Candidate Status Research Articles

New advances in novel pharmacotherapeutic candidates for the treatment of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) between 2022 and 2024.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) covers a broad spectrum of profile from simple fatty liver, evolving to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), to hepatic fibrosis, further progressing to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). MASLD has become a prevalent disease with 25% in average over the world. MASH is an active stage, and requires pharmacological intervention when there is necroptotic damage with fibrotic progression. Although there is an increased understanding of MASH pathogenesis and newly approved resmetirom, given its complexity and heterogeneous pathophysiology, there is a strong necessity to develop more drug candidates with better therapeutic efficacy and well-tolerated safety profile. With an increased list of pharmaceutical candidates in the pipeline, it is anticipated to witness successful approval of more potential candidates in this fast-evolving field, thereby offering different categories of medications for selective patient populations. In this review, we update the advances in MASH pharmacotherapeutics that have completed phase II or III clinical trials with potential application in clinical practice during the latest 2 years, focusing on effectiveness and safety issues. The overview of fast-evolving status of pharmacotherapeutic candidates for MASH treatment confers deep insights into the key issues, such as molecular targets, endpoint selection and validation, clinical trial design and execution, interaction with drug administration authority, real-world data feedback and further adjustment in clinical application.

Psychosocial assessment and its association with mortality in kidney transplant candidates

ABSTRACT This study aimed to assess the association between the Global Psychosocial Assessment of Candidates Transplant score and survival in deceased donor kidney transplant candidates. A longitudinal cohort design was employed. The 142 candidates recruited were registered on the waiting list for deceased donor kidney transplants at a transplant center. Initially, candidates who enrolled in this study in 2016 were divided into high- and low-risk psychosocial cohorts, based on their Psychosocial Assessment of Candidates Transplant score, with a cut-off of 3 points. In 2022, the mortality rate was compared according to whether the initial Psychosocial Assessment of Candidates Transplant score was < 3 or ≥ 3 points. This study included data from 139 deceased donor kidney transplant candidates. An initial Psychosocial Assessment of Candidates Transplant score of < 3 was associated with higher mortality five years after being on the waiting list (hazard ratio = 2.39, p = .031). A high-risk status for psychosocial problems according to the Psychosocial Assessment of Candidates Transplant score predicted a significantly lower five-year survival for candidates on the waiting list for a deceased donor kidney transplant. Therefore, the psychosocial status of candidates on the waitlist for kidney transplantation should be regularly screened and systematically managed to improve their psychosocial status and make them more suitable candidates for transplant surgery. A psychosocial intervention should be developed to improve these patients’ psychosocial status and promote positive health outcomes after kidney transplantation.

Legal regulation of the liability of officials when providing public services as a measure to prevent corruption and corruption risks

The scientific article is devoted to the peculiarities of the responsibility of civil servants when providing public services as a measure to prevent corruption. It is stated that it is necessary to strengthen control over compliance with the principles of providing public services to prevent corruption, in particular the principle of legal responsibility of public administration entities and their officials. It is stated that bringing an official to administrative responsibility for providing public services to prevent corruption and corruption risks should be combined with appropriate disciplinary and tort sanctions. And a significant improvement in the prevention of corruption according to various statistical indicators was achieved by Ukraine during the Great War (the Corruption Perception Index as of 2023 Ukraine ranks 104th, as stated by the non-governmental organization Transparency International) and in the global Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for 2023 Ukraine received 36 points out of 100 possible. In total, over the past 10 years, Ukraine has added 11 points – this is the largest increase among countries that currently have the status of candidates for the EU. In addition, in 2022, Ukraine gained 33 points (+1 point), and took 116th place. Of course, there are certain developments in the process of preventing corruption and corruption risks, but they are insignificant, and require the intensification of the work of government structures in this area. It is proposed to discipline authorized bodies, introduce a rule according to which, in case of exceeding the deadlines for the provision of public services, the applicant is returned the amount of money for the service in proportion to the time of delay, with the subsequent collection of this amount in favor of the state from the guilty officials. It is substantiated that at present there is no single element of the offense for bringing officials to administrative liability for unlawful refusal to provide administrative services, for exceeding the deadlines established by technological cards for providing services, and for inciting a person to bribe an official.

