Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
BILISTICK: A low cost point-of-care for early diagnosis of hyperbilirubinemia in newborns (BILISTICK)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Societal Challenges
Programme: Health, demographic change and wellbeing
Theme: Treating and managing disease
Action type: SME instrument
Countries involved: Italy
Call: Clinical research for the validation of biomarkers and/or diagnostic medical devices (H2020-SMEINST-1-2015, 2015)
Start date: 2016-02-01
End date: 2016-07-31
Duration (months): 6.0
Total project cost (EUR): 71429.0
EU funding (EUR): 50000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The objective of the overall project is to lead to the international market “Bilistick”, an innovative low-cost Point-of-Care for early diagnosis of hyperbilirubinemia. The system aims to prevent, through early diagnosis, the permanent neurological damage that severe hyperbilirubinemia can cause in newborns.Every year in European Union there are about 3 thousands cases of kernicterus (worst consequence of hyperbilirubinemia) determining consequent huge costs for National Healthcare Systems. Kernicterus is a largely preventable disease if severe hyperbilirubinemia is identified early and promptly treated. For this reason AAP Guidelines (adopted by EU) recommend universal bilirubin screening and individualized post-discharge follow-up care based on results of such screening. However existing solutions are expensive, not portable or not enough accurate. Bilistick is the only in vitro rapid diagnostic device for measuring the level of bilirubin in the blood of newborns. It is low cost, minimally invasive, portable, giving rapid response, accurate and applicable in all newborns. It is the result of experience acquired during years of academic and professional research carried out by the entrepreneurial team of Bilimetrix s.r.l.. Bilimetrix s.r.l. is a spin-off of the University of Trieste, established as a research and development company. Its core business is development of medical devices based on advanced technologies oriented on liver, kidney and heart dis-functions. All solution are mainly based on new biomarkers. The purpose of the feasibility study is a comprehensive examination of all aspects of feasibility of the project, from the technical to the economical viewpoint, converging in a detailed business plan for application in Phase 2. Emphasis will be put on market analysis (nature of the market, type of users, competitors in the market, pricing systems, methods of distribution and marketing) and then on examination of the market acceptance towards Bilistick

Keywords: point of care,hyperbilirubinemia,kernicterus,low cost device
Applying voltage-imaging techniques to visualise the effect of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) on cortical layer V pyramidal cells and its adaptation during tolerance development (LSD-CortLVPC)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Individual Fellowships (IF)-Standard European Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Life Sciences
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF-EF) (H2020-MSCA-IF-2015, 2015)
Start date: 2016-06-01
End date: 2018-05-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 183454.8
EU funding (EUR): 183454.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Serotonergic hallucinogens (sHG), such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), rank among the most controversially discussed agents of modern neuropsychopharmacology. They are popular drugs of abuse, scientifically are used to study the pathophysiology of psychosis, can pose a threat to health, but most recently also re-gained attention as promotors of psychotherapy. The controversy at hand remains unresolved by modern science and politics, and the European Research Area is faced with the imminent challenge to come up with a strong and competitive scientific basis that is able to elucidate how these drugs work and how their working potentially translates into benefit and/or detriment to European health and society. The psychoactive effects of sHG are mediated by activation of serotonin 2A (5-HT2A) receptors within the cortex of the brain. In vivo, sHG disconnect cortical networks, desynchronise alpha oscillations and inhibit the metabolism of the cortex. In vitro, sHG primarily enhance the excitability of cortical layer V pyramidal cells (LVPCs), which is accounted for by 5-HT2A-glutamate interaction. The in vivo effects of sHG often are interpreted with regard to their in vitro effects. As there are virtually no LVPC specific investigations in living animals, however, the in vivo relevance of the postulated 5-HT2A-LVPC-glutamate triangle is highly speculative. Our project brings together Prof. Thomas Knöpfel, who has been pioneering optogenetic electrophysiology, and the 5-HT2A-hallucinogen expertise of Dipl. Psych. Tobias Buchborn. It applies advanced techniques of voltage imaging (with the voltage-sensitive fluorescent protein Butterfly 1.2 genetically targeted to LVPCs), combines them with selective neuropharmacological challenges and 5-HT2A specific ethological observations, and reveals within the brain of waking mice whether it is indeed LVPCs and their submissiveness to 5-HT2A-glutamate interaction that represent the point pivot of the cortical action of LSD.

