Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Advanced methods for the removal and monitoring of polar organic contaminants (POLARCLEAN)

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-2010-IEF, 2010)
Start date: 2011-09-01
End date: 2013-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 200549.6
EU funding (EUR): 200549.6
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The aim of the project is to develop advanced methdologies for the decontamination and monitoring of emerging polar contaminants in wastewaters and drinking waters. There are no known technologies for cleaning e.g. endocrine disruptors, molluscicides, acrylamide, which are major problems affecting the quality of drinking water world-wide and can degrade aquatic ecosystems. Methods based on micro- and nano-composite materials and heterogeneous catalysis with superior cleaning properties will be developed and applied to achieve efficient and environmentally friendly remediation technologies. The decontamination strategy will be further developed as a new high throughput analytical tool for monitoring trace amounts of pollutants in water. The project will tailor the structure of micro and nano-size carbon beads; nanotubes and graphene oxides to trap highly polar contaminants from water whose removal is not feasible today; embed the most effective structures in a polymeric matrix; and develop a process to decontaminate the material by means of heterogeneous catalysis where the adsorbent will act as catalyst in the degradation reaction. The carbon-based composites developed for water remediation will be optimised for use in analytical processes. The outputs of the research will contribute to the betterment of ecosystems and human health through the improvement of water treatment technologies, and science with new methodologies to trap, degrade and monitor highly polar contaminants from water. Removal and monitoring highly polar small-size molecules from water is a significant challenge and an urgent need of today.

Keywords: environmental remediation,wastewater,drinking water,estrogens,molluscicides,acrylamide,contaminants,carbon chemistry,analytical chemistry,nanoscience,monitoring tools,preconcentration
Asymmetric Aza-Michael reactions catalyzed by hybrids metal-DNA (AMMDNACAT)

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: Netherlands
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2010-IEF, 2010)
Start date: 2011-07-01
End date: 2013-06-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 185040.8
EU funding (EUR): 185040.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

This project deals with the development of new asymmetric reactions catalyzed by metal-DNA hybrids in aqueous medium. The present proposal has two main features: (i) The first feature lies on the design of novel catalytic systems putting into practice the concept of DNA-based asymmetric catalysis presented in the year 2005 by Ben. L. Feringa and G. Roelfes. This methodology involves the modular assembly of a DNA-based catalyst from natural duplex DNA and a metal complex of a nonchiral ligand that can bind to DNA. In the present proposal, the asymmetric addition of ammonia to α,β-unsaturated substrates in aqueous medium will be studied using as catalysts hybrids Cu(II)-DNA, initially. After the optimization of the reaction conditions, the synthetic applicability of this process on the synthesis of intermediates of natural products and compounds with biological interest will be studied. Furthermore, the mechanistic study of the catalytic reaction will lead to achieve a better knowledge about the role and influence of DNA in this asymmetric process. Subsequently, this information can be applied in the development of new catalytic asymmetric reactions. Thus, the catalytic activity of new metal centres (i.e. scandium(III)) will be explored and applied to the concept of metal-DNA based catalysts in the asymmetric Michael addition in water to broaden further the scope of this transformation. (ii)The second feature of this proposal lies in the fact that all these catalytic processes will be developed in accordance with the principles of Green Chemistry, where the application of catalytic technologies, atom-efficiency and innocuous reaction solvents are main characteristics of the processes presented in these proposal. Finally, this will contribute towards the development of novel friendly environmental transformations.

