Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Modulation of the glymphatic system: a novel tool for drug delivery to the central nervous system (GLYMPHARMA)

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: Denmark
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2017, 2017)
Start date: 2018-10-01
End date: 2020-12-21
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 200194.8
EU funding (EUR): 200194.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The prevalence of neurological diseases in the world is greatly increasing. However, drug development for central nervous system (CNS) diseases is difficult due to its protected nature behind the blood-brain barrier. The recently discovered glymphatic pathway consists of a para-arterial cerebrospinal fluid influx path and a para-venous interstitial fluid clearance route, coupled through convective flow of interstitial fluid supported by astrocytic aquaporin 4 (Aqp4) water channels. This macroscopic waste clearance system activates during sleep or anaesthesia. It also facilitates brain-wide distribution of endogenous compounds. Its function may explain the importance of sleep to mammals. GLYMPHARMA proposes that the glymphatic system essentially affects the concentrations of drugs in the CNS and that it can be exploited to facilitate CNS drug availability. Enhancing glymphatic fluxes have already been shown to increase the availability of CNS-targeted antibodies in deep brain structures. Studies will be performed at University of Copenhagen, Nedergaard lab, known for the discovery of the glymphatic system. I will use three state-of-the-art techniques to study glymphatic pharmacokinetics in mice: microdialysis to measure free drug concentrations, novel mass spectrometric techniques enabling spatial resolution, and microPET imaging to measure real-time 3D drug movements. Several glymphatic modulators (anaesthesia, sleep, Aqp4 knockout mice) will be used. GLYMPHARMA will be an excellent opportunity for my career development and it will facilitate real two-way knowledge transfer. I will be trained by the world-leading experts in the field. GLYMPHARMA will interest both basic researchers and clinicians and may impact the everyday life of citizens. The study may lead to the discovery of a novel drug delivery route and it may increase efficacy and safety of current drug therapies. These studies will lay the basis on our understanding of glymphatic pharmacokinetics.

Keywords: glymphatic system,pharmacokinetics,drug delivery,neurodegenerative diseases,anaesthesia,opioids
SOCP-Tailored Real-time Algorithm for Trajectory Onboard Synthesis (STRATOS)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Individual Fellowships (IF)-Global Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Information Science and Engineering
Countries involved: Germany,United States
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2018, 2018)
Start date: 2020-09-01
End date: 2023-08-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 264669.12
EU funding (EUR): 264669.12
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

This research aims to develop a unified framework to compute in real-time optimal guidance solutions by merging two of the most promising technologies arisen over the last years, that is, pseudospectral optimal control, and convex optimization. The rationale for this choice can be found in the following motivations: 1. The former theory has very interesting properties, such as the quasi-exponential convergence to the true optimal solutions, and was already used to re-orient the International Space Station in 2006, leading to a save of about 1,000,000$ in terms of required propellant with respect to the previous methods. 2. Convex-optimization provides the technology to solve optimal control problems in real-time, a key feature for the future space systems, and computes the global optimum. 3. The two technologies are complementary as each method’s drawbacks are counterbalanced by the other method’s strengths, and their unification will yield an improvement of performance since the solutions will be optimal, in the sense of maximizing or minimizing a given criterion, while nowadays only sub-optimal schemes are available. 4. The research outcome will find applications in several industrial fields, leading to beneficial effects outside the space engineering field as well. The hybrid approach will consist in transcribing the original optimal control problem by using pseoudospectral transcription, that is, by adopting differential, integral, and discretization operators coming from pseudospectral methods. The resulting discrete problem will be then posed in convex form, suitable for real-time applications. The research will focus on the theoretical and algorithmic part, to be developed at the San Diego State University with Prof. Ping Lu during the first two years of program, while the third year will be spent at the German Aerospace Center, where the results will be implemented on a real-time architecture to show the maturity achieved by the proposed method.

Keywords: trajectory computation,convex optimization,pseudospectral optimal control
TRends In Global Governance and Europe’s Role (TRIGGER)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Societal Challenges
Programme: Europe in a changing world - inclusive, innovative and reflective societies
Theme: Reflective societies - cultural heritage and European identity
Action type: Research and Innovation actions
Countries involved: Spain,Germany,Germany,Italy,Italy,Italy,Switzerland,Finland,Belgium,Georgia,Kyrgyzstan,Portugal
Call: Trends and forward-looking scenarios in global governance (H2020-SC6-GOVERNANCE-2018, 2018)
Start date: 2018-12-01
End date: 2022-05-31
Duration (months): 42.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2492183.5
EU funding (EUR): 2492183.5
Participants: 13
Project status: SIGNED

