Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Governing ultrafast the conductivity of correlated materials (GO FAST)

Framework: FP7 — Cooperation
Programme: Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies, Materials and new Production Technologies - NMP
Destination: Materials
Action type: Collaborative project
Countries involved: Italy,Germany,Netherlands,France
Call:  (FP7-NMP-2011-SMALL-5, 2011)
Start date: 2012-04-01
End date: 2015-03-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2203211.41
EU funding (EUR): 1673200.0
Participants: 7
Project status: CLOSED

The aim of this research project is to develop novel schemes to study electronic, optical and structural properties of correlated materials driven out of equilibrium , in view of achieving an ultrafast optical control of their electronic properties. In particular, we will extend the most advanced techniques for correlated systems, i.e. Dynamical Mean Field Theory (DMFT) and the Gutzwiller variational approach, to model the temporal evolution after high-energy excitations are impulsively photoinjected by ultrafast laser pulses. Realistic modeling will be achieved through validation against the outcomes of different ad-hoc time-resolved techniques. The possibility to optically switch on and off the metallic phase in a model Mott insulator (vanadium sesquioxide) and the superconducting phase in model high-temperature superconductors (cuprates) will be investigated and tested. To achieve this ambitious goal we organized a multidisciplinary network that will be coordinated by the condensed-matter theory group at S.I.S.S.A. (Trieste), with a recognized expertise in strongly correlated systems, specifically DMFT, Gutzwiller variational technique and density functional theory, and will involve well established European experimental groups in the field of ultrafast spectroscopies, with expertise in time-resolved optical and photoemission spectroscopies, time resolved X-ray and electron diffraction. The mutual and effective collaboration between the theoretical and experimental groups is mandatory to develop and validate realistic models of the ultrafast dynamics in complex materials, where the electronic, structural and magnetic degrees of freedom are strongly intertwined. This project is strictly relevant to the NMP.2011.2.1-2 topic (“Modeling of ultrafast dynamics in materials”) of the NMP-2011-SMALL-5 Work Programme.

Keywords: optical manipulation of electronic properties strongly-correlated systems ultrafast dynamics non-equilibrium dynamical mean field theory time-resolved spectroscopy
Sequencing population isolates to find complex trait loci (SEPI)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Genetics,Genomics,Bioinformatics and Systems Biology
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (ERC-2011-StG_20101109, 2011)
Start date: 2012-06-01
End date: 2017-05-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1477931.6
EU funding (EUR): 1477931.6
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Genome-wide association studies of complex traits have identified many common variant associations, but a substantial heritability gap remains. The field is shifting towards the study of low frequency and rare variants, hypothesised to have larger effects. The study of these variants can be empowered by focusing on isolated populations, in which rare variants may have increased in frequency and linkage disequilibrium tends to be extended. This work will focus on three isolated populations, each with information on a wide array of anthropometric, cardiometabolic, biochemical, haematological and diet-related traits. Anogia is a mountainous village on the island of Crete with high levels of longevity; the Pomak villages are a set of religiously isolated mountainous villages in the North of Greece and Korcula is an isolated Adriatic Sea island, all with high levels of cardiometabolic and psychiatric disease. 1,000 to 1,500 individuals from each of these populations will be typed on genome-wide chips before the start of this project. Sequencing is very efficient in isolated populations, because variants found in a few samples will be shared by others, supporting accurate imputation. We will whole-genome sequence 200 individuals from each of these populations and will access all variation down to 1% frequency and ~40% of variants with frequency 0.1% to 1% for the first time. We will impute identified variants into the full set of genome-wide typed samples, and will test for association with the collected traits, initially focusing on cardiometabolic phenotypes. We will validate associations by direct genotyping in the discovery set and will seek replication in further isolated and outbred populations. Using cutting-edge high-throughput sequencing technologies and novel analytical tools, this work is uniquely poised to usher in the new era of next-generation genetic studies and identify robust associations with disease-related complex traits.

Keywords: whole-genome sequencing,isolated population
Peripheral and Central Mechanisms of Temperature Detection and Core Body Thermoregulation (THERMOREG)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Neurosciences and neural disorders
Countries involved: Germany,Germany
Call:  (ERC-2011-StG_20101109, 2011)
Start date: 2012-02-01
End date: 2018-01-31
Duration (months): 72.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1400725.0
EU funding (EUR): 1400725.0
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

