Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Establishing the role of Purkinje fibres in the development of arrhythmias for the prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death: Insights from a combined in vivo and ex vivo study (PSCD)

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-2011-IEF, 2011)
Start date: 2012-11-01
End date: 2014-10-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 193594.8
EU funding (EUR): 193594.8
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) following ventricular fibrillation (VF) is a major cause of mortality in the industrialised world. VF is characterised by chaotic electrical activity in the ventricles leading to severe cardiac dysfunction. Thus far, the underlying mechanisms for the initiation and maintenance of VF are not fully understood. Recent clinical developments in the treatment of VF by the Host’s laboratory have discovered distinct electrical activity associated with a specialised cell-type, Purkinje fibres, which were found to precede the spontaneous beats that manifest VF. Targeted radiofrequency (RF) ablation of these sources has markedly improved treatment and the rates of recurrence of arrhythmias in patients suffering from idiopathic VF. There is also growing evidence that the Purkinje system may be involved in arrhythmogenesis in cardiac pathologies such as myocardial infarction. Therefore, this proposal aims to utilise in vivo electrophysiological techniques in combination with a newly developed ex vivo optical imaging technique on a large animal model (sheep) to determine the roles of Purkinje fibres in the development of life-threatening arrhythmias with a focus on improving the effectiveness of ablation therapies. Furthermore, this approach shall be applied to further investigate a cardiac disease model that is at significant risk of arrhythmogenesis, myocardial infarction. The proposed aims shall be carried out in vivo using MRI and epicardial and endocardial electrophysiological recordings. This will be followed by optical mapping of ex vivo coronary-perfused ventricular preparations providing insight into the 3D organisation of electrical activity. These techniques will provide the appropriate tools for determining the precise location of arrhythmogenic sources, the organisation of arrhythmias and the roles of Purkinje fibres. Successful completion of these research goals will have an important impact on future therapies for sudden cardiac death.

Keywords: cardiology,cardiovascular system,physiological biophysics,3 d modelling,applied optics,optics,clinical analysis,chronic diseases,animal surgery
Computational Tools for Cardiac Mechanics (COMPCARDMECH)

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: Switzerland
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IOF, 2011)
Start date: 2012-09-01
End date: 2015-08-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 275362.5
EU funding (EUR): 275362.5
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death and disability in Europe and in the World. Heart failure itself, primarily caused by myocardial infarction, has now reached epidemic proportions. If past clinical therapies have been developed by trial-and-error, new therapies must now be designed through the scientific understanding of the functional and structural changes in diseased hearts. The ultimate aspiration of our research project is to use theoretical modeling, in combination with new imaging modalities and modern simulation tools, to provide greater insight into cardiac disease and thereby guide the design of new successful treatment strategies. To achieve our goal, we propose to develop cutting-edge computational tools, including 22 state-of-the-art patient-specific computational models of healthy and diseased human bi-ventricular units, as well as a theoretical and computational framework to predict the remodeling of heart tissues induced by myocardial infarction. Their design and validation will be supported by world class imaging facilities. Here are typical benefits of our research to cardiac medicine. First, our tools will allow us to quantitatively characterize the morphology and mechanics of infarcted areas, as well as predict their evolution in time, thus providing to cardiologists a significant new methodology for the diagnosis of heart patients. Moreover, they will allow us to predict the reinforcement of heart tissues induced by the implantation of biomaterial in and around infarcted areas, thus providing to cardiologists a clear statement to design new therapies. Relying on unique synergies with leading experts in theoretical and numerical mechanics, as well as life science and medicine, this project will advance knowledge in computational cardiac mechanics, and may establish an entirely new way of thinking in cardiovascular medicine, inspired by predictive, patient-specific, simulation-based interventional planning.

