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Limb wounds in horses are common, however healing is exceedingly slow and fraught with complications. Contrary to body wounds, limb wounds demonstrate only a small amount of wound contraction. The specialist procedure of applying split-thickness skin grafts to limb wounds stimulates wound contraction by unknown mechanisms. The objective of this project is to identify those mechanisms to develop a treatment strategy for equine limb wounds for use in general  practice. Limb wounds are severely impacting animal welfare due to an extended healing/treatment duration, and the risk of euthanasia due to a poor functional outcome. By stimulating wound contraction, healing time will be reduced, and the functional outcome improved, directly benefitting the welfare of wounded horse and reducing treatment cost for the owner. Aim: To identify dermal components stimulating wound contraction, and to develop this knowledge into future state-of-the-art treatment of equine limb wounds for use in general practice. Hypotheses: i) Application of dermal fractions to collagen gels seeded with equine fibroblasts will increase gel contraction in vitro; ii) Application of dermal fractions to experimental limb wounds in vivo, will increase wound contraction resulting in a faster healing time versus wounds treated by conventional methods. Methods: i) The contractile effect of different dermal components will be assessed in a collagen gel/ fibroblast model; ii) Identified dermal components will be tested in a standardized experimental limb wound model in vivo (n=5). Ultimately, results from this project are expected to improve wound treatment in horses, directly impacting animal welfare by reducing healing time and improving the functional outcome of wounded horses. This will also directly benefit horse owners and caretakers and making veterinarians able to offer better treatment solutions.

HESTEFORSK - Raskere og bedre sårheling hos hest med autologe hudkomponenter

The goal of the Bilingual Experiences, Cognitive Ageing and underlying Mechanisms (BECAME) project is to examine the functional neuroplastic mechanisms underlying mitigatory effects of bilingual experience on age-related cognitive decline. While evidence is available for structural brain changes supporting bilingualism-induced effects on cognitive aging (CA), functional mechanisms underlying such effects are not yet well understood. BECAME aims to fill this gap by investigating the trajectory of bilingualism-induced functional neuroplasticity across the adult lifespan (ages 18-85), crucially adopting an individual differences approach related to measurable degree of bilingual engagement. Importantly, although such benefits are thought to be rooted early in the lifespan, evidence for the timeframe and conditions of their early emergence is scarce. The choice of including the whole adult lifespan allows us to investigate these mechanisms and their emergence more directly from a lifespan perspective. I combine behavioral testing with brain recordings via electroencephalography (EEG). EEG is widely used in cognitive neuroscience to assess brain activity and the degree of communication between brain regions (functional connectivity) in response to stimuli and at rest. Combining behavioral and EEG modalities will allow me to test bilingualism’s effect on functional connectivity, as well as its consequences for functional efficiency, the minimum required neural activation to successfully perform a task. This will enable a detailed, evidence-based account of the protective effects observed in older-aged bilinguals, and how they are built from earlier life stages. By illuminating the relationship between multilingualism and resulting neurocognitive adaptations, BECAME will enable to capitalize on it as a health initiative, with manifold societal implications and the potential to be translated into actionable policies exploiting multilingualism to ameliorate effects of CA.

Bilingual Experiences, Cognitive Ageing and underlying Mechanisms

Hovedmålet med kreftbehandling er å eliminere kreftceller og dette er tradisjonelt oppnådd ved kirurgi, bruk av giftige medikamenter (cellegift) og stråling. En ny og betydningsfull tilnærming til kreftbehandling kalt immunterapi, har derimot fått mye oppmerksomhet det siste tiåret; Her forsøker leger og forskere å utnytte immunsystemet vårt for å målrettet  ødelegge kreftceller. En nøkkelaktør i denne banebrytende tilnærmingen er en gruppe «drapsmenn» i immunsystemet kjent som cytotoxiske T-lymfocytter (CTL-er). Disse cellene har en bemerkelsesverdig evne til å oppdage kreftceller ved å gjenkjenne unormale molekyler på overflaten av kreftcellene - molekyler som friske celler ikke har. Når CTL-er gjenkjenner kreftcellene ødelegger de dem ved å frigjøre giftige molekyler som initierer kreftcellenes selvdestruksjon. 
 
Selv om betydelige innsats har blitt dedikert til å forstå hvordan CTL-er aktiveres og hvordan de gjenkjenner kreftceller, vet vi mindre om de påfølgende hendelsene inne i kreftcellene som fører til deres død. Fra før vet vi at CTL-er kan initiere to forskjellige typer celledød i kreft: den første, kalt apoptose, er en stille og ordnet prosess der kreftcellene krymper og brytes opp uten å varsle immunsystemet; den andre, kalt pyroptose, er en mer dramatisk prosess som involverer dannelse av åpninger i cellemembranen, noe som fører til at cellene svulmer opp og sprekker. Under denne cellebristen blir innholdet inne i cellene frigitt i omgivelsene, og dette kan fungere som 'faretegn' som kan stimulere en sterkere immunrespons mot kreftcellene. Betydningen av denne cellebristen for å forsterke anti-tumorresponsene vil bli undersøkt i dette prosjektet. 
 
Videre er vi fascinert av muligheten for å avdekke ytterligere, ennå ukjente, former for celledød indusert av CTL-er. Utforsking av disse dødsrelaterte prosessene i kreftcellene kan potensielt øke effektiviteten av immunterapi og bidra betydelig i den pågående kampen mot kreft.

The primary goal of most cancer therapies is to induce cancer cell death. Immunotherapy relies on the cytotoxic activity of lymphocytes such as natural killer cells (NKs) and cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) to achieve this. While a significant amount of research in immunotherapy focuses on the events within cytotoxic lymphocytes or at the interface between cytotoxic lymphocytes and cancer cells, less is known about the molecular mechanisms that orchestrate cancer cell death, particularly in the case of CTL-mediated death.
CTLs are known to induce two types of cell death in cancer: non-inflammatory apoptosis and proinflammatory pyroptosis. Pyroptotic cancer cells release proinflammatory signals that attract immune cells to the tumor site, thereby enhancing the anti-tumor response. Cell lysis is a common outcome of pyroptotic cell death. It is unclear whether lysis can be decoupled from pyroptosis in cancer cells and whether the proinflammatory properties of pyroptotic cancer cell death depend on lysis. Moreover, it remains unknown whether CTLs can induce other forms of cell death in cancer, apart from apoptosis and pyroptosis.
Studying the mechanisms of CTL-mediated cancer cell death is challenging because CTLs selectively target cells expressing specific antigens. However, given the critical role of CTLs in immunotherapy, it is essential to deepen our understanding of CTL-induced cancer cell death.
This project aims to develop novel methodologies to investigate the death mechanisms that are initiated by CTLs. In addition, we will identify new pathways and mediators involved in CTL-induced cancer cell death. Furthermore, we will assess the contribution of proinflammatory cell death and lysis in promoting anti-tumor responses in vivo. Overall, this research will improve our knowledge of the molecular mechanisms of CTL-mediated cancer cell death and potentially reveal novel targets to enhance the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy.

T-cell-mediated proinflammatory cell death and lysis in cancer

En av de vanligste, men minst studerte, utfordringene med å bli eldre er problemer med å kommunisere. Mange eldre sliter spesielt med pragmatiske ferdigheter, som å forstå undertekst, eller tilpasse det de sier til personen de snakker med. 

La oss si at en lege må gi en alvorlig beskjed til en pasient. For å gjøre det litt lettere å takle, bruker legen vagere språk, som "kanskje" i stedet for "sannsynligvis". Mens yngre voksne ofte tar hensyn til høflighetsstrategier i måten de tolker det som blir sagt på, har eldre ofte vanskelig for å forstå når noen snakker indirekte. Mange eldre voksne har vanskelig for å forstå ikke-bokstavelig språk og kan misforstå alvorlighetsgraden av diagnosen. Dette kan påvirke beslutningen deres om behandling, noe som kan føre til utilsiktede konsekvenser. 

