Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Problems in Algebraic Complexity and Complexity of Algebraic Problems (PACCAP)

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-IOF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-08-01
End date: 2012-07-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 173415.8
EU funding (EUR): 173415.8
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The P=NP? problem is widely recognized as one of the most important and challenging open problems in contemporary mathematics and computer science. The general belief is that P differs from NP. Unfortunately, this intuition is still not supported by a proof in spite of 35 years of intensive research. Given the difficulty of this problem, algebraic versions of P=NP? have been proposed. The hope is that these algebraic versions of the problem should be easier to solve than the original one. The two main algebraic versions of P=NP? are due to Valiant and to Blum-Shub-Smale. The Blum-Shub-Smale&apos;s model deals with computation over the ordered ring of the real numbers whereas the Valiant&apos;s model does not deal with decision problems but with polynomial evaluation. In algebraic complexity theory the main focus of this project will be on the study of the relations between Valiant&apos;s model, the Blum-Shub-Smale model, and the discrete model of computation. Another focus will be on the complexity of problems from algebraic geometry and from combinatorial optimization, such as linear programming. This research will begin in 2009 in Toronto. A program on Foundational of Computational Mathematics should be held at the Fields Institute in Toronto during the Fall semester. This program should attract many of the best specialists of this research area. Participation in this program is a major contribution to the Training component of the PACCAP project. The project will continue at the computer science department of the University of Toronto, which has a very strong Theory Group. The returning institution is Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, where many of the future French theoretical computer scientist are studying. The skills developped in the PACCAP project will be used there both forresearch and teaching.

Keywords: algorithms,computational models
Spinor Bose-Einstein Condensates for many-particle entanglement (SCOPE)

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-IEF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-05-01
End date: 2011-04-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 173968.74
EU funding (EUR): 173968.74
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Since the early days of quantum theory and even more since development of the field of quantum computation, it is well established that correlation and entanglement are fundamental in quantum mechanics and a remarkable effort is on the way to better understand these concepts, both from the theoretical and the experimental point of view. In this proposal a series of new experiments devoted to the study of quantum entanglement in a mesoscopic system are presented. All the proposed experiments will be carried out on a sample of sodium atoms cooled down to quantum degeneracy. In such a system, the spin dependent interaction gives rise to full many-body entanglement whose observation is the central theme of this proposal. Due to the antiferromagnetic character of this spin interaction in sodium, several quantum states can be engineered going from Shroedinger cats to fragmented Bose-Einstein condensates. Beside the intrinsic interest of observing these many-body states, the ability to access and manipulate them could shine new light on the ubiquitous phenomenon of decoherence. To be able to access such highly entangled states, which have never been observed in any domain of physics for a number of particle higher than ten, several technical obstacles have to be overcome. A first crucial point will be the reliable production of such mesoscopic samples and a matching ability to precisely count the number of particle. An important part of this proposal is the implementation of the required experimental techniques, many of them already tested in different environments, into a new experimental apparatus. In a wider perspective, highly entangled mesoscopic states can lead to groundbreaking developments in the field of quantum metrology since these states can overcome the so called quantum projection noise limit, a fundamental limit of conventional atomic interferometers.

Keywords: atomic physics,superfluidity,bose-einstein condensation,entanglement
Novel Nanobiosensors for Identifying Microorganisms Using Magnetic Relaxation Switches (MRI_NANOBIOSENSOR)

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: Spain
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-IOF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2010-01-01
End date: 2012-12-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 237283.61
EU funding (EUR): 237283.61
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The goal of this proposal is the development of a totally new type of reagent/instrumentation system based on a Nanobiosensor that Prof. Josephson and Prof. Weissleder have developed and termed “magnetic relaxation switches” (MRS). We propose to apply MRS for two different objectives: 1) detection of microorganisms through their specific sequences on their rRNA (outgoing phase); 2) identification of specific tumoral cells lines using MRS functionalized with specific lectins (return phase).

