Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Neutrons for Membrane Protein Structure, Interactions, and Assembly (NEMPSIA)

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: France
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IIF, 2011)
Start date: 2012-03-01
End date: 2013-02-28
Duration (months): 12.0
Total project cost (EUR): 83885.7
EU funding (EUR): 83885.7
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Understanding membrane protein structure, interaction between these proteins and lipids, and how membrane proteins assemble in the membrane are as of yet unsolved problems of structural biology. This proposal aims to further our understanding in these areas by uniquely combining structural and biophysical data obtained from nuclear magnetic resonance experiments (Straus` area of expertise) with neutron methods, such as small angle neutron scattering (SANS), reflectometry, and neutron diffraction (Forsyth`s and other ILL members` area of research). Specifically, the team will focus their attention on three areas: 1) membrane perturbing antibiotic structure; 2) interaction of lipopeptides with the essential bacterial cell wall biosynthesis component lipid II; and 3) the assembly of membrane proteins in lipids, as studied using the tractable system of B5 filamentous bacteriophage. The proposed projects will not only enable Straus to expand her repertoire in structural methods by exposing her to a host of neutron methodology, but will also cement a strong partnership between Canada and France. The projects will also involve the close collaboration of a number of research groups in France and Germany: the group of Michel Gauthier in Nantes, a leading expert in B5 filamentous bacteriophage and the group of Hans-Georg Sahl in Bonn, who have worked extensively on characterizing interactions between lipopeptides and lipid II. The interdisciplinary nature of the proposed work and the strength of the team will ensure success on all fronts.

Keywords: physical sciences,nuclear magnetic resonance,neutron methods,pharmacological sciences,biochemistry,biological sciences,antibiotics,filamentous bacteriophage,lipid ii
Enhanced performance and cost-effective materials for long-term operation of PEM water electrolysers coupled to renewable power sources (ELECTROHYPEM)

Framework: FP7 — Cooperation
Programme: Joint Technology Initiatives (Annex IV-SP1)
Theme: Public-private partnerships
Destination: Fuel Cells and Hydrogen
Action type: Collaborative project
Partnership: FCH (Art-185)
Countries involved: Italy,European organisations area,France,United Kingdom
Call:  (FCH-JU-2011-1, 2011)
Start date: 2012-07-01
End date: 2015-06-30
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 2842312.0
EU funding (EUR): 1352771.0
Participants: 6
Project status: CLOSED

The overall objective of the ELECTROHYPEM project is to develop cost-effective components for proton conducting membrane electrolysers with enhanced activity and stability in order to reduce stack and system costs and to improve efficiency, performance and durability. The focus of the project is concerning mainly with low-cost electrocatalysts and membrane development. The project is addressing the validation of these materials in a PEM electrolyser (1 Nm3 H2/h) for residential applications in the presence of renewable power sources. The aim is to contribute to the road-map addressing the achievement of a wide scale decentralised hydrogen production infrastructure. Polymer electrolytes developed in the project concern with novel chemically stabilised ionomers and sulphonated PBI or polysulfone hydrocarbon membranes, as well as their composites with inorganic fillers, characterised by high conductivity and better resistance than conventional Nafion membranes to H2-O2 cross-over and mechanical degradation under high pressure operation. Low noble-metal loading nanosized mixed-oxides (IrRuMOx) oxygen evolution electrocatalysts, highly dispersed on high surface area conductive doped-oxide (TiNbOx, TiTaOx, SnSbOx) or sub-oxides (Ti4O7-like ) will be developed together with novel supported non-precious oxygen evolution electrocatalysts prepared by electrospinning. After appropriate screening of active materials (supports, catalyst, membranes, ionomers) and non-active stack hardware (bipolar plates, coatings) in single cell and short stack, these components will be validated in a PEM electrolyser prototype operating at high pressure in a wide temperature range. The stack will be integrated in a system and assessed in terms of durability under steady-state operating conditions as well as in the presence of current profiles simulating intermittent conditions.