Siden god kommunikasjon er viktig både i viktige medisinske samtaler og i hverdagen, er det viktig at vi finner ut hva som gjør at eldre kan ha vansker med å forstå og bli forstått. RESILIENCE skal hjelpe til med denne utfordringen ved å samle data om praktiske, kognitive og språklige ferdigheter hos voksne i alderen 18-90 år over tid. Dette vil gi oss en stor mengde data om pragmatiske, kognitive og språk ferdigheter og gjøre det tilgjengelig for forskning. Med denne dataen som grunnlag har vi følgende mål: 

• Forstå hvordan praktiske evner endrer seg generelt gjennom voksenlivet. 
• Finne ut hvilke mekanismer som påvirker pragmatiske evner på forskjellige tidspunkter i livet.
 • Utvikle en teoretisk modell som forklarer hvordan pragmatiske ferdigheter endrer seg med alderen.
 • Lage algoritmer som kan forutsi hvordan pragmatiske evner vil utvikle seg for enkeltpersoner i årene som kommer. 
• Utvikle og teste et verktøy som kan måle pragmatisk helse (både pragmatiske ferdigheter og deres underliggende mekanismer), noe som kan åpne  for å iverksette tiltak. 

Dette vil gi oss muligheten til å forstå bedre hvordan folk kan utvikle pragmatisk resiliens gjennom livsløpet.

A cornerstone of human communication is our reliance on pragmatic skills to guide linguistic interactions (e.g., reasoning about others' mental states to bridge the gap between what is said and intended in conversation). However these skills are highly sensitive to age-related decline, leading to miscommunication and uninformed decision making in the older adult population. This raises an important question, one which has puzzled linguistics and psychologists for decades: if pragmatic competence is fundamental to communication, why do individuals vary so much in this capacity? 

Traditionally, psychologists have approached pragmatic competence from a cognitive angle, reasoning that individual differences in executive functions (i.e., the cognitive skills associated with goal-directed actions) are what underlie effective pragmatic behavior. In a similar vein, language scientists have taken a linguistic approach, reasoning that one’s language background (e.g., the frequency with which individuals shift between languages) shapes pragmatic skills by enhancing sensitivity to the communicative context. This focus on either cognitive or linguistic influences has resulted in two expansive yet disparate areas of research.

RESILIENCE will unite these disciplines to pursue a longstanding debate on what underlies pragmatic resilience and decline using a large-scale, interdisciplinary and longitudinal approach. By gathering data on adults' (ages 18-90) pragmatic, cognitive and language skills over multiple time points, we will develop a comprehensive theoretical model that explains how cognitive and linguistic systems interact to shape pragmatic competence as we age, and create algorithms that predict the trajectory of an individual’s pragmatic abilities in upcoming years. Based on these results we will design a multidimensional tool that detects the earliest signs of pragmatic deficits, leading to future interventions, allowing us to uncover the paths to pragmatic resilience.

Uncovering the paths to pragmatic resilience

Sink er et essensielt mikronæringsstoff som kreves for funksjonen til hundrevis av proteiner involvert i et bredt spekter av biologiske prosesser. Etter inntak av sink fra kosten reguleres nivåene i kroppen nøye gjennom absorpsjon, sekresjon og ekskresjon via spesialiserte proteiner, såkalte sinktransportører, i tarmen. Enhver ubalanse er skadelig for menneskers helse, spesielt er tarmen følsom for sinkfluktuasjoner, hvilket påvirker tarmbarrieren og kan føre til inflammatoriske sykdommer og kreft i tarmen. 
På molekylært nivå er de presise mekanismene som styrer funksjonen til de ulike sinktransportørene fortsatt uklare. Hos mennesker finnes det over tjue slike proteiner, og de fleste inneholder områder rike på aminosyren histidin. Disse histidinene mistenkes å spille en avgjørende rolle i å binde sink. Nylig oppdaget vi et enzym som modifiserer disse områdene ved å sette metylgrupper på histidin, og viste at metylerte histidiner har en lavere affinitet for sink. Dette prosjektet har som mål å identifisere nye mekanismer som regulerer sinknivåer gjennom histidinmetylering av sinktransportører, å utvikle forskningsverktøy for effektiv studie av histidinmetylering, og å legge grunnlaget for nye behandlinger av tarmsykdommer.

The delicate balance of zinc levels in the body is essential for human health. Zinc is absorbed and excreted via intestinal zinc transporter proteins, and perturbations of this process are associated with pathologies, including inflammatory diseases and cancers of the bowel. The precise molecular mechanisms regulating zinc transport, however, remain a major knowledge gap. Based on the recent discovery of an enzyme methylating histidine residues in zinc transporters, and drawing on preliminary findings which demonstrate reduced affinity of methylated histidines to zinc, this project aims to identify novel mechanisms regulating zinc homeostasis through histidine methylation. We will examine the regulation and effect of histidine methylation on zinc transport in intestinal cell culture and organoids, and examine how knockout of the methylhistidine-generating enzyme affects the integrity and pathology of the intestinal tract in mouse models. In addition, we will identify reader proteins specifically recognizing methylhistidines and develop anti-methylhistidine antibodies and inhibitors to use as tools for detection, enrichment, and inhibition of histidine methylation. Such tools are urgently needed by the international research community, as none are currently available commercially. Overall, this project will lead to great advances in the field of protein regulation, and may uncover novel mechanisms in intestinal zinc transport and pathology.

Zinc transport regulation through histidine methylation

Noen av oss tåler stressende livshendelser godt. Andre derimot utvikler vedvarende fysiske og psykiske plager som følger av stress. Hvor godt vi håndterer stress avhenger av et komplekst samspill mellom miljøfaktorer, sosiale forhold, biologisk sårbarhet og indre motstandskraft. Forskning på stressreaksjonene til dyr og pasientgrupper som til vanlig lever under mye stress viser at en gruppe signalstoffer i kroppen som aktiverer det samme hjernesystemet som cannabis – endocannabinoidene – kan begrense styrken på stressreaksjoner og bidra til at man raskere kommer seg til hektene. I dette prosjektet skal vi undersøke hvordan mestring av stress på kort og lang sikt henger sammen med nivåer av endocannabinoider i kroppen for å forstå hvorfor noen personer er mer motstandsdyktige mot stress enn andre. I den ene studien følger vi pasienter som skal gjennomgå en stressende, men veldig vanlig, situasjon: kirurgi. Her måler vi pasientenes opplevelse av stress, samt mentale og fysiske helse, fra tiden før til to år etter operasjonen og undersøker hvordan dette henger sammen med nivåene deres av endocannabinoider og andre stresshormoner. I den andre studien bruker vi data fra et eksperiment hvor deltakerne har blitt utsatt for psykososialt stress til å undersøke om endocannabinoidnivået deres påvirker hvordan de reagerer på stress, og om stresset i seg selv kan påvirke kroppens produksjon av endocannabinoider. Til syvende og sist er målet med studien å vurdere hvorvidt målinger av endocannabinoidnivåer kan brukes til å forebygge helseplager og til å evaluere behovet for økt oppfølging etter alvorlig stressende påkjenninger i livet.

In the face of major life stressors, some individuals cope well whereas others develop ill health and long-term adverse outcomes. Predicting who needs additional support in response to major life stressors is essential for targeted prevention and more efficient allocation of resources. The endocannabinoid system is emerging as a promising target for understanding vulnerability and resilience to stress. This system appears to buffer stress in two ways: by limiting the magnitude of the stress response, and by facilitating recovery after a stressful event. While the early findings are intriguing, they mainly stem from studies in rodents and small clinical groups with high stress burden. What role endocannabinoids have more globally for human resilience, health and well-being remains elusive. 

In this project we address this gap by leveraging comprehensive experimental and clinical data on two potent stress models: psychosocial stress and surgery. Drawing on these unique datasets, which combine experimental control with ecological validity, we will decipher how endocannabinoid levels influence people’s stress response and recovery across minutes, days, weeks and years. The project represents a novel directional shift for endocannabinoid research and will (i) determine the value of endocannabinoid levels as a biomarker to predict outcomes after surgery, (ii) quantify sex differences, (iii) assess endocannabinoid interplay with opioid analgesics, sex hormones and other stress markers (iv) spearhead open and reproducible science practices in endocannabinoid research, and (v) make this fine-grained and novel data available through an interactive web application. 

This project represents an ambitious effort to understand endocannabinoids’ role in stress resilience and will determine the value of endocannabinoids as a predictive biomarker and potential target for individualized treatment.

