Diseases have no borders. A disease anywhere in the world may become a health threat everywhere. It takes less than 36 hours for an outbreak to spread from a remote village to any major city in the world, therefore, the most effective – and cost effective – way to protect people from such health threats i.e measles, cholera and COVID-19 is to stop them before they spread to others and cross borders. Here comes the role of public health surveillance. Public health surveillance is the continuous, systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of health-related data. An effective disease surveillance system is essential to detecting disease outbreaks quickly before they spread, cost lives and become difficult to control. Digital technologies can improve the ability to both detect and respond to disease outbreaks by sharing data swiftly thus helping us to understand how and where diseases are spreading. This information is crucial for deciding what health policies and strategies to make and follow. Significance of this research is not limited to one country but it has global health dimensions. It can help to address the critical issue of global health security by evaluating the impact of digital technologies on public health surveillance. Low and middle income countries (LMICs) including Pakistan have fragile health systems therefore the risk of spreading diseases, even beyond their borders, is high. Disease surveillance system in Pakistan has largely been outdated and paper based, frequently leading to delayed detection of measles, cholera and other communicable disease outbreaks. In 2017, Ministry of Health Pakistan, with support of World Health Organization (WHO), launched Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) system which uses electronic health information system (District Health Information System – DHIS-2) as a platform for rapid and near real time reporting for selected diseases. From 2017 to 2022, the new system was implemented in 52 districts of the country while remaining 104 districts are still using paper based system. The dual existence of different reporting systems presents a unique opportunity for a comparative analysis, allowing for insights into the effectiveness of the digital transition. As a doctoral researcher, I will conduct an evaluation to address the existing knowledge gap regarding the effectiveness of transitioning from traditional paper-based disease data reporting systems to new digital systems. Specifically, my research will focus on evaluating the impact of Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) and District Health Information System 2 (DHIS-2) initiatives in Pakistan. This evaluation aims to assess the effectiveness of new electronic infectious disease surveillance system in enhancing the country's health system capabilities. I aim to conduct a comparative analysis of the performance between DHIS-2, an electronic system, and traditional paper-based systems through cross sectional study, evaluate the effectiveness of the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) framework and the District Health Information System 2 (DHIS-2) through a comprehensive assessment and explore the determinants influencing the adoption of electronic surveillance systems through a mix method study. The local research infrastructure is well-established, with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Pakistan under Ministry of Health serving as a central data hub for disease surveillance and public health information. The presence of this infrastructure is vital for the success of the research project, as it provides access to comprehensive and up-to-date data on disease surveillance, outbreaks, and response efforts across Pakistan. The NIH website hosts weekly epidemiological IDSR reports. These reports serve as a rich source of information, forming the foundation for the research and ensuring the reliability and relevance of the data collected. Furthermore, the International Doctoral Programme in Epidemiology and Public Health at Tampere University, drawing on its expertise and research strength, will help to improve the quality and depth of the research findings. Together, these elements of the research infrastructure will contribute to the robustness of the study. The research project is feasible as IDSR implementation, led by Ministry of Health Pakistan, is already in progress with support of WHO. I have five years of practical experience, as a public health expert, in disease surveillance, monitoring and evaluation with World Health Organization, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and UK Health Security Agency. My previous role as the Training Coordinator in the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) project has been very relevant. Research will be implemented in phased manner starting from kick off meetings, ethical approvals to data collection, data analysis, reporting and dissemination and finalization and publications. The results of this study may help to improve global health security by examining how well digital health information systems detect and respond to diseases quickly. In Pakistan, the findings might help strengthen the healthcare system, providing useful guidance to policy makers and contributing to practical strategies for better public health monitoring. My research is in line with the European Union's recent Global Health Strategy, which is a cornerstone of the EU's external policy. Addressing and mitigating health threats, particularly pandemics, is highlighted as a key priority within this strategy. Through my research, I aim to contribute to this overarching goal by examining the effectiveness of infectious disease surveillance systems, ultimately working towards a healthier and more resilient global community.

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LEAP4FNSSA is a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) whose main objective is to provide a tool for European and African institutions to engage in a Sustainable Partnership Platform for research and innovation on Food and Nutrition Security, and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA).

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Melissa Plath

The objective of Finland's national bioeconomy strategy is to facilitate economic growth and to create new jobs in bioeconomy-based business. Next to technological knowhow and willingness to innovate, firms aspiring to transition to more sustainable materials and technologies need the ability to identify new business opportunities. Courage and commitment to persevere in seizing these uncertain opportunities, and tolerating the uncertainty and the possibility of failure in pursuing them, are equally important. Therefore, the decision to transition to the bioeconomy involves both rational and emotional elements.