Legal Aspects of Georgia's EU Integration

Following Georgia’s application for EU membership in March 2022, it was finally granted candidate status on the basis of European Council conclusions of December 14 and 15, 2023.[1] The relationships between the two are predominantly governed by the Association Agreement[2] (AA) concluded between the EU and Georgia. The AA is an outcome of the EU’s European neighbourhood policy (ENP), an important part of the EU’s foreign policy, of which Georgia is one of 16 partner countries.[3] While the AA has historically framed the contours of EU-Georgia cooperation, the recent advancement of Georgia’s status marks the commencement of a significantly more dynamic phase of interaction. Consequently, in future the scope of engagement will further extend beyond the domains outlined by the AA, the Treaty Establishing Energy Community,[4] or the Common Aviation Area Agreement.[5] Moreover, Georgia will have to broaden its horizon and look much further than it had to in case of the existing bilateral and multilateral agreements with the EU, embracing a more comprehensive approach to its integration efforts. The paper serves as the written statement of the speech delivered by the representative of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia at the International Scientific Conference convened by the collaborative efforts of Lazarski University and the European Integration Research Center at Georgian National University SEU. The author is steadfast in the belief that discussions conducted during the conference contribute significantly to deepening Georgia’s integration with the EU, and foster stronger connections between academia and the policymaking sector. Keywords: EU, Georgia, legal approximation, EU Law, Association Agreement, candidacy.

Individual Responsibility for the Actions of Legal Entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Latvia

Legal entities, according to contemporary legal theory, have general legal and business capacity, just like natural persons. Consequently, legal entities are subject to both criminal and civil liability, whether contractual or tortious in nature. However, it cannot be overlooked that certain actions or omissions of required actions on behalf of and for the account of legal entities are always carried out by natural persons, and they too must be held accountable. The aim of the authors in this paper is to define the circle of responsible persons who perform legal actions on behalf of and for the account of legal entities, as well as to examine the nature and legal regime of their liability. Specifically, the paper seeks to answer the question of how the criminal liability of natural persons for the actions and omissions of legal entities is manifested, and how the issue of civil liability is regulated. In doing so, the authors will also use a comparative legal method, comparing two legal systems: the Latvian legal system, as a member state of the European Union, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, or its entities, the Republic of Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which have candidate status for EU membership.

European legal standards of personal data protection

The article considers the main European legal acts that ensure the protection of personal data and confidential information about a person. After all, taking into account the European integration direction of Ukraine’s development, the experience of legal regulation of the institution of personal data on the European continent is important for our country. It was emphasized that the rapid technological development and globalization lead to the emergence of new difficulties for the protection of personal data: the scale of collection and sharing of personal data has increased significantly; technologies allow both private companies and public bodies to use personal data on an unprecedented scale in order to implement their activities and individuals are increasingly providing access to personal information to the public and on a global scale. It is emphasized that the protection of personal data as one of the fundamental human rights is currently guaranteed by an effective combination of various EU legal instruments, in particular the founding treaties of the EU and the EU Charter, which are acts of primary EU law, as well as acts of secondary EU law. The Council of Europe Convention «On the Protection of Individuals in Relation to Automated Processing of Personal Data» dated January 28, 1981 No. 108 was analyzed as the first international legally binding document that deals exclusively with issues of personal data protection, which outlines the key principles of personal data processing , the rights of a person in connection with the processing of his personal data, basic norms regarding cross-border data transfer. The author emphasizes the importance of Ukraine’s international legal obligations arising from the AA and the EU candidate status, which has once again raised the issue of the need to update and implement the latest EU standards in the field of personal data protection into national legislation. It is noted that rapid technological development and globalization lead to new challenges for personal data protection. The scale of collection and sharing of personal data has increased significantly. Technologies allow both private companies and public authorities to use personal data on an unprecedented scale to carry out their activities. Individuals are increasingly providing access to personal information to the public and on a global scale. The author emphasized the importance of Ukraine’s international legal obligations arising from the AA and the acquisition of the EU candidate status, which once again raised the issue of the need to update and implement the latest EU standards in the field of personal data protection into national legislation. The result of the development of a joint pan­European regulatory act in the field of regulating the processing and protection of personal data was the adoption of the General Regulation on the Protection of Personal Data with the aim of adapting the rules of personal data protection to the era of digital technologies, the main substantive novelties of this legal act were determined. The main tasks of the European Council for the Protection of Personal Data have been clarified.

