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We introduce the database of European vascular plant red lists, a compilation of red list categories designated to taxa during in-country conservation assessments. Version 1.0 of the database is a standalone static dataset with open access in an end-user friendly format. Its aim is to fulfil the objectives of European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action 18201, ConservePlants. The database synthesizes data across 42 red lists from 41 countries, with participation of 39 out of a total of 44 European countries and two additional Mediterranean countries. The database contains 51,109 records representing 21,481 original taxonomic names with 37 different red list categories. During data harmonisation, 20,312 of the original taxonomic names were assigned to 17,873 unique accepted taxonomic names with scientific authorships across 184 families, 1650 genera and 15,593 species; and red list categories were standardised to 13 unique categories. We see this database as a source of information in diverse plant conservation activities and suitable for various stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Like many other countries in the Global South, the Philippines is in dire need of foreign investments and loans to develop its infrastructure. Former President Rodrigo Duterte (2016–2022) sought close cooperation with China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to complement his ambitious Build! Build! Build! program. His successor Ferdinand Marcos Jr. continued many BRI projects, but canceled others, due to lack of funding from China and increased tensions in the South China Sea. Moreover, he deepened cooperation with the European Union (EU) in security and infrastructure, thereby benefiting from the EU's Global Gateway Initiative (GGI). The findings of this study, which is theoretically located at the intersection of foreign, economic, and domestic politics, build strongly on a representative survey conducted in the Philippines in 2022. One of the major findings is the occurrence of perceptions of the Philippine citizens and elites of China and the EU that are strongly in line with each other. Another finding is the extent of the Filipinos' ability to differentiate between "good", "bad", and "beautiful" effects of BRI projects despite their negative attitude towards China. Conversely, even though the EU is seen in a very positive light, the study concludes that the GGI can only then become an additional infrastructure offer, if the GGI projects bring tangible benefits to the Filipinos. Both the BRI and the GGI illustrate that offering infrastructure collaboration is strongly based on geopolitical and geo-economic reasoning, but that the recipient can utilize this fact to further its economic interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article tries to explain an apparent paradox in the Common European Asylum System (CEAS): despite political stalemate over CEAS legislative reform and lack of trust amongst MSs, administrative cooperation shows operational continuity. Drawing on the 'Infrastructural Europeanism' approach, we argue that a sociotechnical perspective allows detecting the material means that operationally provide continuity to administrative action, despite policy gaps. It reveals mediating agency exerted by less visible actors who are nevertheless crucial to the integration process. Through a sociotechnical lens, alleged integration failures – like in the post-2015 asylum crisis – can reveal operational cooperation not visible if only legislative outcomes are taken into account. Empirically, the article shows how the International Organization for Migration assumed a role in mediating relocations between MSs, overcoming an implementation gap in health data circulation, thanks to its data infrastructure able to prompt data production, harmonise administrative standardisation and build continuity in time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of SIRIUS - Zeitschrift fur Strategische Analysen is the property of De Gruyter 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.)

This article demonstrates that the Schuman Plan and the European Economic Community (EEC) challenged the unity of pre-existing European business associations. It emphasises the effects of coexisting European integration processes between the late 1940s to the 1970s on the development and the structuration of European business associations. The UNICE, the EEC's main employers' organisation, was first founded in 1952 as a committee of an employers' organisation within the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC), and was relaunched in 1958 within the EEC. Studying the shift from the OEEC to the EEC provides new insights into how European business associations adapted to the redefinition of European political spaces. Based on archives from European business associations, this article presents the forgotten structural development of UNICE, from its initial foundation in 1952 to its refoundation as the EEC's representative European business organisation in 1958, and its later gradual structuring in the early 1970s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper systematically reviews ten years of academic literature published from 2014 to 2023 and indexed in the Scopus database to establish the current state-of-the-art on how Central European regional groups operate. The review includes 52 publications on six regional cooperation formats: the Central European Defence Cooperation, the Slavkov/Austerlitz Triangle, the Salzburg Forum, the Three Seas Initiative, the Visegrád Group and the Bucharest Nine. The paper finds that regional cooperation research is very concentrated on selected aspects of Visegrád cooperation and follows poor methodological reporting practices. The majority of studies analyse the V4 in relation to migration and foreign policy issues, whereas research on cooperation dynamics in other policy areas and within other active regional groups is marginal. After identifying promising future research directions, the paper calls for greater methodological and topical diversity in Central European regional cooperation research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study deals with the issue of core–periphery relations in the European Union, investigating its patterns in relation to the participation of Central and Eastern European (CEE) member states in European Territorial Cooperation (ETC) programmes between 2007 and 2020. Core–periphery patterns do exist in the European space, where besides the North‐Western core ('Core'), there are two distinct peripheries, CEE and Southern Europe. The peripheral position is reflected in the weak performance of CEE in European‐wide RDI networks subsidised by the EU. On the basis of the KEEP database, the study analyses the signs of core–periphery relations by identifying whether there is asymmetry in the participation of CEE and Core countries in cooperation projects under the transnational (INTERREG B) and interregional (INTERREG C) strands (together, TI) of ETC. The findings of the study show that there is a significant difference in the forms of involvement of actors from North‐Western Europe and CEE in the TI programmes. Actors