Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.

Phytoplankton is an essential component in the functioning of marine ecosystems and in the carbon cycle. It is therefore essential to assess its variability and its main drivers. However, unlike seasonal and interannual variations, fluctuations of phytoplanktonic biomass and communities on decadal to multi-decadal timescales remain hampered by the lack of long-term observations at global scale and the uncertainties related to the complex balance of the processes that control their fate. These processes are imperfectly and diversely parameterized in biogeochemical models, limiting their use to document long-term phytoplankton variability. Yet, it is crucial to detect natural low-frequency cycles in phytoplankton biomass (and thus carbon fluxes) because they can enhance, weaken or even mask climate-related trends. In this context, the inter/transdisciplinary DREAM project proposes to investigate and benchmark different deep learning (DL) frameworks (learned from satellite and in situ observations) to emulate past and future multi-decadal time-series of surface phytoplankton biomass and communities. This approach will allow us to assess the relative contribution of the different processes (e.g. physical, predation, community structures) involved in phytoplankton dynamics over the last decades in response to natural climate low-frequency variability but also to past and future anthropogenic forcing. Ultimately, DREAM will also contribute to characterizing and better constraining the uncertainties in the climate projections of the different Earth System Models gathered in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6).

Active food packaging systems have gained a lot of interest as they play a critical role in extending the shelf life of food products while reducing the risk of microbial growth. It is well known that extending the shelf life of food by even one day has a huge impact on sustainability in terms of cost-effectiveness, reduction of food waste and transport costs. The main objective of A-BLOCK project is to develop novel antimicrobial food packaging films to inhibit or retard the growth of microorganisms present on food surface, reducing food losses along the production and supply chains and increasing food safety and prolonging shelf life. We aim to achieve enhanced performance by patterning with biomimetic nanopillars and incorporating natural antimicrobial / antioxidant (AM/AO) agents extracted from agri-waste of Mediterranean countries. To this end, active biomolecules from selected agri-waste will be extracted using green solvents and then encapsulated using different encapsulation systems; namely single species cultivated diatom frustules, micro/nanoemulsions and microcapsules. In parallel, biomimetic nanopillars will be fabricated on the surface of the packaging material to inhibit microbial growth and will be combined with frustules, micro/nanoemulsions and microcapsules loaded onto packaging films. In this project, we are targeting three packaging polymers, namely Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene (BOPP), polyethylene (PE) and polyamide (PA), which will be loaded with the encapsulated AM/AO agents using extrusion and/or coating methods. The optimal packaging film configuration will be tested on real foods (raw meat cuts, fresh-cut vegetables, cakes) against specific target microorganisms for each food product, through challenge studies. Migration, barrier, microstructural, thermal, mechanical and optical properties of the developed packaging system will be evaluated, in addition to the regulatory and sustainability assessment to define its circularity potential and environmental impacts compared to conventional packaging systems. A-BLOCK involves interdisciplinary activities, including engineering, materials science, natural products chemistry, food technology, and microbiology. A-BLOCK brings together stakeholders from the academia and the industry with demonstrated knowledge and experience in science and the exact technology areas fundamental to the success of the project. A-BLOCK enables the creation of new business lines specific to Mediterranean region such as collection, processing and valorisation of wastes, sales and commercialization of valuable extracts / agents with validated and science-backed effects contributing to local economies and livelihoods. Overall, the proposed packaging system is expected to improve food safety, reduce food waste, provide extended shelf-life in order to meet market demands for clean label solutions.

The Feedback Musicianship Network (FMN) responds to the need to fill current gaps in knowledge around feedback instruments; we need a common language to describe their complex behaviour, and better understandings of: luthiery in hybrid instruments, virtuosity, composition and notation techniques. The FMN brings stakeholders in feedback musicianship together to establish a new research agenda addressing these gaps, and to build a community hub. This will stimulate and guide future developments in this field, supporting a new generation of instruments and musical practices. Feedback instruments offer a radically different way of engaging with musical practice compared to traditional instruments. They are defined by recirculation of signals through the instrument, which give the instrument 'a life of its own'; the player must guide the instrument rather than controlling it. They possess 'a stimulating uncontrollability' (Ulfarsson, 2019). The use of musical feedback began in the 1950s. Now, a new generation of instruments are using hybrid digital/electronic/acoustic technologies to refine the behaviour of the feedback, creating entirely new musical experiences, and providing fertile areas for creative new instrument designs and modes of musical practice. An example is the Feedback Cello, an acoustic cello augmented with string pickups and exciters; the string signals pass through external effects, and return to the cello through the exciters. This creates a feedback loop which the player navigates by damping and stimulating the strings, or by controlling the external effects. This is a radically different way of playing the cello, effectively turning it into a new instrument. In order to support the next generation of these instruments, we need to advance our understanding of how to shape the behaviour of complex feedback loops, and how to design and build instruments which are essentially hybrids, mixing complex signal processing with traditional acoustic luthiery, and electromechanical transducers that link these two domains. We also need to gain better understanding of the culture surrounding these instruments. This research demands interdisciplinary approaches involving music, engineering, mathematics, philosophy, design and computer science. The FMN will bring these groups together, along with practicing artists and industry representatives, for workshops and symposia at three themed network meetings: (1) Design, Making and Innovation, Aalborg University Copenhagen, (2) Musicianship and Notation, Berlin, (3) Approaches to Signal Processing, University of Sussex. The network will also run two longitudinal activities linking the three meetings: (1) composition of a piece for feedback ensemble, (2) progress reports from musicians learning and developing feedback instruments. These meetings will enable the community to establish a future research agenda, stimulate new activity in instrument design supported by knowledge exchange, and map out creative practices in feedback musicianship in order to guide future cultural engagement. The FMN has a strong interdisciplinary set of confirmed participants, and is guided by a highly qualified advisory board. It will engage further participants through live streaming and archiving of network events. The FMN will disseminate research though three peer reviewed journal articles, the key output being a research review and future research roadmap. Another key output of the network will be a new online hub for feedback musicians; we aim for this to become a focal point for the community to support future developments. The network will engage with the public at four concerts, also available online. Through concerts, knowledge exchange, and online sharing, the network will create impact by engaging the wider public in feedback musicianship, stimulating the design of new instruments and artistic practices, and by creating new dialogues between researchers and the public