Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Blocking the prion-like disease propagation in Parkinson’s disease and related disorders – model development and identification of cell-autonomous and cell non-autonomous factors. (Alpha-Synuclein)

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: 2019-09-01
End date: 2021-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 200194.8
EU funding (EUR): 200194.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

A prion-like behavior of α-synuclein (AS) protein has been hypothesized in the pathogenesis of Parkinson disease (PD). According to this hypothesis, pathogenic forms “seeds” of AS propagate from periphery into the neurons of central nervous system (CNS), where they recruit endogenous AS in the first receiving neurons, exit the cell and enter connected neurons. The ongoing AS aggregation and cell-cell propagation is considered to induce oxidative stress, neuronal dysfunction and neuronal loss in CNS. Therefore, blocking the neuronal propagation of AS will prevent AS neurotoxicity and neurodegeneration. I propose to develop and validate a novel in vivo model of prion-like AS propagation, in which I will selectively modify the genetic makeup of first receiving neurons, and use this model for mechanistic investigations. I will use a transgenic M83 mouse model overexpressing mutant A53T human AS in which prion-like spreading is initiated by injecting preformed AS aggregates into the hindlimb musculus femoris. These AS aggregates are taken up by sensory and/or motor nerve endings in the muscle, are retrogradely transported through the sciatic nerve into spinal cord, and rostrally into the brainstem and higher brain areas over time. I will refine this model by transducing the sciatic nerve endings with intramuscular delivery of rAAV viral vectors- containing novel CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing tools targeting genes of interest- to prevent in vivo prion-like AS spreading and/or toxicity. As proof of concept, I will silence AS in the receiving neurons to demonstrate this slows the disease development in the model. Once validated, I will use the model for hypothesis-driven mechanistic investigations of candidate genes, which initially include: 1) ubiquitin specific peptidase 19 (USP19)- since it has been implicated in cellular excretion of misfolded AS in vitro, and 2) eukaryotic elongation factor-2 kinase (eEF2K)- since it is abnormally activated in postmortem PD brain tissue.

Keywords: alpha synuclein,prion like,oxidative stress,eef2k,usp19,crispr,cas9
Cost effective robots for smart precision spraying (SCORPION)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Industrial Leadership
Programme: Space
Theme: Enabling exploitation of space data
Action type: Innovation actions
Countries involved: Spain,Spain,Italy,Italy,Spain,Netherlands,Portugal,Portugal
Call: EGNSS applications fostering societal resilience and protecting the environment (H2020-SPACE-EGNSS-2020, 2020)
Start date: 2021-01-01
End date: 2023-12-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2501104.83
EU funding (EUR): 2270606.0
Participants: 10
Project status: SIGNED

Spraying in agriculture represents a societal challenge due to its negative impact in human and animal health and in environment. Increasing spraying efficiency towards the objective of “right time, right amount, right place”, involves reduction of losses and, consequently, amount of phytopharmaceuticals used, water usage, and human and animal exposure to pesticides, and the increase of the spraying system availability while reducing labor costs. Furthermore, adoption of new ecological spraying treatments to increase both yield and treatment efficiency is desirable. Agriculture in rough terrain is also challenging, due to the steepness of some terrain, lack of space to manoeuvre, difficulties of communications due to natural obstacles and harsh atmospheric conditions associated. To cope with these challenges a consortium with complementary precision farming actors was formed for SCORPION project, bringing together steep slope vineyards associations (CERVIM, INNOVI), robotics and agricultural machinery RTD institutions (INESC, EUT, and IMAMOTER, WUR), SMEs and large company (TEYME, Deimos, SPI), and an institution devoted to innovation in the sector (IPN). SCORPION’s solution will be a safe and autonomous precision spraying tool integrated into a modular unmanned tractor (robotics platform). It will focus on steep slope vineyards but with impact in other high-value permanent crops (olive groves and fruiticulture). SCORPION’ will consider Global Navigation Satellite System (EGNSS) receiver (triple frequency, PPP, OS-NMA, HAS) fused with other sensors, to increase the solution reliability, accuracy and safeness, and to enable autonomous ultraviolet light treatments (to eliminate partial need of phytopharmaceuticals) and to allow high precision spraying in permanent crops. SCORPION will bring the TRL of the technologies involved from 5 to 7 and will originate a modular spraying robot. These four modules can be explored independently or together.

