Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Regulation of the production of reactive oxygen species by the plant NADPH oxidase and its role in pathogen response and in response to other environmental or developmental factors (OXYREG)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: International Re-integration Grants
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Spain
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2007-4-3-IRG, 2007)
Start date: 2008-01-01
End date: 2011-12-31
Duration (months): 48.0
Total project cost (EUR): 100000.0
EU funding (EUR): 100000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The production of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) is one of the earlier responses observed after pathogen infection in plants. It is becoming evident that ROS are not direct killers but signals that mediate the activation of the plant defenses as well as other responses to the environment, developmental processes and Programmed Cell Death (PCD). This topic is of such importance in plant biology that it was recently the subject of a Special Issue in Plant Physiology (June, 2006), were the importance of the NADPH oxidase was specially outlined. Plants use ROS-derived signals in a variety of developmental contexts and in response to both biotic and abiotic stress. It is hence important to understand the signaling controls that allow plant cells to interpret ROS-dependent signals. Our goal is to decipher, using functional genomics tools, the functions of the plant NADPH oxidase gene family. Different members of the rboh (respiratory burst oxidase homologues) family, components of the plant NADPH oxidase, control production of ROS during defense and other responses. We will perform this research in Arabidopsis, model organism for studies in plants, where many genomic tools are available. We intend to further the identification of the factors that regulate Atrboh function, as well as putative targets or mediators of ROS-dependent signaling. It has been suggested that phosphorylation events and Ca++ signaling are implicated in this regulation. In addition, many evidences suggest the existence of a crosstalk between ROS and other signaling molecules like salicylic acid (SA) and abscisic acid (ABA). We are particularly interested in the signaling interaction between ROS and heterotrimeric G proteins that mediate responses like pathogen defense and stomata closure. These studies will allow us to further understand the function of ROS not only in disease resistance, but also in other responses to the environment and developmental processes.

Keywords: natural sciences,reactive oxygen species,pathogen response,stress,regulation,nadph oxidase,heterotrimeric g proteins
Water use and carbon budget associated with adaptation and competition of C3 and C4 grasses during drought stress (C3, C4 AND DROUGHT)

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-2007-4-3-IRG, 2007)
Start date: 2008-06-01
End date: 2011-05-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 75000.0
EU funding (EUR): 75000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Water availability is a major abiotic factor limiting plant growth and productivity. Grasses are major contributors to global primary productivity. Many C3 and C4 grass species are intolerant to drought stress and are often limited by water availability in terms of their distribution and productivity. However, Some C3 and C4 grass species, such as Festuca arundinaccea (C3) and Cynodon dactylon (C4) are adapted to a wide range of climatic zones in Israel, with an annual rainfall of 30 to 1000 mm. The overall goal of the proposed research is to examine mechanisms of adaptation to drought stress of dryland C3 and C4 grasses. The specific objectives of the study are: 1) to compare drought tolerance between ecotypes of C3 and C4 grass species collected from different climatic zones; 2) to determine mechanisms regulating drought survival of dryland perennial C3, C4 and C3-C4 intermediate grasses in terms of water use and carbon budget and to link between water and carbon relations;3) to create a wide germplasm bank of drought-tolerant grasses for future research and breeding;. C3, C4 and C3-C4 intermediate grasses will be collected from a wide range of climatic zones and studied for drought tolerance. A number of physiological parameters, including growth rate and photosynthetic rate, will be measured and compared for the evaluation of drought adaptability. Carbon metabolism and water use characteristics will be examined to determine drought tolerance strategies of dryland C3 and C4 grass species. Carbon benefits and costs associated with water relations will be assessed for different grass species adapted to different climatic conditions. Examination of C3 and C4 mechanisms that link water use and carbon expenditure will provide further insights into plant adaptation to long-term drought stress and is expected to contribute significantly to key areas such as sustainable agriculture, desertification, C3/C4 competition and global carbon cycle under drought.