Keywords: physical sciences,chemistry,asymmetric catalysis,dna,water
Incentives in the Patent System (INCPATSYS)

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: Netherlands
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2010-IEF, 2010)
Start date: 2011-06-01
End date: 2013-05-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 169485.6
EU funding (EUR): 169485.6
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

A key element of innovation policy is the patent system. For the patent system to perform its function of fostering innovation, an adequate process of patent review must be in place. Failure of the patent office and courts to weed out low-quality patents leads ex post to deadweight loss and costly litigation. If anticipated by firms, it may lead ex ante to an inefficient allocation of resources by diverting funds that would otherwise go into R&D towards wasteful rent-seeking activities. Understanding the incentives of the various market actors involved in the process of patent review, and the constraints under which the relevant institutions operate, is essential for designing a better patent system. It is the subject of the present proposal to advance our understanding of these issues. The research project will study how application fees can be used in conjunction with explicit and implicit incentives for examiners and judges to influence the behavior of firms, and how the legal rules used in the determination of patent validity affect these incentives. Ultimately, the results of the research project should therefore contribute to improving the level of innovation in Europe and to a more efficient use of the resources devoted to R&D.

Keywords: industrial economics,economics of innovation and intellectual property rights,principal-agent theory,game theory,patent examination,patent litigation
Understanding the coordination between mitosis and cell polarity in Drosophila (COMITPOL)

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: Portugal
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2010-IEF, 2010)
Start date: 2012-01-01
End date: 2014-01-26
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 152547.2
EU funding (EUR): 152547.2
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Shaping the tissues that make an organism requires a tight control of cell division and mechanisms that spatially distribute signalling cues and adhesive structures within single cells. Although cell division and polarity have been extensively studied, how these processes are coordinated is largely unknown. The primary goal of this project is to understand the link between regulation of mitotic cell division and the organization of polarity at the organism level. First, we will use the Drosophila follicle epithelium to set up an in vivo model to address with high temporal resolution how the evolutionary conserved polarity complexes are remodelled at the cell cortex during mitosis in epithelia. We will then characterize the specific function of distinct types of mitotic proteins (Polo, Aurora A, BubR1 and Ndc80) in the organization of the follicle epithelium polarity and architecture, and in germline stem cell asymmetric division. The study in the follicle epithelium will contribute for the understanding of the mechanisms that coordinate the establishment of a mitotic spindle with changes in cortical polarity. In addition, the comparison between these two contexts with distinct cellular features will elucidate the specific requirements of the different mitotic genes. Misregulation of cell division and loss of epithelial organization are a hallmark of cancer. We will therefore test the interaction between polarity proteins and cell cycle regulators to explore new hypothesis for tumour progression. For this purpose, we will determine the ability to overproliferate, invade and metastasize of tissues where we simultaneously interfered with mitosis and polarity. Thus, this work will have implications for human disease, shedding light on the mechanisms of tumorigenesis.

Keywords: cell biology,developmental biology,mitosis,cell polarity,stem cell,epithelium,tumorigenesis
The origin of fitness: Tracing individual fitness differences to genetic variation in a wild bird population (FITNESSGENES)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: International Outgoing Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Germany
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2010-IOF, 2010)
Start date: 2011-10-06
End date: 2014-10-05
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 228354.0
EU funding (EUR): 228354.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Understanding how genes and the environment affect animal fitness is a central challenge in current evolutionary biology. Therefore, I propose a study to identify genes with strong effects on fitness in a wild bird population. To achieve this, I will make use of the unique opportunity offered by a study species with strong fitness differences between genetically distinct morphs and a recently developed sequencing technique which is the first to make such a study feasible. Restriction site associated DNA (RAD)-tags allow scanning previously unsequenced genomes and are expected to yield several thousand single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the genome of the study species, the Common Buzzard Buteo buteo. This medium-sized raptor occurs in three colour morphs, which have been shown to differ in lifetime reproductive success in a 22-year study. Blood samples and phenotypic measurements have been collected from >1200 chicks over a nine-year period. Morph, reproductive success, survival, and other fitness-related traits such as body condition, fledgling date, and parasite infestation will be tested for association with individual alleles and genetic variability to identify genetic regions in disequilibrium with fitness-relevant genes. To identify candidate genes, marker regions will be searched for known genes, using the chicken genome as a reference. In addition, the genetic basis for a first phenotypic candidate trait, immunity, will be tested. MHC class II genes will be sequenced by using a new approach based on 454 sequencing with carefully controlled accuracy tests. Individual alleles and variability will be tested for correlations with parasite infestation, recruitment and other fitness-related traits. In the course of this study, I will acquire state-of-the-art, highly versatile molecular techniques and be able to improve complementary skills required to lead my own research group.

