The next generation internet initiative

Digital transformation is pushing all market sectors to level up their digital capabilities to better serve customers and improve the user experience. The European Commission launched in 2016 the Next Generation Internet (NGI) initiative as part of the DSM strategy. NGI includes a number of different – but always interrelated – emerging technologies in the following focus areas: artificial intelligence and autonomous machines, blockchains and distributed ledgers, big data, Internet of Things, 5G, cybersecurity and privacy technologies, cloud and edge computing, and open data. As for cooperation in the field of Information and Communications Technology, Europe and the United States should seek a joint framework to expand efforts in new emerging technologies, while preserving common principles around a comprehensive EU–US digital economy dialogue. The NGI Initiative is an important opportunity to radically rethink the way the Internet works today, and more human-focused narratives are needed more than ever

Attenuation of Rayleigh waves due to three-dimensional surface roughness: A comprehensive numerical evaluation

The phenomenon of Rayleigh wave attenuation due to surface roughness has been well studied theoretically in the literature. Three scattering regimes describing it have been identified-the Rayleigh (long wavelength), stochastic (medium wavelength), and geometric (short wavelength)-with the attenuation coefficient exhibiting a different behavior in each. Here, in an extension to our previous work, we gain further insight with regard to the existing theory, in three dimensions, using finite element (FE) modeling, under a unified approach, where the same FE modeling techniques are used regardless of the scattering regime. We demonstrate good agreement between our FE results and the theory in all scattering regimes. Additionally, following this demonstration, we extend the results to cases that lie outside the limits of validity of the theory

Politische Fragmentierung und kulturelle Kohärenz in der Spätantike

Der vorliegende Band bespricht mit Fallbeispielen sowohl die politisch bedingten Ausdifferenzierungen als auch die persistenten kulturellen Gemeinsamkeiten des 5. bis 6. Jhs. n. Chr. Die jahrhundertelange politische Einheit des Imperium Romanum hatte ihren Ausdruck in einer großen kultu- rellen Kohärenz gefunden, führte doch die Ausrichtung auf Rom zu Vereinheitlichungen in vielen Bereichen. Daraus resultierten allgemein gültige Normen, die sich in Gemeinsamkeiten der materiellen Kultur und der Sprache äußerten. Besonders augenfällig war die Homogenität der bildenden Kunst. Mit der Teilung des Imperiums und der Bildung germanischer Reiche auf römischem Boden zerfiel seit den Jahrzehnten um 400 n. Chr. zwar die politische Einheit, die Vorstellung eines einheitlichen Imperiums und einer gemeinsamen Kultur dauerte jedoch an

Towards microbiome-informed dietary recommendations for promoting metabolic and mental health: opinion papers of the MyNewGut project

The gut microbiota coexists in partnership with the human host through adaptations to environmental and physiological changes that help maintain dynamic homeostatic healthy states. Break-down of this delicate balance under sustained exposure to stressors (e.g. unhealthy diets) can, however, contribute to the onset of disease. Diet is a key modifiable environmental factor that modulates the gut microbiota and its metabolic capacities that, in turn, could impact human physiology. On this basis, the diet and the gut microbiota could act as synergistic forces that provide resilience against disease or that speed the progress from health to disease states. Associations between unhealthy dietary patterns, non-communicable diseases and intestinal dysbiosis can be explained by this hypothesis. Translational studies showing that dietary-induced alterations in microbial communities recapitulate some of the pathological features of the original host further support this notion. In this introductory paper by the European project MyNewGut, we briefly summarize the investigations conducted to better understand the role of dietary patterns and food components in metabolic and mental health and the specificities of the microbiome-mediating mechanisms. We also discuss how advances in the understanding of the microbiome's role in dietary health effects can help to provide acceptable scientific grounds on which to base dietary advice for promoting healthy living

Beyond cardiovascular medicine: potential future uses of icosapent ethyl

The REDUCE-IT trial demonstrated that icosapent ethyl, an ethyl ester of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), reduced cardiovascular events in an at-risk population by a substantial degree. While the cardiovascular protective properties of this compound are now proven, several other potential uses are being actively explored in clinical studies. These areas of investigation include cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, infections, Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and depression. The next decade promises to deepen our understanding of the beneficial effects that EPA may offer beyond cardiovascular risk reduction

Protocol for developing a core outcome set for male infertility research:an international consensus development study