from CEE countries are very motivated to become involved in TI projects. However, they are significantly underrepresented in lead partner positions, especially in funding. The study's results suggest that participation activity patterns are significantly asymmetric in TI programmes, showing signs of a core–periphery dynamic even in such place‐based, cohesion‐oriented programmes. The consequence is that the articulation of geographic characteristics, special needs and issues associated with CEE is limited as they play a rather adaptive and imitating role in those territorial cooperation programmes that are influential in discourses and policies about territorial development in the European arena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early career investigators (ECIs) in the Social Sciences and Humanities need to receive adequate information so that they will be empowered to progress in their academic career and deal with the various evaluation processes that constitute an essential part of their professional development. This article relies on an informational-ecosystemic approach originally developed in the context of resilience studies and crisis communication and uses it as a theoretical framework to analyse and understand the "early academic career building information ecosystems" (EACBIEs), into which ECIs professionally develop. The characteristics of these ecosystems are then refined through the analysis of interviews conducted with ECIs from all around Europe in the framework of the European Network for Research Evaluation in Social Sciences and Humanities (ENRESSH), European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action. The analysis reveals the remarkable heterogeneity of the information ecosystems into which early career researchers have to build their career in Europe, articulating a diversity of formal, non-formal and informal learning environments, and several related information channels, as well as showing a geographical spread that covers institutional, national and international levels. Furthermore, although the diverse information channels at hand and geographical levels at which they operate appear in some cases to be complementary, and even mutually reinforcing, they can also, in other cases, be dysfunctional, fragmented and unfair to some extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a housing market of Shapley and Scarf, each agent is endowed with one indivisible object and has preferences over all objects. An allocation of the objects is in the (strong) core if there exists no (weakly) blocking coalition. We show that, for strict preferences, the unique strong core allocation "respects improvement"—if an agent's object becomes more desirable for some other agents, then the agent's allotment in the unique strong core allocation weakly improves. We extend this result to weak preferences for both the strong core (conditional on nonemptiness) and the set of competitive allocations (using probabilistic allocations and stochastic dominance). There are no counterparts of the latter two results in the two-sided matching literature. We provide examples to show how our results break down when there is a bound on the length of exchange cycles. Respecting improvements is an important property for applications of the housing markets model, such as kidney exchange: it incentivizes each patient to bring the best possible set of donors to the market. We conduct computer simulations using markets that resemble the pools of kidney exchange programs. We compare the game-theoretical solutions with current techniques (maximum size and maximum weight allocations) in terms of violations of the respecting improvement property. We find that game-theoretical solutions fare much better at respecting improvements even when exchange cycles are bounded, and they do so at a low efficiency cost. As a stepping stone for our simulations, we provide novel integer programming formulations for computing core, competitive, and strong core allocations. Funding: P. Biró gratefully acknowledges financial support from the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund, OTKA [Grant K143858] and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences [Grant LP2021-2]. F. Klijn gratefully acknowledges financial support from AGAUR–Generalitat de Catalunya [Grants 2017-SGR-1359 and 2021-SGR-00416] and the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación [Grants ECO2017-88130-P and PID2020-114251GB-I00] (funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) and the Severo Ochoa Programme for Centres of Excellence in R&D (Barcelona School of Economics) [Grant CEX2019-000915-S]. Research visits related to this work were financed by COST Action [Grant CA15210 ENCKEP], supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology), http://www.cost.eu/. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After a pause due to the pandemic, the European Pulse Plating Seminar has been held in its classical form in Vienna again (7–8th March, 2024). As in the years before the pandemic, the conference has been in cooperation with the European Academy for Surface Technology (EAST). Thus, the first day of the two-day event was devoted to open topics on (electrochemical) surface technology, while the second day focussed on all topics, on the possibilities, applications and developments in the field of pulse plating. The presentations represented the whole range of scientific activities in the field of dynamic electrochemistry, from plating to anodisation and post treatment of 3D-printed metal parts. The trend towards a more sustainable, 'green' production was clearly visible, with several speakers giving insights into the numerous possibilities for using dynamic electrochemical processes for recycling and material recovering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyses the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian war on the geopolitical transformation of the European Union (EU). It examines the key changes in the EU's security, energy and international relations strategy, as well as the development of its strategic autonomy and role in supporting Ukraine. The study is based on the analysis of scientific sources and political articles related to the EU's foreign policy and security mechanisms. A comparative analysis of the EU's decisions on sanctions, energy security and military assistance to Ukraine is used. Expert assessments of the geopolitical situation and economic consequences of the war are also taken into account. The article contributes to understanding the role of the Russian-Ukrainian war as a catalyst for the EU's political and strategic awakening. In particular, it highlights the development of the EU's strategic autonomy in response to its energy dependence on Russia and the growth of defence cooperation between member states. The author also explores how the war has contributed to the consolidation of European identity and the strengthening of the desire for global leadership in the face of current international challenges. The author notes that the Russian-Ukrainian war has accelerated changes in the EU's approach to foreign and security policy. The EU has strengthened its strategic autonomy, increased economic sanctions against Russia and mobilised resources to support Ukraine. At the same time, the war has shown the need to develop energy resources independent of external suppliers and to increase the EU's internal defence capabilities. Ukraine's integration into the European space has become an important strategic direction of the EU's policy. An important aspect has been the strengthening of European defence cooperation, which demonstrates the EU's desire for greater independence in security matters. Ukraine's integration into the European space is becoming one of the key directions of the EU's foreign policy, which may accelerate the process of Ukraine's accession to the Union in the future. The author also draws attention to the fact that the issue of strengthening the EU's defence capabilities affects the problem of the international security system, which today, as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian war, is undergoing the greatest transformations since the Second World War. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating the risk of lightning strikes to a particular structure typically involves adhering to the guidance outlined in IEC 62305-2. Among the multitude of factors influencing the overall risk, flash density emerges as a crucial parameter. According to its definition, each flash is assigned only one contact point to ground. Nevertheless, it is well known that, on average, flashes exhibit multiple ground termination points as shown by high-speed camera observations. In this research, lightning data collected by the European Cooperation for Lightning Detection (EUCLID) network are utilized in combination with a ground strike point (GSP) algorithm that aggregates individual strokes within a flash into ground strike points. This approach enables the examination of spatio-temporal patterns of GSPs across Europe throughout a decade, spanning from 2013 to 2022. Average GSP densities exhibit variations across the European continent, mirroring the observed patterns in flash densities. The highest densities are concentrated along the Adriatic Sea and the western Balkan region, reaching peak values of up to 8.5 GSPs km -2 yr -1. The spatial distribution of the mean number of ground strike points per flash reveals a noticeable increase in the Mediterranean, Adriatic, and Baltic Sea regions compared to inland areas. Moreover, it has been determined that the average number of GSPs per flash reaches its peak between September and November. Additionally, a daily pattern is discernible, with the lowest number of GSPs per flash occurring between 12:00 and 18:00 UTC (universal time coordinated). It is found that 95 % of the separation distances between distinct GSPs are less than 6.7 km. Lastly, it is worth noting that the presence of the Alps has an impact on GSP behaviour, resulting in lower GSP counts in comparison to the surrounding areas, along with the shortest average distances between different GSPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Bulletin of Ablai Khan KazUIRandWL: Series 'International Relations & Regional Studies' is the property of Kazakh Ablai Khan University of International Relations & World Languages 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.)

The aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive view of matters of cross-border cooperation, with the main emphasis on the typology and development of structures supporting cross-border cooperation in a selected region of the Czech Republic (South Bohemian Region). The study focuses on the analysis of changes in the methods and ways of cooperation of municipalities in the programming periods 2007–2013 and 2014–2020 (Euroregions, cross-border impulse centers, European territorial cooperation groups, partner and friendly cities, etc.). The research not only analyzes the actual development of cooperation between municipalities in the region studied, but also identifies the prerequisites of and barriers to cross-border cooperation. The data obtained show a significant decrease in the interest of municipalities in cross-border cooperation within the conditions of the Czech Republic in recent years. The current situation with regard to the existence and development of cross-border cooperation in 2024 is not very satisfactory, although it is paradoxically an area strongly supported by the EU Cohesion Policy. This study employs a mixed-methods approach, combining both qualitative and quantitative research methods to provide a comprehensive analysis of cross-border cooperation in the South Bohemian Region. A thorough review of existing literature on cross-border cooperation and related policies was conducted to establish a theoretical framework. The practical part of the study is based on field research carried out by the author in 2007–2013 and 2014–2020. This research examined the level of cooperation between the 623 municipalities in the South Bohemian Region (in 2016, there were 624 municipalities in the region). In the case of cross-border impulse centers, the input data were represented by e-mail and telephone inquiries to representatives of individual municipalities and the websites of Euroregions. To conduct a comprehensive study on cross-border cooperation between municipalities in the South Bohemian Region, logical and scientific methods were used. Universal methods of logic ensured the correctness and orderliness of the thought process, with abstraction identifying key elements. Synthesis was used to divide the study into parts, analyze them in detail, and integrate them into a comprehensive analysis. Scientific methods included analysis to examine the current status and frameworks of cross-border cooperation and comparison to identify similarities or differences between the Czech Republic and neighboring countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Space Agency (ESA) has been developing an MBSE Methodology to address the increased digitalization of systems engineering and facilitate the complex system development in ESA projects and other European space projects. The methodology is based on the European Cooperation for Space Standardization (ECSS) standards for Systems Engineering, and feedback from projects using the methodology. By using the ECSS standards as the starting point, the processes, terminology and expected outputs are familiar to the engineers, lowering the usage barrier within the Agency. This paper describes the background of and effort for establishing the MBSE methodology and a description of the methodology. The paper also reports on the current efforts at ESA for deploying MBSE and the way forward regarding the methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyses the development of EU security policies. It reveals the development of EU political cooperation and cooperation in the field of Justice and Home Affairs. Important milestones are discussed: the development of European Political Cooperation (EPC), TREVI group, the system of EU pillars introduced by the Maastricht Treaty and the changes made by Lisbon Treaty. Lastly, the latest EU policies on security are addressed and the interdependence of internal and external security aspects is illustrated. The article concludes that the development of the EU's competence in security matters began with