Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Sprawlescapes. A comparative study of landscape discourses of urban sprawl in Sweden and Germany (SPRAWLESCAPES)

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: Sweden
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IEF, 2012)
Start date: 2013-11-01
End date: 2016-11-21
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 197811.6
EU funding (EUR): 197811.6
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The project analyses planning discourses on urban SPRAWL, a phenomenon that is considered to be an escalating problem in Europe. By focusing on the role of ‘landSCAPE’ in these discourses, the study aims to reveal opportunities to ESCAPE from the currently dominant dichotomised and reductionist approaches to this highly complex and culture-dependent phenomenon. In Germany and Sweden, planning discourses have developed that seem to provide a nuanced understanding of ‘urban sprawl’ by introducing the landscape-related concepts ‘stadslandskap’ and ‘Zwischenstadt’. The project proposes to conduct a comparative analysis of these discourses by exploring how the landscape-related concepts are built up and disseminated. To gain a deeper understanding of the debates, the project will analyse the complex and competing imaginaries involved, for these imaginaries are assumed to constitute the interpretative frame of the planning discourses. To achieve these objectives, the project will develop a specific discourse analytical approach that allows focusing on the underlying cultural patterns. Such an approach will also facilitate mutual learning as an alternative to (quantitative) European comparisons; by discussing such strategies for learning, the study will contribute to the implementation of the European Landscape Convention. The project will allow the applicant to deepen her expertise in the German planning discourse on ‘urban sprawl’ while gaining intimate knowledge of Swedish ideas and theories of ‘landscape’ and ‘sprawl’. This will further reinforce her expertise in European landscape research. The project will open up a wide range of comparative studies, collaborations and other attempts to bridge language and culture divides within European landscape architecture and landscape research.

Keywords: concepts,discourse,europe,european landscape convention,germany,imaginaries,landscape,landscape architecture,planning,sprawl,stadslandsckap,sweden,zwischenstadt
Experimental evolution of microbial eco-systems in traditional Zambian fermented products. (ZAMFERM)

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-2012-IOF, 2012)
Start date: 2013-12-01
End date: 2016-11-30
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 307505.7
EU funding (EUR): 307505.7
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The goal this research project is to test evolutionary hypotheses on ecosystem evolution using traditional fermented products as natural yet manipulatable model systems. Specifically, I will establish what factors affect eco-system evolutionary dynamics, test hypotheses on the repeatability of eco-system evolution and test predictions from the long-standing "competitive exclusion" hypothesis. Ever since Darwin, the process of evolution has intensively been studied, initially through comparative methods reconstructing past evolution and more recently through manipulative long-term laboratory experiments. This project greatly advances beyond the current state of the art by expanding experimental evolution into the complexity of entire eco-systems outside the laboratory, addressing fundamental questions in evolutionary biology using both classical comparative methods as well as approaches from laboratory experimental evolution. This research is truly unique and highly innovative since it provides the natural manipulatable experimental systems that are currently almost entirely lacking to directly test evolutionary hypotheses, while the importance of evolutionary processes in shaping eco-systems is widely recognized. This project will have a highly significant impact on my future research career since it allows me to establish this research as a long term research program. I will receive highly valuable and excellent quality training from experienced researchers in Zambia providing me the knowledge and skills how to produce fermented products, how to perform field work in a developing country with local people, research ethics, numerous sociological research skills and how to implement this research in Wageningen. Further impact will be the establishment of long term mutually beneficial collaborations between Wageningen and Zambia and various important outreach activities.

Keywords: experimental evolution,evolutionary ecology,microbial eco-system evolution,fermented product,l803 systems evolution - biological adaptation - phylogenetics - systematics,v107 population dynamics
Multifunctional Conducting Polymer Devices for Electroresponsive Cell Regeneration. (MULTIFUN CP)