Keywords: water electrolyser,hydrogen,polymer electrolyte membrane,electrocatalysts,membrane-electrode assembly,renewable energy sources
Data Assimilation in RAIA (RAIA.DA)

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: Portugal
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IEF, 2011)
Start date: 2012-05-01
End date: 2014-04-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 157748.4
EU funding (EUR): 157748.4
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The project aims at providing end-users with high-skill operational coastal ocean forecasts, for the (trans-frontier) northwestern part of the Iberian peninsula. This objective fits very well within the current needs of multiple communities (coastal and open sea management, ecosystem protection, fishing industry, maritime transport, catastrophe management, etc). The project will take place at CIMAR, Portugal, within the framework of the RAIA project (http://www.observatorioraia.org). RAIA partners provide different forecasts for the same geographical region. More specifically, different versions of the ROMS model are run concurrently. However, data is under-used: (remote-sensed and in situ observational) data assimilation is not implemented operationally, and no model fusion, ensemble modeling, or super-ensemble technique is implemented at all. The proposed project aims at replacing one of the models by an ensemble of models. Methods for generating random but physically consistent perturbations of the oceanographic variables will be researched and implemented. This will allow obtaining more reliable model error estimations; and furthermore an Ensemble Kalman filter with a realistic error covariance matrix will be implemented to assimilate observations. It has been shown that a super-ensemble (SE) of models (i.e. a weighted combination of individual models) provides forecasts with higher skill and reduced uncertainty. SE techniques are relatively new in the ocean modeling community, but their usage is expected to increase together with the number of seas covered by concurrent models. In the proposed project, SE techniques will be further developed, and new filters will be tried out to evolve the SE combination in time. SEs will be tried out on full 3D model fields. The project will be favorable to the fellow's scientific career, will provide new research results, and will also improve the operational forecasts of the studied region.

Keywords: physical oceanography,coastal zone management,numerical analysis,data assimilation
Crowns of neutrons: reactions and decays to penetrate the halos of Be-14 and He-8 (LIGHTHALOS)

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-2011-IEF, 2011)
Start date: 2012-11-05
End date: 2014-11-04
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 169800.0
EU funding (EUR): 169800.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Light, neutron-rich isotopes are some of the most exotic and fascinating nuclei to study with radioactive ion beams. The vicinity of the neutron dripline and the fundamental properties of the nucleon-nucleon interaction give rise, in this isotopes, to a wealth of concurrent phenomena which constitute a considerable experimental and theoretical challenge, such as nuclear halos, nuclear clustering, coupling to the continuum, and shell structure evolution. Because of this rich variety, they constitute also privileged systems to study in depth the fundamental properties of the nucleon-nucleon interaction, such as the role played by three-body forces. This project focuses on gathering new fundamental data to unveil some not yet understood aspects of the structure of two key isotopes in the region, Be-14 and He-8. Be-14 lies on the dripline and He-8 is the only known isotope to possess a 4-neutron halo. Specific spectroscopic aspects which characterize their structure will be studied experiments with low-intensity radioactive beams by studying beta-delayed particle emission via the MAYA active target detector and by implanting the beams on highly segmented silicon detector. Furthermore, to considerably improve the current detecting potential of active target detectors, the project will also involved the research and development stage of the latest-generation active target development, ACTAR. The specific contribution of this project will be the design and development of ancillary Si-CsI detectors to be coupled to this new state-of-the-art gaseous target.

Keywords: nuclear physics,nuclear structure,transfer reactions,exotic nuclei,neutron dripline,active target,nuclear halos
Cell biology of rice aquaporins (ORYZAQUA)

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: France
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IOF, 2011)
Start date: 2012-05-01
End date: 2014-04-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 129473.85
EU funding (EUR): 129473.85
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Although they are exposed to ever changing and sometimes challenging environmental conditions, higher plants can achieve remarkable metabolic and growth performances. For this, they have to precisely maintain their water status and failure to do so can dramatically impact their growth and ultimately their survival. The control of water flow in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum and the fine-tuning of water transport within the plant body represent important mechanisms in these respects. Because of their role in soil water uptake, roots are central during these processes. The project for this fellowship is to develop rice as a model for understanding the function and regulation of aquaporins at the cellular level : 1. Aquaporin function and sub-cellular localisation will be investigated in two rice cultivars one upland and lowland, adapted to different watering conditions. Upland rice is grown in rain fed fields prepared and seeded when dry. With respect to this, upland rice can be considered as a classical model cereal, such as wheat or maize. Lowland rice is grown in submersion with water (paddy fields) until ripening. Studying these two types of rice will offer unique opportunity to gain insight about how aquaporin function and sub-cellular localisation can contribute to the adaptation of the plant to two contrasted watering culture systems. 2. As architecture of the rice root is complex, we will consider each of the 4 types of roots in our project. One question will be to better understand which type of roots is more important for water uptake and regulation. 3. The project will allow identifying the subcellular regulation of rice root aquaporins in response to stimuli such as drought and salt. The present project will target a major crop using state-of-the-art knowledge on physiological, molecular and genetic processes obtained in the plant model Arabidopsis.

