between natural disturbances and climate change were reviewed. • Forty disturbance models were categorized and assessed. • Modelling approaches estimating disturbance's occurrences and effects were assessed. • Appropriate modelling approaches for large scale management planning are recommended. It is expected that European Boreal and Temperate forests will be greatly affected by climate change, causing natural disturbances to increase in frequency and severity. To detangle how, through forest management, we can make forests less vulnerable to the impact of natural disturbances, we need to include the risks of such disturbances in our decision-making tools. The present review investigates: i) how the most important forestry-related natural disturbances are linked to climate change, and ii) different modelling approaches that assess the risks of natural disturbances and their applicability for large-scale forest management planning. Global warming will decrease frozen soil periods, which increases root rot, snow, ice and wind damage, cascading into an increment of bark beetle damage. Central Europe will experience a decrease in precipitation and increase in temperature, which lowers tree defenses against bark beetles and increases root rot infestations. Ice and wet snow damages are expected to increase in Northern Boreal forests, and to reduce in Temperate and Southern Boreal forests. However, lack of snow cover may increase cases of frost-damaged seedlings. The increased temperatures and drought periods, together with a fuel increment from other disturbances, likely enhance wildfire risk, especially for Temperate forests. For the review of European modelling approaches, thirty-nine disturbance models were assessed and categorized according to their required input variables and to the models' outputs. Probability models are usually common for all disturbance model approaches, however, models that predict disturbance effects seem to be scarce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Web sites dealing with the theme of adult education and time are reviewed, including an adult education survey found at www.bildungsserver.de/link/adult_education_survey, a report on European education at www.bildungsserver.de/zeigen.html?seite=3274, and a site on demographic change in Germany at www.bildungsserver.de/link/bpbdemographiewandel.

The dynamic of articulation between higher education and secondary education in England and Wales, the Netherlands, France, West Germany, and Sweden is examined from historical and administrative perspectives. (MSE)

In the last decade, there have been several initiatives for the deployment of cross-Mediterranean HVDC (High Voltage Direct Current) links to enable the transmission of electrical power from renewable energy sources between North Africa and Europe. These initiatives were mainly driven by the potential economic, environmental and technical benefits of these HVDC interconnections. In previous studies on these projects, some technical aspects of critical importance have not been addressed or studied in sufficient detail. One of these key aspects relates to the impact and possible benefit of these HVDC links on the dynamic performance of the European system which is the major focus of this paper. Several issues relating to the dynamic performance of the system are addressed here. Based on the experience gained from existing AC/DC projects around the world, this paper shows that the HVDC links between North Africa and Europe can greatly improve the dynamic performance of the European system especially in the southern regions. In addition, some challenges on the operation and control of these HVDC links are highlighted and solutions to overcome these challenges are proposed. This review paper, therefore, serves as a preliminary study for further detailed investigation of specific impacts or benefits of these interconnections on the overall performance of the European system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new atmospheric-river detection and tracking scheme based on the magnitude and direction of integrated water vapour transport is presented and applied separately over 13 regions located along the west coasts of Europe (including North Africa) and North America. Four distinct reanalyses are considered, two of which cover the entire twentieth-century: NOAA-CIRES Twentieth Century Reanalysis v2 (NOAA-20C) and ECMWF ERA-20C. Calculations are done separately for the OND and JFM-season and, for comparison with previous studies, for the ONDJFM-season as a whole. Comparing the AR-counts from NOAA-20C and ERA-20C with a running 31-year window looping through 1900-2010 reveals differences in the climatological mean and inter-annual variability which, at the start of the twentieth-century, are much more pronounced in western North America than in Europe. Correlating European AR-counts with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) reveals a pattern reminiscent of the well-know precipitation dipole which is stable throughout the entire century. A similar analysis linking western North American AR-counts to the North Pacific index (NPI) is hampered by the aforementioned poor reanalysis agreement at the start of the century. During the second half of the twentieth-century, the strength of the NPI-link considerably varies with time in British Columbia and the Gulf of Alaska. Considering the period 1950-2010, AR-counts are then associated with other relevant large-scale circulation indices such as the East Atlantic, Scandinavian, Pacific-North American and West Pacific patterns (EA, SCAND, PNA and WP). Along the Atlantic coastline of the Iberian Peninsula and France, the EA-link is stronger than the NAO-link if the OND season is considered and the SCAND-link found in northern Europe is significant during both seasons. Along the west coast of North America, teleconnections are generally stronger during JFM in which case the NPI-link is significant in any of the five considered subregions, the PNA-link is significant in British Columbia and the Gulf of Alaska and the WP-link is so along the U.S. West Coast. During OND, these links are significant in the Gulf of Alaska only. If AR-counts are calculated upon persistent (instead of instantaneous) ARs, the link to the NAO weakens over the British Isles and western Iberia. For the experimental set-ups most closely mirroring those applied in Lavers et al. (J Geophys Res Atmos 117, 2012. doi:) and Ramos et al. (J Hydrometeorol 16(2):579-597, 2015. doi:), the NAO-links are completely or partly insignificant indicating that the inclusion of the persistence criterion notably alters the results. Visual support for the present study is provided by an exhaustive historical atmospheric river archive built at . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Analyses of links between forest floor light availability and spectral properties. • Data from temperate and boreal forests across Europe. • Tree canopy structure linked to forest floors' spectral features and composition. • Mean reflectance curves of the forest floors differed between biomes. Remote sensing using spectral data has been commonly applied to retrieve tree layer properties while the monitoring of forest floor remains a less studied topic. We investigated the links between light availability at forest floor, and forest floor's spectral reflectance properties (350–2500 nm) and fractional cover across boreal and temperate Europe. We hypothesized that tree canopy structure (and thus, light availability at forest floor) is linked not only to the vegetation composition of forest floor, as has been shown previously, but also to forest floor's spectral reflectance properties, and that these relationships differ between forest biomes. Data were collected in situ from a total of 67 forest stands in southern boreal, hemiboreal, temperate floodplain, and temperate mountain sites. The variation of light availability at forest floor was linked to both the forest floor's composition and spectral reflectance properties. Each study site exhibited site-specific spectral features and a different mean reflectance spectrum. Openness in tree canopies was related to an increase in the fractional cover of vascular plants and to a decrease of plant litter, consequently enhancing the forest floors' spectral absorptance features in the red and shortwave-infrared wavelengths, as well as reflectance in the near-infrared region. Also, the variations of normalized difference index values and red edge positions as functions light availability at forest floor and forest floor's composition were different for each site. Our results suggest that incorporating biome-specific relationships between tree canopy structure and forest floor reflectance properties would improve interpretation of optical remote sensing data. The measurement data are openly available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a correction notice for an article titled "Reviewing the links and feedbacks between climate change and air pollution in Europe." The correction addresses an error in the Funding and Acknowledgement statements, where the European Union was omitted in the original versions. The corrected statements now acknowledge that the project received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 EMERGE project and the Horizon 2020 EXHAUSTION project. The authors apologize for the errors and state that they do not change the scientific conclusions of the article. [Extracted from the article]

Summary: This paper investigates the extent to which national economic conditions matter in the ECB's decision process. We employ various decision models to aggregate counterfactual national interest rates based on Taylor rule estimates and test which of the resulting interest paths fits best to the actual monetary policy in the euro area. As a novel feature, we introduce decision models where countries that fare economically worse than the euro area average obtain a higher weight in the decision process. Our results suggest that these models explain actual ECB policy better than GDP‐based bargaining models that have been highlighted in the previous literature. Thus, the ECB seems to have emphasized the needs of countries that face an economic crisis disproportionately highly even before the advent of the financial crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The reform and development of the financial sector was one of the most significant challenges that the former socialist countries faced during their transition to a market economy. At the start of this transition, their financial system was underdeveloped and centralised (monobank), where the central bank of each economy also functioned as a commercial bank. The restructuring, integration and development of the financial sector to enhance viability and enable it to respond to new demands was imperative, particularly for economic growth and the convergence of these economies with the developed economies of the region. This process of financial integration suffered a powerful shock with the economic crisis transmitted to the region in 2009. The initial aim of this paper is to highlight the problems created after the global economic crisis affecting the financial institutions of the former socialist countries of South-eastern Europe, as well as the problems that already existed, though not apparent, and were nevertheless exacerbated by the outbreak of the crisis. An attempt to investigate the role of the financial sector, dominated by the banking sector, follows, with regard to achieving macroeconomic equilibrium among the economies of the countries in the region and the potential for sustaining it in future as part of a path to growth. To fully satisfy this goal, we propose that it is preferable to avoid a linear approach to the issue, abandoning equilibrium theory to adopt an analysis inspired by the method of cumulative causation, based on the work of Nicholas Kaldor. Our analysis allows us to postulate that, in a post-crisis period, conditions prevail for the potential appearance of future structural impasses of a cumulative nature, which could lead to a systemic crisis and leave the development process of the region's economies exposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

