Practising post-normal science through art-science collaborations: Institutionalising new approaches to future-making at the Joint Research Centre

Radon exhalation rate and emanation factor values in relation to different soil characteristics.

In recent years, using surplus electricity to produce energy carriers via electrolysis has attracted significant research interest. Solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) achieve high energy conversion efficiencies by electrolyzing water vapor at elevated temperatures (600–900°C). Furthermore, SOECs are being explored for H₂O/CO₂ co-electrolysis, a process that generates syngas which can be subsequently converted into valuable hydrocarbon compounds. Despite these advantages, widespread adoption of SOECs is challenged by issues such as electrode degradation and suboptimal efficiency, underscoring the need for a fundamental understanding of the underlying reaction mechanisms.Experimental studies of electrode degradation typically involve comparing microstructural observations before and after prolonged operation. However, technical limitations hinder real-time analysis of reaction processes during experiments, making numerical simulations indispensable. First-principles calculations have been used to evaluate key parameters—such as adsorption energies and activation barriers [1,2]—but single-point calculations become impractical with increasing numbers of adsorbates due to the exponential rise in computational demands and the inability to account for thermal fluctuations at high temperatures.To address these challenges, this study aims to investigate the interactions between SOEC cathodes and reactant/product gases using ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations conducted with the open-source software CP2K [3]. Atomic structures were visualized with OVITO [4]. Our simulation system, comprising ZrO₂(110) and YSZ(110) surfaces with eight H₂O molecules (see Figure 1), was first equilibrated in an NVT ensemble for 10 ps at 300 K. A subsequent NVT simulation for 10 ps at 1000 K was performed to analyze the adsorption, dissociation, and desorption of H₂O. On the ZrO₂(110) surface, H₂O initially adsorbed onto the on-top sites of Zr atoms before dissociating into OH and H, with the latter transferring to the nearest surface oxygen (see Figure 2(a)). This behavior is consistent with previously reported water adsorption structures on oxide surfaces [5]. In contrast, on the YSZ(110) surface, adsorption occurred both at oxygen vacancies near Y atoms and at on-top sites (see Figure 2(b)), resulting in a shift of the surrounding H₂O and OH adsorption positions. These observations indicate that the enhanced adsorption and shorter hydrogen bond distances on the YSZ(110) surface lead to stronger water retention compared to ZrO₂.Overall, our findings offer a more detailed understanding of the adsorption and dissociation processes occurring on SOEC cathode surfaces. This enhanced understanding of surface reactions provides valuable guidance for optimizing electrode design and performance. Ultimately, these insights contribute to the advancement of SOEC technology for sustainable energy conversion. Acknowledgement This work was supported by the JSPS KAKENHI (Grant No. 24K17215) and the JHPCN exploratory joint research project (EX24603).

