Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
USF transcription factors as crucial skin-stress-mediators (USFMUV)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: European Re-integration Grants
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: France
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-ERG-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-04-01
End date: 2012-03-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 45000.0
EU funding (EUR): 45000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The skin is the first body defence towards various injuries including UV-rays. The molecular mechanism underlying the UV-response is in part dependant on gene expression modulation implicating the ubiquitous family of USF transcription factors. They have been largely involved as critical UV-activators of genes expression in melanocytes, mediating the UV-induced tanning-response following activation of the stress-responsive p38 kinase. Mitf, the master melanocyte regulator, mediating melanocyte stem cells and melanoma proliferation/differentiation is also a member of the b-HLH-LZ family and is a downstream target of the p38 kinase. How do these transcription factors cooperate to influence skin protection and melanoma progression remains an opened question? The specific aims of the project will be focused on the less documented member the USF-family and are as follow: 1. To determine the role of USF1 at skin level, after UV induction (USF1 KO mice model). 2. To identify the target genes of USF factors at a high level (ChipChip). 3. To correlate USF activity with stress mediated transcriptional regulation and protein modifications. We anticipate that the results will reveal both general principles on USF-target genes and function after UV or environmental stress and also general molecular process implicated in skin-protection and melanoma formation that are regulated at the transcriptional level. The proposal addresses important issues by the use of physiological model in order to identify key pathways for metabolism with long term implications for skin protection and melanoma treatment. The project provides high quality technical and intellectual inputs on the basis of close collaboration and technology transfer with scientific and medical laboratories in France. The project will also give me the high quality level training in technical and complementary scientific competencies required to fulfil my career.

Keywords: usf1-transcription-mouse-uv,molecular biology
Influence of delays on the models of angiogenesis process and immunotherapy of cancer (ANGIODEL)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: European Re-integration Grants
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Poland
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-ERG-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2008-11-01
End date: 2011-10-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 45000.0
EU funding (EUR): 45000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Tumour growth, dynamics and interactions with an immune system are very important processes from medical point of view and can be also considered as a topic of mathematical modelling and analysis. We would like to focus on the models of tumour angiogenesis process and immunotherapy of cancer known from the literature and study the influence of time delays on the dynamics of these models solutions. It is well-known that the signaling pathways can be modelled using time delays. Therefore, the models described by systems of ordinary differential equations can be modified to the systems of delay differential equations. Such modifications have been considered for example in the case of Hahnfeldt et al. model of angiogenesis process which is the most accepted model of this process. Immune processes are also considered as delayed with respect to the stimuli. The first model which reflects this effect was proposed by G.I. Marchuk (1980). At present there arises many models describing different aspects of anti-tumour immunity and immunotherapy of cancer. Within the project we will study the influence of time delays on the dynamics of solutions to mathematical systems of differential equations describing tumour angiogenesis and immunotherapy of cancer focusing on the models with at least two delays. From the mathematical point of view the dynamics of systems with several delays is not as well-known as in the case of one discrete delay and such analysis is a challenging problem and can bring also some insight to the medical knowledge and treatment of cancer.

Keywords: mathematical modelling,tumour angiogenesis,immunotherapy of cancer,delay differential equations,stability switches,hopf bifurcation
Intuitive decision making and bias: Examination of their role in the initial mental-health intake with ethnically and racially diverse populations (INTUITION AND BIAS)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: International Re-integration Grants
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Israel
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-IRG-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2008-11-01
End date: 2012-10-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The proposed project investigates the complexity of provider decision-making process during the initial mental-health interview (intake) with ethnically and racially diverse populations. We focus on examining intuitive decisions and explore the effect of explicit and implicit bias on decisions related to patient care, including, diagnosis, treatment recommendations, and assessment of rapport. Making medical decision during the mental health intake is the foundation for the proper patient care, but can be a challenging goal given the high level of uncertainty it involves. Such uncertainty is more pronounced in making intuitive decisions with diverse populations. However, little is know about the mechanisms contributing to clinical uncertainty and particularly to intuitive decisions.The current proposal aims to bridge this gap and reduce mental health service disparities by improving intuitive clinical decisions and reducing bias with ethnically and racially diverse populations. It builds on the Institute of Medicine’s (2002) analysis highlighting the role of biases, stereotyping and uncertainty in the patient provider interaction as contributors to service disparities. The specific aims of the study are: Aim 1: investigate the effect of explicit and implicit bias on intuitive decision making through a quantitative experimental design with a on-clinical sample. Aim 2: investigate the effect of explicit and implicit bias on intuitive decision making through a mixed methods experimental design with mental health clinicians providing services to ethnically and racially diverse population. Aim 3: assess clinician reactions to the recommended improvements to the decisions making process developed in Aims 1 and 2, using consensus groups. At the end of this project we hope to make feasible and concrete recommendations to improve the intuitive decision making process and reduce bias with diverse patients as well as make recommendations to improve clinical training.

