EU-funded Network Of Excellence Research Articles

Prace specjalne Wytyczne EAACI/GA2LEN/EDF/WAO dotyczące definicji, klasyfikacji, rozpoznawania i leczenia pokrzywki: weryfikacja z 2013 roku z poprawkami

This guideline is the result of a systematic literature review using the ‘Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation’ (GRADE) methodology and a structured consensus conference held on 28 and 29 November 2012, in Berlin. It is a joint initiative of the Dermatology Section of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI), the EU-funded network of excellence, the Global Allergy and Asthma European Network (GA 2 LEN), the European Dermatology Forum (EDF), and the World Allergy Organization (WAO) with the participation of delegates of 21 national and international societies. Urticaria is a frequent, mast cell-driven disease, presenting with wheals, angioedema, or both. The life-time prevalence for acute urticaria is approximately 20%. Chronic spontaneous urticaria and other chronic forms of urticaria do not only cause a decrease in quality of life, but also affect performance at work and school and, as such, are members of the group of severe allergic diseases. This guideline covers the definition and classification of urticaria, taking into account the recent progress in identifying its causes, eliciting factors and pathomecha

Methods report on the development of the 2013 revision and update of the EAACI/GA2 LEN/EDF/WAO guideline for the definition, classification, diagnosis, and management of urticaria.

This methods report describes the process of guideline development in detail. It is the result of a systematic literature review using the 'Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation' (GRADE) methodology and a structured consensus conference held on 28 and 29 November 2012, in Berlin. It is a joint initiative of the Dermatology Section of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI), the EU-funded network of excellence, the Global Allergy and Asthma European Network (GA(2) LEN), the European Dermatology Forum (EDF), and the World Allergy Organization (WAO) with the participation of delegates of 21 national and international societies. This guideline covers the definition and classification of urticaria, taking into account the recent progress in identifying its causes, eliciting factors and pathomechanisms. In addition, it outlines evidence-based diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for the different subtypes of urticaria. This guideline was acknowledged and accepted by the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS) and is published in Allergy 2014; 69:868-887.

The EAACI/GA(2) LEN/EDF/WAO Guideline for the definition, classification, diagnosis, and management of urticaria: the 2013 revision and update.

This guideline is the result of a systematic literature review using the 'Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation' (GRADE) methodology and a structured consensus conference held on 28 and 29 November 2012, in Berlin. It is a joint initiative of the Dermatology Section of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI), the EU-funded network of excellence, the Global Allergy and Asthma European Network (GA(2) LEN), the European Dermatology Forum (EDF), and the World Allergy Organization (WAO) with the participation of delegates of 21 national and international societies. Urticaria is a frequent, mast cell-driven disease, presenting with wheals, angioedema, or both. The life-time prevalence for acute urticaria is approximately 20%. Chronic spontaneous urticaria and other chronic forms of urticaria do not only cause a decrease in quality of life, but also affect performance at work and school and, as such, are members of the group of severe allergic diseases. This guideline covers the definition and classification of urticaria, taking into account the recent progress in identifying its causes, eliciting factors and pathomechanisms. In addition, it outlines evidence-based diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for the different subtypes of urticaria. This guideline was acknowledged and accepted by the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS).

MoniQA: an update of the European Union funded Network of Excellence in 2011

Monitoring and quality assurance in the total food supply chain (MoniQA, http://www.moniqa.org) is an EU-funded Network of Excellence (NoE), which involves experts from around the globe working for safer foods though harmonization of worldwide food quality and safety monitoring and control strategies. MoniQA is coordinated by the International Association for Cereal Science and Technology (ICC, http://www.icc.or.at), and the initial network of around 150 scientists from 20 countries has grown to more than 500 experts from some 40 countries across five continents. The consortium has committed its knowledge, international relationships, and communication resources to providing reliable information, globally agreed standards and tools to ensure safe foods, to support regulatory bodies in developing better regulations, and food manufacturers in the production of high-quality food and achieving legal compliance. MoniQA focuses on validation of methods used to analyse foods and food products for safety and quality. The main emphasis is on rapid methods and emerging new technologies, their applicability and reliability in routine testing. The work involves validation studies, design and development of reference materials, and validation guidelines, as well as socio-economic impact assessment for better future regulations. MoniQA's outputs will impact society at several levels, including research and development, industry and SMEs in food manufacturing, retail and food analysis, regulators, policy makers, associations, international organizations and consumers as well as international trade. Progress towards the goals of MoniQA and response to the original drivers for this project are considered, and MoniQA's sustainability plans are described in more detail by highlighting some selected outputs.