Sweet and sour cherry trees growing at new cultivar testing orchard and certified stock collection in Hungary are highly infected with CVA and PrVF

Hungary has a long tradition of sour cherry breeding. Clone selection for new cultivars with desirable traits recently replaced by classical breeding, and new cultivar candidates waiting for evaluations of their phenotypes are maintained at a testing orchard. The viral status of these new sour cherry cultivar candidates was tested using small-RNA high-throughput sequencing (HTS) as an unbiased diagnostic method. Moreover, the viromes of certified stock collections of sour cherry and sweet cherry growing in the vicinity of the testing orchard were also determined. Bioinformatic analysis of the sRNA HTS was validated using unbiased methods, revealing that the trees had very high rates of cherry virus A (CVA) and Prunus virus F (PrVF) infections. The latter virus was described in Hungary for the first time. While the stock collection was free from Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV), this regulated virus was present at the testing orchard. As a follow-up study, the survey of the testing orchard was repeated after two years using RT-PCR with a detailed survey of the stock collection. The infection pattern of the viruses suggests the spread of PNRSV via pollen at the testing orchard, where the trees can bloom. Notably, the strains of both CVA and PrVF varied to a large extent. A low concentration of virus-derived small RNAs suggests that they do not induce strong antiviral RNAi, which could explain why their infections can be latent, without visible symptoms. However, to determine the impacts of frequent coinfections on fruit yield and tree health, which could be further altered by the changing climate, further investigations will be needed in the future.

The geopolitical changes in Europe and the Balkans and their impact on the Republic of (North) Macedonia since the beginning of the 21st century

The last decade of the 20th century is associated predominantly with the international consolidation of the Republic of Macedonia, whereas during the first decade of the 21st century the country faced grave international problems and confrontations between the Macedonian and the Albanian communities, as well as the dilemma of its further steps towards membership in the European and North Atlantic structures. On the verge of the new century, the state clashed with numerous domestic political problems and escalation of the inter-ethnic conflicts. The danger of the escalation and spreading of the ethnic conflict and its transformation into civil war was successfully averted with the help of the international community. From a foreign policy perspective, during the first decade of the 21st century the country had candidate status for EU membership and the doors of NATO were open for it. However, the main problem before its successful integration consisted in finding a solution to the issue of the country’s name in its dispute with Greece. In spite of the serious efforts of the Republic of Macedonia, the EU did not set a date for the start of the accession negotiations in the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century. On its part, NATO was ready for rapid accession of the Balkan state, but only after the dispute on its name had been resolved. That position was clearly outlined at the NATO Summit in Bucharest in 2008, when Albania and Croatia received invitations to join the Alliance, but Macedonia did not. The country thus remained with totally blocked dialogue with NATO and the EU on account of the demands of Greece concerning its name and the implementation of the good-neighbourhood policy. That in turn created a security threat and resulted in escalation of the inter-ethnic tension. The country’s growing destabilisation was strongly influenced by the deepening crisis in the domestic policy sphere in the autumn of 2012, provoked by the so-called “budget crisis.” It was connected with difficulties for adopting the new budget after it was blocked in the Assembly by the opposition. The political crisis continued in 2013, with the active help of the opposition, notably the left-wing Social Democratic Union of Macedonia that blocked on numerous occasions the Assembly’s work on various issues. On the domestic political level, presidential and extraordinary parliamentary elections followed, which created a new political tension. The political parties in the struggle for power very fiercely accused each other of incompetence and electoral falsification of the parliamentary elections. On the gender-political front, there was still the current issue of the blocking of the Republic of Macedonia's admission to the EU by Bulgaria and Greece. Macedonia accepted all the conditions set by Greece, including the change of the constitutional name to the Republic of North Macedonia in 2019. This motivated Bulgarian politicians to set some of their own conditions regarding language and history. Namely, it is known that Bulgaria does not recognize the existence of the Macedonian nation, its language and history, so it has created a new and further political problem. We should not forget the already existing problems.

