Search results for: european banks risk

Authors: Jiajia Peng, Jianqing Qiu, Jianjun Ren, Yu Zhao

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Background: Insufficient sleep has been focused on as a public health epidemic. However, a comprehensive analysis of disease trajectory associated with unhealthy sleep habits is still unclear currently. Objective: This study sought to comprehensively clarify the disease's trajectory in relation to the overall poor sleep pattern and unhealthy sleep behaviors separately. Methods: 410,682 participants with available information on sleep behaviors were collected from the UK Biobank at the baseline visit (2006-2010). These participants were classified as having high- and low risk of each sleep behavior and were followed from 2006 to 2020 to identify the increased risks of diseases. We used Cox regression to estimate the associations of high-risk sleep behaviors with the elevated risks of diseases, and further established diseases trajectory using significant diseases. The low-risk unhealthy sleep behaviors were defined as the reference. Thereafter, we also examined the trajectory of diseases linked with the overall poor sleep pattern by combining all of these unhealthy sleep behaviors. To visualize the disease's trajectory, network analysis was used for presenting these trajectories. Results: During a median follow-up of 12.2 years, we noted 12 medical conditions in relation to unhealthy sleep behaviors and the overall poor sleep pattern among 410,682 participants with a median age of 58.0 years. The majority of participants had unhealthy sleep behaviors; in particular, 75.62% with frequent sleeplessness, and 72.12% had abnormal sleep durations. Besides, a total of 16,032 individuals with an overall poor sleep pattern were identified. In general, three major disease clusters were associated with overall poor sleep status and unhealthy sleep behaviors according to the disease trajectory and network analysis, mainly in the digestive, musculoskeletal and connective tissue, and cardiometabolic systems. Of note, two circularity disease pairs (I25→I20 and I48→I50) showed the highest risks following these unhealthy sleep habits. Additionally, significant differences in disease trajectories were observed in relation to sex and sleep medication among individuals with poor sleep status. Conclusions: We identified the major disease clusters and high-risk diseases following participants with overall poor sleep health and unhealthy sleep behaviors, respectively. It may suggest the need to investigate the potential interventions targeting these key pathways.

Keywords: sleep, poor sleep, unhealthy sleep behaviors, disease trajectory, UK Biobank

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Authors: Karakhalis N. B.

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This study aimed to determine the prevalence of heparin resistance among cardiac surgical pediatric and neonatal patients and identify associated risk factors. Materials and Methods: The study included 306 pediatric and neonatal patients undergoing on-pump cardiac surgery. Patients whose activated clotting time (ACT) targets were achieved after the first administration of heparin formed the 1st group (n=280); the 2nd group (n=26) included patients with heparin resistance. The initial assessment of the haemostasiological profile included determining the PT, aPPT, FG, AT III activity, and INR. Intraoperative control of heparinization was carried out with a definition of ACT using a kaolin activator. A weight-associated protocol at the rate of 300 U/kg with target values of ACT >480 sec was used for intraoperative heparinization. Results: The heparin resistance was verified in 8.5% of patients included in the study. Repeated heparin administration at the maximum dose of≥600 U/kg is required in 80.77% of cases. Despite additional heparinization, 19.23% of patients had FFP infusion. There was reduced antithrombin activity in the heparin resistance group (p=0.01). Most patients with heparin resistance (57.7%) were pretreated with low molecular weight heparins during the preoperative period. Conclusion: Determining the initial level of antithrombin activity can predict the risk of developing heparin resistance. The factor analysis verified hidden risk factors for heparin resistance to the heparin pretreatment, chronic hypoxia, and chronic heart failure.

Keywords: congenital heart disease, heparin, antithrombin, activated clotting time, heparin resistance

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Authors: Sylvester S. Horvey, Jones Mensah

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The growing complexities and dynamics in the business environment have led to a new approach to risk management, known as enterprise risk management (ERM). ERM is a system and an approach to managing the risks of an organization in an integrated manner to achieve the corporate goals and strategic objectives. Regardless of the diversities in the business environment, ERM has become an essential factor in managing individual and business risks because ERM is believed to enhance shareholder value and firm growth. Despite the growing number of literature on ERM, the question about what factors drives ERM remains limited. This study provides a comprehensive literature review of the main factors that contribute to ERM implementation. Google Scholar was the leading search engine used to identify empirical literature, and the review spanned between 2000 and 2020. Articles published in Scimago journal ranking and Scopus were examined. Thirteen firm characteristics and sixteen articles were considered for the empirical review. Most empirical studies agreed that firm size, institutional ownership, industry type, auditor type, industrial diversification, earnings volatility, stock price volatility, and internal auditor had a positive relationship with ERM adoption, whereas firm size, institutional ownership, auditor type, and type of industry were mostly seen be statistically significant. Other factors such as financial leverage, profitability, asset opacity, international diversification, and firm complexity revealed an inconclusive result. The growing literature on ERM is not without limitations; hence, this study suggests that further research should examine ERM determinants within a new geographical context while considering a new and robust way of measuring ERM rather than relying on a simple proxy (dummy) for ERM measurement. Other firm characteristics such as organizational culture and context, corporate scandals and losses, and governance could be considered determinants of ERM adoption.

Keywords: enterprise risk management, determinants, ERM adoption, literature review

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Authors: Samuel Opeyemi Williams, Razali Adul Hamid, Mohd Saidin Misman, Dominic Ileyemi Ajayi, Taki Eddine Seghier

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Construction industry is famous with hazardous and high-risk environment with operatives facing a greater risk of work-related fatality or injury than operatives in other industries. It is characterised with different types of accident, ranging from electrocution, trip and slip, fall from height, struck-by, explosion, trench collapse, to scaffolding accidents, with each type being caused by different factors. However, accidents are unplanned, unforeseeable and unexpected events, but regardless of the high-risk nature of the industry, accidents are preventable. The aim of the paper is to determine the extent of the utilization of the safety measures, as well as identifying the factors underlining the non-usage. A research methodology consisting of a literature review was used to identify the types and causes of site accidents, while a well-structured questionnaire was used to determine the level of the usage of safety measures on site. The data were analysed with the results revealing the use of protective clothing, safety helmet, first aid, protective shoe, safety belt, and face shield to aid safety of workers, as well as ascribing non-usage of safety measures to cost, ignorance, lack of experts and non-inclusion in contract document. Recommendations are included in the paper suggesting the enforcement of the utilization of safety measures in reducing the spate of accident occurrence on construction sites.