Keywords: robot,precision spraying,agriculture
Enunciative Devices of the European Francophone Essay Film (EDEF)

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: France
Call: Individual Fellowships (H2020-MSCA-IF-2019, 2019)
Start date: 2020-09-01
End date: 2022-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 184707.84
EU funding (EUR): 184707.84
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

This challenging and ambitious research project aims to analyse the enunciative devices of the European francophone essay film in order to determine the audiovisual procedures that materialise the expression of subjectivity, the thinking process and self-reflexiveness, which define this stimulating filmic form. Starting from the concept of francophony, and through an innovative interdisciplinary and intermedial approach that relates cinema to philosophy, semiotics to aesthetics and cinema history to cultural and gender studies, the research will establish firstly a typology of the different enunciative devices: audiovisual materials, intermedial forms and filmic procedures. Secondly, the research will analyse the relationship between them and the themes addressed by the essay films and the artistic movements they belong to, since its birth in modern cinema to the very present, in which this essayistic practice has known a great proliferation due to the digital revolution, facilitating the experience of subjectivity and intimacy of this filmic form. Thirdly, the research will determine the functionality of the different enunciative devices, exploring how identity –individual, social, political, gender, artistic– thinks through cinema. The EDEF proposal, considering the essay film as a social, political and artistic developer that fosters society’s critical thinking, will also analyse the function of the spectator in this dialogic filmic form. The project includes a dissemination plan and a communication strategy that will ensure the spread of the research results to both the widest scientific community and the largest general public, following the guidelines of the fully open-access policy of Horizon 2020. The principal output will be a scholarly monograph with a prestigious international publisher. Thus, the EDEF proposal will contribute concretely to European excellence in Film Studies and to the creation of a common, current and widespread European culture.

Keywords: essay film,enunciative devices,francophone cinema,intermediality,aesthetics,semiotics,film analysis
A disruptive medical device to enable proton therapy as non-invasive and automated treatment of heart arrhythmias (Cardio-kit)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Industrial Leadership
Programme: Innovation in SMEs
Action type: SME instrument
Countries involved: Switzerland
Call: SME instrument (H2020-SMEInst-2018-2020-1, 2019)
Start date: 2019-08-01
End date: 2019-11-30
Duration (months): 4.0
Total project cost (EUR): 71429.0
EU funding (EUR): 50000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Heart arrhythmia is a major worldwide public health problem, accounting for 15–20% of all deaths. Heart arrhythmias affects over 15 million people in Europe and North America and this number is expected to double in the next 50 years due to the aging population and lifestyle changes. Catheter ablation is the current gold standard for heart arrhythmia treatment. The surgical procedure is performed by introducing a catheter under anaesthesia into the heart chambers, to ablate selected target regions by applying heat. This invasive procedure requires patient hospitalization, a staff of 10 doctors, and has a high risk of complications, such as bleeding, infection and damage to heart valves and blood vessels. EBAMed developed Cardio-kit, a non-invasive medical device for heart arrhythmia treatment using proton therapy. It is a plug&play system that can be integrated into existing proton machines. Cardio-kit enables monitoring of heart movements in real time, and automatically adjusts the Stop/Go activity of the proton therapy machine based on the phase of the cardiac cycle in which to intervene. Cardio-kit ensures an accurate, effective and safe treatment of the moving target within the heart at the right time. In this way, Cardio-kit facilitates an out-patient procedure, as it does not require any hospitalization or sedation. The procedure is quick, safe, painless and suitable for any age and health condition patient with no side-effects. During the phase 1 project, a go-to-market strategy and a supply chain will be established, as well as further development plan will be drafted. Within the overall innovation project, EBAMed will finalize its engineering of Cardio-kit before scaling up, and perform clinical validation with partner hospitals.

Keywords: proton therapy,cardiac arrhytmias,machine learning,real time data processing,heart motion tracking
Next Generation refrigeration Technology based on vacuum rapid cooling (V-Chiller)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Industrial Leadership
Programme: Innovation in SMEs
Action type: SME instrument
Countries involved: Hungary
Call: SME instrument (H2020-SMEInst-2018-2020-1, 2019)
Start date: 2019-09-01
End date: 2020-02-29
Duration (months): 6.0
Total project cost (EUR): 71429.0
EU funding (EUR): 50000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Since the invention of vapor-compression refrigeration system (VCRS) two centuries ago, it became the primary cooling technology used in almost all fridges, freezers and air-conditions worldwide, all progress have been focused on making the technology more economically viable and more efficient ignoring other very important shortcoming of this technology like, very slow cooling speed and harmful use of refrigerants like CFC and HFC that destroys ozone layer and causes global warming. We consider it usual nowadays that we have to store items in the fridge for hours before it gets cold or air-conditions recirculating cold air already inside the room instead of keep pushing in more fresh air from the outside, resulting in spreading bad odors and bacteria around the room or office, but it shouldn’t be that way… We invented a new refrigeration technology based on Vacuum Cooling Technology, the first RAPID-COOLING technology in the world that is as efficient as VCRS, totally Eco-friendly and at comparable cost. First manifestation of this technology will be “V-Chiller” a rapid cooling fridge made for the Food & Beverage industry that can on demand chill 4 cans or more of beverages per minute using minimal electricity and at a comparable cost for a VCRS chiller that is already used While a usual chiller takes ~5 Hours to cool a batch of 400 Cans in a glass double-door commercial fridge, V-Chiller can chill ~ 1200 Cans during same period. V-Chiller supports the Food & beverage industry meet upcoming greenhouse gas emissions and energy waste demands of 30% more efficient refrigeration equipment by 2023. V-Chiller’s and we aim to capture 20% of European commercial chillers market share by 2024, generating €60 M in revenues.