Fairer Training in public health, the UK FPH example

Abstract Background Public Health (PH) advocates for health equity and social justice. The UK Faculty of Public Health (FPH) is committed to tackling inequalities across the public health career pathway. The Fair Training project is a multi-phased programme which focuses on fair recruitment into PH, reducing differential attainment during PH training and postgraduate examinations. Objectives • Analyse available data from various sources; • Identify gaps in fair training culture and any biases; • Identify where support or interventions may best be focussed to minimise disadvantages; • Identify improvements in data that could be used to monitor actions; • Identify areas of good practice. Variables explored were demographic characteristics e,g, age, sex, ethnicity, disability status, professional background, candidate status (UK or overseas), place of primary qualification. Results Results show that candidates from ethnic minority backgrounds, those who are older, from international medical graduate backgrounds and backgrounds other than medicine are under-represented at the end of recruitment. Multivariable analysis of the diplomate exam shows that an attainment gap exists across increase with age, and those from black, Asian or white other ethnicity, professional background other than medicine, and overseas candidates. For the membership exam, multivariable analysis shows the attainment gap persists across those of increasing age and black ethnicity. Conclusions Recognising differential attainment as a structural problem requires organisational and individual leadership. Recommendations include an action plan to ensure: • Equality of opportunity for learning and career progression; • Collaborative working to eliminate discrimination in the design of education; • Ensure that training and the working environment are inclusive and diverse; • Inform future PH workforce planning; • Share good practice. FPH will implement the recommendations and share with other organisations and countries. Key messages • Structural causes of differential attainment during recruitment and training in public health do exist and should be mitigated. • FPH aims to promote Fair Training and excellence in public health practice.

Examining Ukraine’s EU Candidate Status: (When) Does the Accession Process Turn from Political to Legal?

This article explores the nature of the notion “candidate country status” in the context of EU accession. In particular it enquires whether the candidate status, which was granted to Ukraine by the European Council on 23 June 2022, has any actual legal implications or is the whole accession process up to the point where accession agreement is signed entirely devoid of legal consequences. Legal doctrine seems to generally answer this question in the affirmative, explaining that the candidate status was a rather political concept bearing primarily symbolic relevance. However, the example of Ukraine, which was granted candidate status much more rapidly than a number of other countries before it, challenges to explore the topic in more depth, in particular by delving into the CJEU’s existing case law on candidate status and the possibility of challenging the granting of candidate status through litigation in the CJEU.

Executive hour or political competition in times of crisis?—An analysis of public crisis reporting on the COVID‐19 lockdowns in Germany

AbstractWhile much work has looked at how governments responded to the Corona pandemic, little consideration has been given to how the crisis affected party competition and what positions political actors took during this period. How were political actors' positions on COVID‐19 portrayed in daily newspapers? And how can we explain these patterns? To answer these questions, this article examines the discourse surrounding both German lockdown decisions by analyzing the public coverage of two German daily newspapers. By means of discourse network analysis, the most central actors of the public discourse are revealed at first. Second, relevant factors influencing the discourse centrality of political actors are analyzed. Therefore, a linear regression is performed to identify party‐political factors that have a significant influence on political actors' discourse centrality. Participation in the executive branch in the Länder and federal level as well as having candidate status emerge as central factors influencing discourse centrality.