Keywords: construction industry, safety measures, accident, prevention

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Authors: Majid Khan

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Introduction: In this era of microsurgery, free flap holds a remarkable spot in reconstructive surgery. A free flap is well suited for composite defects as it provides sufficient and well-vascularized tissue for coverage. We report our experience with the use of the free flaps for the reconstruction of composite defects. Methods: This is a retrospective case series (chart review) of patients who underwent reconstruction of composite defects with a free flap at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi (Pakistan) from January 01, 2015, to December 31, 2019. Data were collected for patient demographics, size of the defect, size of flap, recipient vessels, postoperative complications, and outcome of the free flap. Results: Over this period, 532 free flaps are included in this study. The overall success rate is 95.5%. The mean age of the patient was 44.86 years. In 532 procedures, there were 448 defects from tumor ablation of head and neck cancer. The most frequent free flap was the anterolateral thigh flap in 232 procedures. In this study, the risk factor hypertension (p=0.004) was found significant for wound dehiscence, preop radiation/chemotherapy (p=0.003), and malnutrition (p=0.005) were found significant for fistula formation. Malnutrition (p=0.02) and use of vein grafts (p=0.025) were significant factors for flap failure. Conclusion: Free tissue transfer is a reliable option for the reconstruction of large and composite defects. Hypertension, malnutrition, and preoperative radiotherapy can cause significant morbidity.

Keywords: free flap, free flap failure, risk factors for flap failure, free flap outcome

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Authors: Susan Thurstans, Natalie Sessions, Carmel Dolan, Kate Sadler, Bernardette Cichon, Shelia Isanaka, Dominique Roberfroid, Heather Stobagh, Patrick Webb, Tanya Khara

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For many years, wasting and stunting have been viewed as separate conditions without clear evidence supporting this distinction. In 2014, the Emergency Nutrition Network (ENN) examined the relationship between wasting and stunting and published a report highlighting the evidence for linkages between the two forms of undernutrition. This systematic review aimed to update the evidence generated since this 2014 report to better understand the implications for improving child nutrition, health and survival. Following PRISMA guidelines, this review was conducted using search terms to describe the relationship between wasting and stunting. Studies related to children under five from low- and middle-income countries that assessed both ponderal growth/wasting and linear growth/stunting, as well as the association between the two, were included. Risk of bias was assessed in all included studies using SIGN checklists. 45 studies met the inclusion criteria- 39 peer reviewed studies, 1 manual chapter, 3 pre-print publications and 2 published reports. The review found that there is a strong association between the two conditions whereby episodes of wasting contribute to stunting and, to a lesser extent, stunting leads to wasting. Possible interconnected physiological processes and common risk factors drive an accumulation of vulnerabilities. Peak incidence of both wasting and stunting was found to be between birth and three months. A significant proportion of children experience concurrent wasting and stunting- Country level data suggests that up to 8% of children under 5 may be both wasted and stunted at the same time, global estimates translate to around 16 million children. Children with concurrent wasting and stunting have an elevated risk of mortality when compared to children with one deficit alone. These children should therefore be considered a high-risk group in the targeting of treatment. Wasting, stunting and concurrent wasting and stunting appear to be more prevalent in boys than girls and it appears that concurrent wasting and stunting peaks between 12- 30 months of age with younger children being the most affected. Seasonal patterns in prevalence of both wasting and stunting are seen in longitudinal and cross sectional data and in particular season of birth has been shown to have an impact on a child’s subsequent experience of wasting and stunting. Evidence suggests that the use of mid-upper-arm circumference combined with weight-for-age Z-score might effectively identify children most at risk of near-term mortality, including those concurrently wasted and stunted. Wasting and stunting frequently occur in the same child, either simultaneously or at different moments through their life course. Evidence suggests there is a process of accumulation of nutritional deficits and therefore risk over the life course of a child demonstrates the need for a more integrated approach to prevention and treatment strategies to interrupt this process. To achieve this, undernutrition policies, programmes, financing and research must become more unified.

Keywords: Concurrent wasting and stunting, Review, Risk factors, Undernutrition

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Authors: Benedicta Asante, Brenna Bath, Olugbenga Adebayo, Catherine Trask

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Background: Waste Collection Workers’ (WCWs) activities contribute greatly to the recycling sector and are an important component of the waste management industry. As the recycling sector evolves, reports of injuries and fatal accidents in the industry demand notice particularly common and debilitating musculoskeletal disorders such as low back pain (LBP). WCWs are likely exposed to diverse work-related hazards that could contribute to LBP. However, to our knowledge there has never been a systematic review or other synthesis of LBP findings within this workforce. The aim of this systematic review was to determine the prevalence and risk factors of LBP among WCWs. Method: A comprehensive search was conducted in Ovid Medline, EMBASE, and Global Health e-publications with search term categories ‘low back pain’ and ‘waste collection workers’. Articles were screened at title, abstract, and full-text stages by two reviewers. Data were extracted on study design, sampling strategy, socio-demographic, geographical region, and exposure definition, definition of LBP, risk factors, response rate, statistical techniques, and LBP prevalence. Risk of bias (ROB) was assessed based on Hoy Damien’s ROB scale. Results: The search of three databases generated 79 studies. Thirty-two studies met the study inclusion criteria for both title and abstract; thirteen full-text articles met the study criteria at the full-text stage. Seven articles (54%) reported prevalence within 12 months of LBP between 42-82% among WCW. The major risk factors for LBP among WCW included: awkward posture; lifting; pulling; pushing; repetitive motions; work duration; and physical loads. Summary data and syntheses of findings was presented in trend-lines and tables to establish the several prevalence periods based on age and region distribution. Public health implications: LBP is a major occupational hazard among WCWs. In light of these risks and future growth in this industry, further research should focus on more detail ergonomic exposure assessment and LBP prevention efforts.