Keywords: evolutionary biology,fitness,molecular genetics,genomics,animal ecology
Dust Impacts on Glaciated Environments (DIOGENES)

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-2010-IIF, 2010)
Start date: 2012-03-01
End date: 2014-02-28
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 209092.8
EU funding (EUR): 209092.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

This interdisciplinary project addresses impacts of mineral aerosol (dust) on glaciers bringing together two major issues in climate change research: glacier shrinkage and impacts of mineral aerosol on climate system. The project is set in the Caucasus Mountains, Russia and will bring together models and observations of dust deposition and glacier melt using a variety of techniques. The project’s objectives can be grouped into three sets. The first set deals with characterisation of dust deposited on glaciers and its radiative properties. Detailed characterisation of dust including elemental composition and particle size distribution will be provided and sensitivity of glacier melt to dust deposition will be quantified discriminating between dust of different type and provenance (e.g. locally-produced (LPD) and long-travelled (LTD)) and using energy balance melt models. A novel methodology to derive reflectance and quantify the extent and density of dust deposited on glacier surface will be developed using hyperspectral remote sensing. The second set deals with LTD. A record of LTD deposition events will be established using samples collected from the Caucasus glaciers since 2008. The project will make use of samples from the deep ice-core extracted in the study region in 2009. Trends and key meteorological controls over LTD deposition will be quantified and dust provenance will be determined. The third set deals with representation of LTD deposition in HiGAM atmospheric general circulation model and its validation. Model data characterising LTD transportation and deposition in the Caucasus will be retrieved from the 20-year model runs and validated against observations generated by the project helping to improve model performance. The project will bring to the EU new observational data and expertise in glacier change in the region where environmental security depends on glacier runoff and will benefit from the advanced techniques which are unavailable in Russia.

Keywords: glaciers,mineral aerosol (climate change),remote sensing,climate modelling
Tree range dynamics under changing climates: a new modelling framework for reconstructing the past and predicting the future (MOVINGTREES)

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-2010-IEF, 2010)
Start date: 2011-10-01
End date: 2013-09-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 202892.8
EU funding (EUR): 202892.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Climate change is currently considered one of the main threats for biodiversity and ecosystem services. Despite intense research aimed at predicting the impacts of climate change on the distribution and abundance of many species, we are still lacking a comprehensive framework for understanding and predicting species responses to climate changes. In this regard, one of the most promising research lines is the thorough investigation of the ecological and evolutionary consequences of past climate changes. This has often been attempted through examination of the fossil record, or by means of phylogeographical surveys and Species Distribution Models (SDMs). Despite their valuable contributions, all these sources of inference have their own caveats and limitations that preclude further understanding. For instance, accurate migration rates, persistence of rear-edge populations, or location of cryptic refugia are difficult to obtain at large (continental) scales by any of these methods. Here we propose the use of new approaches to model species distributions, based on metapopulation theory and Bayesian dynamic occupancy models, to reconstruct the range dynamics of several European tree species since the LGM, as well as to predict the expected changes in species distributions as a consequence of current climate change. Thus, the fossil record will be integrated with state-of-the-art palaeoclimate simulations to reconstruct species distributions at 1000-year time steps, and for the end of this century. Among other advantages, our integrative modelling approach permits the probabilistic estimation of population persistence and migration rates as well as inferring the location of cryptic refugia, in relation to prevailing climatic conditions. Proper parameterization and validation of the models for the Holocene period will help to ensure their applicability for predicting future changes driven by current climate change.

