AI, Neuroscience and Aging

The booklet collects the contribution of the bilateral workshop on Artificial Intelligence applied to neurosciences: applications of new technologies in Italy and Sweden Co-organized by the Scientific Office of the Embassy of Italy, the Karolinksa Institute and the University of Gothenburg, the ”AI, Neuroscience and Aging Symposium” was held in Stockholm on 27 and 28 November 2023. The aim of this symposium was to bring together Swedish and Italian researchers engaged in neuroscience research, encouraging a dynamic exchange of pioneering ideas thanks to new technologies based on the use of artificial intelligence and to promote interdisciplinary bilateral collaboration. The objective was to explore new opportunities to leverage artificial intelligence to deepen our understanding of neural mechanisms, while trying to explore new applications in cognitive functions and healthcare. The event provided an opportunity to create a lasting partnership and identify possibilities for competitive joint research initiatives to improve the understanding of intelligence, both human and artificial. The work of this bilateral meeting was coordinated by Augusto Marcelli, scientific attaché in Stockholm, JoanaB. Pereira, associate professor of the Karolinska Institute, and Giovanni Volpe, professor at the University of Gothenburg. The public event hosted at the Karolinska Institute.was attended by 200 researchers and students. There were contributions from Swedish and Italian Universities as well as two swedish companies: Sectra and Mabel AI

Genetic Stratigraphy of Key Demographic Events in Arabia

The issue of admixture in human populations is normally addressed by genome-wide (GW) studies, and several approaches have been developed to date admixture events [1,2,3,4,5]. Admixed populations bear chromosomes with segments of DNA from all contributing source groups, the size of which decreases over successive generations until recombination renders them undetectably short. Several algorithms attempt to date admixture events by inferring the size of the nuclear ancestry segments, and these can work well when dating recent episodes in human history, such as the sub-Saharan African input into the New World [6], but they fail to detect several known episodes that took place at earlier times, such as the African input into Iberia [1] and genetic exchanges across the Red Sea [7]. Simulations with the suite of methods available at the ADMIXTOOLS package indicated that these methods could detect admixture events as early as 500 generation ago, but real data did not allow the tracing of such old events [8]. A recent improved algorithm, called GLOBETROTTER, has been used to tackle the detection of the co-occurrence of several mixture events by decomposing each chromosome into a series of haplotypic chunks and then analysing each chunk independently [3], but the problem of detecting ancient events remains. Its application to the systematic screening of worldwide admixture events was able to reveal around 100 events, but all occurring over only the past 4,000 years [3

Chemical composition of barks from Quercus faginea trees and characterization of their lipophilic and polar extracts

The bark from Quercus faginea mature trees from two sites was chemically characterized for the first time. The barks showed the following composition: ash 14.6%, total extractives 13.2%, suberin 2.9% and lignin 28.2%. The polysaccharides were composed mainly of glucose and xylose (50.3% and 35.1% of all monosaccharides respectively) with 4.8% of uronic acids. The suberin composition was: ω-hydroxyacids 46.3% of total compounds, ɑ,ω-alkanoic diacids 22.3%, alkanoic acids 5.9%, alkanols 6.7% and aromatics 6.9% (ferulic acid 4.0%). Polar extracts (ethanol-water) had a high phenolic content of 630.3 mg of gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g of extract, condensed tannins 220.7 mg of catechin equivalents (CE)/g extract, and flavonoids 207.7 mg CE/g of extract. The antioxidant activity was very high corresponding to 1567 mg Trolox equivalents/g of extract, and an IC50 of 2.63 μg extract/ml. The lipophilic extracts were constituted mainly by glycerol and its derivatives (12.3% of all compounds), alkanoic acids (27.8%), sterols (11.5%) and triterpenes (17.8%). In view of an integrated valorization, Quercus faginea barks are interesting sources of polar compounds including phenols and polyphenols with possible interesting bioactivities, while the sterols and triterpenes contained in the lipophilic extracts are also valuable bioactive compounds or chemical intermediates for specific high-value market niches, such as cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and biomedicineinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The trans-Saharan slave trade - clues from interpolation analyses and high-resolution characterization of mitochondrial DNA lineages

