Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Exploring the therapeutic potential of homoarginine in experimental models of ischemia reperfusion injury and chronic heart failure (H4H)

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-2013-IEF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-04-01
End date: 2016-03-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 221606.4
EU funding (EUR): 221606.4
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death within the European Union and new, more effective forms of treatment are urgently needed. Recent studies have shown that patients with low plasma homoarginine are at increased risk of stroke, myocardial infarction and heart failure (HF). This project aims to explore the underlying mechanisms of this association and to determine the therapeutic potential of homoarginine supplementation. We have already shown that mice with homoarginine-deficiency exhibit increased brain injury following an experimental stroke, and further, that elevating homoarginine levels is protective in normal mice. We hypothesize that homoarginine is more a mediator than a mere biomarker for positive outcome in CVD. Specifically, we propose that increased homoarginine in mice will also be beneficial in experimental models of acute ischaemia and chronic HF. Our objectives are, 1) to study whether low homoarginine levels are detrimental in the ischaemic and failing heart and demonstrate rescue by homoarginine treatment; 2) to determine whether homoarginine supplementation is beneficial; and 3) to elucidate the mechanism for how homoarginine exerts its cardiac effects. This interdisciplinary project brings together the applicant’s (Germany) specific expertise in pharmacology and detailed knowledge of the homoarginine research field, with the opportunity to receive extensive in vivo training in an array of cutting-edge murine cardiac phenotyping techniques developed by the scientist in charge (UK). For example, LV catheterization, in vivo MRI, echocardiography, 31P-NMR and surgical models of ischaemia and HF in mice. In conclusion, by extensive training of the Fellow, this project will 1) pave the road to develop scientific independence, 2) foster intra-European collaboration, 3) provide a basis for further funding, and 4) give novel insights into CVD pathophysiology to the scientific community and to the general public.

Keywords: homoarginine,murine cardiac phenotyping,agat,in vivo mri,surgical models of ischaemia and heart failure in mice,31p-nmr
SOCIETY, METALLURGY AND INNOVATION: THE IBERIAN HYPOTHESIS (SMITH)

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-2013-IEF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-09-01
End date: 2016-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 221606.4
EU funding (EUR): 221606.4
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The SMITH project seeks to develop our understanding of the origins of metallurgy in Western Europe and its social impact as a starting point to facilitate comparisons on a Eurasian scale It capitalises on unprecedented access to key archaeological materials, availability of synergic projects and infrastructures at UCL, and a wholly interdisciplinary approach that amalgamates cutting edge archaeological science with sophisticated theorisation on the role of technology in society The main questions addressed are: -Whether metallurgy was independently developed in Western Europe -Its actual impact in social stratification processes A wide range of archaeological materials from key sites in Western Europe will be analysed by a myriad of techniques–XRF, SEM, ICP, Metallography, etc–involving interdisciplinary collaboration.The data will be interpreted in the light of the evidence known from Eurasia and especially of the current UCL-lead project on the origins of metallurgy in the Balkans SMITH brings an original perspective as it will refocus the debate on the origins of metallurgy, and because of its comprehensive dual concern: on the one hand it includes all the steps of the metallurgical process (mining, smelting and shaping but also consumption); on the other hand, it approaches metallurgy as part of a myriad of dynamic human activities and relationships in specific and changing social contexts The study of the whole diversity of the archaeometallurgical and archaeological record is anchored in a concern with how societies assimilated metallurgy and developed different metallurgical traditions, and to what extent those processes were influenced by social contacts As a whole, SMITH aims to be on the cutting-edge of existing efforts to produce reliable data and original interpretations on the origins of metallurgy, the transfer of this knowledge and its social impact It will bring to light a wealth of key materials which are likely to challenge current paradigms

Keywords: archaeometallurgy,prehistory,western europe,archaeometry,slag,copper,lead isotope analysis,metallography,xrf,sem-eds,mc-icp-ms,microhardness test,wear marks,arc-gis
Structure-function analysis of mRNA metabolism by Ccr4-Not (POL2-CCR)