The subaltern strikes back, or how Ukraine is claiming agency from Russia and the European Union

ABSTRACT Using the concept of liminality in combination with ontological security through an overarching postcolonial lens, this article shows how Ukraine as a liminar on the East–West spatial-ideological axis has successfully claimed agency from the European Union (EU) and Russia in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion. We argue that the latter has acted as a critical juncture for Ukraine, to the point that agency has emerged from a state of ontological anxiety. Provoking the need to fight for the survival of the Self, Russia’s invasion has strongly accelerated the transformation of Ukraine’s liminal identity, uniting the country around a new asserted Self. Russia’s aggression has pushed Ukraine to definitively reject the narrative of a common identity promoted by Russia and claim its rightful belonging to Europe, thereby unleashing unprecedented agency vis-à-vis its significant Others, i.e. Russia and the EU. From the EU’s side, Ukraine has finally been embraced within the European family by receiving candidate status. From Russia’s side, Ukraine’s successful application for EU candidate status has consolidated Ukraine’s departure from Russia’s perceived sphere of influence. Along with Ukraine’s nationwide resistance against the invasion, this destabilises Russia’s projected identity discourse around the Slavic brotherhood and the “Russian world”.

Macronutrient intake and weight status in hiv-positive transplant candidates and recipients from an hiv-positive donor

Macronutrient intake and weight status in hiv-positive transplant candidates and recipients from an hiv-positive donor

Current vaccine candidate of toxoplasmosis

Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular protozoan parasite belonging from the phylum Apicomplexa, known for causing toxoplasmosis. The disease has a global presence, affecting about one-third of the world’s population. The parasite infects various intermediate hosts, including humans and other warm-blooded mammals, with cats serving as the definitive hosts. Its life cycle is complex, featuring a sexual phase in the definitive host and an asexual phase in intermediate hosts. Toxoplasmosis can leads severe neurologic, ocular, and systemic diseases in neonates and immunocompromised individuals. In immunocompetent individuals, the infection is typically asymptomatic, forming dormant tissue cysts in immune-privileged sites such as the muscles and brain. During pregnancy, toxoplasmosis poses significant health risks, potentially causing severe birth defects or miscarriage, and a major concern for immunocompromised hosts. Current control measures are inadequate, highlighting the need for effective vaccines. The initial host defense against T. gondii occurs at the intestinal mucosa, where cytokines and chemokines released by intestinal epithelial cells facilitate the migration of inflammatory cells, including macrophages, neutrophils, and dendritic cells. Developing a vaccine that can enhance this mucosal immunity is crucial for preventing toxoplasmosis. Therefore, the development of vaccines against T.gondii is a promising alternative mechanism to prevent toxoplasmosis. This review aims to present the current status of vaccine candidates against Toxoplasma gondii.

Перспективи розвитку транскордонного співробітництва на рівні місцевого самоврядування в Україні

The irreversible course of Ukraine’s accession to the European Union is vividly demonstrated every day in the media by the unwavering support of our country by international partners and organisations, as well as by the top officials of foreign states. The key task is to adapt the acquis communautaire into the national legislation of Ukraine. All reforms are taking place in parallel with the Ukrainian government’s accession negotiations, starting with the ratification of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement in 2014. An integral attribute of EU accession is the implementation of decentralisation reforms, including the development of cross-border cooperation of territorial communities. This is an important tool for the development of regions, cities and territorial communities, especially those bordering on neighbouring countries or having partnerships with territorial partners in other countries. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the EU countries have virtually unanimously expressed political support for our country. The EU candidate status granted to Ukraine allows us to create the best conditions for the development of cross-border cooperation. Regardless of the duration of Ukraine’s accession process, the prospect of Ukraine’s membership in the EU has become a political reality and will sooner or later mean its integration into the EU single market and the Schengen area. Cross-border cooperation of subnational actors should be seen as a tool for territorial development of regions and communities, which ultimately benefits the whole country and should be in the public interest. State support for the development of cross-border cooperation at the regional and local level should be understood as a necessary investment that brings mutual benefits to all its partners. They will be able to use the opportunities offered by EU programmes for cross-border cooperation through various funding projects. In addition, such cooperation is of public interest to every European country. The state is obliged to be interested in this and provide opportunities to develop such cooperation. Therefore, in June 2024, the Law of Ukraine ‘On International Territorial Cooperation of Ukraine’ was recently adopted, which addresses a number of shortcomings and problems of local government functioning within the framework of international cooperation between territorial communities and regions of foreign countries.