The definition and diagnostic testing of physical and cholinergic urticarias – EAACI/GA2LEN/EDF/UNEV consensus panel recommendations

The recommendations for the definition and diagnosis presented in this position paper are the result of a panel consensus meeting held in December 2008 in Berlin. This consensus meeting was a joint initiative of EAACI (European Academy of Allergology and Clinical Immunology) Dermatology Section, the EU-funded network of excellence, GA(2)LEN (Global Allergy and Asthma European Network), the EDF (European Dermatology Forum) and UNEV (urticaria network e.V.). The aim of these recommendations is to improve the diagnosis and management of patients with physical urticaria or cholinergic urticaria and to promote research and a better understanding of these diseases. Our recommendations used the paper produced by a 1996 expert meeting (1) and they acknowledge the latest changes in our understanding of physical urticarias and cholinergic urticaria as well as the recent development of novel diagnostic tools. In addition, this consensus paper highlights areas of need for further research.

MoniQA (Monitoring and Quality Assurance)—an EU-funded Network of Excellence (NoE) Contributing Toward a Harmonized Approach to Food Safety Management and Method Validation—Including Food Allergens

Reliable detection and quantification of allergens are essential in order to protect allergic consumers and to comply with labeling regulations. In recent years various allergen-detection methods have been published, and test kits have become commercially available. Due to the nature of the analytes (usually allergenic proteins, specific marker proteins, or specific DNA markers) and their susceptibility to various processing effects, reliability and comparability of results have posed a great challenge. Often processing and matrix effects hamper the extraction efficiency and the quantitative analysis of allergens or markers in food products. Both reference methods and reference materials are urgently needed in the field of allergen testing. The EU-funded Network of Excellence, MoniQA—Monitoring and Quality Assurance in the Total food Supply Chain (www.moniqa.org)—is working toward the harmonization of monitoring and control strategies for food quality and safety assessment and thus focuses on performance criteria for methods used to analyze foods and food products for safety and quality. MoniQA established various analyte-specific working groups: Microbiological Contaminants, Mycotoxins and Phycotoxins, Chemical Contaminants, Food Allergens, Food Additives and Processing Toxicants, Food Authenticity, and Emerging Issues. MoniQA’s Food Allergen Working Group (WG) is compiling information about the most important food allergens, identifying gaps, prioritizing requirements, and developing harmonization guidelines in collaboration with all stakeholder groups, which include industry, food authorities, consumers, and laboratories. The WG works on (1) harmonized validation protocols and certification criteria for allergen testing, (2) status recognition of allergen methods which underwent a validation trial, (3) reference/testing materials, (4) international ring trials for full validation of new reference/testing materials and analytical methods, and (5) the development of a reference method by supporting research toward the improved use of mass spectrometry in food allergen testing. Additionally training for research and industry in the areas of analytical method development, method validation and verification, allergen management, and risk communication and a database on available analytical methods, validation level, and legislation linked with the RASFF—EU’s Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed are provided.

EAACI/GA2LEN/EDF/WAO guideline: definition, classification and diagnosis of urticaria

This guideline, together with its sister guideline on the management of urticaria [Zuberbier T, Asero R, Bindslev-Jensen C, Canonica GW, Church MK, Giménez-Arnau AM et al. EAACI/GA(2)LEN/EDF/WAO Guideline: Management of urticaria. Allergy, 2009; 64:1427-1443] is the result of a consensus reached during a panel discussion at the 3rd International Consensus Meeting on Urticaria, Urticaria 2008, a joint initiative of the Dermatology Section of the European Academy of Allergology and Clinical Immunology (EAACI), the EU-funded network of excellence, the Global Allergy and Asthma European Network (GA(2)LEN), the European Dermatology Forum (EDF) and the World Allergy Organization (WAO). Urticaria is a frequent disease. The life-time prevalence for any subtype of urticaria is approximately 20%. Chronic spontaneous urticaria and other chronic forms of urticaria do not only cause a decrease in quality of life, but also affect performance at work and school and, as such, are members of the group of severe allergic diseases. This guideline covers the definition and classification of urticaria, taking into account the recent progress in identifying its causes, eliciting factors, and pathomechanisms. In addition, it outlines evidence-based diagnostic approaches for different subtypes of urticaria. The correct management of urticaria, which is of paramount importance for patients, is very complex and is consequently covered in a separate guideline developed during the same consensus meeting. This guideline was acknowledged and accepted by the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS).