Deciphering endocannabinoid stress buffering in humans: 
Mechanistic and clinical investigations

WHeelchair Activity Monitoring project (WHAM)

Wheelchair users (WCU) are three to five times more inactive than the general population, leading to a high risk of developing preventable secondary conditions. Although physical activity (PA) guidelines have been specifically developed for WCU, we lack systematic approaches to implement them in practice, as well as valid algorithms to monitor PA change in WCU through sensor-based solutions. Accordingly, the overall scientific aim of the WHeelchair Activity Monitoring project (WHAM) is to advance PA research and practice in WCU by developing valid digital markers for monitoring of and providing feedback on PA, paving the way for implementation and intervention. I will accomplish this through combining the complementary research fields of 1) behavioural intervention studies focusing on increasing PA in WCU (core competence University of British Columbia, UBC; outgoing phase) and 2) sensor-based PA monitoring (core competence Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NTNU; returning phase – consolidated by non-academic placement at Maastricht Instruments, which develop research prototypes including PA monitors). WHAM’s scientific aim is achieved through three objectives: 1) Measure the effect of a pragmatic exercise intervention trial on self-reported physical activity levels and cardio-respiratory fitness, 2) Develop valid algorithms for tracking PA markers in WCU, and 3) Co-create a framework that outlines how PA can be conjointly monitored and provided feedback on in WCU. This fellowship will enable me to become established as an internationally recognized researcher in the field of “physical activity and disability”, while bringing together ongoing national disjointed research activities in this field. Altogether, my overall ambition is to contribute to reducing inequalities in daily-life participation among WCU compared to the rest of the population.

BOLD MINDS aspires to enhance the understanding of vulnerability factors underlying the emergence of borderline personality disorder (BPD), with an ultimate aim of increasing the potential for young individuals to receive early, evidence-based help when their mental health is at risk. BOLD MINDS will achieve this by investigating whether disruptions in two aspects of autobiographical memory (AM), narrative identity (NI) and involuntary AM (IAM), are associated with BPD features and problem behaviours in adolescents concurrently and over time. In doing so, BOLD MINDS will strengthen the understanding of mechanisms underlying the emergence of BPD in adolescence and lay a groundwork for developing evidence-based early interventions for BPD. While currently limited, the study of AM in this field is essential for two reasons. Firstly, because the aspects of AM under investigation, NI and IAM, are known to be involved in identity formation and emotion regulation which represent two key psychological processes that are disrupted in adults with BPD and are linked to problem behaviours such as self-harm and suicidality. Secondly, because promising research is emerging on the use of AM targets in the treatment of emotional disorder in adults, and provides a strong model for future treatment development with vulnerable adolescents. In addition, this timely research program aligns with calls from international organizations to prioritize early interventions to promote adolescent mental health. BOLD MINDS will adopt and adapt state-of-the-art ecological momentary assessment and analytical techniques and work at the crossroads of clinical and cognitive psychological perspectives, allowing for a multidimensional approach to understanding BPD vulnerability. Training-through-research and formalized training of the experienced researcher will prepare her for a permanent academic position and the founding of her own research lab specializing in AM and early interventions for BPD.

Borderline Personality Disorder: Memory and Identity in Adolescence

Per- og polyfluorerte stoffer (PFAS) er en stor gruppe menneskeskapte kjemikalier med høyt fluorinnhold som antas å ha negative helseeffekter. Kilder til PFAS kan være produksjon av vann-, varme- og flekkbestandige produkter og disse kjemikaliene er en del av hverdagen vår. PFAS påvirkning av biologiske systemer er ikke fullstendig forstått. Noen PFAS er antatt å øke risikoen for å utvikling av ikke-alkoholisk fettleversykdom (NAFLD) og øke risikoen for diabetes. 

For å forstå hvordan PFAS påvirker organene våre ønsker vi å bruke små laboratoriedyrkede organmodeller, kalt organoider. Disse miniatyrorganene kan dyrkes fra menneskelige stamceller og tilbyr et kontrollert miljø for å studere hvordan PFAS påvirker f.eks lever og bukspyttkjertelen vår, uten bruk av dyreforsøk.

For å studere helseeffekter må vi kunne måle nivået av biomolekyler som fettstoffer i leveren og hormoner i bukspyttkjertelen. Til dette trenger vi å utvikle analytiske verktøy for å måle effektene. Først vil vi bekrefte at når leverorganoidene eksponeres for enkelte PFAS-forbindelser utvikles det NAFLD-lignende sykdom ved å sammenligne den biokjemiske profilen (proteiner og metabolitter) til organoider av lever med PFAS-eksponerte organoider. Deretter vil vi utvide den analytiske verktøykassen for å undersøke hvilke metabolske veier som påvirkes, og om effekten er den samme i NAFLD-induserte og PFAS-eksponerte organoider. Vi vil også eksponere insulinproduserende bukspyttkjertelorganoider for PFAS for å undersøke effekten av PFAS på hormonproduksjon. Når effektene av PFAS-eksponering på lever- og bukspyttkjertel-organoider er etablert, vil organoidene bli samkultivert i en chip, og effektene av PFAS-eksponering vil bli undersøkt og sammenlignet med individuelle organoider.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are believed to contribute to metabolic diseases, such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and type 1 diabetes. HE-POP aims to investigate the effects of per- and polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFAS), a type of POPs), on organ function in a controlled environment.

Organoids are multicellular laboratory-grown miniature organs, that are grown from stem cells. HE-POP will use organoids to examine how PFAS affects our organs and develop cutting-edge bioanalytical tools and methodology to measure these effects using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. HE-POP hypothesizes that PFAS negatively affects organ function, as evidenced by changes in hormone and lipid levels characteristic of NAFLD and type 1 diabetes. 

Organoids offer a controlled environment to study the effects of PFAS on the liver and pancreas, without the use of animal models. HE-POP aims to gain evidence of the negative effects of PFAS on organ function through controlled experiments on organoids and aid in understanding the biological mechanisms underlying NAFLD and type 1 diabetes.

HE-POP has fundaments in UN sustainable development goals, specifically #3, #12, and #14/15, seeking an understanding of diseases with worldwide prevalence, and understanding how POPs affect our life and surroundings and help enable the right regulatory actions and replacement chemicals.

HE-POP: Studying the Health Effects of Persistent Organic Pollutants, Using Mass Spectrometry, Organoids, and Organ-On-A-Chip

Dette prosjektet, kalt Hukommelse for musikk, fokuserer på det økende antallet mennesker over hele verden som lever med demens, spesielt Alzheimer's sykdom (AD). AD starter typisk med hukommelsesproblemer og påvirker etter hvert daglige aktiviteter. Aktive musikkintervensjoner, spesielt sang, har vist positive effekter på humør, atferd og livskvalitet for personer med demens, men deres innvirkning på kognisjon er ikke godt forstått. Prosjektet har som mål å fylle dette kunnskapsgapet ved å studere effektene av å lære nye sanger på kognitiv, atferdsmessig og hjernemessig funksjon.

Studien vil omfatte hjemmeboende voksne over 65 år med AD fra Argentina, Østerrike og Norge. Deltakerne vil gjennomgå 5 måneder med intensiv musikalsk opplæring (to ganger i uken) og 5 måneder med minimal opplæring (en gang i måneden) i tilfeldig rekkefølge, med en to måneders pause imellom. Intervensjonene inkluderer å lære nye sanger med en personlig musikklærer. Generell kognisjon vil bli målt ved bruk av Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale - Cognitive (ADAS-cog), og hukommelse for musikk vil bli vurdert gjennom ulike metoder, inkludert atferdsoppgaver og hjerneaktivitet (EEG). Humør vil også bli evaluert i hver økt.

Målet er å inkludere 113 deltakere for å sikre pålitelig påvisning av meningsfulle effekter. Studien vil utforske hvordan humør og hukommelse for musikk bidrar til endringer i kognitive evner, og om disse effektene varierer basert på faktorer som kjønn, alder, AD-stadium, eller tidligere musikalsk opplæring og generell utdanning. Prosjektet vektlegger samarbeid mellom forskere, tjenesteytere og brukere for å sikre studiens relevans og anvendelighet.

