Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
New materials for high voltage solar cells used as building blocks for third generation photovoltaics (HIGH-VOLTAGE PV)

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: Israel
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-IEF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-03-01
End date: 2011-02-28
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 183052.7
EU funding (EUR): 183052.7
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Global warming caused by the combustion of fossil energy carriers is the biggest ‎environmental threat for the 21st century, which has boosted the demand for ‎‎“clean energy”. Scientific breakthroughs are needed in the photovoltaic (PV) sector to reduce ‎the price of PV-generated electricity and thus to become compatible with ‎conventional power plants. This can only be achieved with new type of solar ‎cells comprising of novel materials which are cheaper than current silicon ‎technology and which allow large scale production at low cost. Nano-‎structured solar cells such as the dye-sensitized (DSSC), quantum dot ‎sensitized or polymer based solar cells are promising candidates. Until now ‎improvement of such cells aims mostly towards the modification of one ‎component within existing cell architectures (for example the investigation of ‎several dyes in DSSCs, while the electron and hole conducting media remain ‎unchanged). It is the intention of the proposed research to investigate ‎materials which have not been attracted considerable attention for ‎photovoltaic applications as well as materials which are already widely used. In a first step we aim to screen materials for solar ‎cells which are based on a large bandgap window layer and a absorber with a ‎bandgap between 1.4 – 2.8 eV. This requires the preparation of a large number of devices and the acquisition ‎and analysis of huge amount of data. We intend to adopt techniques ‎commonly used in pharmacy and biology, where large amounts of samples ‎are screened and analyzed. ‎In the second phase the photovoltage limitations are investigated and the voltage will be maximized. In the final phase interface geometry will be changed to increae the photocurrent.

Keywords: physical sciences,chemistry,solid state physics,combinatorial chemistry,physics
Landscape of Resistance. Science, power, and environmental justice in the struggle over garbage and incinerators in contemporary Naples, Italy (LARES)

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: Spain
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-IEF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2010-03-04
End date: 2012-03-03
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 156002.68
EU funding (EUR): 156002.68
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

“LaRes” aims to establish the applicant as an international expert and leader on the theory of socio-ecological conflicts in European societies and its application to the environmental governance of hazards and waste. Training will consist of attendance at selected courses and seminars, tutoring and joint research work with the originator of the theory “environmentalism of the poor”, Prof. J. Martinez Alier, at ICTA. During the fellowship the researcher will work on improving the theory of environmental justice and using as a case study the struggle over garbage in contemporary Naples will develop a model for the analysis of complex conflicting situations in Europe. The applicant will examine the policy implications of his research and linked them to on-going debates on EU environmental governance, with special focus on waste disposal and the location of hazards. The project will contribute to introduce/reinforce environmental history and political ecology into European research, aiming to develop a network of scholars on ecological conflicts and environmental governance studies, thus promoting scientific excellence in the European Research Area.

Keywords: humanities,social sciences,environmental conflicts,environmental history,political ecology,garbage,italy
FEM-RBF: A geometrically flexible, efficient numerical solution technique for partial differential equations with mixed regularity (FEMRBF)

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: Sweden
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-IIF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2010-06-01
End date: 2012-06-30
Duration (months): 25.0
Total project cost (EUR): 123694.61
EU funding (EUR): 123694.61
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Numerical simulation has become one of the most important tools in science and engineering. The available computer power has been steadily increasing, making it possible to do ever more complex simulations. However, in order to make efficient use of our computers, the state-of-the-art numerical algorithms must also be advanced to a similar degree. In this project, we propose a new hybrid technique designed to address partial differential equations whose solutions are largely smooth, but exhibit singularities or low regularity locally. Non-smoothness can for example occur near corners or cracks, or in media with randomly varying properties. Adaptive finite element methods (FEM) perform well for problems with low regularity, but may be computationally expensive for large-scale problems. Radial basis function (RBF) approximation methods are extremely efficient for smooth problems, but performance is degraded by low regularity. In the hybrid method, FEM and RBFs are employed where they work best, resulting in effective treatment of mixed regularity problems. The geometrical flexibility is inherent since FEM uses adaptive unstructured meshes and RBF is a meshfree method. The implementation of the algorithm will be based on domain decomposition and iterative solution techniques and parallelized to enable large-scale computations for realistic problems. The proposed project is a large undertaking and requires many different skills within the broad area of scientific computing. Together, the researcher Alfa Heryudono and the host research group at Uppsala University possess the required knowledge to succeed, and the fellowship phase is intended to be the beginning of a long-term collaboration between the researcher and the host research group.

