Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Quantitative Investigation of Interspecies Differences in Developmental Tempo (ALLOCHRONY)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Cellular, Developmental and Regenerative Biology
Panel description: Structure and function of the cell, cell-cell communication, embryogenesis, tissue differentiation, organogenesis, growth, development, evolution of development, organoids, stem cells, regeneration, therapeutic approaches
Countries involved: Germany,Germany
Call: ERC CONSOLIDATOR GRANTS (ERC-2020-COG, 2020)
Start date: 2021-05-01
End date: 2026-04-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1987447.0
EU funding (EUR): 1043400.0
Participants: 2
Project status: SIGNED

While the mechanisms of embryonic development are well conserved, the progression speed differs among animal species. The molecular cause of ‘allochrony’, interspecies differences in developmental tempo, remains unclear due to lack of an appropriate experimental model. In vitro differentiation of pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) offers unique opportunities to compare the same cell type among diverse species in a similar condition. We have previously recapitulated the oscillatory gene expression of the segmentation clock with PSCs, demonstrating ~2 hour and ~5 hour oscillation periods in murine and human induced presomitic mesoderm (PSM) cells, respectively. We have further found that the period difference stems from differential biochemical reaction speeds of HES7, a core segmentation clock gene, between the species: human PSM cells show slower degradation rates of HES7 and longer delays in its production processes than mouse cells. Here we aim to investigate the deeper origin of developmental allochrony, the molecular mechanism by which human cells exhibit slower biochemical reactions. We will systematically and quantitatively measure the degradation rates and delays to reveal commonalities of the genes that show differential reaction speeds between murine and human cells (Aim 1). In parallel, we will test two working hypotheses that nuclear/cytoplasmic transport rates or metabolic rates might be lower in human cells, which should lead to slower biochemical reactions (Aim 2). The other objective is to test the universality of the mechanism of allochrony. We will create gastruloids, organoids mimicking early embryogenesis, from PSCs of diverse mammalian species to investigate what cell types, in addition to PSM cells, and what species exhibit the differential biochemical reaction speeds (Aim 3). This study will tackle a fundamental question in biology by using quantitative, cutting-edge technologies, ultimately enabling manipulation of developmental time.

Keywords: interspecies difference,developmental tempo
Molecular mechanisms, evolutionary impacts and applications of prokaryotic epigenetic-targeted immune systems (EPICut)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Advanced grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions
Panel description: Molecular biology, biochemistry, structural biology, molecular biophysics, synthetic and chemical biology, drug design, innovative methods and modelling
Countries involved: United Kingdom,United Kingdom
Call: ERC Advanced Grant (ERC-2017-ADG, 2017)
Start date: 2018-08-01
End date: 2024-07-31
Duration (months): 72.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2196413.75
EU funding (EUR): 1758623.75
Participants: 2
Project status: SIGNED

Interactions between bacteria and their viruses (bacteriophages) have led to the evolution of a wide range of bacterial mechanisms to resist viral infection. The exploitation of such systems has produced true revolutions in biotechnology; firstly, the restriction-modification (RM) enzymes for genetic engineering, and secondly, CRISPR-Cas9 for gene editing. This project aims to unravel the mechanisms and consequences of prokaryotic immune systems that target covalently-modified DNA, such as base methylation, hydroxymethylation and glucosylation. Very little is known about these Type IV restriction enzymes at a mechanistic level, or about their importance to the coevolution of prokaryotic-phage communities. I propose a unique interdisciplinary approach that combines biophysical and single-molecule analysis of enzyme function, nucleoprotein structure determination, prokaryotic evolutionary ecology, and epigenome sequencing, to link the molecular mechanisms of prokaryotic defence to individual, population and community-level phenotypes. This knowledge is vital to a full understanding of how bacterial immunity influences horizontal gene transfer, including the spread of virulence or antimicrobial resistance. In addition, a deeper analysis of enzyme function will support our reengineering of these systems to produce improved restriction enzyme tools for the mapping of eukaryotic epigenetics markers.
Meaningful Mobility: a novel approach to movement within and between places in later life (MeaningfulMobility)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: The Social World and Its Diversity
Panel description: Sociology, social psychology, social anthropology, education sciences, communication studies
Countries involved: Netherlands
Call: ERC Starting Grant (ERC-2018-STG, 2018)
Start date: 2019-04-01
End date: 2024-03-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1499225.0
EU funding (EUR): 1499225.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Mobility or physical movement contributes to health and well-being in later life and is a key issue in gerontological research. Most studies have focused on the contribution of outdoor mobility to active ageing, but physical and cognitive impairments restrict the mobility of many older adults. MeaningfulMobility will take a more comprehensive approach than previous research. It will be the first to connect the capability approach to mobility research to study diversity in movement within and between places by healthy and impaired older adults. MeaningfulMobility aims to develop and employ an integrative approach to explain mobility practices in later life in relation to well-being. The research objectives are: 1. To compare objectively measured mobility patterns of older adults within and between places, and between impaired and healthy older adults in three socio-cultural contexts; 2. To conduct an in-depth study of the subjective mobility experiences within and between places of impaired and healthy older adults, in three socio-cultural contexts; 3. To use these insights to connect mobility research with the capability approach to gain comprehensive understanding of the diversity in mobility practices in later life in relation to well-being. An in-depth comparative study will be carried out of three categories of older adults: healthy older adults; older adults with early stage Alzheimer’s; and older stroke survivors in three socio-cultural contexts of the Netherlands, the UK and India. The study will apply an innovative convergent mixed-methods design to measure objective mobility patterns and subjective mobility experiences. Data will be subject to geographic, regression, and thematic analysis, and the findings integrated using advanced grounded visualisation methods. This study has the potential to transform gerontological mobility research and to provide policy inputs on the mobility, well-being and health of our ageing population.