Keywords: next generation cooling technology vacuum cooling,rapid cooling,efficient refregeration
High-speed, High-accuracy and Radiation-Hardened (Rad-Hard) Analog-to-Digital converter (ADC) in CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) technology (3H-ADC)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Industrial Leadership
Programme: Innovation in SMEs
Action type: SME instrument
Countries involved: Spain
Call: SME instrument (H2020-SMEInst-2018-2020-1, 2018)
Start date: 2019-03-01
End date: 2019-07-31
Duration (months): 5.0
Total project cost (EUR): 71429.0
EU funding (EUR): 50000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The global market of high-qualified Analog-to-Digital and Digital-to-Analog converters (ADC and DAC respectively) is dominated by United States’ (US) firms, all of them subject to “International Traffic in Arms Regulations” (ITAR), and therefore to important restrictions in export and use in aerospace and defence applications outside the US. First European companies in the market hold marginal shares, and what is most concerning, they offer poor-performing products. The loss of competitiveness of these firms in the face of US’ competitors and European Union's (EU) technological dependence are evident. Facing this situation, the European Space Agency, the European Commission and the European Defence Agency agreed on a list of actions for strategic non-dependence in the area of critical space technologies, such us the development of high-performance and high-speed DAC-ADC based on EU technology. 2SE is a start-up founded by experienced and high-qualified professionals coming from the research world and the electronics industry. This project is aimed at the feasibility assessment of a high-speed, high-accuracy and radiation-hardened (Rad-Hard) ADC in CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) technology. It clearly outperforms all the competing products in terms of performance, features (including self-calibration tasks for autonomous systems), energy and cost efficiency due to its System-on-Chip design. This ADC is the result of a previous R&D project currently at a TRL6 and it is mainly targeted to specific applications developers/integrators and manufacturers of electronic equipment, whose main pain is the scarcity of a qualified offer. We will tackle space, aeronautics, automotive and medical segments, with EU as our first target, and international expansion through Asia-Pacific and America. This product unveils a business opportunity with an impact of €18.75M in our turnover, €15M of accumulated profit, 24 new jobs and a ROI of 7.47 for the 2021-2023 period.

Keywords: data converters,integrated circuits,system on chip,cmos technology,application specific integrated circuits,asic,radiation hardened
Claustrum, Brainstem and Sleep: Mechanisms and Function (SleepCirc)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Excellent Science
Programme: European Research Council (ERC)
Theme: European research council
Destination: Advanced grants
Action type: ERC actions
Panel: Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System
Panel description: Nervous system development, homeostasis and ageing, nervous system function and dysfunction, systems neuroscience and modelling, biological basis of cognitive processes and of behaviour, neurological and mental disorders
Countries involved: Germany
Call: ERC Advanced Grant (ERC-2018-ADG, 2018)
Start date: 2019-07-01
End date: 2024-06-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2311197.5
EU funding (EUR): 2311197.5
Participants: 1
Project status: SIGNED

We will address fundamental questions about sleep mechanisms, function and evolution, and about the role of the claustrum, a forebrain area with hypothetical roles in attention and consciousness. These results are interesting in part because the claustrum has an ill-defined evolutionary origin and because its potential involvement in sleep has, to our knowledge, not been reported previously. This proposal exploits three new and previously unrelated results from the reptilian brain. (i) We discovered recently that, in the lizard Pogona vitticeps, slow-wave and REM sleep alternate in a clock-like fashion, suggesting the existence of regular sleep pattern generators in the brainstem. (ii) More recently, a single-cell RNA sequencing study of the reptilian brain by our laboratory, hinted that a small pallial area may be homologous to the mammalian claustrum. This homology acquired functional importance in a third, independent finding, based on electrophysiological recordings: (iii) sharp-wave ripples, a hallmark of Pogona slow-wave sleep, can be generated autonomously from an area that corresponds precisely to the transcriptomically-identified claustrum. This convergence provides a potential clue about claustrum function and evolution, especially because, in mammals at least, the claustrum is densely interconnected with the rest of the brain, especially cortex. Our neuroethological approach will exploit the unique advantages of Pogona sleep, combining scRNA-seq, tract-tracing, optogenetic, behavioral and electrophysiological approaches.

