European Grant Research Articles

РОЗВИТОК ГРОМАДЯНСЬКОСТІ ОБДАРОВАНИХ ПІДЛІТКІВ ЗА ЧАСІВ ВІЙНИ: СОЦІАЛЬНО-ПЕДАГОГІЧНА ПРОГРАМА

A socio-pedagogical program for development of citizenship of gifted adolescents is substantiated based on analysis of legislative documents, national programs regarding civic education of the new generation in Ukraine during the war, generalization of contemporary experience in improving citizenship of students of general secondary education institutions of Sumy region, taking into account characteristic features of social formation of adolescents and the specifics of this process among gifted teenagers. Results of the analysis of the current state of improving civic education of students at general secondary education institutions revealed a predominant neglect of gifted teenagers in this process, since pedagogical teams are focused on involving these teenagers in subject Olympics, in National Academy of Sciences activities and preparing them to win in intellectual competitions, which is really important. The lack of programs that would take into account characteristic features of the gifted in the development of their patriotism threatens their future self-realization in Ukraine in particular, under conditions of existence of American and European grants system for “finding” creative youth in the world. The goal of the program that we have justified – to improve development of citizenship of gifted adolescents under conditions of war in Ukraine – is achieved through such tasks as: 1) creation of a coordination group of representatives of the internal and external school social environment and preparation of this group for promotion of development of citizenship of gifted adolescents at lycea and in territorial communities; 2) socio-pedagogical support of gifted teenagers in the process of civic education at lycea; 3) supporting initiatives of gifted teenagers regarding harmonization (real and virtual) of civil and legal social space at lycea and territorial communities; 4) promoting gifted teenagers' awareness of the importance of citizenship in the European Union through virtual communication with European teenagers and domestic ones studying in European countries under wartime conditions. Key words: socio-pedagogical program, gifted teenagers, development of citizenship, war in Ukraine.

Preface

Abstract The 27th International Conference on Building Materials, Products and Technologies (ICBMPT 2024) was held on 13th to 14th May 2024. This year, the conference took place in the beautiful town Mikulov in a region popular for vineyards and wine cellars with great wine. The main topics of ICBMPT 2024 were: Inorganic binders, Smart materials for 21st century, Sustainable building materials and circularity, Technology and test methods and Alternative materials. Also, several keynote speakers were attracted to contribute to our conference. The organizers from the Research Institute for Building Materials collected 15 interesting papers among research workplaces in the Czech Republic and abroad. The conference brings not only interesting presentations, but also it creates a platform for scientific discussions and proposals of new mutual projects. Besides the conference program, there was a possibility to take part in the specialized workshop Healthy Buildings with many interesting topics, among others biodeteriogen on façade and indoor, chemical and physical influences inside buildings, asbestos under the skin of buildings and radioactive substances in buildings. As side events, there was an option being skilled in the seminar on European grant opportunities and in the minisymposium on Mathematical simulations in research. The organizers would like to express their gratitude and thank all the participants for their valuable contribution to the conference. This year’s conference is successfully over and we are looking forward to the next conference! List of Scientific committee and Editors are available in this Pdf.

Pro-tumor Tfh2 cells induce detrimental IgG4 production and PGE2-dependent IgE inhibition in pancreatic cancer

Pro-tumor Tfh2 cells induce detrimental IgG4 production and PGE2-dependent IgE inhibition in pancreatic cancer

Higher education and research: multiple negative effects and no new opportunities after Brexit

ABSTRACT Brexit has weakened collaboration between UK higher education institutions and their EU counterparts, with negative implications for UK resources and capacity, without leading to new global strategies and opportunities. In 2020 the UK government withdrew from the Erasmus student mobility scheme and introduced the Turing scheme. While Erasmus had supported both outward UK student mobility and inward movement from Europe, Turing supports only outward mobility. In 2021–2022 the cessation of UK tuition fee arrangements for EU citizens entering UK degrees led to a sharp drop in numbers. Collaborative European research programmes have been crucial in building the infrastructure and network centrality of UK science and in attracting EU citizen researchers, but at the time of writing future UK participation as a non-member country was unresolved. The long uncertainty about this, coupled with the cessation of free people movement, have triggered the exit of some UK-based researchers and declines in UK researchers' competitiveness in European grants, EU doctoral students and established researchers entering UK, and EU country citizens as a proportion of UK academic staff. In addition, the loss of access to European structural funds has slowed the modernisation of UK higher education institutions and reduced their social contributions.