Keywords: serotonergic hallucinogens,cortex,layer v pyramidal cells,tolerance,5 ht2a receptor,shaking behaviour,glutamate,voltage imaging
Development of high-speed microscopes to study wide-scale neural activity (WideBrainImaging)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Individual Fellowships (IF)-Standard European Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Life Sciences
Countries involved: Austria
Call: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF-EF) (H2020-MSCA-IF-2015, 2015)
Start date: 2016-03-01
End date: 2018-02-28
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 178156.8
EU funding (EUR): 178156.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The dynamic of neural computation is often studied in individual cells using inserted electrodes, or using low-resolution methods such as EEG. Functional fluorescent imaging has recently emerged as a powerful complementary tool that allows single-cell resolution of relatively large networks, opening a new regime to neuroscience. However, complex brains are generally opaque and can only be studied with scanning two-photon microscopes; with the achievable depth limited to ~0.6mm, and the volume limited by the relatively slow scan. This project will develop ultrafast scanning multiphoton microscopes to image neural activity at cellular resolution over large volumes, and at greater depth. Using these we will study patterns of activity in the hippocampus, and particularly attempt to observe the pathways involved in memory retention. To increase speed we will use temporal focusing to controllably sculpt the excitation volume and enlarge the focal spot. This reduces the number of measured pixels and allows faster scanning (or larger volume), at the cost of resolution. This will allow 25x faster imaging in a resonant scanning two-photon microscope; allowing observation of many thousands of cells at once, which could reveal the wide-scale characteristic activity. We will build a second microscope that uses three-photon excitation with temporal focusing. Three-photon imaging relies on longer wavelengths that penetrate deeper into tissue, and also suppresses background fluorescence which could otherwise limit depth. Consequently, this microscope will allow high-speed imaging at depth exceeding 1mm. This allows study of information transfer across multiple layers; or provides access to the hippocampus through the intact cortex. These studies could provide crucial insights to neuroscience that are currently accessible only for a few neurons. Following completion of this project these microscopes could have an enduring impact as they continue to be used to study neural dynamics.

Keywords: functional fluorescent imaging,scanning laser microscope,multiphoton fluorescence
HEAR-ECO Innovative Hearing Aid Research - Ecological Conditions and Outcome Measures (HEAR-ECO)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Innovative Training Networks (ITN)-European Industrial Doctorates
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Life Sciences
Countries involved: Netherlands,United Kingdom,United Kingdom,Denmark
Call: Innovative Training Networks (H2020-MSCA-ITN-2017, 2017)
Start date: 2017-12-01
End date: 2021-11-30
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1640031.26
EU funding (EUR): 1637488.08
Participants: 4
Project status: CLOSED

In today’s ageing European population, hearing impairment is an increasing concern for public health and societal participation. The percentage of hearing-impaired people will rise from around 16% of the adult EU population now to around 40% in 2030. Hearing aid (HA) fitting is the most widely prescribed solution for hearing impairment. However, only around 30%-40% of adults with hearing impairment use HAs in daily life. One of the reasons for this is that methods used to develop and evaluate HAs are still not based on conditions in which HAs are actually used. Thus the potential of improved HA technology to meet the needs of individual users in their daily lives is acutely under-exploited. The science in HEAR-ECO will help to facilitate the paradigm shift which is needed to bridge the gap. Such a paradigm shift requires a new generation of hearing scientists that are able to integrate conventional Audiology with Motivational and Social psychology (motivation to listen, cognition), Psychophysiology (pupillometry, PEP, EEG), and HA technology. HEAR-ECO will train six ESRs capable of spanning these disciplines and translating their knowledge into innovative technological HA evaluation and development. The six ESRs will be trained through local training at academic partners in The Netherlands and the UK and secondment to one of the largest hearing aid manufacturers in the world in Denmark – and through network wide training, including an associated partner in Liverpool. The ESRs will be capable of developing and combining new tools and outcome measures for realistic everyday communication and translating this to innovative technological HA evaluation and development.