The number of people living with dementia is increasing and is high in low, middle, and high-income countries. Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most common type of dementia, manifests itself initially with cognitive impairment in memory domains, and later affects all activities of daily living. Active music interventions, particularly singing, can help to improve mood, behaviour problems, and quality of life. Too little is known about their effects on cognition, although some promising studies exist. The M4M project aims to fill this gap by measuring effects of learning new songs on clinical, behavioural and brain functioning. Specifically, M4M aims to examine changes in general cognitive functioning and memory for music in non-musician adults with AD undergoing intensive individual musical training based on singing novel songs, compared to minimal training.
        Home-dwelling adults with AD, 65 years or older, in 3 countries (Argentina, Austria, Norway), will receive 5 months of intensive intervention (2x/week) and 5 months of minimal intervention (1x/month), in random order, with a 2-month break in between. Interventions will entail learning new songs with an individual music teacher. At the end of each intervention period, general cognition will be measured with the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale – Cognitive (ADAS-cog) by a person who is unaware of the intervention received. Memory for music will be tested with observations, behavioural tasks, and brain responses (EEG). Mood will be assessed in each session. We aim to include 113 participants; this will help us to reliably detect clinically meaningful effects. We will also examine how mood and memory for music lead to changes in cognitive abilities, and whether effects depend on sex, age, AD stage, or previous musical training or general education. M4M will be conducted in close collaboration between academic researchers, service providers, and service users to ensure relevance and applicability.

Memory for Music: Effects of individual intensive musical training based on singing in non-musicians with Alzheimer’s disease

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Teknologisjef

NOVEL, NANOSTRUCTURED, LOW-PT ELECTROCATALYTIC INTERFACES WITH STRONG CATALYST -SUPPORT INTERACTION FOR PEM CELLS

In recent years we have had a strong interest toward the development of methods for calculating higher-order molecular properties and vibrational contributions to these properties. The present proposal will seek to extend this work from scattering process es to absorption processes, and in particular to the study of vibronic effects on higher-order molecular properties.The work will be carried in close collaboration with the group of Prof.Marcel Nooijen at the University of Waterloo (Canada).

In one part of the project we will continue to develop and extend various approximations to the vibronic problem. This will in part include the development of new algorithms for solving the full vibrational problem, with the aim of increasing the size of the molecula r systems that can be handled, as well as develop faster algorithms for more approximate vibronic models, such as the Franck-Condon approximation. These developments will be made in the IBRON program system developed during the last 5 years in the researc h group of Prof.Nooijen, and the postdoc hired is expected to spend up to two years in this group before bringing the technology to Norway with a final year in the group of Prof.Ruud.

The second part of the project will be devoted to establishing the nec essary diabatization scheme in the Dalton quantum chemistry program in order to allow for the evaluation of the many properties accessible in Dalton. We also intend to extend Dalton to new higher-order properties for which vibronic effects are expected to  be important, such as Magneyic Circular Dichroism (MCD) and resonance Raman and resonance Raman optical activity. If time allows, vibronic contributions to technologically important processes such as two-photon absorption may also be considered.

Vibronic contributions to higher-order molecular properties

The research proposed in this project application complements ongoing activities on the use of chitooligosaccharides (CHOS) as environmentally friendly fungicides. CHOS inhibit chitinases, enzymatic systems that allows fungi to grow. The project focuses o n chemical approaches to production of functionalized CHOS, including the use of combinatorial chemistry. We have already set up for testing of anti-fungal activity, design, production and application of chitinases and other enzymes for the conversion of chitin and chitosan to CHOS, and advanced studies of enzyme-ligand interactions  using techniques such as mass spectrometry of non-covalent complexes, isothemral titration calorimetry and surface plasmon resonance. Naturally, isolated CHOS will have their  anti-fungal activity enhanced through modifications of functional groups. Especially, increasing the hydrophobicity of the CHOS and introducing point charges will increase the binding strength to chitinases since these to strategies are common for all en zyme ? ligand systems. Hydrophobicity will be introduced through the addition of fatty acids and alky chains. Point charges will originate from charged groups such as phosphates, sulphates, carboxylates, and quarternay amines. Screening of modified, stron g binding CHOS will take place by a newly developed method by our research group. The mixture of CHOS will be incubated with desired chitinases and the strongest binding CHOS will be detected as an enzyme ? ligand complex using mass spectrometry, and the structure of the CHOS will be determined by performing a top-down analysis in an MS-MS experiment. The strong binding CHOS will be purified using both size exclusion chromatography and affinity chromatography.

Environmentally Friendly Fungicides, Combinatorial Synthesis and Screening of Chitooligosaccharides

An application is made for a 2 years post doc position. The cooperation will primarily be between our lab in Oslo and with the lab of Directeur de Recherche CNRS, Dr. Jean-Claude Guillemin in Rennes, France. Directeur de Recherche CRNS, Dr. Jean Demaison,  Lille, will also take part in this cooperation, but to a lesser extent. 

We intend to study several unsaturated selenols, thiols, phosphines and tellurides. Most of these compounds have been synthesized by Guillemin, often for the first time. There is l ittle or no information available of the physical properties of these unsaturated compounds, which should be of general chemical interest. We also intend to study compounds of astrochemical and astrobiological interest. These compoudns will be made by Gui llemin. Microwave spectroscopy is employed in these studies, because the radioastronomical detection is in most cases made using such spectra. We have also planned to investigate N2O3, a compound of atmospheric interest, in collaboration with Demaison. An  investigation of the microwave spectrum of thioformaldehyde, an known astrochemical compund, is also planned in collaboration with Demaison and a group at Creteil, Paris.

Microwave studies of unsaturated compounds with hetero atoms, as well as molecules of interstellar and prebiotic interest

A new highly sensitive CCD Raman instrument with a CW laser and a pulsed laser has just been installed for the total cost around 8200 kNOK. The use of this Raman instrument in biological sciences, with large wavelength excitation range 205 to 1020 nm, for  obtaining specially resonances Raman is unique in the Nordic countries. At present no position or postdoctoral fellows is available for carrying out biological Raman experiments. We apply for two postdoctoral fellows and supply, they will mainly serve as  general biological resonance Raman resource persons for all universities in Norway and SCANBALT and additionally start setting up new techniques like magnetic circular dichroism at UiO. In a synergistic protein function and structure investigation effort  protein 3D structures will be examined by X-ray diffraction, in combination with high resolution optical, vibrational-Raman and paramagnetic spectroscopies with state-of-the-art functional and in vivo studies. 
Some of the direct planned experiments are 
- rRaman of several tyrosyl-radical from different sources ribonucleotide reductases p53R2 and other higher organism R2 protein; a novel Bacillus cereus R2  Also the oxygen to diferric centers charge transfer band will be investigated, as wells the holo- protein.
- Intermediate X (a Fe(IV)Fe(III)-oxygen state) in generation of the tyrosyl radical in ribonucleotide  reductases, a novel relative stable X intermediate will be studied. 
- Cytochrome cs and hemes with highly axial/anisotrop low spin (S=1/2) EP R signals will be studied in  Met-Sulfur to Fe charge transfer transitions around 690-720 nm, as well as heme core modes.
-Intermediates in myoglobin and nitric oxide synthase reaction with peroxides and oxygen, and effect of redox state change induced by  irradiation and start developing single protein crystal Raman 
- Small ligand interactions with DNA /models 
- Possibly mono-nuclear Fe proteins like AlkB and homologs as well as other mononuclear Fe protein

Personnel for biological Raman and magnetic circular dichroism studies

An interesting category of amphiphilic polymer systems are those that undergo phase transitions in response to environmental stimuli such as temperature and pH. These have been widely investigated for drug delivery, separations, and diagnostics applicatio ns. A key temperature-responsive class is based on alkyl acrylamide polymers, particularly poly(N-iso-propylacrylamide) (pNIPAAm), which at certain conditions may undergo a sharp coil-globule transition and phase separation at its lower critical solution temperature (LCST) in water. The LCST of such thermally sensitive polymers can usually be tuned to a desired temperature range, such as the body temperature.

