Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Seeking Efficient Atomic Implementations of Distributed Data Storage (ATOMICDFS)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Intra-European Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Spain
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IEF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-12-01
End date: 2016-11-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 173370.6
EU funding (EUR): 173370.6
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Distributed Storage Systems provide availability and survivability of data by replicating them in geographically dispersed network locations. A major problem with data distribution is consistency. How the system detects the latest-value of the replicated data? The most natural and easy to understand consistency guarantee is atomicity. Atomicity ensures that a read operation returns the value of the preceding write operation and that value is at least as recent as the value returned by any preceding read operation. Researchers, over the last two decades, have developed numerous atomic implementations for the asynchronous. message passing environment considering the simplest form of data storage: a read/write register. In this proposal we aim to elevate the applicability of the proposed solutions by using them for the development of an atomic distributed file system (ADFS) for the asynchronous, message passing crash prone environment. Large-scale objects, like files, degrade the operation latencies of the proposed algorithms when data are replicated and delivered over asynchronous channels to the replica hosts. On the other hand segmenting files into very small pieces and running an instance of the atomic implementation over each segment object, may increase the request load on the replica hosts. So this project will investigate the trade-offs between file fragmentation, fragment distribution, and operation latency. We need to specify precisely how file replication will be carried out and how clients will locate and retrieve the latest version of the file they desire. For this purpose we need to develop efficient fragmentation algorithms that minimize the read and write operation latency while at the same time do not incur excessive overhead on server requests. We plan to implement and deploy our developed algorithms both in single processor simulation environments as well as in planetary-scale real time networks.

Keywords: distributed storage,distributed shared memory,atomic read/write memory,distributed systems,distributed algorithms,message-passing,fault-tolerance,asynchronous systems
Taraxacum officinale as a new plant-herbivore model to study fitness benefits of root secondary metabolites (DANDELION)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Life-long training and career development
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Switzerland
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-CIG, 2013)
Start date: 2014-03-01
End date: 2018-02-28
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Plants invest much energy into synthesizing root secondary metabolites which are assumed to improve plant fitness by protecting the plant against below ground herbivores. Testing this paradigm however has remained difficult due to the lack of suitable model plants. The key objective of this proposal is the establishment of the common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) as a powerful native chemo-molecular root-herbivore model to study the function and adaptive value of root secondary metabolites in nature. The proposed activities will not only expand the current understanding on plant-environment interactions, but will also deliver essential resources for further research on an ecologically and economically relevant plant species native to central Europe.

Keywords: plant defense,root herbivore interactions,root secondary metabolites,lacticifers,taraxacum officinale,melolontha melolontha
Energizing Futures: Investigating the Infusion of IT and Design into Novel Foresight Practices (ENERGIZING FUTURES)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: International Incoming Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Denmark
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IIF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-05-19
End date: 2016-05-18
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 308587.8
EU funding (EUR): 308587.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

This project advances applied and theoretical research into novel foresight methods. Taking the governance of emerging energy technologies as a case, this research investigates scenarios mediated through cutting-edge gaming, visualization, simulation and design techniques. This project involves two phases of qualitative research to empirically investigate the make-up, impact and products of novel foresight methods employed in the energy sector. Drawing on perspectives of anticipation, materiality and governance in the field of Science, Technology and Society (STS), this project seeks to 1) create a taxonomy of mediated scenarios; 2) characterize the nature and workings of such innovative foresight practices; and 3) develop two in-depth case studies involving the use of such scenarios in the field of energy in order to reveal the varied configurations of agency, temporality and culture inscribed in the practice. Through these inquiries, this project builds up STS scholarship on anticipation and contributes to understanding best practices of foresight by elucidating the nature and workings of novel methods. Drawing on a strong existing research program and a well-developed international network of scenario practitioners and interdisciplinary scholars, this research is situated within the Technology and Innovation Management Division at the Danish Technological University’s Department for Management Engineering with Professor, Dr. Per Dannemand Anderson as the scientist in charge.

