European Horizon Research Articles

The impact of urban configuration types on urban heat islands, air pollution, CO2 emissions, and mortality in Europe: a data science approach

The world is becoming increasingly urbanised. As cities around the world continue to grow, it is important for urban planners and policy makers to understand how different urban configuration patterns affect the environment and human health. However, previous studies have provided mixed findings. We aimed to identify European urban configuration types, on the basis of the local climate zones categories and street design variables from Open Street Map, and evaluate their association with motorised traffic flows, surface urban heat island (SUHI) intensities, tropospheric NO2, CO2 per person emissions, and age-standardised mortality. We considered 946 European cities from 31 countries for the analysis defined in the 2018 Urban Audit database, of which 919 European cities were analysed. Data were collected at a 250 m × 250 m grid cell resolution. We divided all cities into five concentric rings based on the Burgess concentric urban planning model and calculated the mean values of all variables for each ring. First, to identify distinct urban configuration types, we applied the Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection for Dimension Reduction method, followed by the k-means clustering algorithm. Next, statistical differences in exposures (including SUHI) and mortality between the resulting urban configuration types were evaluated using a Kruskal-Wallis test followed by a post-hoc Dunn's test. We identified four distinct urban configuration types characterising European cities: compact high density (n=246), open low-rise medium density (n=245), open low-rise low density (n=261), and green low density (n=167). Compact high density cities were a small size, had high population densities, and a low availability of natural areas. In contrast, green low density cities were a large size, had low population densities, and a high availability of natural areas and cycleways. The open low-rise medium and low density cities were a small to medium size with medium to low population densities and low to moderate availability of green areas. Motorised traffic flows and NO2 exposure were significantly higher in compact high density and open low-rise medium density cities when compared with green low density and open low-rise low density cities. Additionally, green low density cities had a significantly lower SUHI effect compared with all other urban configuration types. Per person CO2 emissions were significantly lower in compact high density cities compared with green low density cities. Lastly, green low density cities had significantly lower mortality rates when compared with all other urban configuration types. Our findings indicate that, although the compact city model is more sustainable, European compact cities still face challenges related to poor environmental quality and health. Our results have notable implications for urban and transport planning policies in Europe and contribute to the ongoing discussion on which city models can bring the greatest benefits for the environment, climate, and health. Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, State Research Agency, Generalitat de Catalunya, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en red Epidemiología y Salud Pública, and Urban Burden of Disease Estimation for Policy Making as a Horizon Europe project.

Distributed fiber optic strain sensing for structural health monitoring of 70 MPa hydrogen vessels

We report on the development and testing of 70 MPa hydrogen pressure vessels with integrated fiber optic sensing fibers for the automotive use. The paper deals with the condition monitoring of such composite pressure vessels using the optical backscatter reflectometry (OBR) which was applied for a distributed fiber optic strain sensing along fully integrated polyimide-coated single-mode glass optical fiber (SM-GOF). The sensing fibers were embedded into the vessel structure by wrapping them over the inside polymer liner during the manufacturing process of the outside carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP). Detecting local strain events by the integrated fiber optic sensors might be an opportunity for monitoring the material degradation. Regarding the investigation of the ageing behavior, both ambient hydraulic cycling tests and slow burst tests were conducted on 70 MPa pressure vessels with embedded fiber optic sensors. The achieved results contribute to the knowledge about material fatigue to guarantee the safe usage during the entire lifetime of the composite hydrogen storage vessels. The presented work stands in context of the European Horizon 2020 research project SH2APED focused on the development of an innovative hydrogen storage system composed of an assembly of nine 70 MPa tubular pressure vessels used as an automotive battery pack.