ГРАНТОВІ ПРОГРАМИ ЄВРОПЕЙСЬКОЇ КОМІСІЇ ЯК ІНСТРУМЕНТИ РОЗВИТКУ: МОЖЛИВОСТІ ТА БАР’ЄРИ

The article examines the main grant tools of the European Commission for the development of small and medium-sized businesses, representatives of executive power and local self-government, education and medicine. The main possibilities of using European grants for community authorities and entrepreneurship of Ukraine are outlined. The main and largest grant programs from the European Commission are described: Horizon Europe (HORIZON), Creative Europe (CREA), Erasmus+ (ERASMUS+), Digital Europe Programme, EU4Health Programme, Program for the Environment and Climate Action, Single Market Programme. The prospects of using grant instruments within each program are demonstrated. Emphasis is placed on their priorities and areas of support for the projects of authorities, local governments, representatives of business and the public sector in the member countries of the European Union and program partners. The main goals and tasks of each program are highlighted, with the areas of support in Ukraine highlighted. The sluggish process of participation of representatives of small and mediumsized businesses, local self-government bodies, executive authorities and organizations of the non-profit sector in grant programs of the European Commission is analyzed. The reasons for the non-active use of grant, irrevocable, targeted assistance from the highest executive body of the European Union are emphasized, namely: the lack of understanding among potential grant recipients about who can receive a grant for what and how, an acute shortage of professional project managers, grant writers and fundraisers, obligation of partnership. It is concluded that the involvement and use of grant instruments of the European Commission by representatives of small and medium-sized businesses, bodies of executive power and local self-government, representatives of civil society organizations, educators and doctors is an effective tool for their development, implementation of innovative solutions, interaction with partners from the European Union, as well as strengthening the spheres of economy, education, health care of Ukraine. Overcoming barriers and obstacles is possible under the condition of broad informational support from representatives of programs in Ukraine, national contact points, authorities and mass media.

Financing the cultural and creative industries through crowdfunding: the role of national cultural dimensions and policies

The trend towards digitalisation and technological innovation has reshaped the cultural and creative industries (CCIs) by changing the existing funding models and structures. The aim of this article is to explore the impact of cultural dimensions and policies on the adoption of reward-based crowdfunding as a new form of finance for firms in the CCIs in 12 different European countries during the 2015–2019 period. Our results show that national cultural dimensions and policies significantly affect the demand for cultural and creative crowdfunding. Specifically, the adoption of crowdfunding is broader in individualistic countries and in societies characterised by higher uncertainty avoidance, indulgence, short-term orientation, and lower levels of discrimination between genders. Furthermore, we find that the liberal welfare state model, characterised by limited government interference, market orientation, privatisation and a focus on self-responsibility, and the Southern European welfare model, based on a weak and inefficient state, increase the adoption of crowdfunding in the CCIs. The presence of a central ministry with cultural competence also increases the adoption of crowdfunding in the CCIs. Our findings show a U-shaped relationship between European grants and the demand for crowdfunding, mainly driven by a high or low European involvement within these sectors. We also identify a moderation effect of EU grants on the relationship between cultural dimensions and crowdfunding adoption, suggesting that the magnitude of this relationship depends on the amount of EU grants awarded in a specific country. As a robustness check, we run a set of Poisson regressions with correlated random effects (CREs), confirming our main results.

