Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Maize Candy-leaf mutants: a tool for the study of grass-specific cell wall biology with potential applications in renewable energy production and cereal crop pathogen protection (GRASSWALL)

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-2013-IOF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-05-13
End date: 2018-05-12
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 265263.3
EU funding (EUR): 265263.3
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

A modern bioeconomy needs to valorise the potential of carbon neutral resources, in particular the environmentally and socially acceptable, and economically competitive utilization of plant biomass. Most of the plant biomass consists of durable lignocellulosics what provide structural strength for the plant and are the first line of defence against invading pathogens. It is thus desirable to improve the lignocellulosic components of plants in a way that they do not perturb their function and thus have negative effects on biomass accumulation, but have improved processing properties. While the focus of past research has been on model species (e.g. Arabidopsis), very little is known about how the lignocellulosic polysaccharides are formed and integrated into the wall in cereal cell walls, a major source of food, feed, and fiber crops and as a agricultural residue a potential feedstock for the production of chemical commodities. Previous screening work has allowed the identification of maize candy-leaf (Cal) mutants with altered wall sugar compositions in a forward genetic screen. Cal-1, a non-transgenic maize variant, has a 246% increase in hemicelullosic glucans compared to current maize elite varieties. This collaborative project aims to characterize Cal mutants and to understand how the CAL-1 gene functions at the molecular level, as well as to explore the potential effect of certain wall modifications in cereal immunity and biomass digestibility in the context of the production of green chemicals. Consequently, the scientific outcomes of the project will be of interest for a very broad spectrum of scientists working on basic cell wall biology, biomass depolymerization, deployment of such an agricultural waste feedstock for biofuel production, crop protection, and microbiology; and due to its commercial importance, the academic, economic and social impact of this research in grass species will make important contributions to the EU excellence and competiveness.

Keywords: l101 molecular biology and interactions,l813 agriculture related to crop production,l817 biotechnology (non-medical),maize,grass cell wall,plant immunity
Integrated Assessment of the water-energy Nexus: the water metabolism of hydraulic fracturing. (IANEX)

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-2013-IOF, 2013)
Start date: 2015-01-05
End date: 2018-12-17
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 254474.1
EU funding (EUR): 254474.1
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

This project is coordinated by the Autonomous University of Barcelona with Yale University as outgoing partner. Using the research lines of the partners, it aims at enhancing the potential of the, integrated, multi-scale analysis of Water Metabolism of fracking activities to contribute to Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM). Water connects human and ecosystem processes at different spatial-temporal scales which form part of the water-energy nexus. IWRM aims at dealing with multiscale and nexus issues but due to its relative youth, its methodological body faces important analytical challenges like i) the connection between social and environmental levels of analysis, ii) the definition of the role water plays at these levels, iii) the nexus with other resources and iv) the integration of the stakeholder perspectives. The application of the Societal Metabolism metaphor to water helps scientists to deal with these weaknesses. The main issue faced by water scientists in the assimilation of Societal Metabolism is the different analytical approaches existent nowadays. This project brings together two of them that are complementary: Industrial Ecology and Complex System Theory. Fracking is a fossil fuel extraction technology based on water injection in which the four challenges of IWRM explicitly reveal themselves. Fracking-driven shale gas extraction has affected global markets and local environments. The contradictory views about fracking are fed by partial studies of its economic and environmental consequences. Civil society, policy makers and academics claim for integrated analyses whose results allow better regulation and conflict resolution. To that end, we propose an integrated assessment of its water metabolism. Pennsylvania (US) will serve as primary case study. The insights will be used to build scenarios of implementation in the EU.

