It is well known, that an adequate fertility rates has important outcomes in different species of mammals (including human). However, despite the efforts to maintain outstanding reproductive performance, the reproductive failures are still considerable. This reproductive failure is related to a failure in maternal-embryo communication. In this sense, nutritional factor is one of the most important issues involved in the reproductive efficiency. Some studies have indicated that the use of polyunsatures fatty acids (PUFAS) like omega-3 have a positve effects on human and animal health. Nowadays, the effects of diets rich in PUFAS omega-3 (PUFASn-3) on reproductive physiology have been studied assensing the follicular function, ovulation rate and oocyte quality. In addition, there is scarce information about of the mechanism and/or effectiveness of PUFASn-3 during peri-implantational period in mammals. However the outcomes obtained have been controversiel and non-conclusive, justifying the necesity to perform futher studies. Thus, the combined use of morphologic studies, hormonal assays, genomics and proteomics procedures and embryo recover/transfer technologies could be suitable methodologies to evaluate the effects of PUFASn-3 during peri-implantational period. Also, these tools could evaluate the maternal/endometrial signal (e.g: receptors expression) and gene embryonic expressions during this period. In consequence, these studies could assess the effectiveness of PUFASn-3 on maternal and/or embryo’s level. The results obtained, will contribute to enhance the productivity in animal production system. Furthermore, the use of ovine species has been a classical experimental model in human medical studies. Thus, the awarness obtained in this proposal would contribute to increase the fertility rate in women with reproductive failure during this periodreinforcing the inter/multidisciplinary dimension of this proposal (impacting in life science and agricultural fields).

This interdisciplinary research project aims to study urbanization in China’s non-metropolitan and non-industrial ethnic-diverse border regions under post-socialism. Literature on urbanization in China focuses mainly on traditional large metropolitan or industrial cities in the center with Han majority population, and examines either the structural or the subjective features of urban development. The complex dynamics of urbanization and power relations in the new cities in the periphery remain understudied. The project fills this knowledge gap, by exploring how urbanization intersects with tourism growth and in-migration and affects ethnic relations in Jinghong, a fast-growing city in China’s south-western borderlands. In Jinghong, the Han, China’s ethnic majority, have become the city’s drivers of urban and economic development, competing over land, resources and political power with long-term Dai/Tai minority ethnic residents. Unconventionally drawing on methods of Anthropology, Urban Planning, Architecture, Urban Geography, and Sociology, this pioneering project aims at producing a theoretically and empirically innovative analysis that combines structural, socio-economic, and political examination with an investigation of subjective and experiential aspects of urbanization, highlighting conflicts, mindsets, and prejudices in the day-to-day urban interactions between Han majority and ethnic minority citizens and the state. I expect that the development of this project will profoundly impact my career. Thanks to training provided by the Department of Architecture, Design and Urban Planning, at the University of Sassari, Italy’s utmost interdisciplinary institution of Architecture and Urban Planning, I will acquire new skills and build fruitful relations with European institutions and scholars. The training, network and publications of the project’s outcome will allow me to increase my possibilities of obtaining an ERC Grant.

The CARBO-IMmap project involves key players in Europe, US, Qatar and China with the aim to advance the field of carbon nanomaterial development and their exploitation biomedical applications. The long-range goal of Carbo-IMmap is to develop a functional pipeline for the immune-characterization of carbon nanomaterials, for the qualitative and quantitative assessment in vitro and ex vivo of the human immune compatibility and immune activity of newly developed carbon materials. The project aims to: 1) design and synthetize a panel of 5 types of highly stable and water-soluble nanomaterials, characterized by finely tuned properties by controlling their size and composition, and to obtain these nanomaterials in large amounts with nearly identical size and shape and degree of functionalization; 2) achieve a quantitative understanding of the immune activity (stimulation/ anergy/ suppression) of the selected materials upon the 5 subpopulations of the immune blood cells; 3) correlate the physicochemical properties (size and chemical functionalization) of the nanomaterials with their immune properties; 4) establish a consolidated network between leading EU and extra-EU institutes to provide a stimulating international environment for talented young researchers; 5) advance the level of R&D in participant countries and foster technology transfer and dissemination; 6) raise the awareness of the general public on the prospects of carbon nanomaterials in future biomedical applications. Scientists will be formed by "training by research" stays at host labs, leading to an interdisciplinary and international formation. Funding of this program will enable long-term, transformative research collaborations that will contribute to the integration and collaboration of research groups of 4 European Countries (Germany, Italy, France and Spain) and 3 key non-EU Countries: USA, China and Qatar.