Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Effective evaluation of active labour market policies in social insurance programs - improving the interaction between econometric evaluation estimators and economic theory (ALMP_ECON)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Individuals, institutions and markets
Countries involved: Netherlands
Call:  (ERC-2007-StG, 2007)
Start date: 2008-07-01
End date: 2013-06-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 550000.0
EU funding (EUR): 550000.0
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

In most European countries social insurance programs, like welfare, unemployment insurance and disability insurance are characterized by low reemployment rates. Therefore, governments spend huge amounts of money on active labour market programs, which should help individuals in finding work. Recent surveys indicate that programs which aim at intensifying job search behaviour are much more effective than schooling programs for improving human capital. A second conclusion from these surveys is that despite the size of the spendings on these programs, evidence on its effectiveness is limited. This research proposal aims at developing an economic framework that will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of popular programs like offering reemployment bonuses, fraud detection, workfare and job search monitoring. The main innovation is that I will combine economic theory with recently developed econometric techniques and detailed administrative data sets, which have not been explored before. While most of the literature only focuses on short-term outcomes, the available data allow me to also consider the long-term effectiveness of programs. The key advantage of an economic model is that I can compare the effectiveness of the different programs, consider modifications of programs and combinations of programs. Furthermore, using an economic model I can construct profiling measures to improve the targeting of programs to subsamples of the population. This is particularly relevant if the effectiveness of programs differs between individuals or depends on the moment in time the program is offered. Therefore, the results from this research will not only be of scientific interest, but will also be of great value to policymakers.

Keywords: policy evaluation,rich administrative data,social insurance schemes,econometric estimation,economic modelling.
Low-probability, large fluctuations of the noise in detectors of gravitational waves (RARENOISE)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Fundamental constituents of matter
Countries involved: Italy,Italy
Call:  (ERC-2007-StG, 2007)
Start date: 2008-07-01
End date: 2013-06-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1000000.0
EU funding (EUR): 1000000.0
Participants: 3
Project status: CLOSED

The search of gravitational waves requires astonishingly large and sensitive detectors, with displacement sensitivity approaching the limit set by the Uncertainty Principle. The displacement fluctuations that are continuously monitored by the detectors should follow a Gaussian distribution; on the contrary up to now any gravitational wave detector shows large fluctuations that cause low probability tails superimposing to the Gaussian distribution which is followed for most of the time, thus lowering the chances for detection. This research proposal aims at understanding phenomena that might explain at least part of the low-probability, large fluctuations of the noise of gravitational wave detectors on the basis of fundamental Physics. The research will have large impact on the detection capabilities of present gravitational wave detectors, reducing the false alarm rate, and on the design of their next generations. Table-top experiments will be performed on mechanical systems that will be subjected to conditions similar to that possibly originating the low-probability, large fluctuations of the noise of gravitational wave detectors. A theoretical investigation of the phenomenon will guide the experiments and will attempt to get insight on more general results from the experimental outcome.

Keywords: nonequilibrium thermodynamics
Real-Time Observation of Biological Reactions Using Femtosecond 2D-IR Spectroscopy – Introducing SPRITES (INTRODUCING SPRITES)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Physical and Analytical Chemical sciences
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (ERC-2007-StG, 2007)
Start date: 2008-08-01
End date: 2012-07-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 999745.0
EU funding (EUR): 999745.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

A fundamental question facing physical chemistry and biology is to determine the basic mechanisms by which biological molecules react and change structure. Ultrafast two dimensional infrared (2D-IR) spectroscopy has emerged as an exciting new tool for probing the structure and dynamics of bio-systems. This proposal is the first concerted application of transient 2D-IR spectroscopy to answer pressing questions relating to reactions of biological systems. The unique combination of ultrafast time resolution and structural insight makes 2D-IR the perfect platform to observe real-time structure changes during reactions. We will exploit this ability by developing SPRITES – Structure changes in Protein Reactions via Infrared Time Evolution Spectroscopy. We will trigger reactions in peptide and enzyme systems and use 2D-IR as a time-delayed probe of molecular structure to follow them in unprecedented real-time detail. This ambitious project will be split into three stages for reasons of risk management: In stage one, simple photochemical reactions of model compounds of the hydrogenase enzyme active site will be initiated and the structural evolution of the reactants followed using 2D-IR. In stage two, the novel pH-jump SPRITES technique will be developed to study peptide folding reactions. These experiments will lead to a “molecular movie” of a folding peptide in a natural environment, representing a unique scientific development. The final stage of the project will use pH-jump SPRITES to initiate and observe the reaction of a complete hydrogenase enzyme. This ambitious final stage will yield unprecedented insight into the mechanisms of biological reactions. The purpose of the proposal is to assist the PI in consolidating the independence gained through the award of a prestigious EPSRC Fellowship. The proposal seeks funding to create a research team of two postdoctoral research associates and two PhD students. This team will be managed and directed by the PI.