Keywords: hearing aids,pupillometry,listening effort,ecologically valid methods
What is the role of the axonal connections between the hemispheres in sensory processing? (CALLAX)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Individual Fellowships (IF)-Standard European Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Life Sciences
Countries involved: Norway
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2017, 2017)
Start date: 2018-03-01
End date: 2020-02-29
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 208400.4
EU funding (EUR): 208400.4
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Why does our brain have two hemispheres and what is the role of connections between them? While it is well known that in humans, each hemisphere has functional specializations, we have little mechanistic understanding of how circuits communicate across the corpus callosum that connects the hemispheres. Moreover, the role of these callosal axons, and the information they convey is highly debated. There are two main hypotheses: One suggests that callosal axons have mainly an inhibitory action in the other hemisphere, while the other suggests that the effect is excitatory. Importantly, this century-old debate among cognitive psychologists and neuroscientists remains to be tested. Here I hypothesize that these views are most likely too simplified. Instead, I propose that the actions of these axons are rather complex, causing sequences of excitation and inhibition. Moreover, I propose that it may be more relevant to study what information is conveyed by the callosal axons. To test this, I will use two-photon microscopy and calcium indicators to study the effects of callosal input on the somatosensory cortex of mice that are trained to perform a tactile discrimination task. The combination of state-of-the-art microscopy, novel viral methods and mouse behavior makes this project very timely. I will monitor the activity of thousands of neurons in a specialized part of the rodent somatosensory cortex, called the barrel cortex, while head-fixed mice perform a whisker-dependent object localization task under the microscope. This high spatial resolution technique also allows monitoring directly the activity of callosal axons. Finally, I will use optogenetics to inhibit callosal input specifically and measure how this influences cortical circuits and behavior. My findings will provide for the first time a mechanistic understanding of the role of the connections between our hemispheres and provide a framework for understanding diseases that affect the corpus callosum.

Keywords: corpus callosum,interhemispheric,in vivo calcium imaging,barrel cortex,optogenetics
Tracking children in their best interests: electronic monitoring in three European juvenile justice systems (TCBI)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Individual Fellowships (IF)-Standard European Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Social Sciences and Humanities
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2017, 2017)
Start date: 2018-07-01
End date: 2020-06-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 183454.8
EU funding (EUR): 183454.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The implementation of alternatives to deprivation of liberty throughout the juvenile justice procedure has been on the agenda of international children’s rights for about 28 years. The urgent need for alternatives is based on the requirement of the UN Convention on the Rights of Child to use measures that deprive children’s liberty as last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time. Accordingly, states have to develop suitable alternatives to detaining children for justice purposes. One of the currently popular alternative measures is surveillance of juvenile offenders by using electronic monitoring (EM) devices. EM ensures control through GPS or radio frequency technology, allowing juveniles to remain in or return to the community and maintain their ties with their families and peers. Although these measures seem to be popular among policy makers because of the high level of control, concerns are also raised about their harmful effects, which may be significant in childhood. This research investigates how the application of EM suits the requirements set out by international documents on children’s rights and how national or international policies may be improved towards a better compliance with children’s best interests. The research will be implemented in England and Wales, Hungary and The Netherlands, using a variety of qualitative (interviews, focus groups) and quantitative (survey) methods to investigate the research questions. The project will generate unique knowledge on multiple aspects of using EM measures in juvenile justice, which will, for the first time, develop understanding at a European level about EM from the perspective of children. It will demonstrate a unique, children’s rights approach and involve different actors of the system, juvenile offenders and children, who will be approached via a number of channels. During the research, special attention will be paid to provide child-friendly and age-sensitive information where necessary.

Keywords: children s rights,juvenile justice,alternative measures,electronic monitoring,surveillance
Protection and Exports (PROTEXPO)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Individual Fellowships (IF)-Standard European Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Economic Sciences
Countries involved: Italy
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2017, 2017)
Start date: 2018-05-01
End date: 2020-12-29
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 180277.2
EU funding (EUR): 180277.2
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Temporary trade barriers, which include anti-dumping, countervailing duties, and safeguards, are the heart of EU trade policies. While recent literature centers on the issue of the effectiveness of such trade instruments in protecting EU firms and jobs, less attention has been given to their effects on the targeted foreign firms. This is an important omission since temporary trade barriers can affect protecting firms directly but also indirectly, through their effects on targeted firms. Trade restrictions can reduce the volume of the targeted firms' exports to the EU but also they can alter the composition and the quality of their products' portfolio, affecting the extent of market competition for the EU firms. In a world with increasing integrated global supply chains, temporary trade barriers that aim to protect EU firms may indeed bring a negative impact on them. Despite the importance of temporary trade barriers, the ways these trade restrictions shape the targeted firms’ export performance remains poorly understood. The objective of this project is therefore to examine how targeted Chinese firms have restructured their export activities across products and markets in response to the EU temporary trade barriers. To this aim, the work explores three related lines of research: (i) the effect of temporary trade protections on intra-firm adjustment processes, (ii) their influence on firms' product quality; (iii) the relationship between firms' vertical production and trade protection policies. The analysis of how targeted firms respond to such trade restrictions are relevant for policy, in particular in the light of the current heated discussion on whether EU should grant China market economy status. A better understanding of the interconnections between targeted firms’ export adjustments and temporary trade protections is crucial for designing appropriate policy interventions.

