The general objective of the VET-TWIN project is to increase the potential and research capacity of the National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI) by cooperation with internationally-leading counterparts from Germany (Federal Institute for Risk Assessment-BfR) and Denmark (Technical University of Denmark, National Veterinary Institute; DTU Vet) − to act in an international scientific and research environment as a leading institute in the fields of animal infectious diseases, zoonoses and food chain safety. The objective defined in such a way will be accomplished through a number of activities, in particular through the implementation of the Joint Strategy of Cooperation and Development, and by introduction of mechanisms for the interaction of scientists at the operational level, as well as through activities helping in the exchange of knowledge and experiences among scientists. The concept of the VET-TWIN project fully addresses the objectives of the Horizon 2020 programme. Through activities planned in order to increase the level of scientific excellence of the institute and its research staff, the project fully implements the specific objective Spreading Excellence and Widening Participation. The Implementation of the project fits directly in with the specific challenge of Twinning. By creating a partnership between the aforementioned entities, it will be possible to cooperate and exchange knowledge on an international level. Furthermore, the involvement of two scientific centres of excellent repute in the international research community to the VET-TWIN project, will prevent the crowding-out effect for an institution from a country with a lower Composite indicator of Research Excellence. The above-mentioned factors justify the need for the implementation of the project because it responds directly to the problems diagnosed within the Specific Challenge.

The application of manufactured nanomaterials (MNMs) in food and packaging industries is expected to increase considerably in the near future, and the evaluation of the safety of MNMs present in foodstuff is thus a major concern in Europe and worldwide. Although some consumer food products contain MNMs (additives or contaminants from packaging), little is known concerning the toxicity of these MNMs following ingestion. Moreover, their size, morphology and state of agglomeration together with physiological modifications (e.g. digestion) are likely to play a considerable role in the uptake and toxicity of these materials to humans. Although numerous in vitro studies have begun to shed light on mechanistic effects, very little data is available concerning the toxic effects of MNMs following oral exposure in vivo. Nevertheless, results from in vivo experiments are the main data useful for risk evaluation. However, due to the vast quantity of different MNMs and the variability of their physic-chemical properties together with the inherent limitations of animal experimentation, the toxic effects in vivo cannot be investigated for each MNM. Therefore it is clearly necessary to establish key guidelines in the classification of MNMs according to their potential adverse effects Among the properties of MNMs, the solubilisation capacity is likely an important determinant of nanomaterial uptake and the initiation of specific pathways of toxicity. In the SolNanoTox project, representatives of two different classes of MNMs will be investigated: titanium dioxide as an example for insoluble species due to its stability in water and aluminium representing the soluble category. Moreover, several reports in the literature suggest that aluminium and titanium oxide nanomaterials target different organs following oral exposure. It is hypothesized that aluminum nanoparticles form aluminum ions, either before or during the uptake in the intestine, whilst titanium dioxide nanoparticles may cross the intestine as intact nanoparticles. This difference in behaviour could then explain the different target organs and toxicity for the two MNMs. In this project, we plan to test this hypothesis by using an innovative combination of modern analytical methods for nanomaterials in tissues and single cells. The characterization of Al and TiO2 nanomaterials will be performed in solution, as well as in cell and tissue. The interaction of lipids, proteins, cell media and intestinal mucus on the characterization parameters of the MNMs will be also addressed. To explore the different solubility in physiological matrices and its influence on the potential uptake mechanisms, the project combines integrative in vitro and in vivo approaches to compare the fate, cytogenotoxic and toxicogenomic effects of the two selected MNMs. Firstly, the oral uptake and fate of MNMs in intestine and liver will be investigated in vivo after short-term oral treatment of rodents and compared to in vitro data obtained in human intestinal and hepatic cell models. Moreover, various toxic effects (genotoxicity, apoptosis, inflammation, proliferation,...) will be studied in vivo and compared the responses observed in in vitro models. In addition, to gain precise information concerning the molecular mechanisms of response following MNM treatment in vivo and in vitro, this project will employ transcriptomic and proteomic approaches. The integrative and multidisciplinary studies outlined in this project will permit to identify determining factors of MNMs driving their uptake, distribution and mechanisms of action. The combined expertise of accomplished research groups in the areas of MNM characterization and analytical analysis, uptake, in vitro and in vivo cytotoxicity and genotoxicity involved in this ambitious project will solve some critical questions raised for MNMs health impacts.

