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Understanding the genetic basis of neuro-related proteins is essential for dissecting the molecular basis of human behavioral traits and the disease etiology of neuropsychiatric disorders. Here, the SCALLOP Consortium conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of over 12,500 individuals for 184 neuro-related proteins in human plasma. The analysis identified 117 cis-regulatory protein quantitative trait loci (cis-pQTL) and 166 trans-pQTL. The mapped pQTL capture on average 50% of each protein's heritability. Mendelian randomization analyses revealed multiple proteins showing potential causal effects on neuro-related traits such as sleeping, smoking, feelings, alcohol intake, mental health, and psychiatric disorders. Integrating with established drug information, we validated 13 out of 13 matched combinations of protein targets and diseases or side effects with available drugs, while suggesting hundreds of re-purposing and new therapeutic targets. This consortium effort provides a large-scale proteogenomic resource for biomedical research on human behaviors and other neuro-related phenotypes.

For policy-makers, it has always been a struggle to do justice to a diversity of perspectives when tackling challenging issues such as market access regulation, public investment in R&D, long-term unemployment, etc. In this struggle, technology, as a force that shapes economy, society, and democracy, at best used to be considered as an exogenous factor and at worst was simply forgotten. Today, however, we live in a different world. Technology is recognized as a major driver. Digital technology is now in the veins, heart, and brains of our society. Yet, the idea that we can put technology to our hand to shape reality, rather than taking technology as a given, has still not been embraced by policy-makers. This chapter argues that we can and should give a stronger steer on technology to construct the kind of reality and in particular the kind of sovereignty we aspire.

Governments have underestimated the importance of technology governance in 5G development and will look to reassert control over key technologies. If future technologies are to be based on global standards, and not become geographically fragmented, the technology community need to urgently address this challenge.

The European Union was founded as an economic cooperation of its member states. It has as a major objective to create a large internal market with free flow of people, goods, services and capital. ...

PurposeThis paper aims to give an overview of EU‐level e‐inclusion policy providing elements for the context for reflection on the role and shape of universal service.Design/methodology/approachThe paper provides an account of the drivers and principles of EU e‐inclusion policy.FindingsThe paper finds that e‐inclusion – at this stage – needs a comprehensive and coherent approach addressing any social and economic exclusion factor with the help of ICT, addressing the risk of ICT as a factor of exclusion, bringing together the market, society, and user perspectives and seeking a “triple‐win”, and pro‐actively and forward‐looking combination of policy tools that can help to realize e‐inclusion.Originality/valueThe paper provides a contribution to the discussion on universal service from the wider perspective of EU e‐inclusion policy.

Inclusive ICT business can be defined as doing business with ICT‐enabled products and services that are aimed at or take into account the market of persons at risk of social or economic exclusion. ...

■ Business-to-Business (B2B)electronic commerce is currently leading the take-up of the commercial use of the Internet, representing about 84% of E-Commerce turnover in the European union. Companies are primarily motivated to use the Internet by the prospect of improved efficiency ■ B2B-Business models can be differentiated into the three categories E-shop and E-procurement, E-Markets and Value chain-Integrators. This Business models and the experiences gained with them do also have great importance for the new function of E-government ■ The impact of e-business is not limited to the micro-economic level of prices, markets, and competition. It may already be manifesting itself at the macro-economic level in terms of contributing to productivity and economic growth. ■ Legal frameworks, evolving technologies, de facto and de jure standards, mores about the do’s and don’ts of business and codes of conduct, they are all factors that influence the opportunities for e-business.

Agent technologies have proved to provide adequate solutions to some of the challenges posed by the new business models that are arising in the field of electronic commerce. In this chapter, we present some of the key challenges in turning agents’ research into commercial applications, provide an overview of the electronic commerce business models, and discuss how they can benefit from the new developments in agent technologies. We illustrate the discussion with examples of the work that is being developed by projects from the IST research program of the European Union.

This paper firstly sets out to provide a broad overview of the development of electronic commerce, addressing the current state of the market and the history and current status of policy development, in particular in Europe. Secondly, it addresses some of the characteristics of the emerging e-economy with a view to indicating directions for future research, such as into new business models, dynamic business networking, and the balance of global versus local, in e-business as well as in e-policy development.