Keywords: chemistry,nanotechnology,health sciences,magnetic resonance imaging,nanodevices,biomedical technology,nanobiotechnology,multisensory technology,macromolecular chemistry,organic chemistry
Performing Spaces: Architecture, Spatiality, and Politics in European Ceremonial Cultures, circa 1550-1700 (ARCHITECTURAL MASQUE)

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: Ireland
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-IEF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-09-01
End date: 2011-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 177305.94
EU funding (EUR): 177305.94
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

This project explores the uses of architecture, architectural imagery and symbolic space in the festive cultures of early modern Europe. Historians and social scientists have often connected changing notions of elite public and private spaces to discourses of centralisation and modernisation in differing European ancien regimes. Combining textual and historical evidence, visual sources, evidence from material culture, and sociological and critical theory, this study will explore the competing definitions of court spaces either as a fixed static entity or as a fluid and moveable space, and how these definitions are conceptualised, embodied, enacted, and represented in a range of festive cultural practices. The study contrasts representations of elite spaces and, in particular, architecture, architectural forms and discourses, in differing arenas such as court, the city, and the country, and in different regions and countries. Part of the evidence will be drawn from British examples, evaluating Jacobean and Caroline progresses alongside the more familiar court masques of the two reigns, and contrasting these with diasporic festive forms in Britain’s subaltern societies (Ireland, Isle of Man, Scotland, Wales). British exemplars will be contrasted with European festive cultures, especially those from the Low Countries and the German states. The study aims to develop a comparative and pan-European approach to interpreting festive cultures. One key aspect will be to explore the differing European approaches to centralisation and nation-state formation as one of the defining markers of modernity, an issue that retains its political resonance in modern Europe.

Keywords: humanities,masque,festivals,culture,modernity,architecture,space,civic entries,performance
Origin, localization and biological function of malondialdehyde in plants (MALONDIPLANT)

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-IEF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-06-01
End date: 2011-05-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 180801.44
EU funding (EUR): 180801.44
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Malondialdehyde (MDA) has been considered in the past exclusively as the non-enzymatic oxidation by-product of many fatty acids with three (trienoic fatty acids) or more double bonds. However, nowadays MDA is known to be responsible of the up-regulation of many genes involved, principally, in abiotic stress responses in plants. The origin of a second MDA pool independent of trienoic fatty acids found in root tips of Arabidopsis thaliana is currently unidentified, which opens the question about the origin and biological function of this pool of MDA. Additionally, MDA is thought to be a latent molecule for the activation of cell survival signalling, because whereas cellular MDA has relatively low reactivity at neutral (cytosolic) pH, when it is exposed to acidic pH (as occurs during several stressing conditions) assumes the reactive form. Moreover, the subcellular localization of MDA in plants is completely unknown at this moment, and this could be important to establish a role for its compartmentalization in the activation and function of this molecule. The main objective of this project is to study the origin, localization and biological function of MDA in plants. By obtaining A. thaliana mutants with altered levels of a non-trienoic fatty acid-derived MDA pool in the root tip, we will be able to find the origin and, presumably, the biological significance of this MDA pool. In addition, we will use confocal microscopy to study, for the first time in plants, the subcellular localization of MDA. This multi-disciplinary project will allow us to progress significantly in understanding the biology of the MDA and to study the abiotic stress signalling mechanisms in plants from an original and innovative point of view.

Keywords: abiotic stress,arabidopsis thaliana,lipid signalling,malondialdehyde (mda),oxylipin,reactive electrophile species (res)
A Survey of Feedback in Nearby Galaxy Groups (SURFING)

