Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Enlightenment on America, America on Enlightenment: historical writing in debate and the shaping of eurocentrism at the end of the Eighteenth century (AMEN)

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-2007-2-1-IEF, 2007)
Start date: 2008-09-01
End date: 2010-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 215908.45
EU funding (EUR): 215908.45
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

"Enlightenment on America, America on Enlightenment" (AMEN) will investigate how the dispute about the New World in the 1770-80s addressed both the construction of a European consciousness and the attempt to provincialize Europe, as a first result of the crisis of the European (Spanish and British) Empires. I propose a dual track enquiry, focusing on the confrontation between the "History of America" (1777) by W. Robertson – Scottish historian of the strongest and richest existing European empire– and the "Storia antica del Messico" (1780-1) by F.S. Clavigero – Mexican Creole and disbanded Jesuit, exiled to Europe. Both raise important and problematic issues, which yield two alternative, competing conceptions of history and mankind. The analysis of these texts will constitute the first step toward a more general interpretation of eurocentrism, within the framework either of Enlightenment or of Christian universalism. As a further step, I intend to reconstruct Clavigero's reception in Europe. Like many other Creole Jesuits arriving in Europe after the expulsion of the order from Spanish and Portuguese Empires, and in a manner comparable to northern American writers like Jefferson, Clavigero provides another vision of the New World, conceptualizing Mexico’s glorious antiquities as European thinkers hark back to the ancient Roman and Greek heritage for the region of Europe. In Scotland, Clavigero's History, translated into English in 1787, had a strong impact, becoming the main source of the entry "America" in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, which constitutes the most important attempt in the British context to summarize existing knowledge about the world and its history. The comparative perspective provided by the Clavigero-Robertson debate aims to highlight two universal histories dominated by Europe. But their diverging Eurocentric conceptions of mankind offer a new vision of the world with Europe representing just one of different and competing provinces.

Keywords: humanities,early modern history,historiography,intellectual & cultural history,postcolonial studies,enlightenment,progress,race,comparison,europe,america,christianity,(limits of) modernity
The biophysics of cytoplasmic streaming in Chara corallina (CYCLOSIS)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Intra-European Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2007-2-1-IEF, 2007)
Start date: 2008-03-01
End date: 2010-02-28
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 172225.98
EU funding (EUR): 172225.98
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Cytoplasmic streaming (CS) is the name given to the continuous flow of cytoplasm observed in many eukaryotic cells, and is especially evident in freshwater algae like C. corallina, which display a remarkably steady and fast helical flow of cytoplasm along their centimeter-long internodal cells. Such flow is generated by a constant shearing force present at the endoplasm-ectoplasm interface, generated by a well characterized mechanism. The plant probably pays a steep energetic price to mantain CS, but it is not clear what it receives in exchange. Several hypotheses have been proposed, but progress is hindered by lack of experimental evidence. The project is aimed at critically advancing our understanding of the biological implications of CS, through a systematic series of experiments, both in vivo and in vitro. These experiments are based on the implementation of modern multidisciplinary techniques like confocal microscopy, microrheology, optical tweezing, PIV, and soft lithography, never used in this context before. These will guarantee unprecedented levels of accuracy and control. The first objective is to investigate what determines the flow profile and its speed, through the experimental characterization of CS and cytoplasm's rheology. The second is studying the flow's response to external stimuli, which should be connected to the plant's ability to react to environmental changes. The third is to investigate the transport properties of CS, since strong advection can qualitatively impact important quantities like the rate of nutrient intake. The project will contribute to develop a new area of biophysics, focused on problems that are more specifically biological. It is an exciting opportunity for the European scientific community to build a new and more integrated collaboration between physicists and biologists. It will be an excellent training for my future career, and a great introduction to doing research in Europe, where I wish to continue to work.