EAACI/GA²LEN/EDF/WAO guideline: management of urticaria

This guideline, together with its sister guideline on the classification of urticaria (Zuberbier T, Asero R, Bindslev-Jensen C, Canonica GW, Church MK, Giménez-Arnau AM et al. EAACI/GA(2)LEN/EDF/WAO Guideline: definition, classification and diagnosis of urticaria. Allergy 2009;64: 1417-1426), is the result of a consensus reached during a panel discussion at the Third International Consensus Meeting on Urticaria, Urticaria 2008, a joint initiative of the Dermatology Section of the European Academy of Allergology and Clinical Immunology (EAACI), the EU-funded network of excellence, the Global Allergy and Asthma European Network (GA(2)LEN), the European Dermatology Forum (EDF) and the World Allergy Organization (WAO). As members of the panel, the authors had prepared their suggestions regarding management of urticaria before the meeting. The draft of the guideline took into account all available evidence in the literature (including Medline and Embase searches and hand searches of abstracts at international allergy congresses in 2004-2008) and was based on the existing consensus reports of the first and the second symposia in 2000 and 2004. These suggestions were then discussed in detail among the panel members and with the over 200 international specialists of the meeting to achieve a consensus using a simple voting system where appropriate. Urticaria has a profound impact on the quality of life and effective treatment is, therefore, required. The recommended first line treatment is new generation, nonsedating H(1)-antihistamines. If standard dosing is not effective, increasing the dosage up to four-fold is recommended. For patients who do not respond to a four-fold increase in dosage of nonsedating H(1)-antihistamines, it is recommended that second-line therapies should be added to the antihistamine treatment. In the choice of second-line treatment, both their costs and risk/benefit profiles are most important to consider. Corticosteroids are not recommended for long-term treatment due to their unavoidable severe adverse effects. This guideline was acknowledged and accepted by the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS).

Nutrition proteomics and biomarker discovery

Baukje de Roos is a principal investigator at the University of Aberdeen, Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health. She investigates mechanisms through which dietary fats and fatty acids, and also polyphenols, affect parameters involved in the development of heart disease in vivo. This is achieved not only by measuring their effect on conventional risk markers for heart disease but also by assessing their effect on new markers that are being developed through proteomic and mass spectrometry methods. She obtained her PhD in Human Nutrition at Wageningen University, The Netherlands, in January 2000, after which she was appointed as a post-doctoral research fellow at the Department of Vascular Biochemistry, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, in collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline. In June 2001 she joined the Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen. She is currently working for the University of Aberdeen, where her research is funded by the Scottish Government Rural and Environment Research and Analysis Directorate (RERAD). She is an active member of the European Nutrigenomics Organisation (NuGO), an EU-funded Network of Excellence, which merges the nutrigenomics activities of its 23 partners across Europe.

EuroGentest patient information leaflets: a free resource available in over 20 languages

