Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Probing fundamental physics with multi-wavelength cosmology (PFPMWC)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Universe sciences
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (ERC-2011-StG_20101014, 2011)
Start date: 2012-01-01
End date: 2016-12-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1424269.0
EU funding (EUR): 1424269.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Recent measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) combined with the large-scale distribution of galaxies have defined a standard cosmological model. This model is a remarkable fit to the observations but also raises profound questions - we do not know how the initial conditions were imprinted in the early Universe, nor do we know the nature of the dark energy. In this proposal, I request funds to set up a new cosmology data analysis team at the University of Manchester to tackle these issues. Over the next five years, my team will pursue a program of work intended to have a large impact on two hugely important fields of observational cosmology which are uniquely suited to answering these questions --- the polarisation of the microwave background and weak gravitational lensing. The former is the most powerful way to probe the early Universe while the latter is potentially the most sensitive probe of dark energy. Building on the innovative methods I developed for the QUaD experiment, I will apply new analysis techniques to mitigate systematics and maximise the science return from current and future CMB polarisation experiments including the Planck satellite, the ground-based QUIJOTE experiment and phase 2 of the ground-based QUIET experiment. In the field of weak lensing, I will perform pioneering radio lensing analyses with forthcoming instruments including the Square Kilometre Array pathfinders, e-MERLIN and MeerKAT. One particularly novel idea which I will develop is the use of polarisation information to reduce noise and to minimise contamination from the intrinsic alignment of galaxies in radio lensing analyses. The research described in this proposal will allow my team to establish an international leadership position in both CMB polarisation and radio weak lensing research in advance of a possible CMB polarisation satellite mission and the commissioning of the Square Kilometre Array radio telescope towards the latter part of this decade.

Keywords: early universe,inflation,cosmic microwave background polarisation weak gravitational lensing,polarisation of radio galaxies
Measurement-Based Modeling and Animation of Complex Mechanical Phenomena (ANIMETRICS)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Computer science and informatics
Countries involved: Spain
Call:  (ERC-2011-StG_20101014, 2011)
Start date: 2012-01-01
End date: 2016-12-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1277969.2
EU funding (EUR): 1277969.2
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Computer animation has traditionally been associated with applications in virtual-reality-based training, video games or feature films. However, interactive animation is gaining relevance in a more general scope, as a tool for early-stage analysis, design and planning in many applications in science and engineering. The user can get quick and visual feedback of the results, and then proceed by refining the experiments or designs. Potential applications include nanodesign, e-commerce or tactile telecommunication, but they also reach as far as, e.g., the analysis of ecological, climate, biological or physiological processes. The application of computer animation is extremely limited in comparison to its potential outreach due to a trade-off between accuracy and computational efficiency. Such trade-off is induced by inherent complexity sources such as nonlinear or anisotropic behaviors, heterogeneous properties, or high dynamic ranges of effects. The Animetrics project proposes a modeling and animation methodology, which consists of a multi-scale decomposition of complex processes, the description of the process at each scale through combination of simple local models, and fitting the parameters of those local models using large amounts of data from example effects. The modeling and animation methodology will be explored on specific problems arising in complex mechanical phenomena, including viscoelasticity of solids and thin shells, multi-body contact, granular and liquid flow, and fracture of solids.

Keywords: computer animation,physically based simulation in computer graphics
Design of polymer optical fibre gratings for endoscopic biosensing purposes (PROSPER)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Products and process engineering
Countries involved: Belgium
Call:  (ERC-2011-StG_20101014, 2011)
Start date: 2011-12-01
End date: 2016-11-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1438368.0
EU funding (EUR): 1438368.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

PROSPER is a multidisciplinary project covering the emerging fields of photonics, bio-chemistry and endoscopy, targeting to contribute to the development of a new class of biochemical optical sensors that would significantly improve the healthcare of the future. PROSPER will address this objective through the demonstration of biosensors based on a functionalized polymer optical fibre (POF) in which specially-designed refractive-index gratings have been written. Immobilised biomolecular receptors on the grafted fibre surface will allow label-free recognition through the monitoring of wavelength shifts in the grating spectral response. Such biosensors are predicted to exhibit a surrounding refractive index detection limit of 10-6 in real time, which is classical for biodetection. Although generic and able to work in various areas such as environmental monitoring, food analysis, agriculture or security, the proposed biosensors will be targeted for medical diagnostics where they present the most ground-breaking nature. Indeed, unlike bulk structures, they require reduced reaction volumes for ex-vivo measurements and present the advantageous possibility of assaying several parameters simultaneously (e.g. several cancer-associated antigens in one sample). As a result, statistical analysis of these parameters can potentially increase the reliability and reduce the measurement uncertainty of a diagnostic over single-parameter assays. More importantly, the proposed biosensors have the unique potential to be used in-vivo in an endoscope (for this reason POFs are privileged over silica), which would considerably improve the diagnostic. The ultimate target of PROSPER is thus to demonstrate the feasibility of diagnostics outside of laboratory settings. A final prototype consisting of a packaged polymer biosensor will be validated.

