Search

Purpose: This study provides a comprehensive overview of the progress in hadron therapy within Europe, particularly highlighting the critical roles of the Proton Ion Medical Machine Study (PIMMS) and the European Network for Light Ion Hadron Therapy (ENLIGHT). Methods: Our approach includes a retrospective analysis of the advances in hadron therapy facilities, facilitated by a synthesis of interdisciplinary collaboration data gathered from ENLIGHT's annual meetings since 2002, and an assessment of European-funded projects and networks' contributions to the field. Results: The results showcase significant advancements in cancer treatment due to collective efforts in hadron therapy, underscored by ENLIGHT's pivotal role in fostering interdisciplinary cooperation and the harmonization of treatment protocols across Europe. Conclusion: The evolution of hadron therapy, from its inception to its current impact on patient care, demonstrates the successful realization of complex medical technologies through sustained collaboration and standardized practices across European institutions and projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Standards of Care for Newborn Health (ESCNH) were launched in 2018. After three years, the first standards were reassessed and revised to align with current evidence. Moreover, new standards regarding emerging topics were developed. The aim of this paper is to outline the approach adopted for reassessing, revising and developing new standards for the ESCNH. We established a systematic approach to reassess the ESCNH including a public and an expert consultation. The public consultation was open to all stakeholders for feedback whereas the expert consultation followed a targeted consultation method. For developing new standards, a similar process to the original development was implemented. Overall, 20 standards were reassessed and six standards were developed. For the revision process, 23 experts were involved in the targeted consultation method and 253 questionnaires were completed via the open consultation. We demonstrated a systematic approach to update and extend reference standards, which can be applied by other developers of standards. Thereby, we highlighted that including a public and an expert consultation is crucial to improve quality and to ensure that all stakeholder perspectives are integrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This report describes the final meeting of the project "Capacity Building in Mathematics and Statistics Learning Support in Norway and the Czech Republic (MSLS Net)" held at the Tomas Bata University in Zlín, Czech Republic (June 12-14, 2023). Provision of mathematics and statistics learning support (MSLS) is developing rapidly in many parts of the world and activity in Norway and the Czech Republic has been accelerated significantly through this EEA Grants funded project. Representatives of each of the five partner institutions worked on creating a summary of good practices in tutor training, designing learning resources, and in delivering, monitoring and evaluation of mathematics and statistics support. Provision varied considerably across the institutions and the centres represented demonstrated diverse and innovative ways in which mathematics support is evolving. Outputs from the project include a Handbook on good practice and a booklet concerned with mathematics support centre tutor training, including pedagogic training and learning resources for the development of the tutors as described below. Finally, consideration turned to the value of establishing a professional network to continue this important work. The report will be relevant to other international groups interested in working in university level mathematics and statistics support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Standards of Care for Newborn Health (ESCNH) were launched in 2018. After three years, the first standards were reassessed and revised to align with current evidence. Moreover, new standards regarding emerging topics were developed. The aim of this paper is to outline the approach adopted for reassessing, revising and developing new standards for the ESCNH. We established a systematic approach to reassess the ESCNH including a public and an expert consultation. The public consultation was open to all stakeholders for feedback whereas the expert consultation followed a targeted consultation method. For developing new standards, a similar process to the original development was implemented. Overall, 20 standards were reassessed and six standards were developed. For the revision process, 23 experts were involved in the targeted consultation method and 253 questionnaires were completed via the open consultation. We demonstrated a systematic approach to update and extend reference standards, which can be applied by other developers of standards. Thereby, we highlighted that including a public and an expert consultation is crucial to improve quality and to ensure that all stakeholder perspectives are integrated.