Keywords: health geography
Quantifying electron-electron forces at the atomic scale (DeQ)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Condensed matter physics
Panel description: Structure, electronic properties, fluids, nanosciences, biological physics
Countries involved: Netherlands
Call: ERC STARTING GRANTS (ERC-2020-STG, 2020)
Start date: 2021-01-01
End date: 2027-03-31
Duration (months): 75.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1912095.0
EU funding (EUR): 1912095.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Quantum phases of matter in novel 2D materials host fascinating correlated electron properties, such as unconventional superconductivity, novel insulating phases and exotic magnetic order. These phenomena are a hotbed of new forms of energy-efficient technologies, which require fundamental understanding and exploration of these material classes. Since the beginning, scientists have been struggling with the puzzling lack of consistent predictability of such materials, leading predominantly to serendipitous discoveries. The key ingredient driving these exotic quantum phases are electron-electron interactions, so-called correlations. These correlations between the electrons play a prominent role in their movement, and often result into atomic-scale charge and spin order, and are amplified in 2D materials compared to their 3D counterparts. Owing to the 2D nature, a new state-of-the-art methodology is needed to elucidate the electronic and magnetic properties in correlated 2D quantum materials. DeQ investigates the role of electron correlations and their interplay with structural and spin degrees of freedom at the single-atom level in insulating quantum phases of novel 2D materials. To accomplish this aim, my innovative strategy is to quantify atomic-scale charge and spin order at transitions between different quantum phases in three classes of hallmark 2D materials: twisted bilayers, correlated quasi-2D compounds, and 2D magnetic materials. My novel approach is based on creating a new state of the art in atomic imaging and spectroscopy, the JAQ setup. The development of JAQ will enable us to precisely tune relevant parameters, like electric and magnetic fields, in the highest-quality materials available. The outcome of DeQ will be groundbreaking for predicting electron correlations in novel quantum phases in 2D materials, which that are a hotbed of innovative forms of energy-efficient technologies.

Keywords: correlated quantum phases,atomic scale magnetism,2d materials,scanning tunneling microscopy,magnetic exchange force microscopy
Data-based analysis for SAFETY and security protection FOR detection, prevention, mitigation and response in trans-modal metro and RAILway networkS (SAFETY4RAILS)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Societal Challenges
Programme: Secure societies - protecting freedom and security of Europe and its citizens
Theme: Protect and improve the resilience of critical infrastructures, supply chains and tranport modes
Action type: Innovation actions
Countries involved: Spain,Spain,Spain,Italy,Italy,Israel,Spain,Italy,Spain,Germany,Finland,Türkiye,Greece,Sweden,Greece,Switzerland,Switzerland,Türkiye,Belgium,Greece,Hungary,France,Netherlands,United Kingdom,United Kingdom
Call: Prevention, detection, response and mitigation of combined physical and cyber threats to critical infrastructure in Europe (H2020-SU-INFRA-2019, 2019)
Start date: 2020-10-01
End date: 2022-09-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 9629807.7
EU funding (EUR): 7697691.39
Participants: 34
Project status: SIGNED

Railways and Metros are safe, efficient, reliable and environmentally friendly mass carriers, and they are becoming even more important means of transportation given the need to address climate change. However, being such critical infrastructures turns metro and railway operators as well as related intermodal transport operators into attractive targets for cyber and/or physical attacks. The SAFETY4RAILS project delivers methods and systems to increase the safety and recovery of track-based inter-city railway and intra-city metro transportation. It addresses both cyber-only attacks (such as impact from WannaCry infections), physical-only attacks (such as the Madrid commuter trains bombing in 2014) and combined cyber-physical attacks, which are important emerging scenarios given increasing IoT infrastructure integration. SAFETY4RAILS concentrates on rush hour rail transport scenarios where many passengers are using metros and railways to commute to work or attend mass events (e.g. large multi-venue sporting events such as the Olympics). When an incident occurs during heavy usage, metro and railway operators must consider many aspects to ensure passenger safety and security, e.g. carry out a threat analysis, maintain situation awareness, establish crisis communication and response, and they have to ensure that mitigation steps are taken and communicated to travellers and other users. SAFETY4RAILS will improve the handling of such events through a holistic approach. It will analyse the cyber-physical resilience of metro and railway systems and deliver mitigation strategies for an efficient response, and, in order to remain secure given ever-changing novel emerging risks, it will facilitate continuous adaptation of the SAFETY4RAILS solution; this will be validated by two rail transport operators and the results will support the re-design of the final prototype.