Even a pNIPAAm polymer with grafted PEO chains (e.g., pNIPAAm-g-PEO) may, at elevated temperatur es, in addition to an intrachain coil-to-globule transition also undergo an interchain association to form a core-shell nanostructure with a hydrophobic pNIPAAm core and a soluble hydrophilic PEO shell. In aqueous solutions of this type of uncharged tempe rature-sensitive polymer, an intricate interplay between intrachain and interchain associations usually occurs at fairly low polymer concentration at elevated temperature. In order to suppress the interchain association, the Polymer Group at UiO has recen tly synthesized a novel charged temperature-responsive copolymer, which undergoes a sharp transition to a more open structure when the temperature is increased. This unique temperature-induced change of the polymer structure has not been reported before, and is at this preliminary stage ascribed to a delicate cooperation between charges and hydrophobic associations. This feature is interesting in connection with drug-release problems.

The aim of this project is to develop an understanding - both mechanis tic and applied - of different thermo-responsive polymers adsorbed to planar and particle substrates. Changes in structural end dynamical properties of the systems under various conditions will be examined.

Thermoresponsive Polymer Brushes on Nanoparticles and Surfaces

The principal objective is to discover and probe the chemical properties of the heaviest elements known, the transactinides.. The transactinides can only be produced artificially, since their nuclei are unstable and will disintegrate shortly after they ar e produced. They are, though, a unique testing ground for our current understanding and modelling of the elements as they lie at the extreme of the known part of the periodic table of the elements.

Thus, our current models about the chemical properties o f the elements can be tested to see if they breaks down for extremely heavy elements. For example, there are predictions that the relativistic part of the wave functions will become so dominant that it will change the classically predicted chemical proper ties. This project aims at investigating the chemical properties of the transactinides in the liquid phase, using our on-line and continuous liquid-liquid separation system SISAK.

This project is an extension of the already on-going project, NFR project number 166744, which started in January 2005. Since this project was initiated several new developments has occurred:

TASCA - a new gas-filled separator located at GSI, Darmstadt, has been built. The separator is dedicated to physics and chemistry transa ctinide experiments. The SISAK Oslo group is heavily involved, in particular in the design of the interface between the separator and chemistry apparatus. The Oslo group is the only group who have actually performed chemistry experiments on transactinides  after preseparation with such a device.

LBNL experiment campaign - we wish to perform several extensive transactinide experiments on Rf, Db and possible Sg at LBNL in 2007, in a 3-4 month long stay at LBNL.

Furthermore, of the three PhD students employ ed in 2005, one finished in November 2005, one during Summer 2006 and the last in October 2006. To keep up the momentum in the SISAK research group, it is important to employ new PhD students.

Exploring the chemistry of the heaviest elements with the automated liquid-liquid extraction system SISAK

Nytt prosjektsammendrag:
The global demand for aluminium and aluminium alloy products is increasing. When used in the automotive sector, this material can facilitate lower fuel consumption (less CO2 emissions), enhanced human safety and can easily be inte grated in modern low-weight, clean energy engine design transport vehicles. Since secondary aluminium can be produced at significantly less energy consumption (only 5% of primary metal production), it is obvious that recycling and up-grading secondary met al to high quality alloys is influencing the total spent energy. 
Hence, aluminium scrap accumulated in the market represents a very significant bank of energy and natural source. Due to these facts, it is important to develop real flow path models for th e metal recycling cycle. The present project aims to develop such flow path models and from detailed laboratory studies one will achieve new results for improved remelting techniques at higher output and less pollution from hazardous gas emissions. Other  goals will be to compare two different recycling routes (remelt vs. direct solid state recycling) and generally, to improve in the direction of sustainable societies.

Recycling of automotive aluminium

The ISPAC-symposiums are arranged biannually, and are alternating between Europe and US/Canada.  The 21th symposium has been awarded to Norway. 
The Norwegian University of Science and Technology will hoist the symposium from August 5th to August 10th in 2007.  
The last symposium was hoisted in Toronto, Canada in 2005 and before that it was in Amsterdam, The Netherlands in 2003.

The arrangement committee also has members from the University of Stavanger, Sør-Trøndelag University College, Chiron AS and S tatoil AS Miljø.  Thus the conference is a united effort of the Norwegian technical environments in this field of chemistry and environmental issues of PACs. 

The symposium covers most aspects of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs).  Proposed sessions i nclude:
1.	Occurrence and sources
2.	Metabolism and mutagenicity
3.	Human exposure and risk assessment
4.	Bio availability
5.	Environmental impact and biomarkers
6.	Atmospheric reactions of PACs
7.	Theoretical chemistry and modelling
8.	Formation and synt hesis
9.	Analytical methods
10.	Reference materials
11.	PACs in food

We expect between 250 and 300 participants mainly from Europe and US/Canada.

The symposium website will be at http://www.chem.ntnu.no/ISPAC21/

21th International Symposium on Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds, Trondheim, NORWAY, August 5th-10th, 2007

To gain a fundamental insight into temperature responsive polymer systems, we plan to carry out an extensive investigation on some novel thermoresponsive polymers. This project consists of three parts:

1. Shear-rate dependency of inter- and intramolecula r interactions in dilute solutions of amphiphilic polymers.
2. Characterization of new amphiphilic thermo-sensitive block copolymers.
3. Interaction between hydrophobically modified polymers and polycyclodextrins.

In the first part, we want to address th e very important issue in polymer science, namely to understand the delicate interplay between intramolecular- intermolecular associations in amphiphilic polymer systems. By using different shear rates, the influence of intra or interpolymer interactions in the association process can be tuned.

In the second part, we plan to investigate some completely new thermoresponsive copolymers. Our preliminary studies reveal that these polymers exhibit some unique conformational-transition features.

In the third part, we will study how the network strength can be tuned by the formation of bridges between adjacent polymer chains through some novel polycyclodextrin compounds. The possibility of forming polycyclodextrin bridges between colloidal particles (flocculat ion) with absorbed polymer brushes will also be investigated.

This project will be carried out in cooperation with international established scientists in Norway, Sweden, and Spain. Both experimental and simulation studies with be carried out in the proj ect to gain a deeper understanding og the phenomena.

Characterization of Novel Amphiphilic Polymer Systems.

ECNS-2007, the 4th European Conference on Neutron Scattering, will be held in Lund, Sweden from 25th to 29th June 2007. This meeting is organised on behalf of the European Neutron Scattering Association (ENSA) by the Norwegian, Danish and Swedish Neutron Scattering Associations, and Lund University.

Neutron scattering brings together many scientific disciplines, and strong activities are now seen in diverse fields such as nanoscience, biology, material science and engineering.
Our ability to study, and s ubsequently control and develop, new materials and processes can be strongly enhanced by the unique information accessible through neutron scattering experiments. Based on the experience from the previous conferences, ECNS-2007 is expected to attract a la rge number of scientists. In particular students and postdocs - including several from Norway - will obtain important training in several topics from nanoscience due to the multidisciplinary character of the conference. 

This application concerns a reque st for a moderate amount, 80000 NOK to cover a part of the the cost for organizing the conference.

European Conference on Neutron Scattering

The high oil price and concern for CO2 emission make processes for conversion of natural gas to fuel and chemicals highly desirable. First generation catalysts and processes exists, UOP/Hydros MTO, Exxon/Mobile?s MTG, Haldor Topsøes TIGAS. All processes h ave a large potential for improvement, particularly regarding selectivity and deactivation.  The Catalysis groups at the University of Oslo and SINTEF in Oslo have 15 years of experience and leading knowledge in the MTO - process, including synthesis and characterisation of the related catalytic materials.  A recent major breakthrough in the fundamental understanding of acid catalysed reactions in zeolites has been achieved particularly as a result of the combination of computational and experimental studies.  We therefore now understand the mechanism of MTH reactions in zeotype materials to such a detail that we can modify, and hence improve, the materials in a planned, systematic way.  This application is for founding one PhD  student, and expenses for the support from the SINTEF group. Main activities will include:  *	Synthesis of modified CHA-type materials. *	Synthesis of new zeotype materials. *	Catalytic studies of methanol and methyl halide conversion over CHA-                type materials. *	Investigations of deactivation processes. *	Advanced characterization of acidity, (Turin, Italy) *	

Conversion of natural gas to hydrocarbons over acidic zeolite type catalysts.