GeSn alloy photonic devices, including light emitters and photodetectors, are promising candidates for silicon photonics because their band structure can be tuned from indirect to direct bandgap by incorporating Sn into Ge. However, fabricating high-quality GeSn thin films remains challenging due to the low solid solubility of Sn in Ge (~1%) and the large lattice mismatch (>4%) between Si and GeSn. Conventional low-temperature MBE and CVD techniques often yield GeSn films with limited crystallinity. Recently, we demonstrated that dislocation-free, single-crystalline GeSn thin films can be grown on Ge(001) substrates by sputter epitaxy [1]. Yet, in-plane compressive strain arising from pseudomorphic growth counteracted the bandgap transition expected from Sn incorporation. In this study, we report the strain-relaxed growth of GeSn thin films by employing nanochannel sputter epitaxy [2].N-type Ge(001) substrates were first cleaned with ultrapure water and HF solution, followed by deposition of 20–50 nm SiO₂ films via sputter deposition. Microchannels with widths of 2 μm were defined by conventional photolithography and wet etching, while nanochannels with widths of 100 nm were patterned by electron-beam lithography and wet etching. GeSn films with thicknesses of ~1 μm were subsequently deposited under a Sn/GeSn flux ratio of 5.3 at 500 °C.Cross-sectional TEM observations revealed that epitaxial growth occurred locally within microchannels, while polycrystalline GeSn was formed on the SiO₂ masks. Dislocation-free single-crystalline regions extended slightly beyond the channel boundaries, suggesting that reducing mask and channel dimensions enhances the lateral expansion and coalescence of defect-free regions.GeSn films grown in nanochannels exhibited complete coalescence without polycrystalline regions, likely because the diffusion length of sputtered species exceeded the channel width. Dislocations were observed near the GeSn/Ge interface, but the crystalline quality improved significantly toward the film surface. Since these dislocations originated at the mask edges, thinning the mask appears important for further defect suppression.Strain states were examined by Raman spectroscopy. Compared to GeSn films grown without SiO₂ masks, the Ge–Ge Raman peak of nanochannel-grown films showed a larger shift toward lower wavenumbers, indicating strain relaxation. Films grown directly on Ge substrates were found to be compressively strained, whereas those grown in nanochannels exhibited near-relaxed states. Based on Raman peak shifts and assuming a Sn concentration of 3% [3], the residual compressive strain was estimated to be ~0.06%.Optical properties were evaluated by room-temperature photoluminescence. The nanochannel-grown GeSn films showed a redshift of ~0.04 eV compared with films grown without masks, consistent with strain relaxation. Furthermore, a significant enhancement in PL intensity was observed, demonstrating that nanochannel sputter epitaxy improves luminescence efficiency.In summary, we demonstrated that nanochannel sputter epitaxy enables the growth of strain-relaxed GeSn thin films with suppressed polycrystalline formation, reduced dislocation density, and enhanced photoluminescence. This approach provides a promising pathway for integrating high-performance GeSn-based photonic devices on silicon platforms.This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI (23K22798) and MEXT Initiative to Established Next-generation Novel Integration Circuits Centers (X-NICS) Grant Number JPJ011438. Sputter deposition was conducted at the ULVAC-University of Osaka Joint Research Laboratory for Future Technology.

