European Research Council

Limonene is one of the most abundant, natural, bio-based monoterpenes. In recent years, it has attracted growing attention in both industrial and scientific communities due to its versatile physicochemical properties and wide spectrum of biological activities, including antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects. Its renewable origin and biodegradability make limonene an ideal candidate for sustainable development and as a key building block in green chemistry. The industrial relevance of limonene spans multiple sectors, ranging from its use as a solvent and flavoring agent to its application in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, polymers, and renewable fuels. Nevertheless, despite its numerous advantages, certain limitations and safety concerns have emerged. Prolonged or high-level exposure may result in sensitization, irritant reactions, or secondary oxidation products that pose potential health risks. Moreover, its oxidative instability can lead to the formation of reactive compounds under specific environmental conditions that influence indoor air quality and may contribute to secondary organic aerosol formation. Current research focuses on several key challenges: improving extraction and purification yields through biotechnological and enzymatic pathways; enhancing oxidative stability via encapsulation or chemical modification; and standardizing toxicological assessment protocols for both occupational and clinical settings. In this review, we analyze and discuss studies published predominantly in the last five years that explore the dual nature of limonene, its valuable industrial applications and its potential environmental and health-related challenges.

There are not so many off-the-shelf ITS services and solutions which makes purchasing/implementing such services and solutions challenging for public procurers. Challenges public procurers face when purchasing ITS solutions range from uncertainty in costs and time, risks in failed commercialisation of innovation, to difficulties of reviewing or extending contracts. However, many of the challenges can be addressed by innovation procurement procedures such as Competitive Dialogues. City of Copenhagen has used various procurement procedures to implement innovative and sustainable transport solutions which has set an outstanding example to other cities and authorities of using public procurement as an instrument for implementation of ITS. Analyses of the cases of using various procurement procedures have been carried out in order to identify how the city overcome the barriers, and benefits and lessons learnt from the procedures. The analyses aim to provide comprehensive references to other public authorities.

The Closest Vector Problem (CVP) is a computational problem in lattices that is central to modern cryptography. The study of its fine-grained complexity has gained momentum in the last few years, partly due to the upcoming deployment of lattice-based cryptosystems in practice. A main motivating question has been if there is a (2 — ε)n time algorithm on lattices of rank n, or whether it can be ruled out by SETH.

Background: In the evaluation of research proposals, reviewers are often required to provide their opinions using various forms of quantitative and qualitative criteria. In 2020, the European Commission removed, for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Innovative Training Networks (ITN) funding scheme, the numerical scores from the individual evaluations but retained them in the consensus report. This study aimed to assess whether there were any differences in reviewer comments' linguistic characteristics after the numerical scoring was removed, compared to comments from 2019 when numerical scoring was still present. Methods: This was an observational study and the data were collected for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Innovative Training Networks (ITN) evaluation reports from the calls of 2019 and 2020, for both individual and consensus comments and numerical scores about the quality of the research proposal on three evaluation criteria: Excellence, Impact and Implementation. All comments were analyzed using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) program. Results: For both years, the comments for proposal's strengths were written in a style that reflects objectivity, clout, and positive affect, while in weaknesses cold and objective style dominated, and that pattern remained stable across proposal status and research domains. Linguistic variables explained a very small proportion of the variance of the differences between 2019 and 2020 (McFadden R 2=0.03). Conclusions: Removing the numerical scores was not associated with the differences in linguistic characteristics of the reviewer comments. Future studies should adopt a qualitative approach to assess whether there are conceptual changes in the content of the comments.

Synthetic biology aims to contribute to the development of next-generation patient-specific cell-based therapies for chronic diseases especially through the construction of sophisticated synthetic gene switches to enhance the safety and spatiotemporal controllability of engineered cells. Indeed, switches that sense and process specific cues, which may be either externally administered triggers or endogenous disease-associated molecules, have emerged as powerful tools for programming and fine-tuning therapeutic outputs. Living engineered cells, often referred to as designer cells, incorporating such switches are delivered to patients either as encapsulated cell implants or by infusion, as in the case of the clinically approved CAR-T cell therapies. Here, we review recent developments in synthetic gene switches responsive to molecular stimuli, spanning regulatory mechanisms acting at the transcriptional, translational, and posttranslational levels. We also discuss current challenges facing clinical translation of cell-based therapies employing these devices.

Europe’s built heritage, cultural landscapes and sites are under immediate threat from the effects of climate change, including rising sea levels, prolonged droughts, floods, and strong storms. Acid rain and other environmental pollutants cause wear and defacement of monuments and historic buildings, while soil erosion accelerates the deterioration of underwater and coastal heritage sites. The effects of climate change also affect, directly or indirectly, indoor cultural heritage. Horizon Europe, the 9th European Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027), is a key instrument of the Union to tackle global challenges such as the impact of climate change and natural disasters on cultural assets, as well as to promote cooperation and the influence of research and innovation in the design, support, and implementation of EU policies. To further enhance efficiency and research collaboration, the European Commission (EC) clusters the consortia with similar research objectives during their lifecycle. The idea is to facilitate researchers to share insights and best practices, identify synergies for dissemination and communication actions, and propose integrated feedback recommendations to policy makers in the EC and beyond. Since 2021, three calls for proposals have invited research teams to respond to the demands for more sustainable methods and technologies to restore monuments and works of art[i], the impact of climate change and natural hazards on cultural heritage[ii], and advanced technologies for remote monitoring in the field[iii]. The eleven projects selected for the EU funding have been encouraged to form the Green Cluster on Cultural Heritage. Within the Green Cluster, the ‘’Climate Effects’’ Team, currently composed of four active EU projects (THETIDA, RescueME, TRIQUERTA, STECCI), has an overarching aim to address the urgent need to protect monuments, historic buildings, and sites from the diverse impacts of climatic risks, natural and anthropogenic hazards. This is expected to contribute to the conservation and protection of Europe’s heritage by exploiting cutting-edge remote monitoring technologies and modelling tools for multi-hazard risk understanding and better preparedness. Research within the Green Cluster is complemented by other consortia that develop sustainable methodologies, materials and techniques for the preservation and restoration of art objects and explore the use of advanced and sophisticated technologies for more accurate, targeted, and reliable remote monitoring purposes. The impact of the scientific research is furthermore amplified by the active involvement of Artificial Intelligence tools, a wide range of community groups, stakeholders, and participants covering the full spectrum of ongoing research activities. This includes participatory and inclusive approaches, such as citizen science and participatory Living Lab methodologies. The overall goal of the EC is to support transdisciplinary joint efforts of researchers to develop sustainable preservation and adaptation plans, and to bring community involvement and inclusiveness to the forefront of large collaborative research projects funded by the EU. The long-term outcome will be the creation of a sustainable cultural heritage research ecosystem. [i] https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/horizon-cl2-2021-heritage-01-01 [ii] https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/horizon-cl2-2022-heritage-01-08 [iii] https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/horizon-cl2-2023-heritage-01-01