Keywords: intuition,decision making,mental health intake,bias,disparities,multicultural population
Energy signaling in the stress response (ESIS)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: International Re-integration Grants
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Portugal
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-IRG-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2008-12-01
End date: 2011-11-30
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 75000.0
EU funding (EUR): 75000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Plants are constantly confronted by multiple types of nutritional, abiotic and biotic stress. Often associated with stress is a reduction in photosynthesis and/or respiration, which in turn results in energy deprivation and ultimately in growth arrest. Despite their distinct origin and mode of perception, different stresses trigger similar downstream responses that include largely overlapping patterns of gene expression. Our work has shown that this general stress transcriptome is partly regulated by the evolutionarily conserved energy sensor protein kinases, SNF1 (sucrose non-fermenting1) in yeast, AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase) in mammals and SnRK1 (Snf1-related kinase1) in plants. Upon sensing the energy deficit associated with stress, SnRK1 triggers extensive transcriptional changes that contribute to restoring metabolic and energy homeostasis, promoting cell survival and allowing the elaboration of longer-term responses for adaptation, growth and development. Despite the importance of the uncovered energy signaling pathway, virtually nothing is known regarding its mode of operation. Using a combination of cell-based assays, functional genomics, bioinformatics, mutant screens and genetics, this proposal seeks to gain insight on the regulatory mechanisms that govern SnRK1 action and to further dissect this signaling pathway through the identification of novel components. Elucidation of these mechanisms will contribute to understanding how stress resistance is established and how plant growth and development are finely orchestrated by the environment.

Keywords: arabidopsis,stress,energy-signaling,snrk1 (snf1-related kinase1),energy deprivation,starvation,homeostasis,catabolism,growth regulation,carbon metabolism,plant development,plant growth
The development of neural systems for language (DNLP)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: International Re-integration Grants
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Israel
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-IRG-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2008-11-01
End date: 2012-10-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The ability to communicate through language is a central cognitive skill acquired early in human development. Children’s language skills, particularly combinatorial aspects of language such as syntax and morphology, continue to develop during the school years. These ages are also a time of significant change in children’s brains, both in white matter and gray matter. The current proposal applies two complementary brain imaging techniques, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), to study the neural circuits underlying language processes in Hebrew speaking school age children and young adults. We focus on the development of combinatorial aspects of language, specifically, syntax and morphology. This focus is motivated by scientific and clinical considerations: From a basic science perspective, combinatorial language skills constitute the core of human linguistic ability, combining structural units recursively into complex words, phrases and sentences. Clinically, syntactic and morphological deficits have been detected in specific language impairments (SLI), but the neurological deficit underlying these impairments is not well understood. We use fMRI to identify language related brain regions in individual children and adults. We then examine age related differences in the sensitivity to syntactic and morphological contrasts within these brain regions. We use DTI data combined with psycholinguistic and fMRI measurements in the same individual to analyze age- and skill-related changes in white matter pathways within syntactic and morphological circuits. Our approach provides a principled, comprehensive assessment of typical development in brain circuits that process combinatorial aspects of language, and sets an important baseline for detecting developmental delay and impairment in clinical child populations.