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Teemu Kautonen Aalto University, Henri Hakala, University of Vaasa, Katariina Salmela-Aro, University of Jyväskylä

The BIOCODE project aims to develop high-value extraction compounds (e.g. protein, oil, waxes, and carotenoids), cellulose and hemicellulose products (nanocelluloses, soluble cellulosic macromolecules, sugars and lactic acid) and lignin based materials (biochar, soil additives, chemicals) from main commercial grain crop residues (corn, rapeseed and wheat co-streams). A sequential fractionation concept based on extraction pre-treatment (fractionation of minor components) followed by hydrothermal destructuration (fractionation of major components) will be developed and integrated with a variety of conversion techniques.

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Henrikki Liimatainen, Terhi Suopajärvi, Lothar Driller, Robin White, Gianluca Ottolina, César López

The overall aim of the project is to improve productivity, livelihoods, nutrition and household wellbeing in Ghana and Uganda, while counteracting environmental degradation and mineral depletion caused by monocultures. The study will address both the individual farm level and the rural community level. Introducing the use of biofertilizers through a participatory process can highlight the potential of location-based resources, and empower the community more widely.

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Sumelius John (Project manager, Lindström Kristina (Principal investigator), Benjamin Ahiabor, John Baptist Tumuhairwe, Åsa Frostegård, Aserse Aregu (Participant), Vihinen Hilkka (Project manager), Sell Mila (Project manager), Sipiläinen Timo (Participant), Bäckman, Stefan, (Participant) Rosengren, Linda (Other)

The overall goal of BIRDS is to establish a long term international network involving leading researchers in bioinformatics and information retrieval from four different continents, to strengthen the partnership through the exchange of knowledge and expertise, and to develop integrated approaches to improve current approaches in both fields. It will be implemented through staff exchanges, in addition to summer schools, workshops and conferences to facilitate knowledge sharing between members of the partnership. Research results will be disseminated to the market through a cooperation with an innovative SME software development company based in Europe.

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Simon J Puglisi, Susana Ladra, Luis M.S. Russo, Gillermo de Bernardo, Gonzalo Navarro, Diego Seco, Hideo Bannai, Andrew Turpin

The main aim of this interdisciplinary research project is to enhance the understanding on the long-term impacts and effectiveness of Educational Programmes implemented in Natural Protected Areas as a biodiversity conservation strategy - including impacts on Local Environmental Knowledge. To do so, particular Educational Programmes implemented in Protected Areas in Finland and Madagascar have been selected as case studies context, providing a socio-ecological system approach, including human-wildlife conflicts, and also local community participation and LEK integration possibilities.

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Dr. Mar Cabeza, Dr. Aili Pyhälä

Consulting HKH-HYCOS project and its Regional Flood information System (RFIS) and National Flood Information System (NFIS) in Data management and Quality Control (QC) functions for meteorological and hydrological data.

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Antti Hyvärinen, Sami Kiesiläinen, Irma Ylikangas

Visual exploration of data enables users and analysts observe interesting patterns that can trigger new research for further investigation. With the increasing availability of Linked Data, facilitating support for making sense of the data via visual exploration tools for hypothesis generation is critical. Time and space play important roles in this because of their ability to illustrate dynamicity, from a spatial context. Yet, Linked Data visualization approaches typically have not made efficient use of time and space together, apart from typical rather static multivisualization approaches and mashups. We developed ELBAR explorer that visualizes a vast amount of scientific observational data about the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest. The core contribution is a novel mechanism for animating between the different observed values, thus illustrating the observed changes themselves.

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Tomi Kauppinen, Suvodeep Mazumdar

Carotid artery plaques are a leading cause of ischemic stroke, and carotid endarterectomy (CEA) is one of the major treatment approaches for this disease. Changes in cerebral metabolism following CEA remain unclear. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of cerebral ammonia metabolism following CEA using 13N labeled ammonia positron emission tomography (PET) in humans. This is clinical study in human subjects. This is an international collaboration project. Since Turku PET Centre has very strong PET research experiences, we provides the research protocols to China. Partners in China performed clinical investigations based on our protocols. Furthermore, we performed data analysis and manuscript writing.

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Tao Wang, Yulin He, Xia Bai, Xuemei Wang