Decisional Processes with Boolean Neural Network: the Emergence of Mental Schemes

Human decisional processes result from the employment of selected quantities of relevant information, generally synthesized from environmental incoming data and stored memories. Their main goal is the production of an appropriate and adaptive response to a cognitive or behavioral task. Different strategies of response production can be adopted, among which haphazard trials, formation of mental schemes and heuristics. In this paper, we propose a model of Boolean neural network that incorporates these strategies by recurring to global optimization strategies during the learning session. The model characterizes as well the passage from an unstructured/chaotic attractor neural network typical of data-driven processes to a faster one, forward-only and representative of schema-driven processes. Moreover, a simplified version of the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) is introduced in order to test the model. Our results match with experimental data and point out some relevant knowledge coming from psychological domain.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure

SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination in Solid-Organ Transplant Recipients

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has posed significant global challenges for solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients. Mortality rates of COVID-19 in this patient population remain high, despite new available therapeutic options and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccination. Priority access to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination for waitlisted candidates and for SOT patients and their family members is recommended since the advantage from vaccination reduces the risk of COVID-19-related complications. However, immunogenicity and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines are lower in waitlisted candidates and SOT recipients than in the general population. Routine systematic assessment of humoral and cellular immune responses after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination is controversial, although highly recommended for investigation and improvement of knowledge. SOT recipients should continue to adhere to preventive protective measures despite vaccination and may undergo passive antibody prophylaxis. This article seeks to provide an update on SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and preventive measures in SOT recipients based on existing literature and international guidelines

Huntingtin gene evolution in Chordata and its peculiar features in the ascidian Ciona genus

BACKGROUND: To gain insight into the evolutionary features of the huntingtin (htt) gene in Chordata, we have sequenced and characterized the full-length htt mRNA in the ascidian Ciona intestinalis, a basal chordate emerging as new invertebrate model organism. Moreover, taking advantage of the availability of genomic and EST sequences, the htt gene structure of a number of chordate species, including the cogeneric ascidian Ciona savignyi, and the vertebrates Xenopus and Gallus was reconstructed. RESULTS: The C. intestinalis htt transcript exhibits some peculiar features, such as spliced leader trans-splicing in the 98 nt-long 5' untranslated region (UTR), an alternative splicing in the coding region, eight alternative polyadenylation sites, and no similarities of both 5' and 3'UTRs compared to homologs of the cogeneric C. savignyi. The predicted protein is 2946 amino acids long, shorter than its vertebrate homologs, and lacks the polyQ and the polyP stretches found in the the N-terminal regions of mammalian homologs. The exon-intron organization of the htt gene is almost identical among vertebrates, and significantly conserved between Ciona and vertebrates, allowing us to hypothesize an ancestral chordate gene consisting of at least 40 coding exons. CONCLUSION: During chordate diversification, events of gain/loss, sliding, phase changes, and expansion of introns occurred in both vertebrate and ascidian lineages predominantly in the 5'-half of the htt gene, where there is also evidence of lineage-specific evolutionary dynamics in vertebrates. On the contrary, the 3'-half of the gene is highly conserved in all chordates at the level of both gene structure and protein sequence. Between the two Ciona species, a fast evolutionary rate and/or an early divergence time is suggested by the absence of significant similarity between UTRs, protein divergence comparable to that observed between mammals and fishes, and different distribution of repetitive elements

Prescriptive conflict prevention analysis:An application to the 2021 update of the Austrian flood risk management plan

Flood events have become more frequent in Europe, and the adaptation to the increasing flood risks is needed. The Flood Directive set up a series of measures to increase European resilience, establishing Flood Risk Management Plans (FRMPs) at the level of the river basin district as one relevant action. In order to efficiently fulfil this objective, the involvement of stakeholders as well as the analysis of their roles, responsibilities, and demands has been considered to be crucial to develop FRMPs. As a result, the hypothesis tested in this paper is that a consensus solution for the 2021 update Austrian Flood Risk Management Plan is feasible. To demonstrate this, both in-depth interviews and questionnaires to key Austrian stakeholders are implemented. The information collected in both participatory techniques are then used to run a conflict prevention analysis. The results show that (a) improving the coordination among regions and including better land-use planning approaches are preferable to a hypothetical business as usual scenario; and (b) a consensus solution for the 2021 update Austrian FRMP might be achievable on the basis of both a deep discussion on the state-of-the art and green infrastructure development

Hepatic microRNA Expression by PGC-1α and PGC-1β in the Mouse.

