CERN

As a team, we decided to elaborate on the CERN center for scientific research. We are going to refer to topics such as; the history of the institute, the countries that have participated in the foundation of CERN, the main projects that take place there and lastly the contribution of our country, Greece,  in the scientific research taking place there.

Men's experience of a guided self-help intervention for hot flushes associated with prostate cancer treatment

Up to 80% of men who receive androgen deprivation therapy report hot flushes and for many these are associated with reduced quality of life. However it is recognised that there are a number of barriers to men’s engagement with support to manage symptoms and improve quality of life. This qualitative study was embedded within a larger randomised controlled trial (MANCAN) of a guided self-help cognitive behavioural intervention to manage hot flushes resulting among men receiving androgen deprivation therapy. The study aimed to explore the engagement and experiences with the guided self-help intervention. Twenty men recruited from the treatment arm of the MANCAN trial participated in a semi-structured interview exploring acceptability of the intervention, factors affecting engagement and perceived usefulness of the intervention. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using a Framework approach. Over two thirds of respondents (69%) reported reading the intervention booklet in full and over 90% reporting practising the relaxation CD at least once a week. Analysis of the interviews identified three super-ordinate themes and these related to changes in hot flush symptomatology (learned to cope with hot flushes in new ways), the skills that participants had derived from the intervention (promoting relaxation and reducing stressors), and to a broader usefulness of the intervention (broader impact of the intervention and skills). The present study identified positive engagement with a guided self-help intervention and that men applied the skills developed through the intervention to help them undertake general lifestyle changes. Psycho-educational interventions (e.g. cognitive behaviour therapy, relaxation, and positive lifestyle elements) offer the potential to be both effective and well received by male cancer survivors

Extremum seeking control for soft landing of an electromechanical valve actuator,

Abstract Many electromagnetic actuators su er from high velocity impacts. One such actuator is the electromechanical valve actuator, recently receiving attention for enabling variable valve timing in internal combustion engines. Impacts experienced by the actuator are excessively loud and create unnecessary wear. This paper presents an extremum seeking controller designed to reduce the magnitude of these impacts. Based on a measure of the sound intensity at impact, the controller tunes a nonlinear feedback to achieve impact velocities of less than 0:1 m=s while maintaining transition times of less than 4:0 ms. The control strategy is implemented with an eddy current sensor, to measure the valve position, and a microphone.

Current versus flux in the control of electromechanical valve actuators

Abstract-Due to a lack of bandwidth separation, it is unclear which combination of feedback signals would be most advantageous for controlling electromechanical valve actuators. To address this issue, this paper investigates the use of position, current, and flux measurements in the feedback. Based on the analysis, a combination of position and flux best achieves the design specifications without incurring large control signals

Traffic-related air pollution, road traffic noise, and Parkinson's disease: Evaluations in two Dutch cohort studies

Background: Environmental factors such as air pollution have been associated with Parkinson's disease (PD), but findings have been inconsistent. We investigated the association between exposure to several air pollutants, road traffic noise, and PD risk in two Dutch cohorts. Methods: Data from 50,087 participants from two Dutch population-based cohort studies, European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition in the Netherlands and Arbeid, Milieu en Gezondheid Onderzoek were analyzed. In these cohorts, 235 PD cases were ascertained based on a previously validated algorithm combining self-reported information (diagnosis, medication, and symptoms) and registry data. We assigned the following traffic-related exposures to residential addresses at baseline: NO2,NOx, particulate matter (PM)2.5absorbance(as a marker for black carbon exposure), PM with aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 m (PM2.5), ≤10 m (PM10), PMcoarse(size fraction 2.5-10 m), ultrafine particles <0.1 m (UFP), and road traffic noise (Lden). Logistic regression models were applied to investigate the associations with PD, adjusted for possible confounders. Results: Both single-and two-pollutant models indicated associations between exposure to NOx, road traffic noise, and increasing odds of developing PD. Odds ratios of fully adjusted two-pollutant models in the highest compared with the lowest exposure quartile were 1.62 (95% CI = 1.02, 2.62) for NOxand 1.47 (95% CI = 0.97, 2.25) for road traffic noise, with clear trends across exposure categories. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that NOxand road traffic noise are associated with an increased risk of PD. While the association with NOxhas been shown before, further investigation into the possible role of environmental noise on PD is warranted

White paper: Research Challenges at the Intersection of Energy and Equity in the Energy Transition

Summary report from NSF2026: Conference Workshops to Identify Research Challenges at the Intersection of Energy and Equity in the Energy Transitio

Enabling an Equitable Energy Transition Through Inclusive Research

Comprehensive and meaningful inclusion of marginalized communities within the research enterprise will be critical to ensuring an equitable, technology-informed, clean energy transition. We provide five key action items for government agencies and philanthropic institutions to operationalize the commitment to an equitable energy transition

Study protocol of a multicentre randomised controlled trial of self-help cognitive behaviour therapy for working women with menopausal symptoms (MENOS@Work)

Background Hot flushes and night sweats (HFNS) – the main symptoms of the menopause transition – can reduce quality of life and are particularly difficult to manage at work. A cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) intervention has been developed specifically for HFNS that is theoretically based and shown to reduce significantly the impact of HFNS in several randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Self-help CBT has been found to be as effective as group CBT for these symptoms, but these interventions are not widely available in the workplace. This paper describes the protocol of an RCT aiming to assess the efficacy of CBT for menopausal symptoms implemented in the workplace, with a nested qualitative study to examine acceptability and feasibility. Methods/Design One hundred menopausal working women, aged 45–60 years, experiencing bothersome HFNS for two months will be recruited from several (2–10) large organisations into a multicentre randomised controlled trial. Women will be randomly assigned to either treatment (a self-help CBT intervention lasting 4 weeks) or to a no treatment-wait control condition (NTWC), following a screening interview, consent, and completion of a baseline questionnaire. All participants will complete follow-up questionnaires at 6 weeks and 20 weeks post-randomisation. The primary outcome is the rating of HFNS; secondary measures include HFNS frequency, mood, quality of life, attitudes to menopause, HFNS beliefs and behaviours, work absence and presenteeism, job satisfaction, job stress, job performance, disclosure to managers and turnover intention. Adherence, acceptability and feasibility will be assessed at 20 weeks post-randomisation in questionnaires and qualitative interviews. Upon trial completion, the control group will also be offered the intervention. Discussion This is the first randomised controlled trial of a self-management intervention tailored for working women who have troublesome menopausal symptoms