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A proportion of 1/4 to 1/2 of North African female pool is made of typical sub-Saharan lineages, in higher frequencies as geographic proximity to sub-Saharan Africa increases. The Sahara was a strong geographical barrier against gene flow, at least since 5,000 years ago, when desertification affected a larger region, but the Arab trans-Saharan slave trade could have facilitate enormously this migration of lineages. Till now, the genetic consequences of these forced trans-Saharan movements of people have not been ascertained.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The distribution of the main L haplogroups in North Africa clearly reflects the known trans-Saharan slave routes: West is dominated by L1b, L2b, L2c, L2d, L3b and L3d; the Center by L3e and some L3f and L3w; the East by L0a, L3h, L3i, L3x and, in common with the Center, L3f and L3w; while, L2a is almost everywhere. Ages for the haplogroups observed in both sides of the Saharan desert testify the recent origin (holocenic) of these haplogroups in sub-Saharan Africa, claiming a recent introduction in North Africa, further strengthened by the no detection of local expansions.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The interpolation analyses and complete sequencing of present mtDNA sub-Saharan lineages observed in North Africa support the genetic impact of recent trans-Saharan migrations, namely the slave trade initiated by the Arab conquest of North Africa in the seventh century. Sub-Saharan people did not leave traces in the North African maternal gene pool for the time of its settlement, some 40,000 years ago.</p

Imidazole processing of wheat straw and eucalyptus residues: comparison of pre-treatment conditions and their influence on enzymatic hydrolysis

ABSTRACT: Biomass pre-treatment is a key step in achieving the economic competitiveness of biomass conversion. In the present work, an imidazole pre-treatment process was performed and evaluated using wheat straw and eucalyptus residues as model feedstocks for agriculture and forest-origin biomasses, respectively. Results showed that imidazole is an efficient pre-treatment agent; however, better results were obtained for wheat straw due to the recalcitrant behavior of eucalyptus residues. The temperature had a stronger effect than time on wheat straw pre-treatment but at 160 degrees C and 4 h, similar results were obtained for cellulose and hemicellulose content from both biomasses (ca. 54% and 24%, respectively). Lignin content in the pre-treated solid was higher for eucalyptus residues (16% vs. 4%), as expected. Enzymatic hydrolysis, applied to both biomasses after different pre-treatments, revealed that results improved with increasing temperature/time for wheat straw. However, these conditions had no influence on the results for eucalyptus residues, with very low glucan to glucose enzymatic hydrolysis yield (93% for wheat straw vs. 40% for eucalyptus residues). Imidazole can therefore be considered as a suitable solvent for herbaceous biomass pre-treatment.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Engineering yeast tolerance to inhibitory lignocellulosic biomass

In recent years the necessity for biotechnological manufacturing based on lignocellulosic feedstocks has become evident. However, the pre-treatment step in the production of lignocellulosic bioethanol leads to the accumulation of inhibitory byproducts. Robust second generation bioethanol processes require microorganisms able to ferment these inhibitory lignocellulosic hydrolysates. Significant progress has been made in the understanding of the determinants of yeast tolerance to lignocellulose biomass-derived inhibitors, however further knowledge at the genetic level is of essential importance for the improvement of lignocellulose conversion technology. Based on genome-wide results previously obtained [1], two key genes, PRS3 and RPB4, were found to contribute to the maintenance of cell viability in wheat straw hydrolysate and to the maximal fermentation rate of this substrate. Here we describe the outcome, in bioethanol productivity, of fermentations in Eucalyptus globulus wood hydrolysate, using recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae BY4741 overexpressing these genes. Furthermore, we studied their expression in an industrial strain isolated from a Brazilian bioethanol production plant, which was previously demonstrated to have very robust characteristics with outstanding fermentation performances [2]. This expression evaluation was performed during a fermentation mimicking industrial conditions, under the absence and presence of inhibitory compounds, and provides insights into the roles of PRS3 and RPB4 in the adaptation to toxic biomass hydrolysates. This study expands our understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms involved in yeast response to the multiple stresses occurring during lignocellulose fermentations under industrially relevant conditions. [1] Pereira FB et al. Identification of candidate genes for yeast engineering to improve bioethanol production in very high gravity and lignocellulosic biomass industrial fermentations. Biotechnol Biofuels 2011. 4(1):57. [2] Pereira FB et al. Robust industrial Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains for very high gravity bio-ethanol fermentations. J Biosci Bioeng 2011. 112(2):130-6.Project GlycoCBMs FCT PTDC/AGR-FOR/3090/2012 – FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027948, project AshByofactory PTDC/EBB-EBI/101985/2008 – FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-009701, grant SFRH/BDE/33752/2009 to D Mendes and grant SFRH/BD/64776/2009 to FB Pereira

