Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Coulomb excitation of ground- and isomeric state of neutron-deficient polonium isotopes: a study of shape coexistence in the Z=82 region. (SHAPEXPIUM)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Intra-European Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Belgium
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2009-IEF, 2009)
Start date: 2010-09-10
End date: 2012-09-09
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 160600.0
EU funding (EUR): 160600.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The object of the present proposal is the study of the intriguing phenomenon of shape coexistence, whereby an atomic nucleus exhibits different shapes (e.g. spherical, oblate, prolate) at low excitation energy. The measurements will give quantitative information about the nature of the shape coexistence and the interplay between single-nucleon and collective degrees of freedom and should, therefore, reveal important new insight in the underlying mechanisms that determine the nuclear structure. The study will focus on neutron-deficient polonium isotopes, a critical region of the nuclide-chart to tests coherent descriptions of shape coexistence. The study will be achieved via Coulomb excitation experiments using state-of-the-art beams from CERN’s isotope separator on-line facility ISOLDE and the highly segmented germanium detector array MINIBALL. A quantitative analysis of the configuration mixing in the wave-functions will be deduced from the measurements of the transition matrix elements between low-lying excited states. The data will be combined with other experimental observables (mean square charge radii, magnetic moments, alpha- and beta-decay transition probabilities, level structures) and compared with contemporary theoretical predictions (mean-field and shell-model calculations and symmetry-based approaches). Through the present proposal the candidate will have the unique opportunity to receive high-level training in: radioactive nuclei production via the ISOL method, laser resonant ionization, gamma-ray spectroscopy with highly segmented germanium detectors and nuclear structure properties in heavy nuclei. This will allow the candidate to extend and deepen her research skills to the field of radioactive nuclei, today one of the major nuclear research field. Qualified researchers are extremely needed in the existing and planned Radioactive Ion Beam facilities.

Keywords: nuclear physics,radioactive nuclear beams,shape coexistence,isomeric states,resonant laser ionization
Practical Impact of EU Equality Directives in Italian and UK Employment Law: a comparative analysis (PIEDIUEL)

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: 2011-01-01
End date: 2011-12-31
Duration (months): 12.0
Total project cost (EUR): 113613.6
EU funding (EUR): 113613.6
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The EU is founded on the principles of liberty, democracy, respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms. To underpin these principles the EU has introduced a wide range of anti-discrimination legislation. Different Member States have, however, implemented and interpreted this legislation in many different ways, meaning the effectiveness of EU anti-discrimination policy varies considerably across the Union. The aim of this research project is to compare and contrast how the legislation has been implemented in two different Member States, UK and Italy, with a view to identifying areas of good practice which, if adopted in both of these and other Member States, would enhance the effectiveness of the EU’s anti-discrimination law. In order to achieve this, the researcher will investigate the practical impact of EU non-discrimination law in Italian and English employment law, using a critical comparative law methodology. The critical comparative law method endeavours to comprehend the underlying reasons (social, historical, economic, and cultural) which explain why identical EU directives have had a different impact in two different Member States. The same method will be used to realise a wider practical application of the European antidiscrimination law in Italy and UK; in particular, to consider if Italian non-discrimination law may “be modelled” by the English law, and the UK by Italian law. The final aim of the project is finding good practices in Italy and the UK to promote a widespread and a more frequent use of non-discrimination law in Europe.

Keywords: social sciences,juridical sciences,european law,labour law,comparative law,italy,directives,implementation,good practise
The highly calcium-sensitive pool of granules in biphasic insulin secretion: Experimental and theoretical investigations (HCSP IN BETA-CELLS)

