Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Locally generated forces within an epithelium: how do they affect the morphogenesis and planar cell polarity? (DROSOFORCESPOLARITY)

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: Germany
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-IEF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-04-01
End date: 2011-03-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 169284.33
EU funding (EUR): 169284.33
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

My objective is to understand how localized cortical actin/myosin contractility in individual cells within the Drosophila wing hinge and wing blade combine to generate the epithelial remodelling and convergence-extension movements that occur throughout the tissue. In particular, I will examine the role of the planar cell polarity proteins in generating and/or responding to these forces and test the hypothesis that convergence-extension movements are driven by external stretching forces caused by hinge contraction. To do so, I will use a multidisciplinary approach, including both genetics and biophysics. I will combine the genetic tools of Drosophila, to manipulate gene activity in time and space, with long-term time lapse imaging and automated image analysis, developed only recently in the Eaton lab, to quantitatively describe the effects of genetically induced cortical perturbations on cell behaviour. I will myself develop a completely novel method to exert controllable forces on wing tissue in vivo by directing the production of magnetic nanoparticles in specific regions of the wing. The originality of this project lies not only in its conceptual novelty, but in the powerful combination these methods and physical modelling that will be exploited to address the problem.

Keywords: biophysics,tissue morphogenesis,planar cell polarity,morphomechanics,genetically modified drosophila,actin cytoskeleton,myosin
Realistic Local Models in Moduli Stabilised String Compactifications (STRING MODELS)

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: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-IIF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2010-04-01
End date: 2012-03-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 164269.69
EU funding (EUR): 164269.69
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

String theory has the promise to provide answers for many of the puzzles in our current understanding of particle physics and cosmology. In string theory, space time has ten dimensions; four of them corresponding to the dimensions we observe, the six extra dimensions are curled up at an unobservable scale (compactified). One of the long standing problems in string theory was that known solutions for the internal dimension had continuous degeneracies (size and shape of extra dimensions). This predicted massless scalars for our four dimensional universe; in contradiction with observations. Furthermore, this continuous degeneracy implied that the parameters of the standard model - gauge couplings, fermion masses etc., could not be determined. One of the important developments in recent years is the discovery of solutions in which the size and shape of the extra dimensions are fixed (moduli stabilization). Thus we are now in a position to construct and explicitly analyze models of particle physics and cosmology derived from string theory. The project will aim to construct phenomenologically realistic models in this setting. We shall focus on models in which the standard model of particle physics (SM) is localized at a certain singularity in the extra dimension. Many issues of the physics of the SM will be addressed by a local model at the singularity, we shall then attempt at consistent embedding of the local model in a compactification which also gives the ``correct&quot; cosmology. We plan to take advantage of recent advances in numerical methods for algebaric geometry to answer various questions considered intractable in the past. The project shall involve interdisciplinary activity in the area of string theory, particle physics, cosmology, algebraic geometry and computational computer science. It will also receive guidance from state of art experiments, the large hadron collider (LHC) at CERN and the PLANCK satellite.

Keywords: string phenomenology,string theory,compactification,beyond the standard model,cosmology
Functional organisation of penicillin binding proteins of Neisseria meningitidis (NMEN-PBP)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: European Re-integration Grants
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Poland
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-ERG-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-11-01
End date: 2012-10-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 45000.0
EU funding (EUR): 45000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Neisseria meningitidis (Nm) is a leading cause of bacterial meningitis and septicemia worldwide with a high case-fatality rate. Although penicillin remains the drug of choice in the treatment of IMD, an increasing number of meningococci with reduced susceptibility to penicillin have been emerging worldwide. Reduces susceptibility or resistance to penicillin in meningococci is connected to alterations in penicillin binding protein 2, PBP2. PBPs are involved in the late stages of peptidoglycan (PG) biosynthesis and therefore PBPs alterations might result in PG modifications and hence affect PG-dependent signalling. Until recently it was thought that N. meningitidis strains own only three PBPs, PBP1, PBP2 and PBP3. However, genomic analysis of the complete sequence of meningococcal strains revealed the presence of two other putative genes encoding PBP4 and PBP5 which can possess D,D-carboxypeptidase and endopeptidase activity. And indeed the results obtained during the previous Marie Curie IEF from the PG structure study as well as from animal model provide the first indication that putative PBP4 and PBP5 are functional in N. meningitidis, play a role in the PG synthesis and influence the virulence of meningococcal isolates. It has been proposed for some bacteria that different enzymes involved in PG biosynthesis might act in concert or may form more active dimmer forms in vivo. Therefore the aim of this project is to study the interactions between penicillin binding proteins of Neisseria meningitidis and their functional organisation. The project will use a multidisciplinary approach applying bacteriological, molecular and biochemical methods as well as electron microscopy. The research should give a possibility to determine interactions between different PBPs of meningococci and to elucidate a role of different parts/domains of PBPs through the assessment of their influence on structural modification of N. meningitidis PG.

