Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Complexity, stability and chaos in marine model ecosystems for present day and global warming conditions (MARINECOSYSTABILITY)

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: 2009-10-05
End date: 2012-10-04
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 224178.87
EU funding (EUR): 224178.87
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The relationships between complexity, stability and chaos in ecosystem food webs are not clearly understood in the global marine environment. We propose to explore these connections using a global marine ecosystem model in which the level of species diversity is an emergent property. We will map globally indices of: phytoplankton diversity, food web connectance, complexity, stability, chaotic behaviour, and productivity. Complexity is the product of species diversity and food web connectance. Stability is the resilience of the system to to perturbations and can be evaluated as the dominant eigenvalue of the Jacobian matrix at steady-state. Connectance is the percentage of non-zero entries in the Jacobian matrix. Chaos will be evaluated by calculating the Lyapunov exponents for different values of a bifurcation parameter. All the analysis will be performed numerically in a pixel-by-pixel global ocean basis. We will evaluate the relationships of these indices to environmental variables like nutrients, temperature, solar radiation, and turbulence. We will also seek to elucidate the mechanistic basis of the relationships between ecological indices and the environment. The analyses will be performed both for present and global warming conditions. An important objective of the project will be to identify in which ocean regions the ecosystems are potentially more fragile or vulnerable to future global warming. The project will contribute to the objectives of the Work Programme by 1) allowing the fellow to gain new skills and additional training in theoretical ecology and global modelling; and to become an EU leading specialist in a research field with a lot of growth potential; 2) transferring the acquired knowledge to the EU; 3) establish a long-term collaboration between two centres of excellence like the MIT (Boston) and the ICM-CSIC (Barcelona) that will enhance the quality of research of Europe and make it more competitive and attractive for the best researchers

Keywords: marine ecosystems (climate change),marine biodiversity,ecosystems stability,global modelling
Organization and self assembly of colloidal particles trapped on a Isotropic-Fluid/Liquid-Crystal Interface: Effects of particle anisotropy and interface curvature (SURFOIDS)

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: 2010-01-01
End date: 2011-12-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 168279.59
EU funding (EUR): 168279.59
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The ability to control regular spatial arrangements of particles is one of the central issues of the ‘‘bottom-up’’ approach to nanotechnology. Self-assembling of colloidal particles has arisen as a very hopeful alternative. However, these studies are typically performed in aqueous media where the interparticle interactions are poorly controlled. In this project we will study the interactions between particles trapped in a novel challenging interface consisting of a nematic liquid crystal and an isotropic fluid. Our fist objective is to exploit the unique properties of the nematic phase to achieve a high degree of control in the interaction of the particles trapped in the interface. In this geometry, the particle-particle interactions are triggered by capillary forces resulting from the interface distortion. We will employ electric/magnetic fields as well as sophisticated anchoring conditions for the nematic to tailor these distortions in terms of range, amplitude, and directionality. We will address questions concerning crystallization, melting and aggregation in a 2-dimensional space. To quantify the interface deformations we will use a technique based on Michelson interferometry and optical tweezers. Our second objective is to study the effect of particle anisotropy in the formation of ordered patterns. We will consider both spherical particles with anchoring gradients and particles with exotic geometry. Despite the richness of behavior expected, the relationship between the anisotropy of colloids and their collective behavior when trapped in an interface is still largely unknown. Finally, we will analyze how the behavior of the colloidal particles is affected by the interface curvature. Some elegant theoretical predictions show that equilibrium positions are located in the points of constant Gaussian curvature. This behavior is still completely unexplored experimentally and may find practical relevance in pickering emulsions, solid stabilized foams, etc.