Keywords: ultrafast spectroscopy
Non-contact ultrasonics: new methods for large and small scale measurements (NONCONTACTULTRASONIC)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Computer science and informatics
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (ERC-2007-StG, 2007)
Start date: 2008-09-01
End date: 2014-08-31
Duration (months): 72.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1599810.0
EU funding (EUR): 1599810.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Ultrasonic measurements have a wide range of applications, from non-destructive testing (NDT) on bridges, pipeline and railway track, to measurements of elastic constants of single crystals, whose properties are key to the development of new magnetoelastic devices. Traditional techniques require the transducers to be in physical contact with the sample, and non-contact ultrasonics (NCU) is attracting more interest. Improvements to NDT through the use of NCU are leading to new applications in hostile environments, such as measurements at high temperatures or of moving samples, helped by the lack of need for couplant. This proposal covers applications of great importance which could benefit from the use of NCU. The problem of partially closed cracking in metals will first be investigated. Stress corrosion cracking can cause catastrophic damage to pipeline, and there is no current technique which can reliably detect and characterise it. The physical phenomena associated with transmission of the ultrasound will be probed to develop new methods of detecting defects using laser ultrasonics and electromagnetic acoustic transducers. The project will investigate and explain the behaviour of the ultrasonic interactions with defects in the vicinity of cracks, including non-linear behaviour around a partially closed crack. Later work will use ultrasound for elastic and magneto-elastic measurements of single crystals. These measurements are able to quickly and inexpensively identify interesting and important new systems, saving the time and resources which may have been used to investigate samples using neutron studies. New NCU techniques will be developed, capable of detecting magnetic phase changes through variations in the coupling efficiency. The benefits of combining the results from standard measurements with those from novel electromagnetic NCU techniques will be studied. The research will facilitate collaboration with groups within the Department and internationally.

Keywords: ultrasound
TIME-Resolved Spectroscopy of Nanoscale Dynamics in Condensed Matter Physics (TIMER)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Condensed matter physics
Countries involved: Italy
Call:  (ERC-2007-StG, 2007)
Start date: 2008-06-01
End date: 2014-05-31
Duration (months): 72.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1792800.0
EU funding (EUR): 1792800.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The main goal of this project is the development of an inelastic photon scattering spectroscopy that will benefit from the advent of the new generation of ultra bright light sources. The current construction of the free electron laser FERMI by Sincrotrone Trieste, is expected to make available VUV photon pulses with unique characteristics and therefore calls for the development of the proposed technique in Trieste. The idea is to extend the standard transient grating spectroscopy towards higher energies in a way such that nanoscale dynamics may be investigated. This would be extremely interesting to better understand the physics of disordered systems since it will make accessible the mesoscopic kinematic region that cannot be explored by the use of visible laser or synchrotron based instruments. Transient grating experiments at the nanoscale could also allow sensitive probing of interfaces and extremely thin films, as well as heat transport and correlations in nanostructured materials. ERC funding will allow the PI transition from his current position as junior beam line scientist at the Elettra facility, to an independent research group leader status at the FERMI laboratory for conducting experiments that will be relevant to many research fields at the frontier in physics and chemistry.

Keywords: disordered systems,pump and probe,dynamics
Small RNA Mediated Epigenetics in Vertebrates (EPIRNAS)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Genetics,Genomics,Bioinformatics and Systems Biology
Countries involved: Germany,Netherlands
Call:  (ERC-2007-StG, 2007)
Start date: 2008-08-01
End date: 2014-07-31
Duration (months): 72.0
Total project cost (EUR): 970000.0
EU funding (EUR): 970000.0
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