During the period 2007-2021 the fund of the National Genebank in the Institute of Plant Genetic Resources – Sadovo is enriched with 12.454 accessions. 6.571 accessions are acquired through expeditions, conducted by national and international projects. A great diversity of cereal, grain legume and vegetable local varieties from home gardens and crop wild relatives from natural habitats are collected. There are 4.628 accessions, introduced from foreign genebanks or botanical gardens by international free exchange. 1.255 advanced cultivars and lines from breeding institutes in Bulgaria are preserved. The main purpose of data management is to identify the accession in the process of conservation, study, reproduction, free exchange and sustainable use of germplasm collections. The electronic register includes the following passport information: taxonomy, catalogue number, acquisition date and source, country of origin, donor, collecting site, ecology-geographical characterization, biological status, and type of storage, according to FAO/Bioversity descriptor. The standard allows Bulgarian ex situ collection to be published on the European Search Catalogue for Plant Genetic Resources EURISCO. National Inventory includes passport data of 69.768 accessions. From 2020 intelligent documentation system with specialized software, functional ontologies for free access to plant genetic resources for all stakeholders and assured security of records through blockchain technologies are being developed. This work is supported by Bulgarian National Science Fund under the project BGPlantNet “Establishment of National Information Network GenBank – Plant genetic resources”, and the obtained results will be applied in the National Research Program “Smart Crop Production”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The objective of the European Network for Health Technology Assessment (EUnetHTA) Joint Action 3 (JA3) was to develop a sustainable European model for future collaboration on HTA, by reducing duplication in HTA production and increasing patient access to health technologies. Compared to the previous JA2, several procedural changes were made aiming to increase usability, transparency, and inclusiveness of relative effectiveness assessments (REAs). This article presents and highlights these changes, explains their rationale as well as their influence on HTA production. Methods: Feedback from REA teams and project managers was collected. At the end of JA3, all lessons learned were mapped, resulting in a set of recommendations for a future REA production process. Results: In JA3, forty-three EUnetHTA REAs have been produced. Efforts to increase the usability of the REAs were made by focussing on the needs of REA producers and users (HTA agencies) and by increasing stakeholder involvement. Huge steps were taken with regard to transparency, which was achieved through publication of guidances, templates, and up-to-date information on the EUnetHTA website. In an attempt to improve inclusiveness, (stakeholder) interaction and involvement as well as feedback procedures were enhanced and streamlined. The fine-tuned project management brought all aspects together and facilitated a consistent and reliable workflow. Conclusions: Despite that HTA agencies have different national requirements, the procedural changes made in JA3 proved to counteract some of these challenges. Nevertheless, it is of utmost importance that further perceived methodological differences are being resolved to ensure a strong base for future European collaboration on REA production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The objective of the European Network for Health Technology Assessment (EUnetHTA) Joint Action 3 (JA3) was to develop a sustainable European model for future collaboration on HTA, by reducing duplication in HTA production and increasing patient access to health technologies. Compared to the previous JA2, several procedural changes were made aiming to increase usability, transparency, and inclusiveness of relative effectiveness assessments (REAs). This article presents and highlights these changes, explains their rationale as well as their influence on HTA production. Methods: Feedback from REA teams and project managers was collected. At the end of JA3, all lessons learned were mapped, resulting in a set of recommendations for a future REA production process. Results: In JA3, forty-three EUnetHTA REAs have been produced. Efforts to increase the usability of the REAs were made by focussing on the needs of REA producers and users (HTA agencies) and by increasing stakeholder involvement. Huge steps were taken with regard to transparency, which was achieved through publication of guidances, templates, and up-to-date information on the EUnetHTA website. In an attempt to improve inclusiveness, (stakeholder) interaction and involvement as well as feedback procedures were enhanced and streamlined. The fine-tuned project management brought all aspects together and facilitated a consistent and reliable workflow. Conclusions: Despite that HTA agencies have different national requirements, the procedural changes made in JA3 proved to counteract some of these challenges. Nevertheless, it is of utmost importance that further perceived methodological differences are being resolved to ensure a strong base for future European collaboration on REA production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Among children who receive hospital care, preterm infants are Europe's largest group, whose numbers are continually increasing. Currently, no pan‐European standards of care for preterm or critically ill infants are available, except for a few specific topics, and practices vary widely in different regions. Methods: The European Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants (EFCNI) has initiated a transdisciplinary collaboration project to provide agreed standards for high‐quality perinatal and neonatal care, whose implementation will ensure fairer and more equitable care across Europe. This will improve care for these vulnerable infants and their families, ameliorate the long‐term conditions found in preterm and critically ill infants and enhance the quality of family life of affected families. More than 220 experts—healthcare professionals, patient representatives and other relevant stakeholders—have come together for the first time to develop a broad reference guidance in neonatology and associated fields. Results: Ninety‐six standards on 11 overarching topic areas were developed and endorsed. Conclusion: This reference framework serves as a basis for the development of binding national standards for high‐quality care. A robust translation and implementation strategy is facilitated, with the goal of improved health outcomes following preterm birth all around Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patient involvement in the process of producing health technology assessments has become increasingly important. In the European Network for Health Technology Assessment (EUnetHTA), several approaches to patient involvement were explored. The outcome was a document on "Patient Input in Relative Effectiveness Assessments" that is available for access and was published in 2019. The aim of this article is to analyze the experience gained by EUnetHTA in patient involvement for EUnetHTA assessment production, describe and quantify the approaches used, and outline the challenges and avenues for the improvement of current processes. Patients were