Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Functional Multilayer Films (FUNCMLFS)

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-2010-RG, 2010)
Start date: 2011-03-01
End date: 2015-02-28
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

Layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly (SA) of polymers at surfaces is a powerful technique to functionalize surfaces. Due to its advantages, there has been growing interest in using LbL films in many application areas: e.g. medicine, electronics, sensor technology, photonics, etc. Using LbL, properties of multilayers (MLs) can be controlled by nature of film components, pH, ionic strength or temperature of the assembly/post-assembly solutions. In addition to its simplicity and low cost, LbL allows incorporation of functional molecules within MLs. This proposal examines strategies to introduce functionality to MLs through combination of synthetic and physicochemical ideas. Project 1 will focus on incorporation of dually responsive block copolymer micelles (BCMs) into hydrogen-bonded MLs to increase loading capacity of films for hydrophobic molecules. Tuning release of a dye from micellar cores will be investigated by changing environmental stimuli and regulating the hydrophobicity of core and corona blocks. Moreover, effect of two different coating techniques (dipping vs. spraying) on loading capacity of BCM films will be explored. Project 2 will investigate SA of selectively betainized block copolymers into micelles with zwitterionic corona and incorporation of such aggregates into MLs using LbL. Interactions of zwitterionic micelles (ZMs) with salts and polyelectrolytes will be explored in solution to develop strategies to include ZMs within MLs and explore such systems for potential multiple drug delivery applications. Project 3 will explore inclusion complexation as a driving force for LbL assembly of biopolymers with detailed structural analysis to broaden the range of molecules that can be incorporated into MLs. Project 4 will focus on preparation of polymer-inorganic LbL films with enhanced physical and mechanical properties. Results obtained from projects will contribute to fundamental understanding of structure-property relationship of MLs at surfaces.

Keywords: layer-by-layer,ultrathin multilayer films,surface chemistry,materials engineering,nanotechnology,polymer technology,physical chemistry
Toward an HIV-1 vaccine: Molecular mechanisms regulating the cryptic innate immune response to HIV-1 (HIV INNATE IMMUNITY)

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: France
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2010-RG, 2010)
Start date: 2010-10-01
End date: 2014-09-30
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Our goal is to understand the innate immune response to HIV-1. We have found that a cryptic innate immune response to HIV-1 exists in dendritic cells (DC). This response is normally inactive because HIV-1 is unable to infect DC. We have used the Vpx protein found in other lentiviruses to render DC susceptible to HIV-1 infection. The resulting innate response to HIV-1 requires an interaction between de novo synthesized Capsid and cellular Cyclophilin A. This interaction leads to the IRF-3-dependant production of type-I interferon and the activation of antigen-specific T cells. This study will aim at understanding the molecular mechanisms controlling this response. In Aim 1, we will determine the host and viral factors implicated in the innate response to HIV-1. At the host level, we will evaluate a panel of candidate genes using a novel RNAi strategy using shRNA vectors in DC. At the viral level, we will determine the minimal viral elements required for triggering the response. In Aim 2, we will identify novel regulators of the innate immune response in human DC, including the DC-specific HIV-1 innate sensor. Using a DC cDNA library, we will screen for inducers of type-I interferon in cell lines. This library will also be used to identify the Vpx-sensitive HIV-restriction factor in human DC. The cryptic nature of the innate response to HIV-1 may explain in part the failure of the immune system to control HIV-1 in the vast majority of infected individuals, as well as the failure of current vaccine strategies. This study will provide a novel understanding of the molecular mechanisms responsible for innate immune responses, and may provide new immunological strategies for controlling HIV-1 infection.