Keywords: low back pain, scavenger, waste collection workers, waste pickers

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Authors: Farah Naja, Nahla Hwalla, Leila Itani, Shirine Baalbaki, Abla Sibai, Lara Nasreddine

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Purpose: To propose an index for assessing adherence to a Middle-Eastern version of the Mediterranean diet as represented by the traditional Lebanese Mediterranean diet (LMD), to evaluate the association between the LMD and selected European Mediterranean diets (EMD); to examine socio-demographic and lifestyle correlates of adherence to Mediterranean diet (MD) among Lebanese adults. Methods: Using nationally representative dietary intake data of Lebanese adults, an index to measure adherence to the LMD was derived. The choice of food groups used for calculating the LMD score was based on results of previous factor analyses conducted on the same dataset. These food groups included fruits, vegetables, legumes, olive oil, burghol, dairy products, starchy vegetables, dried fruits, and eggs. Using Pearson’s correlation and scores tertiles distributions agreement, the derived LMD index was compared to previously published EMD indexes from Greece, Spain, Italy, France, and EPIC. Results: Fruits, vegetables and olive oil were common denominators to all MD scores. Food groups, specific to the LMD, included burghol and dried fruits. The LMD score significantly correlated with the EMD scores, while being closest to the Italian (r=0.57) and farthest from the French (r=0.21). Percent agreement between scores’ tertile distributions and Kappa statistics confirmed these findings. Multivariate linear regression showed that older age, higher educational, female gender, and healthy lifestyle characteristics were associated with increased adherence to all MD studied. Conclusion: A novel LMD index was proposed to characterize Mediterranean diet in Lebanon, complementing international efforts to characterize the MD and its association with disease risk.

Keywords: mediterranean diet, adherence, Middle-East, Lebanon, Europe

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Authors: Toake Endoh

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Cross-border migration of people is a critical driver for sustainable economic development in the Asia-Pacific region. Meanwhile, the region is susceptible to mega-scale natural disasters, such as tsunami, earthquakes, and typhoons. When migrants are stranded in a foreign country by a disaster, who should be responsible for their safety and security? What legal or moral foundation is there to advocate for the protection and assistance of “migrants at risk (M@R)”? How can the states practice “good governance” in their response to displacement of the foreign migrants? This paper inquires how to protect foreign migrants displaced by a natural disaster under international law and proposes protective actions to be taken by of migrant-receiver governments. First, the paper discusses the theoretical foundation for protection of M@R and argues that the nation-states are charged of responsibility to protect at-risk foreigners as “internally displaced persons” in the light of the United Nations’ Guiding Principles of Internal Displacement (1998). Second, through the case study of the Kobe Earthquake in Japan (1995), the Tsunami in Thailand (2004), and the Hurricane Katrina in the U.S. (2005), the paper evaluates how effectively (or poorly) institutions and state actors addressed the specific vulnerability felt by M@R in these crises.

Keywords: internal displaced persons, natural disaster, international migration, responsibility to protect

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Authors: David Lloyd, David Owen, Martin Jardine

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Introduction: European weight regulations with respect to food products require a full understanding of regulation guidelines to assure regulatory compliance. It is suggested that the complexity of regulation leads to practices which result to over filling of food packages by food processors. Purpose: To establish current practices by food processors and the financial, sustainable and societal impacts on the food supply chain of ineffective food production practices. Methods: An analysis of food packing controls with 10 companies of varying food categories and quantitative based research of a further 15 food processes on the confidence in weight control analysis of finished food packs within their organisation. Results: A process floor analysis of manufacturing operations focussing on 10 products found over fill of packages ranging from 4.8% to 20.2%. Standard deviation figures for all products showed a potential for reducing average weight of the pack whilst still retain the legal status of the product. In 20% of cases, an automatic weight analysis machine was in situ however weight packs were still significantly overweight. Collateral impacts noted included the effect of overfill on raw material purchase and added food miles often on a global basis with one raw material alone creating 10,000 extra food miles due to the poor weight control of the processing unit. A case study of a meat and bakery product will be discussed with the impact of poor controls resulting from complex legislation. The case studies will highlight extra energy costs in production and the impact of the extra weight on fuel usage. If successful a risk assessment model used primarily on food safety but adapted to identify waste /sustainability risks will be discussed within the presentation.

Keywords: legislation, overfill, profile, waste

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Authors: Manpreet Kaur, Badaruddoza, Sandeep Kaur Brar

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The increasing prevalence of adolescent obesity is one of the major causes to be hypertensive in adulthood. Various statistical methods have been applied to examine the performance of anthropometric indices for the identification of adverse cardiovascular risk profile. The present work was undertaken to determine the significant traditional risk factors through principal component factor analysis (PCFA) among population based Punjabi adolescents aged 10-18 years. Data was collected among adolescent children from different schools situated in urban areas of Punjab, India. Principal component factor analysis (PCFA) was applied to extract orthogonal components from anthropometric and physiometric variables. Association between components were explained by factor loadings. The PCFA extracted four factors, which explained 84.21%, 84.06% and 83.15% of the total variance of the 14 original quantitative traits among boys, girls and combined subjects respectively. Factor 1 has high loading of the traits that reflect adiposity such as waist circumference, BMI and skinfolds among both sexes. However, waist circumference and body mass index are the indicator of abdominal obesity which increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases. The loadings of these two traits have found maximum in girls adolescents (WC=0.924; BMI=0.905). Therefore, factor 1 is the strong indicator of atherosclerosis in adolescents. Factor 2 is predominantly loaded with blood pressures and related traits (SBP, DBP, MBP and pulse rate) which reflect the risk of essential hypertension in adolescent girls and combined subjects, whereas, factor 2 loaded with obesity related traits in boys (weight and hip circumferences). Comparably, factor 3 is loaded with blood pressures in boys and with height and WHR in girls, while factor 4 contains high loading of pulse pressure among boys, girls and combined group of adolescents.

Keywords: adolescent obesity, cvd, hypertension, punjabi population

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Authors: S. Selman, T. Gout

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Microbial keratitis is a serious complication of contact lens wear that can be vision and eye-threatening. Diverse presentations relating to contact lens wear include dry corneal surface, corneal infiltrate, ulceration, scarring, and complete corneal melt leading to perforation. Contact lens wear is a major risk factor and, as such, is an important consideration in any patient presenting with a red eye in the primary care setting. This paper aims to provide an overview of the risk factors, common organisms, and spectrum of contact lens-associated keratitis (CLAK) complications. It will highlight some of the salient points relevant to the assessment and workup of patients suspected of CLAK in the emergency department based on the recent literature and therapeutic guidelines. An overview of the management principles will also be provided.