European Political Cooperation and efforts to address terrorism, serving as a transition from an economic to a political union concerned with internal and external security. The Maastricht Treaty established the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) pillar, enhancing EUwide security through cooperation on border controls, terrorism, illegal immigration, and judicial cooperation. The Treaty of Amsterdam and the Lisbon Treaty refined this framework, increasing the roles of EU institutions and prioritizing security coordination. The Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), established in 1993, aims to preserve peace and enhance international security. The EU policies recognize the interconnected nature of threats arising to the security in the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While there is a large literature studying the determinants of public support for European integration, we know much less about the factors shaping attitudes towards various international cooperation initiatives. In this article, we study the possible influence of framing, a mechanism linking pre-existing values and causal beliefs, on preferences for cooperation with the EU. We develop six thematic frames related to the context of international cooperation: economic benefits, security, shared identity, traditional and liberal values, and rules and norms of governance. We test the effects of these frames using a survey experiment conducted in three countries in Eastern Europe—Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine—that are targeted by the integration projects of both the EU and Russia. We find that thematic framing has only small effects on international cooperation preferences: priming liberal values and governance increases slightly support for cooperation with the EU, but the effects of the remaining frames are too small and heterogeneous to be estimated precisely with our sample. Contrary to expectations, some of these effects are exercised by changing the relevant causal beliefs of citizens, even if the thematic frames were not designed to do so. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric-pressure plasma jets operated in noble gases with an oxygen admixture have high application potential in industry and medicine. In this paper, we report on an extension of the well-studied RF-driven plasma jet from the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST-Jet), which has shown to deliver stable and reproducible discharge conditions but is limited to the α -discharge mode at low input powers. The so-called capillary-jet features the same discharge geometry as the COST-Jet, but the plasma is ignited inside a capillary with a square cross section acting as a dielectric in front of the electrodes. This prevents a glow-to-arc-transition at high input powers and allows stable operation in the γ -mode. We performed a set of measurements on the capillary-jet in the α - and γ -mode and compared the α -mode results to data obtained for the COST-Jet showing that the discharges are indeed similar and that the capillary-jet extends the accessible parameter range to high input powers. The presented results include power characteristics, temperature measurements, atomic oxygen densities from helium state enhanced actinometry, and molecular beam mass spectrometry (MBMS) as well as ozone densities from MBMS as functions of input power and molecular oxygen admixture. The results are summarized into an energy balance with most of the power dissipated into heating of the plasma feed gas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Permanent Structured Cooperation in Defence (PESCO) and the European Defence Fund (EDF) constitute another attempt to consolidate the European defence market. In this article, we explain the different engagements of Czechia and Portugal in the two initiatives until 2021 through the evolution and reform of the domestic institutions governing their defence industrial policies. We trace how the institutions were established, how they contributed to the national position on PESCO and EDF and how the two countries' defence industries became involved. The article shows how the different institutionalisation of the defence sector allowed Portugal and its companies to participate more than their Czech counterparts. We contribute to historical institutionalist scholarship by evidencing the critical role of ideas in promoting and preventing policy change. We also offer an insight into the practice of European defence co‐operation and identify processes that challenge further integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For solid malignancies of the gastrointestinal tract, surgical removal is a central pillar of treatment and often the only possibility to achieve a long-term cure. While there are additional qualifications for an oncological subspecialization in other surgical disciplines, such as gynecology or urology nothing comparable exists for visceral surgery in Germany, despite the fact that interdisciplinary cancer treatment strategies are becoming increasingly more complex. The Association of Surgical Oncology (ACO) in cooperation with the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS) has created the curriculum for surgical oncology, a structured further education concept, which concludes with the European Board of Surgical Qualification (EBSQ) examination. This results in a standardization and improvement in surgical and oncological treatment in Germany. Furthermore, successful graduates receive an ACO as well as a UEMS certificate and are Fellows of the European Board of Surgery (FEBS). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) action ENOTTA (The European Network on Optimising Treatment with Therapeutic Antibodies in chronic inflammatory diseases) was launched in 2022. To pave the way for harmonization of analytical methods for quantitation of serum levels of therapeutic antibodies in research and clinical settings, ENOTTA recently performed an online survey mapping laboratories in the field. The survey, which contained 30 questions surrounding therapeutic drug monitoring of relevant drugs and anti‐drug antibodies, was distributed via the ENOTTA and European Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory networks. Among 63 respondents across Europe, 45 reported analytical activity, with a range of utilized methods. Future engagement of as many sites as possible will enable comparison of methodologies and facilitate progress in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The administrative cooperation operating at the European level between national tax authorities since 2013 seems to enter a new stage with the adoption of DAC 7 and its implementation in the national legislations of the European Union member states. This trend was initiated at the OECD level with the aim of combating increasingly sophisticated new practices of tax evasion. In this context, the Romanian legislator proceeded to amend the Tax Procedure Code regarding the exchange of information between national tax authorities, as well as joint administrative investigations and financial controls, in order to facilitate the most accurate determination of tax liabilities for all categories of taxpayers. Without offering a