Keywords: sleep,brainstream,claustrum,behavioural,electrophysiological,single cell rna seq,tract tracing,neuroethology,reptile,pogona vitticeps
Age-associated signatures in the composition and pro-inflammatory status of the gut microbiome in humans and mice, and the impact of a periodic fasting intervention to promote healthy aging (Gut-InflammAge)

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: 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): 200194.8
EU funding (EUR): 200194.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The human gut hosts a large and diverse ecosystem of microbes termed the gut microbiome. Microbiome imbalances, often affecting the interplay of the microbes with the host immune system, have been linked to a variety of diseases. Being amenable for modulation, for example via diet and probiotics, the gut microbiome is a potential target of high interest for promoting human well-being. Since the proportion of Europeans above 65 is expected to double from 2010 to 2050, healthy aging is an important issue on the European policy agenda. Aging has been linked to an enhanced pro-inflammatory status, and many age-associated diseases involve inflammation. Changes in the taxonomic composition of the gut microbiome with age that associate with increased frailty among the elderly have been described. However, the evidence is still limited and possible interventions remain to be explored. Moreover, changes in the pro-inflammatory potential of gut microbes can occur without coinciding compositional changes of the microbiome. To address these issues, we propose an approach combining high-throughput sequencing, immunoglobulin A-based cell sorting, microscopy, and bioinformatics to explore differences in the composition and pro-inflammatory potential of the gut microbiome of young and older Danish individuals. Using mouse as model system, we will further explore whether a periodic fasting scheme with established metabolic health benefits when applied from middle to old age promotes gut microbiome modulations. The project will be supervised by associate professor Manimozhiyan Arumugam at the Center for Basic Metabolic Research (CBMR, University of Copenhagen). CBMR excels in research on the impact of the gut microbiome on metabolic and inflammatory disorders. This environment of expertise as well as access to human microbiome samples with associated information on health status will be a key asset to this project.

Keywords: gut microbiome,inflammaging,healthy aging,inflammation,metabolic health,immunoglobulin a,dietary restriction,autophagy,metabolism
PICSOHF, A minimally invasive cardiac intervention medical device to regenerate a damaged heart and extend the life of patients with Heart Failure (PICSOHF)

Framework: Horizon 2020 — Industrial Leadership
Programme: Innovation in SMEs
Action type: SME instrument
Countries involved: Belgium
Call: SME instrument (H2020-SMEInst-2018-2020-1, 2019)
Start date: 2020-01-01
End date: 2020-04-30
Duration (months): 4.0
Total project cost (EUR): 71429.0
EU funding (EUR): 50000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Worldwide 26 million people live with HF (Heart Failure) which is a major burden, not only for the patient, but one that also threatens the sustainability of national healthcare systems. Despite advances in treatment solutions over the last 30 years, improvements have not met the expectations for cardiac recovery and prognosis following heart attack. Current treatments are only partial solutions as they cannot regenerate the damaged heart tissue, and are thus unable to stop the progressive loss of heart function, low short- and medium-term life expectancy, and impoverished quality of life due to co-morbidities and/or frequent and continuous re-hospitalisations. Regenerative concepts, such as cellular therapies to regain cardiac function, once of the greatest hope for heart failure patients, have been recently discredited as they have been unable to show scientific proof of efficacy. Miracor, developed and clinically tested PiCSO, a breakthrough cardiac intervention triggering myocardial regeneration. Our therapy consists of a percutaneous right heart catheter intervention using proprietary software for feedback control that temporarily elevates the pressure in cardiac veins reactivating innate regeneration pathways. We have tested PiCSO in chronic HF patients (8 patients versus 22 controls) and demonstrated that 30 minutes of intervention changed the pattern of regenerative biomarkers in cardiac veins that resulted in significantly improved survival at 10 years follow up. Our patented technology (PiCSOHF ) is changing the market in HF, as no similar device is currently available. Our strategic goal is to become Europe´s leading reference in treating HF. After full technological, clinical and commercial development, PICSOHF profits will increase by +€66M within 5 years after commercial launch.

Keywords: heart tissue regeneration,minimal invasive technique,chronic hearth failure,quality of life for hearth failure patients