Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Determining Physical Properties of Heterogeneous Protein Complexes in Small Volumes (PHYSPROT)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Condensed matter physics
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (ERC-2013-StG, 2013)
Start date: 2014-02-01
End date: 2019-01-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1499895.0
EU funding (EUR): 1499895.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The objective of this proposal is to probe in aqueous solution protein complexes which are both heterogeneous and possess highly variable stoichiometries. The study of heterogeneous protein systems by conventional means is very challenging since most current biophysical methods perform best for pure solutions of isolated components - yet proteins exert in the majority of cases their biological functionality through forming complexes. We propose in this application that the key to study such systems is to operate in much smaller volumes than in conventional biophysical experiments. We will use microfluidics to obtain information about the physical properties of protein complexes in real time through quantitative micron-scale measurements of mass transport of molecular species under the action of diffusion and electric or centrifugal fields. Furthermore, by working in small volumes, we will study nucleation phenomena inherent to many protein self-assembly phenomena on the level of single nucleation events by segregating individual nuclei into spatially distinct compartments. Modern microfabrication techniques that allow for the manipulation of liquids on the picolitre scales required for this project are available and will be exploited, but the potential of this technology to define experimentally highly heterogeneous protein complexes in terms of their key fundamental physical properties, such as the hydrodynamic radius, charge and mass, and shed light on the physical basis of protein self-assembly, have remained unexploited. Using this approach, we will explore biological problems of fundamental and practical importance characterised by heterogeneity, including functional chaperone complexes, formation and detection of amyloid oligomers and studies of complex biomolecular mixtures. This programme will deliver fundamentally new approaches to study heterogeneous protein complexes and will shed light on the physical principles that govern protein self-assembly.

Keywords: protein self-assembly,protein complexes,heterogeneous assembly,amyloid.
An intracellular approach to spatial coding in the hippocampus (INTRASPACE)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Neurosciences and neural disorders
Countries involved: France
Call:  (ERC-2013-StG, 2013)
Start date: 2014-09-01
End date: 2020-02-29
Duration (months): 66.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1497163.2
EU funding (EUR): 1497163.2
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The hippocampus is an important structure for spatial memory in rodents and episodic memory in humans. The hippocampus uses a sparse coding scheme where a given environment is represented by the place selective firing of a small group of cells, (called place cells) among a larger population of silent neurons. Thus a given environment is not only coded by the firing rate and timing of active cells but also by the very identity of these cells that fire or stay silent in that environment. Similarly, in humans, specific items or episodes are coded by the selective firing of particular cells in the temporal lobe among a larger population of silent neurons. Thus understanding the mechanisms involved in the selection of which cells will be active in a particular environment is one of the most important to understand the formation of spatial memories in rodents and episodic memories in humans. This question is at the core of our research project. Place cells have been extensively studied at the system level using extracellular recording which can only record the spiking output of neurons but not the intracellular mechanisms leading to that spiking. This is why I recently contributed to the development of a new technique allowing intracellular recordings in freely behaving animals. Using this technique we found an important role for intrinsic neuronal properties in the distinction between place and silent cells. Intriguingly, these differences were observed even before the new exploration began. Based on these findings we will address three objectives: 1) determine the role of intrinsic excitability in the initial selection of place cells, 2) test whether a similar coding scheme are valid for the other major hippocampal area for spatial coding: the CA3 area and last 3) determine whether these intrinsic mechanisms play a role in another major function of the hippocampus the remapping.
Optical Quantum Control of Magnetic Molecules (OPTOQMOL)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Condensed matter physics
Countries involved: United Kingdom,Germany
Call:  (ERC-2013-StG, 2013)
Start date: 2014-01-01
End date: 2018-12-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1498300.0
EU funding (EUR): 1498300.0
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