Keywords: microbiology,virology,retrovirology,immunology,hiv-1,innate immunity,dendritic cells,interferon
Scientific Mobility and Family Life in Europe (SCIFAM)

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: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2010-RG, 2010)
Start date: 2011-02-01
End date: 2015-02-21
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 45000.0
EU funding (EUR): 45000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The number of researchers working within the European Research Area (ERA) is increasing and there is a strong demand for increased scientific mobility. Scientific mobility is integral to the new strategic vision for the ERA and is central to its global competitiveness. However, increased scientific mobility has the potential significantly to undermine the European Commission's recent calls for the development of family-friendly research environments and equality of opportunity for all scientists across the ERA. This is because barriers to mobility exist for specific groups of scientists, particularly women and those with children. The central aim of the SCIFAM Project is to present a new analysis of scientific mobility to, from and within the ERA by utilising a multiple methods approach and incorporating both children’s and parents’ perspectives. The very term ‘mobility’ will be deconstructed because there are different types (e.g. short-term, circular, long distance commuting) and some may offer ways of overcoming the barriers to mobility experienced by scientists with children. The project will: present a new theoretical framework for understanding the mobility decisions of scientists with children; provide the first assessment of the impacts of scientific mobility on the children of scientists; and identify the barriers to, and facilitators of mobility, for scientists with children. The project findings will be transformed into policy recommendations that will be disseminated widely and will help to deliver equality of opportunity for all scientists across the ERA.

Keywords: scientists,family,children,mobility,decision-making,impacts,european research area,multiple-methods,innovative,policy
The role of glycoprotein CD36 as a platelet receptor for Streptococci and Staphylococci (MITISCD36LTA)

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: Ireland
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2010-RG, 2010)
Start date: 2010-09-01
End date: 2012-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 50000.0
EU funding (EUR): 50000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The binding of microorganisms to human platelets is a central process in the pathogenesis of Infective endocarditis. The deletion of genes encoding platelet adhesins in Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus mitis, two leading causes of Infective endocarditis, has been shown to result in a reduction in virulence in animal models of infective endocarditis. While investigating the S. mitis virulence factors that are responsible for the adherence of bacterial cells directly to platelets we identified that bacterial lipoteichoic acid interacts with the platelet membrane receptor CD36. CD36 is a recognised mammalian receptor for bacterial lipoteichoic acid but this is the first time it has been identified as a receptor for the adherence of bacteria to platelets. This adherence phenotype appears to be conserved across other gram positive pathogens as we were also able to demonstrate that S. aureus lipoteichoic acid contributes to the direct attachment of S. aureus bacterial cells to platelets. The purpose of this study is to investigate the molecular interaction of the gram positive pathogens S. mitis and S. aureus and their respective lipoteichoic acids with CD36 and platelets. This will help to identify the role of this interaction in the pathogenesis of infective endocarditis and help define the recognition of bacterial LTA by the immune system.

Keywords: bacteriology
Modulating motor output in the mammalian spinal cord (MODULATIONSPINALCORD)

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-2010-RG, 2010)
Start date: 2011-09-01
End date: 2015-08-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The executive component of movement – the task of determining which muscles to activate, how intensely, and for how long – depends on neural circuits located in the spinal cord. At the core of these circuits are local interneurons (INTs) that regulate the pattern and frequency of motor neuron (MN) firing. Spinal motor activity is shaped by a combination of amino acid mediated excitation and inhibition, but the amplitude of motor bursts depends in large part on modulatory systems. I have identified the source and output of a spinal pre-motor modulatory circuit mediated by muscarinic cholinergic signaling. The transcription factor Pitx2 defines a small set of INTs that further fractionates into V0C cholinergic and V0G glutamatergic subsets. My initial findings have revealed that MNs receive prominent inputs from V0C neurons and that genetic inactivation of the output of V0C neurons impairs a locomotor task-dependent increase in the activation of specific limb muscles. These observations have provided initial information about the function of this intrinsic cholinergic modulatory system, but they leave many unresolved questions about the organization and function of the circuit. -Does V0C innervation pattern respect antagonist relationships in motor pool activity? -What are the inputs that control the function of V0C neurons? -Do V0C neurons also modulate INT output? -Does the limited impairment of motor modulation after disconnecting V0C neurons result from functional adaptation? -Do V0C and V0G neurons cooperate as dual elements in a transcriptionally defined “modulatory operon” for motor control? I will use a combination of mouse genetics, anatomy, physiology and behavior to address these questions. Inactivation or ectopic activation of V0C and V0G neurons during locomotor behaviors will be used in order to obtain new insight about the function of these modulatory networks.