For the past decade (1,2) the first patent published on Atomic Layer Etching (ALE) was thought to have been conceived by Max Yoder (3), who in 1987 filed the concept on etching diamond by saturating its surface with alternated pulses of NO2 and ionized noble gas / H2 gas mixtures. This date of conception still holds for plasma-assisted ALE of diamond. Surprisingly, we needed extensive A.I.-assisted patent searches to find out that thermal ALE of silicon was conceived as early as in 1981 by dr. Seiichi Iwamatsu (Fig. 1) of Seiko Epson, Japan. He stands out as concept inventor of ALE with his first application that was filed for the application on Si-etching by exposures to iodine (I2) vapor at moderate temperatures (20-100 °C), followed by a light or heat pulse up to ~300 °C (4) ; see Fig. 2. A few more patents on ALE in his name appeared shortly after (5), one of them being disclosed on plasma-assisted quasi-ALE, which he described as “digital etching” (6). The process steps comprised the modification of the Si-surface by “lamination” with a single Cl-atomic layer from exposure to Cl2 gas, followed by a removal step carried out by Ar+-ion bombardment to etch off “one atomic layer or at most three atomic layers by controlling the kinetic energy”. Other researchers in Japan can be recognized as the concept demonstrators who, soon after, published on digital etching of GaAs, with similar two-step physico-chemistry recipes (7). Fueled by early-leading groups, who worked on thermal and plasma ALE of metals, metal oxides, metal nitrides, semiconductors, and their oxides, ALE is now an established technique in the commercial manufacture of 3D logic and memory devices in single-digit nanometer technology nodes; see the reviews in refs. (8,9).This presentation follows our earlier presentation (10) and will highlight our continued quest on the groundbreaking work and background of the Japanese inventor. Seiichi Iwamatsu was born in 1939 in Kyoto to a family of physicians, grew up in Osaka and studied there. Next, he worked for some 20 years as a ‘master inventor’ and created over 1200 patents in his name for Seiko Epson (~1970-1990), and for other employers, including Japan’s renowned VLSI Lab. He played key innovative roles in thin-film technology and e-beam lithography, and contributed also this way to the success story of Seiko’s quartz watch (11), a masterpiece in micromachining and hermetic sealing of the quartz resonator and its heterogeneous integration with microelectronics. Dr. Iwamatsu is still active: earlier this year he contributed chapters to the newly published book on the Japanese consortium (“VLSI Lab”) in the 1970's (12), for which he also worked; Fig. 1c.We intend to include a short interview with Dr. Iwamatsu, now 86 years old, and conclude that he can and should be widely recognized as the original inventor of Atomic Layer Etching of silicon.AcknowledgementThe authors would like to thank Prof. R. Puurunen (Aalto University, Finland) for extensive consultations, and Dr. Masanobu Honda (Tokyo Electron Miyagi Ltd., Japan) for his support in retrieving some of the historic facts mentioned here about Dr. Iwamatsu.References K.J. Kanarik, T. Lill, E.A. Hudson, S. Sriraman, S. Tan, J. Marks, V. Vahedi and R.A. Gottscho, Overview of atomic layer etching in the semiconductor industry, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 33, 020802 (2015).W.M.M. Kessels, www.atomiclimits.com, March 2, 2020.M.N. Yoder, Atomic Layer Etching, US Patent 4,756,794, priority Aug. 31, 1987; published July 12, 1988; assigned to US Navy.S. Iwamatsu, Atomic Layer Etching Method, JPS5898929A / JPH0379862B2; priority Dec. 9, 1981; published June 13, 1983; assigned to Seiko Epson Corp.https://worldwide.espacenet.com/patent/search/family/016189802/publication/JPH0472726A?q=iwamatsu%20seiichi%20atomic%20layer%20etchingS. Iwamatsu, Digital Etching Process, JPH0472726A, priority: July 13, 1990, published March 6, 1992; assigned to Seiko Epson Corp.T. Meguro, M. Ishii, K. Kodama, Y. Yamamoto, K. Gamo, and Y. Aoyagi, Surface processes in digital etching of GaAs, Thin Solid Films 225, 136 (1993).A. Fischer, A. Routzahn, S.M. George, T. Lill, Thermal atomic layer etching: A review, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 39, 030801 (2021), and references therein.A. Fischer and T. Lill, Plasma application in atomic layer etching, Phys. Plasmas 30, 080601 (2023), and references therein.F. Roozeboom, J. Sundqvist, D. Suyatin, K. Kakushima, Seiichi Iwamatsu, the inventor of Atomic Layer Etching: The conception of cycled exposures of silicon to halogens and pulses of heat, ions, and more, PRiME 2024 Meeting, Honolulu, Oct. 6-11, 2024, late paper G-5068.https://corporate.epson/en/technology/search-by-products/wearable/quartz-watch.htmlY. Tarui (editor), Ultra-LSI Joint Research Institute and its Ripple Effects, Maruzen-Junkudo, Tokyo, published March 26, 2025. ISBN/JAN: 9784863455788 https://www.maruzenjunkudo.co.jp/products/9784863455788?srsltid=AfmBOopEUUDlCrWvH4lNc24DJqpMJUNrB-QXY0IhwsihbqYXyk3lg06l Figure 1