The ultimate objectives of TRIGGER are to provide EU institutions with knowledge and tools to enhance their actorness, effectiveness and influence in global governance; and to develop new ways to harness the potential of public engagement and participatory foresight in complex governance decisions, thereby also tackling emerging trends such as nationalism, regionalism and protectionism. These overall objectives are designed to be measurable, realistic and achievable within the 36-month duration of the project. The TRIGGER consortium is composed of 14 partners, including four non-EU countries. TRIGGER will achieve its objectives thanks to the combined effort of four research sub-groups: (i) a group focused on global and EU governance, which will create an unprecedented Atlas of Global Governance REGulation and Europe’s AcTORness (AGGREGATOR); (ii) a group focused on the relationship between governance and emerging technologies; (iii) a group dedicated to strategic foresight and public engagement, which will use new techniques such as AI-enabled sentiment analysis and innovative public engagement methods to develop a tool on Co-Creating the European Union (COCTEAU); and (iv) a group specialised in dissemination and communication. All major deliverables will eventually merged into a toolkit dedicated to Public Engagement for Responsive and Shared EU Strategies (PERSEUS), which will be released at the end of the project.

Keywords: public engagement,foresight,evaluation,eu governance,non state actors,transnational private regulation,emerging technologies
Nanoscale mineral-microbial interactions, associations, and biosignatures in gypsum stromatolites (NanoBioS)

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: Environment and Geosciences
Countries involved: France
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2020, 2020)
Start date: 2021-10-01
End date: 2023-09-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 196707.84
EU funding (EUR): 196707.84
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

Gypsum-based stromatolites (GS) make excellent paradigms for the investigation of fine-scale mineral-microbial interactions and for the detection of life remnants on gypsiferous deposits of Earth and Mars. Yet, they have been largely overlooked compared to the carbonate microbialites. To date we do not know: i) what is their exact mineralogy, ii) which microbial communities are associated to these structures, iii) what is the exact role of microbes and related bioproducts (e.g., exopolymeric substances) in mineral precipitation and stromatolite construction, and iv) which biosignatures may be preserved in GS. NanoBioS aims to address this knowledge gap by employing an interdisciplinary approach to study newly discovered gypsum-based stromatolites from Lake Bakili (Danakil Depression, Ethiopia) from a combined microbiology and mineralogy perspective. The Danakil Depression and the difficult-to-access and so-far unexplored Lake Bakili constitute a unique, natural laboratory for the study of both living and fossil gypsum microbialites, and a terrestrial Martian analogue-site. Besides the possibility to discover novel microbial lineages/metabolisms, we will attempt to identify characteristic associations of microbial groups with mineral assemblages and look for biosignatures. The overarching goal of NanoBioS is to gain a deeper understanding of the microbial influence on Ca-sulfate precipitation, as well as, to develop insights for distinguishing fossil life remnants from inorganic biomorphs on Earth and Martian chemical sediments. The host and secondment host laboratories that have advanced the subject of geomicrobiology of microbialites, will offer me intensive training in cutting-edge molecular biology and mineralogic tools, complementary to my so far geochemical expertise, aside to other, transferable skills. Overall, the development of NanoBioS will be career-defining and it will transform me in an independent, highly competitive, early stage bio-geo-chemist.

Keywords: biogeochemistry,geomicrobiology,nanomineralogy,stromatolites,biosignatures,sr based stxm
PLASTIC AEROSOL CONTAINER (GEPLAER)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Industrial Leadership
Programme: Nanotechnologies, Advanced Materials, Advanced Manufacturing and Processing, and Biotechnology
Theme: Nanotechnologies
Action type: SME instrument
Countries involved: Portugal
Call: Accelerating the uptake of nanotechnologies, advanced materials or advanced manufacturing and processing technologies by SMEs (H2020-SMEINST-1-2014, 2014)
Start date: 2015-05-01
End date: 2015-10-31
Duration (months): 6.0
Total project cost (EUR): 71429.0
EU funding (EUR): 50000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Europe is the region with the largest aerosol production volume and consumption worldwide: 5.5 billion units produced in 2013. European Cosmetic and personal care sector represents 57% of this production. Metal containers have been widely used because of their good conformability, resistance, and UV and light protection. However, metal containers are prone to rust and to internal corrosion unless an appropriate coating is applied to prevent this. Polyethylene-terephthalate (PET) aerosols can provide an environmental and lower-cost alternative to tinplate or aluminium cans, offering design flexibility, a variety of different shapes and styles which can be created with lower weight, and corrosion resistance. However, an improvement of overall properties is required, as nowadays, no plastic aerosol container can provide overall the resistance values required in the Aerosol Dispensers Directive (ADD). The market share of personal care products is around 3.1 billion containers solely in Europe, providing an attractive business opportunity. The GEPLAER project aims to replace metal containers with novel plastic aerosol with higher pressure resistance (11 bar), complying with current ADD requirements, and considering those which will be applicable in the near future, while offering novel aesthetic and functional properties, such as transparency. In order to assure a wider penetration of our PET aerosol in the market (mainly personal care and secondly food), GEPLAER work plan includes: a technical feasibility analysis, a market and stakeholder analysis, and a business plan. We expect to commercialize this product on 2017. After 5 years, we expect to sell 187.85 million PET containers (NPV of €4,541,601 and an IRR of 71%). It implies a substitution of 21,302 tonnes of metal with 6,574 tonnes of PET, having environmental, economic and social benefits for all members of the supply chain (PET manufacturers, packers and fillers, transport companies).