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-2013-IEF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-09-01
End date: 2016-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 161968.8
EU funding (EUR): 161968.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Eukaryotic gene expression is tightly regulated at all stages of the mRNA life cycle, from mRNA synthesis in the nucleus to mRNA degradation in the cytoplasm. Defects in gene regulation cause serious defects in cells, and severe pathologies in humans, such as cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The host lab recently made the seminal discovery that mRNA synthesis and degradation are coupled processes. The nine-subunit Ccr4-Not complex emerged as a candidate for a so far elusive coupling factor: in contrast to most mRNA processing proteins that act at only a single step in the mRNA life cycle, Ccr4-Not acts throughout the mRNA life span in mRNA synthesis, transport, translation and degradation. Despite its importance, the function of Ccr4-Not in mRNA synthesis is poorly understood. Although a recent publication suggested that Ccr4-Not could rescue stalled RNA polymerase and thereby advance transcription, the rescue mechanism remains enigmatic. Our key research objectives are a comprehensive structure-function analysis of Ccr4-Not in complex with transcribing RNA polymerase II, determination of the genome-wide mRNA-protein contacts that Ccr4-Not undergoes, and ultimately a description of the mechanisms by which the by Ccr4-Not promotes transcription and regulates the mRNA lifecycle. The host’s broad multi-disciplinary expertise and the established state-of-the-art techniques uniquely position us to achieve our ambitious objectives. All required protein complexes can be purified in milligram amounts. We will employ an innovative combination of cutting-edge methods such as high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy, molecular interactions assays, isotope-tagged cross-linking, proteomics, genome-wide RNA interaction assays in vivo, and bioinformatics. We expect our results to significantly advance the knowledge in the fields of mRNA synthesis and mRNA life cycle regulation. This is turn may provide new opportunities for medical research and drug design.

Keywords: structural biology,molecular biology,biochemistry,interaction studies,rna synthesis,rna degradation
Identities and Transformation in the Eastern Mediterranean: Evolution and Continuity of Textile Tools in the Late Bronze Age (LBA) and Early Iron Age (EIA); 13th - 10th c. B.C.E. (ITEM-E-CONTEXT)

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: Denmark
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IIF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-06-01
End date: 2016-09-28
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 308587.8
EU funding (EUR): 308587.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The Late Bronze Age (1550 – 1250 B.C.E.) of the eastern Mediterranean was a period of intense exchange of goods, ideas, and men. Movements of people, from trading trips to massive migrations, are well attested in this area between the 13th and the 10th c. B.C.E. However, from an archaeological point of view, identifying people’s identities or defining ethnic extension within territories is not easy and require the use of cultural markers. Such markers are generally sought for within the most utilitarian objects such as cooking pots, who most likely preserve the cultural heritage of its owner. I propose here to focus on textile tools because they are amongst the most reliable markers since they are culturally specific: as demonstrated by Barber, the use of a high or low spindle-whorl on a spindle directly relates to groups identities, and therefore to their larger geographic origins, each group being convinced that its spinning method is the best. Of interest for our question is the apparition of almost identical ivory spinning objects in different cultural milieu of the eastern Mediterranean, from the Levant to the Aegean, regions using different spinning methods. A comparative study of these objects focusing on their contexts of consumption will reveal the use of these objects and show if they correspond to the effective presence of near easterners, if they could have been used in a different manner or if they were solely exchange for the value of their constitutive material.

Keywords: late bronze age,early iron age,eastern mediterranean,levant,cyprus,textile tools,cultural marker,technology introduction,identity,migration
Textiles in Southern Etruria. Textile Technology in Central Tyrrheanian Italy from Late Prehistory to the Roman Republican Period (TEXSET)

