Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Do plants go further in deciding their cell fate: different target genes, different Polycomb Group mechanisms? (PLANTPCGSILENCING)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Life-long training and career development
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Spain
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG, 2012)
Start date: 2013-04-01
End date: 2017-03-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The epigenetic mechanisms that control chromatin organization are known to regulate cell differentiation in both animals and plants. Nevertheless, why plants, unlike animals, so readily switch their cell fate in response to external signals is unclear. Furthermore, how plants regenerate a complete organism from a single somatic cell remains a mystery. Post-translational histone modifications contribute to the maintenance of chromatin states associated with a defined gene expression program. Among histone modifiers, the evolutionary conserved Polycomb Group (PcG) machinery has a key role in repressing the genes that are not required in a specific cell fate, thus, establishing cell identity. Unfortunately, our knowledge of this important regulatory mechanism is still incomplete, especially in plants in which only some PcG proteins are known. Thus far, plant PRC2-like complexes are relatively well studied, but the existence of plant PRC1 components has just been discovered. These components are homologs to animal PRC1 Ring finger proteins and are involved in H2A monoubiquitination. Plants impaired in PRC1 Ring finger components undergo dedifferentiation of somatic cells into embryonic cells, indicating that they play a central role in maintaining cell identity. Interestingly, the PRC1 Ring finger proteins apparently regulate only a subset of PRC2 targets; moreover, there are different plant-specific proteins that participate in the regulation of specific targets, suggesting that not all PcG targets are regulated by the same mechanism. Our main goal is to unveil the different PcG regulatory mechanisms in plants and their biological functions. Using a combination of genetic and biochemical approaches, we will purify the putative PRC1 complexes, determine the direct targets of the PRC1 Ring finger proteins and unveil the role of H2A monoubiquitination in the mechanism. These findings will shed light on important aspect of plant epigenetics and developmental biology.

Keywords: l208 epigenetics and gene regulation,l310 developmental genetics - embryology in plants,polycomb group,gene silencing,histone methylation,histone monoubiquitination,cell identity
TREATING METASTATIC CANCER WITH NANOTECHNOLOGY (NANOTECHNOLOGYMETAST)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Life-long training and career development
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Israel
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG, 2012)
Start date: 2013-04-01
End date: 2017-03-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Metastasis – the spread of cancer to distant organs, poses a great therapeutic challenge. Nanomaterials have many therapeutic advantages, such as the ability to target specific tissues and carry multiple drugs, making them promising candidates for treating metastasis. Despite the great need, there is a gap in the fundamental understanding what structural parameters can enhance the targeting capacity of nanomaterials to metastatic sites. This program is aimed at elucidating the mechanism by which therapeutic nanomaterials can be designed to target and treat metastatic cancer.

Keywords: nanotechnology,bioengineering,cancer,drug delivery,nanoparticles
Active Nanoantenna-Exciton-Complexes (ACTIVE NEC)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Life-long training and career development
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Israel
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG, 2012)
Start date: 2013-03-01
End date: 2017-02-28
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The interaction between light and matter by creation of excitons (electron-hole pairs) provides one of the most common routes for generation of functional optical and electro-optical devices. These devices including lasers, detectors, biological markers, solar cells, etc., have great impact both on science, technology, and common wellbeing. In order to make better optical and electro-optical devices, i.e. more efficient, smaller and faster, it is highly important to find new and improved ways to focus, control, and couple light to optically active materials. One promising way to achieve it is by utilizing extreme plasmonic field enhancements on optical nanoantennas which have a dramatic effect on light-matter interaction. Here I propose to study experimentally and theoretically the use of advanced arrangements of optical nanoantennas that support extreme field enhancements to boost the interaction between light and excitons in nanoantenna-exciton-complexes (NECs). The first aim of this project is to use NECs to generate exciton-localized-surface-plasmon-polaritons (XLSP) operating at the strong and ultrastrong coupling regimes and to probe the intriguing associated physical phenomena. The second aim is to create novel ultrafast all-optical switches of XLSPs and to use them in different device applications. The third aim is to study for the first time stimulated scattering effects of XLSP and to demonstrate Bose-Einstein condensation of XLSPs in optical nanoantenna trap. The fourth aim is to combine the field of plasmonics with the emerging field of photon upconversion by sensitized triplet-triplet annihilation and to create NECs that support plasmon upconversion. This will lead to improvements of photon upconversion techniques and open door to new nanoscale energy converting devices. For the studies we will use advanced nanofabrication techniques and advanced experimental methods, including ultrafast probe beams, lifetime imaging techniques and near field nanoscopy.