Keywords: neisseria meningitidis,penicillin binding proteins,peptidoglycan
Multidisciplinary approach to study effects of beneficial rhizobacteria on induced plant defences to abovegroung herbivorous insects (RHIZO-INSECT)

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-IEF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-07-01
End date: 2011-06-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 169425.4
EU funding (EUR): 169425.4
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Plants are members of complex communities and they interact with other plants, insects and microbes. These interactions have a high economic impact in agriculture, like is the case of pests and pathogens attacking a certain crop. Traditionally such interactions have been study one-by-one, but recently a high number of investigations are focused in the study of the relationships in a wider context. In the context of Integrated Pest Management, the use of strategies that induce plant resistance is a very promising strategy since it can be more effective than the use of pesticides in some cases The use of rhizobacteria is one method to induce systemic resistance in plants, as well as to promote plant growth. Induced defences comprise direct defences such as secondary metabolites and protease inhibitors that negatively affect herbivore growth and survival. And they also comprise indirect defences such as herbivore-induced plant volatiles and herbivore-induced extrafloral nectar that enhance the effectiveness of natural enemies of herbivores, such as parasitoids or predators. These mechanisms are providing plants two ways of defence against insect pests, and in the context of integrated pest management where natural enemies are frequently released, they can be very effective for pest control. It is essential to understand the mechanisms that are involved in these interactions in order to apply this strategy to the different plant-insect interactions.

Keywords: entomology,arthropod pathogens of plants,applied ecology,applied biology,secondary metabolites (plant physiology)
Birational geometry and polynomial automorphisms of the affine space (SPACE AUT)

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-IEF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-09-01
End date: 2011-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 237684.37
EU funding (EUR): 237684.37
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

In contrast with the 2-dimensional case, the study of automorphisms of C³ is still in its early beginnings. The most striking recent result is probably the proof by Shestakov and Umirbaev that a large class of automorphisms of C³ is non tame. Unfortunately their proof is based on tricky calculations and lacks conceptuality. On the other hand, Mori theory has emerged since the 1980s as the right framework to study birational maps in higher dimension, of which automorphisms of C³ are special cases. However up to now the known factorization algorithm (&quot;Sarkisov program&quot;) has been essentially applied to varieties with a small group of birational selfmaps (typically a smooth 3-dimensional quartic, where one thus obtains an irrationality criterion). Very recently, Hacon and McKernan had made an announcement that the Sarkisov program in any dimension follows as a corollary from their major breakthrough; however their result is still very theoretical. We believe, and this is the first main objective of our proposal, that in the case of polynomial automorphisms one can modify the available proofs to obtain a canonical factorization by mean of steps in the logarithmic Minimal Model Program, and that this factorization could be computable in practice. Based partially on the elementary case of surfaces, and partially on explicit computations for automorphisms of low degree, our conviction is that the right point of view is to look for links not between Mori fiber spaces but between compactifications of C³ with a minimal number of irreducible components on the boundary. Among expected consequences we should mention a birational proof of the relations in the tame group in dimension 3 (which available proof depends on the &quot;black box&quot; of Shestakov and Umirbaev), and obtain some natural candidates to generate the automorphism group of C³.

Keywords: algebraic geometry,group theory,polynomial automorphisms,birational geometry,mori theory,generators and relations
"Picturing 'gender'. Visual translation, popularisation and contesting of a key discourse in the New Europe" ("PICTURING GENDER")

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: Italy
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-IEF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-09-01
End date: 2011-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 218490.62
EU funding (EUR): 218490.62
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The interdisciplinary project “Picturing ‘gender’: Visual translation, popularisation and contesting of a key discourse in the New Europe” (PICTURING GENDER) investigates examples of translating and adopting the new philosophical concept “gender” into popular visual culture in various European cultural contexts. Within this larger framework, the project comprises the following specific objectives: • to collect examples of visual adoptions of the gender concept • to analyse these images with respect to the meanings staged in them and how they interlink with meanings created by visual culture, set in motion by other social agents • to investigate the reception histories these images set in motion. • to compare examples in various European countries with each other and to investigate the cultural conditions of their adoption • to re-evaluate the productivity of the use of the concept of gender as well as the meanings created in this way. Hence the quality of PICTURING GENDER lies in its original view of the popularisation of the gender concept within Europe. The innovative approach consists in focusing especially on images and visual worlds into which this concept is translated. This focus on the image and the specificity of its communicative powers makes it possible to access the complex reworking of the popular imaginary that goes along with the dissemination of gender discourse. In this way the more involuntary, hidden creations of meaning concerning gender and sexual difference as well as unintentional linkages with other popular discourses, which remain closed to other perspectives, become graspable. The relevance of the project for current political culture in Europe therefore lies especially in this emphasis on the broader popular as well as artistic signification processes concerning a key notion of current emancipation strategy and on the public life of the images created in this way.