Keywords: physiological biophysics,phycology,cytoplasmic streaming,hydrodynamics,statistical mechanics
Biodiversity and connectivity in the resilience of coastal marine communities (BIOCONNECTENCE)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: International Incoming Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Italy
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2007-4-2-IIF, 2007)
Start date: 2008-05-09
End date: 2010-05-08
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 233872.25
EU funding (EUR): 233872.25
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Changes in diversity underpin the very nature and integrity of ecosystems, including how they function, deliver goods and services, and respond to disturbances. Yet understanding the underlying mechanisms of biodiversity change remains both one of the greatest challenges in ecological science and of fundamental importance to resource management and conservation. The key problem is the need to integrate the effects of different factors operating on different space and time scale on biodiversity. Biodiversity assessment and the maintenance of environmental quality are central to the management of coastal ecosystems, multi use and multi value systems. This research will focus on the study of meta communities, alpha and beta diversity as a way forward for ecology over regional spatial scales and relevance to resource management. The research will investigate the resilience of hard bottom marine benthic communities in relation to habitat complexity and degrees of connectivity. Appropriate experiments will be set up in order to evaluate the recovery of benthic communities after disturbance according to the different degree of connectivity between assemblages and taking into account the life history of the different benthic species. particular attention will be given to Marine Protected Areas and their role in preserving biodiversity

Keywords: environmental science,natural resources management,aquatic ecology,biodiversity,biodiversity characterisation,biodiversity indicators
Synthetic lethality approaches to BRCA-associated cancer (SYNTHLE BRCA)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Intra-European Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2007-2-1-IEF, 2007)
Start date: 2008-09-01
End date: 2010-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 169390.93
EU funding (EUR): 169390.93
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes confer high lifetime risks of developing breast and other cancers. Moreover, several studies suggest that tumours arising in mutation carriers have generally lost the wild-type allele and do not express functional BRCA1 or BRCA2 proteins. Both BRCA proteins are important for repair of double strand DNA breaks by homologous recombination. The subject of this project would allow us to clarify if cells harbouring defects in DNA damage repair (such as BRCA1 deficient cells) are more sensitive to the induced loss of other DNA repair mechanisms (either by RNAi or small molecule inhibitors). For that purpose I will perform High-throughput RNA interference screenings to find synthetic lethality partners for BRCA1 and BRCA2, using a library of siRNAs targeting 779 proteins that encompass all the known and predicted kinases. I will also translate some previous yeast synthetic lethality studies, to human breast cancer cell lines, performing for that a”mini-RNAi screen”. Ultimately, this project presented here may lead to the identification of novel anticancer strategies targeting DNA repair defects in tumors, which could be applicable in several sporadic cancers.

Keywords: breast cancer,brca,dna repair,rnai,kinases,anticancer therapeutics
Distributed Multi-way Analysis of Stream Data for Detection of Complex Attacks (DMASD4CA)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: International Incoming Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Germany
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2007-4-2-IIF, 2007)
Start date: 2009-02-24
End date: 2010-06-23
Duration (months): 16.0
Total project cost (EUR): 148048.66
EU funding (EUR): 148048.66
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

A "complex attack" is a sequence of temporally and spatially separated actions each of which may be detected or prevented by various Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS); however as a whole they constitute a powerful attack that cannot be detected by IDS paradigm. Examples include "insider" and "stealth" attacks. The main reason for IDS paradigm to fall short of detecting and modeling complex attacks is that adversarial actions may not violate any IDS rules explicitly. Thus, new methods are required to efficiently recognize complex attacks within message streams coming from various sources such as IDS, sniffers and system logs. Such stream data may be generated by several physically separated data sources (with varying rates and volumes) that together they may produce one logical data set. Thus, it may be necessary to monitor and analyze (correlated) data flows from multiple locations in a distributed fashion to obtain more accurate statistical and structural information. The raw data carried in these streams offer many valuable information ranging from alerts for early responses to discovery of hidden groups in adversarial actions. However, processing and analysis of data streams to identify complex attacks remain as a challenge. This project develops (1) efficient distributed algorithms to sample, and analyze complex information from continuous low of data streams, (2) new models for detection of complex attacks based on such analysis in order to produce rapid responses o events such as emerging disasters, epidemic outbreaks, or terrorist attacks.