Keywords: computational cardiac mechanics,myocardial infarction,patient-specific finite-element models,computational modeling of growth & remodeling,passive biomaterials implantation
Emotionally-based Tagging of Multimedia Content (EMOTAG)

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-2011-IEF, 2011)
Start date: 2012-05-01
End date: 2014-04-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 200371.8
EU funding (EUR): 200371.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

As the amount of digital multimedia content increases while the cost of storing digital multimedia decreases, it becomes very difficult to locate a specific content. To benefit from this wealth of multimedia data, numerous methods for automatic multimedia indexing and retrieval have been proposed. However, these methods usually depend on having large amounts of annotated data to learn from. The main idea behind Implicit Human-Centred Tagging (IHCT), which is the main topic of this proposal, is automatic extraction of tags based on user's behaviour or response while watching multimedia content. The underlying assumption of IHCT is that observable nonverbal behaviour while interacting with multimedia content (e.g. affective facial expressions, head nods and shakes, laughter, pupil dilation, etc.) provide information useful for improving the tags associated with the data. As such responses are generated naturally and spontaneously, no specific effort is required from the users, and this is why the resulting tagging is said to be “implicit” (rather than explicit). The main aim of the EmoTag project is to develop and evaluate an affect-sensitive implicit tagging system based on continuous assessment of affective responses of users. Specifically, the project aims to answer whether users' behaviour can be used to inform the system about the possible tags that could be used to describe the multimedia content and how automatic tools for multimedia content tagging could be redesigned to benefit from the implicit tags. The project will also investigates whether retrieval/recommendation systems based on implicit tags will perform comparably to those based on explicit tags. The other aspect of the proposed study deals with automatic continuous dimensional affect recognition from multiple modalities and proposes a number of novel machine learning techniques that promise to solve this complex problem characterized by high-dimensional feature space and low amount of sample data.

Keywords: human computer interaction,signal processing,computer science
Structure and dynamics of G protein-coupled receptors by NMR spectroscopy (NMRGPCR)

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: Switzerland
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IEF, 2011)
Start date: 2013-02-01
End date: 2015-01-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 192622.2
EU funding (EUR): 192622.2
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

GPCRs are involved in a variety of biological and pathological processes ranging from metabolic, neurological and immune system disorders to inflammation. The members of this large family of proteins can be activated by various stimuli including hormones, neurotransmitters, ions, odorants and light. The location of GPCRs on the cell surface and their roles as initiators in many cellular signaling pathways make them predominant drug targets. Around 30% of all drugs on the current therapeutic market function by modulating the activity of GPCRs. One of the most important topics in GPCR field is “biased agonism”: how different ligands induce or stabilise specific conformations of the receptor with distinct pharmacological activity. Equally important is understanding of the basis for ligand selectivity in classes of receptors with identical binding pockets. This selectivity is likely to be determined by the dynamic properties of the pocket or of the ligand entry channel. NMR spectroscopy can offer structural, dynamic and functional information at atomic resolution into molecular mechanisms of ligand recognition, biased agonism and receptor activation. The aim of the proposed research is to characterise ligand-induced conformational changes in GPCRs and the project will focus on the cannabinoid receptor (CB2), involved in immune response and sensing pain, and is overexpressed in some brain tumors. In particular, I propose a) to label CB2 for NMR analysis based on the successful mutagenesis strategy developed in the host laboratory to produce stabilised recombinant receptors for X-ray crystallography; b) to obtain a dynamic view of the conformational changes in CB2 induced by ligand binding; c) to compare the conformational changes causes by a spectrum of ligands with different activities, from antagonists to agonists. In addition, this general approach could also be extended to other “difficult” membrane proteins.

