Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Research Articles

The innovative dimension of the research training programmes under H2020-MSCA-ITN: a methodological approach to track, measure and analyse innovative aspects and provide policy-feedback conclusions.

Innovative research training programmes funded by the European Union are essential for the forging of highly skilled researchers to tackle, via breakthrough ideas and solutions, the challenges of our society. Being able to track, measure and analyse innovative aspects of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions, Innovative Training Networks under the Horizon2020 funding scheme enables the impact assessment of such programmes, while filtering best practices and the generated knowledge that could ultimately breed and create further innovation. In parallel, it helps the identification of areas for improvement, the understanding of new needs to be accommodated and the co-design and implementation of EU funding policy activities to further promote innovation and excellence for researchers across Europe and beyond. In this study, a novel methodological approach is proposed for tracking and analysing innovation, using a representative sample of projects. Basic innovation indicators are examined and considered from the existing literature and from the applicable Multi-Annual Framework Programme Horizon2020. Additional ones are defined, complemented by questionnaires/surveys findings, to capture innovative aspects for which the standard indicators do not apply. Data mining and data visualization tools are used for the collection and processing of data. Innovation Radar 2 (IR) reports and HorizonResultsBooster 3 services are also engaged for the cross-validation of the identified innovative aspects. The study provides first-level input for policy-feedback activities, by identifying scientific domains and EU countries that may potentially require more attention for innovation generation. It highlights domains that are front-runners and can be used as examples or best practices for under-represented domains in terms of innovative outputs. Collaboration with organisations, defined as medium/high innovators, can increase innovation generation and success in future projects. Best practices are collected to serve as references for designing impactful future training programmes. The excellence of the H2020-MSCA-ITN actions is confirmed via the generated innovations.

EUREST-RISE: An innovative networking and training project on European Tobacco Control

Abstract Aim and objective The world's leading contributor to avoidable illness and premature death is thought to be smoking and other tobacco use. An integrated set of research projects are suggested as part of EUREST-RISE to aid in the training of researchers in the analysis of tobacco product systems, their processes and functions, and the relationships between important design elements and their evaluation in user populations. Methods Currently in its first phase of execution, EUREST-RISE is a Marie Sklodowska Curie Action (MSCA) funded under Grant Agreement (Number:101008139). In the framework of particular research objectives addressed within tasks of each WP, interdisciplinary knowledge transfer will be achieved through the intersectoral secondment of researchers and their reintegration to their home institution. Results By offering a special framework for collaboration on joint research and innovation projects in three areas, EUREST-RISE expects to achieve its goal of developing a cohort of scholars with cutting-edge practical training in European tobacco product regulatory science. A) Exchange of information about the use of big data bases to address tobacco control concerns from a product-level or population-level viewpoint, including EU Common Entry Gate product-level data and European secondary population-based databases B) offer research and training on the application of sensory and chemical analyses for the evaluation of flavors in heated tobacco products, e-cigarettes, and tobacco products C) train researchers in advocacy activities and policy integration, facilitate training in peer to peer communication, and training on communication to media and the general public. Conclusions A network of excellence in European tobacco product regulation science is anticipated to be created via the EUREST-RISE initiative. Key messages • Conflicts of Interest: None. • Funding: The EUREST-RISE Project takes place with the financial support of the European Union, under a Grant Agreement (Number:101008139, PI: Dr Vardavas).

The innovative dimension of the research training programmes under H2020-MSCA-ITN1: a methodological approach to track, measure and analyse innovative aspects and provide policy-feedback conclusions.