Keywords: humanities,aesthetics,gender studies,the concept of gender,visual culture,image,popularisation,third wave feminism,public reform strategy,public sphere
Ultra-high reslution pulse shaping: from communications to biophotonics applications (ULTRA-PASION)

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: Spain
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-IOF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2010-09-01
End date: 2013-08-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 229361.34
EU funding (EUR): 229361.34
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

In the last decades, the generation of lasers delivering pulses with durations in the order of femtosecond has constituted an important research topic for the Physics and Engineering communities. The characteristics of this kind of radiation make it an indispensable tool in order to develop many applications in different fields of science and technology. Ultrafast laser technology is ready to offer real world applications ranging from high-tech, such us high-speed circuit testing and biological imaging, to more industrial applications like quality control. The markets that are already or will be influenced in the near future include industries as telecommunications, automotive, electronics, medical consumer goods, to name only a few. Up to now, most of the developed applications have succeeded thanks to the development in parallel of the femtosecond-pulse-shaping technology, which permits to synthesize in a user-defined fashion the intensity and phase temporal distribution of a short light pulse. If accepted, in this proposal the candidate will focus on developing applications for communications and biological imaging through ultra-high-resolution pulse shaping. The general objective of this proposal is the candidate to acquire expertise on the most advanced techniques for pulse shaping technology in order to transfer the knowledge to develop high-quality nonlinear microscopy in the European return host institution, i.e., the Optics research group leaded by Professor J. Lancis at the University of Jaume I, Spain. Generally speaking, the acquisition of the knowledge will be achieved through the development of new photonic applications particularly relevant in the Telecommunications sector, where the outgoing research institution –the Ultrafast Optics and Optical Fiber Communications laboratory directed by Professor A. M. Weiner at University of Purdue, Indiana, US- has a worldwide recognition and large tradition.

Keywords: laser technology,pulse shaping,microwave photonics,nonlinear microscopy,optoelectronics,medical instrumentation,telecommunications technology,broadband technology,radio engineering
Supply Chain Demand Forecasting based on Unobserved Components models (SCDFUC)

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-IEF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-09-01
End date: 2010-08-31
Duration (months): 12.0
Total project cost (EUR): 83268.87
EU funding (EUR): 83268.87
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The Supply Chain Management depends importantly on the predictions accuracy in the most of industries. These predictions are provided by the Forecasting Support System (FSS) in order to make decisions regarding departments like Marketing, Finance, Inventory, Distribution, Logistic, Human Resources and purchasing. In fact, these predictions are usually based on the mixture of forecasting statistical techniques, current economic situation, experience of the managers and the way that the FSS gathers these concepts. Nonetheless, there are current evidences that suggest a non efficient use of these systems and so, high costs are associated to these prediction errors. The present project will accomplish a thoroughly investigation about the possible sources of this inefficient use of the FSS by means of a collaboration with the Lancaster University Management School (LUMS). Thus, the different ingredients which act on the FSS will be analyzed in order to suit the main objectives of the organization in the best way. Firstly, we will analyze the different statistical methods which are candidates to do the forecasting task. We will focus on the Unobserved Components models developed in a State-Space framework, where novel hybrid techniques which use discrete and continuous time domains will be assessed in combination with efficient recursive estimation techniques like Kalman Filter and Fixed Interval Smoothing. Secondly, a study about the influence of the current economic situation on our forecasts will be accomplished. This investigation will be carried out from a new point of view about the business cycle, where adaptive nonlinear techniques which come from the control literature will be used to allow us look into the time-varying behaviour of the business cycle frequency. Finally, all the aforementioned points will be gathered with the manager’s judgement in an ideal Forecasting Support System.

Keywords: supply chain management,forecasting,unobserved components models,business support systems,manufacturing engineering
The mass and growth of (obscured) black holes and their host galaxies since the Universe was young (HIGH-Z BLACK HOLES)

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: France
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-IEF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-09-25
End date: 2011-09-24
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 160114.64
EU funding (EUR): 160114.64
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The goal of this proposal is to establish a method for the quantification of fundamental active galactic nucleus (AGN) properties, i.e., black hole (BH) masses and accretion rates, in high-redshift and obscured AGN. We aim to use infrared spectra from the Spitzer and Herschel space telescopes to study the kinematics and fluxes of gas emission lines originating from the AGN narrow-line region (NLR). Our first results indicate that the mid-infrared (MIR) NLR line widths follow the relation between the BH mass and the velocity dispersion of the stars in the bulge. This result indicates that the NLR kinematics can be used as a surrogate of the stellar kinematics in the computation of BH masses because they are influenced by the bulge gravitational potential. The MIR NLR luminosities correlate with the AGN bolometric luminosity, allowing us to measure its accretion rate. Still, two tests need to be performed prior to the use of NLR kinematics for the computation of BH properties. We need to i) examine how susceptible they are on outflows by studying their line profiles in wavelengths with little obscuration and in radio-loud and highly-accreting AGN, and ii) test that our technique can be applied in bright local AGN, which are the analogues of many high-z AGN. To populate the relation between the BH mass and the stellar velocity dispersion at high luminosities, we will use near-infrared data obtained with adaptive-optics assisted spectographs, to measure the stellar kinematics in local quasars. Once our tool is calibrated, we will use Spitzer and Herschel datasets to derive the first BH mass estimates of obscured type-2 AGN and to investigate for evolution in the masses of BHs from z~0 to z~3. Our tool will enable studies of the growth of (obscured) BHs and their host galaxies since the Universe was young and it can be largely used for the interpretation of future space missions datasets, such as James Webb Space Telescope spectra.

Keywords: astrophysics