Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-actions-marie-curie-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet OCTANT (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The deep ocean circulation affects climate and the global carbon cycle. A prerequisite for improving confidence in future climate projections is the accurate reproduction of past deep ocean circulation changes by models. However our understanding of such changes in terms of transport pathways and transit times is impeded by ambiguities in the chronology of ocean archives. This project aims at helping resolve such ambiguities by investigating to what extent the temporal evolution of the ocean circulation during abrupt climate transitions may be inferred from deep-sea sediment cores. In this purpose we use the Earth system Model developed at Max-Planck Institute for Meteorology (MPI-ESM) fully coupled to an Ice Sheet Model (PISM). The coupled model naturally produces freshwater surges which exhibit the basic features of Heinrich events (massive discharges of icebergs to the ocean which occurred during the last glacial period). We implement simple formulations for tracers which document ventilation and water mass distribution in deep ocean sediment cores (O18, C14, C13) in addition to age tracers. These age tracers allow distinguishing between the effects of varying conditions at the air-sea interface and water masses reorganization, while providing information on the relative contributions of specific water masses. We then investigate the sequence of events in the deep ocean during Heinrich events, and the potential departures of proxy-based ages and transit times from the actual ventilation time scales. A coherent description of the temporal and geographical deep ocean ventilation evolution during abrupt climatic changes and associated uncertainties will then be obtained. Such a chronological framework will be beneficial to those investigating past climates by means of ocean archives or modeling studies.

Mots clés : ocean ventilation, tracers, abrupt change, isotopes

Participants :
- Max Planck Society (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 159460.8 €
Projet CENSZ (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The definition Critical Elements (CE) is assigned to those raw materials that are characterized by high supply risk and their high economic importance for the world/EU economy. Their high supply risk for EU is because Europe does not have enough primary resources of its own. The supply has to be satisfied by the global market production, which is often from geopolitically sensitive regions. It is recognised that recycling can only make a limited contribution to supplying European needs.. The central aim is to establish a comprehensive database of some of the most strategically important CE (Gallium, Indium and Germanium hereafter referred to by the acronym ‘GIG’) deportment within Nonsulphide Zinc (+Lead) deposits (NSZ) occurring within the Critical Zone of the crust, normally formed after the weathering and modification of Zn-Pb sulphide protores. These deposits have been exploited in the past in Europe (Italy, Belgium, Poland), and are currently exploited in several countries of the world, but they were never considered as a potential source for GIG even though some of the sulphide progenitors often contain these elements.

Mots clés : critical elements, nonsulfide zn deposits, mineral deportment, geochemical conditions, climatic conditions

Participants :
- Natural History Museum (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Organismes publics (hors enseignement & recherche), subvention : 91727.4 €
Projet Flex-ON (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The delivery of fast Internet connections all over Europe is a primary goal of Horizon 2020. In order to avoid the upcoming capacity crunch on transport optical networks, there is an urgent need for a strong investment in the research and development of future-proof optical broadband infrastructures. The Flex-ON project will investigate new technological paradigms in terms of signal generation, digital processing and control-plane management for novel flexible and high-capacity transport optical networks. The primary technical objective of the project is to develop and implement a flexible transceiver prototype with intelligent reconfigurability and arbitrarily low bit-rate granularity. The development of this technology will enable to increase the network capacity and the spectral/energy efficiency, while providing a future-proof flexible solution for an increasingly heterogeneous global network. The main scientific/industrial contributions of the project include: - the optimization of signal modulation to improve spectral efficiency and bit-rate granularity; - the development of novel DSP strategies and algorithms to enable flexible networking; - the development of novel numerical tools for physical layer modelling under the nonlinear (NL) propagation regime; - the optimization of NL compensation methods to improve the trade-off between spectral efficiency and signal reach. In order to guarantee a sustainable and smooth upgrade of currently installed optical transmission systems, Flex-ON encompasses a dual-generation approach: - 1st generation: fixed frequency grid (ITU-T: 50 GHz) and fixed symbol-rate transceivers with variable bit-rate enabled by time domain hybrid QAM techniques; - 2nd generation: flexible frequency grid (ITU-T G.694.1: 12.5 GHz) and variable symbol-rate transceivers. The tight collaboration with industry players ensures that the newly proposed concepts, software and prototypes will enhance the European competitiveness in the telecom sector.