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-IEF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-10-01
End date: 2011-09-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 232170.31
EU funding (EUR): 232170.31
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The aim of this proposal is to perform a survey of feedback heating in nearby galaxy groups. Simulations of galaxy and large-scale structure formation show that a heat source is needed to prevent excessive gas cooling and overproduction of stars. The best candidate is heating by active galactic nuclei (AGN), the supermassive black holes in the cores of galaxies which, when they accrete cooling gas, can emit powerful jets of relativistic particles. AGN feedback has been investigated in galaxy clusters, but most galaxies and most baryons in the Universe reside in smaller galaxy groups, where AGN jet/gas interactions produce different effects. We therefore propose to study feedback in the group environment, where it will have the greatest influence on the structure formation history of the Universe. We will use two main wavebands: The X-ray, using ESA's XMM-Newton and NASA's Chandra satellites to detect ten million Kelvin gas in the groups&apos; gravitational wells, and the radio, using low-frequency observations from the Indian GMRT observatory and high frequency data from the US Very Large Array. Using low frequency data greatly improves our ability to detect older, less powerful AGN outbursts, and we will thus be able to study a larger fraction and wider range of activity than has been the case in clusters. The researcher, Dr. O'Sullivan, is already expert in X-ray analysis and has worked in the USA for the past 6 years. He will join the University of Birmingham astrophysics group, one of the top 3 teams worldwide in the study of galaxy groups. Dr. O'Sullivan will receive training in radio analysis, preparing him to use the next-generation observatories now being built in Europe and elsewhere. The project will thus bring a top-flight researcher back to the EU, train him to become a leader in an expanding field which Europe will dominate for the next decade, and provide a significant improvement in our understanding of the structure formation history of the Universe.

Keywords: astrophysics,astronomy,extragalactic,galaxy groups,x-ray,radio,agn
Asymptotic geometry and topology of discrete groups (ASYMGTG)

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-IEF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-09-01
End date: 2011-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 157279.59
EU funding (EUR): 157279.59
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The research topic we propose lies in the intersection of Group Theory, Geometry and (low-dimensional) Topology. In this project we wish to explore the geometry and the topology at infinity of discrete groups. The geometrical viewpoint for groups has sparked the interest of geometers, topologists and group theorists since the seminal work of M.Gromov on the asymptotic invariants of groups. We would like to look at groups from a topological viewpoint, and to study some topological properties (at infinity) of groups. In particular we will mainly focus on the geometric simple connectivity (g.s.c.) and the simple connectivity at infinity. The simple connectivity at infinity is an important tameness condition on the ends of the space, and it has been used to characterize Euclidean spaces among contractible open topological manifolds. Whereas the geometric simple connectivity is a related notion developed by V.Poenaru (mostly in dimensions 3 and 4), in his work concerning the Poincaré Conjecture. It is worthy to note that it can be shown that all reasonable examples of groups (e.g. word hyperbolic, semi-hyperbolic, CAT(0), group extensions, one relator groups) are g.s.c. Hence it would be very interesting to find an example of a finitely presented group which fails to be g.s.c. Discrete groups which are not g.s.c. (if they exist) would lay at the opposite extreme to hyperbolic (or CAT(0)) groups and thus they should be non generic, in a probabilistic sense. The first step will be to find some combinatorial property equivalent to the g.s.c. On the other hand, if one can show that ANY group is geometrically simply connected, then the g.s.c. would be the first non-trivial property which holds true for all groups (contradicting the underlying philosophy of the Geometric Group Theory). Both cases will have a deep impact in the understanding of the space of groups and for their (geometrical) classification.

Keywords: group theory,geometry,geometric topology,geometric group theory,asymptotic invariants,tameness conditions,asymptotic topology,geometric simple connectivity,simple connectivity at infinity
Show me your colour: the neuroendocrine and molecular underpinnings of phenotypic variation in colour and aggression in cichlid fish (BENG)

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-IOF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-08-01
End date: 2012-07-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 239956.49
EU funding (EUR): 239956.49
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

One of the most intriguing questions in evolutionary biology is why some groups of animals contain many species while others contain only a few. One important factor influencing biodiversity is selection on a male secondary sexual trait arising from aggressive competition between males to gain access to females or resources. Colour polymorphic species are excellent to study effects of competition on the evolution of phenotypic diversity. Typically one morph is behaviourally dominant over the other. This covariance in phenotypic traits has implications for sexual and natural selection and patterns of gene flow. Next to addressing such ultimate questions, it is highly important to study the proximate mechanisms underlying phenotypic covariance. The species flock of Lake Victoria cichlid fish is a major model system for adaptive radiation and speciation research. In addition, the polymorphic cichlid species Astatotilapia burtoni has become a major model system used to understand the molecular basis of complex vertebrate behaviours. In the proposed project I will combine the strength of these two systems. I will utilize the outgoing phase to learn genomic and neuroendocrine tools and will identify candidate genes and gene clusters underlying the polymorphism in colour and behaviour in A. burtoni. I will then test the hypothesis that hormones modulating coloration have pleiotropic effects on behaviour and physiology. During the return phase I will employ my newly acquired expertise to identify genes underlying phenotypic diversity in several species of Lake Victoria cichlids. The results of these experiments will provide a proximate framework linking the vast knowledge obtained through years of studying a traditional model organism (A. burtoni) with the unique opportunity provided by the “natural mutant screen” of African Great Lake cichlids. The training I seek with this proposal will give me unique and highly desirable skills as a behavioural biologist.

