European Union

The acceleration of climate change poses a growing threat to human health, particularly by exacerbating non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular and respiratory conditions. Rising global temperatures amplify air pollution and environmental toxins, disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations. This narrative review explores the complex pathways linking climate-related environmental stressors to adverse health outcomes, focusing on the intermediary roles of epigenetic modifications and alterations in the microbiota. Epigenetic processes, including DNA methylation and histone modifications, may mediate how environmental exposures influence gene expression and disease susceptibility. Concurrently, changes in microbiota composition induced by pollutants and temperature fluctuations can promote inflammatory responses and immune dysfunction. Elucidating these molecular mechanisms is essential for developing targeted interventions and adaptive strategies to mitigate the health impacts of climate change. This review underscores the importance of identifying epigenetic and microbiota-based biomarkers for early risk stratification and for informing public health prevention and adaptation policies. A transdisciplinary approach, grounded in the One Health framework, is critical to addressing the growing burden of climate-sensitive diseases and reducing health inequalities.

EGU Letters are short papers (< 2500 words) that highlight outstanding research of broad relevance across the geosciences. They are characterized by both of the following key features:– Important discoveries and highlights in geoscientific research.– Solutions to or progress with long-standing and important questions in their research area.In addition, the reported research findings should be of high interest to the broad geoscience community or to the broader public and media.Introduced in 2020, ‘EGU Letters’ is not a standalone journal. Instead, they comprise a curated selection of Letters published within individual EGU journals, currently including ACP, BG, ESD, GC, NPG, OS, and SOIL. To date, approximately 50 EGU Letters have been published. The public peer-review process for Letters is conducted within the respective host journals and is overseen by their editorial teams. EGU Letters represent a highly selective subset of EGU publications, accounting for approximately 0.4% of all EGU publications and around 1% of papers published in the journals that currently consider this manuscript type. This high level of selectivity reflects the central aim of the format: to identify and showcase particularly impactful articles of broad interest to the geoscience community.EGU Letters extend the well-established, multistage publishing process of the EGU journal portfolio. They constitute a third step, following public peer review and discussion on EGUsphere and subsequent peer-review completion and publication in an EGU journal. This approach enables the efficient identification of exceptional contributions without compromising scientific completeness, rigor, or quality assurance. As a result, EGU Letters are expected to reach a level of quality and credibility comparable to, and potentially exceeding, that of similar formats in other high-impact interdisciplinary journals, while integrated within the EGU interactive open-access publishing framework. We will answer questions related to Letter submissions, scope, and editorial handling, discuss the role of EGU Letters within the broader EGU publication landscape, and welcome any suggestions and feedback for their further development.

This quality improvement study presents the results of the 2025 edition of the European Board Examination in Psychiatry.

Histone deacetylase 8 (HDAC8) is a key enzyme involved in regulating gene expression and tumor development, positioning it as an attractive target for neuroblastoma. In this work, we designed and synthesized a novel series of substituted [1,2,4]Triazolo[4,3-a]quinoline derivatives to investigate their potential as HDAC8 inhibitors. Structural insights into their inhibitory activity were gained through molecular docking studies, highlighting critical interactions within the HDAC8 active site. To assess the stability of these interactions, molecular dynamics simulations were performed, confirming that the compounds maintained strong and stable binding within the HDAC8 enzyme. The most promising inhibitors 9h and 9m demonstrated significant efficacy in IMR-32 neuroblastoma cells, but had much weaker effects on the HCT116 and MCF7 cancer cell lines, as well as on the normal control cell line, HEK293. Further biological evaluations, including colony formation and cell migration assays, revealed their potential to inhibit the growth and spread of neuroblastoma tumor cells. Additional studies on cell cycle progression, apoptosis induction, and SMC3 acetylation indicated increased acetylation levels without altering total SMC3 protein levels, suggesting effective HDAC8 target engagement. In summary, comprehensive molecular modelling and biological assessments have demonstrated the strong potential of these non-hydroxamate-based HDAC8 inhibitors for treating neuroblastoma.

Introduction: Neonatal care in low-resource settings is hindered by shortages of trained staff, inadequate infrastructure, and limited equipment and medications that compromise the management of common neonatal conditions and reduce the quality of care. Our aim was to describe the collaborative efforts between the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), the Union of European Neonatal and Perinatal Societies (UENPS), Doctors with Africa Collegio Universitario Aspiranti Medici Missionari (CUAMM), the Ethiopian Pediatrics Society (EPS), and the Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) to assess resuscitation and respiratory care practices in Ethiopian neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)s, identify gaps, and guide targeted interventions. Methods: A 50-item survey was distributed to 48 Ethiopian NICUs. Based on the survey results, a national workshop in Addis Ababa and a neonatal resuscitation “Train the Trainers” course were scheduled. In parallel, funds were allocated to initiate renovations and equipment upgrade at two selected sites. Results: The survey showed that most units lacked essential resuscitation equipment. Noninvasive respiratory support mainly relied on homemade continuous positive airway pressure systems; mechanical ventilators were available in <40% of units. Caffeine was rarely used, and surfactant was unavailable. The national workshop led to a document shared with the FMoH outlining priorities for subsequent training and resource strengthening. Newly trained instructors conducted four local neonatal resuscitation courses, training 150 healthcare providers. Facility upgrades addressed water, power, medical gas systems, and refurbishment of deteriorated areas. Conclusions: The survey revealed major gaps in neonatal care in Ethiopia. Collaborative efforts by AICS, UENPS, CUAMM, EPS, and FMoH helped reinforce key infrastructures and promote delivery room and respiratory care.

This paper presents the development and experimental evaluation of the Athena parallel robot, a novel system designed for robot-assisted pancreatic surgery. The development of the experimental model based on the kinematic scheme, including the command and control system (hardware and software), the calibration procedure, and the performance measurements of the experimental model based on finite element analyses of the 3D model, are also detailed in this paper. Based on these finite element analyses, a region of the robot that introduces clearance during the operation of the experimental model is found. The paper also presents the methodology used for mapping the robot’s workspace with an optical system, which enabled improvements to ensure coverage of the entire pancreas area. The results obtained before and after the mechanical improvements are presented, demonstrating a reduction in clearance by up to 4.1 times following part replacement, as well as a workspace extension that enables the active instrument to reach the entire pancreatic region.

The present work addresses the critical challenge of designing a lightweight antenna suitable for remote sensing applications specifically aimed at the identification of buried objects from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The stability of the phase center and the radiation pattern are critical factors for enabling synthetic aperture radar (SAR) processing on moving platforms. The presented antenna structure is characterized by a simple, lightweight geometry, and allows for achieving a fractional bandwidth of nearly 100% with an excellent stability of the radiation pattern, that exhibits minimal variation within the operating band of the antenna. Specifically, the gain is in the range 4.4–6.3 dBi and the group delay spread is about 200 ps in the frequency range 1–2 GHz. We illustrate numerical simulations and measurements of an antenna prototype that validate the proposed approach, demonstrating the suitability of the design for the intended operational scenario.