River discharge is impacted by the sub-seasonal (weekly to monthly) temporal structure of precipitation. One example is the successive occurrence of extreme precipitation events over sub-seasonal timescales, referred to as temporal clustering. Its potential effects on discharge have received little attention. Here, we address this topic by analysing discharge observations following extreme precipitation events either clustered in time or occurring in isolation. We rely on two sets of precipitation and discharge data, one centred on Switzerland and the other over Europe. We identify "clustered" extreme precipitation events based on the previous occurrence of another extreme precipitation within a given time window. We find that clustered events are generally followed by a more prolonged discharge response with a larger amplitude. The probability of exceeding the 95th discharge percentile in 5 d following an extreme precipitation event is in particular up to twice as high for situations where another extreme precipitation event occurred in the preceding week compared to isolated extreme precipitation events. The influence of temporal clustering on discharge decreases as the clustering window increases; beyond 6–8 weeks the difference in discharge response with non-clustered events is negligible. Catchment area, streamflow regime and precipitation magnitude also modulate the response. The impact of clustering is generally smaller in snow-dominated and large catchments. Additionally, particularly persistent periods of high discharge tend to occur in conjunction with temporal clusters of precipitation extremes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of this study was to test the structure and endorsement of drinking motives and their links to alcohol use among 11- to 19-year-olds from 13 European countries. Method: Confirmatory factor analysis, latent growth curves, and multiple regression models were conducted, based on a sample of 33,813 alcohol-using students from Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Wales who completed the Drinking Motives Questionnaire Revised Short Form (DMQ-R SF). Results: The findings confirmed the hypothesized four-dimensional factor structure. Social motives for drinking were most frequently indicated, followed by enhancement, coping, and conformity motives, in that order, in all age groups in all countries except Finland. This rank order was clearest among older adolescents and those from northern European countries. The results confirmed that, across countries, social motives were strongly positively related to drinking frequency, enhancement motives were strongly positively related to frequency of drunkenness, and conformity motives were negatively related to both alcohol outcomes. Against our expectations, social motives were more closely related to drunkenness than were coping motives, particularly among younger adolescents. Conclusions: The findings reveal striking cross-cultural consistency. Health promotion efforts that are based on, or incorporate, drinking motives are likely to be applicable across Europe. As social motives were particularly closely linked to drunkenness among young adolescents, measures to impede the modeling of alcohol use and skills to resist peer pressure are particularly important in this age group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the links between populist radical right parties and their voters regarding European integration in 11 European countries. It does so by using data from the 2008 European Social Survey and the 2006 UNC-Chapel Hill Expert Data Base on political parties and European integration. In addition to mapping the Eurosceptic orientations of political parties and their voters, the article examines the degree to which attitudes towards the EU and voting for populist radical parties are connected to each other. The results lend support to the hypothesis that most populist radical right parties have managed to establish links with their voters regarding European integration. The analysis also shows that links between populist radical right parties and their voters tend to be stronger for those parties that adopt more extreme negative positions towards European integration. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Children's sleep problems are common and associated with increased risk for adjustment problems. We examined daily links between children's sleep and mood, using a daily diary method and actigraphy. We also tested children's daily mood as a mediator of relations among sleep and children's broader internalizing and externalizing symptoms. A community sample of 142 children (mean age = 10.69 years; 57% girls; 69% European American, 31% African American) and their parents participated. For 1 week, children wore actigraphs and parents completed a daily telephone interview about their child's mood. Following the week of actigraphy, mothers and fathers reported on their child's adjustment. Multi-level models indicated within-person relations between children's mood and subsequent sleep fragmentation (indicated by increased activity) and sleep latency, and between-person relations between sleep latency and subsequent mood on the next day. Significant indirect effects were found such that a more negative daily mood (aggregated across diary days) mediated relations between poor sleep efficiency and longer sleep latency and parent-reported internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Findings extend previous research by highlighting disruptions to children's daily mood as a potential mechanism linking sleep problems to children's mental health., (© 2014 European Sleep Research Society.)