Extensive research on the electrochemistry of actinides in molten chloride and fluoride salts has been conducted at the Joint Research Center Karlsruhe (JRC) since the early 2000s, with the aim of supporting the development of electrochemical processes for the recovery of actinides from spent nuclear fuel and for studying the chemistry and fuel cycle of molten salt reactors. The investigations rely on standard transient electrochemical techniques, such as cyclic voltammetry and chronopotentiometry. However, the use of molten salt media at high temperatures requires specialized experimental equipment, particularly a pure inert atmosphere to protect highly hygroscopic materials from unwanted reactions with moisture and oxygen. On the other hand, molten salts are highly efficient electrolytes due to their high conductivity and wide electrochemical window. Additionally, elevated working temperatures enable fast electrode diffusion and reaction kinetics.The experimental setup for electrochemical measurements in molten salt media, developed and installed at JRC Karlsruhe, consists of a high-temperature Inconel electrolyzer housed in a glove box maintained under purified argon to keep oxygen and moisture levels below 2 ppm. A hydrogen fluoride gas line is connected to the glove box, allowing for purification of fluoride melts by bubbling pure HF gas. This, combined with the ability to work with gram-scale quantities of actinides, makes the setup unique. The setup is described in detail in [1]. Chloride melts typically do not require purification, as they are commercially available in sufficient quality, dehydrated, and packed under pure argon.The present work describes this experimental setup and summarizes key results from basic electrochemical studies of actinides, as well as the development of an electrorefining process for the recovery of actinides from metallic spent nuclear fuel. In the basic studies, information was obtained on the electrochemical behavior of actinides (redox and deposition potentials, reaction mechanisms), thermochemical data (activity coefficients, enthalpies, and entropies of formation), and salt transport parameters (diffusion coefficients). In LiCl-KCl eutectic melt, the electrochemical properties of Th, U, Np, Pu, and Am were measured using both inert (W, Mo) and reactive (Bi, Cd, Ni, Al) working electrodes. References to these measurements can be found in [2]. Electrochemical studies in fluoride melts started at a later stage and were focused on developing an efficient purification method, as well as verifying the purity and characterizing the behavior of Th in LiF-CaF2 eutectic melt [1], along with unpublished data on U in the same system.The use of reactive electrodes proved particularly advantageous for actinide recovery, as the metals reduced on such cathodes form stable alloys with the electrode material, thereby preventing undesirable side reactions of the deposited species. However, the selective recovery of individual actinides is limited when using reactive cathodes, due to smaller differences in their reduction potentials compared to inert electrodes. A comparison of the apparent standard potentials of selected actinides on various electrode materials is shown in Fig. 1. Nonetheless, group-selective separation of actinides from lanthanides is possible, and this has been effectively applied in the development of an electrorefining process for homogeneous recovery of all actinides from metallic spent nuclear fuel using solid reactive aluminum cathodes [3]. Fig. 1 Apparent electrochemical potentials measured for various Ln and An on solid W, Al and liquid Cd working electrodes in a LiCl-KCl eutectic melt at 450°C. In this process, actinides are electro-separated from fission products in a LiCl-KCl eutectic molten salt at 450 °C by applying a constant current between the metallic fuel, placed in a tantalum basket, and an aluminum cathode. During electrolysis, actinide cations, generated via anodic oxidation of the fuel, are transported through the electrolyte and deposited onto the aluminum cathode. Meanwhile, alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, and rare earth fission products are also dissolved into the melt, but are not reduced due to the controlled deposition potential. The selectivity and efficiency of this process have been demonstrated by electrorefining both non-irradiated and irradiated An-Ln-Zr fuel produced at JRC Karlsruhe (METAPHIX-1, composition U61-Pu22-Am2-Nd3.5-Gd0.5-Y0.5-Ce0.5-Zr10) [4]. Souček, P., et al., Electrochimica Acta, 2021. 380: p. 138198.Souček, P. and R. Malmbeck, 17 - Pyrochemical processes for recovery of actinides from spent nuclear fuels, in Reprocessing and Recycling of Spent Nuclear Fuel, R. Taylor, Editor. 2015, Woodhead Publishing: Oxford. p. 437-456.Souček, P., et al., Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2015. 459(0): p. 114-121.Ohta, H., et al., Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 2011. 48(4): p. 654-661. Figure 1

