Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-informations-sur-les-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Large-scale carbon export to the Eurasian Artic shelf elucidated with molecular characterization and compound-specific radiocarbon assessment of black carbon and terrestrial organic matter (CARBON14ARCTIC)

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: Sweden
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2007-2-1-IEF, 2007)
Start date: 2008-10-01
End date: 2010-09-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 170697.32
EU funding (EUR): 170697.32
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The pan-Arctic taiga and tundra holds >1/3 of the global pool of terrestrial-detrital carbon. Since climate models forecast the largest warming trends on Earth occurring in the Eurasian Arctic, there is urgent need to increase the understanding of its terrestrial carbon release and potential for large-scale climate effects thereon. An ambitious and advanced project is proposed to assess the export and biogeochemical fate (i.e. burial and/or degradation) of large-scale releases of terrestrial organic carbon (TOC) to the Eurasian Artic shelf (EAS) and to evaluate the effect of recent climate warming on TOC remobilization and degradation. To fulfill this aim, I propose a comprehensive analytical program, including molecular characterization of recalcitrant forms organic matter and compound-specific radiocarbon analysis (CSRA) of terrestrial lipid biomarkers, to a strategic sample set from the most vulnerable Eurasian Artic regions. The poorly studied EAS is the world´s largest continental shelf system, receiving large influxes of fire-derived and soil-released OC. This post-doc would contribute to a funded Swedish-Russian 45-day EAS expedition in 2008. This rare opportunity would obtain water and sediment samples from along-shelf and cross-shelf transects, covering most of the 4000 km climosequence of the EAS. Advanced CSRA and relative distributions analysis of a broad suite of lipid terrestrial biomarkers, would afford much improved understanding of TOC processing on the EAS, whereas similar analyses in dated sediment cores, correlated with climate indices (e.g. Arctic Oscillation), would reveal effects of recent climate change on the large-scale C cycle. Further, export of Siberian fire-derived black carbon (BC) would be assessed by a combination of chemothermal oxidation and benzenepolycarboxylic acids methods. Burial of recalcitrant BC in shelf sediments is an important but poorly constrained portion of the C cycle that hereby would be constrained for the EAS.

Keywords: global warming,carbon cycle,eurasian artic shelf,compound-specific radiocarbon assessment,terrestrial lipid biomarkers,black carbon
Identification of molecular mechanisms involved in temperature perception and signalling in Brachypodium (BRACHYTEM)

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-2007-2-1-IEF, 2007)
Start date: 2008-08-01
End date: 2010-07-31
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 177740.04
EU funding (EUR): 177740.04
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Being sessile and unable to regulate their internal temperature, plants are exposed to large variations in ambient temperature during day-night cycles and seasonal changes. It is clear that plant development and growth are closely related to thermal conditions, but the molecular mechanisms involved in temperature sensing are not understood. Plant responses to changing ambient temperature are becoming increasingly important from an applied perspective, due to the projected 2.0-5.4°C global warming by the end of this century. To understand plant responses to temperature, we need to resolve the molecular components involved in temperature perception and signalling. I will use a multidisciplinary approach combining molecular genetics and growth and developmental analysis to understand temperature perception and responses in the emerging model monocot system Brachypodium distachyon. The results will be highly relevant for other temperate grasses and cereals, due to their close phylogenetic relationship. First, the temperature effect on Brachypodium leaf meristem functioning will be quantified using kinematic methods, making use of new reporter lines for meristematic activity. Second, the genetic network involved in correct ambient temperature sensing and signalling will be identified by extensive forward genetic screening based on LUC reporters and fast neutron deletion mutant populations. The gene mapping will be strongly enhanced using whole genome tiling arrays. The GA/DELLA pathway has been shown to restrain growth in adverse conditions in Arabidopsis. The third objective of this proposal is to identify components of the GA/DELLA pathway in Brachypodium in a reverse genetic approach by screening the genomic DNA bank of fast neutron deletion lines for the predicted DELLA gene(s), and by a complementary forward genetic screen. Genes will be mapped by whole genome tiling array hybridisations, and their role in growth responses to temperature will be assessed.