Internal temperature homeostasis is of critical importance to our health as deviation from a normal, tightly controlled level (37 °Celsius) can cause fatal organ failures. Temperature-sensitive cells in the hypothalamus detect deep brain temperature, which is directly relevant to core body temperature (CBT) regulation. However molecules and mechanisms underlying central temperature detection by hypothalamic neurons are unknown. I propose to use a multi-disciplinary approach to elucidate mechanisms of temperature detection by these cells. I have started to employ a genetic tagging approach that allows me to label temperature-activated hypothalamic neurons in vivo. Hypothalamic neurons not only detect local brain temperature but also receive peripheral temperature signals from the somatosensory system. However, the impact of peripheral temperature information on central temperature regulation is largely unknown. Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) ion channels have been found to constitute important components in a variety of different sensory systems. In vertebrates, TRP family members TRPV1, TRPM8, and TRPA1, play prominent roles in the detection of thermal stimuli ranging from cold to hot ambient temperatures. How these receptors mediate their temperature sensitivity on the molecular level is largely unknown. I hypothesize that TRPs are components of supramolecular membrane-bound protein complexes that enable the receptors to function in a context-dependent manner, similar to the founding member of the TRP receptor family in the Drosophila eye. I will use a genetic biochemical strategy to identify components of somatosensory TRP channel protein complexes from native sensory ganglia of transgenic mice. Subsequently, characterization of the TRP Proteome will not only provide novel insights into TRP channel function as temperature sensors but may additionally yield novel targets for the treatment of inflammatory conditions and pain.

Keywords: trp ion channels,temperature detection,hypothalamus,temperature homeostasis,thermoregulation,transgenic technology,proteomics
Sex-specific genetic effects on fitness and human disease (2SEXES_1GENOME)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Evolutionary, population and environmental biology
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (ERC-2011-StG_20101109, 2011)
Start date: 2012-01-01
End date: 2016-12-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1500000.0
EU funding (EUR): 1500000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Darwin’s theory of natural selection rests on the principle that fitness variation in natural populations has a heritable component, on which selection acts, thereby leading to evolutionary change. A fundamental and so far unresolved question for the field of evolutionary biology is to identify the genetic loci responsible for this fitness variation, thereby coming closer to an understanding of how variation is maintained in the face of continual selection. One important complicating factor in the search for fitness related genes however is the existence of separate sexes – theoretical expectations and empirical data both suggest that sexually antagonistic genes are common. The phrase “two sexes, one genome” nicely sums up the problem; selection may favour alleles in one sex, even if they have detrimental effects on the fitness of the opposite sex, since it is their net effect across both sexes that determine the likelihood that alleles persist in a population. This theoretical framework raises an interesting, and so far entirely unexplored issue: that in one sex the functional performance of some alleles is predicted to be compromised and this effect may account for some common human diseases and conditions which show genotype-sex interactions. I propose to explore the genetic basis of sex-specific fitness in a model organism in both laboratory and natural conditions and to test whether those genes identified as having sexually antagonistic effects can help explain the incidence of human diseases that display sexual dimorphism in prevalence, age of onset or severity. This multidisciplinary project directly addresses some fundamental unresolved questions in evolutionary biology: the genetic basis and maintenance of fitness variation; the evolution of sexual dimorphism; and aims to provide novel insights into the genetic basis of some common human diseases.

Keywords: *evolutionary medicine*,sexual conflict,complex traits,sexual dimorphism,sex-specific genetic architecture,locus of evolution.
Doped carbon nanostructures as metal-free catalysts (FREECATS)

Framework: FP7 — Cooperation
Programme: Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies, Materials and new Production Technologies - NMP
Destination: Materials
Action type: Collaborative project
Countries involved: Norway,Spain,Portugal,France,Italy,United Kingdom,United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-NMP-2011-SMALL-5, 2011)
Start date: 2012-04-01
End date: 2015-03-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 5071614.2
EU funding (EUR): 3955619.0
Participants: 10
Project status: CLOSED

This project is primarily aimed at generating new fundamental knowledge and fostering new prospects and frontiers in the field of catalysis for the sustainable production of chemicals and commodities. Rethinking important metal-based catalytic processes in the light of new tailored metal-free catalytic architectures designed and fabricated starting from appropriate nanoscale building blocks, is the fundamental target of this research project. Major efforts have been made in the last decades aimed at addressing catalytic approaches, as much as possible, denoted by sustainable and environmentally friendly features. A large fraction of products made today are produced with traditional methods developed several decades ago. In order to keep the European process industry competitive worldwide, the development of technologically advanced processes represent a fundamental prerequisite. The FREECATS proposal deals with the development of new metal-free catalysts, either in the form of bulk nanomaterials or in hierarchically organized structures both capable to replace traditional noble metal-based catalysts in catalytic transformations of strategic importance. The new metal-free catalytic materials will be applied to specific processes traditionally carried out by means of precious metal-based materials. The application of the new materials will eliminate the use for platinum group metals and rare earth elements such as ceria used in fuel cell technology (automotive applications and others), production of light olefins, and in wastewater and water purification. Replacing platinum group metal alternatives in these three emerging technologies will lead to a significant reduction in demand of platinum group metals in Europe, at least mounting to the current automotive platinum group metal demand, estimated to be in the order of 50-100 tons per year.