Challenges and paradoxes in the regulation of scientific research in the EU: a comprehensive analysis

This article analyzes the legal regulation of scientific research in European Union law, examining the challenges and paradoxes the EU faces in this area. Through a systematic analysis of normative and programmatic documents, the crucial influence of EU law on shaping international scientific research standards is revealed. The study highlights the evolution of the European Research Area and the fundamental role of the Horizon Europe program in promoting scientific excellence and innovation. The findings have significant implications for EU research policy and its international cooperation in science and technology." The author applies a complex methodology including analysis and synthesis, structural, formal-legal methods, as well as approaches of scientific deduction and induction. The author argues that EU law has a significant impact on the development of international standards for scientific activity. Despite the absence of imperative supranational competence in the field of science, the EU has facilitated the formation of subsidiary mechanisms for funding and supporting scientific activity, leading to the establishment of sustainable institutions and mechanisms within the European Research Area and EU program systems such as “Horizon Europe”, which has resulted in a substantial evolution of standards for scientific activity. The author states that this primarily concerns scientific ethics, multiculturalism and non-discrimination, the evolution of views on transnational research, and the formation of a sustainable regime for funding and evaluating scientific projects.

Defining directions for improving regulation of private law forms of technology transfer in the European Union

The object of this study is the existing regulatory approaches to the definition of private law forms of technology transfer in the law of the European Union, international treaties, and agreements. In the course of research and generalization of existing concepts, it was established that they are not unified and differ significantly. It has been proven that this does not meet the needs of technology transfer participants and destabilizes the technology transfer process. The expediency of improving the existing concept of defining private law forms of technology transfer by unifying them has been substantiated. Recommendations on the list of the main forms of technology transfer have been formed based on a systematic analysis of regulatory legal acts that determine the content of technology. A classification of the main private law forms of technology transfer has been proposed. Three main groups of private law forms of technology transfer were distinguished. The expediency of assigning each private law form of transfer to a certain group was substantiated. Directions for improving the current regulation of private law forms of technology transfer have been formed, by summarizing and supplementing them. The need to make changes to the provisions of such international treaties and agreements as the World Trade Organization Agreements, the Recommendations of the World Organization for the Protection of Intellectual Property, the Oslo Guidelines, the UNCTAD Recommendations, and the framework program "Horizon Europe" has been proven. The research was aimed at the formation of general theoretical foundations for the improvement of regulatory methods of identification of private law forms of technology transfer. The research results can be used in the formation of international normative acts, recommendations of international institutions, acts of national legislation and serve as a basis for further scientific research on these issues

Advancing drug development for atrial fibrillation by prioritising findings from human genetic association studies

Drug development for atrial fibrillation (AF) has failed to yield new approved compounds. We sought to identify and prioritise potential druggable targets with support from human genetics, by integrating the available evidence with bioinformatics sources relevant for AF drug development. Genetic hits for AF and related traits were identified through structured search of MEDLINE. Genes derived from each paper were cross-referenced with the OpenTargets platform for drug interactions. Confirmation/validation was demonstrated through structured searches and review of evidence on MEDLINE and ClinialTrials.gov for each drug and its association with AF. 613 unique drugs were identified, with 21 already included in AF Guidelines. Cardiovascular drugs from classes not currently used for AF (e.g. ranolazine and carperitide) and anti-inflammatory drugs (e.g. dexamethasone and mehylprednisolone) had evidence of potential benefit. Further targets were considered druggable but remain open for drug development. Our systematic approach, combining evidence from different bioinformatics platforms, identified drug repurposing opportunities and druggable targets for AF. KK is supported by Barts Charity grant G-002089 and is mentored on the AFGen 2023-24 Fellowship funded by the AFGen NIH/NHLBI grant R01HL092577. RP is supported by the UCL BHF Research Accelerator AA/18/6/34223 and NIHR grant NIHR129463. AFS is supported by the BHF grants PG/18/5033837, PG/22/10989 and UCL BHF Accelerator AA/18/6/34223 as well as the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK government's Horizon Europe funding guarantee EP/Z000211/1 and by the UKRI-NIHR grant MR/V033867/1 for the Multimorbidity Mechanism and Therapeutics Research Collaboration. AF is supported by UCL BHF Accelerator AA/18/6/34223. CF is supported by UCL BHF Accelerator AA/18/6/34223.