Keywords: neurolinguistics,syntax,language development,brain imaging,fmri,dti,cognitive science,psycholinguistics
RTD: Real-Time Delivery for Sensor Networks in Unpredictable Environments (RTD)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: International Re-integration Grants
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Greece
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-IRG-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2008-09-01
End date: 2012-08-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The objective of this project is to develop a framework to provide reliable, real-time delivery of data and events in distributed event-based sensor systems. Several fundamental trends will shape future computing systems. The integration of sensors in networks of embedded systems will revolutionize future networked real-time and embedded computing systems. A growing number of applications will require timely, correct and reliable communication in highly dynamic environments. Examples include medical systems, transportation systems, surveillance systems, environmental and habitat monitoring. The long-term vision of the project is to develop reliable and adaptable, networked real-time computational systems, integrated with physical processes. The realization of the vision presents numerous unsolved and exciting problems to the software research community, including timeliness, reliability, security, privacy and adaptability. In particular, the proposed research will: (i) develop a methodology for modeling the aggregate behavior of the system and achieving time predictability, even in the presence of mobility, through synergistic congestion control, distributed real-time scheduling, and traffic regulation; and (ii) implement software components that run on the sensor nodes on top of existing operating systems, routing and MAC protocols that will enable us to integrate real-time functionality into existing infrastructures.

Keywords: technological sciences,sensor networks,real-time
Incompressible Single and Multi-phase SPH with Improved Boundary Treatment (SPH-MESHLESS CFD)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: International Re-integration Grants
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Türkiye
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-IRG-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-09-01
End date: 2013-08-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The objectives of the proposal are to 1) implement a new improved boundary treatment method (refer to as Multiple Boundary Tangent (MBT) developed by PI) to simulation of complex geometries such as flow over an airfoil, and 2) develop an incompressible multiphase SPH (IMSPH) algorithm, and 3) study feasibility of modeling single crystal growth (CG) processes with SPH. In literature, benchmark simulations using previously reported boundary treatments can suffer from particle penetration and may corrupt simulations near solid boundaries. Current SPH boundary treatments do not properly treat curved boundaries in complicated flows. These drawbacks are remedied in MBT. Previously solved benchmark problems using MBT were relatively simple. To understand full power and limitations of MBT, PI plans to solve complex flow problems such as flow over an airfoil and free surface flow. PI’s current incompressible SPH code will be further improved to develop an IMSPH code. In this direction, a novel multiphase projection formulation will be developed to treat sharp changes in transport properties and density. Several benchmark problems will be solved for validation. Resin filling process in polymer composite manufacturing by RTM will be simulated as a multiphase flow. SPH is convenient for simulations involving moving interfacial surfaces such as semiconductor CG. In CG, mesh-dependent methods are difficult to implement, as computational mesh is required to adapt to CG surface. In modeling of ternary alloy crystals, governing equations must be solved simultaneously in liquid and solid phases to resolve growth interface correctly. This requires iterations at liquid/solid interfaces, slowing down simulations notably. In SPH, there is no need for interface iterations; all domains are solved as a single domain. However, SPH is still slow compared with the finite volume method. It requires further research and developments for computational efficiency.

Keywords: technological sciences,meshless computational fluid dynamics,smoothed particles hydrodynamics,multi-phase flow,boundry treatment,flow over an airfoil,particle method,meshless cfd
Uncovering the postembryonic function of embryonic lethal genes in Arabidopsis thaliana (CLONAL)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: International Re-integration Grants
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Spain
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-IRG-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-06-01
End date: 2013-05-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Genes with essential functions have been identified in plants through the isolation of gametophytic-lethal and embryonic-lethal mutations. If lethality is a sign of the important metabolic, cellular or developmental function of a given gene, then we may expect some of these genes to also play crucial roles later in plant development. Because homozygotes are not viable or cannot be obtained, the function of lethal genes cannot normally be studied at post-embryonic stages or in the sporophyte. Clonal analysis relies on the ability to induce sectors of clonally-related mutant cells in an otherwise normal individual, opening a window to the study of the effects of lethal mutations in the adult organism. As shown by classical experiments in the model organism Drosophila melanogaster, homozygous sectors for embryo-lethal mutations are often viable (“non-cell lethal”) in the context of normal adult tissues. Hundreds of embryo-lethal and gametophytic-lethal mutants have been isolated in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, yet no systematic effort has been undertaken to characterize the functions of the corresponding genes in adult plants. I propose (1) to investigate the post-embryonic functions of lethal genes using clonal analysis techniques, and (2) to generate a system for the induction and marking of twin clones in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.