Keywords: complex system theory,integrated assessment,societal metabolism,fracking,integrated water resource management,scale issues,public participation,water-energy nexus,european union,united states
Radiation Response Models for Personalised Radiation Oncology (RADRESPRO)

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-2013-IOF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-06-01
End date: 2017-05-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 294219.6
EU funding (EUR): 294219.6
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Clinical radiotherapy for cancer has seen dramatic improvements in recent years, driven by developments in imaging and delivery techniques. However, the ability to deliver radiation is now out-stripping radiotherapy planning techniques. Despite the goal of radiotherapy – tumour control – being primarily biological, radiotherapy planning tools focus on a purely physical metric: dose. This has significantly hampered the translation of knowledge gained from laboratory radiobiology to clinical settings. This project will lay the foundation for a unified model of therapeutic in vivo radiation responses by developing a computational model to describe these systems in a bottom-up fashion, integrating not only macroscopic parameters such as tumour size and dose, but also microscopic parameters such as radiation track structure and the cellular micro-environment. As part of this project, collaboration will be developed between the radiation biology group in the Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology, Queen's University Belfast, and Massachusetts General Hospital. The applicant will take advantage of time spent in MGH to gain skills and experience in the delivery of proton therapy, broadening his technical background and placing him in a strong position to contribute to the development of this increasingly important treatment modality upon his return to the EU. These models will enable a more natural integration of physical and biological parameters into radiation response models, facilitating improved knowledge transfer from laboratory to clinical practice. Through this, they can be used to address outstanding questions in modern radiotherapy, such as identifying the optimum dose distribution and delivery schedule for individual patients, and understanding the differences in biological responses to different types of radiation.

Keywords: radiotherapy,computational biology,medical physics,monte carlo,proton therapy,biophysics,intercellular communication
Cannabinoid receptors CB1 in schizophrenia: role of brain mitochondrial activity and astroglial signalling (SCHIZO-MTCB1)

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-2013-IEF, 2013)
Start date: 2015-02-01
End date: 2017-01-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 194046.6
EU funding (EUR): 194046.6
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disorder characterized by a series of "positive" and "negative" symptoms, which eventually lead to strong sufferance, social isolation and occupational impairment. Via activation of type-1 cannabinoid receptors (CB1), cannabinoids are known to induce schizophrenic-like symptoms, which are major caveats in the possible therapeutic use of these compounds. On the other hand, mitochondria-dependent regulation of brain bioenergetics is emerging as a promising novel research path in the field of psychopathology of schizophrenia. Previous results suggest the implication of mitochondrial (mtCB1) and astrocytic-CB1 receptors in psychotic-like conditions. However the precise molecular and cellular links between ECS activity and schizophrenia are not known. The aim of this study is to test whether mithocondrial and/or astrocytic CB1 receptors represent a functional link between endocannabinoid signalling in the brain and psychotic-like behaviours. (1) Firstly, the project will be dedicated to the generation of specific genetic tools to clearly discriminate mtCB1 from other CB1 receptor locations in the cell. (2) Then, these specific tools and specific transgenic mice will be used to investigate the role of mtCB1 and astrocytic-CB1 receptor in "psychosis-like" effects of cannabinoid drugs, and (3) to study the role of these receptors in a schizophrenia-like mouse model. This project will improve our understanding of the pathophysiology of psychotic-like disorders and might pave the way to novel therapeutic opportunities to improve the life of patients.

Keywords: schizophrenia,cannabinoids,mitochondria,astrocytes,pre-pulse inhibition,working memory,pharmacology,genetic mouse models,endocannabinoid system.
Development of a new methodology for the synthesis of mercapto amino acids for protein synthesis by cysteine-free native chemical ligation. (CYSTEINE-FREE NCL)

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-2013-IIF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-04-14
End date: 2016-04-13
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 173370.6
EU funding (EUR): 173370.6
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Proteins are in the heart of almost every single biological function and therefore are essential tools for drug discovery. Although the use of recombinant DNA techniques has been successfully applied to the synthesis of many proteins, the access to proteins bearing non natural amino acids, naturally obtained through post-translational modifications, remains limited. However, with the invention of Solid Phase Peptide Synthesis (SPPS) by Merrifield, the total chemical synthesis of peptide containing non-proteinogenic amino acids can be easily achieved. Nonetheless, the SPPS technique is only suitable for peptide chains of a length below 50 amino acids. The problem related to the synthesis of large peptide or even proteins was overcome by Kent et al. who were able to link peptide fragments together by Native Chemical Ligation (NCL). NCL involves the reaction between the N terminus cysteine of a first fragment and the thioester C-terminus of a second fragment. After the transthioesterification, a S -> N acyl transfer yields the desired native amide bond. Despite this ground-breaking discovery, NCL remains limited to cysteine-containing proteins. In 2001, Dawson et al. introduced the ligation-desulfurisation technique. This latest advance paved the way to cysteine free NCL and prompted many research groups to focus their efforts on the preparation of beta- and gamma-mercapto amino acids for use in ligation-desulfurisation strategy. Unfortunately, the 7 to 16 steps required for their synthesis considerably restrain their uses by peptide chemists. The proposed project is directed towards the elaboration of a straightforward synthetic route to access beta-thiol amino acids from a single precursor using the latest breakthroughs in C-H activation technique. In order to demonstrate the usefulness of these novel building blocks for the synthesis of proteins, these cysteine surrogates will be employed in the synthesis of the cysteine-free anti-HIV protein, Griffithsin.