A revolution is underway, as molecular magnets are establishing a fundamental link between spintronics, molecular electronics and quantum computation. On the other hand, we know almost nothing on how a magnetic molecule is affected by electrons flowing through it or by the excitation of a molecular group. OptoQMol will investigate these uncharted waters by developing innovative, ultra-clean methods that will provide information inaccessible to established procedures. This will allow an unprecedented study of the interplay of electronic and spin degrees of freedom in magnetic molecules and of its possible use for quantum logic. OptoQMol is a strongly multidisciplinary project, and makes use of an innovative mix of chemical and physical methods to overcome present experimental limitations, both in terms of time resolution and cleanliness. Instead of placing a magnetic molecule between bulk electrodes, we will directly grow photoactive groups on the molecule, so that electrons will flow through or close to the spin centers after a light pulse. This affords an ultra-clean system that can be studied in bulk, with a perfectly defined geometry of the magnetic and electronic elements. We will then combine optical and electron paramagnetic resonance techniques with ns time resolution, so as to observe the effect of electron flow on the spins in real time and measure the spin quantum coherence. Eventually we will use these innovative methods to control the interactions among spins and perform quantum logic operations. The success of OptoQMol will answer two fundamental questions: How do molecular spins interact with flowing electrons? How can we use electronic excitations to perform quantum logic operations between multiple electron spins? The results will open a totally new area of experimental and theoretical investigation. Moreover they will redefine the limits and possibilities of molecular spintronics and allow quantum logic operations among multiple electron spins.

Keywords: molecular magnetism,molecular spintronics,electron transfer processes,time resolved electron paramagnetic resonance.
Paleo-robotics and the Innovations of Propulsion in Amphibians (PIPA)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Physiology, Pathophysiology and Endocrinology
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (ERC-2013-StG, 2013)
Start date: 2014-03-01
End date: 2019-02-28
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1494998.0
EU funding (EUR): 1494998.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Scientists race to find evolutionary ‘missing links’ between major vertebrate lineages to explain the origin of new groups. In this effort, biomechanics is crucial since major transitions can spring from mechanical innovations (e.g. amphibian limbs or bird wings). Yet, biomechanics is limited due to its own missing link: we poorly understand interactions among muscle dynamics, skeletal structure and external forces of limbs on the ground. Aiming to bridge gaps in both evolution and biomechanics, PIPA offers three approaches to investigate a long-standing mystery: how did musculoskeletal transformations drive the origin and radiation of frogs? 1) PIPA combines external force measurements with in vivo and in vitro muscle physiology for insights inaccessible in other systems during locomotion. We will determine whether muscles operate near their mechanical limits. Also, we will reveal how well muscles meet the demands of various tasks (walking vs. swimming vs. jumping) to settle debates on whether muscles are ‘tuned’ for specific tasks. 2) Beyond muscle physiology, PIPA will computationally simulate the evolution of limbs in response to hypothetical selection pressures. Such models will test whether muscle dynamics (AIM 1) evolved for locomotor specialization (jumping) versus generalization for multiple tasks. Specifically, we will evaluate whether the muscular complexity of derived frogs evolved such that they can both generate extreme power and execute fine control. (3) To directly test conclusions from AIMS 1&2, PIPA uses innovative muscle-controlled paleo-robots to hypothetically ‘replay’ the anatomical and physiological transformations of frog evolution. Such integrative techniques will clarify our understanding of limb evolution, resolve long-standing evolutionary questions and discover general principles that will ultimately advance limbed robotics and prosthetics engineering.
Implementation of the Liquid infusion in the Manufacturing of Aerospace Structures (ILMAS)

Framework: FP7 — Cooperation
Programme: Joint Technology Initiatives (Annex IV-SP1)
Theme: Public-private partnerships
Destination: Clean Sky
Action type: Article 171 of the Treaty
Partnership: CLEAN-SKY (Art-185)
Countries involved: Italy,Austria,Sweden
Call:  (SP1-JTI-CS-2012-03, 2012)
Start date: 2013-04-01
End date: 2014-05-31
Duration (months): 14.0
Total project cost (EUR): 249350.8
EU funding (EUR): 187013.0
Participants: 3
Project status: CLOSED

Liquid infusion process has been proved by recent researches to be suitable for the manufacturing of structural aeronautical components. The aim of this proposal is to develop a detailed analysis of the technical, economical and environmental impact of the extrapolation to industrial condition of the liquid infusion manufacturing technique. This analysis is deemed to be a necessary step in the successful scaling-up of the process for the fabrication of aeronautical components. The activity planned to achieve the aim of the proposal is organised in several work packages oriented to: - clarify the applicability of the process in the real industrial environment - identify the requirements to implement the process and to start the production phase - quantify the technical and economical impact of the new process - prepare a risk assessment and a manufacturing plan - define the optimum process procedures and an operative manual The research team if formed by two universities and a private research center, all with a large experience in the field of composite and the analysis proposed will be carried out by using the state-of-the art techniques in the different areas, taking advantage of the synergistic competences of the partners in the key areas of the proposal (aeronautic composites manufacturing processes, realization of feasibility studies of industrial plants and processes, analysis of the environmental impact of industrial processes) and the data/information provided by the Topic Manager Company.