Keywords: p108 optics and quantum optics,p212 nanophysics,p101 fundamental interactions and fields,p107 atomic - molecular physics,p207 semiconductors
Dynamic Response and Instability of Seabed-Coastal Structure Systems under Waves (DRISCS)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Life-long training and career development
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Türkiye
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG, 2012)
Start date: 2013-12-01
End date: 2017-11-30
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Marine infrastructure plays a vital role in relation to energy, environment and sustainable development. Coastal and offshore structures built to protect coastal regions and to provide renewable energy, constitute a significant part of marine infrastructure in Europe. The need for such structures is expected to grow rapidly in the future due to increase in magnitude and frequency of storms, the alarming trends in global energy demand and finite nature of oil and gas. While there is the issue of designing safer structures for coastal protection, there is also the need for more renewable energy such as placing more wind farms. Hence, design and analysis of such structures under cyclic and breaking waves that cause instabilities in these systems is of huge concern. Geotechnical aspects play a significant role in the initiation of these instabilities, particularly the dynamic response of seabed around these structures is necessary to mitigate associated hazard. Although progress has been made towards understanding of these processes and their impact on the stability of marine infrastructure, there still remains a significant need for a comprehensive study to understand the underlying mechanics, formulate models and develop computational tools for the response and instability of seabed-structure systems. The objective of the proposed project is to evaluate cyclic and breaking wave-induced response and instability of seabed around rubble-mound breakwaters and offshore wind turbines by providing solutions to wave-soil-structure interaction problem. The objectives will be achieved with a set of tasks to be completed through a stepwise process of developing mathematical formulations and solving numerical models which will be verified with available tests. This way, the main scientific aspects of the problem will be studied and design solutions will be provided. The results are expected to be valued by many engineers, researchers, students and public in this field in Europe.

Keywords: g110 scientific computing,g303 geotechnical engineering - maritime/hydraulic engineering - geotechnics,p201 structure of solids and liquids,poroelasticity,seabed,waves,coastal structures,tsunami
ROS AND AUXIN CROSSTALK DURING PLANT DEVELOPMENT AND STRESS ADAPTATION (ROS-AUXIN)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Life-long training and career development
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Czechia
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG, 2012)
Start date: 2013-04-01
End date: 2017-03-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Environmental cues represent the major hardships to crop productivity worldwide. Therefore, elucidation of plant stress adaptation networks has become a main biotechnology research objective. Auxin and its distribution rates play key roles in many aspects of plant growth and development, which largely depend on the spatiotemporal control of auxin homeostasis. Upon stress, increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production affects auxin homeostasis and can lead to a reorientation of growth as part of the stress induced morphogenetic responses (SIMR). Conversely, auxin can trigger a programmed and cell-specific ROS generation to signal developmental and stress responses. There are now clear research evidences that reciprocal interaction between ROS and auxin signalling pathways are the main players of the SIMR, which modulate plant growth and development to attenuate deleterious effects of stress. On the other hand, environmental factors primary affect photosynthesis, compromising plant growth and yield. Basically, photosynthesis acts as global stress sensors activating photosynthesis adaptation and stress responses, which directly affect ROS and auxin homeostasis. Notwithstanding the large number of evidence showing interplay between ROS and auxin on photosynthesis, research on this topic has not been addressed and much of the work that has been done centres on ROS-auxin crosstalk in heterotrophic tissues. Although ROS-auxin interplay is being intensively studied, the mechanisms underlying their crosstalk are poorly understood. In this respect, molecular insight into the nature of ROS-auxin crosstalk remains scarce. The project aims to decipher how environmental and developmental signals are integrated by ROS-auxin crosstalk and to unravel the underlying mechanisms that synchronize stress-induced growth reorientation with the photosynthetic activity, vital for plant survival.

