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Personal Information Management Systems (PIMS) are acquiring a prominent role in the data economy by promoting services that help individuals to have more control over the processing of their personal data, in line with the European data protection laws. One of the highlighted solutions in this area is Solid, a new protocol that is decentralizing the storage of data, through the usage of interoperable web standards and semantic vocabularies, to empower its users to have more control over the processing of data by agents and applications. However, to fulfill this vision and gather widespread adoption, Solid needs to be aligned with the law governing the processing of personal data in Europe, the main piece of legislation being the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). To assist with this process, we analyze the current efforts to introduce a policy layer in the Solid ecosystem, in particular, related to the challenge of obtaining consent for processing personal data, focusing on the GDPR. Furthermore, we investigate if, in the context of using personal data for biomedical research, consent can be expressed in advance, and discuss the conditions for valid consent and how it can be obtained in this decentralized setting, namely through the matching of privacy preferences, set by the user, with requests for data and whether this can signify informed consent. Finally, we discuss the technical challenges of an implementation that caters to the previously identified legal requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) plays an essential role in peripheral artery disease (PAD), leading to improved functional status, increased quality of life, and reduced arterial stiffness. We aimed to assess factors associated with clinical improvement 6 months after enrolment in a rehabilitation program at an academic medical center in north-eastern Europe. Materials and Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study on 97 patients with PAD admitted to a single tertiary referral center. At the 6-months follow-up, 75 patients (77.3%) showed improved clinical status. We analyzed demographics and clinical and paraclinical parameters in order to explore factors associated with a favorable outcome. Results: Hypertension (p = 0.002), diabetes mellitus (p = 0.002), dyslipidemia (p = 0.045), and obesity (p = 0.564) were associated with no clinical improvement. Smoking cessation (p < 0.001), changing sedentary lifestyle (p = 0.032), and improvement of lipid and carbohydrate profile as well as functional status parameters and ambulatory arterial stiffness index (p = 0.008) were factors associated with clinical improvement at the 6-months follow-up. Conclusions: PAD patients require an integrative, multidisciplinary management to maintain functional status and increase quality of life. Improving carbohydrate and lipid profile, adopting a healthy lifestyle, quitting smoking and increasing exercise capacity are predictors for clinical improvement 6 months after enrolment in a CR program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prostate cancer is the second most common form of cancer in men in Europe. The primary treatment of this type of cancer is radical prostatectomy, which has shown good oncological results. Radical prostatectomy (open, laparoscopic or robotic) has high success and low morbidity rates in patients with localized prostate cancer. The life expectancy is >10 years after radical prostatectomy. Studies have shown that ~20%-30% of the patients who have undergone radical prostatectomy can develop biochemical recurrence, which is monitored by using the value of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA). In some cases (patients with high-risk prostate cancer), adjuvant therapy after radical prostatectomy, such as radiotherapy or androgen deprivation therapy, can significantly reduce the risk of biochemical recurrence. The optimal management of recurrent disease remains uncertain. Recent literature was systematically reviewed regarding the management of biochemical recurrence and to compare clinical experience in literature studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the emergence of "Roma health and wellbeing" as a focus of attention in European research and in policy and the possible detrimental consequences of action founded on a generic representation of "Roma health." Design/methodology/approach: Based on discussions with and research conducted by scholars who work directly with Roma communities across European regions from a wide range of academic disciplines it suggests how future research might inform: a more nuanced understanding of the causes of poor health and wellbeing among diverse Roma populations and; actions that may have greater potential to improve the health and wellbeing among these populations. Findings: In summary, the authors promote three types of research: first critical analyses that unpick the implications of current and past representations of "Roma" and "Roma health." Second, applied participatory research that meaningfully involves people from specific self-defined Roma populations to identify important issues for their health and wellbeing. Third, learning about processes that might impact on the health and wellbeing of Roma populations from research with other populations in similarly excluded situations. Originality/value: The authors provide a multidisciplinary perspective to inform research that does not perpetuate further alienation and prejudice, but promotes urgent action to redress the social and health injustices experienced by diverse Roma populations across Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1950s, wind has represented one of the main disturbances to forest ecosystems in Europe, causing an increase in the frequency and amount of trees uprooted or broken by wind. Such phenomenon has also increased the incidence of compression wood in the xylem of remnant trees, thus leading to a general decrease in timber quality. In this study, we aimed to determine how wind regime affects the incidence of compression wood by reconstructing its chronology at both inter- and intra-annual scale using dendroclimatic methods. Six silver fir stands at different elevations were selected in central Romania, and compression wood time series were obtained from both increment cores from standing trees and radial discs from felled trees. Wood-structure variables were statistically analyzed as time series, while fluctuations of wind frequency and speed over the period 1921-present were reconstructed based on meteorological data. The structural response