The purpose of the project is to develop a flexible scheme for quantum-mechanical simimulations of the electronc structre of large molecules and periodic infinite systems such as crystals, implemented in a computer code. The simulations are to be carried out using self-consistent field theor: the Hartree-Fock independent-particle model and most important Kohn-Sham density-functional theory, the single most popular approach to the many-electron problem. An important feature of the proposed method is a very  high degree of flexibility, both with respect to the systems that can be treated (small and large molcules, periodic or nonperiodic), the underlying physical description (relativistic or nonrelativistic), and the properties that can be treated (geometric , electromagnetic, linear or nonlinear, static or dynamic). The central task of is the development of a highly efficient and flexible code for the generation of the Fock and Kohn-Sham matrices, which represent the effective one-electron potentials for the  electrons in the system. An essential requirement on the methods and the code  is that of linear scaling: the cost of the calculations should be proportional to the size of the system. This requirment is nontrivial: because of the complicated many-partic le interactions  in electronic systems,  care must be taken to avoid a nonlinear scaling with system size. In the present project, we shall take advantage of the  methods that have been developed over the last decade for linear scaling, developing these f urther and combining them with the know-how and technology already implemented in our own code Dalton for highly accurate calculations on small and medium-sized systems. The new code will provide a very useful set of tools for treating molecular systems a nd periodic systems, for the rigorous calculation of structure, excitation energies, nonlinear optical properties, and magnetic resonance parameters such as shielding constants and spin-spin cooupling constants.

Self-consistent field methods for periodic and non-periodic electronic systems

Department of Biotechnology at the Norwgian University of Science and Technology will, in the period of June 18-22 2006, be hosting the 8th International Hydrocolloids Conference. This is a true honour since for the first time one of these conferences is to be arranged in Europe, and we expect the number of delegates to be in the range of 175-250. 8IHC will cover all fundamental and applied aspects of biopolymers. Hydrocolloids, also known as Biopolymers, covers polymeric molecules of biological origin su ch as polysaccharides, proteins and nucleic acids. The ultimate goal of 8IHC is to highlight the adaptability of biopolymers towards present and forthcoming products due to their diverse chemical structure/sequence and functionality. Special emphasis will  be put on providing links between classical and evolving hydrocolloids product areas with highly expanding scientific technologies. Typical hydrocolloids product areas would be Food / Feed (inc. Functional), Neutraceuticals, Pharmaceuticals and Bio- and Veterinary Medicine. Highly expanding science areas are e.g. Bioactivity (Pre- Probiotics / Immunology), New Materials (Nanotechnology / Biopolymer   Engineering), Surface Properties (Flocculation / Emulsions) and Microstructuring (Phase Behaviour and Mol ecular Interactions).

Plenary and keynote lectures will begiven by invited and distinguished scientists, and in order to achieve a low registration fee we hereby apply to the Norwgian Research Council for partial funding of their travel and accomodation expenses, according to the enclosed conference budget.

Partial funding of Invited and Keynote Lecturers at the 8th International Hydrocolloids Conference

This project is related to a larger activity in plantwide control performed in group of Professor Sigurd Skogestad at NTNU. Plantwide control deals primarily with the structural issues of the control system, such as what to measure and control, which inpu ts to use, and how to pair these sets of variables. This is widely recognized as the most important issue for chemical process control (Seborg, Edgar and Mellichamp, 2004}, yet its theoretical basis remains quite weak, especially when compared with the la rge amount of work on optimization and controlled desigm (with the structure fixed).

We have also have close cooperation with other groups in the world, including Professor Morten Hovd at
Engineering Cybernetics at NTNU, Professor Bosgra and Grievink at TU Delft, Professor Pistikopoulos at Imperial College in London, Professor Morarti at ETH and Professor Marquardt at RWTH Achen.  In particular, there will be close interactions through the new EU-funded Marie Curie research training network, called PROMA TCH (2005-2008), which involves the groups at NTNU, Delft, Eindhoven, Aachen and Imperial College. 

The research challenges proposed for the Ph.D. projects include the following: 1. Effective offline generation and modeling of optimal solutions. 2. Model  reduction of soution. 3. Vayring setpoints. 4. Extensions of linear methods for selecting controlled variables. 5. Extensions of optimization methid for selecting controlled variables. 6. Dynamic self-optimizing control. 7. Case studies.

Near-optimal operation of chemical processes using feedback

The project undertakes fundamental investigations of hydrogen species in oxides; protons, neutral hydrogen, and hydride ions. 

The project will contribute to the long-term development and understanding of proton conductors (for fuel cells and electrolyze rs), hydrogen separation membranes, and novel hydrogen storage materials. It will also contribute to understanding the role of hydrogen in semiconducting oxides for electronics and solar cells.

The work will focus on thermodynamics, new experimental appr oaches, and seeking answers to current riddles regarding the stability of the neutral and reduced hydrogen species in oxidic environments. In particular the project will measure hydration enthalpies of acceptor-doped oxides by isothermal reaction calorime try, investigate hydration of grain boundaries, measure the concentration and thermodynamics of neutral hydrogen (atoms and/or molecules) in oxides, and measure the thermodynamics of hydride ions in oxyhydrides.

This broad approach will enable a fruitful  interdisciplinary investigation and discussion of hydrogen species in demanding cases such as wide bandgap semiconductors (e.g. ZnO), gate dielectrics (e.g. ZrO2) and novel transparent conducting oxides (e.g. Ca12Al14O33), and will integrate theory and m odelling with experimental studies. 

The project involves groups at the University of Oslo (UiO) specializing in hydrogen defects in oxides, materials thermodynamics and modelling, and on studies of hydrogen in semiconductors. It also embodies collaborat ion and visits to the other leading groups worldwide in the field.

Hydrogen in oxides

The "Shilov system" of aqueous Pt salts is capable of reacting with aliphatic and aromatic C-H bonds leading to value-added chemicals from cheap hydrocarbons. The first step in the Shilov system is the reaction of a Pt metal center with the C-H bond to pr ovide a Pt-C bond and a proton.
- This project focuses on the essential proton transfer reaction to and from the metal.
- Kinetic and mechanistic investigation on the nature of proton transfer reactions at Pt centers
- Kinetic and mechanistic investigatio n of proton migration between hydride, alkyl, and aryl groups that are bonded at the metal.
- State-of-the art multinuclear NMR and stopped-flow kinetic methods will be used.
- Fast kinetics will be investigated with the facilities of a collaborating grou p in Germany.

Proton Transfer Reactions at Pt Complexes that are Involved in Hydrocarbon C H Activation

It is proposed to investigate the mechanisms of heterogeneous reactions taking place between the important tropospheric constituents, NO2, NO, H2O2 and NH3 and certain simple carboxylic acids on water-ice surfaces. The systems employed will be relevant to  the characterization of "missing" atmospheric chemistry, which has been suggested to be driven by cirrus cloud particulates.  The core methodologies involved are based upon the successful water-ice, thin-film FT-RAIR studies and matrix isolation techniqu es previously performed in Professor Sodeau's laboratory. The experiments will be augmented by the complementary expertise possessed by Dr Hellebust to characterise ice surfaces and their catalytic activity by a variety of non-spectroscopic methods. Appro priate theoretical and empirical thermodynamic models will be used to consolidate the experimental results. All output information obtained will be made available to atmospheric modellers in order to improve our understanding of proposed sinks for the car boxylic acids and the release of compounds such as HONO by heterogeneous processes currently assessed to be important but with little confirmatory experimental proof.