A climatic suitability indicator to support Leishmania infantum surveillance in Europe: a modelling study

Leishmaniases are neglected diseases transmitted by sand flies. They disproportionately affect vulnerable groups globally. Understanding the relationship between climate and disease transmission allows the development of relevant decision-support tools for public health policy and surveillance. The aim of this modelling study was to develop an indicator that tracks climatic suitability for Leishmania infantum transmission in Europe at the subnational level. Historical records of sand fly vectors, human leishmaniasis, bioclimatic indicators, and environmental variables were integrated in a machine learning framework (XGBoost) to predict suitability in two past periods (2001-2010 and 2011-2020). We further assessed if predictions were associated with human and animal disease data from selected countries (France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain). An increase in the number of climatically suitable regions for leishmaniasis was detected, especially in southern and eastern countries, coupled with a northward expansion towards central Europe. The final model had excellent predictive ability (AUC=0.970 [0.947-0.993]), and the suitability predictions were positively associated with human leishmaniasis incidence and canine seroprevalence for Leishmania. This study demonstrates how key epidemiological data can be combined with open-source climatic and environmental information to develop an indicator that effectively tracks spatiotemporal changes in climatic suitability and disease risk. The positive association between the model predictions and human disease incidence demonstrates that this indicator could help target leishmaniasis surveillance to transmission hotspots. European Union Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme (European Climate-Health Cluster), United Kingdom Research and Innovation.

Optimizing the integration of renewable energy sources, energy efficiency, and flexibility solutions in a multi-network pharmaceutical industry

In the contemporary landscape, roughly one-fourth of worldwide carbon dioxide emissions stem from industrial energy usage. In the industrial sector, improving the efficient and flexible coupling among different energy demands (electricity, heating, and cooling) and exploiting the integration of Renewable Energy Sources (RESs) and waste heat can lead to a drastic reduction in CO2 emissions, these are also the goals of the EU founded Horizon Europe FLEXIndustries project. This study aims to establish a cost-optimized decarbonization strategy for an energy-intensive industry, focusing on an Italian pharmaceutical company. It delves into the exploration of potential pathways and diverse energy mix configurations. The approach undertaken involves coupling a customized energy system simulation framework, specifically designed for the industrial site, with a Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithm (MOEA). The study, conducted with a focus on the year 2024, involves a comparative analysis of three distinct scenarios. Within the intricate and challenging constraints of the industrial demo site, 13 technologies were investigated. The outcomes of each scenario identify a set of 500 Pareto optimal solutions, obtained through 40,000 simulations. These results shed light on the compelling potential of hybrid solutions, showcasing the feasibility of achieving substantial decarbonization with only moderate increases in costs. The availability of land for RES technologies, along with the existence of a biomass supply chain in the region, emerge as pivotal determinants.

Lomustine with or without reirradiation for first progression of glioblastoma, LEGATO, EORTC-2227-BTG: study protocol for a randomized phase III study

BackgroundChemotherapy with lomustine is widely considered as standard treatment option for progressive glioblastoma. The value of adding radiotherapy to second-line chemotherapy is not known.MethodsEORTC-2227-BTG (LEGATO, NCT05904119) is an investigator-initiated, pragmatic (PRECIS-2 score: 34 out of 45), randomized, multicenter phase III trial in patients with first progression of glioblastoma. A total of 411 patients will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio to lomustine (110 mg/m2 every 6 weeks) or lomustine (110 mg/m2 every 6weeks) plus radiotherapy (35 Gy in 10 fractions). Main eligibility criteria include histologic confirmation of glioblastoma, isocitrate dehydrogenase gene (IDH) wild-type per WHO 2021 classification, first progression at least 6 months after the end of prior radiotherapy, radiologically measurable disease according to RANO criteria with a maximum tumor diameter of 5 cm, and WHO performance status of 0–2. The primary efficacy endpoint is overall survival (OS) and secondary endpoints include progression-free survival, response rate, neurocognitive function, health-related quality of life, and health economic parameters. LEGATO is funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research program, was activated in March 2024 and will enroll patients in 43 sites in 11 countries across Europe with study completion projected in 2028.DiscussionEORTC-2227-BTG (LEGATO) is a publicly funded pragmatic phase III trial designed to clarify the efficacy of adding reirradiation to chemotherapy with lomustine for the treatment of patients with first progression of glioblastoma.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT05904119. Registered before start of inclusion, 23 May 2023