Правова заборона як метод обмеження політичної влади

The issue of legal prohibitions in national and European law has a pronounced interdisciplinary content. The modern Ukrainian environment, through which the legal values of European (Euro-Atlantic) and universal civilizations – principles, norms, institutions, sources of law, legal procedures, etc. – are “refracted” (“passed through”), is quite heterogeneous and contradictory, and this cannot but affect the peculiarities of Ukrainian law. These problems include, in particular, the absence, unlike in many European countries, of an explicit enshrinement of the principle of proportionality in the Constitution of Ukraine. This refers to the balance, proportionality of public interests and the interests of an individual in case of need to restrict his or her rights; excessive restrictions on human rights; distortion of the essence of the restricted rights; failure to comply with ECHR judgments at the “home level”; examples of risks when both the purpose and the means are inadequate to the specific situation requiring such a restriction, i.e., in an acceptable ratio to the weight and importance of the fundamental right. The author suggests the following areas of legal measures’ effectiveness: bringing regulations in line with international standards; further improvement of legislation; bringing restrictions of different levels (interstate, national, municipal) into the system; social justification and scientific validity of their establishment and use; increasing the legality and effectiveness of restrictions in the exercise of law; creation of real guarantees of lawful implementation of restrictive measures; legal education and legal education for all segments of the population. The prospects opened up for Ukraine in connection with its EU candidate status require not only further adaptation of Ukrainian legislation to the EU legal framework, continuation of reforms of the judicial system, law enforcement agencies, etc., but also a significant change in legal awareness, legal mentality and legal thinking of both ordinary Ukrainian citizens and, above all, public officials, judges, law enforcement officers, etc.Without such a change, these prospects may not be realized. It is stated that Ukraine’s heroic struggle against the Russian military invasion for freedom and independence significantly accelerated the formation of a full-fledged modern political Ukrainian nation. The war proved that an excessive focus on regional differences based on the principle of “what difference does it make” whether certain regions profess Soviet, national Ukrainian, or European values is futile. Of course, we are not talking about forming the same views on historical events or contemporary problems for all people, let alone the same type of thinking, which is what all totalitarian regimes have sought. The point is that, despite all the regional differences that are inherent in almost all states, the basic, fundamental values that define national identity should be common to all regions of the state. Modern history knows of no examples of democratic and legal states being built along different civilizational vectors. This is typical only for empire states, whose fate ultimately ends in the same way – in catastrophe.

Protection of Workers’ Rights in Bankruptcy Proceeding in Serbian and Western Balkans Legislation

The protection of workers’ rights in bankruptcy proceedings is a matter of supreme importance in every country. Comparing national laws, one could conclude that the predominant solution is to grant workers the position of privileged creditors. In Serbia, workers are protected by means of two laws: the Labour Law, which is the lex generalis for this area, and the Bankruptcy Law, which has the role of lex specialis. In addition to protection during bankruptcy proceedings before commercial courts, workers can appeal to the state’s national guarantee institution, namely, the Solidarity Fund. Serbia is, therefore, among the countries which employ a mixed – protectionist system. By analysing the legal solutions related to these issues, the authors want to determine the correlation between national legal solutions and those at the European Union level, and to consider the problems in bringing these claims in legal practice. They have also reviewed the current legislation in some Western Balkans countries including Croatia as a member of the EU, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has candidate status akin to Serbia. The authors conclude that Serbian law has a modern, hybrid approach in securing the rights of workers in bankruptcy proceedings, but that there is room for improving regulations in this area. This could be achieved by, inter alia, increasing the volume of claims guaranteed to workers, restricting the reasons for initiating bankruptcy proceedings, making preliminary payments to workers in the initial stages of the proceedings, and keeping court records on the percentage of workers’ claims being realised in bankruptcy proceedings.