Keywords: aeronautical structures,liquid infusion,autoclave
Citizenship, Care and Choice: The Micropolitics of Intimacy in Southern Europe (INTIMATE)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Institutions, values, beliefs and behaviour
Countries involved: Portugal
Call:  (ERC-2013-StG, 2013)
Start date: 2014-03-01
End date: 2019-02-28
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1462537.35
EU funding (EUR): 1462537.35
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Changes in personal life in recent decades illustrate significant socio-cultural transformations. However, the focus of mainstream sociological literature has been the heterosexual, monogamic and reproductive couple, with little research exploring non-conventional intimacy in Southern Europe. INTIMATE’s main aim is to contribute to legal, policy and cultural innovation through the findings of a comparative, empirically-grounded, research project designed to rethink citizenship, care and choice from the point of view of 'non-standard intimacies' (Berlant and Warner, 2000) in 3 contrasting Southern European countries: Italy, Portugal and Spain. Guided by the fundamental sociological question of how change takes place and, concomitantly, how law and social policy adjust to and/or shape the practices and expectations of individuals concerning personal life, this research will address intimacy from the perspective of those on the margins of social, legal and policy concerns in Southern Europe – lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgendered people. INTIMATE is based on 3 strands – Strand 1: the micropolitics of partnering; Strand 2: the micropolitics of parenting; and Strand 3: the micropolitics of friendship. The notion of micropolitics enables a double focus on everyday practices and expectations (biographic dimension) within the wider contextual framework of law and social policy (socio-legal dimension). This qualitative research involves conducting 6 cross-national qualitative studies across the strands of partnering, parenting and friendship in each of the chosen countries. Topics covered are lesbian coupledom, polyamorous relationships, assisted conception and surrogacy, naming a child, transgender and care, and living with friends in adult life. Expected results include a range of both international and national publications targeting academia and beyond, thematic conferences and participatory workshops, policy briefs, media briefs and an interactive website.

Keywords: intimate citizenship,family,sexuality,lgbt (lesbian,gay,bisexual,transgender),social policies,southern europe.
Adaption of WORHP to Avionics Constraints (AWACS)

Framework: FP7 — Cooperation
Programme: Joint Technology Initiatives (Annex IV-SP1)
Theme: Public-private partnerships
Destination: Clean Sky
Action type: Article 171 of the Treaty
Partnership: CLEAN-SKY (Art-185)
Countries involved: Germany,Germany,United Kingdom
Call:  (SP1-JTI-CS-2012-03, 2012)
Start date: 2013-04-01
End date: 2015-01-31
Duration (months): 22.0
Total project cost (EUR): 484331.4
EU funding (EUR): 363248.55
Participants: 3
Project status: CLOSED

Technological progress leads to an on-going improvement of products in view of functionality, energy consumption or safety at the cost of increased complexity of tasks to be performed. The aim to achieve optimal performance of a process is getting more and more difficult to achieve as the number of parameters that influence the performance of the process is constantly increasing. The high complexity typically prohibits an optimization by hand and instead requires automatic optimization procedures and efficient optimization software, such as the ESA NLP solver WORHP (We Optimize Really Huge Problems). It is specifically designed to solve large-scale nonlinear optimization problems with several hundred thousands or even millions of optimization parameters and already satisfies many of the Clean Sky requirements. The purpose of this project is to adapt WORHP to aviation objectives and constraints with the aim to obtain an even more robust and efficient European NLP solver. The project is divided into three parts. Part 1 addresses theoretical foundations and structural definitions of the optimization problems to be considered. This includes a study of problems that are typical for aeronautics applications. Part 2 is concerned with the implementation of extensions towards trajectory optimization (optimal control) in the existing solver WORHP and its companion transcriptor TransWORHP. A detailed test campaign on commonly used testsets like CUTEr and on testcases from aviation industry is performed In part 3. The implemented algorithms will be tested in a systematic way on the previously defined test-sets in order to assess the robustness and efficiency of the algorithm. The results of the test campaign will be used to refine the algorithm. The developed software will be documented, validated and tested. Suitable interfaces to existing software packages will be provided.