Keywords: microbial keratitis, corneal pathology, contact lens-associated complications, painful vision loss

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Authors: Sophia Francesca D. Lu

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This research tried to produce evidence that formal institutions, such as electoral and internal party quotas, can advance women’s active roles in the public sphere using the cases of four European countries: Belgium, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. The quantitative dataset was provided by the University of Chicago and the Inter-University Consortium of Political and Social Research based on a two-year study (2008-2010) of political parties. Belgium engages in constitutionally mandated electoral quotas. Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, on the other hand, have internal party quotas, which are voluntarily adopted by political parties. In analyzing each country’s chi-square and Pearson’s r correlation, Belgium, having an electoral quota, is the only country that was analyzed for electoral quotas. Germany, Italy and the Netherlands’ internal voluntary party quotas were correlated with women’s descriptive representations. Using chi-square analysis, this study showed that the presence of electoral quotas is correlated with an increase in the percentage of women in decision-making bodies as well as with an increase in the percentage of women in decision-making bodies. Likewise, using correlational analysis, a higher number of political parties employing internal party voluntary quotas is correlated with an increase in the percentage of women occupying seats in parliament as well as an increase in the percentage of women nominees in electoral lists of political parties. In conclusion, gender quotas, such as electoral quotas or internal party quotas, are an effective policy tool for greater women’s representation in political bodies. Political parties and governments should opt to have gender quotas, whether electoral or internal party quotas, to address the underrepresentation of women in parliament, decision-making bodies, and policy-formulation.

Keywords: electoral quota, Europe, formal institutions, institutional feminism, internal party quota, women’s electoral participation

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Authors: Ji Hun Choi, Seung Un Chae, Kyeong Suk Cho

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Synthetic resins are widely used in various fields including electricity, engineering, construction and agriculture. Many of interior and exterior finishing materials for buildings are synthetic resin products. In this study, full-scale fire tests were conducted on polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene and urethane in accordance with the “ISO 9705: Fire test - Full-scale room test for surface products” to measure heat release rate, toxic gas emission and smoke production rate. Based on the tests, fire growth pattern and fire risk were analyzed. Findings from the tests conducted on polyvinyl chloride and urethane are as follows. The total heat release rate and total smoke production rate of polyvinyl chloride were 98.89MW and 5284.41m2, respectively and its highest CO2 concentration was 0.149%. The values obtained from the test with urethane were 469.94 MW, 3396.28 m2 and 1.549%. While heat release rate and CO2 concentration were higher in urethane implying its high combustibility, smoke production rate was 1.5 times higher in polyvinyl chloride. Follow-up tests are planned to be conducted to accumulate data for the evaluation of heat emission and fire risk associated with synthetic resins.

Keywords: synthetic resins, fire test, full-scale test, heat release rate, smoke production rate, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, urethane

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Authors: Aruha Khan, Brynn E. Kankel, Paraskevi Papadopoulou

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In recent years, extensive research upon ‘stress’ has provided insight into its two distinct guises, namely the short–term (fight–or–flight) response versus the long–term (chronic) response. Specifically, the long–term or chronic response is associated with the suppression or dysregulation of immune function. It is also widely noted that the occurrence of cancer is greatly correlated to the suppression of the immune system. It is thus necessary to explore the impact of long–term or chronic stress upon the prevalence and risk of cancer. To what extent can the dysregulation of immune function caused by long–term exposure to stress be controlled or minimized? This study focuses explicitly upon immunosuppression due to its ability to increase disease susceptibility, including cancer itself. Based upon an analysis of the literature relating to the fundamental structure of the immune system alongside the prospective linkage of chronic stress and the development of cancer, immunosuppression may not necessarily correlate directly to the acquisition of cancer—although it remains a contributing factor. A cross-sectional analysis of the survey data from the University of Tennessee Medical Center (UTMC) and Harvard Medical School (HMS) will provide additional supporting evidence (or otherwise) for the hypothesis of the study about whether immunosuppression (caused by the chronic stress response) notably impacts the prevalence of cancer. Finally, a multidimensional framework related to education on chronic stress and its effects is proposed.

Keywords: immune system, immunosuppression, long–term (chronic) stress, risk of cancer

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Authors: Veronika Efremova

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In recent decades, there have been significant developments in the European Union in the field of collective consumer redress. South East European countries (SEE) covered by this paper, in line with their EU accession priorities and duties under Stabilisation and Association Agreements, have to harmonize their national laws with the relevant EU acquis for consumer protection (Chapter 28: Health and Consumer). In these countries, only minimal compliance is achieved. SEE countries have introduced rudimentary collective redress mechanisms, with modest enforcement of collective redress and case law. This paper is based on comprehensive interdisciplinary research conducted for SEE countries on common principles for injunctive and compensatory collective redress mechanisms, emphasizing cross-national comparisons, underlining issues of commonality and difference aiming to develop recommendations for an adequate enforcement of collective redress. SEE countries are recognized by the sectoral approach for regulating collective redress contrary to the majority of EU Member States with having adopted horizontal approach to collective redress. In most SEE countries, the laws do not recognize compensatory but only injunctive collective redress in consumer protection. All responsible stakeholders for implementation of collective redress in SEE countries, lack information and awareness on collective redress mechanisms and the way they function in practice. Therefore, specific actions are needed in these countries to make the whole system of collective redress for consumer protection operational and efficient. Taking into consideration the various designated stakeholders in collective redress in each SEE countries, there is a need of their mutual coordination and cooperation in order to develop consumer protection system and policies. By putting into practice the national collective redress mechanisms, effective access to justice for all consumers, the principle of rule of law will be secured and appropriate procedural guarantees to avoid abusive litigation will be ensured.

Keywords: collective redress mechanism, consumer protection, commonality and difference, South East Europe

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Authors: Jesus Carretero, Mario Vasile, Guillermo Izquierdo, Javier Garcia-Blas