Keywords: natural sciences,drought,water use,carbon metabolism
The European and National Constitutional Law Project (EUNACON)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Institutions, values, beliefs and behaviour
Countries involved: Netherlands,Netherlands
Call:  (ERC-2007-StG, 2007)
Start date: 2008-09-01
End date: 2013-02-28
Duration (months): 54.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1645056.0
EU funding (EUR): 1645056.0
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

Irrespective of whether the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe or a Reform Treaty enters into force, the EU already has a constitution by all but name. But what does it rest on? Both the current treaties and the European Court of Justice often make reference to the national constitutions, either of one Member State individually, or as common constitutional principles and traditions. Yet, whilst the influence of EU law on national constitutional law is well documented, no thorough comprehensive comparative legal research has ever been done into these common constitutional principles. The very foundations of the European constitution have thus remained uncharted. Trans-national comparative constitutional law has been neglected in the scientific research on the European Constitution, while it should be an essential component of the analysis. This project aims to contribute to the scientific debate by going back to the fundamentals of national constitutional law. Its purpose is to analyse and structure common legal constitutional principles across EU Member States and identify constitutional diversity. To that end a team of PI and four post-docs will conduct a comprehensive analysis of the „constitutional law in action” of selected Member States, as expounded in constitutional case law, practice and texts. The functional method of comparative law will be used, analysing constitutional law as it functions in practice. Also, these themes will be analysed in an interdisciplinary fashion, taking account of other disciplines. It is this method which makes this research innovative: the national lines will be crossed, and system-neutral themes be used as a starting point, in order to formulate common principles as well as identify national diversity. It will thus advance the scientific debate on constitutionalism in the EU, and contribute to embedding it in common constitutional traditions, leaving room, where necessary, for national constitutional diversity.

Keywords: constitutionalism,comparative law,common principles
Quality control of gene expression: mechanisms for recognition and elimination of nonsense mRNA (MRNA QUALITY)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Molecular and Structural Biology and Biochemistry
Countries involved: Switzerland
Call:  (ERC-2007-StG, 2007)
Start date: 2008-06-01
End date: 2013-05-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1300000.0
EU funding (EUR): 1300000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Analogous to quality control checks along the assembly line in industrial manufacturing processes, cells possess multiple quality control systems that ensure accurate expression of the genetic information throughout the intricate chain of biochemical reactions. “Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay” (NMD) represents a quality control mechanism that recognizes and degrades mRNAs of which the protein coding sequence is truncated by the presence of a premature termination codon (PTC). By eliminating these defective mRNAs with crippled protein-coding capacity, NMD substantially reduces the synthesis of potentially deleterious truncated proteins. Given that 30 % of all known disease-causing mutations in humans lead to the production of a nonsense mRNA, NMD serves as an important modulator of the clinical manifestations of genetic diseases, and manipulating NMD therefore represents a promising strategy for future therapies of many genetic disorders. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of NMD are currently not well understood. One goal of our research is to understand at the molecular level how PTCs are recognized and distinguished from correct termination codons and how this recognition of nonsense mRNAs subsequently triggers their rapid degradation. In addition to triggering NMD, we have recently discovered that PTCs in certain immunoglobulin genes can also lead to the transcriptional silencing of the corresponding gene. We now search for the biological relevance of this novel quality control mechanism termed “nonsense-mediated transcriptional gene silencing” (NMTGS) and want to identify the involved molecules and their interactions. Using mainly mammalian cell cultures, we study the effect on the expression of engineered NMD and NMTGS reporter genes upon various treatments of the cells. State-of-the-art biochemical and molecular biology techniques are employed with the goal to further our understanding of these processes and their regulation at the molecular level.

Keywords: mrna turnover,transcriptional gene silencing,translation termination,mrna surveillance,gene regulation
Vectorial Elliptic, Parabolic and Variational Problems: Singularities and Regularity (VECTORIAL PROBLEMS)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Mathematical foundations
Countries involved: Italy
Call:  (ERC-2007-StG, 2007)
Start date: 2008-07-01
End date: 2013-06-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 500000.0
EU funding (EUR): 500000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The aim of the proposed project is to start a systematic investigation of the fine regularity and singularity properties of solutions to vectorial problems, of elliptic and parabolic type, with special emphasis on the ones admitting a variational structure. A distinguishing feature of vectorial problems is the possibility of having solutions with singularities; in turn the structure of such singularities encodes subtle information about the fundamental nature of the underlying problem. Analytic, geometric and topological phenomena concur in the formation and in the nature of the singularities observed, and the analysis of the singular sets requires a very high interaction of several different methods and techniques coming from different branches of Mathematics. Unraveling the singular sets structure is of paramount importance to clarify the basic nature of the mathematical phenomena considered; specifically, it can allow for their efficient numerical treatment, and for using them in the context of mathematical modeling, towards the applications in Science.