Mots clés : optical communication systems, digital signal processing, flexible optical networks

Participants :
- Polytechnic University of Turin (Italie) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 180277.2 €
Projet ENFOC (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Information Science and Engineering
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The demand for bandwidth in optical fiber communication systems is increasing at a steady rate. In order to keep up with the demand, techniques to overcome the limit determined by the nonlinear nature of optical fiber transmission have attracted a lot of research attention. Recently, transmission using the nonlinear Fourier transform (NFT) was proposed as a promising technique to take advantage of fiber nonlinearities for data transmission. The technique uses signal states which are invariant to the fiber optical channel in certain system configurations. However, many challenges and open questions remain concerning NFT transmission in particular regarding suitable signal processing algorithms and coding strategies for such systems. It is currently unknown how NFT transmission performs with practical coded modulation and detection schemes and how its computational complexity and practical feasibility compares to other options for nonlinearity mitigation such as digital back-propagation. Furthermore, the impact of inter-channel nonlinearities and co-propagating wavelength channels has not yet been investigated. The only experimental demonstrations to date consider single-channel transmission. The project aims to address the aforementioned questions by first investigating coded modulation schemes for nonlinear channels based on existing commercial architectures. One of the key aspects is to gain insight in the signal statistics for the nonlinear channel and learn how to utilize this information for increased signal processing and decoding performance. Based on these results, the applicability and performance of coded modulation concepts for NFT transmission will be quantified for practical system scenarios. Furthermore, the impact of co-propagating WDM channels on coded NFT transmission will be studied and WDM NFT transmission demonstrated. Together with our industrial partners the practical feasibility of these concepts is evaluated.

Mots clés : optical communication, wavelength division multiplexing, coded modulation, information theory, kerr effect, fiber nonlinearity, digital signal processing

Participants :
- Fraunhofer Society (Allemagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 171460.8 €
Projet NIRLAMS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2018)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The depleting fossils fuels added by their high carbon emission have been constantly putting pressure on scientific community to find an economic solution in the form of green energy. The utilization of everlasting solar energy is possible solution which has been researched for a long now but has constraints of Shockley Queisser Limit. The recent emergence of photon upconversion has given hope to overcome this limit by upconverting the transmitted sub band gap photons to band gap responsive light. Among the existing UC phenomenon triplet-triplet annihilation based photon upconversion (TTA-UC) leading the way because of its function at sub solar irradiance and 1.5 solar spectrum. Most of the TTA-UC systems are limited to Vis to Vis UC which though have contributed immensely for conceptual development of the filed; however for practical applications in photonic devices NIR to Vis TTA-UC would be more ideal. This is because; (1) NIR is low energy non-invasive light which is useful for biological applications and (2) can overcome the Shockley Queisser Limit of solar cells. On the other hand NIR to Vis TTA-UC systems are although reported they are mostly limited to deoxygenated organic solvents which have limitation of device fabrication. This is due to low solubility of NIR to Vis dyes in synthetic polymers and quenching by molecular oxygen. Therefore, the present proposal is aimed at overcoming these issues by introducing an innovative approach of protein-lipid-chromophores co-assembly both for aqueous and solid state NIR to Vis TTA-UC in oxygenated environment. The proposed approach is supported by the fact that nonpolar domains of protein-lipid coassembly can solubilize the hydrophobic NIR to Vis dyes and thick H-bonding network of protein can prevent oxygen inflow into chromophore region. The proposed project would lead to a new conceptual development for efficient solar upconversion and will broaden the solar light harvesting range for solar energy conversion system