Keywords: auxin,stress,adaptation,photosynthesis
Enabling Technologies for High Power Terahertz Electronic Circuitry (THZPOWERELECTRONICS)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Life-long training and career development
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Germany
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG, 2012)
Start date: 2013-04-01
End date: 2017-03-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The Terahertz range (300 GHz – 3 THz) of the electromagnetic spectrum is largely unused for the lack of solid-state Terahertz electronic components. Exciting applications can be found in many areas including Communications, Navigation, Security, Material Engineering, and Medical and Life Sciences, owing to the character of Terahertz electromagnetic radiation. Examples of applications are high-bandwidth (>= 100 Gb/s) wireless communication links for next-generation wireless backhaul, campus and in-building mobile networks and wireless access networks, high-resolution RADAR for autonomous machine and robotic applications, imaging of concealed objects, detection of trace substances such as explosives and toxic gases by Terahertz spectroscopy, material defect imaging and analysis, and subcutaneous and dental imaging. To date, the realization of Solid-State Terahertz Electronic Circuits with significant output power remains an unsolved technological challenge. To reach this goal, faster transistors capable of outputting significant power are needed. Frequency scaling is accomplished by shrinking optimized high-speed transistors to lateral dimensions below 100 nm. Within the proposed four-year program, the goal is to reach transistor gain cut-off frequencies in excess of one Terahertz, and circuit fundamental operating frequencies of 300 to 500 GHz, with useable output power in the range of a few milliwatts. The Ferdinand Braun Institute maintains a research program focused on high-power sub-Terahertz electronics. This research proposal would broaden on-going research efforts, establishing higher frequency InP HBT components, hence opening a new research direction within the Terahertz research field already established at Ferdinand-Braun-Institut. The host institute will provide an excellent work environment to carry out research on Terahertz electronics in terms of collaborative scientific interaction as well as fabrication and measurement instrumentation infrastructure.

Keywords: g205 micro- and nanoelectronics - optoelectronics,g206 communication technology - high-frequency technology,g202 electrical and electronic engineering
Evaluating the Post-Lisbon Effects of Delegation in the EU External Relations (DELEXPOL)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Life-long training and career development
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Latvia
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG, 2012)
Start date: 2013-09-02
End date: 2016-09-01
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 75000.0
EU funding (EUR): 75000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The research addresses the coherence of EU’s external action after the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty. Empirically the project focuses on the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and Development Aid. The main questions: in what ways has the Lisbon Treaty affected the delegation patterns amongst actors in framing EU’s external policies? How does the new institutional set-up impact the positioning of individual EU Member States in external relations? The research aims to analyse the increasing tendencies of bilateralism in the EU’s external relations by using an innovative method - principle-agent model, which so far has not been applied to the research of the EEAS. Following the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty, the function of external representation by the Council Presidency has been replaced by the multi-institutional actor, - the EEAS comprising the representatives from the European Commission, the Council Secretariat and individual Member States. Effective policy co-ordination is one of the cornerstones of an efficient external policy. Systematic academic studies that present the member states’ perspective are still rare. By analysing the modifications brought about by the Lisbon Treaty, the impact of the multilateral governance structure of the EEAS on the positioning of the individual member states will be explored and policy recommendations at the national and EU levels provided. The scope of the study stretches across several policy areas, such as human rights, the rule of law, trade and democratization. All these policy aspects are a part of the research scope of the study, - the ENP and Development Aid. The research objective is highly relevant with respect to the current discussions around the efficiency of the EU’s external representation on the one hand, and the future importance of the ENP and Development Aid on the other. A comparative research with at least two EU member states.