A gridded monthly terrestrial precipitation from the Climatic Research Unit (CRU), University of East Anglia data set and the UK Met Office Northern Hemisphere mean sea level pressure data are used to investigate interdecadal changes in the relationships between precipitation variability over Europe and atmospheric circulation in the Atlantic–European sector during boreal spring and fall. Singular value decomposition (SVD) analysis, performed for the climatic periods of strong/weak links to the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) during spring and fall, revealed considerable interdecadal changes both in the strength and the structure of the links between European precipitation and regional atmospheric circulation. During periods of strong links to the NAO, the leading SVD mode is characterized by the NAO-like meridional dipole in sea level pressure (SLP) fields and associated opposite precipitation variations over northern/southern Europe. When the links to the NAO are weak, the leading SVD mode is represented by the tripole pattern in SLP fields over the North Atlantic–European region, driving regional precipitation variability both in spring and fall. Further correlation analysis has shown that this mode is associated with the Scandinavian teleconnection pattern (SCA). Thus, for the considered seasons during periods of weak NAO influence, the SCA plays a role of major driver of the regional precipitation variability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reviews the potential for forging academic links with Asia, the different models of engagement available, the balance between academic requirements and financial demands, the governance structures required for building successful, sustainable academic links and finally issues of quality assurance of teaching and research programmes being offered either jointly with partners in Asia or through off-shore campuses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on some of the conceptual and empirical issues relating to the links between education and well-being. Recent research has made progress in this area, despite the complexity and the limitations of available measurements and other observations. The first part discusses the ill-defined nature of education and the negative implications this has on research and policy. The second part outlines some of the major relationships that are being explored around the theme of education and well-being. This is not exhaustive but provides an overview of distinct theoretical explanations for the potential causal links. Reference is made to available evidence so as to provide an overview of what is known empirically about some of these possible explanations. The third section discusses some of the empirical limitations and challenges to building up a robust evidence base in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Social Norms Approach, with its focus on positive behaviour and its consensus orientation, is a health promotion intervention of relevance to the context of a Health Promoting University. In particular, the approach could assist with addressing excessive alcohol consumption., Aim: This article aims to discuss the link between the Social Norms Approach and the Health Promoting University, and analyse estimations of peer alcohol consumption among European university students., Methods: A total of 4392 students from universities in six European countries and Turkey were asked to report their own typical alcohol consumption per day and to estimate the same for their peers of same sex. Students were classified as accurate or inaccurate estimators of peer alcohol consumption. Socio-demographic factors and personal alcohol consumption were examined as predictors for an accurate estimation., Results: 72% of male and 51% of female students were identified as having accurate estimations about the amount of alcoholic drinks consumed per day by their peers. Male students, older students, those studying year 3 and above, and Turkish and Danish students were more likely to accurately estimate their peers' alcohol consumption. Independent from these factors, students' accurate estimation of peers' drinking decreased significantly with increasing personal consumption., Conclusions: As accurate estimates of peer alcohol consumption appear to affect personal drinking behaviour positively, social norms interventions targeted at correcting possible misperceptions about peer alcohol use among students may be a useful health promotion tool in the context of a health promoting university., (© 2014 the Nordic Societies of Public Health.)