Keywords: nonlinear mathematical optimization,optimal control,discretization,multiple shooting,collocation,worhp,nlp
OPTImised Model for Accurately measured in-flight Loads (OPTIMAL)

Framework: FP7 — Cooperation
Programme: Joint Technology Initiatives (Annex IV-SP1)
Theme: Public-private partnerships
Destination: Clean Sky
Action type: Article 171 of the Treaty
Partnership: CLEAN-SKY (Art-185)
Countries involved: Greece
Call:  (SP1-JTI-CS-2012-03, 2012)
Start date: 2013-09-02
End date: 2016-03-01
Duration (months): 30.0
Total project cost (EUR): 278941.6
EU funding (EUR): 206149.0
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

In recent years, Counter Rotating Open Rotors (CROR) have received considerable attention as the CROR concept promises a considerable reduction of fuel consumption over conventional ducted turbofan engines. Specifically for Smart Fixed Wing Aircraft CROR is expected to contribute to 20% fuel burn reduction. Despite this potential CROR engines are associated with higher noise and vibration levels and their installation pauses a challenge for the adaptation in future aircraft models. The main objective of OPTIMAL proposal is to provide a technical solution to accurately measure all the loads encountered by a pylon which supports a Counter Rotating Open Rotor (CROR) engine in flight. The work entails the development of a methodology that will enable the assessment of flight loads on to the pylon and fuselage based on local sensor measurements. This methodology is based on an inverse Finite Element Analysis (FEA) approach where the loads at the boundaries i.e pylon-fuselage attachment can be assessed with increased accuracy and fidelity. FEA analysis will be supported by accurate strain, temperature and acceleration measurements by an appropriate sensor network. Traditional sensors such as strain gauges and accelerometers as well as optical fiber sensors Bragg Gratings will be investigated and analyzed. The two proposed sensor networks systems will be operating side by side in an effort to evaluate optical system performance and eventual feasibility for the pylon monitoring application. To this end the proposers will bring in their background knowledge and no further development of the optical measuring system is foreseen. The proposed approach will be validated by structural testing of a scaled pylon mock-up, which will be representative of the real structure. Based on the results of these investigations, a true scale measurement system configuration will be proposed that should meet Flight Worthiness specifications of the future flying test bed.

Keywords: counter rotating open rotor,inverse fea,measurement system,pylon mock-up testing,structural anlysis
Adaptation of a generic wind tunnel model for attachment line transition measurements (CLEANSKY-LBD)

Framework: FP7 — Cooperation
Programme: Joint Technology Initiatives (Annex IV-SP1)
Theme: Public-private partnerships
Destination: Clean Sky
Action type: Article 171 of the Treaty
Partnership: CLEAN-SKY (Art-185)
Countries involved: Germany
Call:  (SP1-JTI-CS-2012-03, 2012)
Start date: 2013-04-01
End date: 2014-10-31
Duration (months): 19.0
Total project cost (EUR): 298976.09
EU funding (EUR): 224232.07
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The Hybrid Laminar Flow Technology for drag reduction needs small holes for boundary layer suction. This proposal addresses the perforation and integration of inserts for flow tunnel tests. Therefore, an approved laser process at BIAS for drilling suction holes for flow meters shall be transferred to an adequate system technology for large inserts using a short pulsed fibre laser with high power as recently available on the laser market. The process parameters must be adapted to the new system technology. This will be done by investigation of drilled hole geometries and tolerances using transmitted light microscopy with automated edge detection, which will be calibrated using prepared cross-sections of the holes. The efficient machining speed and fast analysis methods also enable to reconfigure an insert if the achieved results of the wind tunnel tests make this necessary. The following steps shall be done to investigate the production of wind tunnel inserts: Installation/configuration of the drilling system, process development for laser drilling, manufacturing of test specimen and hole analysis, upscaling of laser drilling procedure, manufacturing of 3 suction inserts, integration of suction inserts into model. Within this project the system technology and knowledge about the necessary drilling technology for inserts usable in flow tunnel tests is developed. Furthermore, the feasibility is proven in form of a full size model. This is a contribution to the targets of the CleanSky programme as the successful production of an insert for wind tunnel tests can significantly contribute to the technological breakthrough and shorten the time to market of the suction hole technology, thus contributing significantly to reducing the environmental footprint of aviation.

Keywords: laser drilling,suction holes,large-area processing,wind tunnel tests