Keywords: colour polymorphisms,microarray,gene expression,plasticity,aggression,hormones,brain
Structural characterisation of early alpha-synuclein amyloidogenic species relevant to Parkinson's disease: Validation as therapeutic targets (EARLY AMYLOID STATES)

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-IEF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2010-01-01
End date: 2011-12-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 171867.63
EU funding (EUR): 171867.63
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Alpha-synuclein (AS) is the major constituent of Lewy bodies, a pathological signature of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Amyloid-like deposits of AS are generated by toxic pre-fibrillar species of the protein which are now considered to be a major cause of cell death in PD. The mechanisms by which oxidative stress is linked to AS aggregation are not yet known and are a subject of intense research in the field. The most appealing hypothesis is the one of oxidation-mediated oligomerization of AS, causing the formation of highly toxic early amyloidogenic species. Such intermediates appear to be scarcely populated, likely involving important structural rearrangements, what makes them ideal targets for drug intervention. The focus of this research proposal is to characterise the structure and thermodynamics of early AS amyloidogenic species, both the molten globule-like conformation of monomeric AS, reported to be key intermediate in fibril formation, and small early soluble oligomers populated in different conditions. The study of the early stages of fibrillogenesis requires the development and application of new methods. We propose tackling this challenge in a novel way, through exciting multidisciplinary research by scaling up the NMR techniques combined with methods of molecular dynamics simulations, together with the use of the more advanced single-molecule fluorescence techniques. In addition, the impact of metal-catalized oxidation in the structure of monomeric and oligomeric AS by means of low and high resolution structural techniques will be evaluated, shedding light into the role of oxidative damage as an effector in protein aggregation. The information obtained will be paramount in order to validate the use of pharmacological chaperones of AS as new therapeutic agents to treat PD.
Processing of Mesoscopic Time-pulsed Entangled Optical fields (PROMETEO)

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-IEF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-09-15
End date: 2011-09-14
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 165444.54
EU funding (EUR): 165444.54
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Quantum physics is promising to start a revolution in the way we conceive the treatment of information. Future quantum computers will be able to solve complex problems for which an efficient solution is now difficult to implement. Their construction will require an unprecedent level of accuracy in manipulating quantum systems; quantum properties of light are appealing for this project, both at a “microscopic” regime, adopting single photons, and at a “mesoscopic” regime, employing the quadrature components. It has been proposed that “cat states” of light, i.e. a superposition of almost orthogonal coherent states, can encode qubits; this architecture requires the least overhead resources for fault tolerance among all the proposed optical quantum computation schemes. A key requirement is the ability of generating highly nonclassical states, whose quasi-probability function can assume negative values; earlier demonstrations have shown that such states can be generated by manipulating one- and two-mode squeezed states with a merging of both continuous variable and single photon experimental techniques. This project is devoted to the maturation of this approach, by generating two-mode entanglement of cat states, an essential resource for building quantum gates. For this purpose, we aim to improve the technology allowing the generation of number states and cat states. First, we will achieve a high level of squeezing, in order to manipulate optical fields with a larger degree of nonclassical correlations. Then, we will produce multi-qubits by using multiple squeezers. Finally, we will improve the single photon detections by using photon number resolving detectors. We expect that these innovations will improve the accuracy of state manipulation: the assessment of the usefulness of the novel states will be carried out, The outcomes of the project will be relevant to assess the practical feasibility of cat state quantum computing.

Keywords: quantum optics,quantum information,quantum communication,continuous variables,entanglement