Purpose: Online communication tools, such as social networking sites (SNS), have been comprehensively embraced by adolescents and have become a dominant daily social practice. Recognizing SNS as a key context of adolescent development, this study aimed to investigate associations between heavier SNS use, and adolescent competencies and internalizing problems., Methods: Data was collected in six European countries: Greece, Spain, Poland, the Netherlands, Romania, and Iceland. Participants were 10,930 adolescents aged 14-17 years (F/M: 5,719/5,211; mean age 15.8 ± .7 years); 62.3% were aged 14-15.9 years and 37.7% were aged 16-17.9 years. Participants reported on their use of online communication tools, and their general competencies and internalizing problems (Youth Self Report)., Results: SNS are both ubiquitous--used by 70% of adolescents--and engaging, given that 40% of users spend 2 or more hours daily on SNS (labeled heavier SNS use). Heavier SNS use was associated with more internalizing problems, and the relation was consistently more pronounced among younger adolescents. Moreover, heavier SNS use was associated with lower academic performance and lower activities scores, especially for younger adolescents. In contrast, among older adolescents heavier SNS use was positively associated with offline social competence., Conclusions: Although heavier SNS use is associated with higher social competence for older adolescents, it is also associated with increased internalizing problems and diminished competencies in academics and activities, especially for younger adolescents. Age, capturing developmental differences in social and regulatory skills, appears to moderate the effects of heavier SNS use on adolescent functioning., (Copyright © 2014 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Investment products labelled as sustainable, as well as regulations on sustainable finance, such as the EU taxonomy for sustainable activities, are on the rise globally. While some of these products and regulations include forests and forestry, the forest–sustainable finance nexus is largely unexplored in academic research. This paper systematically analyses the emerging expert debate spanning across the financial and forest sectors. We conducted 51 in-depth qualitative interviews with experts from financial institutions, timberland and impact investors, international organizations, civil society organizations and academia. We chose mainly experts from Europe, as one of the regions spearheading the topic globally. Based on these, we identify five main narratives on the nexus between sustainable finance and forests. These narratives are strikingly different regarding such dimensions as emphasis on risks versus opportunities, preference for public versus private governance and investments, as well as on the sustainability of forest-related investments per se. While financial sector experts are mainly concerned about financial risks, and only partially about deforestation risks, forest sector experts with financial expertise promote investment opportunities either for the asset class, or to increase private investment in tropical forests. In contrast, some experts from both the forest and financial sectors explicitly exclude forests as investable assets for the private sector, seeing them instead as pure public goods. We conclude with underlining the importance of more cross-sectoral dialogue, but also research, to both critically assess and advance the role of sustainable finance policy and practice in supporting forest conservation, restoration, and sustainable management. • We analyse the link between sustainable finance and forests based on 51 expert interviews. • Five distinct narratives can be distinguished, differing strongly regarding several dimensions. • Differences include varying risk/opportunity, private/public governance, and forest/sustainability emphases. • Financial sector experts prefer mitigating financial risks, and partially deforestation ones. • Forest sector experts aim to increase investment opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This new global financial crisis has required us to recognize how closely and deeply different regions and countries around the world are connected and how they interact with each other. In this interconnected context, planning theory and experiences also become fluid rather than being confined within certain boundaries. This paper explores the links between Chinese planning and European (or “Western”-oriented) spatial planning by critically analysing the development of Chinese planning. In China, modern European planning theories have been under discussion and partly in practice for years. Indeed, they have been playing an important role over the past 30 years in, for example, urban growth management, land-use regulation and environmental protection, and also in helping achieve sustainable development. However, the evolution of Chinese planning, now in a highly dynamic phase, has distinguished itself from that of European planning by adopting a highly rational, coordinated and top-down approach. This paper argues that there are several reasons for this. However, beyond this mere observation, there are a wide range of possibilities to be considered and reflected on with respect to these two different trajectories of planning development, which could enhance planning theory and practice. In other words, there are lessons to be learnt in comparing contemporary Chinese and European planning. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The subject of the article is the history of publishing Braille books with raised-line illustrations for blind readers in Lithuania. The vast majority of illustrated Braille books were published by the Publishing House of the Lithuanian Society of the Blind during the period 1963-1989. Professional Lithuanian artists, among them well-known graphic artists and illustrators, were commissioned to create raised-line illustrations for the Braille books. A completely unknown area was waiting for illustrators. Their task was to find new methods of conveying information so far considered to be accessible only to the sighted. The first book with rise-line illustrations for Lithuanian blind readers was published in 1958, five years before the Publishing House of the Lithuanian Society of the Blind was established. The illustrated Braille primer as well as a few other illustrated textbooks were published by the State Publishing House of pedagogical literature. Members of the Editorial Board for Textbooks for the Blind, whose responsibility in this publishing house was to prepare Braille books for printing, visited the Riga State Publishing House in Latvia in order to get acquainted with methods of printing illustrated books for blind readers. Latvians already had a five-year experience in publishing illustrated Braille books, since they started this work in 1953. So, Lithuanian illustrators were not the first to "invent" raised-line illustrations. Beside such quite a direct connection, there existed also not so evident or distinct links with the experience of other European countries in this area. Teachers who had worked in the Kaunas Institution for the Blind and the Vilnius School for the Blind in 1928-1940 were in touch with the up-to-date European educational practice, so the idea of using graphical material as teaching resources for blind students was not new at all in Lithuania. Relief maps as well as other educational material were used at the Kaunas Institution and Vilnius school. Thus, there was a certain context for publishing illustrated books for the blind at the time when the Publishing House of the Lithuanian Society of the Blind started doing this. Whether professional Lithuanian artists commissioned to create raised-line illustrations took this European experience into consideration is another question which is not discussed here. The aim of this study was to ascertain what was the context for publishing illustrated books for the blind in Lithuania at the beginning of the 1960s. his context is explored taking into account two main aspects: (1) history of organized education of the blind in Europe and in Lithuania, emphasizing the practice of creating and using raised-line graphical material for teaching purposes, and (2) the history of publishing illustrated books for the blind in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the factors behind widespread policy failure to support science-industry linkages in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries. We explain this failure as being due largely to uncritical application of conventional policy wisdoms in the context of 'catching up' and 'laggard' economies. Our argument is based on evidence on knowledge-intensive enterprises in CEE and CIS countries and analysis of the innovation policies of these regions. Our conclusion is that support for science-industry linkages in CEE/CIS should be balanced by efforts to strengthen the 'actors' involved (existing large and small firms, universities and public research organizations) and reinforce other linkages in the respective national innovation systems, and especially knowledge links between domestic and foreign firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuromedin U, encoded by the NMU gene, is a hypothalamic neuropeptide that regulates both energy metabolism and bone mass. The beta-2 adrenergic receptor, encoded by the ADRB2 gene, mediates several effects of catecholamine hormones and neurotransmitters in bone. We investigated whether NMU single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and haplotypes, as well as functional ADRB2 SNPs, are associated with bone stiffness in children from the IDEFICS cohort, also evaluating whether NMU and ADRB2 interact to affect this trait. A sample of 2,274 subjects (52.5% boys, age 6.2 ± 1.8 years) from eight European countries, having data on calcaneus bone stiffness index (SI, mean of both feet) and genotyping (NMU gene: rs6827359, rs12500837, rs9999653; ADRB2 gene: rs1042713, rs1042714), was studied. After false discovery rate adjustment, SI was significantly associated with all NMU SNPs. rs6827359 CC homozygotes showed the strongest association (recessive model, Δ= -1.8, p=0.006). Among the five retrieved haplotypes with frequencies higher than 1% (range 2.0-43.9%), the CCT haplotype (frequency=39.7%) was associated with lower SI values (dominant model, Δ= -1.0, p=0.04) as compared to the most prevalent haplotype. A non-significant decrease in SI was observed in in ADRB2 rs1042713 GG homozygotes, while subjects carrying SI-lowering genotypes at both SNPs (frequency = 8.4%) showed much lower SI than non-carriers (Δ= -3.9, p<0.0001; p for interaction=0.025). The association was more evident in preschool girls, in whom SI showed a curvilinear trend across ages. In subgroup analyses, rs9999653 CC NMU or both GG ADRB2 genotypes were associated with either lower serum calcium or β-CrossLaps levels (p=0.01). This study in European children shows, for the first time in humans, a role for NMU gene through interaction with ADRB2 gene in bone strength regulation, more evident in preschool girls.