Keywords: foresight,scenarios,sustainability,responsible innovation,social studies of science and technology,governance,managing uncertainty
Functional Nanostar Encapsulated Nanocapsule for Cell-based High-throughput Drug Screening (FUNSTAR CAPSULE)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: International Incoming Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IIF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-03-01
End date: 2016-02-29
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 231283.2
EU funding (EUR): 231283.2
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Chemotherapy has been the leading therapy for treating cancer to date. However, its applicability has been limited by high price and low effectiveness of current chemotherapeutics. The limitations could be overcome by understanding the therapeutic mechanism of drug candidates allowing the best compounds to undergo expensive and time-consuming clinical trials. Although cell-based profiling methods greatly streamline the drug screening process, the current methods are restricted by multistep processing, time consuming and low-throughput analysis, and the requirement of large number of cells. The FunStar Capsule proposal aims to develop a simple and powerful supramolecular nanocapsule platform for phenotyping drug-treated cell surfaces. This radically new concept in drug screening will generate characteristic spectroscopic patterns for different drug-treated cell surfaces that will be used to predict the mechanisms of new therapeutic molecules. The proposal introduces for the first time live cell Raman micro-spectroscopy for creating the patterns using a unique nanocapsule that is fabricated through the hierarchical assembly of functionalized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and nanostars. The AuNPs will recognize the cell membrane while the nanostars will create characteristic Raman signatures through a surface enhanced Raman scattering mechanism. The robust and biocompatible platform would provide several advantages: (i) rapid (minutes) analysis, (ii) less number of cells required (possibly single cell), (iii) label-free method, (iv) highly sensitive and non-destructive technique, (v) both efficacy and mechanism of a molecule can be determined from a single well of a microplate. This multidisciplinary proposal combines concepts of materials chemistry and life sciences to design a cell phenotyping platform with applications beyond drug screening such as cancer detection and cell sorting, making this approach attractive for industrial sectors of pharmacology and diagnostics.

Keywords: functionalized nanoparticle,nanocapsule,hierarchical assembly,screening,drug mechanisms,cellular phenotype,raman micro-spectroscopy,label-free,single cell,multi-disciplinary
The Development of Quinoidal Porphyrins, Quinoidal Phthalocyanines, and Quinoidal Diazaporphyrins for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: Into the Red. (QPORQPCQDAP)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: International Incoming Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Spain
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IIF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-03-01
End date: 2015-10-31
Duration (months): 20.0
Total project cost (EUR): 144475.5
EU funding (EUR): 144475.5
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The development of novel materials is crucial to the improvement of solar cells. State-of-the-art dye-sensitized solar cells utilize “push-pull” porphyrin dyes (coded YD2-oC8) and have reported efficiencies up to 12.3%. However, YD2-oC8 and structurally similar dyes display limited to no absorption in the far red and near infrared regions of the solar spectrum. This region is where photon flux is at a maximum and improved absorption in this area should result in improved device efficiencies. We propose optimizing the under-studied quinoidal porphyrins and synthesizing novel quinoidal phthalocyanines and quinoidal diazaporphyrins to address the long wavelength absorption deficiencies of state-of-the-art porphyrin dyes. Quinoidal porphyrins have pronounced far-red/near infrared absorption and can be tuned similar to bona fide porphyrins. Pristine phthalocyanines already have adequate long wavelength absorption, but devices made from these dyes have low efficiencies as a result of strong dye aggregation. Quinoidal phthalocyanines should be non-planar similar to other large quinoidal species (exTTFs, porphyrins, etc.). This trait is proposed to lead to significantly reduced aggregation, improving the photophysical attributes, as well as the processability of phthalocyanines. The synthesis of the proposed dyes will help elucidate the importance of long wavelength absorption in dye-sensitized solar cells, shed light on the applicability of quinoidal porphyrinoid dyes and, in the long term, lead to higher efficiency solar cells. The applicant has extensive experience with the quinoidal porphyrins and is uniquely skilled to carry out this project.