Keywords: multi product firms,temporary trade barriers,product portfolio,product quality,global value chain
(Photo-)Control of Persisters: Targeting the Magic Spot (PP-MAGIC)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Physical and analytical chemical sciences
Panel description: Analytical chemistry, chemical theory, physical chemistry/chemical physics
Countries involved: Germany
Call: ERC Consolidator Grant (ERC-2019-COG, 2019)
Start date: 2020-03-01
End date: 2025-02-28
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2000000.0
EU funding (EUR): 2000000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

The abusive use of antibiotics has led to multidrug-resistant bacteria and the acute threat of a post-antibiotic era. However, apart from resisters, there is a subgroup of bacteria called persisters that surviveby recalcitrance to antibiotic treatment. Persisters are not resistant to antibiotics but simply survive by metabolic shutdown. Upon withdrawal of antibiotics, these persisters resuscitate and regenerate the colony. They are heavily involved in failure of antibiotic treatment and the development of chronic infections. Bacterial persistence is controlled by the stringent response, which itself is mediated by hyperphosphorylated nucleotides, known as the magic spot (MS) nucleotides or (p)ppGpp. The importance of the stringent response, its omnipresence in the domain of bacteria, its connection to persister formation and tolerance to (antibiotic) stress, and its absence in mammals has led to significant research in microbiology. However, until recently these activities have not been paralleled by the development of chemical biology approaches. The current proposal aims to fill this gap by research into (1) synthetic methodology targeting the magic spot nucleotides and their analogs, (2) tools to identify target proteins of (p)ppGpp, and more generally (p)ppNpp (3) analytical approaches to extract, resolve, and quantify (p)ppGpp, (4) strategies to control the stringent response and persister formation with light (5) inhibitors of the stringent response. These new tools will enable a detailed understanding of the stringent response and thus ultimately help in the design of new antibiotics effective against persisters. The goal is to develop methods to force bacteria into the persistent state or inversely wake them up by using light and small molecules. Forcing bacteria out of persistence and blocking their entry into this state in combination with antibiotic treatment is a highly promising strategy to avoid the development of chronic bacterial infections.

Keywords: magic spot nucleotides,alarmones,antibiotics
Precision cosmology using cross-correlations: constraining both dark sectors of the Universe with future galaxy surveys (PRIMROSE)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Individual Fellowships (IF)-Standard European Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Physics
Countries involved: Switzerland
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2020, 2020)
Start date: 2022-09-01
End date: 2024-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 203149.44
EU funding (EUR): 203149.44
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The LCDM model has been established as the cosmological reference model thanks to its ability to predict the main cosmological observations. However, it requires the addition of cold dark matter and dark energy as a cosmological constant, whose nature is not yet understood. There exist a large number of theoretical models beyond LCDM, but the majority focus either on the dark matter component or on dark energy, showing there is a clear lack of models analyzing both dark sectors at the same time. And it has been shown that the constraints on either sector are strongly degraded if the assumptions on the other sector are relaxed. The main objective of this action is to make use of the cross-correlations between the different cosmological probes of future galaxy surveys to extract this additional information and constrain theoretical models extending both dark matter and dark energy together. The role of cross-correlations in current photometric galaxy surveys is very relevant. However, the methodology to properly combine photometric and spectroscopic data has not been fully developed yet. This action will combine the expertise of the experienced researcher on modeling and simulating photometric probes with the expertise of the host institution on spectroscopic data and models beyond LCDM. Using the combined expertise, this action plans to compute the theoretical predictions for the cross-correlations between photometric and spectroscopic data, as well as generating cosmological simulations to cross-check these predictions. By providing a coherent framework, based on simulations and theoretical input, to combine photometric and spectroscopic probes of future surveys taking into account all their cross-correlations, this action aims at using this additional information to constrain not only the standard cosmological model, but also both dark sectors of the Universe at the same time.

Keywords: probe combination