Green Alternatives for Archaeological Iron Stabilization

ABSTRACT One of the most challenging types of artifact occurring within museum collections is unstable chloride-contaminated archaeological iron. A high chloride concentration causes cracking, flaking and leads to full mineralization, in effect making objects fragile. Consequently, removal of chloride ions plays a key role in stabilization treatment, while preserving the integrity of the corroded iron object. Despite the variety of stabilization methods, all have significant disadvantages, including a lack of sustainability. Within the framework of the Horizon Europe project GoGreen the potential of microbial biosorption to stabilize archaeological iron artefacts is being investigated. Dry biomass of the fungi Meyerozyma sp. and Saccharomyces cerevisiae was studied to remove chloride ions. Preliminary tests were carried out on artificially-aged steel samples. To assess the activities of the microorganisms’ functional groups and biosorption capabilities as a potential green stabilization treatment, analytical techniques including FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, and SEM-EDX were used. The results demonstrate two promising paths for the development of green stabilization treatments based on fungal biomass: passive adsorption into the cell wall and conversion of reactive corrosion products into more stable compounds. The use of microbial biomass opens up promising perspectives for the development of more sustainable solutions in archaeological iron stabilization, while avoiding the generation of toxic waste in our environment.

Experimental campaign for the characterization of precipitation in a complex terrain site using high resolution observations

Precipitation has an effect on wind power at several levels. It affects the wind current, blade status, wake development and power production. Power production is affected by the harmful effect of precipitation on the blades eroding its surface and altering their aerodynamic performance. In the past decades, wind has been characterized using different techniques, but less effort has been devoted to precipitation measurement. In this work, the results of an experimental campaign performed at a high altitude complex terrain site to characterize precipitation using high resolution observations are presented. The campaign, carried out at CENER’s experimental wind farm (Alaiz) during 2023 within the framework of the Horizon Europe AIRE project, lasted nine months and different precipitation types (rain, snow, graupel) were recorded using a Micro Rain Radar (MRR), a Parsivel disdrometer and a rain gauge co-located with an instrumented wind mast with anemometers and wind vanes at different heights. Two case studies are selected to illustrate the wide range of variability found in precipitation conditions, particularly during the cool season. Precipitation characterization is very challenging at high temporal resolution, making necessary measurement campaigns with different precipitation equipment to optimize their performance and optimise its calibration. The study of precipitation profiles with MRR will support the study of precipitation impingement on wind turbine blades responsible of blade erosion. Moreover, these measurements will contribute to create the link between in-field wind farm data, laboratory experiments in rain erosion test rig and blade damage models necessary to improve wind turbine and wind farm design and operation.

The GREENART Project: Environmentally Friendly and Low Impact Materials for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage

ABSTRACT While some green solutions and advanced materials have been proposed in recent decades to improve on traditional conservation processes, conservation practice still uses petroleum-based compounds and procedures that lack time- or energy-efficiency, and are not sustainable. Tackling these issues, the GREENART project (GREen ENdeavor in Art ResToration, Horizon Europe, 2022–2025) is developing green and sustainable systems for the remedial and preventive conservation of works of art, following a ‘safe and sustainable by design’ approach where green components are firstly screened and then used to formulate new materials. This contribution reviews traditional and state-of-the-art materials used in protective coatings, foams and packaging materials, consolidants, cleaning systems, and monitoring tools, and introduces the novel solutions the GREENART project is developing for each of these classes. Some of the new products are already being assessed, and the main processes in the formulation of the solutions are outlined. Life cycle assessment will be carried out before the commercial production of the new systems to demonstrate their full sustainability. Finally, perspectives are discussed, highlighting the role of GREENART in promoting a green transition for cultural heritage preservation.