Keywords: scientific computing,computational mathematics,parallel computing
Multicomponent Radiochemical reactions (FLUMCR)

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-IIF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-03-01
End date: 2011-02-28
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 177948.7
EU funding (EUR): 177948.7
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The main focus of this research proposal is to diversify the portfolio of radiochemical reactions for the production of known and new 18F-radiotracers. The strategy we propose to investigate is based on the use of readily available 18F-labelled building blocks in the context of multicomponent reactions. This approach has the potential to deliver 18F-radiotracers not amenable to direct 18F-labelling due to poor reactivity or he unavailability of suitable reaction conditions. The project therefore concerns the development of various two-step synthetic sequences for the preparation of architecturally complex 18F-radiolabelled tracers applying sequences that will combine a nucleophilic 18F-fluorination process with a multicomponent reaction involving an 18F-labelled building block. The application of this unprecedented approach to the synthesis of radioactive biomarkers which are notoriously difficult to label by conventional methods will be investigated. This project will advance radiochemistry for molecular imaging and therefore indirectly contribute to improve human health.

Keywords: organic chemistry
LEARNING AND LIVING SUSTAINABLY: Building Interdisciplinary Research Capacity and Expertise in Social and Professional Responses to Sustainability at the University of Gloucestershire. (LALSUS)

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-IIF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-05-01
End date: 2011-05-31
Duration (months): 25.0
Total project cost (EUR): 239952.41
EU funding (EUR): 239952.41
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Sustainability, and engagement with it, has become one of the biggest challenges we face in the 21st Century. Unsustainable practices are increasing the impact of environmental degradation, extending inequalities in our society and across the globe as well as limiting quality of life. The University of Gloucestershire has an institutional commitment to Sustainable Development. The University has modelled sustainability in its operational, administration and management structures. The University is now seeking to invest in and support staff so that existing research strengths explore a common platform in the area of people learning and engagement for sustainability. It also recognizes the importance of embedding sustainability into the curriculum and the lack of pedagogical and research capacity in this area. The purpose of this proposal is to bring external expertise necessary to develop research capacity in social and professional action for sustainability. The programme seeks to: (i) embed sustainability as a cross-cutting research strand at the University of Gloucestershire through training and networking opportunities in interdisciplinary social science research; (ii) conduct flagship research in a crucial multifaceted area which can inform sustainable living; (iii) conduct pedagogical research which can assist in embedding sustainability into the learning experiences of students at the University of Gloucestershire.

Keywords: development,research capacity,social responses,professional responses,interdisciplinary
Regulators of gene networks in Arabidopsis thaliana that confer signalling steady states of high stress adaptability. (STEADYSTATE)

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: Belgium
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-IEF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2010-01-01
End date: 2011-12-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 159556.7
EU funding (EUR): 159556.7
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