Keywords: protein synthesis,cysteine-free native chemical ligation,mercapto amino acids,peptide,desulfurisation.
Generation of human experimental models of Bernard-Soulier Syndrome and Glanzmann Disease using cellular reprogramming (PLATELET DISORDERS)

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: Spain
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IEF, 2013)
Start date: 2015-01-14
End date: 2017-01-13
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 173370.6
EU funding (EUR): 173370.6
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Glanzmann's Disease, also known as Glanzmann's thrombasthenia (GT), and Bernard-Soulier syndrome (SBS) are autosomal recessive rare platelet disorders, characterized by severe bleeding because of the absence, reduction or dysfunction of several glycoprotein receptor complexes in platelets. Both normal number and morphology of platelets characterize TG. However, platelet aggregation ability is seriously compromised. Over 100 mutations that alter the expression and/or function of glycoproteins IIb-IIIa (GP IIb-IIIa, or CD41 and CD61) have been described in TG patients. These membrane proteins are members of the integrin superfamily and participate in protein-protein interactions necessary for platelets aggregation and clot formation. Thrombocytopenia, large platelets and frequent bleeding characterize SBS. This disease is caused by mutations in one of the three genes coding for the glycoprotein complex (GP)-IX-V 1b (CD42b-CD42a, CD42d), which function as a receptor for vWF, also affecting platelet adhesion and aggregation. In both cases, current palliative treatment is limited to blood transfusions and DDAVP (desmopressin). We propose the development of human cell models for TG and SBS by reprogramming blood cells from patients with these diseases. Then, we will study if the megakaryocytes and platelets derived from these cells keep the same functional alterations that occur in these patients. Finally, we will introduce a normal copy of the mutated gene in reprogrammed cells and we will analyse if genetic and functional rescues happen.

Keywords: ipscs,cell reprogramming,megakaryocytes,platelets,bernard-soulier syndrome,glanzmann disease,glycoprotein complex,gene therapy
Antecedents and outcomes of followers' perceived satisfaction with their role (SATISFOLLOWERS)

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-2013-IEF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-03-01
End date: 2015-08-31
Duration (months): 18.0
Total project cost (EUR): 224668.8
EU funding (EUR): 224668.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The world is not made up simply of leaders and followers. The roles have always shifted (Baker et al., 2011), and overlapped (Kellerman, 2008), in one’s working life. This has not changed, but jobs have. Boundaryless careers, job insecurity and slack labor markets erode old certainties, and workers’ chances for advancement have been stymied or delayed. The question is no longer only what makes leaders and followers different, but what we can do to make followers more satisfied with their role. If we think of the impact that leadership and leader-member exchange have on motivation, performance and wellbeing (e.g. Nielsen et al., 2008 - for transformational leadership; Harris et al., 2011 - for LMX), it can readily be imagined that the extent to which followers are satisfied with their role can also impact these dimensions. The project’s ultimate goal is to gain a better understanding of followership by focusing on followers’ perceived satisfaction with their role in the relationship with the leader. This dimension, called SF, is not just the satisfaction of being a follower. Two specific goals will be pursued: 1) Investigating SF antecedents: Control variables linked to the relationship (e.g. duration of relationship, etc.); implicit theories of followership and leadership; personal variables. 2) Investigating SF outcomes: Motivation-related dimensions (work engagement, motivation to lead and to follow), as well as variables concerning health impairment (e.g. emotional exhaustion). To achieve these goals, we will carry out a longitudinal study with three surveys (T1-antecedents; T2-SF; T3-outcomes). The study will use dyads of followers and leaders. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) were chosen for the study, as the success of such organizations may hinge on followership that is satisfied. This is in line with Stoner’s findings (1987) that the experience, knowledge, and skills of both owners and workers are the true source of small firms’ vitality.