Keywords: internet and network security,complex attacks,knowdege discovery and data analysis
Ring-walking, metal coordination and aryl-halide oxidative addition (RINGWALK)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: International Incoming Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Israel
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2007-4-2-IIF, 2007)
Start date: 2008-09-28
End date: 2010-09-27
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 170484.12
EU funding (EUR): 170484.12
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The proposed project deals with the formation of new late transition metal-based stilbene and stilbazole complexes, formed via a series of transformations, including metal-olefin coordination, metal ring-walking, and aryl-halide oxidative addition. This project is related to recently published results (van der Boom, M. E. et al J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005, 127, 9322; Organometallics, 2006, 25, 3308; Organometallics, 2007, in press; Chem. & Eng. News 2005 Sept. 19,). Our studies indicate that a zerovalent platinum center coordinates to the stilbene carbon-carbon double bond and subsequently walks in the solid state and in solution over the π-system of the stilbene ligand prior to activation of an aryl– halide moiety. The cleavage of the aryl–halide bond is the rate determining step. This model system is an ideal vehicle to observe several organometallic steps in a consecutive manner. We are interested in studying the mechanistic aspects of these reactions, especially the metal ring-walking process. Many challenging questions remain. For example, is it possible by proper ligand design to direct a metal center to a specific molecular site? The proposed research will be conducted by varying the nature of the metal complex precursors (e.g., metal periodic table position, oxidation state, phosphine vs nitrogen ligands, chelating vs non-chelating ligands, …) and by preparation of stilbene and stilbazole ligands. Kinetic studies will be carried out using (variable temp.) NMR and UV/vis spectroscopy. Some of the compounds will be used for crystal engineering (van der Boom et al , M. E. Crys. Growth & Des. 2005, 5, 1671), and coordination-based assembly of intrinsically acentric multilayers (van der Boom, M. E. et al J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2006, 128, 7374). The acquired mechanistic information may be used for the design of new metal-mediated organic reactions and homogeneous catalysis, including arene functionalization, activation of aryl–halides, and cross-coupling reactions.

Keywords: chemistry,organometallic chemistry,homogeneous catalysis,inorganic chemistry,molecular chemistry,reaction mechanisms ands dynamics
The Effects of Payroll Tax Caps and Payroll Tax Changes on the Distribution of Earnings (TATO)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Intra-European Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2007-2-1-IEF, 2007)
Start date: 2008-09-01
End date: 2010-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 160091.96
EU funding (EUR): 160091.96
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

This project analyzes the effects of capped payroll taxes on the distributions of labor costs, gross and net earnings. Such payroll taxes impose a flat tax rate, divided between employee and employers, on earnings up to an earnings cap above which the marginal tax rate drops to zero. With no labor supply responses, standard theory predicts that the density distribution of labor costs (earnings inclusive of all payroll taxes) should be smooth around the cap and hence that the density distribution of net-of-tax earnings should display a discontinuity at the cap. The theory also predicts that year to year net-of-tax pay raises should be higher for workers above the payroll tax cap than for workers below the cap. Such predictions can be empirically evaluated with new microdata bases. The project also studies the individual and firm responses to payroll tax changes.

Keywords: labour economics,applied economics,economic policy
Investigating the neural correlates of working memory capacity using functional magnetic resonance imaging and transcranial magnetic stimulation (MEMORY CAPACITY)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Intra-European Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2007-2-1-IEF, 2007)
Start date: 2008-09-01
End date: 2010-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 181142.1
EU funding (EUR): 181142.1
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The proposed research focuses on the neural substrates of human working memory (WM) i.e., the processes enabling the brief retention and manipulation of information when it is no longer present in the environment towards attaining behavioural goals. There is evidence that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) may be involved in controlling what is to be retained in WM, and that storage occurs in connected but distant brain regions i.e., in posterior cortex. Thus, the PFC may be the source of “top down” influences in WM. Furthermore, differences across individuals in the amount of information they can store (i.e., memory capacity) may depend, in part, on what is being stored, rather than the amount. Such individual capacity differences are reflected by differences in neural activity in storage-related brain regions. The proposed series of experiments aims to exploit these capacity-related differences in neural activity in order to provide causal evidence that (1) the retention of object-based information occurs in posterior cortex; (2) the PFC is functionally connected to these posterior storage regions and is the source of encoding signals directing what is to be stored; (3) differences in memory capacity across individuals is due, at least in part, to whether not relevant or irrelevant information is stored; (4) modulation of prefrontal encoding signals will result in changes in the both capacity-related neural activity in posterior storage regions, and in the psychological measures of individuals’ memory capacity. These aims will be explored using the cutting-edge combinations of both functional magnetic resonance (fMRI)-guided transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and concurrent TMS-fMRI. The ability of fMRI to visual whole-brain activity during a task in combination with the causal information provided by TMS will allow for the first direct evidence in human WM of both the existence of and the nature of effective connections between distant regions.