Keywords: plant growth,plant development,brachypodium,temperature sensing,cell division,cell expansion,della proteins,fast neutron deletion mutagenesis,molecular genetics,whole genome tiling arrays
Unveiling galaxy assembly from next generation photometry (PHOTO-EV)

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-2007-2-1-IEF, 2007)
Start date: 2008-10-15
End date: 2010-10-14
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 154911.75
EU funding (EUR): 154911.75
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The primary goal of this project is to develop a new type of statistical approach to constrain the assembly of the evolving population of galaxies over cosmic time using modern multi-waveband photometric surveys. This work combines uniquely the expertise of: (1) the proposed fellow, in the development and application of state-of-the-art statistical techniques to interpret galaxy spectral energy distributions (SEDs); (2) the host scientist, in the development of sophisticated models to describe the integrated light emitted by stellar populations; (3) the science team of the TERAPIX data reduction centre of the host institution, which manages archives of two of the biggest multiwavelength photometric surveys to date - the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) and the Canada-France-Hawaii-Telescope Legacy Survey (CFHTLS). The method will employ modern multivariate analysis techniques to create photometric “indices” which describe in a compact way the entire SED of a galaxy, independent of redshift. Replacing traditional colour-colour diagrams with such indices will enable a powerful combination of the methods of SED-fitting and diagnostic diagrams of star formation and chemical enrichment history. We will, for the first time, be able to identify and extract the information encoded in the full SEDs of galaxies for entire galaxy populations. By applying the new method to the world leading photometric dataset, COSMOS, we will gain unprecedented insight into timely cosmological issues such as the assembly history and chemical enrichment history of galaxies as a function of stellar mass, and the link between galaxy mergers, star formation and black hole activity.

Keywords: physical sciences,astrophysics,galaxy formation and evolution,statistical methods,photometric datasets
Detailed Modelling of Low- and Intermediate-Mass Binary Stars (LIMBS)

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-2007-2-1-IEF, 2007)
Start date: 2008-07-01
End date: 2010-06-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 147989.69
EU funding (EUR): 147989.69
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The study of binary stars is critical to all branches of astronomy. Binary stars allow a precise determination of stellar masses and provide the unique evolutionary path leading to type Ia supernovae, novae, X-ray bursts and possibly even gamma-ray bursts. However, systematic models of the various physical processes involved during the evolution of interacting low- and intermediate-mass wide binaries are lacking and suffer theoretical uncertainties associated with mass transfer, chemical mixing and orbital evolution. This becomes obvious upon examination of state of the art models of chemically peculiar low-mass stars such as the barium stars: the eccentricities and periods of the models are completely at odds with the observations. This project focuses exclusively on low- and intermediate-mass stars in wide orbits for which few investigations have been made. I plan to address some of the above issues by converting the STAREVOL single-star evolution code of the Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics (IAA-ULB, Brussels) into a binary-star code by incorporating the latest physical prescriptions for orbital evolution, mass transfer and chemical mixing due to tides and thermohaline mixing. The evolution of the two stars will be followed simultaneously and updates will be made to the nuclear network to follow quantitatively the slow neutron capture process in binary systems. My models will then be confronted with observed s-rich stars such as the barium and CH stars. This self-consistent approach will provide a better understanding of the physical processes affecting the orbital and chemical properties of low- and intermediate-mass wide binary stars. The developments made for this project will open new areas of research to me, including possible future investigations of the progenitors of type Ia supernovae or gamma-ray bursts, studies of nuclear astrophysics and the connection between pulsation and mass transfer.

Keywords: astrophysics,binary stars,nucleosynthesis,stellar evolution,stellar hydrodynamics
Contamination of food with biological agents: An integrated risk analysis and risk communication approach (FOOD CONTAMINATION)

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,Netherlands
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2007-4-1-IOF, 2007)
Start date: 2009-02-09
End date: 2012-10-03
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 225416.08
EU funding (EUR): 225416.08
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