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Currently, there is a so called ‘identity crisis’ in cybersecurity caused by the substantial security, privacy and usability shortcomings encountered in existing systems for identity management. Federated Identity Management (FIM) could be solution for this crisis, as it is a method that facilitates management of identity processes and policies among collaborating entities without enforcing a global consistency, that is difficult to achieve when there are ID legacy systems. To cope with this problem, the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) initiative proposed in 2014 a federated solution in anticipation of the adoption of the Regulation (EU) N°910/2014, the so-called eIDAS Regulation. At present, a network of eIDAS Nodes is being deployed at European level to allow that every citizen recognized by a member state is to be recognized within the trust network at European level, enabling the consumption of services in other member states that, until now were not allowed, or whose concession was tedious. This is a very ambitious approach, since it tends to enable cross-border authentication of Member States citizens without the need to unify the authentication method (eID Scheme) of the member state in question. However, this federation is currently managed by member states and it is initially applied only to citizens and public organizations. The goal of this paper is to present the results of a European Project, named eID@Cloud, that focuses on the integration of eID in 5 cloud platforms belonging to authentication service providers of different EU Member States to act as Service Providers (SP) for private entities. We propose an initiative based on a private eID Scheme both for natural and legal persons. The methodology followed in the eID@Cloud project is that each Identity Provider (IdP) is subscribed to an eIDAS Node Connector, requesting for authentication, that is subscribed to an eIDAS Node Proxy Service, issuing authentication assertions. To cope with high loads, load balancing is supported in the eIDAS Node. The eID@Cloud project is still going on, but we already have some important outcomes. First, we have deployed the federation identity nodes and tested it from the security and performance point of view. The pilot prototype has shown the feasibility of deploying this kind of systems, ensuring good performance due to the replication of the eIDAS nodes and the load balance mechanism. Second, our solution avoids the propagation of identity data out of the native domain of the user or entity being identified, which avoids problems well known in cybersecurity due to network interception, man in the middle attack, etc. Last, but not least, this system allows to connect any country or collectivity easily, providing incremental development of the network and avoiding difficult political negotiations to agree on a single authentication format (which would be a major stopper).

Keywords: cybersecurity, identity federation, trust, user authentication

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Authors: Amanuel Bekuma, Rebecca Swift, Sarah Jackson, Ben Biddulph

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Economic loss to frost damage is increasing over the past years in the Western Australian Wheatbelt. Agronomic, genetic, and climatic works have still found a weak correlation between temperature and frost damage. One possibility that has not been explored within the Australian cropping system is whether ice nucleation active bacteria (INB) either present in situ on crop residue or introduced by rainfall could be responsible for the increased sensitivity of cereal plants to frost at different stages of development. This study investigated upper and lower leaf canopy, stubble, and soil as a potential site of ice nucleation activity (INA) and tracked the changes in INA during the plant development. We found that older leaves of wheat are the primary sites of ice nucleation (-4.7 to -6.3°C) followed by stubble (-5.7 to -6.7°C) which increases the risk of frost damage during heading and flowering (the most susceptible stages). However, healthy and green upper canopy leaves (flag and flag-2) and the soil have lower INA (< -11°C) during the frost-sensitive stage of wheat. We anticipate the higher INA on the stubble and older leaves to be due to the presence of biologically active ice-nucleating bacteria (INB), known to cause frost injury to sensitive plants at -5°C. Stubble retained or applied during the growing season further exacerbates additional frost risk by potentially increasing the INB load. The implications of the result for stubble and frost risk management in a frost-prone landscape will be discussed.

Keywords: frost, ice-nucleation-activity, stubble, wheat

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Authors: Mohammad Nazri Mustafa, Sh Norliza Sy Salim, Pedram Hatami Abdullah

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Civil and structural assets normally have an average of more than 30 years of design life. Adding to this advantage, the assets are normally subjected to slow degradation process. Due to the fact that repair and strengthening work for these assets are normally not dependent on plant shut down, the maintenance and integrity restoration of these assets are mostly done based on “as required” and “run to failure” basis. However unlike other industries, the exposure in oil and gas environment is harsher as the result of corrosive soil and groundwater, chemical spill, frequent wetting and drying, icing and de-icing, steam and heat, etc. Due to this type of exposure and the increasing level of structural defects and rectification in line with the increasing age of plants, assets integrity assessment requires a more defined scope and procedures that needs to be based on risk and assets criticality. This leads to the establishment of risk based inspection and proactive maintenance procedure for civil and structural assets. To date there is hardly any procedure and guideline as far as integrity assessment and systematic inspection and maintenance of civil and structural assets (onshore) are concerned. Group Technical Solutions has developed a procedure and guideline that takes into consideration credible failure scenario, assets risk and criticality from process safety and structural engineering perspective, structural importance, modeling and analysis among others. Detailed inspection that includes destructive and non-destructive tests (DT & NDT) and structural monitoring is also being performed to quantify defects, assess severity and impact on integrity as well as identify the timeline for integrity restoration. Each defect and its credible failure scenario is assessed against the risk on people, environment, reputation and production loss. This technical paper is intended to share on the established procedure and guideline and their execution in oil & gas plants. In line with the overall roadmap, the procedure and guideline will form part of specialized solutions to increase production and to meet the “Operational Excellence” target while extending service life of civil and structural assets. As the result of implementation, the management of civil and structural assets is now more systematically done and the “fire-fighting” mode of maintenance is being gradually phased out and replaced by a proactive and preventive approach. This technical paper will also set the criteria and pose the challenge to the industry for innovative repair and strengthening methods for civil & structural assets in oil & gas environment, in line with safety, constructability and continuous modification and revamp of plant facilities to meet production demand.

Keywords: assets criticality, credible failure scenario, proactive and preventive maintenance, risk based inspection

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Authors: Edward Hage, Pieter Lietaert, Gabriel Abedrabbo

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Musculoskeletal disorders are an important category of work-related diseases. They are often caused by working in non-ergonomic postures and are preventable with proper workplace design, possibly including human-machine collaboration. This paper presents a methodology and a supporting software prototype to design a simple assembly cell with minimal ergonomic risk. The methodology helps to determine the optimal position and orientation of workpieces and workplace resources for specific operator assembly actions. The methodology is tested on an industrial use case: a collaborative robot (cobot) assisted assembly of a clamping device. It is shown that the automated methodology results in a workplace design with significantly reduced ergonomic risk to the operator compared to a manual design of the cell.

Keywords: ergonomics optimization, design for ergonomics, workplace design, pose generation

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Authors: Alessandro Balbo, Gianvito Colucci, Matteo Nicoli, Laura Savoldi

