Preserving or Strengthening Schengen? EPC Commentary, 10 November 2017

While the multiple crises of recent years are slowly but surely giving way to a renewed optimism about the European project, one of the European Union’s most symbolic and tangible achievements, the Schengen area, is not out of the danger zone yet. Rather, political pressures on maintaining a free movement area without internal border controls seem as high as they were at the height of the 2015 ‘refugee crisis’. Because of the sustained unwillingness of some member states to lift internal border controls, the EU’s policies on Schengen are strongly dominated by intergovernmental interests, reviving memories of the system’s early days outside the EU legal system. A new Commission proposal on modifying the Schengen Borders Code (SBC), presented with the subtitle “Preserving and Strengthening Schengen”, appears to be more about preserving Schengen in the face of an antagonistic political climate rather than strengthening its essence, i.e., an area without internal border control

Methods for improved flexural mechanical properties of 3D-plotted PCL-based scaffolds for heart valve tissue engineering

C

Dublin and Schengen: A tale of two cities. EPC Discussion Paper, 15 June 2018

Dublin and Schengen, two of the European Union’s (EU) oldest and most fundamental accomplishments have come under pressure since the large influx of refugees in 2015. As the two systems were, from their very inception, closely linked to one another, it bears no surprise that problems in one (Dublin) have spilled over into the other (Schengen). This paper looks back at the systems’ historical and systemic connections. It then traces the sequence of events which put them under strain and, subsequently, assesses the current state of affairs. On that basis, it argues that in the absence of political leadership, both in the context of the ongoing Dublin reforms and on the Schengen side, where internal border controls are upheld long passed any reasonable policy justification, the two systems risk going down together. This would, in turn, worsen an already sceptic public perception of the EU’s added value in the context of managing the movement of people across borders. While problems in the Dublin system have received much public attention already, a continued or worsening situation in Schengen will pose further problems to the EU’s legitimacy among its citizens, for whom the ‘free movement of people, goods and services’ represents the Union’s most positive achievemen

Pitfalls and perils for smaller portfolios: an analysis of the financial behaviour of retail investors

Pitfalls and perils for smaller portfolios: An analysis of the financial behaviour of retail investors analyses the main biases that retail investors are affected by and how it influences their actions on the financial market. It does so by comparing data on trends with the stocks both in retail investor portfolios and price of cryptocurrencies

Epim Policy Update December 2019

This Policy Update’s Special Focus considers the situation in Greece, where asylum seekers face rapidly deteriorating reception conditions while being targeted by toughened asylum laws and plans to reintroduce systematic detention. Whereas Greece and the European Commission have urged for greater returns from Greece to Turkey, other actors are calling the future of the EU-Turkey Statement into question

Low flow extracorporeal CO2 removal in ARDS patients : a prospective short-term crossover pilot study

Background: Lung protective mechanical ventilation (MV) is the corner stone of therapy for ARDS. However, its use may be limited by respiratory acidosis. This study explored feasibility of, effectiveness and safety of low flow extracorporeal CO2 removal (ECCO2R). Methods: This was a prospective pilot study, using the Abylcap (R) (Bellco) ECCO2R, with crossover off-on-off design (2-h blocks) under stable MV settings, and follow up till end of ECCO2R. Primary endpoint for effectiveness was a 20% reduction of PaCO2 after the first 2-h. Adverse events (AE) were recorded prospectively. We included 10 ARDS patients on MV, with PaO2/FiO(2) = 5 cmH(2)O, FiO(2) titrated to SaO(2) 88-95%, plateau pressure >= 28 cmH(2)O, and respiratory acidosis (pH < 7.25). Results: After 2-h of ECCO2R, 6 patients had a >= 20% decrease in PaCO2 (60%); PaCO2 decreased 28.4% (from 58.4 to 48. 7 mmHg, p = 0.005), and pH increased (1.59%, p = 0.005). ECCO2R was hemodynamically well tolerated. During the whole period of ECCO2R, 6 patients had an AE (60%); bleeding occurred in 5 patients (50%) and circuit thrombosis in 3 patients (30%), these were judged not to be life threatening. Conclusions: In ARDS patients, low flow ECCO2R significantly reduced PaCO2 after 2 h, Follow up during the entire ECCO2R period revealed a high incidence of bleeding and circuit thrombosis

Sutureless replacement of aortic valves with St Jude Medical mechanical valve prostheses and Nitinol attachment rings: feasibility in long-term (90-day) pig experiments

Objective: Nitinol attachment rings (devices) used to attach mechanical aortic valve prostheses suturelessly were studied in long-term (90 days) pig experiments. Methods: The aortic valve was removed and replaced by a device around a St Jude Medical mechanical valve prosthesis in 10 surviving pigs. Supravalvular angiography was done at the end of the operation. No coumarin derivates were given. Results: No or minimal aortic regurgitation was confirmed in all surviving pigs at the end of the operation. Total follow-up was 846 days. In 4 pigs, follow-up was shorter than 90 days (28-75 days); the other 6 pigs did reach 90 days' survival or more. Repeat angiography in 4 pigs at the end of follow-up confirmed the unchanged position of the device at the aortic annulus, without aortic regurgitation. At autopsy, in all pigs the devices proved to be well grown in at the annulus, covered with endothelium, and sometimes tissue overgrowth related to not using coumarin derivates. There was no case of para-device leakage, migration, or embolization. No damage to surrounding anatomic structures or prosthetic valves was found. Conclusions: Nitinol attachment rings can be used to replace the aortic valve suturelessly with St Jude Medical mechanical aortic valve prostheses, without para-device leakage, migration, or damage to the surrounding tissues, in long-term pig experiments during a follow-up of 90 days or more. Refraining from anticoagulation in pigs with mechanical valve prostheses can lead to tissue overgrowth of the valve prosthesis. Further studies are needed to determine long-term feasibility of this method in human beings