The Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Risk Mitigation Centres of Excellence of the European Union: The case of Morocco

The CBRN Risk Mitigation Centres of Excellence of the European Union are a European Commission initiative created to reinforce national and, therefore, regional, capacities regarding nuclear, chemical and biological security outside the European Union. They are made of a network of political and technical experts that mobilize resources in order to achieve a coherent CBRN policy through technical cooperation projects that have been tailored depending on the needs of each partner State. This paper focuses on the origin, legal basis and structure of the CoE taking the Centre of Excellence located in Rabat, Morocco, as a very illustrative example of the CoE functioning and potential. The case of Morocco is especially interesting as it hosts the Secretariat for the African Atlantic Façade, one of the eight regions where CoE can be found.Les Centres d’Excellence (CoE) pour l’atténuation des risques CBRN de l’Union Européenne sont une initiative de la Commission Européenne créé pour renforcer des capacités nationaux et, par conséquent, régionaux, en matière de la sécurité nucléaire, chimique et biologique en dehors de l’Union Européenne. Ils sont constitués d’un réseau d’experts politiques et techniques qui mobilisent des ressources afn de parvenir à une politique CBRN cohérente à travers des projets de coopération technique qui ont été adaptés en fonction des besoins de chaque Etat partenaire. Ce document met l’accent sur l’origine, la base juridique et la structure des Centres d’Excellence en prenant le Centre d’Excellence situé à Rabat, au Maroc, comme un exemple très illustratif du fonctionnement et le potentiel des CoE. Le cas du Maroc est particulièrement intéressant car elle héberge le Secrétariat pour la Façade Atlantique de l’Afrique, l’une des huit régions où les CoE peuvent être trouvés.los Centros de Excelencia (CoE) de mitigación de riesgos QBRN de la Unión Europea son una iniciativa de la Comisión Europea creada para fortalecer las capacidades nacionales y, por ende, regionales, en materia de seguridad nuclear, química y biológica fuera de la Unión Europea. Están formados por una red de expertos políticos y técnicos que movilizan recursos para lograr una política QBRN coherente a través de proyectos de cooperación técnica que han sido adaptados a las necesidades de cada país socio. Este documento se centra en el origen, fundamento jurídico y la estructura de los Centros de Excelencia tomando como caso de estudio el Centro ubicado en Rabat, Marruecos, como un ejemplo muy ilustrativo del funcionamiento y el potencial de los CoE. El caso de Marruecos es particularmente interesante ya que alberga la Secretaría de la Fachada Africana Atlántica, de las ocho regiones en las que se pueden encontrar Centros de Excelencia

First-trimester screening for pre-eclampsia and small for gestational age: A comparison of the gaussian and Fetal Medicine Foundation algorithms

Preeclampsia d'inici precoç; Primer trimestreEarly-onset pre-eclampsia; First trimesterPreeclampsia de inicio precoz; Primer trimestreObjective Pre-eclampsia (PE) and small for gestational age (SGA) can be predicted from the first trimester. The most widely used algorithm worldwide is the Fetal Medicine Foundation (FMF) algorithm. The recently described Gaussian algorithm has reported excellent results although it is unlikely to be externally validated. Therefore, as an alternative approach, we compared the predictive accuracy for PE and SGA of the Gaussian and FMF algorithms. Methods Secondary analysis of a prospective cohort study was conducted at Vall d'Hebron University Hospital (Barcelona) with 2641 singleton pregnancies. The areas under the curve for the predictive performance for early-onset and preterm PE and early-onset and preterm SGA were calculated with the Gaussian and FMF algorithms and subsequently compared. Results The FMF and Gaussian algorithms showed a similar predictive performance for most outcomes and marker combinations. Nevertheless, significant differences for early-onset PE prediction favored the Gaussian algorithm in the following combinations: mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) with pregnancy-associated plasma protein A, MAP with placental growth factor, and MAP alone. Conclusions The first-trimester Gaussian and FMF algorithms have similar performances for PE and SGA prediction when applied with all markers within a routine care setting in a Spanish population, adding evidence to the external validity of the FMF algorithm

How the new EU Dual-Use Regulation could benefit third countries?

peer reviewedEuropean Union P2P Programme on Export Control of Dual-use Goods Export Control - Chaudfontaine Grou