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-2012-IIF, 2012)
Start date: 2013-04-01
End date: 2015-03-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 221606.4
EU funding (EUR): 221606.4
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Disorders of electrically responsive tissues including spinal cord injuries, neuromuscular, neurodegenerative, and cardiac diseases, are chronic and progressive in nature leading to high disability with considerable social impact and economic consequences. The need for therapies that could facilitate regeneration of electroresponsive cells has become a high priority in medical research. Although tissue-engineered constructs are being designed to assist the growth and differentiation of these cells, they are largely limited by their inability to simultaneously provide more than one stimuli vital for cell regeneration. Thus, there is an unmet need to develop a multifunctional construct that could provide more than one stimuli concurrently or sequentially. Conducting polymers (CPs) are emerging as a new class of bioactive materials to interface with these cells due to their unique ability to conduct electricity. This proposal will take an innovative approach to develop multifunctional polythiophene CP constructs that will provide a substrate for cell attachment, controlled delivery of biomolecules and direct electric stimulation to enhance cell regeneration. In stage one of the proposal, novel polythiophene scaffolds with appropriate architectural structures will be developped and optimised in terms of their electric properties and capability to promote cell adhesion and growth. In the second stage, selected biomolecules will be loaded within these scaffolds and their “on demand” release will be investigated. Finally, CP structures with optimised properties will be assessed for direct electric stimulation to enable cell proliferation and differentiation. These novel CP scaffolds will be reported for the first time by a European research group aiding towards the competitiveness of European life science research. By meeting the objective of this proposal, innovative healthcare solutions will be introduced improving the life of many suffering from untreatable diseases.

Keywords: g311 materials engineering,tissue engineering
Investigating the roles of the mitochondrial alternative oxidase of Ciona intestinalis (ALTERNATIVE OXIDASE)

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: Finland
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IIF, 2012)
Start date: 2013-06-01
End date: 2016-02-11
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 207613.2
EU funding (EUR): 207613.2
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The respiratory chain alternative enzymes constitute additional pathways to the mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) system, in which oxygen consumption is uncoupled from ATP production. In contrast to the majority of eukaryotic organisms, including other invertebrate animals, vertebrates and arthropods lack any such alternative pathway. However, the expression of alternative oxidases and NADH dehydrogenases from urochordates and fungi in mammalian cultured cells and in the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster has proven to be benign and to counteract deleterious effects of defective OXPHOS systems, inspiring therapeutic possibilities for mitochondrial and related diseases. The observed benefits are in paradox with the fact that genes for alternative enzymes were lost independently, early in the evolution of both Vertebrata and Arthropoda. I thus propose to investigate the functions of an animal alternative enzyme, the alternative oxidase (AOX), in two research fronts: 1) in studies with Ciona intestinalis (Tunicata: Ascidiacea), that will aim at understanding the biology of this enzyme in its natural “host”; and 2) in studies with transgenic fruitflies expressing the C. intestinalis AOX, which will focus on the possible negative effects caused by this enzyme on the metabolism and fitness of D. melanogaster. I will use a systems biology approach that combines a variety of molecular biology techniques to study general and mitochondrial metabolism under different stress conditions, and assays to test aerobic performance and measure the organism’s fitness, ultimately providing insights into the physiology and the evolution of the alternative pathways in animals.

Keywords: l101 molecular biology and interactions,l102 general biochemistry and metabolism,l306 organelle biology,l803 systems evolution - biological adaptation,mitochondrion,oxidative phosphorylation
Priapulid Endomesoderm Development and Ecdysozoan Body Plan Evolution (PEMDEEV)

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: Norway
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IEF, 2012)
Start date: 2013-12-01
End date: 2015-11-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 216034.2
EU funding (EUR): 216034.2
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

The emergence of the endomesoderm in metazoan evolution was fundamental for the morphological diversification of animals. It promoted interactions between different tissues that led to novel structures and organs, such as the heart, bones, and kidneys. Drosophila and C. elegans are the most well studied models within the Ecdysozoa, the largest group of invertebrate animals, but show evolutionary divergent mechanisms of endomesoderm formation. Deciphering the ancestral ecdysozoan condition requires models that form endomesoderm in a manner more representative of the clade. The marine priapulid worms are distantly related to arthropods and nematodes and thus occupy a phylogenetic position that is key to reconstructing the ancestral ecdysozoan body plan. This proposal aims to generate a detailed description of the development of the priapulid Priapulus caudatus, characterize endomesoderm specification, and understand its relationship with the establishment of the priapulid body plan. I will apply advanced cell-lineage tracing methodologies (4D-microscopy and blastomere injections) and analyze the function of core molecular components of the conserved endomesodermal gene regulatory network. This project will produce an in-depth morphological and molecular characterization of priapulid embryogenesis, thus offering new insights into the origin of the Ecdysozoa and the global evolution of animals. The project involves genuine mobility and will promote and enhance the scientific cooperation between Member States and Associate Countries at all levels, thereby increasing the Europe’s reputation as a center of excellence for the analysis of evolution and development. The proposed research will have a significant impact on my scientific career, fostering my development as a visible, independent leading researcher in the European Research Area.