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: Sweden
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2009-IEF, 2009)
Start date: 2010-06-01
End date: 2012-01-12
Duration (months): 18.0
Total project cost (EUR): 136002.05
EU funding (EUR): 136002.05
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Insulin is released from the pancreatic beta-cells in a biphasic manner in response to a step in the ambient glucose concentration, and the loss of first-phase secretion is an early marker of diabetes. Studies have shown that there exist pools of insulin secretory granules with different calcium sensitivities. The project will study the nature, regulation and role of the highly calcium-sensitive pool (HCSP) in pancreatic beta-cells. Special focus will be on its relation to &quot;newcomer granules&quot;, which fuse shortly after arriving to the membrane, during biphasic insulin secretion. We will apply a combination of well-established experimental methods such as patch-clamp techniques, life confocal and TIRF imaging, in novel combinations with knock-down of key exocytotic proteins, in particular Syntaxin and Synaptotagmin. The experimental part will be complemented and supported by modelling studies, building on our recently published model, which identified the HCSP with newcomer granules. This interdisciplinary project will test the model experimentally, and vice versa, use the model to suggest key experiments. The suggested work will complement the theoretical training of the fellow with hands-on experience.

Keywords: diabetology,cell biology,computational biology,biomathematics,physiological biophysics
Effects of posttranslational modifications of alpha-synuclein on dopaminergic neurodegeneration in a novel viral vector mediated in vivo model of Parkinson’s disease (MODIFYPD)

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: Sweden
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2009-IEF, 2009)
Start date: 2010-11-01
End date: 2012-10-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 179669.4
EU funding (EUR): 179669.4
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

One of the major pathological hallmarks of Parkinson´s disease (PD) is the progressive loss of specific dopaminergic projection neurons, especially those located in the substantia nigra pars compacta. The neurodegeneration is accompanied by the presence of cytoplasmic inclusions called Lewy bodies, which invariably contain the α-synuclein (α-syn) protein as a major component. Aggregation of α-syn in the brains of PD patients has attracted much attention also because point mutations in the α-syn gene were found to cause rare dominantly inherited form of PD. Although the precise mechanism of the selective vulnerability of dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain remains unknown, there is increasing evidence that multiple pathogenic factors including impaired handling of cytoplasmic dopamine (DA), elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and abnormal phosphorylation of α-syn could cause selective death of these cells via the accumulation of soluble neurotoxic α-syn species. Building on the know how and expertise of the host lab I propose to study 1) the pathogenic interaction of DA/α-syn by genetically increasing cytoplasmic DA levels in the viral vector mediated α-syn overexpression model, which I propose would result in a more pronounced neurodegeneration; 2) the role of ROS by upregulation of the enzyme methionine sulfoxide reductase A (known to prevent oxidative damage by scavenging of ROS). I hypothesize that expression of this enzyme should result in protection of dopaminergic neurons in the α-syn overexpression model; and 3) the consequences of increased Ser 129 phosphorylation of α-syn by overexpressed polo like kinases, which should modify neurotoxicity in the viral vector mediated α-syn overexpression model. These 3 approaches could give important clues for understanding the mechanisms underlying the selective neurodegeneration in PD and thus lead to the development of novel therapeutic strategies in PD.

Keywords: neurobiology,neurochemistry
Mycorrhizas and Europe’s oaks: a functional biodiversity knowledge gap (MYCOIND)

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: 2010-08-23
End date: 2012-08-22
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 173240.8
EU funding (EUR): 173240.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Oak forests are an extensive forest type in temperate regions worldwide. Forest ecosystems are threatened due to a loss of biodiversity caused by human and environmental factors. It is thus essential to understand which processes and factors are involved in the maintenance of forest soil functional biodiversity to assure their long-term development and sustainability. In boreal and temperate forests nearly all tree roots form mycorrhizas, which play a crucial ecological role by determining nutrient acquisition and drought tolerance of trees. Despite their vital importance, there is a gap of knowledge about the functional significance of mycorrhizal diversity in forest ecosystems. In this project the aims are: 1) to assess the mycorrhizal diversity of European oak forests creating baseline data against future forest changes; 2) to test for relationships between mycorrhizal community composition and forest condition; and 3) to study changes in mycorrhizal biodiversity and biomass across environmental gradients. This will be carried out through field sampling across Europe at intensively monitored long-term oak forest plots from the ICP Forests European network. This project will for the first time combine molecular ecology methods for mycorrhizas and mycelia within this vast network. This will allow to generate essential DNA-based baseline mycorrhizal diversity and distribution data from European oak forests across environmental gradients and to test whether mycorrhizal shifts allow the detection and prediction of future changes in these forests. We expect to identify a set of dominant mycorrhizas that can act as belowground indicators (MYCOIND) of forest condition in oak forests of Europe. Access to Europe’s biomonitoring forest plots and the recent availability of high-throughput molecular ecology tools, lead to a unique opportunity to create a platform of knowledge at a European scale, to provide information for the management and sustainability of these forests.

