Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Sustainable Nanocomposites for Photocatalysis (SUSNANO)

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: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG, 2012)
Start date: 2013-10-01
End date: 2018-03-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Sustainable generation of energy is arguably the biggest challenge facing society. Investment into energy research is considerable (e.g. ~€2.5billion in EU FP7), with one key goal being the capture of solar energy. Production of electricity from sunlight (photovoltaics) is perhaps the most well-known option, but is restricted to less than 0.1% of the current market due to cost and problems with long term storage. An alternative approach, inspired by photosynthesis, is the use of sunlight to generate storable, transportable chemical fuels. These can include hydrocarbons from carbon dioxide and hydrogen from water splitting. While considerable advances have been made in artificial photosynthesis, efficient visible light catalysts are still a major challenge. Furthermore, any feasible large-scale system must be based on abundant materials and facile fabrication processes. This is emphasized in a recent White Paper prepared by the UK, US, Japanese, German and Chinese Chemical Societies. They state the need for, “new catalysts and materials from low-cost, earth-abundant elements that can be used to build affordable, sustainable solar energy transformation and storage systems” This proposal will directly address this challenge by creating new photocatalyst/cocatalyst composites based on earth-abundant elements and facile methods. These unique approaches will enable H2 production in an economically viable and sustainable manner.

Keywords: green chemistry,sustainability,nanocomposite,sol-gel,transition metal carbide,water splitting,cocatalyst,photocatalysis
Biophysical mechanisms regulating early T cell signalling events (BIOPHIS)

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: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG, 2012)
Start date: 2013-03-01
End date: 2017-02-28
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The overall aim of this project is to identify key biophysical mechanisms that control the spatial arrangement of signalling proteins and membrane lipids in the regulation of T cell receptor (TCR) activation. During an immune response, T cells are activated in response to antigenic peptides in a process that requires the formation of multi-molecular signalling complexes. It is known that many T cell signalling proteins (such as the kinase Lck and the scaffold protein LAT) are not randomly distributed within the plasma membrane thus giving rise to lateral organizstion which affects signalling efficiency. However, the biophysical mechanism(s) that control protein distributions and hence the rate of molecular interactions remains poorly understood. Uniquely, I have recently developed two key technologies to unravel how protein clustering and the biophysical properties of the lipid bilayer regulate specific interactions at the molecular level. These are single-molecule, super-resolution localisation microscopy with novel statistical cluster analysis and quantification of membrane biophysical properties beyond the limit of conventional microscopy using new environmentally sensitive fluorescent probes and picosecond time-resolved excitation/detection. The research will therefore generate unique insights into the biophysical mechanisms that govern the formation of the protein clusters and complexes during early T cell signalling events. This knowledge is critical to our understanding of the molecular basis of T cell activation during the immune response and has potential applications in the development of therapeutic treatments for a range of conditions including pathogenic disease, cancer and autoimmune disease.

Keywords: l106 biophysics,l308 signal transduction
NeutAndalus: boosting interdisciplinary neutron science in Spain and Europe (NEUTANDALUS)

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: Spain
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG, 2012)
Start date: 2014-01-01
End date: 2017-12-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Neutrons are not only essential components of matter, their interactions with nuclei are crucial in many of the important processes occurring in nature. Among others, neutron capture reactions in stars are responsible for the creation of all elements beyond iron, fission reactions drive nuclear power reactors, neutron absorption reactions are the base of promising cancer therapy techniques, scattering of neutrons is a powerful tool for the study of materials, and material damage from neutrons is crucial for the use of electronic in avionics. The present project aims at boosting neutron science in Spain and Europe and leading the creation of two new competitive infrastructures for the interdisciplinary use of neutrons. The project will consist on: 1. Perform at least two start-of-the-art experiments in the most powerful neutron beam facilities of Europe: “Reactor g-ray heating studies at EXOGAM@ILL: prompt g-ray emission from fission in U and Pu isotopes” and “Study of the 79Se s(n,g) for the determination of the main and weak s-process contributions to the nucleosynthesis in stars for the A=80 mass region”. 2. Design, build and exploit a D-T neutron beam facility using the existing accelerators of University of Seville and the associated National Centre of Accelerators CNA. The use of the new neutron beam line will be interdisciplinary: nuclear data for fission and fusion, irradiation of electronic components for avionics, and medical physics. 3. Create an interdisciplinary research team for the design, construction and long-term exploitation of a versatile neutron beam facility at the new LINAC Research Facility LRF, which is already being constructed in Spain with EU Structural Funds. The community supporting this project includes several research groups with interests in a variety of fields: basic nuclear physics, innovative nuclear technology, nuclear astrophysics, medical application of neutrons, and irradiation of materials and electronics for avionics.