Keywords: animal embryology,evolutionary biology,endomesoderm,gastrulation,blastopore,fate map,wnt pathway,gene regulatory network,through-gut
Single cell level intravital imaging of response, tolerance, and resistance to targeted therapies (IMAGEMELTHERAPYLRI)

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-2012-IIF, 2012)
Start date: 2013-07-01
End date: 2015-06-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 231283.2
EU funding (EUR): 231283.2
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

Oncogenic signalling by kinases presents a significant opportunity for cancer therapy. The B-Raf selective inhibitor, Vemurafenib, has shown great effect against B-Raf mutant melanoma patients. However, drug resistance emerges in nearly every case. Various mechanisms underlying this resistance are described, however these approaches usually overlook the heterogeneity of the tumour microenvironment, and do not provide information about the temporal aspects of drug response and eventual emergence of resistance. Therefore, uncovering the spatio-temporal heterogeneity, i.e., when, where, and how melanoma cells respond to drug and acquire resistance in a complex tumour microenvironment is the key step toward the comprehensive understanding of resistance mechanisms. To tackle these problems, we will investigate the tolerance and resistance to B-Raf inhibitors with single cell resolution in vivo. We have established melanoma cell lines stably expressing EKAR-EV biosensor that reports ERK activity in living cells. In vitro, the melanoma cells show homogenous responses to BRaf inhibitors, whereas intravital analysis indicate that there is considerable heterogeneity in ERK activity within tumours. This cannot be attributed simply B-Raf mutation as all cells contain the oncogene, and we hypothesize that additional signals from the microenvironment activate ERK, possibly putting the neighbouring melanoma cells in drug-tolerant state. Similar mechanisms are possible at metastatic locations. The tumour microenvironment of CNS metastases is quite different from those of other organs, it is particularly enriched in RTK ligands. In the longer term, we will study how metastatic melanoma cells may respond to and tolerate the drugs in the CNS. In summary we aim to identify the micro-environmental signals that activate ERK, and explore how these signals may confer tolerant to BRaf inhibition and ultimately aid the emergence of drug resistant clones.

Keywords: l406 cancer and its biological basis,melanoma,targeted therapy,braf inhibitor,drug tolerance and resistance,cns metastasis,erk,intravital fret imaging
Spatially explicit mechanisms of Recent EVOLution in an African biodiversity hotspot (REVOL)

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-2012-IEF, 2012)
Start date: 2013-07-01
End date: 2014-08-31
Duration (months): 14.0
Total project cost (EUR): 149545.78
EU funding (EUR): 149545.78
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Biodiversity hotspots are regions where exceptional concentrations of endemic species face extraordinary levels of habitat loss. The evolutionary processes determining the genesis and maintenance of such high biodiversity are poorly understood. REVOL uses population genomics in a multi-disciplinary context to uncover the neutral and adaptive evolutionary processes responsible for recent and ongoing plant species diversification and persistence in the Cape Floristic Region, a biodiversity hotspot in South Africa. Restriction Site Associated Sequencing (RAD-Seq) and chloroplast DNA sequences will be used in two Restionaceae and two Proteaceae species. Range-wide phylogeographic structure analysis, coalescent modelling of demographic history and tests for range dynamics will inform on neutral processes – genetic drift, neutral mutations and gene flow patterns – in each taxon. On this demo-historical background, neutrality and outlier tests will identify candidate genes under selection and Bayesian geographical analysis will establish gene-environment correlations. Analysis of spatio-temporal congruence of neutral processes across taxa and comparison of adaptive processes will inform wether populations and species have undergone parallel selection, similar demography, or shared phylogeographic history. The application of innovative technology and analytical methods to original biological study groups will yield novel evolutionary insights. Identification of drivers of recent evolution will improve environmental niche modelling predictions under climate change, leading to better management for conservation and sustainable use of African biodiversity, which will enable socio-economic benefits. REVOL will increase the applicant’s competitiveness for career consolidation through training in adaptive population genomics and bioinformatics and through strengthening her publication skills, her collaborative network and her mentoring, leadership and research management skills.