In spite of efforts to improve safety throughout the food chain, globalization of the food trade presents new challenges to assure food safety. Any contamination that occurs in one country may have severe consequences on both health and trade in other countries. Moreover, the events of September 11, 2001 and the subsequent anthrax incidents gave rise to concerns about food terrorism. The destructive impact of food contamination, intentional or unintentional, could easily affect an enormous amount of people and could result in high costs for the world’s economy. Besides its effects on health and economy, deliberate or accidental food contamination may have social implications such as social and political instability. Contamination of food from biological agents is a focus of concern across various disciplines within the risk analysis field. Natural scientists are mainly concerned about risk assessment, whereas social scientists are focused on risk perception and risk communication. The integration between these two disciplines is quite limited, whereas effective campaigns would require collaboration between natural and social sciences, the former to ensure that the advice is technically sound, the latter to ensure that is accepted and executed (Fischer et al., 2005). Fischhoff et al. (2006) have pursued such an integrated strategy in many other domains, using risk analysis models to focus and coordinate the relevant behavioral and natural sciences. The proposed project would strengthen the behavioral realism of this integrated approach and apply it to the possibility of deliberate or accidental food contamination with a biological agent. Specifically, the expertise of natural and social science experts will be combined and used to communicate with European consumers about the nature of these risks and the things that they can do to control them.

Keywords: food contamination,risk analysis,risk communication
modelling of integrated water systems under uncertainty for aquatic environment rehabilitation in rapidly urbanised catchments (AMWRUC)

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: United Kingdom,United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2007-4-2-IIF, 2007)
Start date: 2008-10-01
End date: 2010-09-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 243268.29
EU funding (EUR): 243268.29
Participants: 2
Project status: CLOSED

Many catchments in developing countries are undergoing rapid urbanization, in which water systems become a fusion of natural water bodies, rivers, and man-made water networks. It has also been widely recognized that rehabilitation of the aquatic environment is essential in maintaining the system's ecological and hydrological balance, especially under rapid urbanisation. There have been a number of EU projects, e.g. NeWater and AquaStress, on adaptive and integrated modelling of catchments, but very few have investigated adaptive measures necessary for rapidly developing countries. Modeling of these water systems poses a significant challenge and requires a change in thought paradigm in order to deal with rapid spatial-temporal changes in the physical elements and the associated catchment responses. Two case studies from Southern China, Maozhou river catchment and Shenzhen river catchment, would be carried out to demonstrate the reliability and effectiveness of the approach. The two catchments are both located in rapidly urbanised area of China but have different urbanisation level. Aquatic environments in the two catchments have been severely damaged due to tempestuous disturbances of human activities. The adaptive modelling approach would be applied to support decision making for aquatic environment rehabilitation in the catchments. The objective of the project is to develop a novel framework of adaptive approach to model the integrated water systems, which is subjected to rapid changes over a relatively short period of time, effectively. It is envisaged that within the proposal framework, various simulation models, optimisation techniques and uncertainty analysis methods are integrated on a common platform to build up the fully integrated model of water system. This adaptive framework would allow decision makers to investigate the feasibility of different catchment rehabilitation measures within a common platform for better comparison and sound judgments.

Keywords: adaptive management,integrated catchment management,water system,integrated modelling,optimisation,uncertainty,aquatic environment,rehabilitation,urbanised catchment
Modern Methods of Operator Algebras for Time-Frequency Analysis (MOTIF)

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: Austria
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2007-4-1-IOF, 2007)
Start date: 2009-01-01
End date: 2011-12-31
Duration (months): 36.0
Total project cost (EUR): 225624.75
EU funding (EUR): 225624.75
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

The project is on the interface between time-frequency analysis and operator algebras. In the last decade the relevance of operator algebras in time-frequency analysis and Gabor analysis has evolved mainly due to the contributions of Groechenig, Janssen and their collaborators. The operator algebras that have appeared in these works are twisted group C*-algebras or more generally crossed products. In the present project the proposer wants to explore the deeper structure of crossed products to gain some new insight about time-varying filters and Gabor frames. The methods involved in these investigations are modern methods from operator algebras such as groups of automorphisms, projective modules over twisted group C*-algebras and the K-theory of operator algebras. The proposer will invoke deep results of Arveson, Connes, Elliott, Evans, Haagerup, Pimsner, Rieffel and Voiculescu obtained in the study of noncommutative tori and irrational rotation algebras. Another aspect of the proposal deals with varying the lattice of a Gabor frame and the approximation of a continuous Gabor frame by finite-dimensional Gabor frames. The work of Rieffel on strict deformation quantization, continuous fields of C*-algebras and the notion of quantum Gromov-Hausdorff distance will provide the correct operator algebraic setting for these topics. Coming from NuHAG and EUCETIFA the candidate is at one of the sources of research in time-frequency analysis. The choice of the outgoing host institution UC Berkeley is dictated by the concentration of operator analysts there. In particular the established scientific contacts to Rieffel will be very valuable. After the return to Europe the insight obtained will be further developed in cooperation with the researchers there, and the consequences for applications (for the study of time-variant systems etc.) will be exploited.