Innovative research training programmes funded by the European Union are essential for the forging of highly skilled researchers to tackle, via breakthrough ideas and solutions, the challenges of our society. Being able to track, measure and analyse innovative aspects of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions, Innovative Training Networks under the Horizon2020 funding scheme enables the impact assessment of such programmes, while filtering best practices and the generated knowledge that could ultimately breed and create further innovation. In parallel, it helps the identification of areas for improvement, the understanding of new needs to be accommodated and the co-design and implementation of EU funding policy activities to further promote innovation and excellence for researchers across Europe and beyond. In this study, a novel methodological approach is proposed for tracking and analysing innovation, using a representative sample of projects. Basic innovation indicators are examined and considered from the existing literature and from the applicable Multi-Annual Framework Programme Horizon2020. Additional ones are defined, complemented by questionnaires/surveys findings, to capture innovative aspects for which the standard indicators do not apply. Data mining and data visualization tools are used for the collection and processing of data. Innovation Radar2 (IR) reports and HorizonResultsBooster3 services are also engaged for the cross-validation of the identified innovative aspects. The study provides first-level input for policy-feedback activities, by identifying scientific domains and EU countries that may potentially require more attention for innovation generation. It highlights domains that are front-runners and can be used as examples or best practices for under-represented domains in terms of innovative outputs. Collaboration with organisations, defined as medium/high innovators, can increase innovation generation and success in future projects. Best practices are collected to serve as references for designing impactful future training programmes. The excellence of the H2020-MSCA-ITN actions is confirmed via the generated innovations.

Search for the doubly heavy baryon decaying to * *The project support from CERN and from the national agencies: CAPES, CNPq, FAPERJ and FINEP (Brazil); MOST and NSFC (China); CNRS/IN2P3 (France); BMBF, DFG and MPG (Germany); INFN (Italy); NWO (Netherlands); MNiSW and NCN (Poland); MEN/IFA (Romania); MICINN (Spain); SNSF and SER (Switzerland); NASU (Ukraine); STFC (United Kingdom); DOE NP and

A first search for the decay is performed by the LHCb experiment with a data sample of proton-proton collisions, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb−1 recorded at centre-of-mass energies of 7, 8, and 13 TeV. Two peaking structures are seen with a local (global) significance of and standard deviations at masses of 6571 and 6694 MeV/, respectively. Upper limits are set on the baryon production cross-section times the branching fraction relative to that of the decay at centre-of-mass energies of 8 and 13 TeV, in the and in the rapidity and transverse-momentum ranges from 2.0 to 4.5 and 0 to , respectively. Upper limits are presented as a function of the mass and lifetime.

Oxylipin Profiles during the First Day of Mechanical Ventilation in an Intensive Care Unit Cohort: Research Letter.