Mots clés : photon upconversion

Participants :
- Chalmers University of Technology (Suède) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 203852.16 €
Projet COCONUTE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2019)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The deposition of particle-laden coatings is key to a number of modern technologies, ranging from semiconductor electronics to bioengineering. In the thriving field of regenerative medicine, deposition processes to manufacture artificial skin in vitro turn out to be particularly challenging. Because skin is composed of several layers with specific cell distributions, space-resolved deposition of cells has to be achieved to obtain viable tissues. However, the delicate nature of living cells and biomaterials strongly limits the number of available techniques, thereby hindering further advances in the field. In this context, COCONUTE emerges as a timely and essential initiative to adapt a well-known technique, dip-coating, to meet the challenges posed by current skin manufacturing technologies. I will investigate, using theoretical and experimental tools, key unknown aspects of the physics of dip-coating in the presence of two liquids, which may have particles in suspension. Gaining further understanding of the physics, I will be able to create compound coatings exhibiting well-controlled arrangements of particles. These particles will have physical properties similar to skin cells to guarantee the applicability of the results to tissue-on-a-chip setups. Not only the time to implement this project is now: the group and supervisors with whom I will carry out my research make a perfect ecosystem for me to turn the project into a success. Being a Soft Matter physicist by training, I will work in a group where fluid mechanicians collaborate routinely with experts in tissue engineering. Thus, the inherent multidisciplinary of the project will allow me to get training in the above-mentioned areas, while also sharing my expertise with the host group. This project will reinforce my chances of becoming an independent researcher in the fields of Soft Matter and Fluid Mechanics, with the focus on state-of-the-art bioengineering applications.


Participants :
- Carlos III University of Madrid (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 160932.48 €
Projet HEALTHYSYNAPSES (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Life Sciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

The deterioration of brain function and prevalence of dementias are some of the most striking and unfortunate consequences of ageing. Proper neuronal function relies on accurate signal transmission via synapses. While the basic cell biology of synaptic transmission is well studied, how precise activity is maintained over time remains poorly understood. Several age-dependent neurodegenerative conditions, characterized by the build-up of protein aggregates, affect synaptic function. These observations are consistent with a model where defects in the repair mechanisms that clear away defective proteins may constitute the basis for synaptic dysfunction and neurodegeneration. However, the processes that control protein rejuvenation at the synapse remain elusive. Autophagy is a process that is well suited for this purpose as it has emerged as a major means by which the cell can degrade dysfunctional components but a specific role for autophagy at the synapse has not been established. Levels in autophagy have been strongly linked to longevity and neuronal health. I hypothesize that autophagy plays an important role in synapse maintenance and that synaptic autophagy is disrupted during ageing and in neurodegenerative diseases. I will utilize a diverse set of approaches to elucidate the link between autophagy and changes in synaptic function during ageing in Drosophila. By generating novel optogenetic tools, I propose to test how the precise modulation of autophagy can influence synaptic function and whether boosting synaptic autophagy is beneficial in ageing and disease conditions. Furthermore, I will conduct a large-scale genetic screen for identifying genes regulating synaptic autophagy. Finally, I will explore the intriguing connections between synaptic proteins implicated in Parkinson’s disease and autophagy. Revealing the mechanisms underlying synaptic maintenance and health will help guide strategies for alleviating the undesirable effects of ageing.

Mots clés : autophagy, optogenetics, presynaptic function, protein homeostasis

Participants :
- Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie (Belgique) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 160800.0 €
Projet DIFIE (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Environment and Geosciences
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Fisheries-induced evolution (FIE) represents one of the most important human-induced evolutionary pressures for natural populations. However, the exact mechanisms by which FIE operates is still unclear. Fish may vary in their vulnerability to capture (because of their life history and/or physiology or behaviour) and undergo heritable genetic change due to selection imposed by commercial fishing, resulting in a direct evolutionary response. Alternatively intense fishing could alter the population density of targeted fish causing an indirect environmental effect on the phenotypes (i.e. phenotypic plasticity) within the remaining fish population. This could also lead to density-dependent effects on the evolutionary responses, through genotype-by-environment interactions. A better understanding of the relative roles of direct and indirect sources of FIE could thus substantially increase the prospects of sustainable fisheries management. Using controlled experiments and simulated fisheries practices, the aims of this project are: (1) to document phenotypic (i.e. physiological, behavioural and life-history traits) and genetic differences in fish the most and least vulnerable to fishing within a generation (representing their initial responses to fishing and their evolutionary potential); (2) to determine how population density may alter the expression of traits related to vulnerability ; and (3) to investigate, in populations that have experienced selective fishing over generations, how vulnerability, population density and their interaction modulate phenotypic variation as source of FIE. This project will use innovative approaches to investigate the mechanisms underlying FIE such as experimentally assessing population density as environmental effect relevant to FIE, and directly merging molecular and quantitative genetics. This will provide completely novel insights into the broad importance of density effects on evolution, while addressing a key issue for FIE research.