This talk will overview work within the H2NEW Consortium to accelerate joint research efforts1. A performance benchmark and test protocol is established and validated as a baseline system to enable meaningful comparison of results across the research community. Three U.S. National Laboratories have harmonized and validated the equipment and procedures to confirm the minimum requirements for test stations, cell hardware, cell test procedure, and the fabrication of a baseline material set, while maintaining maximum agreement of test results. The baseline membrane electrode assembly (MEA) features significantly lower loadings than commercially available and is referred to as the “Future Generation MEA (FuGeMEA)”. It consists of commercially available materials and is used as a baseline material set for research and development across the consortium. The detailed MEA fabrication procedures and protocol will be summarized1. A phased harmonization approach allowed for isolating and addressing sources of variation. I will summarize the troubleshooting experiments that have yielded a set of Lessons Learned to aid others in identifying equipment or protocol deviations and/or shortcomings that can compromise comparability and repeatability of test results. In the final phase, the participating laboratories separately fabricate the FuGeMEA and conduct the harmonized test protocol to obtain cell performance results with a maximum standard deviation of 18 mV at 4 A cm-2. This work thus establishes the FuGeMEA performance benchmark and test protocol as a baseline system for broad use in test equipment validation and comparison of performance results across the research community. 1Proton exchange membrane electrolysis benchmarking: Identifying and removing sources of variation in test stations, hardware, and membrane electrode assembly fabrication. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Volume 114, 2025, Pages 486-496.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2025.02.443

Tracking the progress of maternal pertussis vaccination coverage among upper-middle- and high-income countries and territories — a systematic review and modeling study

Medical and dental education share the common goal of preparing clinically competent and socially responsible health professionals. Despite this shared goal, the two disciplines have evolved as distinct academic fields, with limited empirical comparisons between them. Understanding their commonalities and differences can foster mutual development and cross-disciplinary collaboration. This study aims to compare research priorities in medical and dental education by analyzing author keywords from representative journals in each field. A bibliometric analysis was conducted using author keywords from two medical education journals (Advances in Health Sciences Education and BMC Medical Education) and two dental education journals (European Journal of Dental Education and Journal of Dental Education) over a 10-year period (2015-2024). Data were retrieved from the Web of Science database, including only original research articles and review articles. Frequency analysis of the top 10 author keywords was performed in 2-year intervals, and bump charts were created to visualize temporal ranking changes. In addition, co-occurrence network maps were constructed using all keywords appearing 10 or more times over the study period. Data processing and visualization were conducted using VOSviewer and Tableau software. A total of 9391 articles were analyzed, comprising 6806 articles from medical education journals and 2585 articles from dental education journals. Both fields consistently emphasized "students," "assessment," and "curriculum" as core research topics. However, medical education placed greater emphasis on "postgraduate medical education" and student mental health (e.g., empathy, resilience, and depression), whereas dental education focused more on "educational technology" and clinical skills development (e.g., simulation, virtual reality, and psychomotor skills). The keyword "covid-19" emerged prominently in both fields from 2019 to 2020 onward, reflecting the pandemic's transformative impact on education. "Interprofessional education" appeared as a shared emerging theme, suggesting growing recognition of collaborative practice needs. This study identifies both foundational commonalities and discipline-specific innovations in medical and dental education research over the past decade. These findings suggest that shared interests and distinctive priorities can lead to meaningful opportunities for collaborative educational development and joint research efforts across health professions education.

Effective collaboration between clinicians and researchers is essential for advancing spine health research and improving patient care. However, differing priorities can hinder interdisciplinary cooperation. This study explores the perspectives, interests, and collaborative experiences of clinicians and researchers within the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine (ISSLS), aiming to identify ways to improve collaboration. A two-phase survey was conducted between August and October 2024. A pilot test refined the survey, which was then distributed via Google Forms to ISSLS members. The survey included six sections: demographics; research interests; collaboration perceptions; understanding of clinical and research work; qualitative assessment; and final feedback. Chi-square and Mann-Whitney U tests assessed group differences. A modified Content Validity Ratio (CVR) quantified consensus on high-interest topics. Significance was set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: The survey was sent to 382 ISSLS members; 80 responded (20.9%), including 55% clinicians and 45% researchers. "Low Back Pain" received high CVR scores from both researchers (1.00) and clinicians (0.86). Clinicians favored "Surgical Outcomes" (p = 0.008) and "Fusion" (p < 0.001), while researchers preferred "Cell, Signalling, Mechanotransduction" (p = 0.018). Clinicians overestimated researchers' interest in "Minimally invasive and robotic surgery" (44.4% perceived vs. 2.8% actual) and underestimated interest in "Chronic pain and psychosocial factors" (15.6% perceived vs. 41.7% actual) (χ² = 25.95, p = 0.0002). Main barriers included "lack of time" (86.1% researchers, 62.2% clinicians) and "differing professional focuses" (47.2% researchers, 35.6% clinicians). Benefits for clinicians included enhanced study design (60%) and knowledge exchange (57.8%); for researchers, access to clinical data (61.1%) (χ² = 33.39, p = 0.0025). Suggested improvements included joint research projects (clinicians 68.9%, researchers 72.2%) and interdisciplinary meetings. The study highlights differing priorities and mutual misunderstandings between clinicians and researchers. Despite this, both groups agree on the importance of early collaboration in research development. Improving interdisciplinary communication and creating shared opportunities could strengthen collaboration. These findings reflect a subset of ISSLS members and may not generalize broadly.