Lipid mediators derived from arachidonic acid and other precursor polyunsaturated fatty acids, collectively known as oxylipins, are metabolized along different distinct pathways and play important roles in the modulation of inflammation.1,2 Blood oxylipin profiles have been shown to correlate with the survival and development of acute respiratory distress syndrome in patients with sepsis or septic shock.3–5 We aimed to explore serum oxylipin profiles using liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry quantification as previously described6 during the first day of mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit (ICU). Previously, we have noted elevated plasma concentrations of thromboxane B2, prostaglandin E2, 15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoate, and 11-hydroxyeicosatetraenoate in response to experimental hyperinflation lung injury7 in a large animal model. Based on this, we hypothesized that these metabolites would increase in response to mechanical ventilation in patients. Decreases in a subset of oxylipins have been observed, however, in relation to critical illness.8With ethical approval (Linköping, 2010/427-31 and 2018/16-32), all consecutive adult patients (n = 589) with indwelling arterial cannulas after admission to the ICU in Östersund Hospital, Sweden, between February 1, 2012, and January 31, 2013, were screened for inclusion in the study cohort unless transferred from another ICU.9 Blood samples were collected in EDTA tubes during 2012 and 2013. Within 30 min, the samples were spun for 10 min at 2,000g. The plasma was then frozen in aliquots to –70°C, then unfrozen, and analyzed in 2021. In the cohort,9 147 cases with complete data and samples were identified. Of these, 22 men and 3 women with mixed diagnoses were intubated and included in the study with case characteristics in Supplemental Table 1 (https://links.lww.com/ALN/D48). Samples were collected at the time of intubation and on the following morning.Of 67 oxylipins in the analysis panel, 57 were detected (fig. 1). Of these, 23 were above the limit of quantification in at least 80% of the samples, which was the predetermined limit for oxylipins to be included in formal analysis. The detected metabolites included all major metabolic pathways, cyclooxygenase, lipoxygenase, and cytochrome P450. Complete oxylipin analysis results are given in Supplemental Table 1 (https://links.lww.com/ALN/D48). None of the oxylipins was assumed to be normally distributed. After log transformation, 19 oxylipins were deemed to be normally distributed and were thus evaluated with paired Student’s t test and Hedges’ g. The remaining four oxylipins were compared using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test (table 1). Correction for multiple comparisons was performed with the false discovery rate set to 10% for α = 0.05, yielding a significance level at P < 0.001.For samples after up to 1 day of mechanical ventilation (after intubation), 12-hydroxyeicosatetraenoate showed significantly lower plasma concentrations, and no oxylipin increased (table 1).The current study supports decreased concentrations of 12-hydroxyeicosatetraenoate in response to mechanical ventilation in contrast to previous reports of 12-hydroxyeicosatetraenoate being considered a proinflammatory mediator.10 Thromboxane B2 and prostaglandin E2 were not among the oxylipins with sufficient detection frequencies for formal analysis. In contrast to the main hypothesis, 15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoate and 11-hydroxyeicosatetraenoate did not increase during the first day of mechanical ventilation.In conclusion, this study demonstrates that several oxylipins may be detected in intensive care patients and that plasma concentration of 12-hydroxyeicosatetraenoate decreases during the first day of mechanical ventilation in the ICU.This work was supported by the Swedish Research Council VR (2014–6354; Stockholm, Sweden), Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions, Cofund, Project INCA 600398 (European Union), Åke Wiberg’s Foundation (M17-0219; Stockholm, Sweden), research funding from Umeå University (Umeå, Sweden), and the ALF-LUA cooperative Region Västerbotten-Umeå University (Umeå, Sweden) intramural research funding system.Dr. Larsson has received speaker fees for lecturing in clinical symposia sponsored by Dräger Medical (Götesburg, Sweden), and not related to this specific topic. We do not consider this relevant to the report. The authors declare no other conflicts of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.Supplemental Digital Content, https://links.lww.com/ALN/D48

A Journey Into the Unknown: PhD Students in a European Training Network on Age-related Changes in Hematopoiesis Conduct Their Project During a Global Pandemic

A Journey Into the Unknown: PhD Students in a European Training Network on Age-related Changes in Hematopoiesis Conduct Their Project During a Global Pandemic

Estimating the burden of hepatitis B virus infection in Laos between 2020 and 2021: A cross-sectional seroprevalence survey.

SummaryBackgroundLaos is considered highly endemic for persistent infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV). To eliminate this burden, it has gradually implemented universal anti-hepatitis B immunisation of newborns over the past two decades.MethodsUsing VIKIA® HBsAg, a rapid test for the qualitative detection of the HBV surface antigen, we conducted between Sep 1st, 2020 and Aug 31st, 2021 the largest prospective prevalence survey ever in Laos. This survey included blood donors (BD, n = 42,277), patients attending care in capital and provincial hospitals (n = 37,347) including attending mothers (n = 20,548), HIV-infected patients (n = 7439, recruited from 2009 to 2020), students from the Health Sciences University (n = 609), and outpatients (n = 350) coming for diagnosis at the Center Infectiology Lao-Christophe Mérieux in Vientiane. In total, 88,022 persons were tested, representing approximately 1.22% of the national population. To reach a reasonable estimate of HBsAg prevalence in Laos, we segmented the population according to three variables, age (≤20 years as a cut-off), sex, and geographical origin. BD values were used to estimate HBsAg prevalence in patients aged <20 while hospital survey prevalence was used to estimate the prevalence in those aged older than 20 years.FindingsWe observed an HBsAg seroprevalence ranging from 2.6% in blood donors to 8.0% in HIV-infected patients. In BD, men were significantly more at risk to be carriers than women (RR = 1.2, P = 0.00063). For BD, attending mothers, or HIV-infected patients, HBsAg was significantly more prevalent in northern Laos (5.1–8.4%) than in central (2.0–8.1%) or southern parts of the country (2.2–6.9%), thereby delineating a North-to-South gradient.InterpretationWe considered that HBsAg prevalence probably ranges between 5.0% and 6.0% of the total population. Thus, we consider that Laos may no longer be highly endemic for chronic HBV infection but rather a country with intermediate endemicity.FundingThe funding sources were the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie, the French Government, the French Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD), and European Union’s Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) – Research and Innovation Staff Exchange - (RISE) under grant agreement N° 823935.

