The potential of RNA molecules to exert regulatory functions in conjunction with auxiliary proteins has only recently been recognized and has emerged as a major field in molecular biology and biomedical research. In enterobacteria, such molecules constitute an ever-growing class of regulators of stress responses, metabolism and virulence. The majority of the known bacterial trans-encoded small RNAs (sRNAs) negatively regulate their target mRNAs by base pairing. This interaction leads to inhibition of translation and/or degradation of mRNA reducing the protein levels of the target gene. Whilst the first mechanism has ample experimental support, the messenger destabilization process, which is often regarded as a downstream consequence of generating untranslatable messengers, remains controversial in the absence of supporting data. However, a recent study strongly questions this assumption by reporting Salmonella MicC-ompD as the first example of RNase E dependent destabilization of an mRNA without primary effects on translation. After a decade of intensive research, we are beginning to have a full appreciation of the importance and prevalence of sRNAs in numerous and diverse means of gene regulation. Nevertheless, the molecular mechanism underlying sRNA-induced mRNA decay is largely unknown and has yet to be characterized in significant detail. The proposed research will add to our knowledge to explore it by using in vivo and in vitro experimental approaches.

Artistic creativity and use of symbols appear as a fundamental need for the social life. The oldest archaeologically demonstrated symbolic activity is linked to the first anatomically modern man (Homo sapiens sapiens). The scientific objective of our project entitled “The Arts of Prehistory and the Cultural Dynamics of Societies before Writing” is a better understanding of the relations between art and society in different contexts, based on actual cases issued from fieldworks of the participants. These works are dealing with all chronological periods (from Upper Palaeolithic to sub-actual times), all types of arts (from monumental rock art to portable art and ornaments), and various types of societies (nomadic or semi-nomadic hunters-gatherers, sedentary pastoralists and farmers). For the first time, a study will tackle prehistoric art on a very large diachronic and geographic scale, in a cooperative manner, in order to discover specificities in each rock art and to highlight simultaneously their structural similarities. The art of caves and rock shelters during the European Upper Palaeolithic, the Spanish Levantine art, Bronze age art from Mont Bego and Mongolia, rock arts from Sahara, Chad, Namibia, Australia, etc. will provide a large set of unpublished data, sufficiently varied to address essential questions such as the creative act in its context (identification of expertise peculiar to an artist or to a group, painting techniques, “operational sequence”), the place of art in society as “cultural marker” (dynamics of exchange between groups, phenomena of diffusion and borrowing, diachrony) or as “territorial marker” (cultural identity of local groups) and allow us to consider rock art as a structured system of communication, obeying to codes, and to apply automatic procedures of treatment of symbolic data. The relation between image and language and the question of the appearance of figurative art will be addressed with the collaboration of linguists and neuropsychologists.

Le but de ce projet est de construire un nouveau modèle thermodynamique pour le calcul de la distribution de matière dans les aérosols atmosphériques. Nous proposons de mettre en ?uvre les méthodes et concepts développés dans la modélisation des interactions eaux-roches dans les Sciences de la Terre: thermodynamique de l'équilibre des systèmes ouverts (potentiels thermodynamiques généralisés), modèles performants des solutions aqueuses ioniques et prise en compte des composés organiques. L'approche suivie vise à simuler le comportement des aérosols dans l'atmosphère en fonction de paramètres tels que l'humidité relative et le rôle des composés organiques et inorganiques, et à évaluer leurs conséquences sur le comportement chimique et radiatif des aérosols. C'est un projet commun au Laboratoire des Mécanismes de Transfert en Géologie (Christophe Monnin, UMR 5563, Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, Toulouse) et au Laboratoire d'Aérologie (Robert Rosset et Catherine Liousse, UMR 5560, Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, Toulouse).

Owing to their potential applications ranging from catalysis to gas storage, porous coordination polymers (or MOFs, for Metal-Organic Frameworks) have received considerable attention along the last few years. While they constitute a class of promising materials, they show several drawbacks related to their rather small pore sizes (less than 2 nm, microporous regime), mechanical fragility (obtained as crystals) and to the difficulty to structure and/or to shape them for their use in targeted applications. So far, only very few work has dealed with these different aspects. HP-MOFs objective is threefold: i) To elaborate MOF-tubes from inner walls of porous inorganic templates, in order to embed the MOF in a protecting inorganic shell, with improved mecanichal properties compared to crystals, and facilitate their use and handling. ii) To remove the template to recover the corresponding free MOF-tubes; iii) Finally, to evaluate the sorption properties of this new class of porous objects relative to the ones of bulk MOFs. Since both inner and outer MOF-tube walls will contribute to exchanges with external media, these tubes will present improved sorption properties. HP-MOFs will be implemented in three well defined and complementary scientific tasks in agreement with its objectives. After a rapid MOF screening to determine the best candidates, the methodology envisioned to design MOFs with bimodal porosities will be validated demonstrating: first, the possibility to grow highly oriented MOFs films inside the pores of commercial porous alumina templates; and second, that the inorganic template could be removed through chemical treatment without destroying the metal organic framework. Then, highly regular meso-structured alumina membranes will be used in order to access to monodisperse tubular MOFs with control over their length and diameters (external and internal). Finally, benefits of the MOF structuration towards CO2 sorption will be investigated in detail through an accurate comparison of sorption properties between the new structured materials and their parent MOFs (i.e., as-synthesized bulk materials and/or shaped as MOF nanoparticles). HP-MOFs is organized around two young assistant professors belonging to the Laboratoire de Chimie de Coordination du CNRS (LCC-CNRS, Toulouse). Their expertise in molecular chemistry is directed to coordination polymer-based materials. The coordinator has several-year experience in MOF type systems and their processing on surfaces. The research team is completed by a collaboration with S. Brandes (ICMUB, Dijon) who has long experience in sorption investigation of porous solid (including MOFs). An important aspect of the project relies on highly-structured alumina membranes. These membranes will be provided by L. Arurault (CIRIMAT, Toulouse) who is mastering the preparation of anodic aluminum oxide membranes with controlled and adjustable pore sizes.