Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is the most common debilitating disease in young adults worldwide. Diagnosed in over 2.3 million people, this neuro-immunological disease is most prevalent in Europe and North America, with over 120,000 diagnosed cases in Germany alone. Great strides have been made in developing medications that slow disease progression, however, the daily symptomatology of MS remains largely untreated. This research proposes investigations of (1) an instrument for objectively measuring MS fatigue and (2) a therapeutic methodology for MS fatigue and disability. Despite great individual variation in MS symptomatology, “MS fatigue” verges on characteristic, reported by 80% of patients. However, there is currently no standardized means of evaluating or treating MS fatigue. Movement Behavior Analysis and Scales Test (i.e., BAST) tests and pre- and post-test vital signs of 40 persons with MS will be compared to that of 40 neurotypical matched controls. If the BAST is shown to reliably measure MS fatigue, then a testing and rating system for large-scale clinical use will be developed. To test the ability of the BAST to measure changes in MS fatigue and categorize physical disability, a long-term controlled study of the impact of hippotherapy (i.e., therapeutic horseback riding) will be undertaken in 24 individuals with MS. The standardized BAST will afford a robust analysis of movement ability and disability, enabling measurement of symptoms including gait, balance, spasticity, and fatigue. To achieve project objectives while facilitating ample mentorship, this project brings together the movement research facilities and faculty of the German Sport University Cologne (including mentor Dr. Hedda Lausberg, creator of the BAST), researchers and hippotherapists at the Gold-Kraemer Foundation Center for Physical Activity and Sport, and an internship at the University of Cologne Department of Neurology and Center for Palliative Medicine.

ISA initiated the project 'Take it to the Street'. The project is about the value and use of street sports to promote the positive engagement of young people in society. The project was initiated on the basis of different underlying dynamics. in Europe, (local) governments struggle with the engagement and integration of young people, especially third country nationals, within their communities. The sports club can serve as an important space to foster the positive engagement and engagement of young people, but evidence shows that the traditional sports club doesn't fit for everybody. A shared belief of ISA and its consortium partners is that street sports can contribute to the engagement and integration of young people within society. This is backed by recent academic research that shows street sports are becoming increasingly popular throughout Europe. A consortium was formed with ISA in the lead and Game Denmark, Game Lebanon, Sport University Cologne and 3x3 UNITES as partners. Game Denmark has 10+ years experience in youth-led street sports for social change. Game Lebanon has specific experience working with high numbers of refugees and third country nationals using street sports. Sport University Cologne is a widely recognised institute doing research on Sport for Development. 3x3 UNITES is a young and innovative organisation that uses 3x3 basketball to promote social change. ISA has the positive engagement of young people at its core and recognises street sports as an important strategy. The aim of the consortium is to develop street sports as an effective strategy to promote the participation, engagement and integration of young people within their communities. More specific, 'Take it to the street' aims to develop curricula, best practices and tools that stimulate the use of street sports to promote positive engagement of youths. The project has resulted in: IO1: A research on the potential value of street sports for developmentIO2: How to guide: designing effective street sports for youth engagement interventionsIO3: How to guide: Implementing effective street sports for youth engagement interventionsIO4: How to guide: Monitoring and evaluating street sports for youth engagement interventionsIO5: A 3x3 basketball for youth engagement and life skills facilitators guideIO6: A 3x3 Basketball for youth engagement and life skills coaches’ manual IO7: A platform on how to design, implement and monitor Street Sports and Youth Engagement interventions The project has led to more insights and knowledge among consortium partners and stakeholders on how to use street sport for youth engagement. It also led to improved programmes and interventions. This contributes to a greater group of youth from multicultural backgrounds who are engaged in street sport activities and thereby increased their overall visibility, participation and sense of belonging within their (new) communities.Two concrete examples: - In Amsterdam, 3x3 leaders are trained on the basis of the developed '3x3 for youth engagement' curriculum - War Child (as one of multiple international organisations) have shown an explicit interest in using street sports within their programmes

ELSAH realizes a flexible and integrated, smart patch-based, wearable sensor system for continuous monitoring of health and well-being that quantifies biomarkers by electrochemical detection. This system will be fully self-sustained by integrating microneedle biosensors with a microchip, a printed battery and printed electronics, thereby enabling independent measurements and secure wireless data transmission to the user’s mobile phone. The ELSAH-patch will comprise: 1) Simultaneous electrochemical quantification of glucose and lactate concentrations in the interstitial fluid; 2) Total monitoring period of at least 24 hours at a measurement interval of no more than 5 minutes; 3) Total patch area of no more than 16 cm2 at a maximum patch thickness of 4 mm; 4) Choice of components and integration process that enable fabrication costs of a post-project commercial version of no more than 2 € per patch. We will realize three generations of the ELSAH-patch system with consecutively increasing integration levels. The first generation will be a platform system assembled from interchangeable standard components, while the last generation will provide the final modular solution which integrates advanced components and interfaces. To achieve the objectives, the ELSAH consortium unites the individual innovative strengths in advanced electronics technologies of five research, three SME and two large industry partners. They will generate added value by jointly developing an entirely new integrated bio-electronic smart system with strong market potential, thereby supporting the digitisation of Europe’s industry. The ELSAH-patch constitutes a new ESS generation that will enable for the first time the cost-effective and minimally invasive self-testing of molecular biomarker levels by integrating individual hardware technologies across multiple fields, namely: 1) Polymeric microneedles manufacturing; 2) Electrochemical biosensors; 3) Printed electronics; 4) Advanced processing.