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Hydrogen is expected to become an undisputed player in the ecological transition throughout the next decades. The decarbonization potential offered by this energy vector provides various opportunities for the so-called “hard-to-abate” sectors, including industrial production of iron and steel, glass, refineries and the heavy-duty transport. In this regard, Italy, in the framework of decarbonization plans for the whole European Union, has been considering a wider use of hydrogen to provide an alternative to fossil fuels in hard-to-abate sectors. This work aims to assess and compare different options concerning the pathway to be followed in the development of the future Italian energy system in order to meet decarbonization targets as established by the Paris Agreement and by the European Green Deal, and to infer a techno-economic analysis of the required asset alternatives to be used in that perspective. To accomplish this objective, the Energy System Optimization Model TEMOA-Italy is used, based on the open-source platform TEMOA and developed at PoliTo as a tool to be used for technology assessment and energy scenario analysis. The adopted assessment strategy includes two different scenarios to be compared with a business-as-usual one, which considers the application of current policies in a time horizon up to 2050. The studied scenarios are based on the up-to-date hydrogen-related targets and planned investments included in the National Hydrogen Strategy and in the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan, with the purpose of providing a critical assessment of what they propose. One scenario imposes decarbonization objectives for the years 2030, 2040 and 2050, without any other specific target. The second one (inspired to the national objectives on the development of the sector) promotes the deployment of the hydrogen value-chain. These scenarios provide feedback about the applications hydrogen could have in the Italian energy system, including transport, industry and synfuels production. Furthermore, the decarbonization scenario where hydrogen production is not imposed, will make use of this energy vector as well, showing the necessity of its exploitation in order to meet pledged targets by 2050. The distance of the planned policies from the optimal conditions for the achievement of Italian objectives is be clarified, revealing possible improvements of various steps of the decarbonization pathway, which seems to have as a fundamental element Carbon Capture and Utilization technologies for its accomplishment. In line with the European Commission open science guidelines, the transparency and the robustness of the presented results is ensured by the adoption of the open-source open-data model such as the TEMOA-Italy.

Keywords: decarbonization, energy system optimization models, hydrogen, open-source modeling, TEMOA

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Authors: Ting Shen, Spyros Konstantopoulos

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During the past three decades, class size effects have been a focal debate in education. The idea of having smaller class is enormously popular among parents, teachers and policy makers. The rationale of its popularity is that small classroom could provide a better learning environment in which there would be more teacher-pupil interaction and more individualized instruction. This early stage benefits would also have a long-term positive effect. It is a common belief that reducing class size may result in increases in student achievement. However, the empirical evidence about class-size effects from experimental or quasi-experimental studies has been mixed overall. This study sheds more light on whether class size reduction impacts reading achievement in eight European countries: Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. We examine class size effects on reading achievement using national probability samples of fourth graders. All eight European countries had participated in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) in 2001, 2006 and 2011. Methodologically, the quasi-experimental method of instrumental variables (IV) has been utilized to facilitate causal inference of class size effects. Overall, the results indicate that class size effects on reading achievement are not significant across countries and years. However, class size effects are evident in Romania where reducing class size increases reading achievement. In contrast, in Germany, increasing class size seems to increase reading achievement. In future work, it would be valuable to evaluate differential class size effects for minority or economically disadvantaged student groups or low- and high-achievers. Replication studies with different samples and in various settings would also be informative. Future research should continue examining class size effects in different age groups and countries using rich international databases.

Keywords: class size, reading achievement, instrumental variables, PIRLS

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Authors: Fouad M. Bendimerad, Jerome B. Zayas, Michael Adrian T. Padilla

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With the increasing scale of severity and frequency of disasters worldwide, the performance of governance systems for disaster risk reduction and management in many countries are being put to the test. In the Philippines, the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Act of 2010 (Republic Act 10121 or RA 10121) as the framework for disaster risk reduction and management was tested when Super Typhoon Haiyan hit the eastern provinces of the Philippines in November 2013. Typhoon Haiyan is considered to be the strongest recorded typhoon in history to make landfall with winds exceeding 252 km/hr. In assessing the performance of RA 10121 the authors conducted document reviews of related policies, plans, programs, and key interviews and focus groups with representatives of 21 national government departments, two (2) local government units, six (6) private sector and civil society organizations, and five (5) development agencies. Our analysis will argue that enhancements are needed in RA 10121 in order to meet the challenges of large-scale disasters. The current structure where government agencies and departments organize along DRRM thematic areas such response and relief, preparedness, prevention and mitigation, and recovery and response proved to be inefficient in coordinating response and recovery and in mobilizing resources on the ground. However, experience from various disasters has shown the Philippine government’s tendency to organize major recovery programs along development sectors such as infrastructure, livelihood, shelter, and social services, which is consistent with the concept of DRM mainstreaming. We will argue that this sectoral approach is more effective than the thematic approach to DRRM. The council-type arrangement for coordination has also been rendered inoperable by Typhoon Haiyan because the agency responsible for coordination does not have decision-making authority to mobilize action and resources of other agencies which are members of the council. Resources have been devolved to agencies responsible for each thematic area and there is no clear command and direction structure for decision-making. However, experience also shows that the Philippine government has appointed ad-hoc bodies with authority over other agencies to coordinate and mobilize action and resources in recovering from large-scale disasters. We will argue that this approach be institutionalized within the government structure to enable a more efficient and effective disaster risk reduction and management system.

Keywords: risk reduction and management, recovery, governance, typhoon haiyan response and recovery

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Authors: Linghua Kong, Xinxia Chen, Mika Gissler, Catharina Lavebratt

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Background: Prenatal exposure to preeclampsia has been associated with an increased risk of offspring attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and intellectual disability. However, little is known about the association between prenatal exposure to severe preeclampsia and neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders in offspring. Objective: This study aimed to assess the risk of maternal preeclampsia combined with perinatal problems, specifically low birth weight and prematurity, on offspring neuropsychiatric disorders. Methods: All singleton live births in Finland between 1996 and 2014 (n=1 012 723) were followed up in nation-wide registries until 2018. Main exposures included pre-eclampsia, small for gestational age, and delivery before 34 gestational weeks. Offspring neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders (ICD-10 codes) were examined as outcomes variables. Offspring birth year, sex, maternal age at delivery, parity, marital status at birth, mother's country of birth, maternal smoking, maternal gestational diabetes, maternal use of psychotropic medication during pregnancy, and maternal systemic inflammatory diseases were used as covariates. Risks for neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders were estimated using Cox proportional hazards modeling. Results: Of the 1 012 723 offspring, 25 901 (2.6%) were exposed to preeclampsia, and 93 281 (9.2%) were diagnosed with a neuropsychiatric disorder. Compared to births unexposed to preeclampsia, small for gestational age or delivery before 34 gestational weeks, those exposed to preeclampsia only had a 21% increase in the likelihood of any neuropsychiatric disorders after adjusting for potential confounding (adjusted HR=1.21, 95% CI: 1.15-1.26), while exposure to preeclampsia combined with small for gestational age or delivery before 34 gestational weeks had a more than twofold increased risk of having a child with neuropsychiatric disorders (adjusted HR=2.16, 95% CI: 2.02-2.32). The adjusted HR for neuropsychiatric disorders in offspring with small for gestational age or delivery before 34 gestational weeks only was 1.79 (95% CI: 1.73-1.83). In addition, the risk estimate in offspring exposed to both preeclampsia and perinatal problems was greater than those only exposed to preeclampsia for having personality disorders (adjusted HR=1.66; 95% CI: 1.07-2.57), intellectual disabilities (adjusted HR=3.47; 95% CI: 2.86-4.22), specific developmental disorders (adjusted HR=2.91; 95% CI: 2.69-3.15), ASD (adjusted HR=1.75; 95% CI: 1.42-2.17), ADHD and conduct disorders (adjusted HR=2.00; 95%CI: 1.76-2.27), and other behavioral and emotional disorders (adjusted HR=2.09; 95% CI: 1.84-2.37). Conclusion: In utero exposure to severe preeclampsia increased the risk of several neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders in offspring. Our findings are relevant to women with hypertensive disorders with regard to pregnancy consultation and management and may yield effective clues for the prevention of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders in childhood.