Impact of investments on the development of industrial enterprises in Ukraine in the conditions of eurointegration

Methods. In the course of study, a range of general scientific research methods was used, namely: historical – in the study of the evolution of scientific views on the management of investment resources of an industrial enterprise; dialectical, theoretical generalization – made it possible to identify patterns and features of the influence of investment resources on the development of domestic industrial enterprises; grouping, systematization, system generalization, system approach for a comprehensive study of the object of investment resource management; abstract-logical; systems analysis – in the analysis of methods and tools, investment management strategies for an industrial enterprise, as well as in the study of world experience in managing the development of an industrial enterprise in the context of European integration; financial and economic analysis – allowed to assess the current state of the received investments and assess their level of efficiency; forecasting - further ways of using investment resources for the modernization of leading industries are forecasted. Results. The negative consequences of the Russian-Ukrainian war affected all levels and sectors of the socio-economic system of the state. The investment advantage for our country on the path of European integration has been identified and considered. It has been proven that in case of obtaining EU membership, industrial enterprises have the opportunity to attract more foreign investment for their development in the form of grants or long-term loans at attractive interest rates, which will certainly contribute to technical re-equipment, development of innovative technologies, expansion and reconstruction of production. Entering the EU markets allows you to tap into the wider and more attractive bonuses of cooperation with the EU. In the process of studying attracted foreign direct investment, the uneven nature of receipts was determined. To attract foreign capital, a strong economy, structural innovation policy and decentralization of foreign direct investment are necessary. Novelty. The analysis of the volume of direct investment by the EU made it possible to propose several measures that will increase the investment resources aimed at the activities of the industrial sector. Examples of successful attraction of European grants to industrial enterprises are analyzed, and priority directions for their use are proposed to increase interest in the final product in the EU market. Practical value. The ways of improving the investment attractiveness of industrial enterprises to raise funds in the context of European integration are proposed. The study of investment volumes makes it possible to use the resources received to create high-tech products, obtain additional financial resources, expand production, and modernize production facilities. The advanced European funds for attracting funds to industrial enterprises and the methodology for obtaining grants have been identified.

ERANET JTC 2011: Submission and Activation of an International Academic Translational Project in Advanced Breast Cancer. Experience From the ET-FES Study

Background: Academic research is important to face unmet medical needs. The Oncological community encounters many hurdles in setting up multicenter investigator-driven trials mainly due to administrative complexity. The purpose of a network organization at a multinational level is to facilitate clinical trials through standardization, coordination, and education for drug development and regulatory approval.Methods: The application of an European grant foresees the creation of a consortium which aims at facilitating multi-center academic clinical trials.Results: The ERA-NET TRANSCAN Call 2011 on “Validation of biomarkers for personalized cancer medicine” was released on December 2011. This project included Italian, Spanish, French and German centers. The approval process included Consortium constitution, project submission, Clinical Trial Submission, and activation on a national level. The different timescales for submitting study documents in each Country and the misalignment of objections by each Competent Authority CA, generated several requests for changes to the study documents which meant amendments had to be made; as requested by the 2001/20/EC Directive, the alignment of core documents is mandatory. This procedure impacted significantly on study activation timelines. Time to first patient in was 14, 10, 28, and 31 months from the date of submission in Italy, France, Spain, and Germany, respectively. Accrual was stopped on 22nd January 2021 due to an 18F FES shortage as the primary reason but also for having exceeded the project deadlines with consequent exhaustion of the funds allocated for the project.Conclusions: Pharmaceutical companies might be reluctant to fund research projects aimed at treatment individualization if the approval for a wider indication has already been achieved. Academic trials therefore become fundamental for promoting trials which are not attractive to big pharma. It was very difficult and time consuming to activate an academic clinical trial, for this reason, a study may become “old” as new drugs entered into the market. National institutions should promote the development of clinical research infrastructures and network with competence in regulatory, ethical, and legal skills to speed up academic research.