Since the discovery of RNAi small RNA molecules have been under intense study. They have been shown to impact many different processes, ranging from development to organ function and carcinogenesis. Recently, it has become clear that many distinct small RNA families exist. However, all act through a member of the well-conserved Argonaute family of proteins. I try to understand how specificity of the different Argonaute proteins is achieved, and I am particularly interested in Argonautes that may contribute to the epigenetic marking of genomic DNA in animals. My focus is on Argonaute function in the vertebrate germline, a tissue that is an especially intriguing system with regard to the resetting and establishment of epigenetic marks. As model system I use the zebrafish. Piwi proteins are Argonaute proteins that in vertebrates are specifically expressed in germ cells, and have been implicated in modifying chromatin structures. We demonstrated that zebrafish piwi is expressed in both the male and the female gonad and that loss of piwi results in loss of germ cells due to apoptosis. We have characterized small RNAs that bind to piwi (piRNAs) in both ovary and testis, and found that they play a role in the silencing of transposable elements. Furthermore, we have shown that the biogenesis of piRNAs differs markedly from that of other small RNAs like miRNAs. The experiments I propose address how Piwi proteins and piRNAs act in germ cells to ensure a functional germline and a stable propagation of intact chromatin over generations. First, I will address the biogenesis of piRNAs. Second, I will identify novel components of the Piwi pathway. Third, I will address the mode(s) of action of piRNAs. On all fronts a combination of genetics, molecular biology and biochemistry will be used.

Keywords: germline,zebrafish,rna,pirna,chromatin
Deciphering Eruptions by Modeling Outputs of Natural Systems (DEMONS)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Products and process engineering
Countries involved: France,United Kingdom
Call:  (ERC-2007-StG, 2007)
Start date: 2008-09-01
End date: 2012-12-31
Duration (months): 52.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1364478.0
EU funding (EUR): 1364478.0
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

Active volcanoes emit high temperature gases that modify the chemical composition of the Earth’s atmosphere. It is crucial to be able to quantify the contribution of volcanogenic gases to the atmosphere so that the global atmospheric effects of a major eruption can be predicted and so that volcanogenic effects can be discriminated from anthropogenic emissions. At the scale of one volcano, monitoring of gas plumes is a major tool in volcanic risk management. Volcanologists have long measured gas composition and fluxes between and during eruptions and often noted a decoupling between degassing flux and magmatic flux. In parallel, experimental petrologists are now able to calculate the gas composition that is in equilibrium with the magma at depth. However, when the calculated gas composition is compared to that measured at the surface, a general disagreement arises. As a result, it is currently impossible to determine whether a plume is generated in response to passive degassing or to magma ascent. This is a serious drawback as these processes have opposite implications for volcanic activity. Such difficulties are mainly due to the fact that the interplay between degassing mechanisms and gas chemistry has not been addressed. To improve the application of volcanic gas analyses to understanding global geochemical budgets and for the mitigation of volcanic risk, we propose to link deep magmatic processes and surface emissions. Our objective is to model the quantity and composition of volcanic gases as a function of the petrology of the magma at depth and the eruptive regime, and compare those calculations with new measures of plumes at active volcanoes. We will achieve this by modeling the chemical kinetics of degassing in volcanic conduits by using a combination of experimental, field, and numerical approaches. We anticipate building a tool linking flux and composition of gases to eruptive regime, thus opening the door to inverse modeling of volcanic gas observations.

Keywords: volcanic eruption,degassing,plume chemistry,decompression experiments,multiphase flow,numerical modeling
Stable isotope investigations on the adaptations of Neolithic husbandry to the diverse climatic and environmental settings of Eastern, Central and Western Europe. (SIANHE)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Cultures and cultural production
Countries involved: France
Call:  (ERC-2007-StG, 2007)
Start date: 2008-10-01
End date: 2014-02-28
Duration (months): 65.0
Total project cost (EUR): 883802.4
EU funding (EUR): 883802.4
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Twenty-first century European husbandry results from thousand-year-old experiences. This project aims at giving a historical dimension to the growing questioning on present day herding practices among European consumers. Sheep, goat, cattle and pig were domesticated ca. 8500 cal. BC in the eastern Taurus. From there they spread to most of the Near East and entered Europe at the turn of the 7th millennium BC. They reached the North-western Europe coasts by the beginning of the 5th millennium and colonised the British islands during the 4th and 3rd millennia BC. Whereas domestication of European wild boar could have occurred, European aurochs did not contribute significantly to cattle populations. Sheep and goat do not have wild ancestors in Europe. Most of these animals actually stem from populations transferred from the Near East. The spread of domestic species outside the natural range of occurrence of their wild counterparts, their keeping in environmental settings different from their natural ecological niches, and the will to stimulate milk production in bovines and ovicaprines, imply some modifications in dietary and reproduction behaviours of domestic animals. Neolithic herders developed zootechnical skills to insure survival of their stock and the adaptation of their production strategies to new environments. The objective of this project is to evaluate the environmental and physiological constraints on the adaptation of stock keeping in Europe, and to determine to what extant Neolithic herders could modulate the biological system with technical choices. Landscape use, seasonal foddering, seasonality of birth and duration of lactation will be addressed using stable isotope analysis on animal bone and teeth. The animals stress condition will be assessed through analysis of enamel hypoplasia. The project includes Neolithic sites from Caucasia, Eastern, Central and Western Europe. It will necessitate methodological developments on modern reference skeletons.