Keywords: doped cnt,metal-free catalysis,catalysis,structured reactors,catalytic ozination,oxidative dehydrogenation,oxygen reduction,carbon nanomaterials,surface functionalisation
Better Upscaling and Optimization of Nanoparticle and Nanostructure Production by Means of Electrical Discharges (BUONAPART-E)

Framework: FP7 — Cooperation
Programme: Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies, Materials and new Production Technologies - NMP
Destination: Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies
Action type: Collaborative project
Countries involved: Germany,Sweden,Netherlands,Finland,Germany,Hungary,Finland,France,Netherlands,Germany,Spain,Spain,Norway,Spain,United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-NMP-2011-LARGE-5, 2011)
Start date: 2012-02-01
End date: 2016-01-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 10423897.4
EU funding (EUR): 7799929.0
Participants: 21
Project status: CLOSED

The BUONAPART-E project aims to demonstrate that a physical nanoparticle synthesis process can be economically scaled-up to yield 100 kg/day production rate, which is the target rate mentioned in the Call Topic. The process is simple, versatile, and reliable. It avoids chemical precursors and solvents, while fully recycling the necessary inert carrier gas, resulting in a minimal impact on the environment. The process does not necessitate external heating of the inert gas, thereby keeping energy consumption low. The main goal of the BUONAPART-E is to increase the production rate of a single basic unit in which the evaporation of the raw material is done by electric means by a factor of 10 to 100 and to implement necessary monitoring and collecting tools to ensure high quality product delivery. Experimental results as well as literature data indicate that an energy efficiency of 100 kWh/kg has been reached for a single unit. The challenge addressed in BUONAPART-E, which can only be met with new knowledge of the hitherto unknown fundamental mechanisms taking place, is to obtain an increase in the production rate, while retaining energy efficiency. The process allows for the synthesis of different materials using the same production platform. The basic evaporation unit (called hereafter the Optimal Single Unit or ‘OSU’) is a set of electrodes. A large number of these units can be placed in a single housing, contributing to the cost-effectiveness of the process. The use of many single production units in parallel, which can be thoroughly optimized and tested on a lab scale for a given material, ensures that a highly-effective scale-up of the synthesis process in terms of cost and energy consumption is possible. Further equipment, such as pumps, power supply to the OSUs and the particle collection unit, can be scaled-up as single units leading to additional cost benefits.

Keywords: physical nanoparticle synthesis,electrical discharge,optimal single unit,scale-up,cost-effective,energy-effective,sustainable process
Nanowires for solid state lighting (NWS4LIGHT)

Framework: FP7 — Cooperation
Programme: Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies, Materials and new Production Technologies - NMP
Destination: Materials
Action type: Collaborative project
Countries involved: Sweden,Denmark,Germany,Germany,Denmark,United States
Call:  (FP7-NMP-2011-SMALL-5, 2011)
Start date: 2012-06-01
End date: 2015-05-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 5346577.0
EU funding (EUR): 3160400.0
Participants: 7
Project status: CLOSED

The suggested project aims at developing a nanowire (NW) technology applied to III-nitride and III-V materials to improve the present Solid State Lighting (SSL) solutions. Present white light emitting diode (LED) emitters are based on thin film III-nitride technology, and a combination of violet-blue LEDs and suitable phosphor coatings has yielded a light emission efficacy of > 100 lm/W with an operating lifetime > 50000 hrs in commercial white LEDs. The color rendering is generally unsatisfactory, however, and the cost is so far prohibitive for general market penetration. Our NW approach is based on combining three (blue-green-red) or four (blue-green-yellow-red) single NW LEDs into one white LED package, thereby avoiding the loss in the phosphor downconversion process. Using NW LEDs we also expect to increase the radiative efficiency due to a drastic reduction of the defect density in the active quantum well (QW) regions of the LEDs, and also improve the extraction efficiency of the emitted light. Our suggested employment of large size silicon or sapphire wafers as substrates is predicted to reduce the future fabrication cost by at least a factor 3. To increase the efficiency of white emitters it is necessary to drastically improve the LEDs emitting in the green-yellow part of the spectrum. We suggest to reach the green LED range by the ability to increase the In composition in the radial QWs of the presently grown nitride NW LEDs, and by using AlGaInP materials. The latter material system will also be explored for yellow and red NW LED emission. To realize yellow-red emission quantum dot media will also be employed, either by the SK growth mechanism on the m-plane facets of the NWs, or by separate application of InP/ZnS core-shell dots with red emission. To realize this work a consortium of five partners is suggested, comprising excellent expertise in growth of NWs and in sophisticated studies of structural, electronic and optical properties of the NWs, and also processing into efficient LED structures having long life-times. The safety issues in the growth and handling of NWs are secured in collaboration with the Nano-Safety project at ULUND. The materials used are favorable from the environmental point of view.