Keywords: water,drought,salt,stress,root
Real-Time Studies of Biological NanoMachines in Action by NMR (NANOLIFE@WORK)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: Intra-European Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: France
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IEF, 2011)
Start date: 2012-07-01
End date: 2014-06-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 201932.4
EU funding (EUR): 201932.4
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Protein Quality Control is an essential and evolutionary-conserved process that is present in all kingdoms of life. In cells, both newly synthesized and pre-existing proteins are constantly prone to misfolding and aggregation. The accumulation of damaged proteins can perturb cellular homeostasis and provoke aging, pathological states and cell death. Accordingly, cells have developed an enzymatic machinery – molecular chaperones – that rescues misfolded proteins by catalyzing their conversion back to the native state in an ATP-dependent manner. In this project, the candidate will use state-of-the-art expertise in NMR spectroscopy to address the fundamental questions of chaperone-assisted protein (re)folding. The combination of cutting-edge techniques in methyl-specific isotope-labeling and fast, relaxation-optimized NMR methods will allow real-time characterization of the molecular events in chaperone activity on an atomic scale. The candidate will exploit the unique potential of this approach to dissect the chaperone oligomerization pathway, ATP-dependent conformation cycle, and chaperone-assisted protein (re)folding. Understanding the mechanism of chaperone action could help in the design of new therapeutic agents for aggregation-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease or cystic fibrosis. Furthermore, the development and use of atomic resolution NMR methods for monitoring active ~1 MDa molecular machines will have a huge impact in structural molecular biology. Finally, the candidate will receive first-class training and career development at a major European structural biology centre. The trans-national move to the host institute will help candidate to build international collaborations and acquire new skills and experience. This diversification and enhancement of scientific and professional competences will enable the candidate to reach a position of professional maturity and independence.

Keywords: protein quality control,chaperone,real-time nmr,site-specific labeling,perdeuteration
Post-transcriptional regulation of Germline Stem Cells (GSCs) maintenance (GSCS MAINTENANCE)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: International Incoming Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Israel
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IIF, 2011)
Start date: 2012-05-01
End date: 2014-04-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 250106.0
EU funding (EUR): 250106.0
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Adult stem cells (SCs), also known as tissue SCs, support tissue homeostasis and repair throughout the entire life of the organism. The remarkable longevity of tissue SCs relies on their unique ability to asymmetrically generate new SCs (self-renewal) as well as specialized cell types (differentiation). Notably, many genes that signal to regulate the balance between renewal and differentiation encode proteins as well as small RNA molecules, predicted to regulate specific mRNAs. This proposal is aimed to uncover RNA regulation networks essential for maintaining an adult germline stem cells (GSCs) pool, and for preventing differentiation along the germline lineage. Ultimately, I wish to understand in molecular details how the activities of diverse post-transcriptional factors are coordinated in space and time to give a functional tissue homeostasis. Using the Drosophila testis - a stem cell based tissue model in which stem cells and the niche have been defined and can be manipulated, I aim to investigate SCs regulation by conserved RNA regulators. To pursue these interests I will use a variety of biochemical and genetic assays in the highly genetically amenable model organism, Drosophila melanogaster. Given that tissue homeostasis and repair supported by adult SCs is a primordial mechanism of multicellular animals, I anticipate the functional importance of many of the genes to be identified will be conserved between flies and mammals. Understanding the mechanistic basis of adult SC self-renewal, as well as of regulating the differentiation and proliferation of their progeny, will ultimately facilitate stem cell based therapies for regenerative medicine including age-onset diseases and cancer.