Keywords: plant genetics,plant development,clonal analysis,lethal mutations,arabidopsis thaliana
Algorithms for Testing Properties of Distributions (DISTRIBUTION TESTING)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: International Re-integration Grants
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Israel
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-IRG-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2008-09-01
End date: 2012-08-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

In a wide variety of computational settings, where the input data is most naturally viewed as coming from a distribution, it is often crucial to determine whether the underlying distribution satisfies various properties. Examples of such properties include whether two distributions are close or far in statistical distance, whether a joint distribution is independent, and whether a distribution has high entropy. For most such properties, standard statistical techniques which approximate the distribution lead to algorithms which use a number of samples that is nearly linear in the domain size. Until very recently, distributions over large domains, for which linear sample complexity can be daunting, have received surprisingly little attention. However, new interest in these questions comes from many directions, including data mining, research in the natural sciences, and networking algorithms. Recent results have shown that one can achieve results which are significantly more efficient than the standard techniques for the case of large domains. We propose a research program that will lead to an understanding of the sample, time and space complexity required to identify various natural properties of a probability distribution. We will focus on determining which properties can be understood with a number of samples that is sublinear in the domain size, and will lead to an understanding of the aspects of algorithm design that are specific to these constraints. The questions that will be considered range from considering the complexity of testing previously unstudied properties, understanding the complexity of approximating the distance to having a property, finding improved algorithms for important subclasses of distributions, investigating new models of distribution testing, and further understanding the relationship between the computational complexity and sample complexity.

Keywords: technological sciences,theory of computation,algorithms,sublinear-time algorithms,property testing algoirthms,randomized algorithms
Development of a new recyclable long life co-injected high barrier packaging for food applications, with broad design possibilities and reduced manufacturing costs (COBAPACK)

Framework: FP7 — Capacities
Programme: Research for the benefit of SMEs
Destination: Research for SMEs
Action type: Research for the benefit of specific groups
Countries involved: Spain,United Kingdom,Italy,Spain,Spain,Bulgaria,Slovenia,Italy
Call:  (FP7-SME-2008-1, 2008)
Start date: 2009-10-01
End date: 2011-09-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1327873.32
EU funding (EUR): 972730.77
Participants: 10
Project status: CLOSED

Plastics used in packaging are seen everywhere in developed societies. Demand of long life rigid packing with high barrier properties grows up quickly (around 200.000 Tn are produced annually in Europe). Barrier packages are employed to preserve foodstuffs from environmental agents, so to control the package permeability to gases (O2,N2,CO2) is very important. Furthermore, mechanical and food thermal treatment resistance (pasteurization and retort processes) and food contact grade are also relevant requirements. Due to the nature of plastic materials, only one plastic can not achieve all the demanded requisites, so these packages are made of combining no less than three materials in five layers; a water barrier polymer (outer layers) cheap and with good mechanical properties (PP,HIPS), an oxygen barrier polymer with high cost (EVOH,PVDC,PA) and an adhesive to join both. They are manufactured by a two-step process: Coextrusion to produce a cast multilayer sheet and Thermoforming to process the sheet into shapes. This production technology has the following problems: Co-extrusion: a) Synthetic polymers (mainly EVOH) used as inner layer are very expensive and chemically incompatible with the other layers preventing post-used packages recycling. b) Scrap production reaches at least 10%. Thermoforming: a) High scrap production (up to 40%) due to trims, especially in oval and round forms, and processing problems b) Design limitations: neither complex forms nor uniform thickness, and no high depth of draw ratio are allowed. In order to solve the above problems COBAPACK approach will consist on: a)Using destructurized starch from rich protein plants(a by-product with low cost soluble in water), to replace the synthetic high barrier materials allowing the separation of the different multilayer materials thus recycling 100% the final package b)Using co-injection process, one-step process with minimum scrap losses, savings in energy comsumption and broad design flexibility

Keywords: environment,packaging waste,food packaging,polymer technology,recycling technology,agriculture by-product_starch,co-injection