Assigning a Value to Volunteering in Requests for Proposals

The economic value of volunteering is an increasingly important part of volunteering management. It has become part of public policies. Some requests for proposals (RFP) enable nonprofits to include the value of volunteer time in compulsory co-financing. These RFP include the European Economic Area (EEA) Grants and Norway Grants. This article addresses the relationship in the value of volunteering, also called in-kind volunteering contributions. The research includes two case studies of finances from EEA and Norway Grants in the Czech Republic: the Czech NGO Programme, responsible for allocating grants between 2009 and 2014, and the Active Citizens Fund, responsible for allocating grants between 2014 and 2021. They share elements through the EEA and Norway Grants rules. However, they use different types of specialist replacement wages. The article summarizes the arguments for including in-kind volunteering contributions. It presents the possible values of these contributions in the selected cases, including the relationship between the type of volunteering and the number of hours necessary to achieve these values. The article defines the theoretical basis for calculating the value of in-kind volunteer contributions and illustrates this with real examples of allocations from EEA and Norway Grants.

"Oradea – best practice example for implementing energy efficiency projects using European grants "

Acest articol își propune să arate implicarea pe care municipalitatea din Oradea o are în creșterea eficienței energetice la nivelul orașului, prin eforturile făcute pentru îmbunătățirea sistemului de termoficare, atât pe partea de reducere a pierderilor de energie și masă pe rețelele de transport a agentului termic, cât și pe partea de producere a acestuia […]

Development and Validation of SCOPE Score: A Clinical Score to Predict Progression to Severe Respiratory Failure in Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19 Pneumonia

Most patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) experience mild, non-specific symptoms, but several develop severe symptoms associated with an excessive inflammatory response. Elevated plasma concentrations of soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) provide early warning of progression to severe respiratory failure (SRF) or death, but access to suPAR testing may be limited. The Severe COvid Prediction Estimate (SCOPE) score, derived from C-reactive protein, D-dimer, interleukin-6, and ferritin circulating concentrations at hospitalization during the SAVE-MORE study, offers comparable predictive accuracy for progression to SRF or death within 14 days as suPAR ≥6 ng/ml (area under receiver operator characteristic curve, 0.81 for both). SCOPE score was validated against an independent dataset from the SAVE study. The SCOPE score is an alternative to suPAR for predicting progression to SRF or death within 14 days of hospital admission for pneumonia, and it can be used to guide treatment decisions.Funding: The study was funded in part by the Hellenic Institute for the Study of Sepsis and by Swedish Orphan Biovitrum. The Hellenic Institute for the Study of Sepsis is the Sponsor of the SAVE and SAVE-MORE studies.Declaration of Interests:E. J. Giamarellos-Bourboulis has received honoraria from Abbott CH, bioMérieux, Brahms GmbH, GSK, InflaRx GmbH, Sobi and XBiotech Inc; independent educational grants from Abbott CH, AxisShield, bioMérieux Inc, InflaRx GmbH, Johnson & Johnson, MSD, Sobi and XBiotech Inc.; and funding from the Horizon2020 Marie-Curie Project European Sepsis Academy (granted to the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), and the Horizon 2020 European Grants ImmunoSep and RISKinCOVID (granted to the Hellenic Institute for the Study of Sepsis). G. Poulakou has received independent educational grants from Pfizer, MSD, Angelini, and Biorad. H. Milionis reports receiving honoraria, consulting fees and non-financial support from healthcare companies, including Amgen, Angelini, Bayer, Mylan, MSD, Pfizer, and Servier. L. Dagna had received consultation honoraria from SOBI. M. Bassetti has received funds for research grants and/or advisor/consultant and/or speaker/chairman from Angelini, Astellas, Bayer, Biomerieux, Cidara, Cipla, Gilead, Menarini, MSD, Pfizer, Roche, Shionogi and Nabriva. P. Panagopoulos has received honoraria from GILEAD Sciences, Janssen, and MSD. G. N. Dalekos is an advisor or lecturer for Ipsen, Pfizer, Genkyotex, Novartis, Sobi, received research grants from Abbvie, Gilead and has served as PI in studies for Abbvie, Novartis, Gilead, Novo Nordisk, Genkyotex, Regulus Therapeutics Inc, Tiziana Life Sciences, Bayer, Astellas, Pfizer, Amyndas Pharmaceuticals, CymaBay Therapeutics Inc., Sobi and Intercept Pharmaceuticals. M. G. Netea is supported by an ERC Advanced Grant (#833247) and a Spinoza grant of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research. Hes is a scientific founder of TTxD and he has received independent educational grants from TTxD, GSK, Ono Pharma and ViiV HealthCare. The other authors do not have any competing interest to declare.Ethics Approval Statement: The SAVE protocol was approved by the National Ethics Committee of Greece (approval 38/20) and National Organization for Medicines approval (ISO 28/20). The SAVE-MORE protocol was approved by the National Ethics Committee of Greece (approval 161/20) and by the Ethics Committee of the National Institute for Infectious Diseases Lazzaro Spallanzani, IRCCS, in Rome (1 February 2021).Trial Registration: The SAVE study was prospectively registered prior to enrolling the first patient (EudraCT number 2020-001466-11; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT04357366). The SAVE-MORE study was prospectively registered (EudraCT no. 2020-005828-11; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT04680949). Written informed consent was provided by all patients prior to enrollment.