Mapping Payment and Pricing Schemes for Health Innovation: Protocol of a Scoping Literature Review.

Innovative pricing and payment/reimbursement schemes have been proposed as one part of the solution to the problem of patient access to new health technologies or to the uncertainty about their long-term effectiveness. As part of a Horizon Europe research project on health innovation next generation pricing and payment models (HI-PRIX), this protocol illustrates the conceptual and methodological steps related to a scoping review aiming at investigating nature and scope of pricing and payment/reimbursement schemes applied to, or proposed for, existing or new health technologies. A scoping review of literature will be performed according to the PRISMA guidelines for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. The search will be conducted in three scientific databases (i.e., PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus), over a 2010-2023 timeframe. The search strategy is structured around two blocks of keywords, namely "pricing and payment/reimbursement schemes," and "innovativeness" (of the scheme type or scheme use). A simplified search will be replicated in the gray literature. Studies illustrating pricing and payment/reimbursement schemes with a sufficient level of details to explain their characteristics and functioning will be deemed eligible to be considered for data synthesis. Pricing and payment/reimbursement schemes will be classified according to several criteria, such as their purpose, nature, governance, data collection needs, and foreseen distribution of risk. The results will populate a publicly available online tool, the Pay-for-Innovation Observatory. The findings of this review have the potential to offer a comprehensive toolkit with a variety of pricing and payment schemes to policymakers and manufacturers facing reimbursement and access decisions.

Drivers for Clustering and Inter-Project Collaboration—A Case of Horizon Europe Projects

This paper investigates the drivers and dynamics of clustering and inter-project collaboration within the framework of the Horizon Europe and Horizon 2020 projects. Leveraging a survey-based approach, we examine key themes surrounding the perception of clustering, the willingness to share information under legal confidentiality, and motivations for engaging with partners from different projects. The survey instrument, implemented via Microsoft Forms, was distributed among the consortia of eight EU projects participating in the SOLID4B cluster. Notably, the questionnaire was meticulously crafted based on an in-depth analysis of the SOLID4B case and comprehensive discussions with project coordinators and communication and dissemination managers from all participating projects. These discussions aimed to establish a clear roadmap for the cluster, ensuring the questionnaire’s relevance and usefulness for all participants. Data analysis was conducted within the same platform, facilitating efficient data processing and visualization. Our findings reveal that a significant majority of respondents (48 out of 55) perceive clustering as a valuable asset, indicative of a positive shift in perspectives. Challenges related to confidentiality were addressed through nuanced insights, with respondents demonstrating a willingness to share routine best practices, significant breakthroughs, and deliverables within a legally protected framework. Furthermore, a robust majority (40 out of 55) expressed a keen interest in collaborative endeavors, underscoring a collective drive to extend activities beyond individual project boundaries. The study highlights the importance of clustering with other projects in maximizing the impact of the Horizon program, extending stakeholder networks, and sharing knowledge and achievements in research and innovation. These insights contribute to a deeper understanding of the motivations and challenges surrounding clustering and collaboration within the Horizon Europe and Horizon 2020 projects. Ultimately, the findings pave the way for informed strategies aimed at fostering a dynamic and interconnected research community.

Bridging Gaps, Building Futures: How DIREKTION Innovates for Global Disaster Resilience

The DIREKTION project, funded under Horizon Europe, aims to revolutionize disaster resilience through advanced technology and collaboration. Addressing the challenges posed by climate change, infrastructure vulnerabilities, and dynamic population densities, it seeks a paradigm shift in emergency responses. By integrating innovative technologies with the practical needs of responders and policymakers, DIREKTION enhances cross-sectoral harmonization and fosters stakeholder communication. Early outputs include drafts of the DIREKTION Assessment and Screening Framework and D-SAT tool, establishing a foundation for future development. The project's presentation at ISCRAM invites valuable feedback and engagement, highlighting its commitment to improving disaster management practices and fostering a more resilient society.