Keywords: porphyrin,phthalocyanine,dssc,dye,organic chemistry,solar cells,quinoidal,porphyrinoid
Molecularly Imprinted Nanofibres for Tissue Engineering, Affinity Depletion and Biosensor Applications (MIFS4BIOMED)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Intra-European Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Sweden
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IEF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-09-01
End date: 2016-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 275138.8
EU funding (EUR): 275138.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Molecular imprinted polymers and electrospun nanofibres are both hot topics individually in the biomedical sciences, with applications including tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, drug release, affinity chromatography and biosensors. This proposal combines these two leading-edge approaches to generate entirely novel materials with broad utility in biomedical engineering. Molecular imprinting is a form of template assisted synthesis that facilitates the creation of artificial receptors that can have affinity constants as high as their natural counterparts. Electrospinning (ES) is one of the most broadly used techniques for fabrication of nanostructured materials. ES uses electrical forces to produce continuous fibres having diameters in range of few nanometers to several micrometers. ES offers several technical advantages such as extremely high surface area per unit volume, tunable porosity, flexibility for adapting it to different shapes and sizes, and possibilities for controlling nanofibre composition. In this proposal, we have focused on next generation molecular imprinting using reactive electrospinning to obtain directly imprinted nanofibres. We will demonstrate the utility of this new nanofabrication technology in three key areas: active agent carriers in regenerative medicine, affinity depleting membranes in blood-related proteomics, and biorecognition elements for biosensors. The multidisciplinary nature of the project will make important contributions to the development and validation of new therapies, sustainable and efficient healthcare systems, and strengthening the competitiveness and innovative capacity of European health-related industries. We will be working at the frontiers of two leading research areas having the potential to attract the attention of the researcher community not only in Europe, but also world wide, and to make significant contribution to EU’s research priorities, sustainable development and scientific competencies.

Keywords: molecular imprinting,reactive electrospinning,regenerative medicine,affinity depletion,biosensors.
Modulatory capacity: Understanding individual differences in the relationship between sensory input and pain perception (MODULATORY CAPACITY)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: International Incoming Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IIF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-05-01
End date: 2016-04-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 309235.2
EU funding (EUR): 309235.2
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Pain serves a critical function, warning the organism of danger and potential injury. While it is often related to the level of sensory input, this relationship is not linear. The relationship between sensory input and pain can be modulated by the central nervous system based on various sensory, cognitive and affective factors. Individual differences in the capacity to modulate pain centrally have been associated with chronic pain symptoms as well as the onset of chronic pain following surgery (Arendt-Nielsen & Yarnitsky, 2009). What is suggested is that the ability to modulate the relationship between sensory input and pain perception (hereafter referred to as “modulatory capacity”) may be a stable, trait-like and clinically relevant individual difference variable that underlies the ability to dynamically and adaptively adjust pain based on the immediate context. The goal of the research proposed here is to find reliable markers of modulatory capacity at the level of the brain using in vivo neuroimaging techniques. In collaboration with Dr. Tom Johnstone (the scientist supervising the project) I have developed a parametric technique for analyzing how the brain instantiates the perceptual transition from innocuous to painful levels of sensory input (Johnstone et al, 2012). We were able to predict the non-linear transition from innocuous to painful perception with high accuracy based on activation in regions such as the periaqueductal gray that have previously been implicated in central modulation of pain. The research proposed here, to be performed at the University of Reading, aims to find clinically applicable biomarkers for modulatory capacity. Towards this goal I aim to examine the intra-individual stability of the relationship between sensory input, brain activation and pain perception and whether behavioral markers of central modulation can predict how these relationships change under various physical and psychological challenges.

