Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Study of coherent non-linear optical response of nanoparticles and application to multiphoton imaging in cell biology (FWMIMAGING)

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-2007-2-1-IEF, 2007)
Start date: 2008-05-15
End date: 2010-05-14
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 178874.06
EU funding (EUR): 178874.06
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The objective of this research project is to develop a novel multiphoton microscopy technique and to investigate its application to selected problems in cell biology which require sensitive three-dimensional imaging, in-vivo and real time. This novel technique is based on the detection of the resonant coherent non-linear optical response (four-wave mixing) of colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) to explore their application as bio-labels beyond their fluorescence properties. This method would retain many of the advantages of multiphoton fluorescence microscopy, such as intrinsic sectioning capability, and would offer additional advantages such as coherent detection free from fluorescence backgrounds. We expect the spatial resolution to be increased by a factor of two due to the optical non-linearity, resulting in a 130nm of lateral resolution at 550nm exciting wavelength and objectives with 1.3 NA. To compare advantages and disadvantages of this novel coherent optical microscopy technique with respect to confocal/multiphoton fluorescence microscopy, we will investigate a model system, namely HeLa cells, which provides well established routes for biolabelling using both dye-labelled antibodies, protein fusions with fluorescent tags and bioconjugated colloidal quantum dots. The application of this microscope has the potential to bring a significant step forward in the fundamental understanding of major areas in cell biology, which can not be fully addressed with the conventional fluorescence microscopy tools. Moreover, the dependence of fundamental electronic properties, such as homogeneous linewidth of excitonic transition and exciton-phonon interaction, on the size and composition of quantum dots will be investigated via the measurements of the transient four-wave mixing signal as a function of temperature. This study will help assessing the applicability of CQDs, beyond bioimaging, in areas such as quantum information processing, spintronics, and optoelectronics.

Keywords: ultrafast spectroscopy,microscopy,colloidal quantum dots,biophysics,cell imaging,nonlinear optical properties,four-wave mixing
Dynamics And Mechanism Of KLU-Signalling In The Control Of Plant Organ Size (DAMOKLUS)

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-2007-2-1-IEF, 2007)
Start date: 2008-03-17
End date: 2010-03-16
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 169957.94
EU funding (EUR): 169957.94
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

How growth in plants is controlled to generate organs with a species-specific size and shape is a fundamental question of developmental biology. The Arabidopsis KLU gene, encoding a putative cytochrome P450, controls the timing of proliferation arrest in growing primordia and thus regulates cell numbers and organ size. KLU acts in a non-cell autonomous manner by producing a mobile growth factor. Its restricted expression pattern at the periphery of organ primordia suggests a model whereby this downstream signal is used to measure the size of the growing primordium and coordinate the arrest of cell proliferation: As the KLU expressing region grows more slowly than the organ as a whole, the downstream signal will be diluted, until it can no longer sustain further proliferation beyond a given primordium size. The proposed research and training programme will focus on three scientific objectives. Firstly, we will test the above model by analyzing in detail the range and dynamics of KLU signalling in growing organs. This will be done using a specific KLU-responsive reporter gene based on the analysis of identified KLU-responsive promoters. Secondly, we will determine whether KLU only acts locally in growing organs or whether its range of action is long enough to be able to coordinate growth throughout the shoot. ‘Genetic grafting’ to combine varying proportions of klu mutant and wild-type tissue in one plant will be used to answer this question. Thirdly, we will screen for mutants in additional genes required to generate, perceive and transduce the KLU-dependent growth signal, using a luciferase-based reporter system. These complementary approaches will provide important insight into the dynamics and molecular mechanism of KLU-dependent signalling in size control. Conceptually, they will underpin detailed comparisons between the mechanisms of size regulation in animals and plants to uncover possible common principles despite different molecular implementations.