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: Denmark
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IEF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-03-01
End date: 2016-02-29
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 308587.8
EU funding (EUR): 308587.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The TexSEt project will investigate the emergence and development of textile technologies and the use of textile fibres in Central-Western Italy from Late Prehistory (Final Bronze Age – 10th century BC) until the Roman Republican period (1st century BC), with a particular focus on the Etruscan period (8th-4th century BC). Ancient textile production and fibres will be examined in this long perspective using all materials, methods and sources of information available for a up to date and innovative archaeological exploration. The study includes preserved archaeological textiles, textile implements and their contextualization, as well as ancient iconographic and literary sources. The research will integrate further methods: experimental archaeology combined with an ethnographic approach and the new analytical methods for textile analyses developed in recent years. I will bring together archaeology, history, iconography, and ethnography to explore what constituted a pre-Etruscan and Etruscan textile tools kit and the range of fabric qualities and explore if and what changing elements are recognizable in the archaeological record. An integrated study of archaeological textiles will enhance our understanding of the long period of evolution, based on the selection and development of processing technologies, before arriving at the standardisation in technology and production of the Roman Empire. A key issue of my research will be focused on dissemination and museological aspects. My ambition is to “translate” the obtained scientific results in new ways to exhibit specific objects such as textile tools at the prestigious institution of the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia in Rome. The final goal of my IEF project is to combine an innovative archaeological study with museological research aimed at new concepts of how to exhibit textile remains and tools in a museum context. It finds no parallel in the field of Italian or European studies.

Keywords: archaeology,etruscan age,pre-etruscan age,central italy,archaeological textile tools,textile technology,experimental archaeology,museums and exibitions
The radiation of modern mammals: release from dinosaur incumbency or response to environmental change? (MDKPAD)

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: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IIF, 2013)
Start date: 2015-01-01
End date: 2016-12-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 299558.4
EU funding (EUR): 299558.4
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Did dinosaurs suppress the evolution of large mammals, or was early mammal size and diversity more related to the environmental conditions? Mammals first appeared in the Late Triassic, and lived alongside dinosaurs during the rest of the Mesozoic (Jurassic and Cretaceous), during which time they were all small and generalized in their ecologies. Only after dinosaur extinction (at the end of the Mesozoic) did mammals diversify into larger and more specialized forms, and so suppression by dinosaur competition is the usual explanation for this evolutionary pattern. I propose that the vegatational habitat was the more important factor. The angiosperms (flowering plants) that make up the majority of today’s vegetation did not appear until the Cretaceous, and did not become the dominant flora until the Cenozoic. Angiosperm forests are multi-strated with a large diversity of fruits and seeds, and provide a more suitable habitat for mammals than the gymnosperm (e.g.. conifers) forests of the Mesozoic. Towards the end of the Cretaceous, angiosperm leaf morphology had evolved such that the trees would be able to create their own microhabitats, making rain forests possible. This time period provides a window of opportunity to see if mammal evolution changed in response to the encroaching angiosperm dominance. There is evidence of dietary change at this time (to more herbivory), but was there also a change in substrate use; i.e., in the proportions of tree-dwelling versus ground-dwelling mammals? Many isolated skeletal elements can be used in the determination of locomotor behavior, but while they can be found in fossil assemblages they are usually not described. Examination of such elements will enable the determination of whether or not fossil mammal communities underwent an ecological shift in substrate use at the end of the Cretaceous, and will answer the question of whether mammal evolution is influenced more by the floral environment than by the presence of dinosaurs.

Keywords: mammal evolution,dinosaur extinction,angiosperm evolution,environmental change,locomotor anatomy,cenozoic,cretaceous
Living Patchy Colloids (LIVPAC)

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-2013-IEF, 2013)
Start date: 2014-06-01
End date: 2016-05-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 221606.4
EU funding (EUR): 221606.4
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Recent progress in colloid physics has led to fundamental understanding of so-called `patchy' colloids which undergo highly directional interactions with well-defined spots on their surface. These advances revealed novel phenomena and possibilities, such as designing colloidal crystal structures that are unavailable for conventional colloids with homogeneous surfaces. Interestingly, bacteria are patchy as well. Their surface heterogeneity is caused by a variety of exposed moieties expressed by the bacterium, some of which are major causes of pathogenicity. The vast majority of bacteria live in the colloidal domain, with sizes in the range of 0.2-2 micron. However, the physics of bacterial patchiness is not well understood. Building on the applicant's experience, we propose a combined experimental and simulation program to study the physics of patchy bacteria from the point of view of colloid physics. Firstly, we will attempt to characterise patchy interactions experimentally by sticking synthetic colloids to bacteria and study their role in the adhesion and collective behaviour on surfaces with confocal microscopy, particle tracking and electric fields. Secondly, we plan to simulate the self-assembly of patchy bacteria and compare with the experiments. Besides generating fundamental understanding, the outcome of our work should provide new insights for a diversity of biomedical applications, from new drugs and drug delivery protocols and combating biofilms, through new probiotic foods where beneficial bacteria are delivered to currently `hard to reach' gut targets, to lab-on-a-chip applications where bacteria are used to carry out specific tasks e.g. transporting colloidal `cargos'. The programme will allow the applicant to use all the skills he has acquired so far in a new context, and to gain hands-on experience in the fast-moving new field of `active soft matter physics' in one of the top European labs working in this area in experiments, theory and simulation.