Keywords: health sciences,neurobiology,neurosciences
Constitutive receptor desensitization as molecular mechanism underlying cardia bifida (GPCR DESENSITIZATION)

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: Germany
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2010-RG, 2010)
Start date: 2010-12-01
End date: 2013-11-30
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 75000.0
EU funding (EUR): 75000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

7TM receptors are called GPCRs because they require interaction with heterotrimeric G proteins to signal. In humans the family of GPCRs is comprised of more than 800 members. Despite their large number, GPCRs share high sequence homology and rely on an amazingly small assortment of accessory molecules to regulate their ability to signal. One such regulatory protein family is the family of G protein-coupled receptor kinases (GRK), which consists of seven isoforms. GRKs provide the rate limiting mechanism for terminating incoming signals at the receptor to protect the cell from over-stimulation. Phosphorylation of the activated GPCR by GRKs is a prerequisite that not only commits the receptor to desensitize (separation from G protein) but also directs its association with a group of adaptor proteins termed arrestins and with the internalization machinery. The E/DRY (glutamic acid/aspartic acid, arginine, tyrosine) motif located at the end of the third transmembrane helix of GPCRs has been shown to be of particular importance for the execution of G protein-dependent signaling: Selective mutation of the R evidently triggers not only hyperphosphorylation by GRKs, but also the uncoupling of the G protein. Such mutated receptors constitutively associate with beta-arrestin and are localized to endosomal compartments. Zebrafish harboring a point mutation in the E/DRY motif of the 7TM sphingosine 1 phosphate receptor 2 (S1P2) develop a cardia bifida, a detrimental defect seen in heart development as it is characterized by the formation of two heart cylinders instead of one. We assume that the R150H point mutation of S1P2 results in a GPCR that is unresponsive to its ligand and constitutively inactive. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate, if the cardiac phenotype of these embryos is caused by constitutive desensitization of S1P2 (R150H) and if it could be rescued by inhibiting GRKs and beta-arrestins, which spatially separate the receptor from its G protein.

Keywords: health sciences,cardiology,developmental biology,cell biology,pharmacological sciences
Suction feeding hydrodynamics and biomechanics in larval fishes (SFHABILF)

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-2010-RG, 2010)
Start date: 2011-01-01
End date: 2014-12-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Larval fishes must encounter food soon after hatching to survive. Newly hatched fish subsist on limited supply of yolk and thus must encounter and successfully capture food before depleting their energy resources. In general, larval fishes differ from adults in their interaction with the physical environment. Larval fishes hatch at a small enough size to experience the water as a mainly viscous medium. The flow regime around an organism depends on its size and its swimming speed and is characterized by the dimensionless Reynolds number, denoting the ratio of inertial to viscous forces. As larval fish mature, increases in size and speed facilitate a transition into an area of higher Reynolds numbers. This transition affects fundamental processes such as gas exchange and swimming style, and is associated with rapidly increasing capture success during early development. Likewise, morphological changes during ontogeny likely influence prey capture mechanics and hydrodynamics. I propose to characterize prey capture mechanics and hydrodynamics in larval fishes and determine how ontogenic changes and the transition between inertial to viscous medium affects suction hydrodynamics and capture success. I will combine laboratory experiments with hydrodynamic modeling and computational methods to characterize the flow field in front of the mouth of suction feeding fish larvae and investigate whether and how these patterns change with larvae size and Reynolds numbers. Hydrodynamic modeling and performance testing in the laboratory will be used to understand how changes in flow patterns affect feeding success. Lastly, larval size and age at the time of first feeding will be compared across species to determine whether suction feeding hydrodynamics places constraints on feeding success. The anticipated results will promote our understanding of how changes in the marine environment following global cooling and warming affect larval survival and sustainability of fish stocks.