solution for all legal issues that may arise during the application of these legal provisions, the work highlights the legislative novelties and the difficulties they will generate, especially regarding aspects such as the territorial competence of national tax authorities conducting tax procedures in the territory of other member states, as well as the opposability of acts issued by them in such circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main problem when discussing cohesion policy is its results are challenging to measure. Even if, for almost thirty years' community action tried to solve regional disparities, considerable differences between certain parts of the European Union still exist nowadays. Therefore, the future purpose of territorial cooperation should be to support joint initiatives that establish cross-border and transnational network cooperation. This paper aims to determine the importance of inter-regional cooperation to increase the Cohesion Policy's performance. We would try to show that the regions facing the most significant difficulties in identifying comparative advantages and generating innovative specialization strategies either lack the historical or traditional basis for regional projects or do not have structures to represent them inter-regional dialogues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

STUDY QUESTION Does sperm DNA recover from damage in all men after 2 years from the end of cytotoxic treatments? SUMMARY ANSWER The current indication of 2 years waiting time for seeking natural pregnancy after cytotoxic treatment may not be adequate for all men, since severe sperm DNA damage is present in a proportion of subjects even after this timeframe. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Data in the literature on sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF) in lymphoma patients after cytotoxic treatments are scarce. The largest longitudinal study evaluated paired pre- and post-therapy (up to 24 months) semen samples from 34 patients while one study performed a longer follow-up (36 months) in 10 patients. The median/mean SDF values >24 months after therapy did not show significant differences but the studies did not explore the proportion of patients with severe DNA damage and the analysis was done on frozen-thawed samples. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION In this study, 53 Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and 25 non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) post-pubertal patients were included over a recruitment period of 10 years (2012–2022). Among them, 18 subjects provided paired semen samples for SDF analysis at the three time points. SDF was evaluated in patients before (T0) and after 2 (T2) and 3 years (T3) from the end of, cytotoxic treatments (chemotherapy alone or in combination with radiotherapy). A cohort of 79 healthy, fertile, and normozoospermic men >18 years old served as controls (recruited between 2016 and 2019). PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS SDF was evaluated on fresh semen samples (i.e. spermatozoa potentially involved in natural conception) from patients and controls using TUNEL (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling) assay coupled with flow cytometry. SDF median values were compared between groups: (i) HL and NHL patients versus controls at the three time points; (ii) HL versus NHL patients at baseline; and (iii) patients at T0 versus T2 and T3. Severe DNA damage (SDD) was defined for SDF levels above the 95th percentile of controls (50%) and the proportion of patients with SDD at all time points was established. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE At T0, patients displayed higher median SDF than controls, reaching statistical significance in the NHL group: 40.5% [IQR: 31.3–52.6%] versus 28% [IQR: 22–38%], P  < 0.05. Comparing SDF pre-treatment to that post-treatment, HL patients exhibited similar median values at the three time points, whereas NHL showed significantly lower values at T3 compared to T0: 29.2% [IQR: 22–38%] versus 40.5% [IQR: 31.3–52.6%], P  < 0.05. The proportion with SDD in the entire cohort at T2 was 11.6% and 13.3% among HL and NHL patients, respectively. At T3, only one in 16 NHL patients presented SDD. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION TUNEL assay requires at least 5 million spermatozoa to be performed; hence, severe oligozoospermic men were not included in the study. Although our cohort represents the largest one in the literature, the relatively small number of patients does not allow us to establish precisely the frequency of SDD at T2 which in our study reached 11–13% of patients. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS Our data provide further insights into the long-term effects of cytotoxic treatments on the sperm genome. The persistent severe DNA damage after 2 years post-treatment observed in some patients suggests that there is an interindividual variation in restoring DNA integrity. We propose the use of SDF as a biomarker to monitor the treatment-induced genotoxic effects on sperm DNA in order to better personalize pre-conceptional counseling on whether to use fresh or cryopreserved spermatozoa. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) This work was supported by grants from the Istituto Toscano Tumori (ITT), Fondazione Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze, the European Commission—Reproductive Biology Early Research Training (REPROTRAIN). C.K. G.F. V.R. and A.R.-E. belong to COST Action CA20119 (ANDRONET) which is supported by the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (www.cost.eu). The authors declare no conflict of interest. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER N/A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When does European co‐operation and (further) integration not happen in the face of a major integration crisis? When do France and Germany not emerge as regional stabilizers, forging and uploading bilateral compromises to the European level? By developing a combined theoretical framework based on liberal intergovernmentalism and leadership approaches, this article analyses the European Economic Community's (EEC) reaction to the 1973/1974 oil crisis. Despite some favourable conditions, differences in domestic energy markets and relations with Arab oil‐producing countries complicated member state co‐operation. In turn, divergent economic philosophies and foreign policy priorities prevented France and Germany from filling the European leadership vacuum. As a consequence, the EEC did not find a unified stance on the Arab oil embargo, subordinated itself to US‐American dominance and undermined its common market via export restrictions for oil. The findings suggest that without minimum convergent member state preferences or compensating regional leadership, European integration and today's European Union risk stalling or even disintegrating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating the risk of lightning strikes to a particular structure typically involves adhering to the guidance outlined in IEC 62305-2. Among the multitude of factors influencing the overall risk, flash density emerges as a crucial parameter. According to its