Two terms of endearment? Incumbent-party performance in US presidential elections

Abstract Presidential elections are arguably the most consequential recurring political event in the United States. Understanding the factors that determine their outcomes, therefore, is of substantial importance. One proposed factor pertains to presidential candidates' incumbency status, yet its nature is complex and difficult to study with observational data. In particular, the individual-level mechanisms underlying incumbency effects remain unclear. This study proposes many citizens generally believe that, ceteris paribus, presidents should be afforded two terms. Crucially, such a norm implies that incumbency status possesses an inherent effect, operating independent of other mechanisms that may stem from incumbency. A large, pre-registered survey experiment was therefore employed to isolate the effect of incumbency status on presidential vote choice. The experiment finds strong evidence that one-term incumbent candidates have an inherent advantage against their non-incumbent opponents. The results also clarify that the two-term disadvantage present in observational data is not inherent, and is perhaps better understood simply as the absence of the one-term advantage. The study thus points toward a micro-foundational mechanism underlying incumbent-party performance in presidential elections. Finally, analyses of panel data explore which voters may be systematically inclined to vote based upon the incumbency status of presidential candidates.

Prospects for the development of Georgia's trade with the European Union

The article focuses on the impact of Georgia obtaining EU candidate status on its international trade. The interest in this topic stems from the fact that Georgia's acquisition of candidate status marks a significant step towards integration with the European Union. Many people directly associate Georgia's development with integration into the European family and expect that along with this integration, welfare in Georgia will significantly improve. Therefore, we consider it important to investigate the potential impact of obtaining EU candidate status on Georgia's foreign trade. The aim of the research is to determine the effects of obtaining candidate status, how it will impact Georgia, and how the situation of Georgia's foreign trade will change. The research subject is the assessment and analysis of the effects arising from the acquisition of candidate status, the analysis of positive and negative events that Georgia may face, and the opportunities and challenges that Georgia will encounter. The object of the research is the relationship between the European Union and Georgia and the regional influence that current events may have. Among the methods used in the study, it should be noted the general scientific methods of analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, as well as the method of systematic research.The research has practical significance in terms of creating favorable conditions for the long-term development of economic cooperation between Georgia and the European Union. Keywords: European Union, Georgia, candidate status, strategic partnership, foreign trade.

Trends and insights in dengue virus research globally: a bibliometric analysis (1995–2023)

BackgroundDengue virus (DENV) is the most widespread arbovirus. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared dengue one of the top 10 global health threats in 2019. However, it has been underrepresented in bibliometric analyses. This study employs bibliometric analysis to identify research hotspots and trends, offering a comprehensive overview of the current research dynamics in this field.ResultsWe present a report spanning from 1995 to 2023 that provides a unique longitudinal analysis of Dengue virus (DENV) research, revealing significant trends and shifts not extensively covered in previous literature. A total of 10,767 DENV-related documents were considered, with a notable increase in publications, peaking at 747 articles in 2021. Plos Neglected Tropical Diseases has become the leading journal in Dengue virus research, publishing 791 articles in this field—the highest number recorded. Our bibliometric analysis provides a comprehensive mapping of DENV research across multiple dimensions, including vector ecology, virology, and emerging therapies. The study delineates a complex network of immune response genes, including IFNA1, DDX58, IFNB1, STAT1, IRF3, and NFKB1, highlighting significant trends and emerging themes, particularly the impacts of climate change and new outbreaks on disease transmission. Our findings detail the progress and current status of key vaccine candidates, including the licensed Dengvaxia, newer vaccines such as Qdenga and TV003, and updated clinical trials. The study underscores significant advancements in antiviral therapies and vector control strategies for dengue, highlighting innovative drug candidates such as AT-752 and JNJ-1802, and the potential of drug repurposing with agents like Ribavirin, Remdesivir, and Lopinavir. Additionally, it discusses biological control methods, including the introduction of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes and gene-editing technologies.ConclusionThis bibliometric study underscores the critical role of interdisciplinary collaboration in advancing DENV research, identifying key trends and areas needing further exploration, including host-virus dynamics, the development and application of antiviral drugs and vaccines, and the use of artificial intelligence. It advocates for strengthened partnerships across various disciplines to effectively tackle the challenges posed by DENV.