Keywords: v302,v304,v308,population genetics and genomics,adaptive landscape genomics,coalescent modelling,biodiversity,diversification,species cohesion,hotspot,cape floristic region,rad-seq
Epistemology in psychological science, the heritage of Giambattista Vico and the cultural psychology. (EPICS)

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-2012-IEF, 2012)
Start date: 2013-04-01
End date: 2015-03-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 230809.8
EU funding (EUR): 230809.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The project is aimed at analyzing the basic historical and psychological roots of the EU civil societies over the past centuries. The analysis will shed light on the epistemological status of psychological knowledge, by reconstructing the influence of Giambattista Vico’s ideas (concepts of verum factum, historical situatedness of higher mental processes and sensus communis), using this study to define the epistemological challenges, and to understand how concepts in psychology are theoretically elaborated, empirically constructed and generalized. Candidate’s career objective is to integrate his scientific profile with theoretical and epistemological innovative competences at Aalborg University (Denmark) to successfully compete for a position of associate professor in psychology in Italy, Denmark, or other EU countries, within 3 years. The candidate will improve theoretical and research skills; acquire the linguistic and writing skills to work in Denmark and to achieve the national professorship habilitation in Italy; improve the candidate’s high quality international publication track, making the candidate’s profile competitive also for other ERA countries; strengthening the candidate’s international network and the interdisciplinary skills; improving his autonomy and management skills and preparing new research funding proposals at national and EU level. The research activity will also include teaching epistemology courses at Aalborg University and thesis supervision. Danish psychology has been influenced by Vico’s ideas. This historically documented sensitivity, combined with the specific interdisciplinary research focus on cultural psychology, makes Aalborg University the ideal location for developing the project. Dept. of Communication & Psychology is developing a long-term research, training and economic effort in its interdisciplinary program on cultural psychology that fits the best the candidate’s training and career development objectives

Keywords: psychology,s409 history of ideas - intellectual history,s115 history of science and technology,s211 epistemology - logic - philosophy of science,s213 education
Personalised insoles via additive manufacture for the prevention of plantar ulceration in diabetes (D-FOOTPRINT)

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: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IOF, 2012)
Start date: 2013-10-14
End date: 2015-10-13
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 196682.1
EU funding (EUR): 196682.1
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Foot ulceration in patients with diabetes remains a highly prevalent, debilitating and expensive to treat problem. Recent recommendations by the International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot have suggested that therapeutic footwear including a custom insole should be the preferred intervention for those individuals who have been identified as “at risk” of developing a foot ulcer [1]. However, current methods for the design and fabrication of custom insoles limit the potential to incorporate innovations that could increase the effectiveness of these devices, primarily due to the geometric restrictions inherent to the methods. The overall aim of this 24 month project is to develop, evaluate and disseminate a novel prescription paradigm, focused on additive manufacturing (AM) and biomechanical modelling enabled design rules, for insoles aimed at preventing or treating plantar surface ulceration in the diabetic foot. To achieve this, the latest biomechanical modelling approaches will be combined with AM technologies to develop novel prototype orthotic devices which are personalised to maximise benefit to the patient. A thorough program of pre-clinical and clinical evaluation will be established to test these devices, focused on assessing biomechanical and short term patient reported outcomes. This work program builds upon the successful research and technology developments in the EC-funded A-FOOTPRINT project (Grant Agreement no.: NMP2-SE-2009-228893), advancing integration of AM into the orthotic prescription process to a new and previously untried but highly relevant disease group. The research will result in 1) a fundamental paradigm shift from subtraction (milling) to additive manufacturing, 2) step-change advances in personalised orthotic design optimisation, and 3) a new therapeutic option for a debilitating and expensive European and worldwide health problem

Keywords: l701 medical engineering and technology,additive manufacture,foot ulceration,diabetes,finite element modelling,foot orthoses,insoles,pressure relief,shear