A Sparse Version of Reznick’s Positivstellensatz

If f is a positive definite form, Reznick’s Positivstellensatz states that there exists [Formula: see text] such that [Formula: see text] is a sum of squares of polynomials. Assuming that f can be written as a sum of forms [Formula: see text], where each fl depends on a subset of the initial variables, and assuming that these subsets satisfy the so-called running intersection property, we provide a sparse version of Reznick’s Positivstellensatz. Namely, there exists [Formula: see text] such that [Formula: see text], where σl is a sum of squares of polynomials, Hl is a uniform polynomial denominator, and both polynomials [Formula: see text] involve the same variables as fl for each [Formula: see text]. In other words, the sparsity pattern of f is also reflected in this sparse version of Reznick’s certificate of positivity. We next use this result to also obtain positivity certificates for (i) polynomials nonnegative on the whole space and (ii) polynomials nonnegative on a (possibly noncompact) basic semialgebraic set, assuming that the input data satisfy the running intersection property. Both are sparse versions of a positivity certificate from Putinar and Vasilescu. Funding: V. Magron was supported by the Fondation Mathématique Jacques Hadamard Programme Gaspard Monge for Optimization (Exact Polynomial Optimization with Innovative Certifed Schemes project). This work has benefited from the Tremplin European Research Council Starting [Grant ANR-18-ERC2-0004-01] (Tremplin-Certified Optimization for Cyber-Physical Systems project), the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions [Grant 813211] (Polynomial Optimization, Efficiency through Moments and Algebra) as well as from the Artificial Intelligence Interdisciplinary Institute Artificial and Natural Intelligence Toulouse Institute funding, through the French “Investing for the Future Programme d’Investissements d’Avenir3” program [Grant n°ANR-19-PI3A-0004].

Limitations of the new ISO standard for health and wellness apps

Limitations of the new ISO standard for health and wellness apps

The 4f-Hybridization Strength in Ce m Mn In3m+2n Heavy-Fermion Compounds Studied by Angle-Resolved Photoemission SpectroscopySupported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 12074436 and 11574402), and the Innovation-Driven Plan in Central South University (Grant No. 2016CXS032). J.R. and P.M.O. acknowledge support through the Swedish Research Council (VR) and the Swedish National Infrastructure for Computing (SNIC), for computing

We systemically investigate the nature of Ce 4f electrons in structurally layered heavy-fermion compounds Ce m M n In3m + 2n (with M = Co, Rh, Ir, and Pt, m = 1, 2, n = 0–2), at low temperature using on-resonance angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. Three heavy quasiparticle bands f 0, and , are observed in all compounds, whereas their intensities and energy locations vary greatly with materials. The strong f 0 states imply that the localized electron behavior dominates the Ce 4f states. The Ce 4f electrons are partially hybridized with the conduction electrons, making them have the dual nature of localization and itinerancy. Our quantitative comparison reveals that the –f 0 intensity ratio is more suitable to reflect the 4f-state hybridization strength.

Dubiofossils from a Mars-analogue subsurface palaeoenvironment: The limits of biogenicity criteria.