involved in twenty-three of thirty-six pharmaceutical and other technology EUnetHTA assessments from June 2016 until the end of November 2019. Approaches to patient involvement included using a patient input template, one-on-one conversations, group conversations, scoping meeting with patients, and other approaches. Although it is recognized that patient involvement is important to understand the needs of the target patient population, challenges remain with timely patient involvement. Additionally, further efforts are needed to guide assessment teams on how to implement and enhance the visibility of patient input in assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Advances in Biochemistry / Postepy Biochemii is the property of Polish Biochemical Society / Acta Biochimica Polonica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Plant gene fund is a public resource, the benefits of which must be used in the interest of society. In this context, information activities are at the core of ensuring a comprehensive approach and interaction among all stakeholders. During the period 1982-2017 the fund of National Genebank in IPGR Sadovo is enriched with 51 556 accessions. Documentation system Phyto 2000 optimizes the management of plant genetic resources in order to their targeted storage, study, reproduction, free exchange and use. 9 626 accessions are collected from expeditions, included local varieties and populations of private gardens and small farms and wild forms from their natural habitats. There are 36 108 genotypes, introduced by international free exchange. 5 822 breeding materials – lines and varieties, are registered. Collections from cereals, leguminous, technical and fodder crops, vegetables, medicinal and aromatic plants are created. All seed samples are recorded, according to the international standards of FAO and Bioversity International. Passport data includes taxonomic descriptions, biological status and eco-geographical origin of the accessions. Existing European cooperation in the ECPGR allows better coordination between genebanks and the users of the plant gene fund. The EURISCO electronic catalogue provides free information access to the stored ex situ collections in Europe. The AEGIS initiative focuses on the conservation of local plant genetic resources - an inexhaustible source of useful qualities for improvement of crops and a basis for development of sustainable agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The TRAVORS projects, supported by the European Union’s Lifelong Learning Programme, ran between 2008 and 2012. Their object was to develop training programmes for disability employment practitioners across nine countries based on proven approaches both to vocational rehabilitation and to skills training. The second of the two projects aimed to trial and establish a European practitioner qualification, pitched at Level 5 of the European Qualifications Framework and emphasising skills-based training and workplace assessment. While the trials proved successful, they highlighted a generally poor level of understanding of assessment and certification based on workplace proficiency. The project resulted in a common ‘curriculum’, a detailed qualification specification and a strengthened set of processes to guide implementation in different countries. However, the qualification can be considered a work-in-progress and wider uptake – sufficient to support sustainable central governance – needs to be achieved if a genuinely international certificate is to emerge. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

ELSiTO (Empowering Learning for Social Inclusion Through Occupation), an international collaborative partnership, with over 30 members from Belgium, Greece and the Netherlands, aimed to explore the nature and processes of social inclusion for persons experiencing mental illness. Members included persons experiencing mental illness and health professionals. Four international visits and local activities enabled a knowledge creation process that combined the experience of social inclusion as we lived and worked together with exploration of the processes of community projects, narratives of experiences and reflective workshops. Outcomes included identification and description of the following: the nature of social inclusion as lived by the participants; the critical elements that support inclusion; and the competences that are developed by all stakeholders during this process. The complex process of social inclusion is facilitated by doing together in environments that enable equality, trust, risk taking and realignment of power. These conceptual understandings of inclusion are discussed in relation to the ongoing activities of the partners, to their potential contribution to the education of occupational therapists (and other professionals) and to the development of socially inclusive occupation-based projects in the community. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The assessment of rare adverse events following vaccination may not be possible within a single country due to an insufficiently large denominator population. In 2008 a European consortium (VAESCO) was funded to perform collaborative vaccine safety studies. To help assess the feasibility of multi-country collaboration England and Denmark, who have established vaccine safety research infrastructures, undertook to work to a common protocol and share results and data to estimate the risk of a known true adverse event, thrombocytopenic purpura (TP) following measles–mumps–rubella (MMR) vaccination. TP is a known rare reaction to MMR and therefore provided an opportunity to assess whether two countries would produce similar results when working collaboratively. Despite some initial problems with ensuring data were comparable, the two countries gave very similar estimates of the relative incidence in the 6 weeks after vaccination and a pooled relative incidence estimate of 2.13 (95% confidence interval 1.55–2.94) and attributable risk of 1 in 50,000 doses. Both countries used hospital admissions for TP and the analysis was performed using the self controlled case series method which is particularly suited to collaborative studies because of its implicit control for individual level confounding. The study therefore shows the potential for vaccine safety collaborations across Europe to detect true associations through use of common protocols and sharing of results or data. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In 1993, a European collaboration on the efficiency of psychotherapeutic treatment of patients with Eating Disorders was initiated. The European Union supported it under the name COST Action B6 from 1994–2001. This unique opportunity to co-ordinate research and to exchange clinical experience eventually attracted more than 200 researchers and clinicians from 19 European countries. This is the first paper of a series of five through which we report on the general background, the organizational structure, the objectives, the design, the main findings, and specific methodological developments of COST Action B6. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over a hundred scientists attended the third Swiss COST Chemistry workshop in Basel last October 2002. The scientific programme consisted of some sixty posters illustrating Swiss participation in COST programmes, and ten invited lectures which progressed from small molecule synthesis, via catalysis and diagnostics to chemistry in biological systems.