Abstract STUDY QUESTION We aim to develop, disseminate and implement a minimum data set, known as a core outcome set, for future male infertility research. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Research into male infertility can be challenging to design, conduct and report. Evidence from randomized trials can be difficult to interpret and of limited ability to inform clinical practice for numerous reasons. These may include complex issues, such as variation in outcome measures and outcome reporting bias, as well as failure to consider the perspectives of men and their partners with lived experience of fertility problems. Previously, the Core Outcome Measure for Infertility Trials (COMMIT) initiative, an international consortium of researchers, healthcare professionals and people with fertility problems, has developed a core outcome set for general infertility research. Now, a bespoke core outcome set for male infertility is required to address the unique challenges pertinent to male infertility research. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION Stakeholders, including healthcare professionals, allied healthcare professionals, scientists, researchers and people with fertility problems, will be invited to participate. Formal consensus science methods will be used, including the modified Delphi method, modified Nominal Group Technique and the National Institutes of Health’s consensus development conference. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS An international steering group, including the relevant stakeholders outlined above, has been established to guide the development of this core outcome set. Possible core outcomes will be identified by undertaking a systematic review of randomized controlled trials evaluating potential treatments for male factor infertility. These outcomes will be entered into a modified Delphi method. Repeated reflection and re-scoring should promote convergence towards consensus outcomes, which will be prioritized during a consensus development meeting to identify a final core outcome set. We will establish standardized definitions and recommend high-quality measurement instruments for individual core outcomes. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) This work has been supported by the Urology Foundation small project award, 2021. C.L.R.B. is the recipient of a BMGF grant and received consultancy fees from Exscentia and Exceed sperm testing, paid to the University of Dundee and speaking fees or honoraria paid personally by Ferring, Copper Surgical and RBMO. S.B. received royalties from Cambridge University Press, Speaker honoraria for Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society of Singapore, Merk SMART Masterclass and Merk FERRING Forum, paid to the University of Aberdeen. Payment for leadership roles within NHS Grampian, previously paid to self, now paid to University of Aberdeen. An Honorarium is received as Editor in Chief of Human Reproduction Open. M.L.E. is an advisor to the companies Hannah and Ro. B.W.M. received an investigator grant from the NHMRC, No: GNT1176437 is a paid consultant for ObsEva and has received research funding from Ferring and Merck. R.R.H. received royalties from Elsevier for a book, consultancy fees from Glyciome, and presentation fees from GryNumber Health and Aytu Bioscience. Aytu Bioscience also funded MiOXYS systems and sensors. Attendance at Fertility 2020 and Roadshow South Africa by Ralf Henkel was funded by LogixX Pharma Ltd. R.R.H. is also Editor in Chief of Andrologia and has been an employee of LogixX Pharma Ltd. since 2020. M.S.K. is an associate editor with Human Reproduction Open. K.Mc.E. received an honoraria for lectures from Bayer and Pharmasure in 2019 and payment for an ESHRE grant review in 2019. His attendance at ESHRE 2019 and AUA 2019 was sponsored by Pharmasure and Bayer, respectively. The remaining authors declare no competing interests. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials (COMET) initiative registration No: 1586. Available at www.comet-initiative.org/Studies/Details/1586. TRIAL REGISTRATION DATE N/A. DATE OF FIRST PATIENT’S ENROLMENT N/A

Large Estates and the Peasantry in Byzantium c. 600-1100

Sarris Peter. Large Estates and the Peasantry in Byzantium c. 600-1100. In: Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire, tome 90, fasc. 2, 2012. Histoire Médiévale, Moderne et Contemporaine Middeleeuwse, Moderne en Hedendaagse Geschiedenis. pp. 429-450

New Approaches to the 'Plague of Justinian'

This essay is meant as a contribution to debate over the nature and significance of the ‘Justinianic Plague’, which struck Western Eurasia between the sixth and eighth centuries CE, and the methodological challenges posed by attempting to reconcile historical evidence with that derived from the realm of the Natural Sciences. In recent years, major advances have been made in our genetic understanding of the Justinianic Plague. Yet growing scientific interest in the disease has coincided with a concerted effort amongst some historians to seek to down play its historical importance. This article surveys our current state of historical and scientific understanding with respect to the sixth-century pandemic, responds to the recent attempts to argue that the disease had only a minimal impact on the societies which it struck, and considers how historians should respond to the burgeoning scientific evidence in order to take study of the plague forward. For co-operation between geneticists, environmental scientists, archaeologists and historians, it argues, offers the chance to transform our understanding of how, when and where the plague spread and to assess its impact across the Afro-Eurasian world as a whole, and not just on the Mediterranean, for which we have our best written sources