PRINCIPLES OF IMPLEMENTATION OF INNOVATIVE POLICY BASED ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF REGIONAL HUBS 4.0

Purpose. The aim of the article is determining the state of innovative processes in Ukraine and the EU, studying the best practices of the EU on the implementation of the principles of Industry 4.0 for enterprises with the involvement of scientists and support at the state level. Methodology of research. The following methods were used in the study in order to achieve this goal, namely: an abstract and logical method in study the essence of categories and concepts in the field of Industry 4.0; comparative and economic – in the analysis of domestic and world experience in the introduction of innovative products on the basis of Industry 4.0; statistical analysis and generalization – to process an array of statistical and empirical data and formulate the relevant conclusions of the study. Findings. An analysis of the best European practices aimed at the development of Industry 4.0 was carried out. The projects directed on improvement of the state and regional policies directly, their popularization and informing of a society and the projects directed on introduction (transfer) of technologies of Industry 4.0 directly to the enterprises are considered. Some tools of realization of their principles in Ukraine are resulted, their low efficiency is defined. Positive changes in the domestic legislation aimed at improving the process of innovation and digitalization of production are presented: adoption on July 21, 2021 by the Cabinet of Ministers of Resolution No. 750 to promote the implementation of the technological approach “Industry 4.0” in Ukraine. The resolution provides state financial support for the movement of Industry 4.0 in Ukraine through the creation of Centres 4.0, which will search for projects aimed at digitalization of production, further examination of selected projects and their acceleration and technology transfer. Originality. The practical and methodological principles of supporting the Industry 4.0 movement in Ukraine are substantiated, recommendations for ensuring the innovative development of Ukrainian industry are provided. Practical value. It is proposed in accordance with the Resolution to create working structures - 4.0 centres on the basis of infrastructure of higher education institutions, research institutions, etc., which with state support will carry out further examination of innovative projects and their acceleration and register them in parallel (enter the network) as digital hubs (DIH) on the European Smart Specialization Platform. This combination will expand the Centres’ capacity to attract European grants for Ukrainian SMEs to implement technologies related to Industry 4.0 and will enable Ukrainian innovation specialists to gain experience and support from representatives of developed European digital hubs. Key words: innovations; technology transfer; Industry 4.0; digitalization; hub; Centre 4.0.

Souvenaid for Alzheimer's disease.