To compensate for a reduced spatial mobility, plants have evolved a large developmental and adaptive plasticity to cope with environmental fluctuations. Under adverse conditions, such as abiotic stress, this plasticity is of paramount importance for plant survival. It is now clear that adaptation responses in plants are complex at the molecular level and occur through fine tuning and coordination of specific networks of signals and genes. Additionally, increasing evidence points to considerable cross talk between developmental and stress responsive signalling. Plants strive to maintain a developmental steady state which confers the highest competitive advantage in a given environment. The main objective of the research in this proposal is to identify key regulators of highly stress adaptable plant developmental states, in silico. The common denominator for developmental states with a high stress tolerance is a high cellular energy homeostasis. These developmental states are characterized by having a high abiotic stress tolerance, such as that of young leaves, sink tissues, seedlings and plants acclimated to long days or supplemented with sucrose. We will focus on the identification of regulators in hormonal and redox networks since these are determinative for both development and stress tolerance. Using in-house developed algorithms for meta-analysis of microarray data sets we will make an in silico predictive identification of the regulators. The predicted regulators will be validated by creating knock-out and overexpression lines that will be tested and analyzed for broad stress tolerance. This will be performed in Arabidopsis plants. In summary, this project will explore the poorly studied field of stress adapted developmental states as an innovative tool to identify novel genes and functions in plants. This strategy may contribute to an increased ability for engineering of high yielding crops in a changing global environment.

Keywords: natural sciences,plant development,plant physiology,plant growth,in vitro culture of plant material,genetic selection,genetically modified organisms,crop sciences,crop protection
Investigating surface nanobubbles (NANOBUBBLES)

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-IEF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-07-01
End date: 2011-06-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 160595.46
EU funding (EUR): 160595.46
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Surface nanobubbles are gaseous bubbles on liquid-immersed substrates. They are typically 10nm high and 100nm across and, according to classical physics, should dissolve in microseconds but are found to persist for days. Nanobubbles are thought to be responsible for slip in micro and nanofluidic devices, as well as bearing relevance to several macroscopic fluid-solid interactions, including boiling and colloidal destabilisation. Nanobubbles are a very new research area and are ripe for investigation. The following questions will be answered during this fellowship: Is there an &apos;ideal recipe&apos; for nanobubble creation? Can the size difference between &apos;known&apos; micro- and &apos;unknown&apos; nanobubbles be bridged? What is the mechanism that sustains nanobubbles? How does the presence of nanobubbles affect slip? These questions will be answered using a mixture of several techniques: Electrolysis for nanobubble creation; atomic force microscopy for manipulation and visualisation; and ultra-high-speed video imaging for visualising larger bubbles and bubble arrays. The Host institute is currently joint-leading the field in nanobubble research with institutions in China and Australia. This proposal will set Europe apart from the rest of the world as the number one research centre of excellence in nanobubble research.

Keywords: physical sciences,fluid dynamics
Allosteric effects induced in 14-3-3 targets (14_3_3)

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: Czechia
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-IOF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2010-04-01
End date: 2013-09-30
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 235256.21
EU funding (EUR): 235256.21
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

14-3-3 proteins, found in all eukaryotic cells, are known to be important in cell-cycle regulation, apoptosis, and regulation of gene expression. They are also associated with oncogenic and neurodegenerative amyloid diseases. 14-3-3 proteins are active as homo- or heterodimers and bind more than 300 diverse target phosphoproteins, thereby forcing conformational changes or/and stabilizing active conformations in their target proteins. To date, no crystal structure is known for a 14-3-3 dimer in complex with a doubly phosphorylated target protein; this prevents a full understanding of the 14-3-3 molecular mechanism. I propose a computational approach to model the function of 14-3-3s on three of its target ligands: serotonin N-acetyltransferase (AANAT), tyrosine hydroxylase, and tryptophan hydroxylase. This approach will combine restrained molecular dynamics simulation for phosphorylated residues with the novel Hamiltonian replica exchange using soft-core interactions developed by myself and Dr. Oostenbrink. The obtained structure for 14-3-3/AANAT will be compared with the available crystal structure of AANAT in its active form. Computationally predicted structures of doubly phosphorylated tyrosine hydroxylase or doubly phophorylated tryptophan hydroxylase in complex with a 14-3-3 dimer will be verified by comparison with several fingerprint-type NMR spectra measured for each complex during the proposed project. The proposed approach will have general applicability to most doubly phosphorylated 14-3-3 protein ligands. The research proposed here will not only deepen our understanding of 14-3-3 function, but will also enhance our knowledge of essential basic mechanisms with respect to key regulatory proteins.