Keywords: cognitive science,neurosciences
Investigation of interfacial structure of buried inorganic-organic interfaces in organic photovoltaics -- LiF at organic-cathode interface (LIFORGANICPV)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: International Incoming Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Germany
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2007-4-2-IIF, 2007)
Start date: 2008-07-01
End date: 2010-06-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 159828.87
EU funding (EUR): 159828.87
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

In order to improve the efficiency of organic microelectronic devices, there has to be a better understanding of both the connection between the crystalline structure and device performance, and the role that the organic/organic and inorganic/organic interfaces play in determining that structure. The main objective of the proposed research project is understanding the role of structure in solar cell efficiency and using control of that structure to produce a device with improved efficiency. In order to reach that goal, the work is aimed at establishing the structure of LiF on the surface of an ordered organic thin film, exploring the impact of deposition of LiF on the order of the underlying organic molecule, and relating any changes in structure near the interface to device performance. The intention would be to produce a small molecule solar cell with improved power efficiency achieved by modification of the organic/inorganic interfacial order.

Keywords: condensed matter properties,surface physics,materials engineering,optoelectronics,photovoltaics,organic chemistry,organic microelectronics,self-assembly,dielectric properties,experimental physics
Red-Shifted Fluorescence Protein Tomography (RED-FPT)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Intra-European Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Germany
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2007-2-1-IEF, 2007)
Start date: 2008-09-01
End date: 2010-10-31
Duration (months): 26.0
Total project cost (EUR): 162096.91
EU funding (EUR): 162096.91
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The introduction of transgenes that express fluorescent proteins (FPs) into cells has revolutionized the ability to visualize many cellular and sub-cellular processes that are otherwise invisible with traditional means of optical imaging. Fluorescent proteins have been widely used in microscopic imaging, however deep tissue imaging has not been possible, before the recent development of fluorescent proteins emitting beyond the 600 nm absorption threshold. In the present proposal the applicant will study and develop a novel optical tomographic method for preclinical research applications with the use of the recently evolved red-shifted fluorescent proteins. The development is going to be based on modifying the existing Fluorescence Molecular Tomography method both in its experimental and theoretical part as necessary. The result will be a tomographic method and system that will be used to reconstruct in 3D the location of the fluorescent proteins deep inside the tissue of small animals (mice) with submillimeter resolution. The proposed method/system will be tested against various of the parameters of its operation and will be used to demonstrate its use in in-vivo biomedical imaging applications. A method/system like the proposed has the potential to become a high capability non invasive monitoring and diagnostic tool in bio-medical research on small animals.

Keywords: tomography,diagnostics,molecular biophysics,applied optics
Financial Institutions and Agency Problems: Theoretical Implications for Financial Stability and Regulation. (FIAPTIFSR)

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: Netherlands
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2007-2-1-IEF, 2007)
Start date: 2008-10-01
End date: 2010-09-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 158965.2
EU funding (EUR): 158965.2
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The emphasis of this research project is to model explicitly financial institutions (commercial banks) characterized by moral hazard. That is, a situation where banks invest depositors' money in risky assets, obtaining high rewards in case of success but shifting the losses to the depositors in case of failure. The incorporation of moral hazard into the behavior of financial institutions has been largely ignored in finance, and it is likely to have major implications. Our focus is on financial stability. The first question to address is under which conditions fragile financial networks (that is, financial system characterized by crises) are desirable. It has been taken for granted that financial fragility is best avoided. This project wants to understand the robustness of this a-priori. The vision that financial crises are not best avoided has been underplayed in the theoretical debate. Further, this project will analyze what are the incentives for banks to establish coinsurance mechanisms to prevent liquidity crisis and the efficiency of these devices. The incorporation of moral hazard has also important implication for regulation. The extant regulation literature has maintained an exclusive focus on banking capital requirements, ignoring the interaction between moral hazard and the design of deposit contract. The project will analyze if a market solution of the banks' moral hazard can exist. Finally, the appropriate form of regulation will be analyzed in an international environment.

Keywords: financial institutions,moral hazard,financial stability,regulation