Keywords: low birth weight, neurodevelopmental disorders, preeclampsia, prematurity, psychiatric disorders

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Authors: Waraporn Wimuktalop

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This research will select regions which are vulnerable to flooding in different level. Mathematical principles will be systematically and rationally utilized as a tool to solve problems of selection the regions. Therefore the method called Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) has been chosen by having two analysis standards, TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) and AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process). There are three criterions that have been considered in this research. The first criterion is climate which is the rainfall. The second criterion is geography which is the height above mean sea level. The last criterion is the land utilization which both forest and agriculture use. The study found that the South has the highest risk of flooding, then the East, the Centre, the North-East, the West and the North, respectively.

Keywords: multiple criteria decision making, TOPSIS, analytic hierarchy process, flooding

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Authors: Arti Singh, Carolyn Jenkins, Oyedunni S. Arulogun, Mayowa O. Owolabi, Fred S. Sarfo, Bruce Ovbiagele, Enzinne Sylvia

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Background: Stroke, the leading cause of adult-onset disability and the second leading cause of death, is a major public health concern particularly pertinent in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where nearly 80% of all global stroke mortalities occur. The Stroke Investigative Research and Education Network (SIREN) seeks to comprehensively characterize the genomic, sociocultural, economic, and behavioral risk factors for stroke and to build effective teams for research to address and decrease the burden of stroke and other non communicable diseases in SSA. One of the first steps to address this goal was to effectively engage the communities that suffer the high burden of disease in SSA. This study describes how the SIREN project engaged six sites in Ghana and Nigeria over the past three years, describing the community engagement activities that have arisen since inception. Aim: The aim of community engagement (CE) within SIREN is to elucidate information about knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and practices (KABP) about stroke and its risk factors from individuals of African ancestry in SSA, and to educate the community about stroke and ways to decrease disabilities and deaths from stroke using socioculturally appropriate messaging and messengers. Methods: Community Advisory Board (CABs), Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and community outreach programs. Results: 27 FGDs with 168 participants including community heads, religious leaders, health professionals and individuals with stroke among others, were conducted, and over 60 CE outreaches have been conducted within the SIREN performance sites. Over 5,900 individuals have received education on cardiovascular risk factors and about 5,000 have been screened for cardiovascular risk factors during the outreaches. FGDs and outreach programs indicate that knowledge of stroke, as well as risk factors and follow-up evidence-based care is limited and often late. Other findings include: 1) Most recognize hypertension as a major risk factor for stroke. 2) About 50% report that stroke is hereditary and about 20% do not know organs affected by stroke. 3) More than 95% willing to participate in genetic testing research and about 85% willing to pay for testing and recommend the test to others. 4) Almost all indicated that genetic testing could help health providers better treat stroke and help scientists better understand the causes of stroke. The CABs provided stakeholder input into SIREN activities and facilitated collaborations among investigators, community members and stakeholders. Conclusion: The CE core within SIREN is a first-of-its kind public outreach engagement initiative to evaluate and address perceptions about stroke and genomics by patients, caregivers, and local leaders in SSA and has implications as a model for assessment in other high-stroke risk populations. SIREN’s CE program uses best practices to build capacity for community-engaged research, accelerate integration of research findings into practice and strengthen dynamic community-academic partnerships within our communities. CE has had several major successes over the past three years including our multi-site collaboration examining the KABP about stroke (symptoms, risk factors, burden) and genetic testing across SSA.

Keywords: community advisory board, community engagement, focus groups, outreach, SSA, stroke

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Authors: Teresa Carlone, Matteo Mannocchi

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In the last decade, a growing number of International Organizations are pushing toward green solutions for adaptation to climate change. This is particularly true in the field of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and land planning, where Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) had been sponsored through funding programs and planning tools. Stakeholder engagement and co-creation of NBS is growing as a practice and research field in environmental projects, fostering the consolidation of a multidisciplinary socio-ecological approach in addressing hydro-meteorological risk. Even thou research and financial interests are constantly spread, the NBS mainstreaming process is still at an early stage as innovative concepts and practices make it difficult to be fully accepted and adopted by a multitude of different actors to produce wide scale societal change. The monitoring and impact evaluation of stakeholders’ participation in these processes represent a crucial aspect and should be seen as a continuous and integral element of the co-creation approach. However, setting up a fit for purpose-monitoring strategy for different contexts is not an easy task, and multiple challenges emerge. In this scenario, the Horizon 2020 OPERANDUM project, designed to address the major hydro-meteorological risks that negatively affect European rural and natural territories through the co-design, co-deployment, and assessment of Nature-based Solution, represents a valid case study to test a monitoring strategy from which set a broader, general and scalable monitoring framework. Applying a participative monitoring methodology, based on selected indicators list that combines quantitative and qualitative data developed within the activity of the project, the paper proposes an experimental in-depth analysis of the stakeholder engagement impact in the co-creation process of NBS. The main focus will be to spot and analyze which factors increase knowledge, social acceptance, and mainstreaming of NBS, promoting also a base-experience guideline to could be integrated with the stakeholder engagement strategy in current and future similar strongly collaborative approach-based environmental projects, such as OPERANDUM. Measurement will be carried out through survey submitted at a different timescale to the same sample (stakeholder: policy makers, business, researchers, interest groups). Changes will be recorded and analyzed through focus groups in order to highlight causal explanation and to assess the proposed list of indicators to steer the conduction of similar activities in other projects and/or contexts. The idea of the paper is to contribute to the construction of a more structured and shared corpus of indicators that can support the evaluation of the activities of involvement and participation of various levels of stakeholders in the co-production, planning, and implementation of NBS to address climate change challenges.

