European Users Research Articles

The Research of EEG Headset of Brain–Computer Interface for Artificial Intelligence-Related Applications

Over the past decade, a wide range of brain–computer interface (BCI) applications with artificial intelligence (AI) assistance have emerged. While using a head-mounted electroencephalogram (EEG) device for BCI application, it often requires a user to wear the device close to the scalp so that clear EEG signals can be obtained from the head directly. Those signals can be used to determine a user’s mental state. Due to the head size differences between Chinese and European users, as well as the differences between Chinese users themselves, EEG headsets with fixed-electrode-point will enable some electrodes fail to capture a user’s EEG data accurately. Combined with previous research and related design methodology, the design of a head-mounted EEG device is proposed in this paper. In this study, Chinese youth are regarded as the target user group. After evaluating different designs of device structures, the possible positions and movement methods of electrodes, an EEG headset with movable electrodes for young Chinese users is finally delivered.

Optimizing time-in-target-range assessment for blood pressure: insights from a large-scale study with continual cuffless monitoring.

Blood pressure (BP) time-in-target-range (TTR) is an emerging predictor of cardiovascular risk. Conventional BP methods are fundamentally unable to provide an optimal assessment of TTR, using irregular measurements separated by lengthy intervals. We investigated the optimal duration and frequency for reliable, practical TTR assessment in clinical settings using continual monitoring. This retrospective study analyzed 2.3 million BP readings from 5,189 European home users (55 ± 11 years, 82% male, BMI 28.0 ± 5.8) using a cuffless BP monitor (Aktiia SA). Systolic BP (SBP) data over 15 consecutive days were assessed (29 ± 11 readings/subject/24-h; 434 + 132 readings/subject/15-day). Subjects were classified into risk-related TTR groups based on 15-day SBP data (24-h, target 90-125 mmHg; ≥6 daytime readings). Various measurement frequencies and durations (1-14 days; 24-h/daytime; 2, 4 or ≥ 6 readings/day) were compared to this reference. Two specific configurations paralleling ambulatory ("One-Day-24 h") and home ("One-Week-Daytime") BP monitoring were selected for detailed analysis. The reference TTR classified 63.0% of the subjects as high risk, 19.0% intermediate, and 18.0% low. "One-Day-24 h" schedule inaccurately classified 26% of subjects compared to the reference TTR, and "One-Week-Daytime" schedule inaccurately classified 45%. Classification accuracy with both schedules was high for subjects with very low or very high reference TTR, but poor otherwise. Accuracy of ≥90% in TTR classification only occurred with 7 days of continual 24-h monitoring. For the first time, with the benefit of a cuffless device that measures BP with sufficient frequency and duration, practical use of TTR is enabled as a potentially enhanced metric to manage hypertension.

Playback interviews as a method for research on language ideologies: Citationality, reflexivity, and rapport in interdiscursive encounters

Abstract This contribution deals with the use of playback interviews in interactional sociolinguistics, a method wherein participants review audio or video recordings of their conversations and provide retrospective commentary. I first outline a brief history of the development of the playback method and how it was incorporated into the interactional sociolinguistic research agenda. As theoretical frameworks for playback interviews and their application to research on language ideologies remain underexplored, this article introduces three concepts from linguistic anthropology—citationality, reflexivity, and interdiscursivity—to theorize playback interviews from a semiotic perspective. Departing from these theories, playback interviews are contextualized within broader social dynamics, including participation frames, power, and rapport that are inherent in the interviewing process. Drawing on source recordings from interactions between L1 and European L2 users of Japanese in Tokyo, and playback sessions with the L2 users, I illustrate how playback interviews contribute to language-ideological inquiries, for example, perceptions of style and code-switching. The analysis showcases the method’s potential to unveil participants’ metapragmatic awareness and explore the intersection of linguistic structure, practice, and ideology. Playback interviews are positioned as a valuable tool for investigating language ideologies, offering new methodological perspectives through retrospection and reflection on communication.