The fine-tuning of liver metabolism is essential to maintain the whole-body homeostasis and to prevent the onset of diseases. The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivators (PGC-1s) are transcriptional key players of liver metabolism, able to regulate mitochondrial function, gluconeogenesis and lipid metabolism. Their activity is accurately modulated by post-translational modifications. Here, we showed that specific PGC-1s expression can lead to the upregulation of different microRNAs widely implicated in liver physiology and diseases development and progression, thus offering a new layer of complexity in the control of hepatic metabolism

Perceptions on deforestation in the Chaco salteño: An environmental justice perspective

This note analyses the issue of deforestation in the Gran Chaco from an environmental justice perspective. The main purpose of the article is to understand the prevailing perceptions on the issue of deforestation and to assess possible ways forward. For this purpose, first the results of qualitative interviews were analysed through the use of Q method, which allows classifying local perceptions on deforestation in the Chaco Salteño through the use of factor analysis. This resulted in three factors (i.e. perceptions), called “Development”, “Family Agriculture” and “Subsistence”, which were subsequently used to inform future land-use scenarios. Secondly, a social multi-criteria evaluation was deployed to rank these possible land-use scenarios according to sustainability and environmental justice criteria. The results show that the “Subsistence” and “Family Agriculture” scenarios are the most environmentally just as well as the most sustainable. The “Development” scenario, together with the “status quo” scenario, which was added on an ad-hoc basis, are the worst. The article concludes by highlighting the importance of taking justice into account when considering land use issues, especially when indigenous peoples and other marginalized actors are involved

Stat3 promotes mitochondrial transcription and oxidative respiration during maintenance and induction of naive pluripotency.

Transcription factor Stat3 directs self-renewal of pluripotent mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells downstream of the cytokine leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF). Stat3 upregulates pivotal transcription factors in the ES cell gene regulatory network to sustain naïve identity. Stat3 also contributes to the rapid proliferation of ES cells. Here, we show that Stat3 increases the expression of mitochondrial-encoded transcripts and enhances oxidative metabolism. Chromatin immunoprecipitation reveals that Stat3 binds to the mitochondrial genome, consistent with direct transcriptional regulation. An engineered form of Stat3 that localizes predominantly to mitochondria is sufficient to support enhanced proliferation of ES cells, but not to maintain their undifferentiated phenotype. Furthermore, during reprogramming from primed to naïve states of pluripotency, Stat3 similarly upregulates mitochondrial transcripts and facilitates metabolic resetting. These findings suggest that the potent stimulation of naïve pluripotency by LIF/Stat3 is attributable to parallel and synergistic induction of both mitochondrial respiration and nuclear transcription factors.GM’s laboratory is supported by grants from Armenise-Harvard Foundation and Telethon Foundation (TCP13013). The Cambridge Stem Cell Institute receives core funding from the Wellcome Trust and Medical Research Council. GM was supported by a Human Frontier Science Program Fellowship. AS is a Medical Research Professor.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Wiley via http://dx.doi.org/10.15252/embj.20159262

Dietary Supplementation with n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Delays the Phenotypic Manifestation of Krabbe Disease and Partially Restores Lipid Mediator Production in the Brain-Study in a Mouse Model of the Disease

Lipid mediators from fatty acid oxidation have been shown to be associated with the severity of Krabbe disease (KD), a disorder linked to mutations in the galactosylceramidase (GALC) gene. This study aims to investigate the effects of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) supplementation on KD traits and fatty acid metabolism using Twitcher (Tw) animals as a natural model for KD. Wild-type (Wt), heterozygous (Ht), and affected Tw animals were treated orally with 36 mg n-3 PUFAs/kg body weight/day from 10 to 35 days of life. The end product of PUFA peroxidation (8-isoprostane), the lipid mediator involved in the resolution of inflammatory exudates (resolvin D1), and the total amount of n-3 PUFAs were analyzed in the brains of mice. In Tw mice, supplementation with n-3 PUFAs delayed the manifestation of disease symptoms (p < 0.0001), and in the bran, decreased 8-isoprostane amounts (p < 0.0001), increased resolvin D1 levels (p < 0.005) and increased quantity of total n-3 PUFAs (p < 0.05). Furthermore, total brain n-3 PUFA levels were associated with disease severity (r = -0.562, p = 0.0001), resolvin D1 (r = 0.712, p < 0.0001), and 8-isoprostane brain levels (r = -0.690, p < 0.0001). For the first time in a natural model of KD, brain levels of n-3 PUFAs are shown to determine disease severity and to be involved in the peroxidation of brain PUFAs as well as in the production of pro-resolving lipid mediators. It is also shown that dietary supplementation with n-3 PUFAs leads to a slowing of the phenotypic presentation of the disease and restoration of lipid mediator production