Global Projects Information

The EBRD has subscribed the amount of EUR 15 million to the 7-year, EUR 250 million senior unsecured Eurobond (the "Bond") issued by Titan Global Finance Plc (the "Issuer" or "TGF"), the finance arm of Titan Group. Titan Cement Company SA ("TCC") incorporated in Greece and its parent company Titan Cement International SA ("TCI") incorporated in Belgium are the guarantors of the Notes ( the "Guarantors"). Project Objectives The Banks proceeds will be used for the partial refinancing of the Titan Eurobond maturing in June 2021.

Project Description Provision of up to USD 12 million senior secured loan to Al Dau al Haram for Hotels Operations (the "Borrower" or the "Company"), to finance the development and operation of a new hotel under the Hyatt Regency brand in West Cairo, Egypt (the "Project"). Project Objectives Supporting sustainable developments in the tourism sector in Egypt, which has been particularly affected by the Covid-19 outbreak. The Loan will be used to finance the construction, equipment and operation of a new 249-room hotel to be operated under the Hyatt Regency brand.

Project Description Th provision of a senior loan of up to US$ 27.5 million in KZT equivalent to Zhanatas Wind-Power Station LLP for the construction and operation of a 100 MW wind farm, including 8.6 km 110kV single circuit line connecting to the existing Opornaya substation, in the Zhambyl region of south Kazakhstan Project Objectives The Project will be one of the first transactions under the Banks Kazakhstan Renewables Framework Programme Phase II (Framework) which will continue to focus on policy dialogue activities with the Government to improve the regulatory and legislative environment for renewables generation and include initiatives to promote access to employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for women in the sector.

Fundamentalist beliefs under the ethical microscope Fundamentalism is one of the serious challenges that societies face today, with experts still searching for the reasons why some people are vulnerable to radicalisation while others are not. The EU-funded EXTREME project will offer a new normative-theoretical model to understand, evaluate, and prevent fundamentalist beliefs. In opposition to much contemporary literature, it will not try to explain fundamentalism through psychological, political, or economic factors. Rather, it will study the fundamentalist as a normal and relatively rational person with misguided and harmful ideas for which he or she is usually responsible. The project will combine analytic philosophy with historical and empirical research literature and normative-theoretical analysis, aiming to explore the responsibility for fundamentalist beliefs. In particular, it will study the reasons behind fundamentalist beliefs generation, the role the social environment plays, the obligations fundamentalists are inclined to violate and the circumstances that facilitate such violations.

The provision of a senior secured loan of up to €8 million to support the Bel Parfum Distribution Groups (the Group) working capital needs and ensure uninterrupted operations in an environment impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. Project Objectives The proposed facility aims to ensure adequate liquidity for the Group during a period where its operations will likely be affected by falling demand, higher costs and increased operational risks. The proceeds will be used for working capital purposes to support liquidity of the Group as well as to facilitate the completion of the ongoing 2020-21 capital expenditure programme, which includes the construction and equipment of a warehouse. This will allow the Group to achieve the targets set in the original equity deal and therefore safeguard the Bank investment and corresponding transition objectives.

"Extracting statistical regularities from the environment is one of the most fundamental abilities of any living organism. This type of learning is largely unconscious, unintentional, and implicit; it runs ""in the background"", both seeking and giving structure to the world around us; making it coherent, predictable and quickly manageable. Even though a lot is known about how statistical learning affects language acquisition, object recognition, motor learning, and decision making, only recently it became apparent that it plays a key role in attentional selection. Visual perception must be selective, as we are confronted with the massive amount of available sensory input. Statistical learning occurring often beneath the level of awareness provides structure to the environment uncovering the relations between objects in space and time. The proposed research program investigates the mechanisms underlying visual statistical learning (VSL) focusing on how, when and what information is extracted by the visual system. Through brain imaging we seek to understand how learning taking place in the medial temporal lobe (hippocampus), affects attentional representations within putative priority maps across the visual hierarchy. By means of EEG, we seek to connect hippocampal activity to the activations within the spatial priority map which ultimately controls attentional selection. By means of single cell recording in humans we determine at a cell level how statistical learning develops over time. To understand the mechanism, we analyse individual differences in VSL and relate this to visual working memory capacity and attentional selection in psychopathy. The proposed research will have a large impact on the study of cognition, learning, and memory.

An enlightened monitoring system reduces risks associated with localised radiotherapy The ability to deliver medicine exactly where it is needed typically results in more effective treatment at lower doses with fewer side-effects than treatments with lower spatial or temporal resolution. Just as a nasal inhaler works on this principle, radiation to treat cancer has benefited from increasingly localised administration through brachytherapy (placing encapsulated radioactive material inside the body in the area of cancerous tissue). Given that radiation can have much more serious side-effects on healthy cells than a nasal inhalant, clinicians monitor its administration in real-time. The EU-funded ORIGIN project is developing a vastly improved methodology, a photonics-based optical dose imaging and localisation system whose resolution will significantly reduce the overall risk of treatment error.

Nanoparticles may soon be shedding light on disease processes Nanoparticles, materials that are less than 100 nanometres in at least one dimension, are not new. Nature has created all types of nanoparticles found in volcanic ash, soot, ocean spray and sand. Sterling silver forks even release small quantities of silver nanoparticles into the environment. Harnessing the potential of engineered nanoparticles for biomedical applications in human cells relies on meeting some very stringent requirements including stability, non-toxicity, and functionalisation. The EU-funded NanoFUNC project is focusing attention on all-organic light-emitting nanoparticles for biomedical imaging. To make sure they light up targets of interest, scientists are functionalising the most promising nanoparticles to track neurotransmitter receptors in living brain slices. Success should lead to patentable nanoparticles for a variety of bioimaging applications.

Microbiome key for healthy agriculture Pests and microorganisms are responsible for about one-third of losses in crop production globally and eco-friendly solutions are urgently needed. Natural and safe, a plant’s microbiome can play a big role in the development of healthy plants. The EU-funded Apple-Biome project will research the role and behaviour of the microbiomes present in apples. Via advanced multidisciplinary techniques, it will identify techniques for their safe and effective use in global agriculture production. The results of the project will be beneficial for ensuring future food security.

Looking for a worms eye view The visual system is part of the central nervous system, which gives humans and other organisms the ability to process visual detail such as sight, as well as enabling the formation of several non-image photo response functions. But what does the world look like for animals with visual systems different to this system? While some worms have no visible eyes at all, but perhaps photosensitive cells not discernable without technical help, others have simple eyes consisting of a photoreceptor and a pigment cell. There are also others that have complicated compound eyes. The EU-funded PhoToBe project will investigate the different species and vision systems.