Methods and tools for the safety assessment part of the European Commission's safe and sustainable by design framework when applied to advanced materials.

Development of a complex 3D in vitro alternative model to evaluate the safety of advanced materials.

The SCIROS project (Strategic Collaboration for Interdisciplinary Research on Open Science) is a direct response to pressing needs expressed by the humanities and social sciences (SSH) community, identified through surveys and interviews conducted within projects of OPERAS, European research infrastructure supporting scholarly communication in SSH (e.g., in OPERAS-P, OPERAS-PL, DIAMAS, PALOMERA). These investigations revealed a significant empirical gap in the discourse on Open Science (OS), limiting robust arguments for its usefulness and impact. SCIROS aims to fill this gap by creating an international research network to systematically study OS in SSH, fostering durable cooperation through researcher exchanges, joint publications, and international and local events. Research is structured around three pillars: Theory of Open Science (TOS):Analyses the epistemological and ethical foundations of OS in SSH. It addresses questions about the institutional and normative assumptions shaping OS advocacy, and how these influence academic freedom and knowledge production. Methods include interdisciplinary conceptual analysis and critical reflection. Practice of Open Science (POS):Explores how OS principles are enacted in SSH, with a focus on open peer review, multilingual publishing, and research assessment reform. It examines challenges and opportunities in applying FAIR and CARE principles in SSH contexts, using case studies, co-writing sprints, and stakeholder interviews. Infrastructure of Open Science (IOS):Investigates the sustainability, governance, and user engagement strategies of Open Research Infrastructures (ORIs). Drawing on recent research (Fecher et al., 2021; Mounier &amp; Dumas Primbault, 2023), IOS conducts surveys to assess Customer &amp; User Engagement (CUE) practices, aiming to repair gaps in research infrastructures and enhance their competitiveness and long-term sustainability. This poster presents the joint research network we are building across seven European countries – Poland, Italy, Portugal, Luxembourg, France, Finland and Germany, as part of the SCIROS project. It showcases our collaborative efforts to study Open Science through interdisciplinary research, researcher exchanges, and shared activities. Together, we aim to address key challenges and advance sustainable, transparent, and interconnected research infrastructures.

The reduction of accidents on German roads within the framework of the GIDAS project and the possibility of applying the acquired experience in domestic conditions are considered. Special attention is paid to international cooperation, in particular the participation of a Ukrainian higher education institution in joint research with the Technical University of Dresden on the analysis of road accidents and improving road safety. The reduction of accidents within the framework of the GIDAS project is carried out thanks to an integrated approach and close cooperation of numerous organizations from the public, academic and private sectors. The project involves a detailed study of road accidents using standardized data collection methods, including inspection of the accident site, technical examination of vehicles and surveying road users. It is determined that such an approach allows obtaining accurate and structured information about the causes of accidents and factors affecting the severity of the consequences. A nonlinear response function for road accidents is given. It is determined that such models allow taking into account complex dependencies between various factors. Thus, the influence of one parameter can vary depending on others and combine intermediate results into a final forecast. This makes them suitable for modeling response function networks and comprehensive analysis of accident consequences. A key feature of the GIDAS project is the combination of scientific research with practical measures to improve road safety. State bodies, private companies, academic institutions and public organizations jointly analyze data, develop recommendations for improving road infrastructure and increasing vehicle safety. A significant contribution to the development of research is made by the cooperation of a Ukrainian higher education institution with the Technical University of Dresden, which allows Ukrainian specialists to familiarize themselves with GIDAS methods, assess the possibility of their use in local conditions and form the necessary competencies in student motorists to reduce the level of accidents on the roads of the regions of Ukraine.