Keywords: surface science and colloids,liquid crystals,soft matter and polymer physics
Diffusion of administrative and regulatory innovations in OECD and EU member states (POLISINNOVATIONS)

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: 2009-04-01
End date: 2011-03-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 172636.49
EU funding (EUR): 172636.49
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

This research project is about the diffusion of administrative reforms, focusing on innovations in regulatory process. The literature on administrative reform and New Public Management (NPM) has generally overlooked the determinants of the spread of innovations among developed and developing countries. Moreover, the vast majority of diffusion studies in political science tend to focus on adoption and ignore the stages prior and after the point at which the decision is made. This project aims to pursue the following set of research objectives: i) deriving a theoretical framework; ii) constructing datasets on the years of adoption of administrative reforms, selecting three units of analysis; iii) analysing prerequisites and selecting diffusion determinants; iv) analysing internal and external determinants of diffusion; v) analysing successive stages of innovation process. This project will provide general insights into the ways OECD and EU countries have balanced accountability and legitimacy on the one hand and efficiency on the other. With its comparative approach, this project aims to formulate recommendations for effective and efficient policy innovations: How can one comprehend developments in public administration and regulatory governance and gain useful insights from them? Is there any common pattern of diffusion of administrative reform of rulemaking process? Are we facing a global paradigm shift? The training project is developed along the lines of the research objectives and the elements of research design. The training programme rests on a four-folded training strategy: face-to-face meetings with the scientist in charge as well as attending postgraduate courses, summer school and international conferences. The work plan contains all the above-mentioned training activities, integrated in an overall framework with their time-frames, research objectives, elements of professional maturity, and short and long term impact measures.

Keywords: political sciences,governance,public policy,public administration,administrative reform,diffusion,policy innovations,policy studies,eu policies,international organisations,oecd,globalisation
Conversion of integral membrane receptors into soluble forms (GPCRS)

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: 2009-09-01
End date: 2011-08-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 263599.24
EU funding (EUR): 263599.24
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are cell surface receptors that mediate the cellular responses to an enormous diversity of endogenous signaling molecules as well as environmental signals. GPCRs are a major target for the pharmaceutical industry as is reflected by the fact that more than 50% of all medicines available today act on a GPCR and represent about a quarter of the top-selling drugs worldwide. However, effective drug design and functional characterization of these receptors is strongly limited by the absence of high-resolution structural information because of the many practical problems of working with membrane proteins. Here, we propose to replace the lipid-exposed hydrophobic residues within the transmembrane domains of GPCRs with more hydrophilic residues to engineer water-soluble variants of GPCRs capable of folding in aqueous solutions. Moreover, detailed comparison of membrane proteins and soluble proteins by protein engineering will also lead to a deeper insight into membrane protein folding and stability with important consequences for the handling of drug targets. Redesigning a GPCR by substituting the hydrophobic amino acids of the protein/lipid interface with suitable polar or charged residues to produce a molecule that is able to fold and function in aqueous solution represents an ambitious protein-engineering problem of high combinatorial complexity. It is improbable that we will reach the desired result in a single step by rational design. Instead, we have chosen a highly interdisciplinary approach that combines the strengths of computational and experimental tools, of design, selection and in vitro evolution. The strategy, we propose to use, relies on the proven expertise of the Plückthun group in the rational design of protein libraries. From these libraries, functional molecules can efficiently be selected by ribosome display methods. Selected sequences can be further optimized using the techniques of directed in vitro evolution.

Keywords: natural sciences,g-protein coupled receptors,adrenergic and opiod receptors,in vitro evolution,solubility of membrane proteins,integral membrane proteins
Establishment and refinement of sensory innervation in the lateral-line system of the zebrafish (SENSORY INNERVATION)