Keywords: gpcr,nmr spectroscopy,membrane proteins,structural biology,biophysics
LINE-1 retrotransposition in human somatic cells (SOMATIC_MOSAICISM)

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-2011-IEF, 2011)
Start date: 2013-06-12
End date: 2015-06-11
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 168896.4
EU funding (EUR): 168896.4
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The human genome is largely composed of non-coding DNA, only 3-5% codes for exons. The majority of the non-coding DNA is however fundamental for the correct functioning and regulation of the genome. Transposable elements (TEs) like LINEs generated up to 50% of the human genome during evolution. They can mobilize, causing mutations but also conferring genomic plasticity. The generation of new insertions in the germ line led to the concept of TEs as ‘selfish’ DNA. However, inconsistent with their hereditary transmission, it was recently shown by the host lab and others that most of the action of TEs occurs in somatic cells during early embryogenesis. Thus, to deeply understand the impact of the somatic activity of LINE elements, we propose to develop and use an in vivo mouse model for LINE transposition. We will use human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and tissue-specific iPSCs, containing an eGFP-marked LINE reporter cassette. Once injected into immuno-suppressed mice these cells will develop teratomas containing tissues of the 3 germ layers (endo, meso, ectoderm). For the proof of principle, the host lab has injected human embryonic carcinoma cells (hECs). With this model, we aim to answer the following: 1) Are LINEs active in all three germ layers?; 2) Are LINEs differentially regulated, depending on the germ layer?; 3) What’s the impact of LINE activity in the somatic tissues? To answer these questions, we will FACS-sort parts of the teratoma into ecto-, meso-, and endoderm-like cells and map the site of new LINE insertions during development, using deep sequencing. We aim to detect hot spots of LINE integration, allowing the analysis of possible genetic and phenotypic consequences. Imaging of the rest of the teratoma will further show us cell types where transposition occurs with higher frequency and possible phenotypic alterations. We therefore hope to detect new principles of genomic plasticity that could regulate gene expression.
EMULSION DESIGN TO IMPROVE NUTRITIONAL AND ORGANOLEPTIC QUALITY OF CEREAL BASED FOOD SYSTEMS (EMULSIFOOD)

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: Belgium
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IOF, 2011)
Start date: 2013-01-15
End date: 2016-01-14
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 267551.4
EU funding (EUR): 267551.4
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

In light of the alarming reports on (the evolution of) the health condition of consumers in the developed world, research and food industry environments are currently investing much time and effort in the quest for ‘healthier’ food systems. However, inclusion or in situ production of bioactive compounds in food systems to improve their nutritional profile while maintaining their organoleptic properties presents real challenges. While emulsions offer perspectives for improved food systems, conventional emulsions suffer from droplet coalescence, flocculation, gravitational separation and Ostwald ripening. The design of structured emulsions with an improved stability and tailor-made functionality has already proven to be a valuable strategy for enhancing the nutritional profile and overall product quality of ‘liquid’ food systems as exemplified by protection and controlled release of bioactive and functional agents during processing. However, such approach needs to be elaborated on for complex 'dry' cereal based food systems. This project thus focuses on rational design of structured emulsions as functional carrier systems for application in such products, which include bread as an important staple food. The project will benefit from interdisciplinary collaboration between the research groups of Prof. J.A. Delcour (K.U.Leuven, Belgium) and Prof. D.J. McClements (University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA), two highly renown researchers in their respective research areas.

Keywords: physical chemistry,design engineering,food products
Protests in Sub-Saharan African countries (PROAFRI)

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: Switzerland
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IEF, 2011)
Start date: 2012-09-01
End date: 2014-12-15
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 192622.2
EU funding (EUR): 192622.2
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

This project aims to study mobilization in sub-Saharan African countries -with a focus on Nigeria and Zimbabwe- by investigating protest activities between the year 1995 and 2010. By articulating the social movement literature with African studies, the research aims to analyze the impact of the political context and the organizational structure on mobilization in such countries. In addition, it proposes to study the impact of a repressive political context on the organizational structure sustaining mobilization. Empirically, the research will first explore mobilization in various sub-Saharan African countries by using existing public opinion surveys (Afrobarometer Survey Series Data) containing information on individual engagement in protests and public demonstrations. To understand the impact of a repressive context on the organizational structure, it will then analyze protest events and actors involved in protests in Nigeria and Zimbabwe, both classified as repressive countries by international indexes. By specifically focusing on mobilization around the oil-related issues in the Niger Delta, in-depth interviews with main organizational actors will clarify the specific organizational resources necessary for the development of protests in a repressive context. Analyses of these data will privilege a mixed-method approach and will be elaborated through classical inferential statistics and qualitative techniques. The project is relevant for the Work Programme as it proposes a genuine mobility within the ERA and it promotes interdisciplinarity and intersectoriality, thus strengthening exchanges and networks among scientific communities. In addition, it aims to attract the interests by non-specialists on issues relevant for European policies.