Isolation, identification and biotechnological applications of a novel, robust, free-living Chlorococcum (Oophila) amblystomatis strain isolated from a local pond

Bioprospection of novel autochthonous strains is key to the successful industrial-scale production of microalgal biomass. A novel Chlorococcum strain was recently isolated from a pond inside the industrial production facility of Allmicroalgae (Leiria, Portugal). Phylogenetic analysis based on 18S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) gene sequences suggests that this isolate is a novel, free-living Oophila amblystomatis strain. However, as our phylogenetic data strongly suggests that the aforementioned taxon belongs to the genus Chlorococcum, it is here proposed to rename this species as Chlorococcum amblystomatis. In order to characterize the biotechnological potential of this novel isolate, growth performance and biochemical composition were evaluated from the pilot (2.5-m3) to industrial (10-m3) scale. The highest maximum areal productivity (36.56 g m2 day1) was reached in a 10-m3 tubular photobioreactor (PBR), as compared to that obtained in a 2.5-m3 PBR (26.75 g m2 day1). Chlorococcum amblystomatis displayed high protein content (48%–56% dry weight (DW)) and moderate levels of total lipids (18%–31% DW), carbohydrates (6%–18% DW) and ashes (9%–16% DW). Furthermore, the lipid profile was dominated by polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). The highest pigment contents were obtained in the 2.5-m3 PBR, where total chlorophylls accounted for 40.24 mg g1 DW, followed by lutein with 5.37 mg g1 DW. Overall, this free-living Chlorococcum amblystomatis strain shows great potential for nutritional applications, coupling a promising growth performance with a high protein content as well as relevant amounts of PUFAs, chlorophyll, and carotenoids.FCT: UIDB/04326/2020, UIDB/04292/2020. Projects EMBRC.PT ALG-01-0145-FEDER-022121 and BIODATA.PT ALG-01-0145-FEDER-02223.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Sulfonic Acid-Functionalized (Bio)Materials as Catalysts for Efficient Amide Bond Synthesis

Funding Information: The authors thank Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FC&T) for project PTDC/BII‐BIO/30884/2017 and EXPL/BII‐BIO/0436/2021 and also for the researcher contract 2021.03255.CEECIND (M.C.C) and 2020.01614.CEECIND/CP1596/CT0007 (A.F.P.). Authors also thank the support by the Associate Laboratory for Green Chemistry – LAQV, which is financed by national funds from FCT/MCTES (UIDB/50006/2020 and UIDP/50006/2020) and i3 N (LA/P/0037/2020, UIDP/50025/2020 and UIDB/50025/2020 . The National NMR Facility is supported by FC&T (ROTEIRO/0031/2013 – PINFRA/22161/2016, co‐financed by FEDER through COMPETE 2020, POCI, and PORL and FC&T through PIDDAC) and CERMAX through project 022162. We thank Prof. Dr. Carlos A. M. Afonso from the Faculty of Pharmacy, ULisboa for the scientific discussions on the experiments carried out with furfuryl alcohol derivatives. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors. ChemCatChem published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.Sulfonic acid carbon-(bio)based and natural clays-based catalysts were prepared and investigated for the first time as heterogeneous catalysts for amide bond synthesis by a Ritter reaction. The different SO3H-catalysts were screened using benzyl alcohol and acetonitrile as model substrates, and MWCNT-CSP revealed to be an efficient catalyst, affording the amide in 75 % yield. The practical utility of the catalysts was demonstrated by a diverse range of amides, obtained from alcohols and nitriles, in moderate to good yields. Biomass derived platform alcohols, such as 5-HMF and furfuryl alcohol, were also tested as potential building blocks for the synthesis of biopolymers. The SO3H-catalysts revealed to be a highly efficient and environmentally friendly alternative to the conventional acid catalysts commonly used in the Ritter reaction.publishersversionpublishe