Souvenaid is a dietary supplement with a patented composition (Fortasyn Connect™)which is intended to be used by people with Alzheimer's disease (AD). It has been designed to support the formation and function of synapses in the brain, which are thought to be strongly correlated with cognitive function. If effective, it might improve symptoms of Alzheimer's disease and also prevent the progression from prodromal Alzheimer's disease to dementia. We sought in this review to examine the evidence for this proposition. To assess the effects of Souvenaid on incidence of dementia, cognition, functional performance, and safety in people with Alzheimer's disease. We searched ALOIS, i.e. the specialised register of the Cochrane Dementia and Cognitive Improvement Group, MEDLINE (Ovid SP), Embase (Ovid SP), PsycINFO (Ovid SP), Web of Science (ISI Web of Science), Cinahl (EBSCOhost), Lilacs (BIREME), and clinical trials registries up to 24 June 2020. We also reviewed citations of reference lists of landmark papers, reviews, and included studies for additional studies and assessed their suitability for inclusion in the review. We included randomised, placebo-controlled trials which evaluated Souvenaid in people diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to AD (also termed prodromal AD) or with dementia due to AD, and with a treatment duration of at least 16 weeks. Our primary outcome measures were incidence of dementia, global and specific cognitive function, functional performance, combined cognitive-functional outcomes and adverse events. We selected studies, extracted data, assessed the quality of trials and intended to conduct meta-analyses according to the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. We rated the quality of the evidence using the GRADE approach. We present all outcomes grouped by stage of AD. We included three randomised, placebo-controlled trials investigating Souvenaid in 1097 community-dwelling participants with Alzheimer's disease. One study each included participants with prodromal AD, mild AD dementia and mild-to-moderate AD dementia. We rated the risks of bias of all trials as low. One study (in prodromal AD) was funded by European grants. The other two studies were funded by the manufacturer of Souvenaid. One trial investigated the incidence of dementia in people with prodromal AD at baseline, and found little to no difference between the Souvenaid group and the placebo group after 24 months (RR 1.09, 95% CI 0.82 to 1.43; 1 trial, 311 participants; moderate quality of evidence). In prodromal AD, and in mildand mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease dementia, Souvenaid probably results in little or no difference in global or specific cognitive functions (moderate quality of evidence). Everyday function, or the ability to perform activities of daily living, were measured in mild and mild-to-moderate AD dementia. Neither study found evidence of a difference between the groups after 24 weeks of treatment (moderate quality of evidence). Two studies investigated combined cognitive-functional outcomes with the Clinical Dementia Rating Sum of Boxes and observed conflicting results. Souvenaid probably results in slight improvement, which is below estimates of meaningful change, in participants with prodromal Alzheimer's disease after 24 months (moderate quality of evidence), but probably has little to no effect in mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease dementia after 24 weeks (moderate quality of evidence). Adverse effects observed were low in all trials, and the available data were insufficient to determine any connection with Souvenaid. Two years of treatment with Souvenaid probably does not reduce the risk of progression to dementia in people with prodromal AD. There is no convincing evidence that Souvenaid affects other outcomes important to people with AD in the prodromal stage or mild-to-moderate stages of dementia. Conflicting evidence on combined cognitive-functional outcomes in prodromal AD and mild AD dementia warrants further investigation. Adverse effects of Souvenaid seem to be uncommon, but the evidence synthesised in this review does not permit us to make a definitive statement on the long-term tolerability of Souvenaid. The effects of Souvenaid in more severe AD dementia or in people with AD at risk of nutritional deficiencies remain unclear.