The search for a fossil record of Earth's deep biosphere, partly motivated by potential analogies with subsurface habitats on Mars, has uncovered numerous assemblages of inorganic microfilaments and tubules inside ancient pores and fractures. Although these enigmatic objects are morphologically similar to mineralized microorganisms (and some contain organic carbon), they also resemble some abiotic structures. Palaeobiologists have responded to this ambiguity by evaluating problematic filaments against checklists of "biogenicity criteria". Here, we describe material that tests the limits of this approach. We sampled Jurassic calcite veins formed through subseafloor serpentinization, a water-rock reaction that can fuel the deep biosphere and is known to have occurred widely on Mars. At two localities ~4km apart, veins contained curving, branched microfilaments composed of Mg-silicate and Fe-oxide minerals. Using a wide range of analytical techniques including synchrotron X-ray microtomography and scanning transmission electron microscopy, we show that these features meet many published criteria for biogenicity and are comparable to fossilized cryptoendolithic fungi or bacteria. However, we argue that abiotic processes driven by serpentinization could account for the same set of lifelike features, and report a chemical garden experiment that supports this view. These filaments are, therefore, most objectively described as dubiofossils, a designation we here defend from criticism and recommend over alternative approaches, but which nevertheless signifies an impasse. Similar impasses can be anticipated in the future exploration of subsurface palaeo-habitats on Earth and Mars. To avoid them, further studies are required in biomimetic geochemical self-organization, microbial taphonomy and micro-analytical techniques, with a focus on subsurface habitats.

Causal dynamics of patient/clinician facial expression transfer are associated with insula cortex brain-to-brain concordance

While patient/clinician relationships significantly impact pain outcomes, the behavioral and neural mechanisms supporting this phenomenon are unknown. Specifically, the precise role of facial expressions in contributing to analgesia and brain-to-brain communication has not been investigated. In this Hyperscan fMRI study, we explored how pain-related, directional facial communication between patient and clinician engaging in interactive pain treatment is associated with brain concordance. Dyads comprising 20 patients with fibromyalgia and 19 acupuncturists completed two synchronous fMRI scans (two different partners per participant). During fMRI, dyad members saw each other's face through closed-circuit video while interacting. The fMRI scan included a series of moderately painful and minimally/non-painful leg cuff pressure stimuli to the patient while the clinician observed. A separate fMRI scan included clinician-applied and remotely-activated electroacupuncture treatment to the patient while they received moderate cuff pressure pain. In-scanner videos were used for automated individual facial muscle unit (FMU) timeseries extraction. FMU data from pain/observation scans was fed into an interpretable machine learning classifier to determine which FMU's dynamics was most associated with pain. FMUs from the pain/treatment scans were used in conjunction with neural-network causality estimation to investigate directional non-verbal communication and their association with brain-to-brain dynamic fMRI concordance (as reported in Ellingsen et al., 2020). Causality analysis indicated a strong asymmetry in which the patients’ facial expressions elicited a range of facial expressions in clinicians, but not vice-versa. Patient lip movement FMUs were most associated with pain. Interestingly, patient-to-clinician causal influence of these FMUs on similar clinicians’ FMUs was associated with dynamic insula cortex brain-to-brain concordance, demonstrating the key role of this social mirroring and salience processing brain region with respect to facial expression mirroring between patients and clinicians. Supported by the National Institutes of Health, National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (R61-AT009306), Norwegian Research Council /Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (FRICON/COFUND-240553/F20), Neuroimaging Pilot Funding Initiative at the Martinos Center for Biomedical imaging, MGH (R90DA023427), Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine (KIOM), Foundation for the Science of the Therapeutic Encounter, National Center for Research Resources (P41RR14075; CRC 1 UL1 RR025758), Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center, Martinos Computing facilities, and National Institutes of Health (Grant Nos. S10RR023401, S10RR019307, S10RR019254, and S10RR023043).