Artificial intelligence based data curation: enabling a patient-centric European health data space.

The emerging European Health Data Space (EHDS) Regulation opens new prospects for large-scale sharing and re-use of health data. Yet, the proposed regulation suffers from two important limitations: it is designed to benefit the whole population with limited consideration for individuals, and the generation of secondary datasets from heterogeneous, unlinked patient data will remain burdensome. AIDAVA, a Horizon Europe project that started in September 2022, proposes to address both shortcomings by providing patients with an AI-based virtual assistant that maximises automation in the integration and transformation of their health data into an interoperable, longitudinal health record. This personal record can then be used to inform patient-related decisions at the point of care, whether this is the usual point of care or a possible cross-border point of care. The personal record can also be used to generate population datasets for research and policymaking. The proposed solution will enable a much-needed paradigm shift in health data management, implementing a 'curate once at patient level, use many times' approach, primarily for the benefit of patients and their care providers, but also for more efficient generation of high-quality secondary datasets. After 15 months, the project shows promising preliminary results in achieving automation in the integration and transformation of heterogeneous data of each individual patient, once the content of the data sources managed by the data holders has been formally described. Additionally, the conceptualization phase of the project identified a set of recommendations for the development of a patient-centric EHDS, significantly facilitating the generation of data for secondary use.

Beyond materialist green transitions: sketching a vitalist approach for evaluating R&I policy towards deep green transformation

ABSTRACT Situated within the growing literature on green alternatives to research and innovation-led green transition approaches, this paper sketches the contours of an emerging transition policy evaluation matrix aiming at going beyond contemporary (new) materialist concerns. To do so, I introduce a vitalist focus on life and establishing all connectedness as a long-term normative goal of just and deep global development policy. For this purpose, I draw from key insights from the recent interim evaluation of the European Framework program ‘Horizon Europe’, as well as non-Western and indigenous and feminist approaches to environmental justice to argue for overcoming an exclusive materialist and individualist preoccupation with green transition as it has been characteristic hitherto. Building on the requirement of a theory of change for encompassing well-being that includes a shifted yet assessable notion of being, I describe the non-linear sequence of green transition phases transcending materialist approaches to shifted energy supply and large-scale decarbonization to include an imaginary of a connected biocentric humanity with a just vitalist concern for life and well-being.

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.

Aquaporin-9 (AQP9) exerts a role in the early phase of the systemic inflammation of a murine model of endotoxic shock

Septic shock is the most severe complication of sepsis, characterized by a systemic inflammatory response following bacterial infection, leading to multiple organ failure and dramatically high mortality. AQP9 is an aquaglyceroporin/peroxiporin mainly expressed in hepatocytes and neutrophils and recently associated with inflammatory and infectious responses. Here, we evaluated whether AQP9 has a role in mouse systemic inflammation during endotoxic shock. Wild-type ( Aqp9+/+; WT) and Aqp9−/− knockout (KO) male mice were submitted to endotoxic shock by i.p. injection of LPS (40 mg/kg) and the related survival times were followed for 72 h. Nitric oxide (NO) and superoxide anion (O2−) production, and the expression of inducible NO‐synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxigenase‐2 (COX‐2) were measured in liver, kidney, aorta, heart and lung of mice. LPS‐treated KO mice survived significantly longer than WT mice, and 25% of the KO mice fully recovered from LPS treatment. The LPS‐injected KO mice had lower inflammatory NO and O2− productions and reduced iNOS and COX‐2 through impaired NF‐κB p65 activation in liver, kidney, aorta, and heart as compared to LPS‐treated WT mice. Treatment of rodent hepatoma FaO cells with the AQP9 blocker HTS13286 prevented the LPS‐induced increase of NO and O2−. AQP9 seems to have a role in the early acute phase of LPS‐induced endotoxic shock likely involving the NF‐κB pathway, potentially through mediating uptake of extracellular H2O2, and PTP-dependent signaling. Support from Italian Government to GC: “Programmi di Ricerca Scientifica di Rilevante Interesse Nazionale 2017” PRIN2017 grant # 2017J92TM5 and “Fondo Integrativo Speciale per la Ricerca 2020”-FISR 2020 CoVAPin grant # FISR2020IP_04051); Support from University of Bari Aldo Moro to GC: grant “Horizon Europe Seeds 2022-2023” NextgenerationEU Programma MUR-Fondo Promozione e Sviluppo-DM 737/2021-Uniba Euroseeds ID #S10. Support from Regione Puglia to PG: “Research for Innovation (REFIN)”, POR Puglia 2014/2020—Asse X—Azione 10.4, UNIBA132-ID #091C54A8. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Determining directions for improving the legal regulation of technology transfer forms