BeatPark: Personalized Music-Based Gait Rehabilitation in Parkinson's Disease

Background: Walking regularly in Parkinson’s disease has beneficial effects on movement and quality of life. Yet, patients usually show reduced physical activity compared to healthy older adults. Using auditory stimulation, such as music, can facilitate walking but patients vary significantly in their response to the stimulus. An individualized approach adapting musical tempo to patients’ gait cadence, and capitalizing on these individual differences, is likely to provide a rewarding experience, with beneficial effects on gait in Parkinson’s disease. We aim to evaluate the observance, safety, tolerance, usability and enjoyment of a new smartphone application coupled with wearable sensors (BeatPark) delivering individualized musical stimulation for gait auto-rehabilitation at home. Methods: Forty-five patients with Parkinson’s disease underwent a one month, outdoor, gait rehabilitation program, using the BeatPark application (30 min/day, 5 days/week). The music tempo was aligned in real time to patients’ gait cadence while fostering an increase of cadence up to +20% of the patient’s preferred cadence. Evaluation was based on BeatPark use measures, questionnaires and a six-minute walk test before and after the rehabilitation program. Findings: Patients used the application 78.8 % (±28.2) of the prescribed duration and mostly enjoyed it, across the whole program. 75 % of them rated the application as easy to use. While using BeatPark, patients increased their ‘walk for exercise’ duration and frequency, reduced their fear of falling, and improved their quality of life. After the program, they improved their gait parameters in the six-minute walk test. Interpretation BeatPark is an easy to use and enjoyable musical application for individualized gait rehabilitation in Parkinson’s disease increasing ‘walk for exercise’ duration, confidence in gait and quality of life. Trial Registration: NCT02647242 Funding: This research was supported by a European grant: BeatHealth: Health and Wellness on the Beat (EU FP7-ICT contract #610633). Declaration of Interests: None to declare. Ethics Approval Statement: The study was approved by the National Ethics Committee (CPP Sud Mediterannee III, Nimes, France, ID-RCB: 2015-A00531-48). All participants gave written informed consent before participating.

Targeted Protein Degradation: "The Gold Rush is On!"

Targeted Protein Degradation (TPD) is an emerging new modality of drug discovery that offers unprecedented therapeutic benefits over traditional protein inhibition. Most importantly, TPD unlocks the untapped pool of the proteome that to date has been considered undruggable. Captor Therapeutics (Captor) is the fourth global, and first European, company that develops small molecule drug candidates based on the principles of targeted protein degradation. Captor is located in Basel, Switzerland and Wroclaw, Poland and exploits the best opportunities of the two sites – experience and non-dilutive European grants, and talent pool, respectively. Through over $38 M of funding, Captor has been active in three areas of TPD: molecular glues, bi-specific degraders and direct degraders, ObteronsTM.

European green H2 project wins funding

A consortium led by the Dutch chemical maker Nouryon will receive a European grant of about $12 million for a green hydrogen project in Delfzijl, the Netherlands. The group wants to use McPhy’s alkaline water electrolysis technology to turn renewable electricity into 3,000 metric tons of H2 per year. Another firm, BioMCN, will combine the H2 with carbon dioxide to produce renewable methanol. The consortium will make a final decision on the plant later this year.

Early Marriage and Education Drop Out in Traditional Roma Communities in Transylvania

This research attempts to analyze the phenomenon of early marriage in traditional Roma communities in Transylvania, Central Romania, and its impact on the education of Roma children. The methodology of this paper is a reflection of a field work conducted in the region of Transylvania, Romania and mainly the city of Târgu Mureş (Τírgu Mureş) the period February-July 2012, following several meetings and interviews with policy makers, representatives from local authorities, civil society, academics, political parties and representatives of traditional Roma communities and local schools. The organization that hosted me and facilitated me in my fieldwork is the NGO Liga Proeuropa and its President Smaranda Enache and her team. This work is a result of my personal interaction with some of the local communities in the region (Tírgu Mureş, Sighişoara, Alba Iulia, Brasov, Sibiu) as well as the capital Bucharest which I had the opportunity to visit at that period of time. The project was funded by a small European grant (Leonardo da Vinci). The town of Tirgu Mureş is where I was based, since the largest number of traditional Gabor Roma who still apply early marriages can be found there.