Keywords: natural sciences,cell biology,germline stem cells,niche,self-renewal,drosophila,testis,mrna,rna binding protein,microrna
Role of sphingolipids in white matter dysfunction in Huntington's disease (HDLIPIDS2011)

Framework: FP7 — People
Programme: Marie-Curie Actions
Theme: Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Destination: International Incoming Fellowships
Action type: Support for training and career development of researchers (Marie Curie)
Countries involved: Italy
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IIF, 2011)
Start date: 2013-06-10
End date: 2015-06-09
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 249911.6
EU funding (EUR): 249911.6
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Huntington’s disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by expansion of a CAG repeat, within the gene encoding huntingtin (Htt) and characterized by the progressive neurodegeneration and associated motor, cognitive and behavioral disturbances. Mutant Htt exerts adverse effects in neurons and non-neuronal cells. Animal studies describe white matter segmentation and myelin breakdown in HD. These evidences recapitulate the brain white matter volume loss described in pre-symptomatic and symptomatic subjects suggesting that white matter dysfunctions may represent a critical determinant in HD pathogenesis and may be identified as an early event of the disease. Recently, the applicant indentified a new dysfunctional pathway in HD, the dysregulation of ganglioside metabolism. High levels of gangliosides, in particular GM1, have been found to localize also in the myelin sheaths of oligodendrocytes where they play a crucial role in the maintenance of myelin integrity and in the regulation of axon–glia interactions. The applicant demonstrated that levels of GM1 are decreased in HD models and in fibroblasts from HD patients, contributing to heighten HD cells susceptibility to apoptosis. Importantly, administration of GM1 restored ganglioside levels and induced protective effects in HD models suggesting a therapeutic potential of GM1 in CNS. Our hypothesis is that decreased levels of GM1 may also affect white matter homeostasis. Interestingly, no studies correlating the dysregulation in gangliosides metabolism with white matter defects in HD have been conducted, so far. Thus, the main goal of this study is to look for white matter abnormalities and to determine the relationship with the degree of ganglioside dysfunctions and the severity of clinical status in HD. This will represent a new and interesting line of investigation in the field of HD and will provide more clear and deep understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of the disease.

Keywords: white matter,gm1
What can island isostasy tell us about hotspot dynamics? (ISLAND FREEBOARD)

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-2011-IOF, 2011)
Start date: 2013-01-11
End date: 2016-01-10
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 271943.7
EU funding (EUR): 271943.7
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Hotspots are enigmatic structures on Earth's surface that are not explained in the framework of plate tectonics. One of the characteristic features of oceanic hotspots is anomalously shallow seafloor, or hotspot swell, on which the volcanic islands associated with hotspots rest. The study of isostatic movements of oceanic volcanoes is a key discriminant among different theories of hotspot swell development. The Cape Verde islands, a hotspot archipelago located in a stationary plate environment, is a particularly good study area because the archipelago is stationary with respect to its melting source, it lies on the largest hotspot bathymetric swell on Earth, and because the archipelago is rich in uplift features. Quaternary wavecut surfaces and marine terraces are ubiquitous in the archipelago and can be found up to ~130 m asl, well above the relevant sea-level maxima. To date, these morphologies remain largely undated but our knowledge on their age is crucial to resolve the mechanisms behind hotspot dynamics. If they are synchronous on different islands they reflect a regional pulse in hotspot swell growth that has not been reported previously. If, conversely, they are not synchronous between islands, they require local uplift mechanisms (e.g. basal intrusions), also not previously documented. We propose an innovative multi-disciplinary approach to date the Quaternary uplift features of Cape Verde using state-of-the-art multi-nuclide surface exposure dating of wavecut surfaces in combination with U/Th Disequilibrium geochronology of marine terraces. The information will provide an uplift chronology that will be used to test competing hotspot swell development models and hotspot theories

Keywords: oceanic hotspot dynamics,island freeboard,quaternary uplift reconstructions,dating of wavecut surfaces and marine terraces,surface exposure dating,u/th dating,tracers of sea level,cape verde