The Circular Economy in European Union Policy: Explaining an idea's success through policy learning

This is the final version. Available on open access from Wiley via the DOI in this recordThe circular economy (CE) was adopted in 2015 by the European Union (EU). Since its emergence, the CE has proved to be a remarkably powerful idea that has shifted the understanding of the economy, and consequently, it has shaped the EU's economic and environmental policies. The public policy literature theorises such shifts in collective understanding through the concept of policy learning, a process through which ideas are understood and adopted. Yet this literature lacks clarity on the factors that can explain policy learning within a policy community. We use the case of the EU's adoption of the CE to address this gap, exploring the factors that account for the EU's adoption of the CE from the policy-learning perspective. We show how actors in the policy community have constructed, championed, supported and pioneered the CE and argue that these four factors have mutually reinforced each other, leading to policy learning and the wide acceptance of this idea within EU policy-making. Revealing these factors helps advance policy learning theory and contributes to the CE literature and environmental policy and governance literature more generally by furthering our understanding of how and why certain policy ideas are adopted.European Union Horizon 202

Understanding the EU's circular economy policies through futures of circularity

This is the final version. Available on open access from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordData availability: Data will be made available on request.In April 2022, the European Commission (EC) published a set of policy proposals to foster the European Union's (EU) transition to the circular economy (CE). Despite significant academic debate on the implications of transitioning to the CE, there remains little empirical and theoretical knowledge about what kind of circular future the EC policy proposals prescribe. In this paper, we explore the circular futures underpinning the EC policies and strategies on the CE by conducting a content analysis of the EC's CE policies between 2011 and 2022 using Bauwens et al.’s (2020) theoretical approach of circular futures as an analytical framework. We find that the EC's CE policies result from hybrid combinations of often competing, different circular futures. Despite this hybridity, circular modernism imaginaries that rely on techno-optimism and centralised governance tend to dominate, leading to a weak version of the CE that may be unable to meet the EU's environmental ambitions.European Union Horizon 2020European Research Council (ERC

Tissue iron quantification in chronic liver diseases using MRI shows a relationship between iron accumulation in liver, spleen, and bone marrow

Aim: To investigate iron loading within the liver, pancreas, spleen, and bone marrow using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) transverse relaxation rate (R2*), in patients with diffuse liver diseases; to evaluate the relationships between iron accumulation in these tissue compartments; and to assess the association between tissue iron overload and the pattern of hepatic cellular iron distribution (hepatocytes versus Kupffer cells). Material and methods: Fifty-six patients with diffuse liver diseases had MRI-derived R2* values, using a multi-echo chemical-shift encoded MRI sequence, of the liver, pancreas, spleen, and vertebral bone marrow. All patients had liver biopsy samples scored for hepatic iron grading (0–4) and iron cellular distribution (within hepatocytes only or within both hepatocytes and Kupffer cells). Results: Liver R2* increased with histological iron grade (RS=0.58, p<0.001) and correlated with spleen (RS=0.71, p<0.001) and bone marrow R2* (RS=0.66, p<0.001), but not with pancreatic R2* (RS=0.22, p=0.096). Splenic and bone marrow R2* values were also correlated (RS=0.72, p<0.001). Patients with iron inside Kupffer cells had the highest R2* in liver, spleen and bone marrow. Conclusions: Patients with chronic diffuse liver diseases have concomitant hepatic, splenic, and bone marrow iron loading. The highest hepatic iron scores and iron inside Kupffer cells were associated with the highest splenic and bone marrow deposits, suggesting systemic iron accumulation in the mononuclear phagocytic system.The present study was supported by the Teaching and Research Department of Centro Hospitalar do Porto with a research grant number DEFI:309/12(213-DEFI/251-CES). The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. L.M.B. and A.A.B. are co-founders of QUIBIM SME

ESR Statement on the Validation of Imaging Biomarkers

Medical imaging capable of generating imaging biomarkers, specifically radiology and nuclear medicine image acquisition and analysis processes, differs from frequently used comparators like blood or urine biomarkers. This difference arises from the sample acquisition methodology. While different analysis methodologies and equipment provide slightly different results in any analytical domain, unlike blood or urine analysis where the samples are obtained by simple extraction or excretion, in radiology the acquisition of the sample is heterogeneous by design, since complex equipment from different vendors is used. Therefore, with this additional degree of freedom in medical imaging, there is still risk of persistent heterogeneity of image quality through time, due to different technological implementations across vendors and protocols used in different centres. Quantitative imaging biomarkers have yet to demonstrate an impact on clinical practice due to this lack of comprehensive standardisation in terms of technical aspects of image acquisition, analysis algorithms, processes and clinical validation. The aim is establishing a standard methodology based on metrology for the validation of image acquisition and analysis methods used in the extraction of biomarkers and radiomics data. The appropriate implementation of the guidelines herein proposed by radiology departments, research institutes and industry will allow for a significant reduction in inter-vendor & inter-centre variability in imaging biomarkers and determine the measurement error obtained, enabling them to be used in imaging-based criteria for diagnosis, prognosis or treatment response, ultimately improving clinical workflows and patient care. The validation of developed analytical methods must be based on a technical performance validation and clinical validation

Implementing regional circular economy policies : a proposed living constellation of stakeholders