Keywords: co-creation and collaborative planning, monitoring, nature-based solution, participation & inclusion, stakeholder engagement

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Authors: Yusra Pintaningrum, Ilma Fahira Basyir, Sony Hilal Wicaksono, Vito A. Damay

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Background: Coronary artery calcium (CAC) scores play an important role in improving prognostic accuracy and can be selectively used to guide the allocation of statin therapy for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease outcomes and potentially associated with the occurrence of MACE (Major Adverse Cardiovascular Event) and MI (Myocardial Infarction). Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis aim to analyze the findings of a study about CAC Score and statin treatment effect on MI and MACE risk. Methods: Search for published scientific articles using the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting, Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) method conducted on PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Medline databases published in the last 20 years on “coronary artery calcium” AND “statin” AND “cardiovascular disease” Further systematic review and meta-analysis using RevMan version 5.4 were performed based on the included published scientific articles. Results: Based on 11 studies included with a total of 1055 participants, we performed a meta-analysis and found that individuals with CAC score > 0 increased risk ratio of MI 8.48 (RR = 9.48: 95% CI: 6.22 – 14.45) times and MACE 2.48 (RR = 3.48: 95% CI: 2.98 – 4.05) times higher than CAC score 0 individual. Statin compared against non-statin treatment showed a statistically insignificant overall effect on the risk of MI (P = 0.81) and MACE (P = 0.89) in an individual with elevated CAC score 1 – 100 (P = 0.65) and > 100 (P = 0.11). Conclusions: This study found that an elevated CAC scores individual has a higher risk of MI and MACE than a non-elevated CAC score individual. There is no significant effect of statin compared against non-statin treatment to reduce MI and MACE in elevated CAC score individuals of 1 – 100 or > 100.

Keywords: coronary artery calcium, statin, cardiovascular disease, myocardial infarction, MACE

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Authors: Jemima C. A. Sumboh

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Given the urgency and consensus for countries to move towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC), health financing systems need to be accurately and consistently monitored to provide valuable data to inform policy and practice. Most of the indicators for monitoring UHC, particularly catastrophe and impoverishment, are established based on the impact of out-of-pocket health payments (OOPHP) on households’ living standards, collected through varied household surveys. These surveys, however, vary substantially in survey methods such as the length of the recall period or the number of items included in the survey questionnaire or the farming of questions, potentially influencing the level of OOPHP. Using different survey instruments can provide inaccurate, inconsistent, erroneous and misleading estimates of UHC, subsequently influencing wrong policy decisions. Using data from a household budget survey conducted by the Navrongo Health Research Center in Ghana from May 2017 to December 2018, this study intends to explore the potential implications of using surveys with varied levels of disaggregation of OOPHP data on estimates of financial risk protection. The household budget survey, structured around food and non-food expenditure, compared three OOPHP measuring instruments: Version I (existing questions used to measure OOPHP in household budget surveys), Version II (new questions developed through benchmarking the existing Classification of the Individual Consumption by Purpose (COICOP) OOPHP questions in household surveys) and Version III (existing questions used to measure OOPHP in health surveys integrated into household budget surveys- for this, the demographic and health surveillance (DHS) health survey was used). Version I, II and III contained 11, 44, and 56 health items, respectively. However, the choice of recall periods was held constant across versions. The sample size for Version I, II and III were 930, 1032 and 1068 households, respectively. Financial risk protection will be measured based on the catastrophic and impoverishment methodologies using STATA 15 and Adept Software for each version. It is expected that findings from this study will present valuable contributions to the repository of knowledge on standardizing survey instruments to obtain estimates of financial risk protection that are valid and consistent.

Keywords: Ghana, household budget surveys, measuring financial risk protection, out-of-pocket health payments, survey instruments, universal health coverage

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Authors: Camille Aouinaït, Danilo Christen, Christoph Carlen

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Introduction: Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are facing different challenges such as pressures on environmental resources, the rise of downstream power, and trade liberalization. Remaining competitive by implementing innovations and engaging in collaborations could be a strategic solution. In Switzerland, the Federal Institute for Research in Agriculture (Agroscope), the Federal schools of technology (EPFL and ETHZ), Cantonal universities and Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS) can provide substantial inputs. UAS were developed with specific missions to match the labor markets and society needs. Research projects produce patents, publications and improved networks of scientific expertise. The study’s goal is to measure the contribution of UAS and research organization to innovation and the impact of collaborations with partners in the non-academic environment in Swiss traditional fruit production. Materials and methods: The European projects Traditional Food Network to improve the transfer of knowledge for innovation (TRAFOON) and Social Impact Assessment of Productive Interactions between science and society (SIAMPI) frame the present study. The former aims to fill the gap between the needs of traditional food producing SMEs and innovations implemented following European projects. The latter developed a method to assess the impacts of scientific research. On one side, interviews with market players have been performed to make an inventory of needs of Swiss SMEs producing apricots and berries. The participative method allowed matching the current needs and the existing innovations coming from past European projects. Swiss stakeholders (e.g. producers, retailers, an inter-branch organization of fruits and vegetables) directly rated the needs on a five-Likert scale. To transfer the knowledge to SMEs, training workshops have been organized for apricot and berries actors separately, on specific topics. On the other hand, a mapping of a social network is drawn to characterize the links between actors, with a focus on the Swiss canton of Valais and UAS Valais Wallis. Type and frequency of interactions among actors have identified thanks to interviews. Preliminary results: A list of 369 SMEs needs grouped in 22 categories was produced with 37 fulfilled questionnaires. Swiss stakeholders rated 31 needs very important. Training workshops on apricot are focusing on varietal innovations, storage, disease (bacterial blight), pest (Drosophila suzukii), sorting and rootstocks. Entrepreneurship was targeted through trademark discussions in berry production. The UAS Valais Wallis collaborated on a few projects with Agroscope along with industries, at European and national levels. Political and public bodies interfere with the central area of agricultural vulgarization that induces close relationships between the research and the practical side. Conclusions: The needs identified by Swiss stakeholders are becoming part of training workshops to incentivize innovations. The UAS Valais Wallis takes part in collaboration projects with the research environment and market players that bring innovations helping SMEs in their contextual environment. Then, a Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda will be created in order to pursue research and answer the issues facing by SMEs.

Keywords: agriculture, innovation, knowledge transfer, university and research collaboration

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