of sampled trees to wind was assessed based on the annual fluctuation in the frequency and intensity of compression wood. Results showed that the incidence of compression wood in the time series was synchronized with the intensity of the wind, rather than its duration. Wind regime in December of the preceding calendar year was significantly correlated with the frequency of compression wood, whereas its intensity was significantly correlated with wind load of previous September. The response of cambium to the wind stimulus increased with distance from the tree collar, peaking in the section at the base of the crown. At a decennial scale, only high-intensity wind stress triggered structural responses in the studied trees. Wind effects on xylogenesis in the analyzed stands increased over the last decades as a consequence of the local forest management. A bet - ter understanding of the structural response of forest trees to wind regime may explain how individual and groups of trees compete for stability and can help to improve forest management strategies in windy regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social inclusion, a relatively new concern on European level, has become a rather sizeable dimension of sustainable development approach. In this context, a special attention is paid to youth integration, category particularly affected by economic crisis; its support require a cross coordination between educational, social and economic policies. Our paper present the results of a programme addressed to social integration of students from vulnerable categories. The illustration of university contribution as an actor of social inclusion is preceded by a brief presentation of the European frame of social integration of youth, with a special attention to the specific programmes and grants results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the cross-border mobility practices of eastern European immigrants across and within European Union (EU) borders, taking into account the changes in the patterns of the EU border regime, which have affected mobility in the last 20 years. Drawing on empirical research with references to in-depth qualitative interviews of eastern immigrants in Spain, this article highlights the ways in which the emerging models of cross-border mobility management are producing new geographies of the EU border. On the one hand,(re)borderingmakes human mobility difficult, while, on the other hand,networked borderingfacilitates mobility. The conclusions confirm that the flexibility of the European border allows the mobility of people, and also indicate that, while crossing borders, eastern Europeans learn about mobility and practice it as citizens of Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A social problem of interest to many scholars today is that of juvenile delinquency. Juvenile delinquency is a serious behavioural problem, manifested through behaviours that deviate from the moral and legal norms of society. It was noted in Europe in the last decade an increase in the number of juvenile delinquents and a decrease in the age of young people who commit acts of delinquency. This requires prevention and intervention measures to be applied as early as possible. Prevention can be achieved only when an early detection of risk is performed. One screening tool for assessing risk is The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. This tool is intended to clarify, in a first rough assessment (a so-called 'screening') of whether a child is about to become an 'early starter'; a child showing signs of an early onset delinquent behaviour. In the city of Sibiu the questionnaire was applied within schools and information was provided by teachers relating to 308 pupils in grades I-IV. The main perception of the target group of this study was that children who have committed crimes, but are not criminally responsible, are primarily troubled kids, not criminals with established patterns of behaviour. Consequently, the social and educational systems and not the justice system should bear the responsibility for this target group. From this perspective, it is important that social, educational and therapeutic activities focus on the various individual problems of each child and family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current economic and financial crisis represents the most sever episode of this type during the last generations - as it results from the reports of the European Commission. The impact upon the European Union member states' economies materialised under the form of the credit restructuration, reduction of the trust at the economic level, and also, a serious contraction of the demand and the commercial exchanges. These are elements which determined the decrease of the investment and production activity, and also the usage of the production capacities, especially in the constructions field. On a medium and long term, we can appreciate that the true problem of the nature and profoundness of the crisis represents the pressure upon the business competitiveness, with consequences at the level of the working force or degradation of the human and technologic capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Management of zoonotic disease is necessary if countryside users are to gain benefit rather than suffer harm from their activities, and to avoid disproportionate reaction to novel threats. We introduce a conceptual framework based on the pressure-state-response model with five broad responses to disease incidence. Influencing public behaviour is one response and requires risk communication based on an integration of knowledge about the disease with an understanding of how publics respond to precautionary advice. A second framework emphasizes how risk communication involves more than information provision and should address dimensions including points-of-intervention over time, place and audience. The frameworks are developed by reference to tick-borne Lyme borreliosis (also known as Lyme disease), for which informed precautionary behaviour is particularly relevant. Interventions to influence behaviour can be directed by knowledge of spatial and temporal variation of tick abundance, what constitutes risky behaviour, how people respond to information of varying content, and an understanding of the social practices related to countryside use. The frameworks clarify the response options and help identify who is responsible for risk communication. These aspects are not consistently understood, and may result in an underestimation of the role of land-based organizations in facilitating appropriate precautionary behaviour.