To understand the evolving role of Islam in Europe, it is important to comprehend the forms and contents of intellectual exchange between the Latin and Byzantine world. Research to date has mainly focused on the Latin impact on the Christian perception of the Qur’an and Islam. Documenta Coranica Byzantina (DoCoByz) will address a significant research gap by diachronically exploring Greek translations of the Qur’an and anti-Islamic argumentation in Byzantine polemics (7th–13th century) before the first Latin translation appeared (12th century). This way it will be possible to synchronously compare their possible impact on the later Latin tradition. DoCoByz will trace the exact transmission lines of (I.) the Greek Qur’anic translation(s) (Testimonia Coranica Graeca), in order to (II.) document their reception and (re)use within Greek-Orthodox polemics (Episteme Islamica Orthodoxa), and to (III.) distill diachronically the common topoi and stereotypes of anti-Islamic argumentations as well as to synchronously study them with the pre-12th century Latin translations (Traditio Islamica Medievalis). The project is based on a genuine interdisciplinary approach: it combines Greek, Latin, and Arabic philologies with paleographical, historical, and theological work and methods of digital humanities. DoCoByz will create big data corpora giving open access to them as TEI XML files. It will process them into an online database which will contain a synoptical digital edition of all sources reaching out to both researchers and the broader public. After the project’s lifetime, the database can be continuously enriched with sources from (Early) Modern Times as the project's methodology especially focuses on reproducibility and interoperability with other projects. This will contribute to broaden our perception of Islam and of Christian-Muslim relations. DoCoByz's multidisciplinary approach will enable scholars to tackle urgent questions of hitherto unstudied intellectual interactions between the Latin and Byzantine anti-Islamic tradition and Qur’anic knowledge in Medieval Christianity.

COCPIT´s ambition is to enhance the SAF production chain by bringing ground-breaking innovations at each thread of it. It aims also to provide investors with a human centred decision tool in a "test before invest" spirit with a high confidence level to de-risk investments. A lipid rich microalgae strain is cultivated in an intensified reactor coupled to semi-transparent photovoltaic panels transforming harmful light spectrum into electrical power. The transformation of algal biomass into SAF is studied using two alternative pathways: The most mature one, HEFA, and a very promising one HTL. The project focuses on the circularity, productivity, sustainability and economic viability of the chain. For HEFA pathway, efficient, low impact and regenerable ionic liquids are used to extract lipids and to catalyse hydrotreatment. For HTL pathway, a continuous reactor, tailored to SAF production from the chosen strain is designed and constructed to reduce clogging issues and to size with higher precision the heat exchangers. Furthermore, the mechanistic models that are developed and used in the design increase the scalability of the HTL. Biocrude upgrading is led to give a high flexibility between SAF and shipping fuel production. The system is designed in a circular way to reduce by-products, feed system with endogenous hydrogen, recirculate nutrients and reduce its water intensiveness. The whole integrated system is simulated with Unism software and all technical, economical, environmental and life cycle indicators are calculated under the COCPIT decision tool and typical scenarios are compiled. The decision tool is delivered within a marketplace that puts at investor’s service a range of required technological solutions, equipment and skills. It helps them also to choose the best technology that fits their project specificities. The ambition of this tool is to continue growing up after the end of the project to include all certified and promising SAF production pathways.