Keywords: aerosol,environmnet,personal care,food,carbon footprint,packaging
SW application for smartphones enabling accurate and easy-to-use 3D body scanning for digitalized design and production process in fashion and textile industry. (AVATAR)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Industrial Leadership
Programme: Innovation in SMEs
Action type: SME instrument
Countries involved: Czechia
Call: SME instrument (H2020-SMEInst-2018-2020-1, 2019)
Start date: 2019-08-01
End date: 2020-01-31
Duration (months): 6.0
Total project cost (EUR): 71429.0
EU funding (EUR): 50000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Project AVATAR aims at disruptive innovation for textile and fashion industry. This industry, having the volume close to USD 1 trillion worldwide, significantly impacts the global economy and environment. As many other traditional manufacturing sectors, it has been affected by new digital technologies recently. Thanks to them, fashion producers can economise the whole chain of their activities from idea generation to marketing of the products. Computer-based virtualisation facilitates the idea generation, design and production of clothing, which in turn reduces the number of physical patterns and used sources (namely time of involved people). However, one basic element is still missing in this chain: accurate and handy body-scanning. AVATAR project aims at development of the first 3D body scanning application for smartphones with best-in-class accuracy, which will make 360° body scan and precisely measure a person in real time. Its use will make possible for smartphone owner to create his/her own 3D avatar (digital representation of a human body) and then digitally visualize any apparel decorating it. Fundamental challenge for fashion brands today is their lag behind consumers’ expectations. Whereas in the past, producers dictated the supply, today's markets are increasingly influenced by individualized consumer demands. AVATAR product will help designers and producers to digitalize fully their production line and thus increase revolutionary efficiency and improve offer to consumers. This will bring positive change to all segments of the textile and fashion industry, including enhancement in the e-commerce area. By contributing to more efficient use of resources it will have also positive impact on the environment protection. Competitive advantage of the proposed solution to other (existing or expected) mobile scanning applications will be the best-in-class accuracy combined with user friendliness. Being a SW application, scaling of the product is straightforward.

Keywords: fashion and textile industry,3d body skanning,avatar,digital design,phygital fashion,design and production process innovation,application for smartphones
New generation of carbohydrate-based vaccines via rational understanding of their immunological mechanism (NEWCARBOVAX)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Individual Fellowships (IF)-Global Fellowships
Action type: Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Panel: Life Sciences
Countries involved: Italy,Italy,United States
Call: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF-GF) (H2020-MSCA-IF-2014, 2014)
Start date: 2017-01-01
End date: 2019-12-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 244269.0
EU funding (EUR): 244269.0
Participants: 3
Project status: CLOSED

Glycoconjugate vaccines have provided enormous health benefits globally, but they have been less successful in some populations at high risk for developing disease. They are composed by a sugar antigen covalently linked to a carrier protein. The traditional hypothesis of immune activation by glycoconjugate vaccines suggests that only peptides generated from glycoconjugate processing can be presented to and recognized by T cells, and this contribution is crucial for their immunogenicity. In most cases, conjugation processes have been set-up empirically. Recently, new findings offer a rational explanation for how conjugates work and may render vaccine development a more straightforward process. In contrast with the classical mechanism, this new model suggests that carbohydrate presentation to the T cell by antigen-presenting cell may strongly enhance antibody response. The key strategy is to conjugate the carbohydrate to peptides which anchor the conjugate via MHC class II and allow the sugar epitope to be presented via the T cell receptor. Application of this principle resulted in a GBSIII vaccine strongly protective in a mouse model and 50–100 times more immunogenic than a traditional vaccine composed by random linking of the sugar on a protein carrier. Although the principle has been demonstrated much remains to be done to generally apply the concept to generate vaccines for clinical use. In the proposed study, we will extend the approach by analysing different variables (peptide carrier, glycan chain length, conjugation chemistry and microbial antigen), with the aim of using the increased understanding of basic immunological mechanisms to develop a new translational platform for optimized and cost-effective carbohydrate-based vaccines. Innovative strategies of conjugation chemistry will be also evaluated to generate new therapeutics with chemical properties designed in light of specific information on antigen presentation.