Keywords: biosensors,polymer optical fibres,refractive index gratings,plasmons,endoscopy
Prostate cancer localization by contrast-ultrasound angiogenesis imaging (CU-ANGIO)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Systems and communication engineering
Countries involved: Netherlands
Call:  (ERC-2011-StG_20101014, 2011)
Start date: 2012-06-01
End date: 2018-05-31
Duration (months): 72.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1430955.0
EU funding (EUR): 1430955.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Prostate cancer causes over 1/4 of new cancer cases and 1/10 of cancer deaths in western males. Efficient methods for early treatment are available. Many lives could therefore be saved by early cancer detection, but this is not viable due to the inadequacy of the available noninvasive diagnostics. Systematic biopsy is the only reliable detection technique, but it is hampered by high costs and causes serious discomfort and health risks because of its invasiveness. Moreover, precise cancer localization is not possible, impeding the use of available focal treatments. This research will push the frontiers of prostate cancer diagnostics by a revolutionary method for localization of cancer angiogenesis (microvascular growth). Different from all methods for angiogenesis imaging, invariably based on the assessment of blood perfusion, I aim at quantifying the local dispersion dynamics of an intravascular tracer. Dispersion is the spreading process of the tracer within the vasculature, which I firmly believe to correlate much better than perfusion with microvascular architectures and, therefore, with cancer angiogenesis. The assessment of local dispersion is challenging and will be pursued through an intravenous injection of an ultrasound contrast bolus and novel spatiotemporal analysis of the bolus passage through the prostate circulation, measured by three-dimensional ultrasound imaging. If successful, the proposed method will represent a breakthrough for early noninvasive and accurate prostate cancer localization, precise focal treatment, and treatment follow-up, with strong potential for use for other types of cancers, such as breast cancer. Moreover, this method will facilitate further groundbreaking research in the therapeutic control of angiogenesis in several pathologies. This exciting research builds on my multidisciplinary expertise in ultrasound contrast dilution methods and on consistent and successful collaborations with leading clinical and industrial partners.

Keywords: imaging,contrast enhanced ultrasound,indicator dilution,oncology,angiogenesis,spatiotemporal modeling,parameter estimation
Engineering protein switches: sensors and regulators for biology and diagnostics (SWITCHPROTEINSWITCH)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Materials and Synthesis
Countries involved: Netherlands
Call:  (ERC-2011-StG_20101014, 2011)
Start date: 2012-01-01
End date: 2016-12-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1999883.0
EU funding (EUR): 1999883.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Proteins that switch between distinct conformational states are ideal to monitor and control molecular processes within the complexity of living cells. Inspired by the modular design of natural signaling proteins, we are pursuing a true engineering approach towards the development of protein switches which we call ‘plug-and-play’ protein engineering. In this approach we explore generic strategies to translate molecular recognition in an input protein domain directly into a readable signal generated by an output protein domain. A comprehensive research program is proposed that explores 4 new design concepts for protein switches: 1. FRET 3.0. A generic design concept for genetically encoded fluorescent sensors that does not depend on ligand-induced conformational changes in a receptor domain. 2. FRET-bodies. Integration of FRET sensors and antibody technology. Libraries of FRET sensor proteins displaying CDR3-type loops on the donor and acceptor domains are displayed on yeast, allowing efficient high-throughput screening using FACS. 3. ELISA in solution. An innovative and generic approach to translate antibody binding directly into an enzymatic activation step is proposed that takes advantage of the unique structural properties of antibodies 4. Light-responsive protein switches. Ligand binding proteins will be developed whose affinity can be reversibly controlled by photoresponsive protein domains. An integral aspect of the research program is to combine rational design and directed evolution. Apart from developing generic engineering concepts for specific application areas, modeling tools will be developed that allow quantitative analysis and prediction of conformational stabilities for modular protein switches. The availability of these robust and generally applicable engineering strategies will proof beneficial to many areas of life sciences, providing essential tools for intracellular imaging, synthetic biology, and molecular diagnostics.