Keywords: detection of anomalies,forecasting,innovative mitigation strategies,what if cases,combined cyber physical,end user focused,trans modal metro and railway,safety4rails information system s4ris
PRIvacy and Security MAintaining services in the CLOUD (PRISMACLOUD)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Industrial Leadership
Programme: Information and Communication Technologies
Action type: Research and Innovation actions
Countries involved: Austria,Germany,Germany,Spain,Spain,Italy,Italy,Israel,Germany,Austria,Switzerland,Sweden,France,United Kingdom
Call: Cybersecurity, Trustworthy ICT (H2020-ICT-2014-1, 2014)
Start date: 2015-02-01
End date: 2018-07-31
Duration (months): 42.0
Total project cost (EUR): 8381952.5
EU funding (EUR): 7983008.75
Participants: 17
Project status: CLOSED

With a current volume of over USD 100 billion and annual growth rates of over 10%, the world-wide market for cloud computing can be considered as the major growth area in ICT. However, big companies and public authorities are reluctant to entrust their most sensitive data to external parties for storage and processing. The reason for their hesitation is clear: There exist no satisfactory approaches to adequately protect the data during its lifetime in the cloud. PRISMACLOUD addresses these challenges and yields a portfolio of novel security enabled cloud services, guaranteeing the required security for sensitive data in the cloud. Techniques for outsourcing computation with verifiable correctness and authenticity-preservation allow to securely delegate computations to cloud providers. A distributed multi-cloud data storage architecture shares data among several cloud providers and improves security and availability. Dynamically updating shares by means of novel techniques avoids vendor lock-in, preserves data authenticity, facilitates long term privacy and promotes a dynamic cloud provider market. Claims about the secure connection and configuration of the virtualized cloud infrastructures and properties of cloud topologies are verifiable by means of cryptographic techniques. User privacy issues are addressed by data minimization and anonymization technologies due to the application of privacy-preserving cryptographic techniques. As feasibility proof, three use cases from the fields of SmartCity, e-Government, and e-Health, will be implemented and evaluated by the project participants. The PRISMACLOUD work program is complemented with activities addressing secure user interfaces, secure service composition, secure implementation in software and hardware, security certification, and an impact analysis from an end-user view. In order to converge with the European Cloud Computing Strategy, a strategy for the dissemination of results into standards is developed.

Keywords: cloud security,user privacy,cloud cryptography
Photosynthesis in PHYTOplankton Mixtures to Investigate Community Structuration. (PhotoPHYTOMICS)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution
Panel description: Ecology, biodiversity, environmental change, evolutionary biology, behavioural ecology, microbial ecology, marine biology, ecophysiology, theoretical developments and modelling
Countries involved: France
Call: ERC Starting Grant (ERC-2016-STG, 2016)
Start date: 2017-01-01
End date: 2022-12-31
Duration (months): 72.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1424813.0
EU funding (EUR): 1424813.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Phytoplankton is not only at the basis of the marine food chain but also an important buffer of climate changes, given that marine photosynthesis is responsible of 50% of the CO2 fixation on Earth. Despite their central roles in the Ocean, our understanding of the forces that shape the dynamics and structuration of phytoplankton communities is still limited by major methodological constraints in the marine environment. Prominent among them is the difficulty to simultaneously measure physiological responses from each microalga species within mixtures, which prevail in the Ocean. I recently developed an innovative approach based on a physical phenomenon, the Electro-Chromic Shift (ECS) of the photosynthetic pigments, to extract the photosynthetic responses of each species within an assembly. Photosynthesis is an ideal probe, i.e., a gateway to investigate both biotic interactions and abiotic stresses which are major determinants of the structuration of the phytoplankton community, because it is the prime target of those external factors. In this project, I propose to use this method to analyze the effects of three major parameters that contribute to shaping the ecological patterns at sea: differential capacities to harvest nutrients (leading to competition for nutrients); direct inhibition of the metabolism of competitors through the use of secondary metabolites (allelopathy), and, in addition to these biotic interactions, the responses of phytoplankton species to the rapid and intense light changes to which they are subjected. These studies will be conducted both in laboratory conditions and in the field for validation, so that the overall project will ultimately constitute a major breakthrough: it will provide a new tool allowing the study in situ and in real time of the cellular mechanisms giving rise to the ecological patterns observed in the Ocean.

