Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Novel antigens for human gamma delta T cells (NOVAGAMD)

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: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2009-IEF, 2009)
Start date: 2010-08-01
End date: 2012-07-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 171740.8
EU funding (EUR): 171740.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

T lymphocytes bearing gamma delta T cell receptors (TCR) make crucial contributions to tissue-surveillance of infection and non-microbial stress. Although these cells may recognise dysregulated tissues via their activating NKG2D receptor, we remain very ignorant of stress-related molecules that may bind the gamma/delta TCR directly. Much work has focussed on peripheral blood gamma delta T cells expressing Vgamma9-Vdelta2 TCRs. Recently however, several Vgamma9-Vdelta2-negative clones were isolated which react both to cytomegalovirus-infected cells and to colonic tumours. This has led to the identification of Endothelial cell Protein C Receptor (EPCR) as a TCR target of one such clone. This is only the third gamma delta TCR ligand validated biochemically. I shall now assess the generality of EPCR reactivity among human gamma delta T cells. Using ELISpot technology, I can apply a very sensitive means to investigate cytokine production by gamma delta T cells from cells of donors of various ages and health status. Moreover, since EPCR is strongly conserved, I shall extend the project to mouse. The identification of EPCR activity in mice would substantially enhance the capacity to dissect the biology of this novel response. Finally, I shall also investigate candidate ligands for aVgamma9-Vdelta2-negative clone that does not bind EPCR.

Keywords: immunology,molecular biology,cellular biology,immunosurveillance,gamma delta t cell,epcr,ligands,cancer
Investigating the Functional Implications of MICA Polymorphisms (IFIMAP)

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: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2009-IEF, 2009)
Start date: 2010-07-01
End date: 2012-06-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 172240.8
EU funding (EUR): 172240.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

It is increasingly clear that physico-chemical dysregulation of epithelial cells leads to the upregulation of stress-antigens that make the cells visible to sets of lymphocytes that include gamma delta T cells and NK cells. This form of stress-surveillance can make significant contributions to tumour immunology; transplant rejection; and inflammatory diseases. A central molecular axis underpinning stress-surveillance is the recognition of stress-regulated MHC-I-related molecules, such as MICA and ULBP, by the activating receptor NKG2D. Provocatively, MICA is highly polymorphic, with genetic associations with inflammatory diseases, transplant rejection, and cancer. However, there have been no functional studies of MICA polymorphism. This study will assay the capacity of different MICA alleles and another NKG2D ligand (ULBP2) to activate T cells and NK cells from patients and healthy controls. Building on preliminary data that there is substantial individual variation in the response to different ligands and ligand alleles, this study will use a novel experimental system to investigate and characterise the molecules that regulate this form of immune response. A better knowledge of the functional implications of MICA polymorphisms can provide insight into a large variety of pathologies, and the mechanisms used by viruses or tumour cells to evade stress-induced immune responses. The study may also identify novel regulators of unconventional T cells and NK cells, with both biologic and clinical implications.

Keywords: mica polymorphisms,nkg2d,unconventional t cells,nk cells,stress surveillance,tumour immunology,inflammatory diseases
Timing of bird migration under climate change: phenotypic plasticity, microevolutionary response or both? (BIRDCLIMCHANGE)

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-2009-IEF, 2009)
Start date: 2011-05-01
End date: 2013-04-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 197368.0
EU funding (EUR): 197368.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Climate is changing at a global scale, exposing organisms to novel environmental conditions and potentially having a profound impact on life-history traits of individuals, and, hence, on the ecology, distribution and persistence of species. Among the most apparent effects of climate change are alterations in the phenology of many species as a result of changes in the timing of seasons. One of the most striking examples concerns the life-cycle of migratory birds: during recent decades a growing number of studies have reported a direct relationship between climate change and bird migration phenology, essentially showing that birds arrive earlier to their breeding grounds in the Northern Hemisphere, in accordance with a trend towards higher global temperature. However, the ultimate mechanisms by which these phenotypical adaptations occur are poorly understood. Two contrasting, non-exclusive, mechanisms may account for the observed responses: a microevolutionary response to selection and/or phenotypic plasticity. To explore which of these mechanisms operates and when, here we propose the combined use of long-term datasets of individually-marked migratory birds, their phenotypic and life-history traits and their fitness parameters, along with climatic data and pedigree information. We propose to identify which phenotypic traits have changed over time because of the influence of climate change, by using a range of statistical analyses and mathematical modelling (capture-mark-recapture methods, linear mixed modelling). Then, we propose to study the inheritance patterns of the most-influenced phenotypic traits using pedigree information and quantitative genetics methods (“animal models”). This combined use of ecology and evolution methodologies through heredity studies of pedigrees aims to help understand how the adaptive mechanisms to climate change take place in the particular case of bird migration.