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: Spain
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-IEF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-05-01
End date: 2011-04-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 152968.04
EU funding (EUR): 152968.04
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The establishment of sensory-organ innervation is crucial for behaviour, social interactions and survival. Neuronal arborisation is dictated by signals that guide neurites to their appropriate targets in combination with the spatial distribution of the target cells. To date, most emphasis has been placed on the genetic bases of neuronal-type specification and organ formation during embryonic development and, consequently, there is a serious gap in our knowledge about the long-term dynamics of organ innervation. To advance towards this goal, we will need to elucidate whether and how neuronal activity and sensory organ architecture can modulate neural arborisation. Vertebrate sensory organs represent an excellent model to study the establishment and maintenance of organ innervation. To investigate these processes, I have chosen the zebrafish mechanosensory “lateral line” as a model system. In general, planar polarized sensory hair cells in each unit of the lateral line, called neuromast, receive innervation by two afferent neurons. Hair cells can regenerate and re-innervate very rapidly, providing a simple model of sensory neurons arborisation whose dynamics can be visualized in vivo over long periods and under normal or altered physiological conditions. To investigate the mechanisms that govern the acquisition and maintenance of hair-cell innervation, I will conduct a systematic and comprehensive study of the processes that underlie the elaboration and remodelling of sensory-neuronal architecture in the lateral-line organ. I will perform high-resolution live imaging combined with sophisticated techniques to permit spatio-temporal control of protein expression. The findings derived from these studies shall reveal the mechanisms by which animals maintain sensory abilities throughout their entire lives.

Keywords: animal embryology,animal growth,neurobiology,zebrafish,lateral line,sensory-innervation,live imaging
Synthesis of Targeted Organometallic Anticancer Drugs and their mode of Action (STOADA)

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: Switzerland
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-IIF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-05-01
End date: 2010-02-28
Duration (months): 10.0
Total project cost (EUR): 189163.26
EU funding (EUR): 189163.26
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The project is designed to study a new class of ruthenium antimetastasis compounds, which provides a flexible scaffold onto which various groups of known biological function can be grafted, in order to identify the mechanism of antimetastasis action and obtain superior compounds. In addition, targets will be identified from these compounds using an innovative bio-analytical method. The generic compound which will be used for the study are based on the general structure, Ru(η6-arene)Cl2(pta), and biologically active groups with known therapeutic function, e.g. that induce cell cycle arrest, will be tethered to the arene ring or attached via the ruthenium centre. Key protein targets will then be identified by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The influence of the inhibitors will be studied and the effect on drug efficacy explored. Drug binding sites will be identified using a mass spectrometric bottom-up or top-down methods which will be very much useful in directing future drug design.

Keywords: bioorganometallic chemistry,ruthenium antimetastasis agents,ruthenium-based drugs,bioanalytical chemistry,metalomics.
Trends in hospital admissions for lower extremity amputations in people with and without diabetes in England, 1996-2005 (ENG-LEA)

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: 2009-06-01
End date: 2011-05-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 180783.75
EU funding (EUR): 180783.75
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus is growing at epidemic proportions worldwide. Considering the steady increase of the diabetic population, the prevalence of diabetes-related complications will continue to rise. Foot disorders are a major source of morbidity and mortality and account for more hospital admissions than any other long-term complication of diabetes. Up to 20% of total expenditure on diabetes might be attributable to diabetic foot. The most costly and devastating end-point of diabetic foot problems is lower extremity amputation (LEA). Individuals with diabetes have a 15 to 40 increased fold risk of LEA when compared to the general population with approximately half of all persons undergoing nontraumatic amputations having a diagnosis of diabetes. Appropriate multidisciplinary care to diabetic foot disease has been shown to reduce the incidence of LEAs by up to 78%. In Europe, a reduction in LEAs related to diabetes of at least 50% within 5 years was a declared aim of the St. Vincent Declaration and the US Government has set a target of reduction of 40% by the year 2000. There are only very few population-based studies available on the incidence and temporal variations of nontraumatic LEAs in Europe. Standardised, population-based data on LEA associated with diabetes are urgently needed, if these targets are to be achieved. The purpose of our study is to use national hospital admission data from all NHS hospitals in England from 1996 to 2005 to 1. provide standardized, population-based data on LEA associated with type 1 and type 2 diabetes; 2. evaluate changes in LEA rates in people with and without diabetes; 3. examine diabetes-associated LEA rates by age, gender and social deprivation to identify populations at risk; 4. analyse length of hospital stay (LOS) associated with LEAs; 5. report perioperative and one-year mortality associated with LEAs between 2000 and 2005. Our study will have important financial and health planning implications.

