Publicacions de projectes finançats per la Unió Europea
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Publicacions resultants de les investigacions finançades pel 7è Programa Marc, pel Programa H2020 i l’European Research Council de la Unió Europea, recollides en el Projecte OpenAIRE (Open Access Infraestructure for Research in Europe) que promou l’accés obert a Europa.
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- ItemOpen AccessModeling the effect of daytime duration on the biosynthesis of terpenoid precursors(Frontiers Media, 2024-01-11) Basallo, Oriol; Lucido, Abel; Sorribas Tello, Albert; Marin-Sanguino, Alberto; Vilaprinyo Terré, Ester; Martinez, Emilce; Eleiwa, Abderrahmane; Alves, RuiTerpenoids are valued chemicals in the pharmaceutical, biotechnological, cosmetic, and biomedical industries. Biosynthesis of these chemicals relies on polymerization of Isopentenyl di-phosphate (IPP) and/or dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP) monomers, which plants synthesize using a cytosolic mevalonic acid (MVA) pathway and a plastidic methyleritritol-4-phosphate (MEP) pathway. Circadian regulation affects MVA and MEP pathway activity at three levels: substrate availability, gene expression of pathway enzymes, and utilization of IPP and DMAPP for synthesizing complex terpenoids. There is a gap in understanding the interplay between the circadian rhythm and the dynamics and regulation of the two pathways. In this paper we create a mathematical model of the MVA and MEP pathways in plants that incorporates the effects of circadian rhythms. We then used the model to investigate how annual and latitudinal variations in circadian rhythm affect IPP and DMAPP biosynthesis. We found that, despite significant fluctuations in daylight hours, the amplitude of oscillations in IPP and DMAPP concentrations remains stable, highlighting the robustness of the system. We also examined the impact of removing circadian regulation from different parts of the model on its dynamic behavior. We found that regulation of pathway substrate availability alone results in higher sensitivity to daylight changes, while gene expression regulation alone leads to less robust IPP/DMAPP concentration oscillations. Our results suggest that the combined circadian regulation of substrate availability, gene expression, and product utilization, along with MVA- and MEP-specific regulatory loops, create an optimal operating regime. This regime maintains pathway flux closely coupled to demand and stable across a wide range of daylight hours, balancing the dynamic behavior of the pathways and ensuring robustness in response to cellular demand for IPP/DMAPP.
- ItemOpen AccessEnvironmental impact of an innovative solar-biomass hybrid system for residential applications(Elsevier, 2025) Borri, Emiliano; Charalampidis, Antonios; Palomba, Valeria; Zsembinszki, Gabriel; Frazzica, Andrea; Karellas, Sotirios; Cabeza, Luisa F.SolBio-Rev is an EU Horizon 2020-funded project which aims to develop an innovative hybrid system based on the use of solar and biomass energy to provide heating, cooling, domestic hot water (DHW), and electricity in both residential and non-residential buildings. The system includes novel components such as solar collectors with thermoelectric generators, a high efficiency biomass boiler and a reversible organic Rankine cycle/heatpump. This paper shows the study done to evaluate the environmental impact of this innovative system designed for a residential building located in a continental climate. Data for manufacturing were collected through a detailed questionnaire to collect information related to the materials used. Results of the life-cycle impact assessment (LCIA) showed that the SolBio-Rev system, although is made of complex innovative components, has the highest share of emission during the operational phase being the dry cooler, solar collectors, and the reversible heat pump/ORC the components with the highest impact. The results of this analysis give input for points of future improvement for the SolBio-Rev system, which mainly concerns the increase in efficiency of the ORC/heat pump including cold storage at night and the optimization of control strategies to minimize the energy consumption or maximize the share of renewable that could be beneficial.
