To reach for a bottle (motor), we need to be able to identify its properties (attention) and know where in space it is located (3-dimensional (3D) vision). This cascade is however impaired in some developmental disorders of vision, like Paediatric Amblyopia (PA) or lazy eye. With this proposal, I first aim to gain insights in the underlying deficits of PA, by combining expertise from the vision sciences, cognition and motor control research fields. These insights will provide a deeper understanding of the core deficits of children with PA, and their inter-relationship. I will put specific emphasis on the study of 3D vision and its impact on selective attention and motor planning, as these have previously been understudied, despite their clear impact on vision and potential coexistence in PA. Second, I aim to test the efficiency of a novel, ethological, and engaging 3D games in a virtual reality environment to improve vision in children with PA. Thirdly, I will examine whether the improvements on vision are accompanied by changes in attention and motor control and which are the underlying brain mechanisms of such improvements. Lastly, by using artificial intelligence approaches on treatment outcome, I will be able to provide guidelines toward a personalized medicine tailored to the patient’s needs. To succeed in this project, I will (i) combine measures of the traditional basic vision tests with novel functional vision evaluation, (ii) quantify uni- and multisensory selective attention with behavioural and brain imaging (electrical neuroimaging) methods, (iii) integrate sensor-based measures of motor planning during reaching, (iv) develop a novel, efficient and ethological virtual reality training to recover 3D vision in children with PA. This project will accumulate clinically relevant results that will be disseminated to the scientific community and communicated to the clinicians and the children’s families through a variety of activities.

Insight market requirements are leading the R&D at food technology area to provide ready-to-eat products, microbiologically safe, with organoleptic and nutritional added value, and as longest as possible shelf-life guided by international trade search of competitiveness. Powders are worldwide distributed commodities. Valuable properties associated to them are: stability; easy storage and transportation; nutritional compounds integrated in formulas; price; and limited microbial proliferation. In spite of these characteristics, nowadays the sterilization of powders is not completely solved. Spore-forming bacteria are widely capable to survive in powders during long periods of time, initiating after the rehydration process, a rapid germination and proliferative activity with fatal consequences mainly in infant and elderly. The present project aims to analyse the Cold Atmospheric Plasma (CAP) technology application integrating the study of process parameters and reference powders characteristics to optimize the sterilization process of alimentary and pharmaceutical products. Moreover, the optimized conditions will be validated in real matrices, infant powder (milk formula and cereals) and multivitamin and protein complexes. Finally, the optimized conditions at pre-industrial level will be delivered in technical sheets regarding the technological, microbiological and risk-assessment relevant outputs of the project, contributing to provide the methodological basis for the industrial establishment of more sustainable production of a new generation of powdered products. Such system for powders sterilization has not been described previously and is one of the most ambitious points of research in the present MSCA framework. The present project aims to contribute to the cutting-edge of this technology application at International level, making a significant impact on the position of the European Union in the know-how regarding CAP application.