European effort to improve highly charged heavy ion beam capabilities with ECR ion sources (invited)

The European Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Source (ECRIS) community has more than 20 years of experience working together in various EU-funded projects. In the recent project, called ERIBS (European Research Infrastructure – Beam Services), the community will focus on improving ion beam services for the EURO-LABS (European-Laboratories for Accelerator Based Sciences) research infrastructures. The EURO-LABS is a four-year project funded by the Horizon Europe program of the European Commission for years 2022 - 2026. In the ERIBS collaboration the best expertise, know-how and practices of the ECRIS community will be exploited and transferred between the partners to take full advantage of the European ion source infrastructure. The aim is to extend the beam variety available for the European user community by developing beam production methods and techniques. This development includes further improvement of technologies related to high temperature ovens, axial sputtering and MIVOC method for all the participating laboratories. We will also aim to improve both short- and long-term plasma and beam stability, as well as methods for online monitoring of these conditions. This can be realized, for example, by optical emission spectroscopy, identifying kinetic plasma instabilities by means of hard x-ray detection and using online beam current monitoring systems. An example of the recent developments is the new collaboration proposed by the CNRS-IPHC team to synthesize enriched MIVOC compounds for the other ERIBS partners. For example, the team successfully prepared an enriched chromocene compounds, which were needed to produce intensive 54Cr and 50Cr beams for the JYFL and GANIL nuclear physics programs, respectively.

Asthma and rhinitis control in adolescents and young adults: A real-world MASK-air study.

In allergic rhinitis and asthma, adolescents and young adult patients are likely to differ from older patients. We compared adolescents, young adults and adults on symptoms, control levels, and medication adherence. In a cross-sectional study (2015-2022), we assessed European users of the MASK-air mHealth app of three age groups: adolescents (13-18 years), young adults (18-26 years), and adults (>26 years). We compared them on their reported rhinitis and asthma symptoms, use and adherence to rhinitis and asthma treatment and app adherence. Allergy symptoms and control were assessed by means of visual analogue scales (VASs) on rhinitis or asthma, the combined symptom-medication score (CSMS), and the electronic daily control score for asthma (e-DASTHMA). We built multivariable regression models to compare symptoms or medication accounting for potential differences in demographic characteristics and baseline severity. We assessed 965 adolescent users (15,252 days), 4595 young adults (58,161 days), and 15,154 adult users (258,796 days). Users of all three age groups displayed similar app adherence. In multivariable models, age groups were not found to significantly differ in their adherence to rhinitis or asthma medication. These models also found that adolescents reported lower VAS on global allergy, ocular, and asthma symptoms (as well as lower CSMS) than young adults and adults. Adolescents reported a better rhinitis and asthma control than young adults and adults, even though similar medication adherence levels were observed across age groups. These results pave the way for future studies on understanding how adolescents control their allergic diseases.

Are We Living in Surveillance Societies and Is Privacy an Illusion? An Empirical Study on Privacy Literacy and Privacy Concerns

The concept of privacy concerns is a debated topic both at a European level and in individual countries. In this article, we investigate the role of online privacy literacy (OPL) as a determinant of Internet users’ concerns about their privacy. It focuses on Internet users’ knowledge about privacy rights and protective strategies, outlining privacy concerns using procedural privacy knowledge and declarative privacy knowledge as measures of privacy literacy. This is examined in relation to users’ concerns regarding access to their private information without permission, monitoring/surveillance of their online activities using cookies and other tools without their consent, and the confidentiality of their private data against unauthorized access/disclosing/sharing of the data. A quantitative, survey-based empirical approach was used from a European dataset of an online survey administrated to a sample of 26 526 European Internet users. Contrary to the premise that the adoption of privacy-protective measures results in a reduction of privacy concerns, our findings suggest that Internet users with higher privacy literacy reported increased concerns about their privacy. The survey findings also reveal that an increase in Internet users’ knowledge regarding regulations and laws pertaining to personal data protection does not result in fewer concerns about their privacy. Policy implications about privacy literacy and future research recommendations are discussed.

LEAPS data strategy

The continuous evolution of photon sources and their instrumentation enables more and new scientific endeavors at ever increasing pace. This technological evolution is accompanied by an exponential growth of data volumes of increasing complexity, which must be addressed by maximizing efficiency of scientific experiments and automation of workflows covering the entire data lifecycle, aiming to reduce data volumes while producing FAIR and open data of highest reliability. This papers briefly outlines the strategy of the league of European accelerator-based photon sources user facilities to achieve these goals collaboratively in an efficient and sustainable way which will ultimately lead to an increase in the number of publications.