definition, each flash is assigned only one contact point to ground. Nevertheless, it is well known that, on average, flashes exhibit multiple ground termination points as shown by high-speed camera observations. In this research, lightning data collected by the European Cooperation for Lightning Detection (EUCLID) network is utilized in combination with a ground strike point (GSP) algorithm that aggregates individual strokes within a flash into ground strike points. This approach enables the examination of spatio-temporal patterns of GSPs across Europe throughout a decade, spanning from 2013 to 2022. Average GSP densities exhibit variations across the European continent, mirroring the observed patterns in flash densities. The highest densities are concentrated along the Adriatic Sea and the western Balkan region, reaching peak values of up to 8.5 GSPs km-2 yr-1. The spatial distribution of the mean number of ground strike points per flash reveals a noticeable increase in the Mediterranean, Adriatic, and Baltic Sea regions compared to inland areas. Moreover, it has been determined that the average number of GSPs per flash reaches its peak between September and November. Additionally, a daily pattern is discernible, with the lowest number of GSPs per flash occurring between 12 and 18 UTC (Universal Time Coordinated). It is found that 95 % of the separation distances between distinct GSPs are less than 6.7 km. Lastly, it is worth noting that the presence of the Alps has an impact on GSP behaviour, resulting in lower GSP counts in comparison to the surrounding areas, along with the shortest average distances between different GSPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the refugee crisis in 2015 and the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the use of internal border controls within the EU expanded considerably. This change seems to be at odds with the freedom of movement within the Schengen Area, a cornerstone of European integration. Previous research has been inconclusive as to whether this re-bordering signals a move towards renationalisation and disintegration or if it should be understood as a reconfiguration of European cooperation. This article takes a long-term perspective on the use of internal border controls and compares, through content analysis, the prevalence of renationalisation and European integration themes in member states' notifications of internal border controls from 2006 to 2020. While controls have become more extensive in duration and scope over time, the results show that, contrary to expectations, increased focus on national security was not accompanied by less commitment to European integration in these notifications. Thus, rather than a sign of disintegration, it is argued that internal border controls can be understood as a reconfiguration of the European border regime towards cooperative but defensive integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of EU-topías: A Journal on Interculturality, Communication & European Studies is the property of Universite de Geneve, Global Studies Intitute 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.)

The study of female economists during the post-World War II reconstruction of Western Europe is as yet unresearched. A small but substantial collection of publications discusses the role of male economists within the European institutions created after World War II. However, none of them analyzes contributions made by female economists. This paper aims to shed some light on female economists who participated in the reconstruction of Europe through their work in the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC), which was created by the Marshall Plan following the Conference of Sixteen (Conference for European Economic Co-operation). Firstly, we searched for names of female economists who served the institution, hoping that some relevant hidden female figures in the OEEC would resurface. Secondly, through oral history archives and personal documents, we reconstructed the biographies of three female economists who contributed, in different ways, to the activities of the OEEC: Miriam Camp, Florence Kirlin, and Vera Cao Pinna. By comparing these three figures, in terms of their educational and social backgrounds, their narrative, as well as their connections with international networks of experts, we defined their similarities and differences in order to identify the main characteristics that allowed them, even if at different levels and with different roles, to participate in international diplomacy and technical support deployed in the construction and diffusion of the idea of the peaceful, united, and prosperous Europe which we live in today. Tracing back the presence of women in OEEC, this article aims to bring some light on: what did being a woman economist entails in the after WWII in the newborn European institutions and what did it mean in terms of the kind of work and experience a woman could be doing within the process of professionalisation of the economics discipline in the international organisations. We are interested in describing the experiences and self-perceptions of women economists working in male dominated international institutions. Female international thinkers and experts, well known in their own time, were largely overlooked and neglected by scholars, politics, and international history later. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the push to strengthen European defence cooperation, the topic of whether a European strategic culture is emerging has become widely contested. Since convergence between member states is the key that would unlock the way to a European strategic culture, this paper examines how they perceive crucial aspects of strategic culture and in what aspects they have converged and diverged. This study selected Germany, Poland, and Ireland as cases of the EU-27 member states. It compared the three national strategic cultures in three aspects: strategic environment, cooperation patterns, and strategic goals and means, by conducting a computer-based content analysis of strategic documents and official speeches of high-level national policymakers between 2000 and 2020. This study found that despite the persistent divergence in strategic goals and means, the three countries have shown greater convergence in their perceptions of the strategic environment and that while their preferences on cooperation patterns are largely unchanged, they seem to be accepting the EU as a legitimate and favourable platform for security and defence cooperation. These findings suggest that the prospects for the emergence of a European strategic culture and further developments of the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy are both challenging and promising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schools are a complex system made up of not only relationships, infrastructures, and challenges, but also constraints. It seems essential that schools, as complex organizations, work in synergy, according to a shared vision with all the actors involved in the educational process. School management is now part of a process that is increasingly implemented in a shared way; a single person in charge cannot manage the complexity that the school requires.