Keywords: fret,protein engineering,photoresponsive proteins,directed evolution
Crosstalk of epithelial lymphocytes and microbiota in influencing immunity and metabolism (EPITHELIAL_IMMUNOL)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Immunity and infection
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (ERC-2011-StG_20101109, 2011)
Start date: 2011-11-01
End date: 2016-10-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1499934.0
EU funding (EUR): 1499934.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

This proposal aims to study the interactions between specialised cells of the immune system, the intra-epithelial cells (IELs) which are ideally positioned in close proximity of the epithelial cells, and the intestinal microbiota. It aims to provide insights into how IELs are able to maintain tolerance to beneficial bacteria while enhancing immune responses against undesirable ones. This will be achieved using deep-sequencing techniques of both the intestinal tissues, IEL effector subsets and the microbiota present in the intestinal lumen. It is expected that altered microbial compositions and intestinal barrier integrity will have a substantial influence on a wide range of immune responses. This will be addressed using intestinal infection models as well as tests for changes in susceptibility to auto-immune disorders and allergies. Importantly, since the microbiota make enormous contributions to metabolic processes, this proposal will take a highly integrative and multidisciplinary approach to studying the intestine, its immune system components, the epithelial cells and the microbiota, as a whole organ. This is of importance since many metabolic and immune response pathways are evolutionary conserved, whereby key units controlling metabolic and immune functions share ancestral structures. Genomic (sequencing) analysis will be combined with state-of-the-art mass spectrometry analysis of metabolic products affected by altered immune responses and/or microbial composition. This allows the definition of networks of immune cells and mediators, bacterial species and metabolic changes, to characterise the nature of microbial diversity, the genomic features of its members, and the operating principles that underlie nutrient processing and storage for the host.

Keywords: microbiota,t cells,metabolism
RNAi-mediated genome regulation (RNAIGENREG)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Genetics,Genomics,Bioinformatics and Systems Biology
Countries involved: Switzerland
Call:  (ERC-2011-StG_20101109, 2011)
Start date: 2012-01-01
End date: 2016-12-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1599992.0
EU funding (EUR): 1599992.0
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

RNA interference (RNAi) is a highly conserved, sequence-specific gene regulatory mechanism among eukaryotes. It is critical for a variety of important biological functions and is being pursued as a promising new tool for the treatment of a variety of human maladies. A surprising link between heterochromatin and the RNAi pathway was discovered a few years ago in fission yeast and plants, and similar mechanisms have more recently been described in various eukaryotes. However, to what extent the mechanisms we have been studying in yeast are conserved up to humans remains unknown. The goal of this proposal is to further our understanding of RNAi-mediated heterochromatin assembly by using fission yeast as a model organism, but also to investigate to role of RNAi in the nucleus of human cells. My proposal consists of three major aims. In aim 1 I propose to combine light and electron microscopy to address important and largely unanswered questions such as subcellular localization and temporal regulation of the RNAi pathway. Aim 2 builds on our recent discovery that RNAi factors physically associate with chromatin to control genome activity also outside constitutive heterochromatin. I am proposing experiments in fission yeast that aim at understanding the biological role of this new mode of genome regulation and its mechanistic dissection . However, we will also extend our analysis to human cells which will shed new light on the role of the RNAi pathway in the nucleus of higher eukaryotes. Finally, we are aiming at identifying the features a target locus in the S. pombe genome must have to become susceptible to RNAi-mediated silencing at the level of chromatin. Thus, the outcome of these experiments may substantially influence the developments of siRNA-based therapeutics.

Keywords: correlative light electron microscopy non-coding rna nuclear rnai fission yeast human damid heterochromatin assembly and silencing co-transcriptional gene silencing
European development of Superconducting Tapes: integrating novel materials and architectures into cost effective processes for power applications and magnets. (EUROTAPES)

Framework: FP7 — Cooperation
Programme: Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies, Materials and new Production Technologies - NMP
Destination: Materials
Action type: Collaborative project
Countries involved: Spain,Germany,Italy,Slovakia,Germany,France,Romania,Austria,France,Belgium,United Kingdom,Spain,Belgium,Germany,Germany,Germany,Germany,Germany
Call:  (FP7-NMP-2011-LARGE-5, 2011)
Start date: 2012-09-01
End date: 2017-02-28
Duration (months): 54.0
Total project cost (EUR): 19851709.77
EU funding (EUR): 13499939.0
Participants: 22
Project status: CLOSED