Current status of MELCOR 2.2 for fusion safety analyses

MELCOR is an integral code developed by Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) to perform severe accident analyses of Light Water Reactors (LWR). More recently, MELCOR capabilities are being extended also to analyze non-LWR fission technologies. Within the European MELCOR User Group (EMUG), organized in the framework of USNRC Cooperative Severe Accident Research Program (CSARP), an activity on the evaluation of the applicability of MELCOR 2.2 for fusion safety analyses has been launched and it has been coordinated by ENEA. The aim of the activity was to identify the physical models to be possibly implemented in MELCOR 2.2 necessary for fusion safety analyses, and to check if those models are already available in MELCOR 1.8.6 for fusion version, developed by Idaho National Laboratory (INL). From this activity, a list of modeling needs emerged from the safety analyses of fusion-related installations have been identified and described. Then, the importance of the various needs, intended as the priority for model implementation in the MELCOR 2.2 code, has been evaluated according to the technical expert judgement of the authors. In the present paper, the identified modeling needs are discussed. The ultimate goal would be to propose to have a single integrated MELCOR 2.2 code release capable to cover both fission and fusion applications.

Real-life 24-week changes in glycemic parameters among European users of flash glucose monitoring with type 1 and 2 diabetes and different levels of glycemic control

AimTo evaluate real-life changes of glycemic parameters among flash glucose monitoring (FLASH) users who do not meet glycemic targets. MethodsDe-identified data were obtained between 2014 and 2021 from patients using FLASH uninterrupted for a 24-week period. Glycemic parameters during first and last sensor use were examined in four identifiable groups: type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) on basal-bolus insulin, T2DM on basal insulin, and T2DM without insulin treatment. Within each group, subgroup analyses were performed in persons with initial suboptimal glycemic regulation (time in range (TIR; 3.9–10 mmol/L) < 70%, time above range (TAR; >10 mmol/L) > 25%, or time below range (TBR; <3.9 mmol/L) > 4%). ResultsData were obtained from 1,909 persons with T1DM and 1,813 persons with T2DM (1,499 basal-bolus insulin, 189 basal insulin, and 125 non-insulin users). In most of the performed analyses, both overall and in the various subgroups, significant improvements were observed in virtually all predefined primary (TIR) and secondary endpoints (eHbA1c, TAR, TBR and glucose variability). Conclusions24-weeks FLASH use in real life by persons with T1DM and T2DM with suboptimal glycemic regulation is associated with improvement of glycemic parameters, irrespective of pre-use regulation or treatment modality.

The Role of Brand Anthropomorphism In Shaping Brand Love and Brand Loyalty To European Car Consumers In Indonesia

This study will examine the influence of brand anthropomorphism and brand experience on brand love and its impact on brand loyalty with perceived price fairness as the moderation variable. The research uses a quantitative approach with a survey method. The sample in this study amounted to 250 European car users spread across DKI Jakarta, DI Yogyakarta, Central Java, East Java. The analysis model in this study will be divided into 3 stages of analysis. The first stage is multiple regression analysis, the second stage is simple regression analysis. The third stage of the moderation test with hierarchical moderated regression Brand anthropomorphism had a positive effect on the formation of brand love. Brand experience also has a positive and significant effect on brand love. Brand love has a positive effect on brand engagement. perceived price fairness does not moderate the relationship between brand love and brand engagement. For further research it is suggested to add subjective norm variables to this research model.

PERANAN BRAND ANTHROPOMORPHISM DALAM MEMBENTUK KECINTAAN MEREK DAN LOYALITAS MEREK (STUDY PADA KONSUMEN MOBIL EROPA DI INDONESIA)

The aim of this study is to examine the influence of brand anthropomorphism on brand love and its impact on brand loyalty. The study used a quantitative approach with survey methods. The sample in this study amounted to 250 European car users spread across Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Central Java, East Java.The analysis Model in this study will be divided into 3 stages of analysis. The first stage of multiple regression analysis, the second stage of simple regression analysis. The third stage of the moderation test with hierarchical moderated regression Brand anthropomorphism has a positive effect on the formation of brand love. Brand love has a positive effect on brand engagement. For further research it is recommended to add subjective norm variables to this research model.