Keywords: forest biodiversity,soil biodiversity,mycology,bioindicators,biomonitoring,environmental change,function,icp forests,ecology,mycorrhizas,mycelium
Welfare State and the Rise of Extreme Politics in Europe (WSREPE)

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: 2011-07-01
End date: 2013-06-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 165540.8
EU funding (EUR): 165540.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Within the last few decades the European political landscape changed significantly with the rise of extreme right and far left populist parties in countries of Western Europe and various extremist and populist parties in countries of Eastern Europe. The appeals of these parties differ, but their commonality is that they represent a large group of disaffected citizens who view themselves as losers of changes brought by deindustrialization, European integration and globalization. My proposed research aims to offer a theoretically driven empirical investigation of the impact of welfare state capacity to respond to social and economic changes generated by these processes on the rise of radical political appeals and the support for radical political parties. I expect that the strength of populist appeals and support for populist political parties across Europe is strongly affected by the failure of welfare states to address problems of economic insecurity, inequality and social exclusion. The research will provide a comprehensive mapping of the performance of European welfare states in responding to challenges of post-industrial period with respect to employment, social inequality, the handling of new social risks and the integration of immigrants. It will also provide a comprehensive mapping of radical and populist political actors, their appeals and their electoral performance across European countries. Furthermore, the research will conduct a comprehensive analysis of the impact welfare state performance; exposure of countries to economic globalization; immigration and the extent of benefits brought by European integration have on support for radical populist parties, national political systems and European integration. It will rely on multilevel methods to assess the impact of macro-level variables on variations in individual-level behavior and attitudes across European countries.

Keywords: political sciences,societal behaviour,social change,welfare state,voting behavior,public opinion,extreme politics
BRAIN IRON LEVELS IN CHILDREN WITH ATTENTION-DEFICIT/HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER: AN IMAGING AND NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL STUDY (BRAIN IRON IN ADHD)

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: Italy
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2009-IOF, 2009)
Start date: 2010-09-01
End date: 2013-08-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 239604.7
EU funding (EUR): 239604.7
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The applicant is a child psychiatrist whose overall research objective is to understand the etiopathophysiology of common childhood mental disorders in order to identify more effective treatment and preventive strategies. The proposal is designed to provide the applicant with advanced interdisciplinary skills in brain imaging and neurophysiology. This will be necessary for the success of the proposed research as well as of future innovative projects, supporting the transition from mentored to independent researcher. The project aims to gain insight into the etiopathophysiology of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), one of the most common and impairing childhood mental disorders. Current ADHD treatment is symptomatic, not curative. Treatments targeting etiopathophysiological mechanisms may provide specific curative action. Preliminary data by the applicant’s group suggest that iron deficiency (ID) is a possible etiopathophysiological candidate in ADHD. The proposed research aims to extend these results comparing brain iron levels, estimated by a novel imaging approach (magnetic field correlation), in 20 children with ADHD and 20 healthy controls, and correlating them with measures of functional connectivity. Moreover, the unexplored correlation between brain iron and parameters from electroencephalogram, polysomnogram, and event-related potentials will be assessed in an additional sample of 20 children with ADHD. The project includes specific training in “Translational Developmental Neuroscience,” with a focus on brain imaging, at the Institute for Pediatric Neuroscience, New York University, NY, and training in neurophysiology at the Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Verona University, Italy. The expected results have the potential to confirm the role of ID in ADHD, providing a strong rationale for large trials of iron supplementation. Considering the low cost of iron therapy and the high prevalence of ADHD, the proposal exhibits high public health relevance

Keywords: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder,iron,magnetic resonance imaging,electroencephalogram,polysomnogram,event-related potentials
The role of histamine dysfunction in sensory and cognitive deficits in schizophrenia (SCHIZOAMINE)