Does reviewing experience reduce disagreement in proposals evaluation? Insights from Marie Skłodowska-Curie and COST Actions

Abstract We have limited understanding of why reviewers tend to strongly disagree when scoring the same research proposal. Thus far, research that explored disagreement has focused on the characteristics of the proposal or the applicants, while ignoring the characteristics of the reviewers themselves. This article aims to address this gap by exploring which reviewer characteristics most affect disagreement among reviewers. We present hypotheses regarding the effect of a reviewer’s level of experience in evaluating research proposals for a specific granting scheme, that is, scheme reviewing experience. We test our hypotheses by studying two of the most important research funding programmes in the European Union from 2014 to 2018, namely, 52,488 proposals evaluated under three funding schemes of the Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), and 1,939 proposals evaluated under the European Cooperation in Science and Technology Actions. We find that reviewing experience on previous calls of a specific scheme significantly reduces disagreement, while experience of evaluating proposals in other schemes—namely, general reviewing experience, does not have any effect. Moreover, in MSCA—Individual Fellowships, we observe an inverted U relationship between the number of proposals a reviewer evaluates in a given call and disagreement, with a remarkable decrease in disagreement above 13 evaluated proposals. Our results indicate that reviewing experience in a specific scheme improves reliability, curbing unwarranted disagreement by fine-tuning reviewers’ evaluation.

Relaxed Current Matching Requirements in Highly Luminescent Perovskite Tandem Solar Cells and Their Fundamental Efficiency Limits.

Perovskite-based tandem solar cells are of increasing interest as they approach commercialization. Here we use experimental parameters from optical spectroscopy measurements to calculate the limiting efficiency of perovskite–silicon and all-perovskite two-terminal tandems, employing currently available bandgap materials, as 42.0% and 40.8%, respectively. We show luminescence coupling between subcells (the optical transfer of photons from the high-bandgap to low-bandgap subcell) relaxes current matching when the high-bandgap subcell is a luminescent perovskite. We calculate that luminescence coupling becomes important at charge trapping rates (≤106 s–1) already being achieved in relevant halide perovskites. Luminescence coupling increases flexibility in subcell thicknesses and tolerance to different spectral conditions. For maximal benefit, the high-bandgap subcell should have the higher short-circuit current under average spectral conditions. This can be achieved by reducing the bandgap of the high-bandgap subcell, allowing wider, unstable bandgap compositions to be avoided. Lastly, we visualize luminescence coupling in an all-perovskite tandem through cross-section luminescence imaging.

Search for the rare decay B 0 → J/ψϕ * *Individual groups or members have received support from AvH Foundation (Germany); EPLANET, Marie Sk lodowska-Curie Actions and ERC (European Union); A*MIDEX, ANR, Labex P2IO and OCEVU, and R´egion Auvergne-Rhˆone-Alpes (France); Key Research Program of Frontier Sciences of CAS, CAS PIFI, Thousand Talents Program, and Sci. & Tech. Program of Guangzhou

A search for the rare decay is performed using collision data collected with the LHCb dete-ctor at centre-of-mass energies of 7, 8 and 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb−1. No significant signal of the decay is observed and an upper limit of at 90% confidence level is set on the branching fraction.

Mechanical Softness of Ferroelectric 180° Domain Walls

C. S. thanks BIST for the PREBIST Grant. This projecthas received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No. 754558. E. L. acknowledges the funding received from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program through the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions: Individual Fellowship-Global Fellowship (Ref. No. MSCA-IF-GF708129). M. S. and K. S. acknowledge the support of the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (Grant Agreement No. 724529), Ministerio de Economia, Industria y Competitividad through Grants No. MAT2016- 77100-C2-2-P and No. SEV-2015-0496, and the Generalitat de Catalunya (Grant No. 2017SGR 1506). G. C. acknowledge the support of the Ministerio de Economia, Industria y Competitividad, Agencia Estatal de Investigacion/Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional and European Union through Grant No. MAT2016-77100-C2-1-P (MINECO/AEI/FEDER, UE).