- ItemOpen AccessWomen-led social innovation initiatives contribute to gender equality in rural areas: grounded theory on five initiatives from three continents(Sciendo, 2024) Sarkki, Simo; Ludvig, Alice; Fransala, Jasmiini; Melnykovych, Mariana; Živojinović, Ivana; Ravazzoli, Elisa; Bengoumi, Mohammed; Nijnik, Maria; Dalla Torre, Cristina; Górriz Mifsud, Elena; Labidi, Arbia; Sfeir, Patricia; López Marco, Lucía; Valero, Diana; Joyce, Katy; Chorti, Houda; Houda ChortiEnsuring gender equality is an important development challenge, especially in rural areas, where women are often marginalized by economic, socio-cultural and policy structures. Women-Led Social Innovation Initiatives (WLSIIs) are a promising way to address this challenge, but their contributions to gender equality depend on complex interactions between marginalizing structures and agency of women. The objective of this paper is to examine how the relevant elements of agency enable WLSIIs to contribute to progress towards gender equality in rural areas. We examine five WLSIIs located in Canada, Italy, Lebanon, Morocco, and Serbia. The cases focus on employment, education, identity, gender roles, and rural development, and are analyzed by grounded theory. We identified 1) gendered identity, 2) (in)dependence of women, and 3) control of women over the “rules of the game” as structural features that can enable or constrain WLSIIs. These concepts are located between grand societal structures (policy, economy, culture, and social organization) and women’s concrete, everyday realities, and as such helped us to understand factors supporting or hindering women’s agency and well-being. We identified women’s selfconfidence, women-to-women networks, and self-developed and externally supported capacity as the key elements enabling agency. All these together increased social acceptance of the examined WLSIIs, helping to overcome cultural prejudices and gendered stereotypes. For example, women-to-women networks and self-organization increased economic independence, which reduced skepticism towards “new” roles of women and even changed unequal political dynamics. We conclude that women’s collective agency can be enabled by WLSIIs in diverse geographical and cultural contexts and should be recognized by policymakers as a key mechanism that has great potential for enhancing gender equality and overcoming structures marginalizing rural women
- ItemOpen AccessSatellite-based mapping of canopy fuels at the pan-European scale(Taylor & Francis, 2024) Kutchartt, Erico; González-Olabarria, José Ramón; Trasobares, Antoni; Aquilué, Núria; Guerra-Hernández, Juan; Nunes, Leónia; Sequeira, Ana Catarina; Botequim, Brigite; Hauglin, Marius; Palaiologou, Palaiologos; Cardil Forradellas, Adrián; Rogai, Martino; Vassilev, Vassil; Pimont, Francois; Martin-Ducup, Olivier; Pirotti, FrancescoCanopy base height (CBH) and canopy bulk density (CBD) are forest canopy fuel parameters that are key for modeling the behavior of crown wildfires. In this work, we map them at a pan-European scale for the year 2020, producing a new dataset consisting of two raster layers containing both variables at an approximate resolution of 100 m. Spatial data from Earth observation missions and derived down-stream products were retrieved and processed using artificial intelligence to first estimate a map of aboveground biomass (AGB). Allometric models were then used to estimate the spatial distribution of CBH using the canopy height values as explanatory variables and CBD using AGB values. Ad-hoc allometric models were defined for this study. Data provided by FIRE-RES project partners and acquired through field inventories was used for validating the final products using an independent dataset of 804 ground-truth sample plots. The CBH and CBD raster maps have, respectively, the following accuracy regarding specific metrics reported from the modeling procedures: (i) coefficient of correlation (R) of 0.445 and 0.330 (p-value < 0.001); (ii) root mean square of error (RMSE) of 3.9 m and 0.099 kg m−3; and (iii) a mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 61% and 76%. Regarding CBD, the accuracy metrics improved in closed canopies (canopy cover > 80%) to R = 0.457, RMSE = 0.085, and MAPE = 59%. In short, we believe that the degree of accuracy is reasonable in the resulting maps, producing CBH and CBD datasets at the pan-European scale to support fire mitigation and crown fire simulations.
- ItemOpen AccessCirculating extracellular vesicles proteomics reveals diverse clinical presentations of COVID-19 but fails identifying viral peptides(Frontiers Media, 2024) Gualdrón-López, Melisa; Ayllon Hermida, Alberto; Cortes Serra, Nuria; Resa Infante, Patricia; Bech Serra, Joan Josep; Aparici Herraiz, Iris; Nicolau Fernández, Marc; Erkizia, Itziar; Gutierrez Chamorro, Lucia; Marfil, Silvia; Pradenas, Edwards; Avila Nieto, Carlos; Cucurull, Bernat; Montaner Tarbes, Sergio Roberto; Fraile Sauce, Lorenzo JoséExtracellular vesicles (EVs) released by virus-infected cells have the potential to encapsulate viral peptides, a characteristic that could facilitate vaccine development. Furthermore, plasma-derived EVs may elucidate pathological changes occurring in distal tissues during viral infections. We hypothesized that molecular characterization of EVs isolated from COVID-19 patients would reveal peptides suitable for vaccine development. Blood samples were collected from three cohorts: severe COVID-19 patients (G1), mild/asymptomatic cases (G2), and SARS-CoV-2-negative healthcare workers (G3). Samples were obtained at two time points: during the initial phase of the pandemic in early 2020 (m0) and eight months later (m8). Clinical data analysis revealed elevated inflammatory markers in G1. Notably, non-vaccinated individuals in G1 exhibited increased levels of neutralizing antibodies at m8, suggesting prolonged exposure to viral antigens. Proteomic profiling of EVs was performed using three distinct methods: immunocapture (targeting CD9), ganglioside-capture (utilizing Siglec-1) and size-exclusion chromatography (SEC). Contrary to our hypothesis, this analysis failed to identify viral peptides. These findings were subsequently validated through Western blot analysis targeting the RBD of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein's and comparative studies using samples from experimentally infected Syrian hamsters. Furthermore, analysis of the EV cargo revealed a diverse molecular profile, including components involved in the regulation of viral replication, systemic inflammation, antigen presentation, and stress responses. These findings underscore the potential significance of EVs in the pathogenesis and progression of COVID-19.