Keywords: neolithic,cattle,sheep,goat,pig,birth seasonality,seasonal diet,weaning age,milk exploitation
Catalytic Carbene Insertion Reactions; Creating Diversity in (Material) Synthesis (CATCIR)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Physical and Analytical Chemical sciences
Countries involved: Netherlands
Call:  (ERC-2007-StG, 2007)
Start date: 2008-08-01
End date: 2013-07-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1250000.0
EU funding (EUR): 1250000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

With this proposal the PI capitalises on his recent breakthroughs in transition metal catalysed carbene (migratory) insertion reactions to build up a new research line for controlled catalytic preparation of a variety of new functionalised (co)polymers with expected special material properties. Metallo-carbenes are well-known intermediates in olefin cyclopropanation and olefin metathesis, but the PI recently discovered that their chemistry is far richer. He demonstrated for the first time that metallo-carbenoids can be used in transition metal catalysed insertion polymerisation to arrive at completely new types of stereoregular carbon-chain polymers functionalised at each carbon of the polymer backbone. Rhodium mediated polymerisation of carbenes provides the means to prepare new materials with yet unknown properties. It also provides a valuable alternative to prepare practically identical polymers as in the desirable (but still unachievable) highly stereo-selective (co)polymerisation of functionalised olefins, representing the ‘holey-grail’ in world-wide TM polymerisation catalysis research. The mechanism and scope of this remarkable new discovery will be investigated and new, improved catalysts will be developed for the preparation of novel materials based on homo- and copolymerisation of a variety of carbene precursors. Copolymerisation of carbenes and other reactive monomers will also be investigated and the properties of all new materials will be investigated. In addition the team will try to uncover new reactions in which carbene insertion reactions play a central role. DFT calculations suggest that the transition state (TS) of the new carbene polymerisation reaction is very similar to the TS’s of a variety of carbonyl insertion reactions. Based on this analogy, the team will investigate several new carbene insertion reactions, potentially leading to new, useful polymeric materials and new synthetic routes to prepare small functional organic molecules.

Keywords: carbene (migratory) insertion polymerisation,carbene-olefin copolymerisation,new catalysis
Microbiology of Dehalococcoides-like Chloroflexi (MICROFLEX)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Neurosciences and neural disorders
Countries involved: Germany
Call:  (ERC-2007-StG, 2007)
Start date: 2008-06-01
End date: 2013-12-31
Duration (months): 67.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1287258.0
EU funding (EUR): 1287258.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

I propose to initiate research on a specific group of bacteria, here denominated as the “Dehalococcoides-like Chloroflexi”. This group of bacteria is formed by several cultivated strains of the genus Dehalococcoides and many sequences of uncultivated organisms mostly from marine sediment or subsurface locations. All together form one subphylum of the Chloroflexi. Bacteria of the Dehalococcoides-like Chloroflexi are of particular importance for two independent reasons: first, the subphylum contains all bacteria known to transform under anaerobic conditions toxic and persistent halogenated compounds such as chlorinated dioxins, benzenes, biphenyls, vinyl chloride or brominated biphenylethers; secondly, massive amounts of Dehalococcoides-like Chloroflexi have recently been detected in marine organic-rich deep sediments dominating the populations with up to 80% of the total cell counts. However, many aspects of the physiology of Dehalococcoides species are unclear and almost nothing is known about Chloroflexi in deep sediments. I have worked for many years on the microbiology, biochemistry and genomics of Dehalococcoides species. With the proposed group I plan to focus on the physiological links between Chloroflexi in contaminated aquifers and those in marine sediments. Initially, cultures of marine sediment-Chloroflexi will be established in our lab and compared with pure Dehalococcoides strains. Objectives of our research towards marine Chloroflexi will be the description of the physiology, of the biochemistry of energy conservation and of key genes encoded in the genomes. It is anticipated that the research leads to a substantiated hypothesis on the mode of energy fixation in marine deep-sediments and an initial description of the role of Dehalococcoides-like Chloroflexi in biogeochemical cycles. We also expect to find insights into Chloroflexi evolution and their role in earth history by comparing genomes between Dehalococcoides species and marine Chloroflexi.

Keywords: anaerobic microbiology,marine sediments,cultivation,genomics