Keywords: aquatic biology,biomechanics,animal ontogeny,functional biology,animal morphology
Efficient Routing in the Internet and other Complex Networks using Hyperbolic Metric Spaces (COMPLEXNETROUTING)

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: Cyprus
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2010-RG, 2010)
Start date: 2011-01-03
End date: 2015-01-02
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

The lack of predictive power over complex systems, either designed by humans or evolved by nature, is a foundational problem in contemporary science. The Internet offers a paradigmatic example: nothing in its architecture and design explains its complex large-scale structure, unexpectedly discovered decades after its inception. We face an unsettling truth: the Internet has acquired emergent properties that are beyond our full understanding, much less control. As scientists, we are compelled to explore how the peculiar structure relates to the function(s) of complex networks. Many complex networks in nature share the peculiar structural character of the Internet, but they also manifest phenomenal behavior: they efficiently route information without any routing communication protocol, i.e., without any knowledge of the global network topology. This achievement is currently beyond the reach of man-made networks; the Internet still uses a 30-year old routing architecture with fundamentally unscalable overhead requirements. The only known mechanism for efficient routing without global topology knowledge is greedy routing in a network embedded in a metric space. We propose to explore the hypothesis that beneath the observable topologies of complex networks reside hidden hyperbolic metric spaces, which could be used to facilitate maximally efficient routing with scalability characteristics either equal, or close to, theoretically best possible.

Keywords: routing,topology,geometry,navigation,complex networks,scalability
Receptor-Doped Ionogels: New Materials for Inherently Biocompatible Molecular Sensors (RECEPTOR-DOPED GELS)

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: Ireland
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2010-RG, 2010)
Start date: 2010-09-15
End date: 2013-09-14
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 75000.0
EU funding (EUR): 75000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The issues faced today with biochemical sensors are device reliability and power consumption, liquid handling over extended periods of time, as the micro-dimensioned fluidic channels are prone to blockage, and micro pumps/valves being unreliable. The aim of this proposal is to develop a biocompatible molecular sensor that would address the key issues holding biocompatible sensors and would be at the forefront of molecular sensing. Advantages of such sensors would be selectivity for target ions in the body such as sodium, potassium and calcium. Sensors of this nature would be important in areas of every day life for example, monitoring cancer, / cancer pass surgery, obesity and people recovering from heart surgery. Such molecular sensors would contain hybrid materials consisting of monomeric components polymerized within biocompatible ionic liquids yielding various platforms for modification. Doping of the ionogel hybrid material with a selective ionophore will enable ion selectivity and hypothetically develop any chemical or biological sensor by introducing its corresponding selective ionophore. This type of material would render most optical sensing technologies on the market obsolete.

Keywords: physical sciences,ionic liquids,biochemical sensor,ionogels,selectivity
Flavour physics from lattice QCD at the physical point (LATTICE FLAVOUR QCD)

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: Germany
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2010-RG, 2010)
Start date: 2011-09-01
End date: 2015-08-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The matrix elements of the electro-weak mixing matrix, the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix, are of importance to many experimental and phenomenological applications in flavour physics. We will address the particular matrix element V(us), which can be extracted from experimental measurements once the kaon semi-leptonic form factors for the K(l3) decay is known. Therefore, we will provide quantitative results for that form factor using numerical simulations of Quantum Chromodynamics on the lattice, i.e. lattice QCD. The hadronic matrix element for the K to pi decay will be measured on gauge configurations produced by the QCDSF collaboration. Those lattice QCD simulations are performed with 2 and 2+1 quark flavours of various masses, where the light quark masses eventually will approach the physical point realized in Nature. The non-perturbative clover improved fermion action is used to simulate the dynamical quark effects. Results for the kaon semi-leptonic form factor at different simulated quark masses will be compared with predictions from chiral perturbation theory.

Keywords: particle physics,qcd,lattice-qcd,computational physics,high-performance computing