High current coated conductors (CC´s) have high potential for developing electrical power applications and very high field magnets. The key issues for market success are low cost robust processes, high performance and a reliable manufacturing methodology of long length conductors. In recent years EU researchers and companies have made substantial progress towards these goals, based on vacuum (PLD) and chemical deposition (CSD) methods, towards nanostructuring of films. This provides a unique opportunity for Europe to integrate these advances in high performance conductors. The EUROTAPES project will address two broad objectives: 1/ the integration of the latest developments into simple conductor architectures for low and medium cost applications and to deliver +500m tapes. Defining of quality control tools and protocols to enhance the processing throughput and yield to achieve a pre-commercial cost target of 100 €/kAm. 2/ Use of advanced methodologies to enhance performance (larger thickness and Ic, enhanced pinning for high fields, reduction of ac losses, increased mechanical strength). Demonstration of high critical currents (Ic>400A/cm-w, at 77K and self-field and Ic>1000A/cm-w at 5K and 15T) and pinning forces (Fp>100GN/m3 at 60 K). The CSD and PLD technologies will be combined to achieve optimized tape architectures, nanostructures and processes to address a variety of HTS applications at self-field, high and ultrahigh magnetic fields. Up to month 36, 3 types of conductors will be developed (RABiT, ABAD and round wire); at Mid Term 2 will be chosen for demonstration during the final 18 months. The consortium consists of 20 partners from 8 member states – 6 universities (Cambridge, UK; Antwerp, B, U.A. Barcelona, ES, TU Cluj, RO, U. Ghent, BE and TU Wien, A), 5 institutes (CSIC-ICMAB, E, ENEA, I, IEE, SK, Inst. Neel-CNRS, F, and IFW, D), 1 technological center (LEITAT, ES) and 8 industrial companies (Bruker, D, Evico, D, Theva, D, Nexans GmbH, D, Percotech, D, Nexans SA, F, Lafarga Lacambra, ES and Oxolutia, ES).

Keywords: novel superconducting materials,long length coated conductors,functional conductor architectures,nanocomposite superconducting tapes,eco-friendly chemical solutions,high throughput processing
High-frequency ELectro-Magnetic technologies for advanced processing of ceramic matrix composites and graphite expansion (HELM)

Framework: FP7 — Cooperation
Programme: Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies, Materials and new Production Technologies - NMP
Destination: Integration
Action type: Collaborative project
Countries involved: Italy,Switzerland,Spain,United Kingdom,Spain,Germany,Spain,Germany,Germany,France,Russian Federation,Spain,Germany,Italy,Germany
Call:  (FP7-NMP-2011-LARGE-5, 2011)
Start date: 2012-06-01
End date: 2016-05-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 10584254.14
EU funding (EUR): 7151000.0
Participants: 21
Project status: CLOSED

Lightweight ceramics and fibre reinforced ceramic composites, such as non-oxide Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs) and Expanded Graphite (EG), represent very promising solutions for high temperature applications in strategic industrial sectors, such as transport and energy. In fact, these materials are one of topical priorities of the European Technology Platform EuMAT and a strategic issue of the EC Research Roadmap on Materials. Huge market opportunities are expected for CMC and EG provided to overcome the three major identified gaps: high cost, difficulty of processing and materials reliability. New and more efficient manufacturing technologies can pave the way to improve material quality, reduce processing time, converge towards near-net shape fabrication, trim energy spent and abate production costs. HELM will address these challenges by proposing innovative high-frequency electromagnetic, microwaves (MW) and radiofrequencies (RF), heating technologies for integrating and, in the long term, replacing standard thermal processing routes, i.e.: Chemical Vapour Infiltration (CVI), Liquid Silicon Infiltration (LSI), Polymer Impregnation and Pyrolysis (PIP), and Graphite Exfoliation (GE). MW/RF heating owns peculiar features (rapid selective bulk heating, reversed thermal gradients, more homogeneous heat distribution) that will enhance materials performance. It can bring 60% processing time reduction (or even higher), with subsequent trimming of production costs, and cut of energy consumption up to 50-60%. HELM RTD activities involve some of the principal European experts in the field, including research institutes, innovative SMEs, and end-users for industrial validation. A full product assessment, including energy and cost evaluations, will be performed through proper Life Cycle Assessment and thermo-economical analysis. A risk assessment and management plan is included to mitigate innovation related risks and reduce the time to market of the new solutions.

Keywords: microwave,radiofrequency,ceramic matrix composite,expanded graphite,chemical vapour infiltration,liquid silicon infiltration,polymer infiltration and pyrolysis