The transition towards the circular economy (CE) entails transformative and system‐wide changes, implying involvement, alignment, and cooperation between all stakeholders at all levels. However, debate continues around how best to achieve this. Additionally, little attention has been paid to developing models for identifying and mobilising all relevant stakeholders to implement CE policies at the regional level. This study sought to remedy these issues by analysing the relevant academic literature and policy documents and making the first attempt to adjust existing models— not only for the purpose of stakeholder mapping, but also for the proposition of a living constellation of stakeholders who should be considered when designing the transition towards a CE in a regional scenario. The CE‐centric quintuple‐helix model developed and proposed here promotes the emergence and deployment of trilateral networks, hybrid organisations, and development/co-operation platforms. This model adopts a balanced, participatory approach that requires a new constellation of stakeholders. Its foundations are built on the traditional industry–government–aca-demia nexus and enlarged by the inclusion of the civil society sphere and the environmental sub-system. The environment is represented as the nucleus of the model, inspiring and triggering ac-tions by the remaining four subsystems. The model is then implemented into two European regions with CE initiatives (Spain and Greece) to demonstrate its practical application

Numerical Study of Aging in the Generalized Random Energy Model

Magnetizations are introduced to the Generalized Random Energy Model (GREM) and numerical simulations on ac susceptibility is made for direct comparison with experiments in glassy materials. Prominent dynamical natures of spin glasses, {\it i.e.}, {\em memory} effect and {\em reinitialization}, are reproduced well in the GREM. The existence of many layers causing continuous transitions is very important for the two natures. Results of experiments in other glassy materials such as polymers, supercooled glycerol and orientational glasses, which are contrast to those in spin glasses, are interpreted well by the Single-layer Random Energy Model.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures, to be submitted to J. Phys. Soc. Jp

Data harmonisation for information fusion in digital healthcare: A state-of-the-art systematic review, meta-analysis and future research directions

Removing the bias and variance of multicentre data has always been a challenge in large scale digital healthcare studies, which requires the ability to integrate clinical features extracted from data acquired by different scanners and protocols to improve stability and robustness. Previous studies have described various computational approaches to fuse single modality multicentre datasets. However, these surveys rarely focused on evaluation metrics and lacked a checklist for computational data harmonisation studies. In this systematic review, we summarise the computational data harmonisation approaches for multi-modality data in the digital healthcare field, including harmonisation strategies and evaluation metrics based on different theories. In addition, a comprehensive checklist that summarises common practices for data harmonisation studies is proposed to guide researchers to report their research findings more effectively. Last but not least, flowcharts presenting possible ways for methodology and metric selection are proposed and the limitations of different methods have been surveyed for future research

Association Between Medication Adherence and Oxidative Stress in Patients With First-Episode Mania

Poor adherence is a major problem in patients with manic episodes that impairs functionality and has unknown effects on oxidative stress. The objective of this study was to analyze the relationship between adherence to medication, severity of symptoms and oxidative stress in a sample of patients with a first episode of mania. A longitudinal, 6-month study was performed in 60 patients, who were classified as adherent and non-adherent to medication (mainly antipsychotics). Blood levels of oxidative stress parameters and expression of the antioxidant nuclear transcription factor NRF2 in mononuclear cells of peripheral blood were assessed at baseline and at the end of follow-up. In addition, clinical symptoms and functioning were evaluated. Linear multivariate regression was used to determine the relationship between adherence, oxidative stress, and clinical symptoms. Finally, 44 patients completed follow-up. The results of this study showed that at 6-month follow-up, adherence was significantly associated with better functioning and reduced clinical symptoms. Additionally, more severe symptoms were associated with increased levels of oxidative stress and antioxidant parameters. At study completion, non-adherents exhibited greater levels of antioxidants than adherent patients. In conclusion, poor adherence to medication is associated with a poorer prognosis in the medium term and causes increased antioxidant response.This study has been funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III through the projects PI12/02077, PI16/01164, PI14/01900 (Co-funded by European Regional Development Fund/European Social Fund. Investing in your future); the Basque Foundation for Health Innovation and Research (BIOEF); Networking Center for Biomedical Research in Mental Health (CIBERSAM) and the University of the Basque Country (GIC12/84). The psychiatric research department in University Hospital Araba is supported by the Stanley Research Foundation (03-RC-003). SG has a PhD fellowship from the University of the Basque Country

Intravoxel Incoherent Motion Metrics as Potential Biomarkers for Survival in Glioblastoma.

Intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) is an MRI technique with potential applications in measuring brain tumor perfusion, but its clinical impact remains to be determined. We assessed the usefulness of IVIM-metrics in predicting survival in newly diagnosed glioblastoma. Fifteen patients with glioblastoma underwent MRI including spin-echo echo-planar DWI using 13 b-values ranging from 0 to 1000 s/mm2. Parametric maps for diffusion coefficient (D), pseudodiffusion coefficient (D*), and perfusion fraction (f) were generated for contrast-enhancing regions (CER) and non-enhancing regions (NCER). Regions of interest were manually drawn in regions of maximum f and on the corresponding dynamic susceptibility contrast images. Prognostic factors were evaluated by Kaplan-Meier survival and Cox proportional hazards analyses. We found that fCER and D*CER correlated with rCBFCER. The best cutoffs for 6-month survival were fCER&gt;9.86% and D*CER&gt;21.712 x10-3mm2/s (100% sensitivity, 71.4% specificity, 100% and 80% positive predictive values, and 80% and 100% negative predictive values; AUC:0.893 and 0.857, respectively). Treatment yielded the highest hazard ratio (5.484; 95% CI: 1.162-25.88; AUC: 0.723; P = 0.031); fCER combined with treatment predicted survival with 100% accuracy. The IVIM-metrics fCER and D*CER are promising biomarkers of 6-month survival in newly diagnosed glioblastoma