Keywords: health sciences,diabetes mellitus,epidemiology,lower extremity amputations,perioperative mortality,one-year mortality,hospitalization
Cinematic Representations of the Grotesque Female Body (GROTESQUE BODY)

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: Netherlands
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-IEF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-04-01
End date: 2011-03-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 152430.52
EU funding (EUR): 152430.52
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The proposed post-doctoral research project starts from the observation that the development and application of various ‘body technologies’ such as in vitro fertilisation, cosmetic surgery and genetic engineering are accompanied by a plethora of images of incomplete, multiplied, excessively fragmented and reassembled, as well as technologically altered and grossly deformed bodies surfacing in Art Cinema and Hollywood films alike. These images stand in sharp contrast to representations that reproduce and shape the bodily ideal through other widespread visual practices of mass-media. The project seeks to comparatively consider imaginations about transforming gender relations in light of technoscience. It is argued that these are articulated as well as generated by ideas about fragmentation and excessivity of the body. By introducing the concept of ‘the grotesque body’ (as proposed by Mikhail Bakhtin) to the debate on the body’s social significance, a case shall be made that the grotesque does not only concern itself with the disfigurement of the ‘glossy’ and aesthetically streamlined bodily ideal but rather signifies and questions collectively held core values of society in regard to gender identity as constituent for social continuity and transformation. In critical extension of Bakhtin’s argument, the proposed research aims at exploring the hypothesis that cinematic representations of female bodies beyond normative boundaries are symptomatic of two distinct yet interrelated processes: While the ubiquity of performing the grotesque body is indicative of rising uncertainties, tensions and contestations about imagined realities of technological changes, this phenomenon simultaneously expresses as well as organizes and produces collective images of resistance against a range of socially institutionalized norms and values. This hypothesis shall be addressed by combining hermeneutic approaches with semiotic and performative stances.

Keywords: gender and women's studies,representation,anthropology of the body,the body and technoscience,the grotesque,film semiotics
Collective dynamics in particle laden lamellae (PARLAE)

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-IIF-2008, 2008)
Start date: 2009-05-15
End date: 2010-05-14
Duration (months): 12.0
Total project cost (EUR): 87267.88
EU funding (EUR): 87267.88
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Particle laden fluids are of fundamental and contemporary interest due to the recent perspectives of understanding their flows. This research project endeavors to understand the collective behavior of solid particles suspended in fluid lamellae at multiple scales with relevance to aqueous foam. We aim to delineate the concurrence of distinct influences that have thus far been primarily studied in either bulk or single interface studies. These aspects include recent perspectives such as particle jamming in granular media, shear banding/localization in colloidal systems, aggregation dynamics, transitions from thermal to athermal dynamics and the influence of surfactant physical-chemistry. While these phenomena have been studied in 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional spaces, the influence of curved spatial manifolds is expected to exhibit novel and rich phenomenology. Fluid lamellae in are ideal candidates to study many of these phenomenon as a function of spatial curvature. Particle laden foam is also recently being used as precursors to building solid materials. The control of many aspects of the fabrication process relies on an understanding of particle dynamics at the lamellar scale. The proposal outlined here will understand fundamental mechanisms involved in these processes. In the return phase(India), we propose to further the understanding of foam in along with particle inclusions in the regime of impacts. This is expected to be a productive avenue of research as foam and particle inclusions can have multiple relaxation times. At low velocities (impact time &gt;&gt; material relaxation time), impacts are expected to distribute energy over a wider area of the target, however at high velocities (impact time &lt;&lt; material relaxation time) the energy is strongly focused at the point of impact. Thus impact dynamics can act as a probe of the time and length scales within a material.

Keywords: physical sciences,jamming in curved spaces,particle laden lamellae,foam,granular matter