Cirrus cloud mimic surfaces in the laboratory: organic acids, bases and NOx heterogeneous reactions

Free organic radicals and radical chemistry has a great and continuous increasing interest within a large variety of research areas. In order to satisfy the crucial interaction between researchers and research groups worldwide working within this research  topic. A request was directed to Scandinavian resrechers working within the area of organic free radicals to be hosts for the forthcoming EUCHEM conference on Organic Free Radicals (year 2006). This request was accepted, and the chairmen for the conferen ce are:

Professor Hans-René Bjørsvik, e-mail: hans.bjorsvik@kj.uib.no
Department of Chemistry, University of Bergen
http://kj.uib.no/personer/bjorsvik 

Professor Lars Engman, e-mail: Lars.Engman@kemi.uu.se
Department of Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Upp sala University
http://www.org.kemi.uu.se/Research/LarsE/LarsEngman.shtm 

Professor Troels Skrydstrup, e-mail: ts@chem.au.dk
Department of Chemistry, University of Aarhus
http://www.chem.au.dk/da/staff/?action=3&person_id=115

The invited pleanary lectur es are:
1.	JoAnne Stubbe (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) 
2.	Bernard. T. Golding (University of Newcastle upon Tyne) 
3.	David J. Procter (The University of Manchester) 
4.	Kim Daasbjerg (University of Aarhus) 
5.	Mukund Sibi (North Dakota State U niversity, Fargo) 
6.	Yvan Guindon (Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal) 
7.	Philippe Renaud (University of Bern) 
8.	Takeaki Naito (Kobe Pharmaceutical University)  
9.	Samir Z. Zard (Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau) 
10.	Chryssostomos Chatgilial oglu (CNR, Bologna)
11.	Carl H. Schiesser (University of Melbourne) 
12.	Vidar R. Jensen (University of Bergen)  
13.	Thomas Carell (Ludwig Maximilians Universität München)  
14.	Leif Hammarström (Uppsala University)  
15.	Max Malacria (Université Pierre et Marie Curie- Paris VI)

EUCHEM 2006 Conference on Organic Free Radicals

The long-term goal of the project is to systematically study the reaction pathways and activation sequences in empirically designed multicomponent Ziegler-Natta catalysts and, based on fundamental insights, to develop more efficient polymerization catalys ts.  The focus of the predominantly synthetic work lies on the utilization of tailor-made rare-earth metal components (keywords: alkylaluminates, half-metallocenes, alkoxides, and carboxylates) for examining the alkyl, hydride, and chloride transfer capab ility of tailor-made organoaluminum (cocatalyst) components.  Rare-earth metal centers are known not only to display highly active polymerization initiators but also to provide a favorable stereoelectronic environment for the isolation and spectroscopic/s tructural characterization of Ln-Al heterobimetallic complexes which can be seen as activation intermediates.  Correspondingly, the current project will also focus on the elucidation of supported rare-earth metal-based Ziegler-Natta catalysts according to  a surface organolanthanide chemistry (SOLnC).  Such unprecedented SOLnC involves periodic mesoporous semicrystalline silica of different topology (2D/3D hexagonal versus cubic) and pore configuration (channel- versus cage-like) as well as non-porous amor phous silica (aerosil) as support materials.  Homoleptic Ln(II) and Ln(III) alkylaluminate and heteroleptic half-metallocene complexes will be employed as discrete molecularly defined organolanthanide components.  Contemporary molecular oxo surfaces such as functionalized (silylated/alkylated) silsesquioxanes and calix[n]arenes are used for SOLnC modeling.  The initiator activity of all Ziegler systems, half-metallocene and model complexes as well as grafted rare-earth surface species will be examined for  the homo- and copolymerization of ethylene, propylene, 1-hexene, butadiene, styrene, acrylonitrile, acetylene, methyl methacrylate, and oxiranes.

Rare-Earth Metal-Based Ziegler-Natta Catalysts.
Structure-Reactivity Relations in Homogeneous and Heterogenized Catalysts

In the first stage of the project level of modeling will be selected and technical issues will
be addressed. The aim will be to use advanced representations of all components of the
CO2-amine-water system, while at the same time making sure calculations d o not become
too time consuming. Once level of modeling is settled the parameters needed for different
parts of the system will be determined.

In the second stage calculations will be carried out and results compared with available
experimental data. The  models will, if needed, be adjusted to achieve the best possible
overall agreement with experimental data.

Finally in the third stage the models will be used to obtain results and draw conclusions
from the model(s). The models are expected to provide in sight on effects of changes on
composition on equilibrium constants. The models should also provide information on
changes in equilibrium over temperature. For new solvents the model is expected to provide
insight on species formed and overall predictions  of reaction-rates and energy consumption.

The work will be carried out in cooperation with Professor Kenneth Merz. He is currently
at Pennsylvania State University but will be moving to the University of Florida. He has
done a lot of work on the modelin g in biochemistry. While the application of the modeling
is quite different in the present work the types of molecular interaction are of exactly
the same nature as found in biochemical systems. CO2, water, molecules with amine and
hydroxyl functionalitie s are all studied in biochemistry. The application of models from
biochemistry is therefore expected to be straightforward.

Molecular modeling study of CO2 absorption

Project summary
Agelasines are 7,9-dialkylpurinium salts isolated from marine sponges (Agelas sp.) and asmarines are neutral purine derivatives isolated from Raspaila sp. sponges. These two classes of purine natural products are structurally related; they  both contain terpenoid side chains. Up till now only a few agelasines and no asmarines have been synthesized. High activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (the bacterium that causes tuberculosis) has been found for some agelasines and analogs. Tuberc ulosis (TB) is the major cause of death from a single infectious agent among adults in developing countries and there is estimated that 30 million people will die from TB in the next 10 years. However no new drug directed specifically against TB have been  introduced the last 30 years even though multi-drug resistant TB is a growing problem. In this project, we will develop selective syntheses of agelasines and analogs. We will continue to screen the agelasines and analogs formed for antimycobacterial acti vity and try to determine their mode of action as antibacterials. We are also interested in exploring activity against other microorganisms as well cytotoxicity (potential as anticancer compounds) and ability to act as antifouling agents. Little is known about bioactivity of asmarines. We will develop methodology for construction of the 7-membered ring in the asmarines, and try to synthesize simple asmaine analogs. The asmarine analogs formed will be subjected to the same bioactivity studies as described for the agelasine derivatives.

Synthesis of Agelasines, Asmarines and Analogs, and Evaluation of Their Bioactivities

The aim of the proposed PhD project is to develop a simulation technique, Molecular Dynamics Lattice Gas (MDLG), for simulating chemical systems consisting of self-assembling molecular complexes and macromolecules. The vision is that MDLG will become a co rner stone in an effort to create a multi-scale simulation platform, applicable to systems exhibiting a variety of life-like properties, such as: self-assembly, metabolism, self-replication, self-organization, and evolution.
	The PhD student will work wit hin a large scientific community centred around the EU funded integrated project PACE (Programmable Artificial Cell Evolution). The goal of the PACE project is to create an artificial proto-cell in the laboratory. The complex systems group at Chalmers, wh ere the student will be located, is a main node in the PACE program, responsible for theoretical investigations, analytical and computational. The project is not directly tied to the PACE project, but benefits greatly from being integrated in a large inte rnational program where the developed techniques immediately can be tested and compared to other simulations as well as experimental results. 
	The project will be a collaboration between three locations: Kristian Lindgren and Martin Nilsson at the comple x system group at Chalmers will be the home institution; Steen Rasmussen, currently at Los Alamos National Laboratory and a partner in the PACE project, will act as external supervisor. Ole Mauritsen at the University of Odense will also be external super visor, and Nils Baas at NTNU is a third external supervisor. Prof. Lindgren will be the main supervisor, and Dr. Nilsson will be active supervisor. Prof. Mauritsen is head of the national center of excellence in biomembrane physics (MEMPHYS), and also a p artner in the PACE project.

Molecular Dynamics Lattice Gas

Recently, Skogestad (2004} have also proposed a systematic method for control structure. The proposed research will focus on further improvement of this method, including the following issues:

1. Self-optimizing Control
2. Achievable decentralized perfor mance
3. Decentralized integral controllability
4. Computational complexity
5. Complexity of the control system
6. Secondary controlled variables

When completed, the utility of the proposed approach will be demonstrated through case studies, e.g. the Vin yl Acetate process. At the completion of this project, a systematic method will emerge that would help the plant engineers for control structure design of new plants as well as retrofit of existing plants. It is expected that in addition to improving cont rol, the analysis will also reveal some directions for design of energy efficient plants.

Plantwide control of chemical processes

Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) are rapidly growing techniques for the ultra-trace analytical determination of stable and long-lived isotopes. Both methods have a wide potential within environm ental science, including ecosystem tracers and radioecological studies. For AMS, the proposed project will involve investigations on both heavy and light element analysis. AMS has only recently been applied to the determination of heavy elements (Pu-isoto pes, U-isotopes, Np-237, Ra-isotopes, Th), and method optimisation and validation, particularly for environmental samples, needs to be documented. AMS determination of Cl-36 and Ni-59 has been carried out within geological studies. Together with Tc-99, th ese long-lived radionuclides are also important, yet little studied, components of radioactive waste management. Hence the project will investigate potential applications of AMS to their analysis in contaminated areas, focusing on improvement of Environmental Impact Assessment and Ecological Risk Assessment.  ICP-MS is a more widespread technique compared to AMS, but still offers advantages over routine counting methods. In addition to intercomparison of AMS and ICP-MS (IPM has already developed methods for Pu-isotopes and Tc-99), ICP-MS will be applied for sc reening of samples for AMS determination, and documentation of matrix interferences.    The project builds on a five year collaboration between NLH/IPM and the Australian National University on the development and application of advanced MS techniques for the analysis of long-lived radionuclides, with the intention of extending this collabor ation to include other exotic radionuclides, instigating collaborations with other AMS facilities (Zurich) and demonstrating novel applications within environmental studies.