Mots clés : fisheries induced evolution, environment, density, behaviour, physiology, heritability, genotype

Participants :
- University of Glasgow (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 183454.8 €
Projet SHARS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2014)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Five-membered ring heteroaromatics such as pyrroles, furans, thiophenes and isoxazoles form a cornerstone of medicinal and agrochemical research. Despite this importance, the predominant methods used by both academic and industrial researchers to access these frameworks still rely on chemistry developed up to a century ago, which suffers from several drawbacks. Chief amongst these is the restriction on substituent pattern that is intrinsic to these classical routes, which prevents decoration of the ring with a full range of contemporary functionality. This project seeks to address these shortcomings by developing a unified catalytic approach to these heterocycles through a fundamentally new ring synthesis mechanism. This chemistry can access, with ease, previously unattained substitution patterns, and permits the positioning of substituents at any or all of the 2-, 3- and 5-positions around the ring. Equal to the value of this reactivity and its products is the facility with which the key reaction substrates are prepared – in 2-5 steps from cheap, commercial alkyne and carbonyl building blocks. Alongside method development, an industrial engagement platform is planned which will allow the Experienced Researcher to interface directly with industrial partners in Europe via a secondment programme.


Participants :
- University of Oxford (Royaume-Uni) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 195454.8 €
Projet FLATOPS (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2015)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Physics
Statut du projet : CLOSED

Flat bands allow to increase the critical temperature of the superconducting transition thanks to their high density of states. However a characterization of the flat bands that support a finite supercurrent is open. In some cases a nonzero Chern number, a topological invariant of the band structure, ensures a finite superfluid mass density. This tantalizing relation between topology and superfluidity is novel and unexplored. My aim is to characterize superfluidity in lattice systems with flat bands that have different symmetries, lattice structures, dimensionality, interparticle interactions and possess different topological invariants, in order to provide a general picture of which ones are potentially useful as a superconductor with high critical temperature. Whereas mean-field (BCS) theory can provide an essential qualitative understanding and a transparent link to topological properties, I plan to use more reliable methods such as Density Matrix Renormalization Group (DMRG) in 1D and Dynamical Mean Field Theory (DMFT) in 2D and 3D. The ideal platform to test the theoretical predictions are ultracold gases, but I expect to provide useful results also for multiband superconductors, topological media, carbon-based superconductors, Quantum Hall systems and high-Tc superconductors.

Mots clés : flat band, superfluidity, superfluid density, critical temperature, topological properties, chern number, ultracold atomic gases

Participants :
- Aalto University (Finlande) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire, subvention : 191325.6 €
Projet DELCAT (Horizon 2020, appel à projets 2020)
Action : Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
Panel : Chemistry
Statut du projet : SIGNED

Flavins can act as efficient photocatalysts for the conversion of Pt(IV) complexes into Pt(II) anticancer drugs such as cisplatin and carboplatin (Chem. Sci., 2017, 8, 4619; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2018, 57, 3143; ACS Catal., 2020, 10, 187). These unconventional catalytic reactions are bioorthogonal. Thus, they occur with high selectivity in biological environments, with minimal off target reactions. Nevertheless, advancing the application of this original chemistry in chemotherapy requires an optimal co-localization of the flavin catalyst and Pt(IV) substrate in cells or tissues in order to control the release of active Pt(II) drugs upon photocatalytic activation. To this end, DELCAT proposes the covalent entrapment of Pt(IV) anticancer complexes and flavins, such as riboflavin and its functionalized derivatives, into biocompatible agarose (AG) and polyglycerol (PG) hydrogels. The functionalization versatility of these polymers is ideal for the development of drug delivery platforms that could display various loading capacities, pharmacokinetics and drug release profiles. Hence, the project will engineer AG and PG hydrogels of different structure for loading flavins and Pt(IV) prodrugs, and then assess the drug delivery capacity of these materials in skin tissues. Ultimately, the project will provide innovative photocatalytic polymeric biomaterials for the efficient administration of platinum-based anticancer drugs.

Mots clés : transition metals, medicinal chemistry, biomaterials

Participants :
- Donostia International Physics Center (Espagne) — Coordinator, beneficiary, Recherche, subvention : 160932.48 €