Research into the quality of written patient information about genetic testing across Europe has revealed that information often fails to provide a comprehensive discussion of key issues.1 Pre-written information leaflets, found to be more comprehensive than personal letters written by clinicians, are also not routinely available through genetic clinics. In response to these findings, the EuroGentest project, an EU-funded Network of Excellence, has developed a series of patient information leaflets for patients and families related to genetics and genetic testing. The topics and content of these leaflets were developed by both genetic professionals and an ‘expert' group of patient representatives from across Europe. The English-version leaflets were validated by a panel of patient group representatives from across the United Kingdom to ensure readability. Patient groups also helped select the diagrams and illustrations to be used in the leaflets. Eleven leaflets have so far been developed, with another four currently in process. The leaflets have been translated into numerous languages spoken across Europe, including ethnic minority languages. The leaflets will be available in over 20 languages by the end of the 2009. Translations have been done by billingual genetic health professionals and PhD genetics students to ensure the information is relevant and correct for that country, the translations are of good quality, and medical explanations are translated clearly and correctly. The titles of the 11 leaflets currently available are: What is a Genetic Test? Some Information about your Genetic Appointment The Amniocentesis The CVS Test Recessive Inheritance Dominant Inheritance X-linked Inheritance Chromosome Changes Chromosome Translocations Frequently Asked Questions about Genetic Testing Genetic Glossary The leaflets are freely available to download in a range of languages from the following websites: www.eurogentest.org/patients http://www.eshg.org (Patient Information link) The titles of the new leaflets currently in process are: What Happens in the Genetics Laboratory? Predictive Testing (cancer) Predictive Testing (non-cancer) Carrier Testing These will be translated and made available on the EuroGentest and ESHG websites towards the end of 2009. The aim is that clinicians will print and routinely provide these leaflets to patients and families. We hope that both clinicians and patients will find them to be a useful and informative resource. It is hoped that clinicians will print out these leaflets and routinely provide them to patients and families at the genetic clinic and that patients and professionals will find them to be a useful and informative resource.

MoniQA (Monitoring and Quality Assurance): an EU-funded Network of Excellence working towards the harmonization of worldwide food quality and safety monitoring and control strategies-status report 2008

MoniQA (Monitoring and Quality Assurance in the total food supply chain) is an EU-funded Network of Excellence that involves experts from around the globe collaborating to harmonize worldwide food quality and safety monitoring and control strategies. The initial network of over 155 scientists from 20 countries has grown to over 400 experts from over 35 countries from five continents in the first 18 months. MoniQA focuses on validation of and performance criteria/requirements for methods used to analyse foods and food products for safety and quality, with the main focus being on rapid methods and their applicability and reliability in routine testing. The work involves validation guidelines, validation studies, design and development of reference materials/testing materials and validation guidelines. MoniQA will play an important role in integrating European and worldwide food quality and safety research by creating a virtual laboratory for joint research, training, dissemination and mobility programmes. It will allow and actively promote sharing of data and knowledge, as well as of equipment, materials and personnel through creation of a global platform for food Q&S researchers. MoniQA will enable shared access to the world's best research facilities, technological platforms, databases, analytical tools and knowledge. MoniQA's harmonized food quality and safety control strategies will add value in the food chain and will improve consumer confidence worldwide. MoniQA's socio-economic impact assessment will enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of new food quality and safety regulations within the EU and worldwide.

Cross-language perception of voice and affect

The paper reports on a cross-language study of how voice quality and f0 combine in the signaling of affect. Speakers of Irish-English and Japanese participated in perception tests. The stimuli consisted of a short utterance where f0 and voice source parameters were varied using the LF-model implementation of the KLSyn88a formant synthesizer, and were of three types: (1) VQ only involving voice quality variations and a neutral f0 contour; (2) f0 only, with different affect-related f0 contours and modal voice; (3) VQ+f0 stimuli, where the voice qualities of (1) combine with specific f0 contours from (2). Overall, stimuli involving voice quality variation were consistently associated with affect. In (2) only stimuli with high f0 yielded high affective ratings. Striking differences emerge between the ratings obtained from the two language groups. The results show that not only were some affects consistently perceived by one language group and not the other, but also that specific voice qualities and pitch contours were associated with very different affects across the two groups. The results have important implications for expressive speech synthesis, indicating that language/culture-specific differences need to be considered. [This work is supported by the EU-funded Network of Excellence on Emotion, HUMAINE.]

NuGO is an EU-funded network of excellence

NuGO is an EU-funded network of excellence

BEST PAPERS FROM EUMAS 2003: THE 1ST EUROPEAN WORKSHOP ON MULTI-AGENT SYSTEMS

Given the increasing number of European researchers in the area of multi-agent systems, and the growing success of the Agentlink initiative (an EU-funded network of excellence in the area of multi-...