Existing research typically sees European Union (EU) development co‐operation as one of its tools for influencing third countries. By contrast, in focusing on technical assistance as a part of EU development co‐operation, this article examines third countries' influence on this co‐operation. The article builds on unique data on the EU's technical assistance to third countries and third countries' requests for technical assistance from the largest EU technical assistance instrument – the Technical Assistance and Information Exchange. The findings demonstrate that third countries are selective in the assistance that they request and that via such requests third countries can influence the extent of technical co‐operation with the EU. The article provides a novel outside‐in perspective on the EU's development co‐operation and contributes to our understanding of how the EU's technical assistance functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Progress made in European defence-industrial integration has been subjected to the hardest test with the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The conflict has had profound implications for European defence industries across the board and spurred on massive investment into the sector. Based on extensive analysis of procurements, adopted policies, and shifts in discourse, we argue that the practical steps undertaken by Central and Eastern European (CEE) defence industries in the wake of the conflict are disintegrational. This is contrary to many discernible indicators which align with European integrational initiatives in defence. Moreover, the paper argues that the pattern of decisions taken by Central and Eastern European countries reinforces structural barriers to potential future European defence-industrial integration. The findings are significant to EU-wide, regional, and bilateral defence-industrial co-operation as well as national defence industrial strategies in reaction to the ongoing war in Ukraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union (EU) is increasingly relying on regional policy networks to govern climate change outside its borders, both in the areas of climate change adaptation and mitigation. Although the functioning of such policy networks has consequences for climate policy in participating countries, little is known about the role of such networks. This article focuses on the example of climate cooperation with the European Neighbourhood Policy region, conceptualizing the EU as a network manager. Using a novel dataset on climate networks in the European Neighbourhood Policy region for the period 2013–2017, we show that the EU uses climate networks for multiple purposes. The results suggest that the EU uses climate networks not only to mitigate the risks associated with climate change, but also to manage varying contexts in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted an evaluation of the impact of meteorological factor forecasts on the prediction of fine particles in Chengdu, China, during autumn and winter, utilizing the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST)733 objective weather classification software and the Community Multiscale Air Quality model. This analysis was performed under four prevailing weather patterns. Fine particle pollution tended to occur under high-pressure rear, homogeneous-pressure, and low-pressure conditions; by contrast, fine particle concentrations were lower under high-pressure bottom conditions. The forecasts of fine particle concentrations were more accurate under high-pressure bottom conditions than under high-pressure rear and homogeneous-pressure conditions. Moreover, under all conditions, the 24 h forecast of fine particle concentrations were more accurate than the 48 and 72 h forecasts. Regarding meteorological factors, forecasts of 2 m relative humidity and 10 m wind speed were more accurate under high-pressure bottom conditions than high-pressure rear and homogeneous-pressure conditions. Moreover, 2 m relative humidity and 10 m wind speed were important factors for forecasting fine particles, whereas 2 m air temperature was not. Finally, the 24 h forecasts of meteorological factors were more accurate than the 48 and 72 h forecasts, consistent with the forecasting of fine particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The text is a welcome message for the 13th Congress of the European Academy of Andrology, which took place in Stockholm, Sweden from September 4th to 6th, 2024. The congress is a significant event in the field of male health, bringing together specialists in andrology, urology, fertility treatments, and basic scientists interested in male reproduction. The congress serves as a platform for presenting cutting-edge research in andrology and discussing clinical practices related to andrological diseases. The organizers aim to strengthen relationships with other organizations and promote andrology in Europe and beyond. The congress took place at the München Bryggeriet in Stockholm, a city known for its architectural masterpieces and cultural experiences. The organizers express confidence that the congress will be remembered for its scientific content and the venue. The text also acknowledges the support and contributions of various organizations and sponsors. [Extracted from the article]

The future of hydrogeology is facing a shortage of qualified professionals, as there are not enough graduates to meet the current demand and fill future needs. Master's programs in hydrogeology are shrinking or disappearing, and enrollments in existing programs are alarmingly low. However, there are efforts underway to address this issue, such as multi-university degrees, redesigned university-based programs, and extra-university programs focusing on advanced topics. To ensure that future students receive the necessary training, the hydrogeologic community is working together to define the core knowledge and skills of a hydrogeologist. Professionals are encouraged to support this effort by adding their name to a list of supporters and providing input on defining core competencies. [Extracted from the article]