Keywords: natural sciences,environmental science,climate change,evolution,ecology,mathematical modelling,birds,global change adaptation strategies (climate change)
Sovereign Wealth Funds, Internationalization and Political Connection (SWF)

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-2009-IEF, 2009)
Start date: 2010-10-01
End date: 2012-09-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 153548.8
EU funding (EUR): 153548.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

This proposal initiates research on the financial and corporate impact of Sovereign Wealth Fund investments in Europe and North America. SWFs are already large and active market players, thus of interest to regulators, economists and stakeholders of firms. Questions about their roles as investors need to be addressed and clarified. In this proposal, the researcher aims to study effects of SWFs as large, foreign, and politically connected shareholders. More specifically he asks: 1. Are SWF passive investors or activists shareholders that monitor and discipline managers? 2. What kind of companies do SWFs target as large shareholders? 3. What are the purposes of their transactions? 4. What is the market&apos;s reaction to SWF investments as large shareholders? 5. Do SWF affect firm value and how: internationalization and political connections? 6. How do SWF’s investments affect the welfare of other stakeholders (employees, creditors and bondholders)?

Keywords: sovereign wealth fund,internationalization,political connection,large investors and activism
Quantum simulation of mesoscopic systems with highly excited atoms and ions (QUANTSIM)

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: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2009-IEF, 2009)
Start date: 2010-05-15
End date: 2012-05-14
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 173403.2
EU funding (EUR): 173403.2
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The rapid development in cold atomic physics in conjunction with advances of optical technologies has paved the way to create artificial simulators mimicking complex quantum models. Remarkable experiments, e.g. superfluid-insulator transition of ground state atoms in optical lattices, have been achieved recently. This opens new research frontiers at which atomic physics and condensed matter physics merge and becomes worldwide activities which aim at turning quantum physics into useful technology. This project brings together a top-class, young, Chinese researcher from Germany, Weibin Li, and the dedicated, enthusiastic Scientist-in-Charge Dr Igor Lesanovsky at Nottingham University, UK. The project will work on quantum simulators based on dynamics of valence electrons of Rydberg atoms and ions. It provides additional freedom that particles can be controlled and manipulated individually by lasers. Such an approach has particular advantages over quantum simulators established by cold atoms. It allows to simulate chemical reactions in molecules and charge and energy transfer processes of spin models as well as access possibilities in quantum computation. This research will benefit the applicant by becoming an expert of atomic and condensed matter physics and raising the applicant’s profile in an international level. The host institution will benefit from this project and Weibin Li&apos;s presence because complementary knowledge on highly excited atoms and ions will be brought here. The project will enrich research areas and international collaborations of the host. The ERA (European Research Area) will benefit because the proposal develop a new approach in the study of quantum simulation. The results will promote studies in practical quantum technology. All these will emphasize the leadership of European in this field and widen gaps of the studies relative to other competing regions (USA, Japan, Australia, etc).

Keywords: atomic physics,molecular physics,solid state physics
Functional long-term imaging of single bouton-spine pairs during optogenetically controlled synaptic plasticity (OMFLICSS)