Designing for agricultural digital knowledge exchange: applying a user-centred design approach to understand the needs of users

ABSTRACT Purpose The aim of this study was to understand the needs of European users for successful development and uptake of a digital land-based knowledge platform. Methodology The ‘discover and define’ phases of the design thinking double diamond framework were applied to inform the construction of 16 user-personas and journeys. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from users across Europe using a multi-step approach and thematically analysed. Findings User-personas and associated user journeys present useful methods for understanding the requirements of key stakeholders in the land-based sectors to aid the development of a digital knowledge reservoir, tailored to their needs. Problem urgency plays a key role in stakeholder touchpoint decisions, with acute problems approached by direct calls or interactions with important advisors. Digital platforms are more likely to be used for chronic problems or general knowledge exchange and upskilling. The touchpoints, challenges and emotions of users are not significantly linked to geographical location but are more likely to be influenced by age, gender and existing digital knowledge. Practical implications Design thinking can be used to understand the needs of stakeholders in the land-based sectors for the development of tools, products and services as well as understanding specific knowledge requirements. Theoretical implications This study provides a theoretical framework for understanding the digital knowledge needs of different land-based users. Originality The development of user-personas and journeys is limited in the land-based sectors, and this research provides a framework for use.

Evaluating the frequency and the impact of pharmacogenetic alleles in an ancestrally diverse Biobank population

BackgroundPharmacogenomics (PGx) aims to utilize a patient’s genetic data to enable safer and more effective prescribing of medications. The Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium (CPIC) provides guidelines with strong evidence for 24 genes that affect 72 medications. Despite strong evidence linking PGx alleles to drug response, there is a large gap in the implementation and return of actionable pharmacogenetic findings to patients in standard clinical practice. In this study, we evaluated opportunities for genetically guided medication prescribing in a diverse health system and determined the frequencies of actionable PGx alleles in an ancestrally diverse biobank population.MethodsA retrospective analysis of the Penn Medicine electronic health records (EHRs), which includes ~ 3.3 million patients between 2012 and 2020, provides a snapshot of the trends in prescriptions for drugs with genotype-based prescribing guidelines (‘CPIC level A or B’) in the Penn Medicine health system. The Penn Medicine BioBank (PMBB) consists of a diverse group of 43,359 participants whose EHRs are linked to genome-wide SNP array and whole exome sequencing (WES) data. We used the Pharmacogenomics Clinical Annotation Tool (PharmCAT), to annotate PGx alleles from PMBB variant call format (VCF) files and identify samples with actionable PGx alleles.ResultsWe identified ~ 316.000 unique patients that were prescribed at least 2 drugs with CPIC Level A or B guidelines. Genetic analysis in PMBB identified that 98.9% of participants carry one or more PGx actionable alleles where treatment modification would be recommended. After linking the genetic data with prescription data from the EHR, 14.2% of participants (n = 6157) were prescribed medications that could be impacted by their genotype (as indicated by their PharmCAT report). For example, 856 participants received clopidogrel who carried CYP2C19 reduced function alleles, placing them at increased risk for major adverse cardiovascular events. When we stratified by genetic ancestry, we found disparities in PGx allele frequencies and clinical burden. Clopidogrel users of Asian ancestry in PMBB had significantly higher rates of CYP2C19 actionable alleles than European ancestry users of clopidrogrel (p < 0.0001, OR = 3.68).ConclusionsClinically actionable PGx alleles are highly prevalent in our health system and many patients were prescribed medications that could be affected by PGx alleles. These results illustrate the potential utility of preemptive genotyping for tailoring of medications and implementation of PGx into routine clinical care.