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: 2012-01-31
Duration (months): 18.0
Total project cost (EUR): 129430.6
EU funding (EUR): 129430.6
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The aim of this study is to investigate the role of the neurotransmitter histamine in sensory and cognitive deficits (e.g. hearing voices, disturbed thinking and planning, memory problems) as they are observed in patients suffering from schizophrenia. The ideal location to conduct the study and to obtain a unique learning experience is at the Institute of Psychiatry, London United Kingdom, where staff comprises a mix of leading experts in the field of schizophrenia and experimental drug treatment as well as specialists in Magnetic Resonance Brain Imaging. The pharmacological treatment of psychotic symptoms including sensory and cognitive deficits as seen in schizophrenia remains partially unsuccessful due to side effects and treatment resistance. Therefore, new treatments are continuously developed by pharmaceutical companies. The neurotransmitter histamine is a promising target for new drugs. Histamine turnover in the brain has been suggested to be increased in schizophrenia which may underlie the positive symptoms. A decrease in histaminergic activity in the frontal cortex has been suggested to underlie the cognitive deficits. No attempts have been made until now to investigate the specific role of histamine in sensory and cognitive deficits typically seen in schizophrenics. To investigate this, I will assess the effects of increased histaminergic activity, by blocking the H3 receptor in healthy volunteers, on sensory gating and tasks of executive functioning (planning) and memory. Altered performance on such tasks would support the importance of histamine in schizophrenia and provides a model for new drug development in order to treat the sensory and cognitive deficits.

Keywords: cognitive science,behavioural sciences,neuropsychology,clinical pharmacology
The origin of excess charge at the water/hydrophobic interfaces (EXCHARGEHYD)

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: Germany,Germany
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2009-IIF, 2009)
Start date: 2010-12-01
End date: 2012-11-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 216782.0
EU funding (EUR): 216782.0
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

The main purpose of this proposal is the theoretical investigation of salt adsorption process at the interface of water/hydrophobic substrates taking into account impurities, dissolved gases using thermodynamically consistent force fields for ions by molecular dynamics methods. Most hydrophobic polymer materials without any functional and reactive surface groups develops a substantial negative charge at the interface of water-hydrophobic substrate. Source of this excess charge is not determined yet while the effect is enormous for electrically driven flows, in the context of electrical energy conversion, and it lies at the heart of many electrochemical and electrokinetic processes. Despite intensive theoretical and experimental efforts during past decades, this remarkable effect is still far from complete understanding. Molecular dynamics studies of water/hydrophobic substrate interfaces using atomistic force fields are challenging and can provide important information about structure and dynamics of the environment and shed light of interface phenomena. The proposed research aims to provide novel insight into structure and dynamics of water/vapor, water/hydrophobic substrate interfaces and provide a strong base for an investigations of ion transport through biochannels, and help elucidate the mechanisms by which these biochannels function.

Keywords: physical sciences,soft matter and polymer physics,surface chemistry,hydrophobic interaction,specific ion effects,air-water interface
TUNABLE NONLINEAR METAMATERIALS (METATUNE)

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: 2010-04-01
End date: 2012-03-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 180603.2
EU funding (EUR): 180603.2
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

A metamaterial is a material which gains its properties from its structure rather than directly from its materials composition. Within the context of photonics, such compounds are engineered composites that exhibit superior, designed properties that are not found in nature and not observed in the constituent materials. They have demonstrated many intriguing properties and applications for control over electromagnetic waves such as negative refraction, superlensing, and cloaking devices. Metamaterials have the potential to develop into a highly disruptive technology over the whole electromagnetic spectrum, ranging from more efficient radiofrequency antennas to the marriage of nanoscience and photonics for a whole new generation of optoelectronic devices. Since the first studies on negative-index metamaterials, the attention of most researchers has been focused on the passive control and linear properties of these composite structures, where the effective parameters of the structure do not depend on the intensity of the applied field or propagating electromagnetic waves. However, to achieve the full potential of the unique properties of the metamaterials requires the ability to dynamically control the material’s properties in real time through either direct external tuning or nonlinear responses.

Keywords: physical sciences