Climate Concern and Policy Support Among Early-Career Scientists in Europe

The European Union (EU) is taking final steps towards the 2020 target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 20% from 1990 levels. The new generation of climate policies are being discussed and designed to achieve the EU commitments in the Paris agreement. Public support specially among the scientific community is the key determinant of the success of any climate policy. In this paper we report the result a broad survey of more than 800 alumni of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions, a highly selective and prestigious European academic fellowship about their belief in climate change, their concerns about the status of it, and their support for an array of policy proposals to address this problem. We find that climate change has been accepted as a “fact” by overwhelming majority of the respondents while it is also considered the most concerning global issue for this group of future leaders of the EU scientific community. Allocating more funding towards renewable energy research and more carbon emission regulation received the most support from the respondents. The political beliefs and ideological affinity seem to play a minor role in their support for different policy proposals. In designing future climate policies in Europe, a bipartisan support for providing alternative energy options through funding renewable energy research may benefit from having a high priority. • We conduct a survey of over 800 alumni of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions, the up-and-coming generation of scientists in Europe who will be, sooner or later, in a position to shape the future of European climate policies. • The overwhelming majority of the participants believe in climate change and rank it as the most concerning global issue higher than terrorism and international migration. • Regardless of different political beliefs and ideological affinities, there is a consensus among the respondents to support more research in renewable energies and to more strictly regulate carbon emissions.

ECOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE UNDERSTANDING OF HUMAN BEING IN THE CLASSICAL CHINESE THOUGHT

e paper aims at discussing the ecological implications of the understanding of the human being in the Classical Chinese thought. The study consists of three main parts. In the first one, the peculiarities of the Chinese thought as a philosophy of dynamism are discussed. I argue that in contrast to the Western thought, where the main ontological question is connected with the issue of essence and the epistemological approach is based on the opposition of subject and object, the Chinese thought reveals reality in terms of dynamism, where the most important concepts are these of processes, relations and transformations. In the second part, I analyse the place of human beings in this dynamic universe in terms of three different perspectives: (i) their relations; (ii) their actions/interactions; and (iii) their value. I point out that it is the harmony that could be defined as the most privileged position in the Chinese universe. In the third part, I discuss two main kinds of ecologically wise behaviour of human beings that are in accordance with the dynamic nature of the universe: (i) the Confucian idea of the outer harmonisation of the human society with the patterns of transformation in the Universe and (ii) the Daoist idea of the inner achievement of the pivot of transformation within oneself. In the conclusion, I outline the idea that the combination of inner and outer activity of harmonisation with reality could be used as an example of wise ecological behaviour and attitude to nature. The work on the paper is part of an individual project “Perception of Eastern Teachings in Europe” funded by the European Union through the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action, Horizon 2020, grant No. 753561.

Analyzing Work from Graduates of the Marie Curie Alumni Association as a Tool for EU Collaboration with National Scientific Expatriate Communities

Introduction. One of the key distinctive features of modern science is its global nature, which has resulted in high levels of transnational academic mobility and international competition for talent among countries and universities. Programs that support academic mobility and alumni associations play an important role among the primary engines of that competitiveness. The study reviews the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) and Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA) as instruments of the European Union for cooperation with national scientific expatriate communities. Methods. The study uses the historical method and analyzes trends in the development of the MSCA program and the MCAA. The study includes systematic and functional analyses of the MSCA and MCAA. The analysis is based on official reports of the European Commission on the results of the MSCA program as well as information from the official websites of the MSCA and the European Commission. Results and Discussion. The study reviews the structure of the MSCA program, the key tasks, and objectives of its subprograms as well as their effectiveness. The study analyzes the structure and functions of the MSCA and determines the role of MSCA and MSAA in the international research system. The program’s increased levels of funding and supported projects, the emergence of subprograms aimed at various groups of scientists and industry representatives, the decline in canceled projects, and positive reviews from program participants are all proof of the MSCA’s strong results and positive dynamics. MCAA has also proven itself as a useful tool for international scientific cooperation, the establishment of international research networks, and dialog between the scientific community, universities, and national governments. Conclusion. The study concludes that Russia would highly benefit from an organization similar to the MCAA. These establishments present key opportunities to attract leading scientists into university positions and jobs at innovative companies throughout the country. The association can be utilized as a social elevator for young and talented scientists to create international research networks and contribute to the development of international scientific cooperation. At the same time, MCAA is autonomous and does not require national funding.