Keywords: partial differential equations
The paradoxical role of type I interferons in Hepatitis C disease pathogenesis and treatment (HCV_IMMUNOLOGY)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Cellular and Developmental Biology
Countries involved: France
Call:  (ERC-2007-StG, 2007)
Start date: 2009-01-01
End date: 2014-06-30
Duration (months): 66.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1098000.0
EU funding (EUR): 1098000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) presents a significant public health problem with nearly 200 million infected people worldwide. Over the past three years, we have developed partnerships with clinicians and epidemiologists so that we can achieve better insight into immune pathogenesis of both acute and chronic HCV infection. My newly created research unit is committed to defining the complex interplay between virus and host from the perspective of type I interferons (IFNs) and IFN induced gene products. Furthermore, we aim to identify biomarkers predictive of viral clearance that could help identify, pre-treatment, which individuals will respond to their IFNα / ribavirin therapy. Specifically, we aim to: I. To define the role of IFN and IFN-induced genes in HCV clearance. This aim will utilize patient samples to define the role of endogenously produced IFNs in the clearance of HCV during acute infection and the paradoxical role they play in making chronically infected patients resistant to their exogenous IFN therapy. II. To characterize the effect of IFN and INF-induced gene products in the cross-priming of CD8+ T cells. This aim is based on our evidence that HCV-reactive CD8+ T cells are activated by an indirect pathway called cross-presentation and our recent data, which illustrates the complex ways in which type I IFNs can regulate this antigen presentation pathway. III. To determine the in vivo pro- and counter-inflammatory effect of IFN and INF-induced gene products in the cross-priming of CD8+ T cells. This aspect of the project will utilize mouse models to test our hypotheses regarding HCV disease pathogenesis. Our work and the studies outlined in this proposal will help push forward our understanding of the HCV disease pathogenesis and lead to the development of new diagnostic tools as well as strategies for improving upon existing therapeutic strategies.

Keywords: hepatitis c
How visual information is represented by neuronal networks in the primary visual cortex (CODING_IN_V1)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Physiology, Pathophysiology and Endocrinology
Countries involved: United Kingdom
Call:  (ERC-2007-StG, 2007)
Start date: 2008-07-01
End date: 2013-06-30
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1080000.0
EU funding (EUR): 1080000.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The vast majority of our knowledge about how the brain encodes information has been obtained from recordings of one or few neurons at a time or from global mapping methods such as fMRI. These approaches have left unexplored how neuronal activity is distributed in space and time within a cortical column and how hundreds of neurons interact to process sensory information. By taking advantage of the most recent advances in two-photon microscopy, the proposed project addresses two broad aims, with a particular focus on the function and development of primary visual cortex: 1) to understand how cortical neuronal networks encode visual information, and 2) to understand how they become specialised for sensory processing during postnatal development. For the first aim, we will use in vivo two-photon calcium imaging to record activity simultaneously from hundreds of neurons in visual cortex while showing different visual stimuli to anaesthetised mice. This approach enables us for the first time to characterise in detail how individual neurons and neuronal subsets interact within a large cortical network in response to artificial and natural stimuli. Genetically-encoded fluorescent proteins expressed in distinct cell-types will inform us how excitatory and inhibitory neurons interact to shape population responses during vision. For the second aim, the same approach will be used to describe the maturation of cortical network function after the onset of vision and to assess the role of visual experience in this process. We will additionally use Channelrhodopsin-2, a genetic tool for remote control of action potential firing, to examine the role of correlated neuronal activity on establishment of functional cortical circuits. Together, this work will bring us closer to unravelling how sensory coding emerges on the level of neuronal networks.