Keywords: plant development,arabidopsis,organ size,intercellular signalling,growth control,leaf,flower,cytochrome p450,kluh
High relative accuracy matrix techniques for linear and non-linear structured eigenvalue problems and applications (MATLAN)

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-2007-2-1-IEF, 2007)
Start date: 2009-04-06
End date: 2010-04-05
Duration (months): 12.0
Total project cost (EUR): 111036.49
EU funding (EUR): 111036.49
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Development of matrix algorithms for solving linear and non-linear structured eigenvalue problems with high relative accuracy or with the best accuracy possible. We will particularly focus on problems which reduce to eigenvalue problems for Hamiltonian and skew-Hamiltonian problems since those appear in important applications. We will combine standrad algorithms for such problems with known high relative acuracy methods for some other matrix problems in orther to develop high relative accuracy algorithms for some of the structured problems. We will also investigate newly propsed method for clustering almost stochastic matrices which is used for the identification of meta-stable states of Markov chains. In this case high relative accuracy requirement reduces to compuation of correct signs of the singular vectors of the second largest singular value, but as fast as possible.

Keywords: numerical linear algebra,eigenvalue problems,high relative accuracy,engineering mathematics,differential equations
Optimal monitoring of socio-economic and ecological systems for robust natural resource management (ECOECO MONITORING)

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-2007-4-2-IIF, 2007)
Start date: 2008-07-01
End date: 2012-04-24
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 170709.11
EU funding (EUR): 170709.11
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

A fundamental component of successful resource management is monitoring. The aim of this project is to develop a framework for optimal monitoring of conservation activities, integrating both monitoring for compliance and monitoring for detection of biodiversity trends. A robust monitoring strategy must consider the goals of the programme, the type of monitoring that is most effective, and the overall level of investment. This project draws upon and integrates many disciplines, including ecological models of species and ecosystems, socio-economic models of human decision-making and behaviour, optimal monitoring, and decision making under uncertainty. The project will focus on community-based conservation, where local communities are granted control over resources, including monitoring biodiversity trends and compliance with rules. The proposed framework is however highly relevant to a wide range of management situations, such as international fisheries regulation and water management. The specific objectives are: 1. To develop a model framework that integrates the dynamics of socio-economic and ecological systems; 2. To explore the effectiveness and efficiency of monitoring strategies that target resource users’ behaviour and populations of conserved species; 3. To apply the framework to a case study of community-based natural resource management in the Alaotra Wetland, Madagascar, where local people and threatened species depend on an ecosystem vulnerable to degradation; 4. To generalise the framework to a wider set of situations and explore changes in key parameters, particularly the structuring of external incentives and the spatial distribution and ecology of natural resources; 5. To communicate findings to the research community and to natural resource managers, making recommendations for the design of community-based conservation schemes and effective resource monitoring.

Keywords: environmental monitoring,ecosystem management,sustainable exploitation,modelling and modelling tools (fisheries science),uncertainty,nature conservation
Characterisation and cloning of ADVOLUTA, a putative novel element in auxin signalling in Arabidopsis thaliana. (ADVOLUTA)

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-2007-2-1-IEF, 2007)
Start date: 2008-08-01
End date: 2010-07-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 169390.93
EU funding (EUR): 169390.93
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Auxins are an important group of phytohormones, that regulate various aspects of embryonic and postembryonic development. Transduction of the auxin stimulus depends on selective protein degradation: it involves the activity of the TIR1 family receptors, that act in the SCF complex to target the family of Aux/IAA transcription factors for degradation. Although the core module of auxin signalling has been established, the mechanisms that modulate the signal flow are still only partially understood. A genetic screen performed in the host laboratory identified the advoluta (adv) mutant, which exhibits increased apical dominance and hyponastic leaves, suggesting an impaired auxin response. Moreover, preliminary analysis points to a complex genetic interaction between adv and the auxin response mutant axr1. Together this implies that ADV could be a novel component in auxin signalling. The objectives of this study are the characterisation of adv in the context of its putative involvement in the auxin signalling cascade, cloning of the adv mutation and the functional molecular analysis of the gene product. A wide set of modern techniques ranging from genetics and molecular biology to plant physiology and biochemistry will be employed in the project, including various specialised methods to asses auxin response. This study will likely allow us to define ADV as a novel element in auxin response, placing it in the signalling cascade and building a hypothesis regarding the gene’s molecular function. The proposed research training will enable the applicant to get acquainted with plant developmental biology and expand her knowledge in the field of phytohormone physiology and signalling. Apart from the research training, the applicant will acquire complementary skills (organisational and communication skills, project management). In conclusion, the proposed training will strongly advance and benefit the researcher’s career.