Barriers on cross-border sharing of health data for secondary use and options to overcome these

Abstract Cross-border health data sharing is essential to facilitate vital health research into new treatments and to improve patient care and safety across Europe. The flagship European Health Data Space (EHDS) aims to promote better exchange and access to health data through the creation of a European-wide infrastructure. However, significant barriers to cross-border data sharing must first be resolved in order to fully ensure the successful functioning of the Data Space. To this end, the European Commission established a Joint Action (TEHDAS), as the policy development tool for the development of the EHDS. This presentation will be based around the findings of the recent TEHDAS report ‘Barriers to cross-border sharing of health data for secondary use and options to overcome them.’ The report draws on the results of a dedicated literature review, 133 case studies from across 23 countries and expert interviews to identify the primary barriers to cross-border data sharing and options to overcome these from the perspective of European data users (research and policymakers). The session will start with a concise presentation of the report methodology. The research team will then deliver an interactive presentation, in which they succinctly outline each barrier and policy option and ask participants to vote for their preferred policy option to overcome each barrier identified. EUPHA participants votes will inform the final TEHDAS recommendations on mitigations and solutions for barriers to cross-border data sharing which will be submitted to the European Commission for incorporation in the European Health Data Space legislative proposal.

Teksta loma svešvalodu apguvē

Nowadays language learning does not mean only philological and grammar studies, but more and more emphasis is being placed on communication and acquisition of vocabulary and grammar in use by studying them in context. Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) that is a reference for all language teachers in Europe emphasizes the actual need of plurilingual, communicative and creative approach in language teaching. Based on CEFR new Educational Standard in Latvia, including foreign language teaching, has been introduced and enters into force since September 2020. Both documents stress the importance of text use and literacy training in language studies. Several authors admit that contemporary literary texts such as flash fiction as well as song lyrics, advertisements and other texts can enrich the language learning and serve as a basis for mutual discussions, philosophical reflections as well as creative oral and written expression in the language classroom. The present article seeks to answer the following questions: - What does the text mean in the context of foreign languages studies? - What kind of text is suitable for promoting foreign language learning? - Which language specific elements can be taught by the use of texts? - What are the advantages of using literary text in foreign languages studies? The article aims to clarify the importance of the use of text, particularly literary text, in the process of foreign language acquisition, by analyzing actual regulations and linguistic publications on the subject. The article reviews such terms as text and literacy that are the clue words in the big ideas introduced by a new Latvian Educational Standard. Both, the Standard and CEFR highlight the importance of the text use and give precise indications as to how the language learner should work with oral and written text in each of the language proficiency levels. Different types of texts should be used in the learning process, from short dialogues, advertising texts to literary texts, but before any text is selected. It should not be forgotten its relevance to the specific target group of language learners, nor the didactic objectives of its use, which should be the most comprehensive and advanced understanding of the text. Using a complete text structure is more welcome instead of dividing shortening and adapting texts and losing the whole purpose of them. Authentic texts form a language learner’s understanding of the target language user’s culture, its society, philosophical thoughts, promotes the learner’s comprehensive learning, creativity and critical thinking, and is a motivating material not only for learning the language but also for practical communication in today’s European multilingual environment language learner and user lives, both, in business and leisure environment.

Promises and Pitfalls of Social Media Data Donations

ABSTRACT Studies assessing the effects of social media use are largely based on measures of time spent on social media. In recent years, scholars increasingly ask for more insights in social media activities and content people engage with. Data Download Packages (DDPs), the archives of social media platforms that each European user has the right to download, provide a new and promising method to collect timestamped and content-based information about social media use. In this paper, we first detail the experiences and insights of a data collection of 110 Instagram DDPs gathered from 102 adolescents. We successively discuss the challenges and opportunities of collecting and analyzing DDPs to help future researchers in their consideration of whether and how to use DDPs. DDPs provide tremendous opportunities to get insight in the frequency, range, and content of social media activities, from browsing to searching and posting. Yet, collecting, processing, and analyzing DDPs is also complex and laborious, and demands numerous procedural and analytical choices and decisions.