AGINFRA+ addresses the challenge of supporting user-driven design and prototyping of innovative e-infrastructure services and applications. It particularly tries to meet the needs of the scientific and technological communities that work on the multi-disciplinary and multi-domain problems related to agriculture and food. It will use, adapt and evolve existing open e-infrastructure resources and services (AGINFRA, OpenAIRE, EGI, EUDAT, D4Science), in order to demonstrate how fast prototyping and development of innovative data- and computing-intensive applications can take place. AGINFRA+ will evolve and develop further the resources and services of the AGINFRA research data e-infrastructure, which has been developed in the context of the FP7 agINFRA project and is now being operated and evolved by key stakeholders in agriculture and food (including Agroknow, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, INRA, Wageningen UR, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and others).

The SeeingNano project will create Novel Visualisation Tools for Enhanced Nanotechnology Awareness through a coordinated collaborative approach conducted by leading experts in the relevant fields: the target audiences identified in the proposal will be analysed by the consortium's socio-economic sciences and humanities, who - in collaboration with the consortium's state-of-the-art information visualisation partners - will elaborate and agree on the most appropriate tool to address the respective audiences. The scientific and technical content to be communicate through each tool to the respective audiences will be provided by experts from the nano-phenomena research community in collaboration with experts from the risk-communication and nanotoxicology community, in order to provide the key audiences with an ability to ‘seeing at the nanoscale’, and an understanding and awareness for the breadth of nanotechnologies, and the uncertainties and potential risks connected to them. The resulting tools are flexibly designed for customisation by the nanotechnology stakeholder community, and supported by guidance documents on (a) the socio-economic aspects of awareness-building exercises on nanotechnologies, (b) the science- and technology content and story boards on the nanotechnology-phenomena and their potential risks, and (c) the technical customisation of the tools provided. The It is the ultimate goal of the SeeingNano project to make available a public online SeeingNano exchange with visualisation tools, guidance and content for the enhancement of nanotechnology awareness-building exercises conducted by the nanotechnology stakeholder community. The backbone of this repository is formed by the SeeingNano output: a set of good-communication practices, developed and stress-tested within the project, supported by captivating customisable visualisation tools, to demonstrate the raising of awareness and understanding.

Cold and freezing stress are important constraints for crops and for horticulture. BoostCrop seeks to reduce such stress by an invention called 'molecular heaters'. These are nature-inspired molecules that absorb solar radiation and convert it to heat energy. The invention would reduce yield losses due to cold stress, extend growth seasons and the geographical locations suitable for agriculture, increase crop yield at high crop density and, concomitantly, reduce greenhouse energy costs. BoostCrop strives to increase food production to feed a continuously growing population, thus tackling a major European and Global Challenge in Food Security. The multidisciplinary research programme outlined in BoostCrop will demonstrate how intrinsic molecular processes that underlie energy transfer, and which occur on timescales of tens of trillionths of a second, can be manipulated such that macroscopic properties are impacted. The targets of the research programme include: (1) applying state-of-the-art experiments and theory to track and understand, in unprecedented detail, energy flow in targeted, nature-inspired molecules; (2) manipulating this energy flow through chemical modification; and (3) developing a suite of molecules to suit the needs of crop growth in the field and under protected (greenhouse) conditions. These molecules will then be applied to crops through an aqueous foliar spray. The proposed research programme offers a transdisciplinary and synergistic approach to developing, and understanding the properties of novel photon-to-molecule heaters. The combined expertise of 6 universities (and staff spanning Chemistry, Physics and Biology), one government institute and an SME with an outstanding track record for developing sustainable agro-technologies will ensure that the longterm vision of BoostCrop, to develop molecular heaters for use in a foliar spray, are met, thereby contributing significantly to Europe’s future technological and Food Security.