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: Switzerland
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2009-IEF, 2009)
Start date: 2010-03-01
End date: 2012-02-29
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 180470.8
EU funding (EUR): 180470.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Communication between neurons in the brain occurs mainly via chemical synapses. Activity-dependent changes in synaptic strength represent the cellular basis of learning and memory and depend on both the presynaptic terminal and the postsynaptic specialization. Although postsynaptic strength and presynaptic transmitter release have been extensively studied in isolation, simultaneous investigation of pre- and postsynaptic potentiation at spine synapses is still a technical challenge. The laboratory of Thomas Oertner recently established a method to optically identify and resolve the pre- and postsynaptic components of functional synapses in live tissue. The applicant will exploit and further refine this technique by combining optogenetic methods to manipulate electrical activity in the pre- and postsynaptic neurons with high-resolution imaging of structural plasticity and two-photon calcium imaging. As this all-optical approach is non-invasive it permits the investigation of the coordination of pre- and postsynaptic plasticity (transsynaptic matching) over extended time periods. With this new method the applicant wishes to study the precise temporal and molecular processes which control transsynaptic matching at a structural and functional level. As a second step the applicant intends to unravel possible retrograde signals mediated by diffusible retrograde messengers and transsynaptic cell-adhesion molecules. For this he will selectively manipulate individual components of transsynaptic signalling systems at the pre- or postsynaptic side using pharmacological (e.g. selective inhibitors) and genetic tools (shRNA and knock-out animals).

Keywords: neurobiology,neurophysiology,channelrhodopsin-2,gcamp2,synaptic transmission,retrograde signalling,calcium imaging,spine synapses,optogenetic manipulation
Deprotonation of organic molecules in solution by ab-initio MD and rare events simulation techniques. (SIMDEPRO)

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: Ireland
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2009-IEF, 2009)
Start date: 2011-05-01
End date: 2012-10-31
Duration (months): 18.0
Total project cost (EUR): 187330.3
EU funding (EUR): 187330.3
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Deprotonation of organic molecules are key processes involved in the rate limiting step of many chemical and biological processes. Their reaction mechanism depends on several factors such as the nature of the acid functional group (carboxyl, hydroxyl, etc.), the substituents of the molecule, and the type of solvent. However, despite their importance, the mechanism of these processes remain not well understood. In this project we shall study the mechanism of deprotonation of different classes of organic molecules in different solvents by ab-initio simulations, elucidating also the role of the solvent and molecular substituents. Standard atomistic simulations techniques, such as molecular dynamics (MD), cannot be used for simulating these processes by brute-force because of the time scale involved: deprotonation is a rare event. This problem will be overcame using modern 'sampling' techniques, such as Temperature Accelerated Molecular Dynamics, the String Method, and Milestoning, adapting them to the study of deprotonation process and, more generally, to chemical reactions. These techniques allow to compute the reaction rate, characterize its mechanism(s), and calculate its free energy along the reaction path (i.e. free energy barrier) of chemical reactions in realistic conditions (i.e. in solution). The present project will require expertise in both electronic structure calculations in condensed phase, of which the proposer is an expert, and statistical mechanics in which the scientist in charge (Prof. Ciccotti) is a well-known expert. This will allow the proposer to complement his competences by learning about modern concepts and simulation methods in the statistical mechanics theory of reactive events.

Keywords: chemical physics,statistical physics,rare events,ab-initio md,deprotonation,carboxylic acids,alcohols,reaction mechnisms and dynamics,reaction rate
Soft Collaborative Intelligent Systems (COLLIS.EUS)

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: Spain
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2009-IIF, 2009)
Start date: 2010-05-01
End date: 2012-04-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 213054.0
EU funding (EUR): 213054.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Soft-computing techniques have been successfully applied to analyze complex systems operating in uncertain and unstructured environments. Their ability to develop implicit and explicit models of system behaviour combined with capabilities to represent the state of knowledge of interacting computational entities, has led to a number of approaches that apply these techniques to develop multiagent systems. The European Centre for Soft Computing (Mieres, Spain) and Dr. Enrique H. Ruspini, an expert in the field of soft computing from SRI International (Palo Alto, California, U.S.) are proposing a research project focusing in collaborative information systems involving multiple interacting agents. Dr. Ruspini will investigate new research lines aimed at designing, understanding, and implementing this type of systems. The objectives of these studies will be, on one hand, robotic and sensor systems incorporating a large number of interacting agents and, on the other, distributed information systems incorporating sophisticated coordination and interaction tools. Soft-computing techniques will be applied to the design, analysis, and implementation of multiagent systems including hybrid systems where several human and autonomous agents collect, exchange, and process information to regulate system behaviour. Multiple agent systems are ubiquitous in science, industry, and commerce. The project plans to cover a wide range of applications such as manufacturing, scheduling, control, diagnosis, logistics, environmental emergency management, energy managing, and road traffic management. The project is based in a multidisciplinary approach that will integrate developments stemming from insights from a number of perspectives, notably biology, cognitive science, linguistics, economics, and social sciences.