Tuning Machine Learning Models Using a Group Search Firefly Algorithm for Credit Card Fraud Detection

Recent advances in online payment technologies combined with the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic has led to a significant escalation in the number of online transactions and credit card payments being executed every day. Naturally, there has also been an escalation in credit card frauds, which is having a significant impact on the banking institutions, corporations that issue credit cards, and finally, the vendors and merchants. Consequently, there is an urgent need to implement and establish proper mechanisms that can secure the integrity of online card transactions. The research presented in this paper proposes a hybrid machine learning and swarm metaheuristic approach to address the challenge of credit card fraud detection. The novel, enhanced firefly algorithm, named group search firefly algorithm, was devised and then used to a tune support vector machine, an extreme learning machine, and extreme gradient-boosting machine learning models. Boosted models were tested on the real-world credit card fraud detection dataset, gathered from the transactions of the European credit card users. The original dataset is highly imbalanced; to further analyze the performance of tuned machine learning models, in the second experiment performed for the purpose of this research, the dataset has been expanded by utilizing the synthetic minority over-sampling approach. The performance of the proposed group search firefly metaheuristic was compared with other recent state-of-the-art approaches. Standard machine learning performance indicators have been used for the evaluation, such as the accuracy of the classifier, recall, precision, and area under the curve. The experimental findings clearly demonstrate that the models tuned by the proposed algorithm obtained superior results in comparison to other models hybridized with competitor metaheuristics.

Free Movement of Audiovisual Content for Benefit of European Consumers of Culture

One of the EU’s founding premises was the establishment of the internal market, in which the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital is ensured. However, in the present online era, the internal market remains far from frictionless. To address this failure, the EU launched the Digital Market Strategy in 2015. One component of this strategy is the removal of barriers for the flow of online content across borders. This article highlights the fact that free movement of audiovisual online content is of paramount importance for European end users, and an important component for the free movement of persons in the EU. Free movement of audiovisual content would enable Europeans who have migrated to another European country to access content from their home country. In addition, the free flow of audiovisual online content would serve the interests of various language minorities. Serving the end users of audiovisual content in this manner would be in line with important objectives of the EU, such as the protection of European cultural diversity and the public sphere. This article notes that when the EU has regulated digital audiovisual markets, the emphasis has been on the protection of copyright-related interests. This has meant that other stakeholder interests linked to cultural diversity and non-discrimination have been undervalued and played only a limited role. The article posits that, with regard to audiovisual content, more weight than before should be given to the free movement of persons and to minority language rights. This would also align with achieving a digital single market in audiovisual online services.

Psychological Predictors of Intention to Use Fitness Apps: The Role of Subjective Knowledge and Innovativeness

Health and fitness apps have grown exponentially during covid-19 lockdowns. Using a sample of 331 European fitness apps users, this study investigated the psychological drivers of users’ intention on fitness apps. This study draws upon the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and innovation diffusion theory. Its findings reveal that subjective knowledge and personal innovativeness predict perceived Usefulness, health consciousness, and ease of use. The strongest predictor of intention to use an app is perceived Usefulness, which mediates the influence of subjective knowledge and innovativeness on intention to use. Health consciousness predicts ease of use; however, the latter does not predict behavioural intention. This is one of the first studies on European users of fitness apps and investigating the psychological antecedents of TAM, i.e., innovativeness, subjective knowledge, and consciousness.

Evaluating Repeatability of RTK (GPS and Galileo/GPS) performance in the analysis of points located in areas with and without obstructions

Abstract Galileo is Europe’s Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), which provides improved positioning and timing data with significant benefits for many European services and users. Galileo enables users to know their exact location with greater precision than other available systems. Access to the Galileo signal in the obstructed and unobstructed environment provides benefits and opportunities for work, thanks to the improved performance and accuracy. The use of a Galileo-enabled receiver increases the number of satellites in view significantly. When compared to the performance of single-constellation receivers, this significantly reduces the time required to obtain a position with centimetre-level accuracy. The results indicate the current Galileo constellation’s suitability for high-precision RTK applications, as well as improved availability, accuracy, reliability, and time-to-fix in the obstructed and unobstructed environments. The results of RTK GPS and RTK GPS/Galileo obtained at different times of the same day by using two reference points were compared. The results of this study illustrate that integrating RTK GPS system with Galileo is favorable for surveying applications (cm accuracy). This study shows that in surveying applications requiring centimetre accuracy, the RTK GPS/Galileo method can replace other survey methods (Total Station).