SUNFUSION endeavors to comprehensively address a novel process of microalgae and oleaginous yeasts conversion into shipping and aviation biofuels, by advancing state-of-the-art core technologies: (i) innovative PBR and open raceway ponds for microalgae and yeasts cultivation and optimization; (ii) a concentrated solar thermal (CST)-coupled continuous hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) reactor with solar energy covering the thermal needs of the process; (iii) a solar-aided thermal energy storage (TES) system which at later stages will be fully integrated to the overall process; (iv) hydrotreatment units to obtain the final, advanced sustainable biofuels; (v) recovery of gaseous and aqueous streams from HTL and synergistic cultivations of microalgae and yeasts that will be recycled to the microalgae cultivation leading to a zero emission and zero waste process. HTL is a thermochemical process used for the production of sustainable biofuels from the depolymerization and repolymerization of highly moist organic biomass, having the inherent advantage of avoiding the cost-intensive part of biomass drying. These points will introduce high-risk/high-return novelties that will play an impactful role in forwarding the process subcomponents to TRL 4. At least 7 L of biocrude from microalgae and 1 L from yeasts are planned to be produced and upgraded. A testing period of above 12 months will take place under on-sun conditions at temperatures exceeding 350oC, with the solar-to-biocrude energy efficiency target set to exceed 50%, which is an ambitious number that will allow the sustainable transformation of solar energy to energy carriers in the form of biofuels. Finally, an overall process assessment will take place to evaluate the technology in terms of technical, economic and environmental aspects. The visionary concept beyond SUNFUSION project envisages the integration of the main components of the process in a mobile platform that will be operational in off-grid places.

Nosocomial pneumonia is the second most common and most frequently fatal hospital-acquired infection worldwide. Previous understanding of lung health depicted a dichotomous view of microbial status (sterile vs. infected), leading to "one-size-fits-all" treatments that primarily target pathogens but neglect the complex host-microbiome interaction. The RESTORE hypothesis is that re-establishing the healthy respiratory microbiome core using a probiotic composed of lung-specific commensal bacteria and/or their derived metabolites can mitigate pneumonia severity by modulating pathogens and mucosal immunity. My main objectives are: 1) define lung-specific bacterial consortium and their derived metabolites/peptides, whose elimination is associated with pneumonia severity; 2) test their effects in vitro on commensal bacteria and pathogens; and 3) evaluate their impact on pathogens multiplication, microbiome composition, and lung mucosal immunity. I will use data from existing cohorts to identify bacterial consortia with pneumonia severity and integrate multi-omics data to characterize these consortia and their metabolic products. Then, I will assess the interactions within the bacterial consortium and their effects on pathogens by analyzing the growth and transcriptional responses. Finally, I will investigate their therapeutic potential in pneumonia mice models, focusing on pathogen burden, microbiome composition, transcriptomic activity, and immune modulation using single-cell RNA sequencing and flow cytometry. RESTORE represents a pioneering approach by leveraging the lung microbiome to develop non-antibiotic, lung-specific strategies, addressing the complexity of pneumonia pathophysiology beyond pathogen eradication. By employing a multi-disciplinary integration of cutting-edge methodologies, this project could revolutionize pneumonia treatment and potentially extend to other infectious diseases.

There is growing evidence that heavy organic molecules are a major component of the outer solar system bodies such as icy moons, comets, and Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs). Density profiles inferred from measurements of space missions require a low-density component in the core of the largest objects such as Ganymede and Titan. These observations suggest that a previously overlooked low-density component, identified as carbonaceous organic matter (COM), is one of the three main components, in addition to ice and rocks, building planetary bodies that formed beyond the ice line. However, there is a dearth of laboratory experiments and numerical simulations exploring the interaction of the heavy organic molecules constituting the COM with both the ice component (mainly H2O ices) and the rocky component (hydrated silicates, oxides and sulphides) at pressures relevant to icy moons. Observations from space missions also demonstrated that most icy moons are differentiated into a refractory core and an outer hydrosphere that includes a liquid layer (deep ocean), thus the name of ocean worlds. This raises the questions of the emergence of life at the ocean/core interface and of the habitability of ocean worlds. How does the presence of COM affect the thermal and chemical evolution of ocean worlds? The interaction between COM, ice and rocks is therefore essential for understanding the evolution of ocean worlds and for assessing their habitability potential. First, this project conducts laboratory experiments using diamond anvil cells (DAC) coupled with in situ Raman spectroscopy, a combination that is best suited for this kind of investigation. Second, it develops a thermochemical evolution model that can handle the chemical reactions and the thermo-chemical properties of the three components. Third, it applies the results to the evolution of ocean worlds in our solar system and beyond.