Keywords: p103 nuclear physics,p104 nuclear astrophysics,p320 medical physics
Light and matter on critical timescales, studied by nonlinear terahertz spectroscopy (LIGHTER)

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: Germany
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG, 2012)
Start date: 2013-03-01
End date: 2017-02-28
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

In this project we will experimentally study the behaviour of light and matter on the timescales, at which their fundamental properties are being formed. We define such critical timescales as: For light - the timescale of a single optical cycle. This naturally requires the sub-cycle time resolution in the experiments. For matter – the time during which the quantum-mechanical dimensionality (e.g. 0D or 3D) in the material can be established or significantly modified. We want to find out how fast do some of the fundamental physical phenomena occur, and what exactly governs these critical timescales. Presently there is no concrete answer to this “how fast?” question regarding establishment of many physical properties. Many phenomena are simply referred to as “instantaneous”, i.e. occurring on zero timescale, which is a euphemism for “we don’t know how fast they are”. Using nonlinear ultrafast terahertz (THz) spectroscopy as an experimental method, and semiconductors as a material system, in this project we will investigate the following problems: 1) Development of optical supercontinuum from a single cycle of light in a nonlinear medium. We aim to directly observe the synthesis of new frequencies in the optical signal. 2) How fast can one modulate a simple quantum-mechanical system by an external field? How fast is Stark effect, and what constitutes the maximum electro-absorption modulation speed limit? 3) How fast is the creation of quantum-mechanical dimensionality in a crystal? How fast the energy band in a crystal, a result of interference of the wavefunctions of individual atomic potentials, is formed? What governs this time scale? Is it the reciprocal of energy width of the band?

Keywords: p101 fundamental interactions and fields,p207 semiconductors,p108 optics and quantum optics,p304 spectroscopic and spectrometric techniques,p205 electronic properties of materials and transport
THE PROBABILISTIC CONSTRUAL OF MODALITY (PCM)

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: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG, 2012)
Start date: 2013-10-01
End date: 2017-09-30
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The project concerns the semantics of modal expressions in language, and in particular modal verbs such as 'might', 'must' and 'can'. The hypothesis under investigation is the Probabilistic Construal of Modality, stating that modal verbs like the above should be given a semantic analysis in terms of (among other things) probability functions. This is a very active topic of research within philosophy and linguistic semantics, which is generating a large amount of literature. The project will improve on the state of the art in this literature in four respects. First, it will clarify the basic question, outlining explicitly the methodology for a systematic study of the PCM hypothesis. Second, it will undertake a systematic investigation of the compositional interactions of modals and other operators in language. Third, it will draw much needed conceptual connections between the semantics of modality and probabilistic models of belief. Finally, it will revisit important classical literature on the connection between probabilities of conditional statements and conditional probabilities.

Keywords: soc modality,epistemic modality,probability,language,semantics,conditionals
Multimodal Face Processing (MMFP)

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: Türkiye
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG, 2012)
Start date: 2013-06-01
End date: 2017-05-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Faces play a central role in human communication. When interacting with someone, we use their face to identify them, to determine their gender, their emotional state and even their health. Automatic facial image interpretation involves developing algorithms, which can estimate such information from digital images and video. Such technology has a wide range of applications, including use in human-computer interfaces, assistive systems for human-human interaction, healthcare, entertainment, smart environments, and security. Considering the shift to the paradigm of human-centered computing for natural interfaces, convenient healthcare applications for daily monitoring, and advanced security needs of the society, the interest in face processing is expected to continue with increasing pace. There are two main objectives of this proposal. The first one is building a unified framework to derive information from face images and the second one is joint maximization of information extraction performance. In addition, the project will address the task of benchmarking face processing under ambient conditions and involve collection of a multi-sensor face database.

Keywords: facial image analysis,face detection,facial feature localization,facial expression classification,age estimation,gender classification,face database,information fusion
The evolutionary ecology of individual variation in cognitive performance (EVOLECOG)

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: Ireland
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG, 2012)
Start date: 2013-05-01
End date: 2017-04-30
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

This proposal takes the disciplines of cognitive and evolutionary biology into a natural setting on an unprecedented scale to explore a variety of causes and consequences of individual variation in cognitive ability. The study system is a series of great tit (bird) sub-populations across habitat fragments of very different quality, consisting of conifer plantation and natural broad-leaf woodland. Great tits are year-round residents that use a wide range of patchily distributed food types, suggesting an important role for different cognitive processes. They are readily tagged and use nest boxes freely, making them easy to monitor remotely. In the first work package, the aim is to examine social and individual causes of variation in different indicators of cognitive ability (e.g. associative learning ability), to determine whether these differences are linked to life history variation, and if so, to ask if this necessarily leads to selection for higher cognitive performance, or instead whether cognitive ability also comes with costs. Natural selection rarely acts on traits in isolation and is dependent on current conditions. Thus the work package will also explore whether observed patterns are moderated by other functionally relevant phenotypic variation (personality and bill morphology) or are dependent on habitat quality. Ultimately the aim will be to combine estimates of heritability generated from pedigree animal models with selection to measure the predicted micro-evolutionary responses. In the second work package, the aim is to explore the functional mechanisms underlying links between cognitive ability and life history variation, testing whether cognitive variation is linked to: i) space use in the natural environment, ii) foraging decisions and diet profiles, and iii) parental care trade-offs. In summary the proposal will be an unprecedented examination of the evolutionary and ecological processes that drive variation in cognitive ability.