Keywords: visual cortex,population coding,two-photon microscopy,calcium imaging,single-cell resolution,in vivo,spatio-temporal dynamics
Hypercapnic Acidosis and NF-kB in Ventilator Induced Lung Injury: Developing strategies to minimize lung injury and facilitate repair. (HA-NFKB-VILI)

Framework: FP7 — Ideas
Programme: European Research Council
Theme: European research council
Destination: Starting grants
Action type: Support for frontier research (ERC)
Panel: Immunity and infection
Countries involved: Ireland
Call:  (ERC-2007-StG, 2007)
Start date: 2009-01-01
End date: 2013-12-31
Duration (months): 60.0
Total project cost (EUR): 1052556.0
EU funding (EUR): 1052556.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and Acute Lung Injury [ALI/ARDS] are devastating diseases, causing over 20,000 deaths annually in the US. Mechanical ventilation may worsen ALI/ARDS, a process termed Ventilator Induced Lung Injury [VILI]. Hypercapnic acidosis (HA) is a central component of lung ventilatory strategies to minimize VILI, and is a potent biologic agent, exerting a myriad of effects on diverse biologic pathways. Deliberately induced HA is protective in multiple lung injury models. However, HA may inhibit the host response to bacterial sepsis. Furthermore, HA may retard the repair process and slow recovery following ALI/ARDS. Hence, the diverse biologic actions of HA may result in net beneficial – or deleterious – effects depending on the specific context. An alternative approach is to manipulate a single key effector pathway, central to the protective effects of HA, which would also be effective in patients in whom hypercapnia is contra-indicated. Hypercapnia attenuates NF-kB activation, and may exert its effects – both beneficial and deleterious – via this mechanism. NF-kB is a pivotal regulator of the pro-inflammatory response, but is also a key epithelial cytoprotectant. Selective modulation of the NF-kB pathway, at the pulmonary epithelial surface, may accentuate the beneficial effects of HA on injury but minimize the potential for delayed tissue repair. We will investigate the contribution of NF-kB to the effects of HA, and characterize the direct effects modulation of NF-kB, in both in vitro and preclinical models of lung injury and repair. We will utilize pulmonary gene therapy, which facilitates delivery of high quantities of the therapeutic agent directly to the injury site, to maximize the potential for therapeutic benefit. These studies will provide novel insights into: key pathways contributing to lung injury and to repair; the role of HA and NF-kB in these processes; and the potential of pulmonary gene therapy in ALI/ARDS.

Keywords: acute lung injury,hypercapnia,acidosis,gene therapy,nuclear factor kappa b
Design and development of an innovative ecoefficient low-substrate flexible paper packaging from renewable resources to replace petroleum based barrier films. (FLEXPAKRENEW)

Framework: FP7 — Cooperation
Programme: Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies, Materials and new Production Technologies - NMP
Destination: Materials
Action type: Collaborative project
Countries involved: France,Germany,Germany,Sweden,United Kingdom,Poland,France,Finland
Call:  (FP7-NMP-2007-SMALL-1, 2007)
Start date: 2008-09-01
End date: 2011-08-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 4441328.0
EU funding (EUR): 3276000.0
Participants: 11
Project status: CLOSED

The objective of this project is to design and to develop an innovative ecoefficient low-substrate flexible paper for packaging from renewable resources to reduce the packaging industry’s reliance on barrier films derived from petroleum. The challenge of this project is to develop a flexible packaging paper, with barrier properties (grease, water, oxygen and water vapour barrier) competitive with those of untreated plastic films (medium barrier) or to treated plastic films (high barrier). This paper will be developed using renewable materials, beyond state-of-the-art barrier coatings and innovative surface treatment processes. The main scientific advances concern: 1-The development of a substrate with significantly enhanced barrier properties via knowledge-led improvement and innovation such as the use of selected materials in the bulk and the deposition of a thin film of renewable materials during the paper forming. 2-Development of water borne coatings made from renewable materials (starches, functionalised starches, starch derivatives or modified hemicelluloses) and reinforced by (low eco-footprint) minerals or renewable nanoparticles to optimise the desired properties. 3-Development of high barrier paper arising from innovative surface treatments: Solvent free chemical grafting and vacuum coating. These two techniques, although based on very different principles, enable the deposition of nanolayers (a few molecular layers) that drastically improve the barrier properties. 4-Development of a new type of antibacterial coatings to prolong food quality. Particular attention will be paid to sustainability assessment and life cycle analysis throughout the project. A substantial reduction in the amount of packaging going to landfill is envisaged, together with speedier environmental degradation of the packaging materials. This project will make a significant contribution to reduce the reliance on petroleum resources during packaging production.

Keywords: renewable,flexible packaging,barrier coating,antimicrobial coating