The object of this study is the existing regulatory approaches to determining the forms of technology transfer in the legal systems of economically developed countries of the world, international treaties, and agreements. During the research and generalization of existing concepts, it was established that they are not unified and differ significantly from each other. It has been proven that this does not meet the needs of technology transfer participants and significantly destabilizes the technology transfer process. The expediency of improving the existing normative concept of determining the forms of technology transfer by fixing their single list has been substantiated. Recommendations on the list of the main forms of technology transfer have been formed based on a systematic analysis of legal acts that determine the peculiarities of the essence of technology. A classification of the main forms of technology transfer was proposed. Four main forms of technology transfer were identified as the transfer of rights to technology during its creation, within the framework of joint cooperation, within the framework of cooperation based on corporate and/or proprietary commercial principles. The expediency of dividing each form of transfer into separate subtypes was also substantiated. The need to make changes to the provisions of such international treaties and agreements as the World Trade Organization Agreements, the Recommendations of the World Organization for the Protection of Intellectual Property, the Oslo Guidelines, the UNCTAD Recommendations, and the framework program "Horizon Europe" has been proven. The study is aimed at forming general theoretical foundations for improving the essence of regulatory techniques for identifying forms of technology transfer. The research results could be used in the formation of international normative acts, recommendations of international institutions, acts of national legislation, and serve as a basis for further scientific research into these issues

Cost-effectiveness of population-based screening for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in China: a simulation modeling study

China has the highest disease burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the world; however, the diagnosis rate remains low. Screening for COPD in the population may improve early diagnosis and long-term health outcomes for patients with COPD. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of population-based COPD screening policies in China. We developed a microsimulation model that simulated incidence, natural history, and clinical management of COPD over a lifetime horizon among the general population aged 35-80 years in China. We evaluated population-based screening policies with different screening methods (one-step with COPD Screening Questionnaire or two-step with additional portable spirometer test) and frequencies (one-time or every 1-10 years). We calculated the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of the screening policies compared with the status quo (without screening) and identified the most cost-effective screening policy. Scenario and sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the impact of key parameters and the robustness of model results. Compared with the status quo, all population-based COPD screening policies were cost-effective with estimated ICERs ranging between $8034 and $13,209 per quality-adjusted-life-year (QALY), all under the willingness-to-pay value of $38,441/QALY (three times China's gross domestic product per capita). A total of 0.39%-8.10% of COPD-related deaths and 0.58%-2.70% of COPD exacerbations were projected to be averted by COPD screening. Among all screening policies, annual two-step screening was the most cost-effective. Improving the linkage from screening to diagnosis and treatment could further increase population health benefits and the cost-effectiveness of COPD screening. Population-based screening for COPD could be cost-effective in China. Offering public programs for COPD screening similar to existing preventive health services for other chronic diseases could be a promising strategy to improve population health outcomes and mitigate the disease burden of COPD in China. Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, National Natural Science Foundation of China, CAMS Innovation Fund for Medical Science, Chinese Academy of Engineering project, and Horizon Europe.