Utilização de dispositivos de onda acústica superficial (SAW) na indústria transportadora

Os dispositivos de onda acústica superficial ou surface acoustic wave devices (SAW) têm uma aplicação generalizada na substituição de filtros convencionais nos circuitos elétricos há várias décadas. A sua aplicação como sensores é relativamente mais recente. Com efeito, mediante a utilização destes dispositivos, tudo o que afete a velocidade de propagação das ondas acústicas num sólido é suscetível de ser convertido num sinal elétrico, pelo que têm sido desenvolvidos sensores de onda acústica superficial, por exemplo, de temperatura, pressão, binário, aceleração, densidade mássica, humidade e muitas outras grandezas. Estes dispositivos podem também ser utilizados como sensores sem fios (transponders SAW) desde que a fonte de sinal que lhes é aplicada (e a deteção de um sinal de resposta) seja feita em radiofrequência (RF), mediante a utilização de uma antena adequada. Com efeito, podem ser interrogados por um sinal de RF ao qual o dispositivo responderá, se tiver um refletor adequado, com outro sinal de RF com um tempo de atraso ou frequência relacionados com a grandeza a detetar. Como é evidente, esta tecnologia envolve a utilização de uma unidade eletrónica de interrogação, exterior ao sensor propriamente dito. Como facilmente se depreende, esta tecnologia permite a medição de grandezas físicas em lugares dificilmente acessíveis, em peças em movimento, ou ainda em ambientes agressivos ou tóxicos, pelo que abre inúmeras possibilidadespara a indústria dos transportes. Com uma utilização inteligente de refletores, os SAW podem também ser utilizados como identificadores passivos, substituindo com vantagem dispositivos equivalentes que dependem de uma fonte de energia. Os SAW possuem neste momento algumas limitações, nomeadamente quanto à exatidão (1 %, no melhor dos casos) e ao alcance da comunicação por RF (3 a 4 metros, quando muito) que são de certo modo compensadas pelas caraterísticas únicas que acabamos de descrever. Para dar apenas três exemplos, a pressão no interior dos pneus dos automóveis é hoje rotineiramente medida (e transmitida para o painel dos instrumentos) utilizando SAW. Nos caminhos-de-ferro, os dispositivos SAW têm sido utilizados, por exemplo, na medição da temperatura dos freios e na identificação de carruagens. Neste artigo, descrevem-se possíveis aplicações desta tecnologia, entre as quais uma, desenvolvida pelos autores, para medição de binário em caixas de velocidadesClean Sky RTMGear 641593publishe

Actin stress fiber organization promotes cell stiffening and proliferation of pre-invasive breast cancer cells

This deposit is composed by the main article and supplementary files of the publication.Studies of the role of actin in tumour progression have highlighted its key contribution in cell softening associated with cell invasion. Here, using a human breast cell line with conditional Src induction, we demonstrate that cells undergo a stiffening state prior to acquiring malignant features. This state is characterized by the transient accumulation of stress fibres and upregulation of Ena/VASP-like (EVL). EVL, in turn, organizes stress fibres leading to transient cell stiffening, ERK-dependent cell proliferation, as well as enhancement of Src activation and progression towards a fully transformed state. Accordingly, EVL accumulates predominantly in premalignant breast lesions and is required for Src-induced epithelial overgrowth in Drosophila. While cell softening allows for cancer cell invasion, our work reveals that stress fibre-mediated cell stiffening could drive tumour growth during premalignant stages. A careful consideration of the mechanical properties of tumour cells could therefore offer new avenues of exploration when designing cancer-targeting therapies.Bloomington Drosophila Stock Centre; Vienna Drosophila Research Center (VDRC); Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank (DSHB); Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) grant: (IF/01031/2012); Laço Grant in breast cancer 2015; Alexander von Humboldt Foundation grant: (Alexander von Humboldt Professorship); Liga Portuguesa contra o Cancro/Pfizer.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio