Ερευνητικά Αποτελέσματα Ξένων Ερευνητών - Europedirect

Optimising integrated waste management is one of the main challenges facing many European regions. An EU-funded initiative examined a new approach based on the application of holistic practices.

Innovative waste management will play a key role in achieving a sustainable society if key actors work together, not in isolation from one another. Only through cooperation can we develop new business models and incentives that maximise value from waste, leading to expanded and stable markets for products and waste derived materials.

A myriad of similarities between ancient myths and folktales about secret paradise islands has contributed to a common religious heritage that many Europeans share.

The mythologies of many medieval and ancient cultures across Europe have spoken of mysterious paradise islands where immortal beings reign and often where beautiful women abound. The Isle of Avalon in Arthurian legend, Glæsisvellir in Scandinavia and the ‘islands of the blessed’ in Graeco-Roman literature are three important examples of this, with references in Celtic lore as well.

An EU team coordinated and developed the Baltic countries’ capacity for integrated catchment management. Project outcomes included a series of major reports and the hosting of various gatherings on the topic.

Much of the natural rainfall and urban run-off from Baltic countries ends up in the Baltic Sea. Protection of the Sea depends on effective catchment management, although Baltic countries utilise different catchment management styles.

An EU-funded research network has pioneered development of techniques for asteroid and space debris monitoring, removal and deflection.

The Estonian Science Foundation has worked to reinforce the incoming mobility strand of its Postdoctoral Research Grants programme via its various fellowship programmes. An EU initiative helped to increase such mobility and reintegration.

With EU funding, the ERMOS (Estonian research mobility scheme) project enriched the research environment of research and development (R&D) institutions in Estonia.

No single material category can meet the weight and performance needs of all electric vehicle (EV) components simultaneously. A powerful EU consortium pursued a multi-materials approach, developing the materials and joining technologies needed to meet the challenge.

EU-funded scientists came up with an intelligent solution to maintain grid balance and reliability in aircraft that act both as a power consumer and a generator.

Advanced materials are vital to further improve fuel economy of electric vehicles (EVs), while maintaining safety and performance. An EU-funded project accelerated the development of high-strength lightweight materials that can make up structural components for future EVs.

Every new generation of EV cars have been getting larger and heavier to improve safety and comfort. Using lightweight materials can offset the weight of power systems and other components, improving vehicle efficiency and increasing its driving range before recharging.

Seasonal influenza infections and the threat of pandemic viral strains highlight the need for innovative measures. A European consortium investigated the possibility of targeting the host instead of the virus itself.

The inherent capacity of the influenza virus to mutate its components under strong selective pressure gives rise to new virus strains every year. This phenomenon disarms the power of vaccination and of antiviral drugs, necessitating the development of alternative treatment strategies.

More than ever before, European business and research communities are pressed to deliver solutions for significant, large-scale financial practices. An EU initiative combined the use of supercomputers with financial models to address risk management.

High-performance computing (HPC) is increasingly being used to solve big problems in business and finance. At the same time, an increase in the accuracy, reliability and frequency of financial analytics is driving financial institutions towards HPC. As a result, the need for financial experts with HPC skills has never been greater.

Today, many women in poor countries suffer from reproductive ill-health. An EU-funded study worked to put an end to this by providing improved health services and intervention strategies in affected areas.

Illness associated with sexual and reproductive health (SRH) accounts for nearly 20 % of female health problems worldwide. Women in developing countries are at higher risk for SRH illnesses such as HIV. This means they are more likely to become exposed to infection and have restricted access to health services.

An EU initiative introduced a novel road surface containing an important amount of recycled car tyres and bound with an elastic resin. The innovation reduces traffic noise in an extreme way, while providing an eco-friendly alternative for disposing of end-of-life tyres.

Traffic noise abatement can be drastically improved by incorporating elasticity into a road’s top layer to suppress tyre vibrations. The EU-funded PERSUADE (Poroelastic road surface: An innovation to avoid damages to the environment) project developed such a noise-abating material using recycled tyre shreds.

Nutrition is an important modulator of gut and immune functions. European researchers focused on the role of different dietary fibres and investigated the mechanism by which they impact human health.

With ULTRAWINE, Spanish SME AGROVIN promises a piece of revolutionary ultrasound equipment for wineries, one that will accelerate the grape maceration process and reduce energy use drastically — all this whilst guaranteeing great wine colouration and quality.

Vine growers and wine amateurs know all about them: polyphenols are the most important flavour chemicals in red wine, and have been found in numerous epidemiological studies to help prevent vascular disease, cancer or diabetes. They give wine its much-appreciated colouration, and can even influence the aftertaste and body.

Could ARM-based micro-servers improve the energy efficiency of data centres across the world and put Europe at the forefront of this highly competitive sector? Confident with this potential, the EUROSERVER project is leading the way with novel ARM-based server architecture.

Centrepiece of our smartphones, ARM processors are increasingly being considered for exploitation beyond mobile. The world’s biggest manufacturers are using them for next-generation laptops, whilst engineers making a start on exascale computing have been charmed by their energy-efficiency performance.

A technology able to accurately predict future yields, without humanintervention, would be a dream come true for vine growers acrossEurope. If all goes as planned, such technology should be available tothem in less than two years.

In a market that’s increasingly driven by quality, VINBOT (Autonomous cloud-computing vineyard robot to optimise yield management and wine quality) can provide European wine producers with a competitive edge.

For 18 months, the PANDEM project has been preparing recommendations to help the EU face a potential pandemic. Armed with its planning tool and other project outcomes, the team has identified research priorities and innovations needed to strengthen preparedness for pandemics.

Just like great wine needs time, great grapes require continuous attention and reliable assessment tools. Noting the absence of a convincing alternative to manual sampling and analysis, an EU-funded consortium has developed VineRobot, an ‘Unmanned ground vehicle’ (UGV) equipped with non-invasive sensor technology.

Today, assessing the readiness of vine grapes for harvesting requires growers to sample hundreds of berries, with their eyes as the only tool they can rely on.

Recent cyberattacks that target critical infrastructure (CI) are cause for alarm, particularly when such malicious acts are becoming increasingly dangerous. An EU initiative has introduced a methodology and tools to shield gas, water and electricity companies.

The WINESENSE project has successfully developed a novel extraction process for grape marc, resulting in higher polyphenol content. The consortium is already working on products for the cosmetics industry.