Developement and application of accelerator mass spectrometry for the environmental study of low level, long-lived radionuclides

The rate of multidrug-resistant infections is rapidly rising. Cationic antibacterial peptides are both active against resistant pathogens and have low propensity for resistance development, but due to their unfavourable medicinal properties cationic antib acterial peptides have yet been a limited clinical success. We have found that introduction of non-genetically coded amino acids and other lipophilic modifications opens the opportunity for development of extremely short and highly active antibacterial pe ptides with improved medicinal properties. The present project is aimed towards finding novel methods of avoiding proteolytic degradation of antibacterial peptides by an integrated medicinal chemistry approach. A majority of the work outlined in the proje ct is priented into adaption or development of new synthetic methods for solid phase diversity library preparation. Strong interaction with computational biologists and medicinal chemists is however emphasised.

Antimicrobial peptides targeted against multiresistant Staphylococcus aureus with engineered proteolytic stability.

As one of very few research group around the world,  MEMFO (=Membranforskning) research group at Institute of Chemical Engineering, NTNU, has for about ten years worked on the development of stable membranes for the separation of aggressive gases such as Cl2 or HCl from gas mixtures. Both of these chemicals are widely used within process industry, and the potentials for applications are enormous. The fundamental knowledge acquired over the years has lead to an understanding on how such membranes now can b e tailored for the separation of these gases. Very promising results have been achieved with pore tailored glass membranes surface modified with perfluorinated compounds. These materials have proved to be stable towards the aggressive gases.
The proposed project will focus on hybride materials ("mixed matrix") with physical incorporation of glass fillers into perfluorinated polymers; basically as microporous surface modified glass particles or crushed glass hollow fibres.  The choice of polymer and glass fillers will be based on the knowledge on transport mechanisms of Cl2 and HCl, as well as miscibility and separation properties of the composite materials. The membrane will be characterised for separation properties (single and mixed gases), and simulati ons will be performed for a chosen process.


Development of hybride membrane materials (mixed matrix membranes) for separation of aggressive gases

The main objective of this project is to improve the understanding of the molecular mechanisms that govern droplet coalescence and vesicle fusion. Droplet coalescence in oil-in-water and water-in-oil emulsions is crucial in many fields: A key challenge fo r the oil industry is to separate water droplets from the oil phase. Conversely, the food and pharmaceutical industries usually need to prevent separation. The stability of these emulsions is controlled by adding surfactants that self-assemble on the oil/ water interface and modify the coalescence barrier. Choosing surfactants that change this barrier in the desirable direction is a principal problem in emulsion science. Vesicle fusion is fundamentally related to droplet fusion. This process has exciting a pplications such as liposome-based drug delivery as well as being essential for cell life. 

We propose here a fundamental study of droplet and vesicle fusion intermediate states. The emphasis will be on understanding how the fusion free energy barriers d epend on the structure of the amphiphiles that constitute the mono- or bilayers. To achieve this, we will use molecular simulations and model amphiphiles that allow for simple variations in structure such as hydrophilic/hydrophobic affinity, chain length,  and branching. We will study droplet fusion along a reaction coordinate that includes the initial rupture of the two monolayers, formation of a channel between the droplets, and expansion of its radius. Vesicle fusion proceeds via multiple metastable sta tes. To enable a detailed study of unstable states we will use novel biased sampling methods. We will calculate the free energy along a reaction coordinate and predict the fusion energy barrier. The focus will be on how variations in amphiphilic structure  affect the fusion barrier, and how additives can lower this barrier. This knowledge will provide a better basis for choosing and designing surfactants with a desired fusion barrier.

Molecular simulation of droplet fusion intermediates

Understanding the physico-chemical fate and bioavailability of metals requires knowledge of the forms that the metals occur in (the speciation). Diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) is a  technique for passive sampling of metals and it has in situ spec iation capabilities in that it collects only free metal ions and labile metal complexes. The fraction of metal complexes that will be collected depends on their rates of diffusion and their kinetic characteristics. This means that a precise understanding of what DGT measures requires an appreciation of the dissociation kinetics of complexes in solution.
For any one ligand , the rate of dissociation of complexes of metals in the lanthanide series is expected to show a regular decrease across the series of 15 metals. This property of the lanthanide complexes can be exploited in a study of the capability of DGT to discriminate between complexes with different kinetic characteristics, provided that suitable ligands can be found. The criteria is that the ligan ds form so strong bonds with the lanthanides that the rate of dissociation will affect the uptake of lanthanides in the DGT sampler. Influence of pH and ionic strength will be tested and experiments with synthetic and natural organic ligands  will be perf ormed. Such information is necessary to assess the applicability of DGT  to field conditions, as its in situ deployment could be used to obtain conditional kinetic information.

Investigation of the dissolution kinetics of lanthanide complexes with the technique of diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT)

This project focuses on numerical simulation of dense dust clouds by the Eulerian-Lagrangian method. Applications include a wide range of processes dependent on the behaviour of dense particle clouds or strands, e.g. gas cleaning with cyclones, pneumatic conveying, fluidized and rising beds, and the entrainment of dust deposits by a shock wave. The latter process is important for the formation of explosive dust clouds, and will be the main focus of this project. The Eulerian-Lagrangian simulation method, where individual particles are followed in the flow field, is more computer intensive than the traditional Eulerian-Eulerian method, where the particles are treated as a pseudo-fluid. However, Eulerian-Lagrangian simulations are becoming feasible, and fol lowing the individual particles moving under the influence of the forces acting on them makes it possible to include more effects in the simulations, such as particle-particle and particle-wall interaction and lift forces. The project aims to develop an e fficient Eulerian-Lagrangian simulation code accounting fully for particle-particle, particle-wall and fluid-particle interaction. The code will be used to simulate the lifting of dusts due to a passing pressure shock wave, and the predictions will be val idated by comparison with experiment. The research carries both scientific and commercial promise, since this method will almost certainly become more important in the time to come.

Numerical simulation of dust lifting

The design of molecule-based storage systems and switches is an important area in modern materials chemistry. Transition metal complexes exhibiting spin crossover behaviour is one group of molecules which has potential in the development of molecular elec tronic switches and displays. Spin crossover compounds are defined as transition metal complexes that change electronic state after an external application. A temperature dependent transition is the classical example of a spin crossover, but also change i n pressure or irradiating the compound might trigger a spin crossover. 
Bistability, where two different phases are stable at the same temperature, is obtained if the compound shows hysteresis effects. Cooperativity between the metal centres seems to be a n important factor in thermal hysteresis. Intermolecular effects such as solvents, anion, hydrogen bonding and pi-pi stacking can influence the cooperativitiy in a mononuclear metal complex. It is has been proposed that in polynuclear the cooperativity an d hysteresis effect should be larger. In this project I will investigate this hypothesis. 
I will be working with Fe(II), Fe(III) and Co(II) complexes. The N-donor ligands that will be used are commercial available or can be synthesised through one-steps reactions. Bridging ligands that can give dinuclear and polynuclear compounds have been carefully chosen. Together with end-ligands the transition metal complexes showing spin crossover will be obtained. When the complexes undergo a spin transition a stru ctural change will also occur. This structural change will be investigated with single-crystal x-ray diffraction. Magnetic susceptibility changes will be investigated with collaborating groups in Sweden and Australia.

PES-EU-Prosjektetablererstøtte EU (bedrift)

NOVEL, NANOSTRUCTURED, LOW-PT ELECTROCATALYTIC INTERFACES WITH STRONG CATALYST -SUPPORT INTERACTION FOR PEM CELLS

Tildelt: kr 99 999

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PES-EU-Prosjektetablererstøtte EU (bedrift)

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