Keywords: followership,leadership,lmx,followers' satisfaction
Development and in vivo validation of a SPION based Theranostic nanosystem for the treatment of Metastatic Breast Cancer. (MBCTHERANOSTICSPION)

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: Spain
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IEF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-10-28
End date: 2016-10-27
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 173370.6
EU funding (EUR): 173370.6
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

This project aims to develop a Theranostic Nanosystem allowing selective co-delivery of therapeutic agents with distinct physical chemical properties to target diseased cells in vivo. Besides good on-shelf and in vivo stability and low toxicity, the system must enable ratiometric control of cargo loading, avoid premature release of transported agents, allow controlled drug release at targeted locations, and its real-time, non-invasive, monitorization in vivo. Although adaptable to other applications, the system here will transport two chemotherapeutic drugs (Doxorubicin and Cisplatin), one RNA (antagomir-10b) and one peptide (H5WYG), coated with PEG-folate conjugate to confer both stealthness and cell specific tropism to the whole. The nanosystem will be fabricated, characterized in vitro and optimized, and the function of each component will be examined in cultured murine Metastatic Breast Cancer 4T1 cells. The latter forms highly aggressive metastatic tumors in immune competent BALB/c mice that recapitulate the human disease. 4T1 overexpresses folate receptor, which will interact with the system and induce its internalization through the endosomal pathway. These cells are sensitive to doxorubicin and cisplatin, and their metastatic character is inhibited by antagomir-10b. Whilst chemotherapeutic drugs escape the endosome by simple diffusion, escape of antagomir-10b from will be facilitated by an endosomolytic peptide co-transported by the system. Acidification of the endosome will trigger drug release and endosomo-lysis. The correct functioning of the system should inhibit metastatic spreading of 4T1 cells in mice and kill primary and secondary tumors, offering an ideal model to optimize performance. A Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide core will allow in vivo monitorization of distribution and therapeutic response using Magnetic Resonance Imaging. This methodology will pave the way for additional strategies that could be applied to other cancer types.

Keywords: spion,nanoparticle drug delivery,doxorubicin,cisplatin,peg,folate,mirna,combination therapy,mri,metastatic breast cancer,endosomal escape,theranostic nanosystem,cancer therapy.
Exploiting semAntic and social knowledGe for visuaL rEcognition (EAGLE)

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-2013-IOF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-10-01
End date: 2017-09-30
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 272285.4
EU funding (EUR): 272285.4
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

People are now more connected than ever before thanks to the technological advances of personal computers, smart personal devices, as well as global Internet connections. Web-based services like Flickr and YouTube and social networks such as Facebook have become more and more popular, allowing people to easily upload, share and annotate personal media content. This connectivity constitutes a new key source of information. In this project, the candidate will focus on the problem of exploiting semantic and social knowledge for visual recognition. In fact, although visual data are the largest component of the digital world, they have been so far excluded from most social media research. Some recent works have begun to take social network analysis into account when looking at visual data, but their scope has been too limited. Researchers have presented algorithms for enriching user annotations through tag recommendation strategies (often focusing only on tags and their relations), and methods for estimating tag relevance in order to rank and filter the list of tags. Nevertheless, most of these studies were conducted in simplified settings and do not address the full information given by visual media and their social and semantic relations. This project goes beyond these studies by introducing a new framework which jointly models objective knowledge, given by the visual appearance, prior knowledge, given by visual and linguistic ontologies, and noisy collective knowledge, given by social tags and social relations. This is a challenging issue since, at the scale of web, we are looking at connections of thousands of elements. Experiments will be conducted on a large-scale image benchmark. The contribution to EU scientific and technological knowledge and researcher training will be enhanced by taking advantage of the extensive experience and outcomes attained by the third-country organization (Stanford University) in the field of high-level visual recognition.

Keywords: visual recognition,big data,social networks,semantic knowledge