Keywords: social changes
A Comparative North American-European Study on Two Anomalies to the Traditional Westphalian Nation State Model: Statelessness and Dual Nationality (NAMEST-STATDUONAT)

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: Netherlands
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IOF, 2011)
Start date: 2012-09-01
End date: 2015-08-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 263660.7
EU funding (EUR): 263660.7
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Since 1993, all nationals of the EU Member States hold EU citizenship, which entails the right to move and reside freely within EU territory. Since 1999, immigration has been a matter of shared competence between the EU and its Member States. The EU increasingly faces the question whether this common immigration policy as well as the common status of EU citizenship do not also require harmonization of the rules on acquisition and loss of nationality, or even the transfer of national competences to the EU, because the nationality law rules of individual Member States can be used to circumvent the common EU migration policy. In fact, a considerable number of Member States grant particular groups of people (former emigrants and their descendants living outside the EU, co-ethnics in neighbouring countries that are not part of the EU) facilitated access to their nationality and also encourage dual nationality. The link of these ‘external EU citizens’ with the EU is often very weak. At the same time, there are large numbers of EU resident people who continue to suffer the hardship of being stateless because they cannot qualify for the nationality of an EU Member State. Both the facilitated access to the EU through dual nationality and the vulnerable position of EU resident stateless persons gives the EU a strong interest in interfering with Member State autonomy in nationality law. The proposal will study global trends regarding dual nationality and statelessness by investigating how North America, and to a lesser extent Latin America, deal with these phenomena. For that purpose, research missions will be conducted on both continents. The results are compared with European data already collected by the applicant and the EUDO citizenship project. As nationality law will increasingly become a policy concern to the EU, the applicant’s global research will contribute to both the academic and policy-orientated debate on the future role of the EU in matters of nationality law.

Keywords: social sciences,juridical sciences,comparative law,european law,political science,dual nationality,citizenship,statelessness,migration,emigration countries,european union,north america,latin america
Cytokinesis’ final cut: mechanics of abscission and ESCRT-III mediated membrane fission. (CYTOCUT)

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: Switzerland
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IEF, 2011)
Start date: 2012-07-01
End date: 2014-06-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 184709.4
EU funding (EUR): 184709.4
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Abscission is the ultimate event of cytokinesis during which the intracellular bridge connecting two daughter cells is irreversibly cleaved. Reports show that a complex called ESCRT-III is involved in plasma membrane fission during abscission. The goal of this project is to understand how membrane mechanics can influence the fate of cytokinesis both at the molecular and at the cellular levels. First, I will address the mechanism of ESCRT-III mediated membrane fission by using in vitro assays mimicking abscission geometry. I will study protein and lipid composition necessary for fission, as well as its dynamics and mechanical requirements by controlling membrane tension. For the in vivo study, I will build a double pipette setup whose goal is to hold dividing cells, allowing to precisely visualize abscission in real time. Abscission mechanism will be addressed by controlling and measuring mechanical stress applied on cells in cytokinesis in combination with RNAi knock-down of ESCRT-III proteins. By comparing in vivo and in vitro results, the ultimate goal will be to uncover the relation between abscission, ESCRT-III mediated membrane fission and cell mechanics.

Keywords: cell biology,cytokinesis,abscission,molecular biology,escrt-iii,biophysics,membrane scission,membrane mechanics