Keywords: lisbon treaty,european neighbourhood policy,development aid,delegation,bilateralism,eeas
Characterization of direct reprogramming-regulating factors LIN-53 and USP-48. (REPROL53U48)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Life-long training and career development
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Germany
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG, 2012)
Start date: 2013-04-01
End date: 2017-03-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Cellular replacement therapies for treating degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s will require the generation of lost tissues by reprogramming cell types. While one strategy is to de-differentiate somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cells with subsequent re-differentiation, an alternative strategy is to directly convert cells to the target cell type by using specific Transcription Factors (TFs). The latter strategy utilizes TFs that can induce specific cell fates; however, their ability to reprogram cell identities upon mis-expression is very limited. We are elucidating refractory mechanisms of direct cell fate conversion using C. elegans as a model organism. Using RNAi screens we recently identified LIN-53 (homolog of Rbbp4/7) as an inhibitor of reprogramming mitotic germ cells directly into specific neurons and muscle-like cells. At least six different chromatin regulatory complexes such as NURF/NuRD remodeling and histone modifying complexes share LIN-53. However, the molecular function of LIN-53 in different tissues and its exact role in regulating reprogramming remains elusive. Furthermore, forward genetics screens identified a ubiquitin specific protease (USP) to be involved in regulating direct reprogramming of hypodermal (skin) cells in worms. Nothing is known about this USP, only that its homolog is a direct target of the ectodermal master regulator p63 in human skin cells. Using 4D time-lapse imaging and tissue-specific biochemistry (ChIP-seq, SILAC) we aim to determine the spatio-temporal expression pattern of both factors in vivo and investigate their molecular function in controlling cell fate reprogramming. We will elucidate the regulatory network of these reprogramming factors by complementing our examinations with genetic analysis. Our findings might have broad implications for understanding mechanisms that restrict direct cell fate reprogramming and for generating specific tissues from different cellular contexts.

Keywords: direct cell fate reprogramming,epigenetics and gene regulation,molecular biology and interactions,molecular genetics - reverse genetics and rnai,4d time-lapse imaging
Identification of new molecular and genetic basis of ammonium use efficiency in plants (AMUSE)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Life-long training and career development
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Spain
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG, 2012)
Start date: 2013-03-01
End date: 2017-02-28
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Sustainable agriculture means to maintain equilibrium between obtaining a product at the best possible yield and with the best possible quality at the same time that the minimum environmental impact is provoked. Among the major challenges that the European Commission Horizon 2020 describes to be faced by researchers in the near future for building a better society, resources efficiency and sustainable agriculture are two of them. Nitrate (NO3−) and ammonium (NH4+) are the main forms of nitrogen (N) available for plants. There is serious concern regarding NO3− loss in the field, giving rise to soil and water pollution and to global warming through emissions of nitrous oxide. In this framework, the use of ammonium-based fertilizers is a great opportunity to reduce environmental pollution effects of nitrate-based manures. The potential of NH4+ as N source for agriculture has been reconsidered alongside the search to improve N use efficiency by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). However, plants have traditionally been bred under nitric or combined nitrogen nutrition provoking a negative selection pressure towards NH4+ assimilation. Indeed, NH4+ is toxic to animals, plants, and fungi when present in excess amounts. In this project, a multidisciplinary approach will be engaged to identify new molecular and genetic basis of ammonium use efficiency in plants. With this aim, 384 natural accessions of Arabidopsis will be phenotyped and a Genome Wide Association analysis will be launched to identify genetic determinants of ammonium use efficiency in Arabidopsis. In parallel, Arabidopsis genetic reprogramming during ammonium nutrition will be assayed by RNAseq. The more interesting candidate genes will be functionally validated. Importantly, the knowledge and results generated with Arabidopsis as model plant will be transferred to economically important crops (wheat and tomato).

Keywords: l813 agriculture related to crop production,l201 genomics - comparative genomics - functional genomics,l101 molecular biology and interactions,l102 general biochemistry and metabolism