Introduction: Dementia has been a public health concern for several years. As the population continuously ages, the prevalence of dementia is projected to significantly rise, thus governments will face an increasing demand for support services. Unfortunately, dementia is not recognized as a major public health concern in the Philippines. As the extent of the dementia epidemic needs to be further delineated in the Philippines, and research on dementia is still limited, a larger study is needed to provide more information about the disease burden. This will raise awareness and inform policy makers about the necessity of social and health care reform in dementia care. We aimed to collect uniform data from patients with cognitive impairment and determine the frequency of dementia and mild cognitive impairment in the study population. These data are crucial for providing information to policy makers in the country. Methods and Analysis: This is a multi-center, prospective, observational, non-interventional study and standing database of patients clinically diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) or dementia seen at the participating training institutions. Corresponding anonymized data on demographics, medical history, risk factors, level of functional impairment, diagnosis, baseline cognitive scores and management will be collected from each patient and entered into the database using a secure online data collection tool. Collective data will be extracted, summarized and analyzed every year with oversight provided by the Philippine Neurological Association (PNA). Ethics and Dissemination: Approval from the ethics committees or institutional review boards (EC/IRB) was obtained from the Single Joint Research Ethics Board and all participating institutions. The PNA1DB-Dementia initiative will be crucial in providing information to policy makers, to further enhance the implementation of the Mental Health Act. The dissemination of results will be conducted through scientific or public conferences and scientific journal publication. Keywords: dementia, database, Philippines Trial Registration: NCT05484960; ClinicalTrials.gov.

Managing infectious disease hazards in German ports: development of a standardized concept in the joint research project "Gesunde Häfen, gemeinsam stark(GESA)"

Abstract. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has been conducting horizon scanning (HS) activity in the field of plant health, in collaboration with the EC Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES), since 2017. As of 2024, this activity has produced 130 reports, named newsletters. The aim of this activity is to capture signals from the web about potential threats caused by plant pests from all around the world and to convey them to European Union risk managers in support of their preparedness and timely reactions. The tool used was the Medical Information System (MedISys), a public health surveillance system that continuously monitors the content of more than 3200 scientific and media sources worldwide. The items selected for inclusion in the monthly newsletters are reviewed and validated by a team of experts, while another team carries out further analysis on specific “not-listed” pests. This analysis, PeMoScoring (short for pest and monitoring scoring), is a fast procedure based on a ranking system that warns risk managers of the potential new threats by unknown or not-listed pests. These signals can then trigger actions by risk managers: requests for more assessments by EFSA or facilitation of preventive measures. Recently, a series of workshops and webinars have been organised to foster collaboration among institutions engaged in horizon scanning activities in the field of plant health and to broaden the applicability of this service to other contexts and areas of focus. This article presents an analysis of the data collected from the newsletters, along with a detailed examination of the PeMoScoring outcomes and potential directions for future development. The results highlight the potential of horizon scanning tools in the prevention of emerging threats for plant health and their capacity to support risk management decisions by anticipating challenges and facilitating timely interventions.