Keywords: ingan,gan,nanowire,led,color rendering index,solid state lightning,quantum dots
MODEL-BASED OPTIMIZATION & CONTROL FOR PROCESS-INTENSIFICATION IN CHEMICAL AND BIOPHARMACEUTICAL SYSTEMS (OPTICO)

Framework: FP7 — Cooperation
Programme: Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies, Materials and new Production Technologies - NMP
Destination: New production
Action type: Collaborative project
Countries involved: Greece,United Kingdom,Germany,Switzerland,Denmark,Netherlands,Belgium,United Kingdom,Germany,France,Netherlands,United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-NMP-2011-SMALL-5, 2011)
Start date: 2012-02-01
End date: 2015-01-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 5584782.1
EU funding (EUR): 3892540.0
Participants: 13
Project status: CLOSED

In response to world-wide changes in the chemical/biopharmaceutical industry, new market requirements for specific end-use product properties as well as to stricter energy, safety and environmental constraints a revolutionary approach is needed regarding equipment design, plant operation and new production paradigms that will result in better products and processes. Process intensification (PI) is the key technological pathway to drastically improve the sustainability of the chemical and biopharmaceutical processes by replacing the existing, inefficient plant equipment with new, intensified operations. PI comprises the development of novel equipment and production methods that can bring dramatic improvements in manufacturing and processing and lead to safer, cleaner, smaller and cheaper production routes. PI is expected to open up the way for the production of new products, unblock the potential for plant operation under less stable conditions and reform entire business models to foster just-in-time or distributed production. In a series of recent publications and roadmaps, PI has been identified as the ‘path for sustainable development’. The OPTICO project aims at overcoming the present limitations on implementing PI by establishing a new methodological design approach for sustainable, intensified chemical/biopharmaceutical plant design and operation through a flexible, integrated multi-scale modeling framework coupled with advanced process analytics tools and modern optimization/control techniques. It is envisaged that, within a 3 year time frame, the proposed work will enable the innovative process design and promote a substantial improvement in chemical/biopharmaceutical plant efficiency by reducing energy consumption, operating costs, handled volumes and generated wastes as well as by improving the process efficiency and safety.

Keywords: process intensification,multi-scale model library,flexible modeling framework,hardware-software sensors,optimization and control strategies,on-line monitoring,sensor developments
Stabilizing the exposure of neutralization epitopes on HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein trimer vaccines (SHEV)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Immunity and infection
Countries involved: Netherlands
Call:  (ERC-2011-StG_20101109, 2011)
Start date: 2012-01-01
End date: 2016-12-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1499943.0
EU funding (EUR): 1499943.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The impact of HIV/AIDS on world healthcare is tremendous, particularly in the Third World. To curtail the HIV epidemic a cheap and effective vaccine is urgently needed, but despite massive research efforts no vaccine is available yet. Although most vaccines work by inducing neutralizing antibodies, HIV has evolved many ways to limit the induction and binding of neutralizing antibodies. The challenge is to engineer Env subunit vaccines that do induce neutralizing antibodies efficiently. One aspect that has been highly underappreciated is conformational heterogeneity of Env. Conformational flexibility is exerted at three different levels. First, flexible variable loops and N-glycans protruding from the conserved protein core cause “local flexibility” at the protein surface. Second, movement between the conserved inner and outer domain of gp120 causes “tertiary flexibility”. Third, movement of the three gp120 protomers in the trimeric complex, resembling a flower that opens and closes, causes “quaternary flexibility”. These three levels of flexibility provide very unstable targets for recognition by low affinity B cell receptors on naïve B cells, diminishing the chance of efficient B cell activation and the secretion of neutralizing antibodies. Using a number of novel structure-based vaccine design strategies that include the introduction of stabilizing disulfide bonds, we intend to remove the undesirable flexibility on Env trimers to provide a homogeneous and stable target to B cells. This should result in stabilized Env immunogens that are better in inducing neutralizing antibodies compared to the current state-of-the art Env vaccines. This is a highly interdisciplinary project on the crossroads of immunology and protein chemistry and should result in protein immunogens that elicit improved neutralizing antibody responses against HIV and should provide answers to fundamental questions on how B cells “see” protein immunogens.

Keywords: vaccines antigen engineering