Keywords: climate change,species distribution,range dynamics,trees,modelling,fossil record,last glacial maximum,holocene,migration,extinction,bayesian,cryptic refugia,biogeography,forest dynamics
Advanced Quantum Measurement and Detection for Superconducting Quantum Circuits (SQUDET)

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-2010-IEF, 2010)
Start date: 2011-08-01
End date: 2013-08-14
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 209592.8
EU funding (EUR): 209592.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Over the last decade, astonishing progress in superconducting technology has lead to unprecedented control of macroscopic quantum effects in electronic circuits and a feasible route towards fully engineerable “on-chip” quantum systems. Recently, one specific area receiving great international interest and attention is the implementation of quantum optics in the microwave regime, eg, circuit quantum electrodynamics, where optical nonlinearities and light-atom couplings are orders of magnitude stronger than the near-visible equivalents. In this fellowship, we will address the limitations of current quantum detection techniques in this burgeoning, interdisciplinary field of circuit quantum optics. For example, single-photon detectors, which are invaluable off-the-shelf components in standard quantum optics, are not yet available at microwave frequencies, where photon energies are much lower (~200mK). We plan to build a single-photon detector using a novel cross-Kerr coupling, and use this system to develop quantum-nondemolition qubit readout, with a view to implementing quantum feedback and control. We will also explore other forms of nonlinearities accessible using similar devices, augmented by appropriately coupled qubits or SQUIDs. To achieve these goals, this interdisciplinary project will combine the candidate’s expertise in quantum optics & quantum information with the host’s extensive background in superconducting quantum devices. The candidate will be trained to carry out all aspects of superconducting circuit experiments, from design to fabrication & operation. Adding this complementary advanced research competence will provide him with the multidisciplinary expertise perfect for the interdisciplinary field of circuit quantum optics, thereby greatly enhancing his potential to contribute to its development. This fellowship will catalyse a significant development in the candidate’s career and enable him to attain a leading independent position in his new field.

Keywords: superconducting quantum devices,quantum optics,quantum information,squids,qubits,cross-kerr nonlinearity,microwave cavity,tunable coupling,quantum control & feedback,nanofabrication,cryostat
Do small things lead to big problems? Mechanism of uptake and toxicity of metal nanoparticles in intestinal cells (NANOTRAFFIC)

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: Switzerland
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2010-IEF, 2010)
Start date: 2012-05-01
End date: 2014-04-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 186528.8
EU funding (EUR): 186528.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The nanotechnology industry offers many benefits to society, however its potential depends upon the knowledge of its impact on public health and the environment. NPs can enter the body bypassing epithelia, accumulating in spleen, gut, liver and brain as shown in fish as environmental species. While the mechanism of uptake and metabolism of NPs is unknown, their size and physical characteristics suggest that they may enter the epithelia through an endocytotic mechanism. The aim of this study is to investigate the toxic mechanism of metal- (Ag and TiO2) NPs. These NPs were selected for their impact on health and environment due to their commercially widespread use. Specific goals will be investigating NPs kinetics (uptake/trafficking/excretion) by the monitoring of NPs intracellular localization through time using polarized intestinal cells thus enabling the evaluation of apical and basolateral uptake and possible bioaccumulation effects. Toxicity of Ag- and TiO2-NPs will be evaluated by monitoring the incorporation and trafficking of vesicles containing NPs through time using state of the art electron microscopy. In parallel, biochemical and molecular cellular responses will be measured including specific effect on Cu homeostasis. Thus, Cu-ATPase function will be tested by monitoring its trafficking behaviour. In addition, Cu intracellular availability will be measured using molecular markers of Cu availability. The mechanistic knowledge generated in this project is envisioned to support human and environmental risk assessment with regard to metal ion and metal NP exposure. Moreover, the proposed development of the polarized cell line models based on the Caco2 (human) and RTgutGC (fish) cell lines for evaluating mechanism of NP interactions will not only be of great importance from a biological point of view (apical/basolateral uptake) but will also contribute to the efforts to establish animal-free, in vitro alternatives in environmental risk assessment.

Keywords: health sciences,neurosciences,biological sciences,environmental science,copper,ctr1,atp7a,atp7b,dmt1,fish,trout,rtgutgc,caco2,next generation sequencing