Abstract Background and Aims Data captured during dialysis care delivery can be used for monitoring outcomes yet is unable to distinguish the influences of local practice patterns versus pathophysiology. The MONitoring Dialysis Outcomes (MONDO) initiative is an academia-industry collaboration whereby providers can contribute data to an anonymized dataset used for joint research purposes. We present key demographics, cause of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), and regional information to provide an understanding of patient characteristics in the new MONDO dataset. Method Data from Jan 2000–Dec 2019 on 366 fields was captured longitudinally on a per patient per observation level (e.g., each laboratory, treatment, value) with a universal data structure. Data anonymization was performed in alignment with recommendations from a re-identification risk determination (Privacy Analytics, Ontario, CA). The approach satisfies internal best practices, such as ISO/IEC 27559. Ethics approval for the MONDO dataset was obtained in the U.S., with data de-identified prior to analysis to ensure compliance with relevant guidelines. Final datasets were consolidated and hosted by the Renal Research Institute. Results The dataset includes information from 292,531 patients in 41 countries across 20 years. Data was contributed from nine distinct providers. Male represents 58.9% and the age distribution of dialysis patients worldwide showed most were aged 45–64 years (38.3%), followed by 65–74 years (23.6%), and ≥75 years (19.2%). Younger age groups, including 18–44 years (17.3%) and 0–17 years (1.5%), comprised a smaller proportion of the dataset. The distribution of race showed 42.5% were white race, 13.4% other race, 3.8% black Race, and 1.1% Asian race. A considerable proportion (39.2%) had unreported or missing race data. The primary cause of ESKD was most commonly unspecified/unknown (40.5%), followed by diabetes (15.8%), glomerular diseases (13.9%), and hypertensive diseases (14.0%). Less common causes include renal tubulo-interstitial diseases (5.6%), polycystic kidney disease (PKD) (3.7%), and cystic kidney disease other than PKD (0.37%). The geographic distribution of patients in the dataset has the highest representation from Latin America (33.4%), followed by Eastern Europe (23.3%), Southern Europe (14.3%), and Western Asia (8.5%). Other regions had lower yet meaningful representations, including Northern America (6.4%), Northern Europe (4.8%), Eastern Asia (0.5%), and Oceania (0.35%). Conclusion The MONDO initiative developed a new global research dataset to study dialysis outcomes, pathophysiology inference, and risk prediction. This dataset provides a comprehensive and internationally generalizable overview of ESKD patients, dialysis care, and outcomes across multiple countries and at multiple providers. The profiles of demographics and ESKD etiology act as benchmarks for the nephrology community and emphasize the importance of diabetes, hypertensive diseases, and glomerular disease management in kidney disease prevention. MONDO is open to collaboration and contributions without geographic restrictions. This dataset includes 20 years of longitudinal patient data and is among the most comprehensive global dialysis datasets available.

Entrepreneurship Education is a concept of education started in the 1930s and spread in the 1970s to develop student’s entrepreneurial skills and enhance knowledge of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship Mindset Profile (EMP) is an assessment instrument developed by a team of psychologists and researchers at the Eckerd College of Leadership Development Institute (LDI). It is based on the belief that the patterns of thought and behavior associated with entrepreneurial mindset would be helpful to those leaders charged with driving growth and innovation with the organizations (www.emindsetprofile.com). EMP was applied to a joint research project to assess and compare the Entrepreneurship education in Japan and the United States. This is the first time that EMP was introduced and applied outside the United States. The EMP survey results were assessed and interpreted culturally, behaviorally and statistically by the authors. The results show that the ecosystem of entrepreneurship education in the U.S. is more effective and sustainable than the one in Japan due to various factors that will be discussed in the paper. The paper contributes to the comparative study of entrepreneurship education in a new and global perspective.

ABSTRACTDigital technologies change the nature of product and service development and challenge established firms to adapt to the new digital environment. As small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), in particular, lack the resources necessary to digitally transform their business, they are forced to find new strategies to stay competitive in a digital economy. In this article, we propose and test a model in which SMEs collaborate with universities via joint research and/or infrastructure sharing to utilize knowledge spillover and improve their digitalization. Drawing on a quantitative survey of 435 German SMEs, we demonstrate that the managers of those firms cooperating with universities are more likely to develop digital knowledge (DK) of applications and IT management, leading to higher digitalization levels within the SMEs. Thus, we provide evidence that a particular DK base of SME managers serves as a link between university‐industry (U‐I) cooperation and an SME's digitalization. Our study not only advances research in the field by identifying U‐I cooperation as a critical success factor for digitalization activities in SMEs but also offers valuable insights for practitioners and policymakers seeking to enhance SMEs' digitalization efforts.