Keywords: information and communication technologies,artificial intelligence,multi-agent systems,soft computing,fuzzy logic,distributed intelligent systems,robot and sensor networks
An Integrated Computational and Spectroscopic Investigation of the Enzyme Mechanism of Tryptophan Hydroxylase (ICSTH)

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: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2009-IOF, 2009)
Start date: 2011-05-16
End date: 2014-07-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 334689.8
EU funding (EUR): 334689.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Metalloenzymes play crucial role in neurobiology and therefore they are very important target for drug design for treatment neuropathological processes. In order to make new specific and effective drugs it is crucially important to understand the structure and functions of their drug targets. In this Outgoing Marie Curie Fellowship application we propose combined computational/spectroscopic investigation of the enzyme mechanism of tryptophan hydroxylase – a pterin-dependent non-heme containing iron enzyme in crucial importance for the nervous system. Accurate insight in the mechanism of such a complicated enzyme can not be received using solely computational or experimental methods therefore we will apply integrated combination of state-of-the-art computational methods with most modern spectroscopy methods (e.g. K edge X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy, Magnetic Circular Dichroism and variable-temperature variable-field MCD, and EPR). The results will provide understanding of the structure-functions relationships of this enzyme and will be used in drug design.

Keywords: physical sciences,biochemistry,computational chemistry,spectrochemistry
Smooth Forecasting of Evolutionary Panels (SFEP)

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-2009-IEF, 2009)
Start date: 2010-08-01
End date: 2012-07-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 154548.8
EU funding (EUR): 154548.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The main goal of this project is to develop theoretical and applied research on forecasting economic and financial data, whose structure changes over time. The classical theory of forecasting is well developed under the assumption that the data generating process is stationary over time. Put loosely, stationarity means that the properties of the underlying model do not change through time. Economies are manifestly non-stationary for many reasons, and in particular, are subjected to structural changes. This can lead to huge forecasting errors and unreliability of the model in general. For example, structural instability pervades many representative Post War US macroeconomic time series, and the forecasting relations that exist between those series. The so-called structural break model is based on the assumption that the breaks occur over time in an abrupt way. The disadvantage of modeling non-stationarity by means of a structural-break model is that the exact moment when the break occurs is unknown and often difficult to detect. An alternative way to specify the non-stationarity is based on the assumption that the changes in the structure of the data are not abrupt but smooth. In addition to non-stationarity, these time series can be highly correlated, which motivates the use of dimension-reduction techniques. Linear factor models have attracted considerable interest over recent years because of the intuitively appealing idea to explain a panel with a large number of time series by a few common latent factors. In our PhD thesis (see Motta 2009) we developed for the first time a theoretical framework to model economic and financial time series whose behavior is characterized by smooth evolutions of the dynamics and a factor structure. In this project we intend to go further and develop the forecasting dimension. The forecasting of how interest rates will develop, for example, can function as an early warning system for economic crises.

Keywords: forecasting,economics,econometrics,statistics,biometrics
Wet deposition of silicon for electrochemical devices (NANOSOUND)

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-2009-IEF, 2009)
Start date: 2010-04-01
End date: 2012-03-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 241886.0
EU funding (EUR): 241886.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Nanotechnology is expected to become a driver of sustainable energy development and energy storage. The possible photovoltaic (PV), thermoelectric, electrochemical application of various nanostructures including carbon nanotubes, C60, semi-conductor quantum dots has been intensively investigated. In the latter case, CdSe, CdTe and PbS nanocrystals have been successfully integrated in PV cells whereas transition metal oxides and phosphates nanocrystals have proven to be more efficient than their bulk counterparts as electrode materials for Li-ion batteries. This breakthrough has been made possible by the use of solution phase routes to tailor the size, shape, surface state and self-assembly of the nanoparticles We propose to explore the sonoelectrochemical and plasma assisted deposition methods to directly coat selected substrates by silicon nanocrystals. Glass and stainless steel substrates will respectively be used to measure the optical properties (absorption coefficient and photoluminescence) of the films and to test the electrochemical performance as an anode for Li-ion battery. This method will then be extended to polymers and fibers.

Keywords: inorganic chemistry,electrochemistry,radiation chemistry,nanodevices,battery active materials,pv materials