Keywords: cognition,evolution,individual variation,personality,ecology,behavioural ecology,great tit,phenotypic variation,selection,adaptation,habitat,phenotypic plasticity
Algebraic Algorithms and Applications (A3)

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: France
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG, 2012)
Start date: 2013-05-01
End date: 2017-04-30
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The project Algebraic Algorithms and Applications (A3) is an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary project, with strong international synergy. It consists of four work packages The first (Algebraic Algorithms) focuses on fundamental problems of computational (real) algebraic geometry: effective zero bounds, that is estimations for the minimum distance of the roots of a polynomial system from zero, algorithms for solving polynomials and polynomial systems, derivation of non-asymptotic bounds for basic algorithms of real algebraic geometry and application of polynomial system solving techniques in optimization. We propose a novel approach that exploits structure and symmetry, combinatorial properties of high dimensional polytopes and tools from mathematical physics. Despite the great potential of the modern tools from algebraic algorithms, their use requires a combined effort to transfer this technology to specific problems. In the second package (Stochastic Games) we aim to derive optimal algorithms for computing the values of stochastic games, using techniques from real algebraic geometry, and to introduce a whole new arsenal of algebraic tools to computational game theory. The third work package (Non-linear Computational Geometry), we focus on exact computations with implicitly defined plane and space curves. These are challenging problems that commonly arise in geometric modeling and computer aided design, but they also have applications in polynomial optimization. The final work package (Efficient Implementations) describes our plans for complete, robust and efficient implementations of algebraic algorithms.

Keywords: g110 scientific computing,g107 theoretical computer science including quantum information,m104 algorithms and complexity,m116 mathematical aspects of computer science
Single Cell Electroporation and DNA dynamics: from bulk to micro/nanofluidics (NANOEP)

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: Netherlands
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG, 2012)
Start date: 2013-04-01
End date: 2017-03-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Electroporation or electropermeabilization is the electrical disruption of a cell’s membrane to introduce foreign DNA, RNAs, drugs, proteins, or other therapies into the living cells. This technique is one of the most popular non-viral gene transfer methods for both in vitro and in vivo application. However, this method is suffering from several limitations such as: i) low transfection efficiency, ii) poor cell viability, and iii) random uptake. Multiple applications of electroporation in biotechnology and medicine rely on trial and error optimization of treatment conditions rather than knowledge of pores, dynamics and electrotransfer of DNA, due to the limited spatial and temporal resolution of traditional tools. More interesting, the phenomena behind electro-mediated membrane permeabilization to plasmid DNA (~4.5 kbp) have been shown to be significantly more complex than those for small molecules. Therefore, successful DNA electrotransfer into cells depends not only on cell permeabilization (or poration) but also on the way plasmid DNA interacts with the membrane and, once into the cell, migrates toward the nuclei. The main aim of this proposal to understand and control the transport of DNA in electroporation treatment such that stable, safe and efficient gene transfection can be achieved. Here I will use single molecule techniques (such as AFM, FRET, confocal and optical tweerers) with high spatio-temporal resolution to investigate the process of electroporation at different length (from bulk to micro/nano) and time scale (ranging from micro-seconds to hours). In addition, these unique tools will be integrated with novel micro/nanofluidics to investigate the electroporation and electrokinetic flow of DNA at micro/nano-scale. I will observe all the processes in real time with unprecedented details and quantitatively examine the kinetics of pore formation/resealing and cytoplasmic trafficking of DNA.

Keywords: dna dynamics,electroporation,microfluidics,nanofluidics,non-viral gene delivery,electropermeabilization
Development of a Robotic Surgery System for Beating Heart Surgery (HEARTSURGERYROBOT)

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: Türkiye
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG, 2012)
Start date: 2013-07-01
End date: 2017-06-30
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The purpose of the present study is the development of a robotic surgery system for beating heart surgery. Specifically, the developed surgery robot will be used for off-pump Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) surgery, which means that the surgery is done while the heart is still beating instead of using a cardiopulmonary bypass machine and stopping the heart to perform the surgery. The robotic system developed in this project will actively track and cancel the relative motion between the heart surface and the surgical tools that are attached to the robotic manipulators, dynamically stabilizing the heart for the operation. In this scheme, the surgeon views a stabilized view of the heart on a video display with images provided by a camera mounted on the robotic arm, allowing CABG surgeries to be performed on a beating heart with technical perfection equal to traditional on-pump surgeries. The proposed surgical system, unlike the ones available, is a small, light weight, high bandwidth, 6-DOF system that is capable of tracking the highly dynamic heart motion, and dexterous enough to perform surgical manipulations. In order to develop the proposed robotic system, the research will focus on the following aims: 1. Designing and prototyping dexterous robotic instruments, 2. Developing the sensing system required for monitoring biological signals, tracking heart motion, and force feedback to the surgeon, 3. Developing intelligent control algorithms for model based active motion compensation, and 4. Developing an immersive telepresence interface for the surgeon.

Keywords: g210 robotics,g314 medical engineering and technology,g108 intelligent systems