Keywords: vaccine,glycoconjugate,conjugation chemistry,infectious diseases
Alchemy in the Making: From ancient Babylonia via Graeco-Roman Egypt into the Byzantine, Syriac and Arabic traditions (1500 BCE - 1000 AD) (AlchemEast)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Consolidator grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Cultures and cultural production
Panel description: Literary studies, cultural studies, study of the arts, philosophy
Countries involved: Italy
Call: ERC Consolidator Grant (ERC-2016-COG, 2016)
Start date: 2017-12-01
End date: 2023-04-30
Duration (months): 65.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1997000.0
EU funding (EUR): 1997000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The AlchemEast project is devoted to the study of alchemical theory and practice as it appeared and developed in distinct, albeit contiguous (both chronologically and geographically) areas: Graeco-Roman Egypt, Byzantium, and the Near East, from Ancient Babylonian times to the early Islamic Period. This project combines innovative textual investigations with experimental replications of ancient alchemical procedures. It uses sets of historically and philologically informed laboratory replications in order to reconstruct the actual practice of ancient alchemists, and it studies the texts and literary forms in which this practice was conceptualized and transmitted. It proposes new models for textual criticism in order to capture the fluidity of the transmission of ancient alchemical writings. AlchemEast is designed to carry out a comparative investigation of cuneiform tablets as well as a vast corpus of Greek, Syriac and Arabic writings. It will overcome the old, pejorative paradigm that dismissed ancient alchemy as a "pseudo-science", by proposing a new theoretical framework for comprehending the entirety of ancient alchemical practices and theories. Alongside established forms of scholarly output, such as critical editions of key texts, AlchemEast will provide an integrative, longue durée perspective on the many different phases of ancient alchemy. It will thus offer a radically new vision of this discipline as a dynamic and diversified art that developed across different technical and scholastic traditions. This new representation will allow us to connect ancient alchemy with medieval and early modern alchemy and thus fully reintegrate ancient alchemy in the history of pre-modern alchemy as well as in the history of ancient science more broadly.

Keywords: a new historiography of ancient alchemy theory and practice,akkadian,greek,syriac and arabic traditions of alchemical writings,recreations of ancient alchemical procedures in modern laboratories
In-service intrusive Non-Destructive Testing of above ground and underground petrochemical storage tank floors and walls to detect corrosion (TankRob)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Societal Challenges
Action type: Innovation actions
Countries involved: Türkiye,Poland,United Kingdom,United Kingdom
Call: Fast Track to Innovation Pilot (H2020-FTIPilot-2015-1, 2015)
Start date: 2016-05-01
End date: 2019-04-30
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2828495.0
EU funding (EUR): 2409117.14
Participants: 5
Project status: CLOSED

It is estimated that 20% of storage tank accidents are caused by cracks or raptures on the tank structure. The majority of the bulk liquids stored in these tanks include crude oil and derived products which are extremely hazardous to the environment; a spill of only one gallon of oil can contaminate a million gallons of water. Storage tank NDT inspection is very costly and degrading to the environment. Tank operators need to clear and vent the tank in order for human inspectors to enter it; a process that takes approximately 4 weeks and costs more than €500k while it causes hazardous gases to be released into the atmosphere. There is currently no inspection solution allowing for low-cost and 100% surface tank inspection. It is this gap that gives rise to unique business opportunity which InnotecUK (Dynamic robotic NDT solution provider), Technic-Control and Integrity NDT (Leading NDT instrument and service providers) aspire to seize with the aid of TWI (World-class NDT technique research organization) and LSBIC (Leading robotic control research institute). Our vision is clear; we aim to redefine storage tank NDT inspection by commercializing TankRob, a leading-edge NDT inspection robot capable of in-service operation and 100% surface coverage thanks to a specially designed surface changing mechanism. TankRob’s operation has already been demonstrated in water tanks and its performance indicates tremendous potential. We now need to finalize the system’s commercial version, obtain the necessary certifications and validate its performance in oil storage tanks. Our primary target customers will be large storage tank operators and SME NDT service providers initially in European, Asian and Middle-eastern markets. To this end we have come together as a consortium pursuing €3m funding. Our goal is to grow our businesses by €202.86m in gross sales resulting €39.47m of profit over the 10 years after our product’s market launch, translating to a total amount of 897 new jobs.

Keywords: non destructive testing,storage tanks,robotic ndt,robotic crawler