Why was the road to EMBL ‘more difficult than anticipated’, as Francois Jacob put it? The standard account, advanced by scientists, is that it was because molecular biology did not require big, complex and expensive equipment like high-energy physics. European governments therefore lacked the incentive to pool their efforts and to build together a supranational laboratory ‘modeled on CERN’. This account is one-sided. It overlooks the fact that many scientists themselves were less than enthusiastic about building a European molecular biology laboratory in the early 1960s. Taking John Kendrew and Conrad Waddington as representative of two different and opposing views on how best to promote molecular biology in Europe at this time, I argue that a supranational laboratory project could only come to fruition once the field had been entrenched in national institutional niches (or after determined efforts to do so had failed). Until that time, the usual fear that a European laboratory would drain essential human and financial resources away from incipient or planned programmes in universities and national research centres dominated the horizons of most molecular biologists in Europe. Hence their preference to first establish EMBO to coordinate existing activities and only later to set up a supranational laboratory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pan-European collaboration in studies of novel therapies and treatment strategies in childhood cancer is playing an increasing role in the attempt to improve cure rates. Differences in the systems of various countries with regard to drug control and ethical issues may lead to problems and delays. This applies in particular to phase I/II studies in children where the ethical considerations may be complex. In this review, the systems in three large countries—UK, France and Germany—are reviewed and current moves within the European Community towards a more standard approach are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Mediated interaction with the world of work, especially business and industry, is increasingly seen, world-wide, as a valuable component of science and technology education. A recent WOCATE meeting held in Germany for senior educators, administrators, and industrial representatives aimed to stimulate international partnerships that explore the unity of academic studies and practical work and prompts a review of some European approaches to collaboration between science education and industry. In particular, the British experience favors a variety of agencies, including sponsorship from the professional associations of teachers, scientists, and engineers; substantial participation from industrial companies, individually and through associations; and much essentially voluntary activity by enthusiastic industrial scientists and teachers at all levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Due to population ageing, health systems face the challenge to offer care and support to an increasing number of older people. Therefore, governments are encouraging older people to participate in society and to live at home for as long as possible, with support from formal and informal caregivers. Many people age in good health and remain active participants in society throughout their lives. However, the prevalence of frailty, (multi)morbidity and disability increases with age, eventually leading to multiple health and social care needs. These multiple needs often lead to restrictions in social participation, reduced self-reliance and care dependence, which in turn may lead to the utilisation of longterm care and support services. Sustainable health systems, addressing both health and social care needs, will be necessary to optimally support older people, while potentially restricting healthcare expenditures. Integrated care is widely acknowledged to be the way forward in care delivery to support this vision. Therefore, in an increasing number of EU Member States, integrated care initiatives are being put in place as new models for safe and efficient, prevention-oriented care to an increasing number of older people. Evidence of the effectiveness of integrated care is, however, inconclusive. Also there is little knowledge of how to practice integrated care, how to successfully implement it and how to transfer successful initiatives to other regions and health systems. In response to these challenges, a European multidisciplinary consortium has been assembled to work towards the following objectives: 1. to improve established integrated care initiatives for older people living at home with multiple health and social care needs, ensuring they are patient-centred, prevention-oriented, efficient, and safe; 2. to ensure that improvements to the integrated care initiatives are applicable and adaptable to other health systems and regions in Europe. The SUSTAIN project (i.e. Sustainable tailored integrated care for older people in Europe) is funded under Horizon 2020 - the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2014-2020), and carried out by thirteen partners from nine EU Member States. Methods: The SUSTAIN project will last 48 months and is divided into three interrelated phases. During the first phase (i.e. preparation phase), we will establish working relationships with two established integrated care initiatives in seven countries (Austria, Estonia, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, United Kingdom) that have indicated to be motivated to improve current practice. To understand where improvements are necessary, baseline assessments will take place in each of the countries to understand experiences, strengths and weaknesses, barriers to successfully put integrated care into practice, and attitude to change of stakeholders involved. In the second phase (i.e. implementation research to improve existing integrated care initiatives) based on the outcomes of the baseline assessments, tailored sets of improvement will be designed and implemented together with stakeholders (i.e. policymakers, commissioners, health insurers, health and social care professionals, older people, informal carers). The implementation of improvements and the overall evaluation of the implementation processes and its outcomes will be guided by a multi-methodological approach, the Evidence Integration Triangle (EIT). Overarching analyses will be undertaken to compare and integrate data from the different sites to robustly identify what works for whom, in what context and with what outcome. Throughout the project, the applicability and adaptability of the improvements in different context are central, to ensure that different regions and countries use each other's knowledge and learn from each other's experiences. In the third phase, (i.e. translation to products and impacts) previous work will be translated to products and impacts for different user groups. Tailored dissemination strategies will be designed to increase uptake of SUSTAIN's findings. SUSTAIN is now in its preparation phase. Results and discussion: Lessons learned in SUSTAIN and international evidence and theory in the context of integrated care will be brought together in one of SUSTAIN's main deliverables, being an online roadmap. The roadmap will be a set of instructions, guidelines and proposed actions that will provide a step-by-step guide to support designing, establishing and maintaining systems of integrated care. As such, we aim to support policy-makers and decision-makers to improve care for older people with multiple health and social care needs now and in the future by working towards more patient-centred, prevention-oriented, safe and efficient integrated care provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The use of Information Communication Technologies (ICT), in particular telehealth, can be clinically effective for the treatment and management of individuals with a number of long-term conditions (McClean et al, 2011). However, the integration of scalable telehealth technologies and interventions into clinical practice has been slow to develop; due in part to a lack of regional organisational models that facilitate the reorganisation of health provisions. In order to meet the challenges of switching from an application based model of care to a comprehensive and sustainable chronic care model the RICHARD Project has been developed. The Regional ICT based Clusters for Healthcare Applications and R&D Integration (RICHARD) is a € 2, 750. 000 European Commission Seventh Framework Programme, Regions of Knowledge Health, funded partnership between 15 partners involving industry, academia, the health service and local government across 4 European clusters; Italy, United Kingdom (UK), Sweden and Poland. Aims and objectives: The consortium aims are to enhance and promote the study of new or promising European territorial clinical models of ICT-based in the field of home care applied to the management of chronic conditions. To this end a number of work packages were proposed including (WP1) Project management, (WP2) SWOT analysis of regional ICT models for the delivery of care in chronic pathologies, (WP3) the development of a Joint Action Plan (JAP), (WP4) Measures towards the implementation of the JAP, (WP5) Mentoring activities and (WP6) Dissemination and communication. Results: A strong coordination of research resources and innovation stakeholders has been clearly identified. A JAP has been developed inspired by medium-long term vision that looks at e-health services into perspective of economic growth for the European regions along the principles of open competition for better and pan-European healthcare services. United Kingdom partners have taken the lead on (WP4) 'Measures towards the implementation of the JAP'. The work package comprises the organisation of a number of regional healthcare manager study tours on ICT applications and multiple research brokerage workshops; the latter has been developed with the purpose of creating networks and stimulating collaboration, resulting in developed research applications for regional, national and international bids. Finally, to further develop and raise the profile of less advanced regions involved in the project a series of mentoring activities are underway. A significant output from the project is the Ready, Steady, Go toolkit for telehealth deployment at scale http://www.richardproject.eu/richard/publications.html Conclusions: On a national level the RICHARD project builds on the 3millionlives initiative (2012) and provides an excellent example of how industry, health and social care can work with the academic community to the benefit of both the health and wealth of a region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]