Economics of Procrastination: The Case of EU Grants

Purpose: This article concerns the study of economic effects of procrastination. The research sample consists of 6568 grant applications under EU programs in Poland, collated in order to establish whether the delay in submitting the application is a statistically significant factor affecting the quality of the application and the final financing decision. Design/methodology/approach: The study is based on three logistic regression models in which the dichotomous explained variable was a negative or a positive decision on the application. The most important explanatory variable for the study is the percentile of time in which the application is submitted - it represents the delay of the applicant. Findings: The result is confirmed by previous studies, which have proven that procrastination negatively affects organizations, and that the significant weight of undertaken projects can cause procrastination among leaders. Practical implications: As the study concerns European grants, determining the impact of procrastination on financing decisions can serve to better prepare potential beneficiaries for submitting an application, providing them with knowledge on whether an earlier submission translates into the probability of the application being successful or whether the persons managing the application process should better supervise their timely submission. Originality/value: To date, little research has been devoted to confirming the economic impact of procrastination. Previous studies mainly concern cost estimation caused by delaying employees, however, this study shows that procrastination has a real, significant impact on the economic efficiency of management activities. The methodology is innovative, because procrastination has not been previously analysed in terms of the time orientation of grant applications. Machine learning techniques have never been used in procrastination research. Moreover, the majority of research to date has focused primarily on individuals, on explaining what factors are statistically significantly related to procrastination or can lead to it through modelling, however, no research has been conducted to date in which statistical models would directly examine the economic impact of procrastination.

Osimertinib and Dihydroartemisinin: A Novel Drug Combination Targeting Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Background: Recurrent and metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) has a dismal prognosis with limited progressionfree survival and overall survival, even when treated with different combinations of chemotherapy, targeted therapies and immunotherapy. We explored in vitro and in vivo the effect of the epidermal growth factor (EGFR) inhibitor, osimertinib, alone and in combination with dihydroartemisinin (DHA) in HNSCC. Methods: The combination of osimertinib with DHA was tested in the FaDu and CAL27 HNSCC cell lines. Tumor cell proliferation assays were conducted in cultured cells and mouse xenografts. Western blotting analysis of related signal pathways was performed to investigate the molecular mechanisms of the inhibitory effect of DHA and the combination. Other compounds, which inhibit signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), Src-family kinases (SFKs), sphingosine kinase 1 (SPHK1), or the receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) AXL were also combined with osimertinib in vitro. Results: Osimertinib exerted synergistic cytotoxicity toward FaDu and CAL27 HNSCC cells when combined with DHA. DHA reversed the osimertinibinduced STAT3 and Src phosphorylation. The double combination inhibited AXL expression. The anticancer potential of osimertinib plus DHA combination was validated in vivo on FaDu and CAL27 xenografts in mice with significant tumor regression. Interpretation: The results illustrate that the combinatory therapy of osimertinib and DHA, as a repurposing anticancer drug, could be a novel therapeutic strategy for recurrent and/or metastatic HNSCC patients. The findings strongly indicate that a clinical trial is warranted to confirm the benefit of the combination. Funding Statement: Work in Dr. Rosell's laboratory is partially supported by a grant from La Caixa Foundation, an Instituto de Salud Carlos III grant (RESPONSE, PIE16/00011), an Instituto de Salud Carlos III grant (PI14/01678), a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Innovative Training Networks European Grant (ELBA No 765492) and a Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC) grant (PROYE18012ROSE). Work in Dr. Cao's laboratory is partially supported by the Major National Science and Technology Program of China for Innovative Drug (2017ZX09101002-002-006), the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (Integration of Chinese and Western Medicine) grant and Key R&D Program of Jiangsu Province (BE2018755). Declaration of Interests: The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest. Ethics Approval Statement: All procedures were based on Guide for Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of National Institutes of Health and approved by Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of Jiangsu Province Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine (SYXK 2016-0018).

Fiscal and political determinants of local government involvement in public-private partnership (PPP)

ABSTRACTIn this article, we estimate the main determinants of local government’s engagement in public-private partnership (PPP) projects using logistic panel regression. We use data from 2478 municipalities and cities in Poland from 2009 to 2016. The results show that municipalities with higher levels of indebtedness have a higher probability of opening PPP tenders while local units that are more dependent on central grants or receive more European grants are less engaged in PPP. We also found that the mayors of municipalities and cities with stronger electoral competition engage in PPP with a higher probability. These results are important for discussions on the efficient use of PPP. They show that local government decisions made in conditions of fiscal constraint and political struggle can blur the PPP’s value-for-money aim.