Keywords: biological sciences,plant sciences,phytohormones,auxin signalling,arabidopsis
Functional diversity in plant communities: the role of environmental filters. (DIVERSITRAITS)

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: France
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2007-4-1-IOF, 2007)
Start date: 2009-01-01
End date: 2011-12-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 239169.49
EU funding (EUR): 239169.49
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Recent studies argue that plant functional traits should be the corner stone for a more quantitative and predictive approach to biodiversity and species coexistence. In this perspective, functional diversity, i.e. the diversity and range of functional traits, should be a new and promising ecological metrics through its predictive potential. Mechanisms, by which plant traits are selected across environmental filters to further constitute a plant community, remain to be established, however. The main aim of this proposal is to develop a unified trait-based approach to plant community through identifying and quantifying mechanisms - i.e. the relative importance of abiotic and biotic filters - shaping functional diversity and plant community structure. During the outgoing phase, the applicant will combine and analyse existing extensive databases including plant traits, species coexistence and abundance, and environmental information to address key issues on how environmental filters act on community structure. During the reintegration phase, the fellow will apply the developed methods on a European trait database to assess effects of land-use changes on plant communities in European landscapes. This work will significantly advance our current understanding of the ecological importance of functional diversity and will provide new insights into mechanisms determining biodiversity patterns and the structure of plant communities. This proposal aims to reinforce the international dimension of the career of the applicant by giving him the opportunity to be trained and acquire new and multidisciplinary knowledge in community ecology and eco-informatics within a high-level research lab. By organizing and leading workshops with senior researchers, the fellow will also improve his independent thinking and management skills. Finally, the project will improve mutually beneficial research cooperation between researchers from Europe and North America.

Keywords: plant ecology,biodiversity indicators,functional ecology,community ecology,community structure,plant functional traits,functional diversity,environmental gradient,competition,land-use changes
Characterization of extragalactic background light with the MAGIC telescope system (MAGICANDEBL)

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-2007-2-1-IEF, 2007)
Start date: 2008-06-01
End date: 2010-05-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 151936.08
EU funding (EUR): 151936.08
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The proposed project deals with one of the major open problems of Astroparticle Physics and Cosmology. The star and galaxy formation history has built up a diffuse extragalactic radiation field in the ultraviolet to infrared wavelength regime. Direct measurements of this extragalactic background light (EBL) are difficult. The observation of distant sources of GeV-TeV photons using Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) can provide an indirect measurement of the EBL due to attenuation via pair production. The observed spectra therefore carry an imprint of the EBL. MAGIC II is a system of two IACTs starting data taking in Spring 2008. The energy threshold of the MAGIC II will be 50 GeV. One of the key elements to achieve the low energy threshold and high sensitivity is a novel ultra fast readout system combined with a novel analysis technique using timing information. Essential is also the fast access to large samples of data which will be possible using the new MAGIC II datacenter at the host institution. With the high sensitivity and the low energy threshold of the MAGIC II, it will be possible to detect many extragalactic sources of gamma-rays located up to the redshift of z=1. The measurement of precise gamma-ray spectra of many extragalactic sources provides a unique opportunity to study the evolution of the EBL. This evolution is not accessible otherwise. The applicant will be involved: A) in the commissioning of MAGIC II, specifically in the novel readout system in order to lower the energy threshold; B) in development of a novel analysis technique to increase the sensitivity; and C) in a detailed study and precise measurement of the evolution of the EBL up to a redshift of about z=1. This will be the first time that the evolution of the EBL level can be studied. Constraints on Cosmology models and on galaxy evolution scenarios are anticipated from this project.