Keywords: physics living patchy colloids bacteria soft matter biophysics physical chemistry interactions surfaces self-assembly adhesion dynamics electrophoresis microscopy experiments computer simulations
Long-term developments in jihadi militant ideology and its transnational impact (ARABSPRING)

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-2013-IEF, 2013)
Start date: 2015-01-01
End date: 2016-12-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 221606.4
EU funding (EUR): 221606.4
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The proposed study investigates long-term ideological developments in Islamist ideology and how this influences the formation of attitudes, opinions and beliefs in the European Muslim diaspora. In particular it focuses on the question how militant ideologies transmit political violence from one social setting into another. Through a longitudinal and quasi-experimental design the project assesses the impact of three emerging political landscapes evoked by the Arab spring on the ideology of al-Qaeda (jihadism): Countries with regime change (Tunisia, Egypt), without regime change (Yemen, Saudi Arabia), and countries in a civil war (Syria). The militant ideology of the jihadi movement explains in its media to its constituency why it is necessary, beneficial and justified to engage in violent activism. The long-term development and the transnational transmission of this rationale is the focal point of the study. It investigates the ideological mechanisms in jihadi transnational media through which local and regional events in the Middle East translate into a global military doctrine. While this doctrine sets jihadism apart from political Islam (e.g. Muslim Brotherhood) it is decisive to understand whether both movements will converge or drift apart in their ideologies as they react and reposition themselves in the context of the three different political conditions evoked by the Arab revolutions. The study then moves on to investigate how emerging claims, positions, and sentiments expressed in the jihadi media resonate within Muslim communities in Germany and the UK. To this end it develops and pre-tests a survey instrument that rates the extent of rejection/endorsement of different aspects in Islamist thinking, including the legitimacy of political violence.

Keywords: terrorism,political violence,radicalisation,de-radicalisation,ideology,fundamentalism,extremism,militancy,conflict,regime change,political transformation,islamism,salafism,jihadism
CONTRIBUTION OF BIOLOGICAL SOIL CRUSTS TO THE CARBON BALANCE IN DRYLANDS (BIOSOC)

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: Belgium
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IEF, 2013)
Start date: 2015-01-27
End date: 2017-01-26
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 235000.0
EU funding (EUR): 235000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The aim of this project is to investigate the role of biological soil crusts (BSC) in the C balance in arid and semiarid zones in function of their successional stages and environmental factors. To achieve this goal, BIOSOC will monitor the CO2 fluxes along with key meteorological parameters controlling the CO2 exchange rates from representative biological soil crusts at their different successional stages and will map their spatial extent using novel techniques adapted for covering large areas. Finally, the quantification of the temporal and spatial variability in CO2 exchange will result in a preliminary assessment of the BSC contribution to the greenhouse gas balance at catchment scale. The results of this project will improve knowledge of the C balance in Mediterranean ecosystems and the important role that BSCs may have as C sinks. Such results will show the vulnerability of crusted soils to future climate changes and ultimately the management practices necessary to preserve these ecosystems. The results of this work will also be the basis for future development of a tool for regional classification of stages of development of BSCs which may be used as a soil degradation indicator, as well as generate a model that can be used for the C balance in crusted soils in larger Mediterranean areas. Such information could be useful for filling in gaps in national (CARBORAR), continental (GHG-Europe) and worldwide (FLUXNET) databases on carbon exchange in BSC ecosystems. BIOSOC is also complementary to work on the use of hyperspectral techniques to detect soil organic carbon in-situ that has been started within the DIGISOIL project (EU FP 7).

Keywords: biological soil crusts,co2 fluxes,climate change,c-balance,vis-nir spectroscopy,arid and semiarid ecosystems