Keywords: pain,neuroimaging,fmri,perception,sensation,descending modulation,dnic,temporal summation,central sensitization,threat of shock
The effect of retinoic acid on the fate of γδ T cells (RA AND GD T CELLS)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Intra-European Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Ireland
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IEF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-04-01
End date: 2016-03-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 183504.6
EU funding (EUR): 183504.6
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Retinoic acid, the active metabolite of vitamin A, is implicated in a broad range of well-studied pre- and post-natal functions. By comparison, its involvement in the development and function of the immune system remains largely unknown. However, it has recently been shown that retinoic acid has a protective effect in a murine model of colitis by switching the cytokine production by γδ T cells from pro- (IL-17A) to anti-inflammatory (IL-22). At the border between innate and adaptive immunity, γδ T cells constitute an important part of the immune system and are highly involved in the pathogenesis of several autoimmune or infectious disorders. Although these cells are found throughout the immune system, they can be divided into subpopulations which are interestingly enhanced in the compartments located at environmental interfaces such as the skin, intestine, uterus and lungs. Throughout this fellowship, I propose to (1) study the molecular mechanisms by which retinoic acid is able to change the fate of γδ T cells, (2) analyze the differential impact of retinoic acid between the γδ T cell subtypes, and (3) study the influence of retinoic acid in vivo, in two different autoimmune disorders, psoriasis and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. This study will highlight γδ T cells as new therapeutic targets and retinoids as immunomodulators for the development of efficient immunotherapies, a highly promising challenge in medical research for the future treatment of cancers, autoimmune and infectious disorders.

Keywords: ?d t cells,retinoic acid pathways,immunomodulation,experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis,psoriasis,il-22,il-17a,immunotherapy
Biomarkers and underlying mechanisms of vulnerability to depression (VULDE)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Intra-European Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Czechia
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IEF, 2013)
Start date: 2015-04-01
End date: 2017-12-01
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 146005.2
EU funding (EUR): 146005.2
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Depression is the leading chronic condition in Europe and fourth leading cause of mortality woldwide. Depression is twice more common in women compared with men, associated with dysregulation of steroid hormones in the HPA-HPG axis, ovarian dysfunction, obesity, and very recently, prenatal stress, but the mechanisms underlying its development are not well understood, yet. The current project aims to identify early hormonal and neuroimaging biomarkers and explain underlying mechanisms of vulnerability to depression. The use of novel methods in both neuroimaging and statistics on an extensive longitudinal dataset should make considerable progress possible. The applicant is moving from the University of Nottingham, UK, to the Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC), the Czech Republic to use data from clinicaly healthy young adults collected in the European Longitudinal Study of Children and Parents (ELSPAC). Her experience with population-based studies, neuroimaging, and psychoneuroendocrinology as well as her collaboration with Harvard Medical School and Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest in Toronto complement with the experitse of CEITEC researchers in structural, functional, and effective connectivity analyses. Enriching the ELSPAC dataset with neuroimaging and saliva samples will increase the potential of this unique study, and attract new collaborators and students. Having access to such a dataset as well as mastering the methods for studying brain connectivity would be an asset for applicant’s career development.

Keywords: depression,biomarker,mri,fmri,connectivity,mvpa,steroid hormones,obesity,blood pressure,prenatal stress,structural equation modelling,european longitudinal study of parents and children
Investigating the role of HIFs in myeloid cells during experimental choroidal neovascularisation (AMD_CNV_HIF)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Intra-European Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IEF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-05-01
End date: 2016-09-01
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 231283.2
EU funding (EUR): 231283.2
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the commonest cause of blindness in the developed world. AMD is a progressive disorder of the outer retina characterised by the accumulation of extracellular deposits and chronic inflammation at the level of Bruch’s basement membrane. Photoreceptor cell death is the result of progressive (‘geographic’) atrophy of supporting retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), or disruption by pathological neovascularisation that arises from the choroid and penetrates defects in Bruch’s membrane. Choroidal neovascularisation (CNV) develops in response to the up-regulation of multiple pro-angiogenic cytokines, including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), in the context of an abnormal extracellular matrix. The outcome of neovascular AMD can be improved by intraocular delivery of VEGF inhibitors but this is incompletely effective, indicating the involvement of additional parallel pathways or compensatory mechanisms. There is a clear unmet need for more effective treatments. In this fellowship I will investigate the hypothesis that HIF activation in myeloid cells is responsible for neovascular AMD. By defining the role of HIF in myeloid cells in the development of experimental CNV I aim to identify new opportunities to improve the efficacy of therapeutic intervention.

Keywords: age related macular degeneration/ choroidal neovascularisation/ hif/myeloid cells