Keywords: astrophysics,cosmology
Synthetic glycoproteins and their interactions with receptors studied by NMR (GLYCOSTUD)

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-2007-2-1-IEF, 2007)
Start date: 2009-02-01
End date: 2011-01-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 169390.93
EU funding (EUR): 169390.93
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

It is hard to overestimate the importance of glycoproteins as signalling molecules in Nature. Protein glycosylation is fundamental to many biologically essential processes and considering the increasing importance of glycosylation in therapeutic approaches, there is a need for novel methods for the preparation of glycoproteins in order to study their role in these cellular events, as well as to develop glycoproteins with therapeutic activities. Most glycoprotein production methods produce mixtures of glycoforms. However, combining chemical control of post-translational modifications (PTM) like glycosylation, with readily available protein scaffolds provides a systematic platform for creating probes (homogeneous glycoproteins) of protein–PTM interactions. To understand such interactions in biology, it is essential to study them from a structural and molecular point of view. In this project, the synthesis of naturally occurring carbohydrate-containing structures and their controlled conjugation with proteins will be carried out by means of the latest chemical and enzymatic approaches, rendering both oligosaccharides and synthetic glycoproteins amenable to be studied deeply in the context of protein-ligand binding. Well-established receptors like lectins will be selected at a first stage. A detailed picture of such interactions will be obtained through NMR experiments like STD or tr-NOESY. Additionally, the possibility to precisely incorporate synthetic carbohydrate structures containing labels, such as 13C, will greatly enhance such studies. Following these initial fundamental studies, medicinally relevant studies with e.g. selectins, siglecs, DC-SIGN and dectin will expand the project limit. The information obtained from the structural characterization of the protein-ligand binding will help to understand the role of glycoproteins in many cellular events and also in the development of new glycoproteins as therapeutics.

Keywords: organic chemistry,biochemistry,glycoproteins,lectins,protein-protein interactions
Transition from sea to land: Olfactory function and adaptations in terrestrial crustaceans (LAND CRAB OLFACTION)

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-2007-2-1-IEF, 2007)
Start date: 2009-07-01
End date: 2011-06-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 166982.27
EU funding (EUR): 166982.27
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Within adult anomuran land crabs (Coenobitidae: Anomura) there are various degrees of terrestrialization, but all species have retained marine larval stages. The ability to recognize and discriminate chemical cues in the environment is essential for most animals, and thus a successful transition from sea to land calls for dramatically new demands on the chemosensory system, where stimulus changes from mainly water-soluble molecules to hydrophobic, volatile chemical cues carried by the air. Hence, these land crabs represent an excellent opportunity to investigate the effects of the transition from sea to land on the olfactory system. The olfactory organs of Coenobitidae show structural similarities with the insects, indicating an adaptation for function in air and both field and laboratory studies show that land crabs do make use of their olfactory system on land and seem to have quite sophisticated olfactory abilities for distant chemoreception. Also new neuroanatomical studies indicate that the coenobitids have superb olfactory processing and discrimination capacities. The main objective of this research project is to explore the seemingly extraordinary olfactory abilities of the Coenobitidae and to understand how they have evolved as adaptations to the terrestrial environment. In a highly interdisciplinary approach, behavioural investigations will be integrated with modern neurophysiological and optical imaging techniques, to identify which chemical substances induce biological activity and to study olfactory processing and discrimination capabilities. The project will generate new knowledge about how environmental and evolutionary forces dictate specific adaptations in olfactory systems, which will contribute to our general understanding of the olfactory sense. The high complementarity of the research training will strongly reinforce my scientific career by broadening my research perspective while at the same time adding cutting edge focus.

Keywords: olfaction,odour signals,chemical cues,terrestrial adaptations,foraging,behaviour,crustacea,anomura,coenobitidae,land crab,behavioural biology,evolutionary biology,animal physiology