154 Exposure of bulls to heat stress had deleterious effects on embryo development

Concerns about global climate change reducing animal fertility are arising. Therefore, our objective was to determine the effects of increased environmental temperature on Holstein bulls and its effects on sperm quality and embryo development. Frozen semen samples were obtained from 6 bulls exposed to natural heat stress (HS) in August 2016, compared with a lower temperature (control) in March 2016 (temperature-humidity index of up to 74.5 and 40.6, respectively). We evaluated sperm morphology, embryo development, gene expression, inner cell mass/trophectoderm ratio (ICM/TE), and apoptosis cell ratio of Day-8 blastocysts. Sperm morphology was evaluated using eosin/nigrosin staining. Blastocysts were produced by routine in vitro methods (Wydooghe et al. 2014 Reprod. Fertil. Dev.). Cleavage rates were determined 48h after insemination, and blastocyst rates were determined on Days 7 and 8. Expression of NANOG, SOX2, POU5F1, DNMT (1, 3a, 3b), HSP (A1a, A2, A8, 10, 60, 90), HSF1, IFNT2, H19, SNRPN, IGF2, IGF2R, MEST, PHLDA2, MEG3, MEG9, PEG10 and PLAGL1 were analysed. Total RNA was extracted from Day-8 blastocysts for gene expression analysis using RNeasy Micro Kit (Qiagen, Valencia, CA, USA). Reverse transcription and qPCR were performed with iScript (BioRad, Hercules, CA, USA) and SsoAdvanced™ Universal SYBR® Green Supermix (BioRad) in a CFX Connect system (BioRad). Blastocysts were differentially stained (Wydooghe et al. 2011 Anal. Biochem.) and analysed using a Leica TCS-SP8×confocal microscope (Leica Microsystems, Wetzlar, Germany). Data analyses included a GLM procedure and paired-samples Student’s t test (P ≤ 0.05). A normal distribution was verified with a UNIVARIATE procedure and Shapiro-Wilk test. A Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to analyse qPCR data. Detached heads (P=0.006) and coiled tails (P=0.018) were significantly lower in the HS group (4.9 and 0.2%, respectively) compared with the control (5.5 and 0.5%). Moreover, proximal droplets (P=0.051) were lower in the HS group (0.7%) compared with the control (1.3%). Remarkably, cleavage and blastocyst rates at Days 7 and 8 were significantly higher in control (78.4, 19.6 and 29.5%, respectively) compared with HS (75, 14.5 and 23.2%). Early and normal blastocysts were grouped as early stage, whereas expanded, hatching and hatched blastocysts were grouped as advanced stage. There was a significant reduction in the HS group of early stage blastocysts on Day 7 and of advanced stage blastocysts on Days 7 and 8. However, in Day-8 blastocysts, there was no significant difference in gene expression for any target gene. Moreover, there were no significant differences in total number of cells or apoptosis cell ratio in blastocysts. However, the ICM/TE ratio was significantly higher (P=0.021) in control (0.7) compared with HS (0.56). Sperm samples collected in August had reduced fertility compared with those obtained in March. Although fewer sperm abnormalities were present in HS, based on decreased blastocyst rates and ICM/TE ratio in embryos produced with HS semen, we inferred that molecular mechanisms for advanced blastocyst development were affected. However, those mechanisms did not involve our target genes. This work was funded by the European Union, Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action, REPBIOTECH 675526.