Keywords: 14-3-3,computational biophysics,allosteric effects,replica exchange,structural biology,nmr
Self-assembly of Helical Functional Nanomaterials (SAHNMAT)

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-IEF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-03-01
End date: 2011-02-28
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 160028.45
EU funding (EUR): 160028.45
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The construction of nanostructured objects of well-defined size is of outmost importance for nanotechnology to surmount claims for potential applications and exploit improved chemical, physical or biological properties of a functional nanofeatured material. Biomedical imaging is one particular field of interest for water-compatible chemical self-assembly of nanosized objects. The outlined project aims to develop a methodology for the preparation of nanostructured objects in aqueous media with the emphasis lying on the precise control over the size, shape and degree of functionalisation of the features. The goal is to build upon supramolecular helical scaffolds for the development of self-assembled functional structures in the nanoscopic range, which are to be used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) applications. MRI has made a significant impact to the area of diagnostic medicine, predominantly due to advances in the development of contrast agents (e.g. paramagnetic Gd(III)-complexes). We believe that a supramolecular approach based on self-assembled Gd(III) chelating molecular units can combine the benefits from both low and high molecular weight derivatives: high contrast agent efficiency or contrast enhancement on one hand, and an improved control over the pharmacokinetics on the other hand, because of the non-covalent dynamic nature that holds the objects together. Furthermore, challenges in the field of MRI contrast agents will be met by the development of multivalent target-specific structures. Advantages include the accumulation of MRI signals in a region of interest, and the combination of 1H MRI contrast enhancement with a second imaging label. 19F MRI is a highly promising probe because of the high sensitivity of the 19F nuclide and the absence of any background interference in living systems.

Keywords: physical sciences,nanotechnology,supramolecular and macro-organic chemistry,magnetic resonance imaging,multivalent and target-specific contrast agents,bimodal imaging agents.
Demographic strategies under climate variation: a study on Arctic and Antarctic seabirds (EVOLBIRD)

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: Norway
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-IEF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2010-01-11
End date: 2012-01-10
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 201975.88
EU funding (EUR): 201975.88
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Predicting the impact of future climate changes on populations and biodiversity is of key importance in the connection with the current global warming. It is crucial to understand how organisms are able to cope with climatic variations, especially in polar environments where the effect of climate change is the strongest. Climate changes may have important ecological consequences on the population dynamics on the long-lived organisms. Because they are typically the upper trophic-level predators of a food chain, they might amplify the effects of climatic forcing on lower trophic-levels. These sensitive indicators of food-web changes are also suitable to study how effects of climate change may be mitigated by behavioural plasticity and evolutionary changes. In addition to the major role of their oceanic circulations in global climate, polar areas are of a particular interest because they hold some of the major animal biomasses of our planet. Resource abundance and availability in polar oceans might vary strongly between years, with effects on animal foraging efficiency, and consequently on demographic traits and the population growth rate. During this Marie Curie project, I will study the links between long-term population time-series on top-predators (seabirds) and environmental data (local and global indices). The analyses will be based on two different polar marine ecosystems: Southern Ocean and Barents Sea. Working with the state-of-the-art statistical tools used at the Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, centre of excellence at the University of Oslo, will allow me to investigate how seabirds adapt their demographic strategies depending on climate changes and their experience, and to predict how their populations will adapt to climate and oceanographic changes. Understanding the processes underlying population changes is essential for predicting the dynamics of the polar ecosystems, and hence to develop proper conservation measures of these systems.

Keywords: population dynamics,environmental forcing,global changes,evolution of life history traits,phenotypic plasticity,marine ecology,behavioural ecology,polar ecosystems,seabirds