Keywords: gabor frames,modulation spaces,noncommutative tori,irrational rotation algebras,crossed products,continuous fields of c*-algebras,projective modules over twisted group c*-algebras
Characterization of biomarkers in breath of lung and breast cancer patients (BREATH)

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: Italy
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2007-2-1-IEF, 2007)
Start date: 2008-05-01
End date: 2010-04-30
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 170902.35
EU funding (EUR): 170902.35
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Recent studies have noted that dogs are able to identify with high confidence the presence of cancerous tissues in patients at an early stage based on sniffing a breath sample. Because exhaled breath provides non-invasively a continuous window to the biochemical activity within a person, its analysis for medical diagnosis has produced a substantial literature. However, its diagnostic reliability is still incomparable to that of dogs. In fact, breath analysis has not been introduced into common clinical practice yet mainly due to the lack of correlation with high confidence between the presence of certain biomarkers and the illness. Recently, we have shown that widely used commercial atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometers (API-MS) can sense breath vapors with molecular masses approaching 450 Da with high signal/background. These findings are in striking contrast with prior breath analysis literature (GC-MS and PTR-MS), involving molecular masses below 290 Da. Our data suggests that dogs have the sensitivity needed to detect such heavy breath vapors, which must be key elements in their cancer recognition process. Urea is one important low volatility biomarker which has not been observed in previous GC-MS and PTR-MS studies, but which we can measure in breath and have been positively identified. In our approach, the subject’s breath is exposed to an electrospray of acidified water, where protonation of polar species takes place near the inlet of an API-MS. The same approach has been successfully used to detect acids (i.e. lactic and pyruvic acids), operating in negative mode. Besides its sensitivity, one main advantage of this approach is that it is on-line and requires no breath sample collection. The main goal of this project is to determine potential biomarkers in breath of breast and lung cancer patients. To do so, we will carry out a systematic survey comparing the breath of healthy subjects and cancer patients.

Keywords: health sciences,breath analysis,volatiles,biomarkers,cancer.
A new strategy for the diversity-oriented synthesis of skeletally diverse alkaloid-like compounds for chemical genetic studies (MULTISCAFFOLD)

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: United Kingdom
Call:  (FP7-PEOPLE-2007-4-2-IIF, 2007)
Start date: 2008-11-17
End date: 2010-11-16
Duration (months): 24.0
Total project cost (EUR): 169957.94
EU funding (EUR): 169957.94
Participants: 1
Project status: CLOSED

Chemical Genetics research programmes require libraries of small molecules which span large tracts of biologically-relevant chemical space. Natural products necessarily reside in such chemical space, since they bind both biosynthetic enzymes and target macromolecules. However, natural product partners are not available for most protein targets. Chemical Genetics has spawned diversity-oriented synthesis (DOS), in which libraries of diverse molecules are assembled in up to ca. five steps. The systematic variation of ligand scaffold is particularly challenging, though, despite recent advances in DOS, the diversity of chemical libraries has not yet approached that of natural products because the ligand scaffolds are insufficiently varied. This proposal will focus on the development of new methodology for the synthesis of skeletally diverse alkaloid-like compounds. A multicomponent reaction will be used to define an initial scaffold. A suite of 'scaffold switching' transformations will be developed to allow the initial scaffolds to be transformed into final scaffolds. The methods will be applied to the synthesis of at least 100 alkaloid-like compounds based on at least 10 distinct scaffolds. The library of compounds will be made available, using robotics at Leeds, to European cell biologists for screening in cell- and protein-based assays. The diversity and natural product-like nature means that it is likely to span large tracts of biologically relevant chemical space.

Keywords: organic chemistry,chemical biology,chemical genetics,diversity-oriented synthesis