Keywords: photosynthesis,phytoplankton
Solutions for improving Agroecosystem and Crop Efficiency for water and nutrient use (SolACE)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Societal Challenges
Programme: Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine and maritime and inland water research and the bioeconomy
Theme: Sustainable agriculture and forestry
Action type: Research and Innovation actions
Countries involved: Germany,Spain,Germany,Austria,Italy,Italy,Türkiye,Belgium,Sweden,Belgium,Switzerland,Switzerland,Belgium,Hungary,France,France,Netherlands,Denmark,United Kingdom,Portugal,United Kingdom,United Kingdom
Call: Solutions to multiple and combined stresses in crop production (H2020-SFS-2016-2, 2016)
Start date: 2017-05-01
End date: 2022-09-30
Duration (months): 65.0
Total project cost (EUR): 7192262.36
EU funding (EUR): 6000000.0
Participants: 26
Project status: CLOSED

SolACE's overarching goal is to help European agriculture facing the challenge to deal with more frequent combined limitations of water and nutrients in the coming decades, through the design of novel crop genotypes and agroecosystem management innovations to improve water and nutrient (i.e. N and P) use efficiency. To achieve this goal, SolACE will focus its activities on three major European crops - potato, bread and durum wheat - and will identify the (i) optimum combinations of above- and below-ground traits for improving resource use efficiency, (ii) best-performing genotypes under combined water and N or P stresses and (iii) novel practices that make better use of plant-plant and plant-microbe interactions to access water, N and P resources in conventional, organic and conservation agriculture. SolACE will implement a double interactive innovation loop, based on agroecosystem management and breeding strategies, and will imply the engagement of diverse end-users, across the production chain, from farmers and farm advisors to NGOs, SMEs and larger industries in the agri-business sector, through the SolACE consortium and a range of stakeholders' events. The tested innovations will include crop genotype mixtures, legume-based crop rotations and cover crops, microbial inoculants, as well as improved decision support systems and hybrids or products from genomic selection and participatory evolutionary breeding schemes. SolACE will implement complementary approaches, from data mining, modelling, phenotyping in high throughput platforms and field conditions, to experiments in research stations and farmers' networks in contrasted pedo-climatic zones. Through the co-design and co-assessment with the end-users of the selected novel breeding and management strategies to increase the overall system resource use efficiency, the findings of SolACE will be deemed acceptable and readily available for dissemination to a broad spectrum of stakeholders, including policy-makers.

Keywords: below ground trait,crop simulation model,genomic selection,genotype,hybrid,microbiome,nitrogen,nutrient,participatory research,phosphorus,rhizosphere,root,use efficiency,water
Aerospace Composite Components - Ultrasonic Robot Assisted Testing (ACCURATE) (ACCURATE)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Societal Challenges
Programme: Smart, green and integrated transport
Theme: Public-private partnerships
Destination: Clean Sky 2
Action type: Innovation actions
Partnership: CS2 (Art-187)
Countries involved: Austria,Germany,United Kingdom,United Kingdom
Call: Development of prototype system based on Laser UT technology for high speed contactless no-couplant inspection of hybrid and thick composite structures (H2020-CS2-CFP04-2016-02, 2016)
Start date: 2017-06-01
End date: 2022-01-31
Duration (months): 56.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2456806.88
EU funding (EUR): 2104243.5
Participants: 4
Project status: CLOSED

The overall goal of this project is to obtain the optimum technology for the non-destructive inspection of both present and future generation hybrid aircraft and thick composite structures, containing acoustic damping materials and materials which highly attenuate highly ultrasound, with high speed 100% volume coverage. The advanced prototype system will be validated via deployment to inspect a long barrel demonstrator component panel, which is to be developed in the Clean Sky 2 Programme using hybrid materials technology. The technical approach is to use non-contact laser generated pulsed ultrasound (LUT) with delivery of both the laser ultrasound excitation and detection pulses through flexible optical fibres scanned with a 6 axis lightweight robot arm to provide an area coverage (scan window) substantially exceeding of 1.5m x 1.5m from a single location of the robot base. LUT Signal processing algorithms will be used for (i) the reduction of coherent noise from fibres and (ii) Random signal to noise ratio enhancement using LUT synthetic aperture focusing. The robot arm will move on a rail track that runs the length of one side of the barrel demonstrator panel which will be positioned and fixed within the system cell. The robot arm will raster the laser head system over the part surface, and move in increments along the track to inspect the whole component, at speeds of>8m2 per hour. It is envisioned that the part will be scanned in less than 4 scan windows.

Keywords: aerospace,non destructive inspection,laser generated pulsed ultrasound,composite