The scientific school of Alexander Frumkin, a world-renowned electrochemist born in Chisinau, was at the origin of the electrochemical science in the Republic of Moldova. Research directions, such as high-rate anodic dissolution, plasma electrochemical treatment, electrical methods for mass transfer control, identified as "extreme electrochemistry", and the electrochemical nanostructuring, have been significantly developed at the national level from both fundamental and applicative viewpoints. Moreover, the European cooperation considerably broadened the opportunities for Moldovan electrochemists in the related areas such as materials science and surface engineering. The present review highlights the main scientific contributions of Moldovan researchers to the world information process related to the above mentioned domains and to the academic–industrial collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The regional conflict from Ukraine that emerged a year ago, in February 2022, has quickly evolved into a widespread economic confrontation between the West and the Russian Federation, due to the enormous amount of sanctions imposed to the latest as a retaliation for the unprovoked military invasion into the territory of an independent and sovereign state. While the Western sanctions have targeted various economic field (from finance, to energy and trade), for the purpose of this paper we have chosen to analyse the impact of the trade sanctions in the energy field while highlighting how the European Union (EU)-Russia energy trade has shrunken under the sanctions blow. This paper provides an in depth quantitative analysis of the bilateral trade between the two parties, focusing on the evolution of energy trade after the imposition of sanctions. The methodological approach uses the latest Eurostat statistics but also a qualitative analysis of the studied literature in the field to underline the huge impact of sanctions on the bilateral cooperation between EU and Russian Federation. Our main finding shows that the sanctions have seriously affected the economic cooperation between EU and Russian Federation, causing a major decrease of the bilateral trade, but the energy trade still remains important, as the enforced bans have not completely stopped the unwanted energy link between the two parties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on examining the establishment of the European administrative space (EAS) and its compatibility with global governance through the basic principles of good governance. The article identifies how the EAS has been influenced by and forwards the good governance model in an effort to improve governance at the global level. The main purpose of this research is to analyze the relationship between the European administrative area and good governance by analyzing the basic principles of good governance and investigating how they are applied in the European context. The research was conducted through a documentary analysis of relevant literature, including official documents of European institutions, research reports, and academic studies. The article reveals that the EAS is an important path towards improving good governance, integrating and implementing some of the basic principles of this form of governance. This article provides an important contribution to the literature on European studies and global governance by examining the relationship between the EAS and the principles of good governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global influence of the European Union (EU) has been debated in overlapping strands of literature as 'normative', 'regulatory' and 'market power'. They identify the diffusion of its rules and standards as a vehicle of European power. We argue that European power extends beyond its regulatory capacities and includes new 'catalytic' capacities in the realm of financing and network building. We analyse blended finance as an instrument of 'catalytic power', defined as the mobilisation of partners and their resources to pursue external objectives. The analysis reveals that financial leverage, the original motivation behind the tool's creation, has declined in importance. Instead, blended finance is designed to facilitate and structure cooperation with other European and multilateral financial institutions, positioning the European Commission as a central node in international cooperation and increasing its influence in this sphere. The article closes with a discussion of blended finance as a tool of catalytic power and related trade‐offs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article defines the dominant criteria for the functional symbiosis of macro-regional and local-regional systems with a large number of producers of tourism products. A macroeconomic model was developed for calculating the integrated index of international cooperation of the country in the European geoeconomic space of the tourism industry based on standardized variable indicators. A detailed analysis of the development of the tourism industry in Ukraine was carried out, with the determination of the scope of tourist flows in the pre-war period and during the war period. The forecast dynamics of the development of the potential of international cooperation of Ukraine in the geo-economic space of macro-regional systems of Europe are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EC/EU has been an eminently nation-led project. However, running in parallel, the European municipalist movement, braiding relations among cities across Europe, has sought to build an influential political role for municipalities within the European polity. The study of European municipal cooperation has become a consolidated thread of research in European and Urban Studies. Nonetheless, contributions on the topic tend to focus on the pragmatic aspects of municipal collaborations, glossing over the ideological foundations of European Municipalism. Therefore, by challenging the dominant scholarly view, this article contends that European Municipalism may be considered as a 'thin-centred' ideology. To support this argument, the ideological structure of European Municipalism is unbundled by throwing light on its conceptual components. As a result, this article construes European Municipalism as a 'thin-centred' political ideology, which postulates universal city-to-city mutualism and proposes a European counter-project built on a polycentric and diffuse conception of power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]