Ερευνητικά Αποτελέσματα Ξένων Ερευνητών - Europedirect

EU-funded researchers have demonstrated the potential of airborne polarimetric radars for monitoring weather phenomena and enhancing flight safety.

The EU-funded project X-WALD (Avionic X-band weather signal modelling and processing validation through real data acquisition and analysis) focused on the validation of algorithms used for the evaluation of meteorological conditions encountered in flight.

EU-funded researchers have developed an innovative emergency management platform that integrates space borne assets to support early detection of natural and man-made hazards.

Current emergency management tools are hazard-specific and cannot be easily adapted to support management of other types of disasters. Furthermore, the potential of space-based technologies, such as Earth observation and satellite navigation, is not fully exploited.

Hidden from human view, dark energy and dark matter fascinates and intrigues our imaginations. At the same time, EU-funded scientists prepare for an ambitious mission to map millions of galaxies to shine light on the invisible universe.

The European Space Agency’s Euclid space telescope will be equipped with an infrared camera to track the distribution of galaxies and measure cosmic acceleration. Scientists think that the accelerating expansion of the universe is driven by dark energy.

From Bavaria in Germany and Trikala in Greece to Versailles in France and Gothenburg in Sweden, automated cars are currently being tested around Europe as part of the upcoming transport revolution. Driverless vehicles are expected to bring numerous benefits to society.

EU-funded researchers have made strides towards a clean internal combustion engine by elucidating the effect of diesel fuel additives on internal nozzle flow and emerging spray.

Recent environmental legislation has reinforced the need for deposit control additives to keep the diesel engine clean and maintain low vehicle emissions. In addition, the introduction of diesel fuel with substantially lowered sulphur content has led to the need for lubricity additives, conductivity improver additives and others.

EU-funded researchers have introduced an environmentally friendly and economically viable technique to convert biomass into value-added chemicals, improving upon hydrothermal electrolysis.

Under normal conditions, electrolysis of water produces hydrogen and oxygen. However, when electrolysis is carried out in sub-critical water – at temperatures exceeding the normal boiling point – the generation of oxygen can be controlled.

Extend, explore, and open-up. Eighteen months after the end of its predecessor, MONT-BLANC 2 has successfully reached its three core objectives. Its completion brings the industry one step closer to the commercial deployment of ARM-based HPC solutions by consolidating software developed under Mont-Blanc.

ARM-based processors are a considerable asset on Europe’s path to self-determination in high-performance computing (HPC).

An EU initiative determined how consumers’ understanding, purchase and consumption behaviour is affected by health-related claims and symbols on food packaging.

Studying minority identities and ethnicities of two towns in the Levant – namely, in Lebanon and Syria – can help untangle the region’s geopolitical complexities.

An EU team examined civil rights related to surveillance, focusing on accountability and privacy. The research helped develop a framework and management tool, validating it through demonstrations.

With ever-increasing surveillance capability, there is a corresponding growth in concerns about misuse. Such issues need balancing, in part by definition of rights.

Further details: Rights and surveillance

Three new robotic technology strategies to help improve robots’ capabilities have been successfully developed to operate on two different robot platforms. The findings bode well for improving robot accuracy and efficiency.

Robotics are important for advancing industry and supporting a number of diverse applications, from helping the physically challenged to assisting in search and rescue operations. The EU-funded ITHRUI (Towards better robot manipulation: Improvement through interaction) project examined how learning can be exploited to upgrade robot manipulation.

An EU initiative identified and explained the factors that impact voluntary cooperation in national cultural policies and Europe’s cultural activity.

Understanding the basis of new vessel formation in the retina is fundamental for the treatment of various conditions. To identify the determinants of neovascularisation, European researchers developed novel mouse models lacking specific molecules.

Retinal neovascularisation is a feature of several conditions including diabetes and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). It also occurs in some cases of premature babies treated with high doses of oxygen to support lung development.

Researchers have developed new ways to make graphene, which will allow for new and improved chemical and physical properties.

Graphene can be obtained through mechanical cleavage from graphite or by chemical vapour deposition on metal foils. These methods produce good-quality graphene, but this graphene still needs to be tuned for specific functions, which remains a challenge.

An EU initiative explored the importance of acoustics in the production, location and active use of prehistoric rock art sites and landscapes.

Researchers have used atmospheric modelling to study how aerosols can behave as fertilisers and predict their effect on Earth’s biomass.

Atmospheric aerosols play an important role in the energy balance of the Earth system, yet not all their interactions have been fully studied. This includes the effect of aerosol fertilisation on the terrestrial and marine ecosystems.

Researchers have created a web-based knowledge repository to better understand the biodiversity of medicinal plants that grow in the Himalayas.

The plants of the Sino-Himalayan Umbelliferae group are commonly known as the carrot or parsley family. These plants are medicinal herbs used by Sino-Himalayan communities, and are endangered due to their fragmented and shrinking forest habitat.

An EU team examined the semantics and philosophy of legal statements. The work addressed ‘ought’ and ‘might’ statements and also metaphysics, metaethics and collective intentionality.

The EU-funded CAND (Collective attitudes and normative disagreement) project examined contextualist semantics about evaluative and normative language predicates in the context of legal statements. The project concerned what one should do, according to the law.

To maintain genomic integrity, cells have evolved complex mechanisms of overcoming DNA damage. However, this means that cancer cells can evade chemotherapy treatment.

European researchers developed a novel technique for investigating the mechanism of viral protein synthesis. Their results have broad implications for the next generation of anti-viral therapies.

Norovirus, a member of the family of small RNA viruses, is the major cause of viral gastroenteritis worldwide. Recent evidence from older people and immunocompromised patients such as those receiving chemotherapy indicates high mortality and morbidity rates. Despite extensive research, currently there are no treatments that effectively control norovirus infection.