IMECE2008-68339 EXERGY ANALYSIS OF A SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL-GAS TURBINE HYBRID POWER PLANT

ABSTRACT The paper presents the exergy analysis of a natural gas fuelled energy conversion process consisting of a hybrid solid oxide fuel cell coupled with a gas turbine. The fuel is partly processed in a reformer and then undergoes complete reforming in an internal reforming planar SOFC stack (IRSOFC). The syngas fuels in turn a standard gas turbine cycle that drives the fuel compressor and generates excess shaft power. Extensive heat recovery is enforced both in the Gas Turbine and between the topping SOFC and the bottoming GT. Two different configurations have been simulated and compared on an exergy basis: in the first one, the steam needed to support the external and the internal reforming reactions is completely supplied by an external Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG), while in the second one that steam is mainly obtained by recirculating part of the steam-rich anode outlet stream. The thermodynamic model of the fuel cell system has been developed and implemented into the library of a modular object-oriented Process Simulator, Camel-Pro ® ; then, by means of this simulator, the exergetic performance of the two alternative configurations has been analyzed. A detailed analysis of the exergy destruction at component level is presented, to better assess the distribution of irreversibilities along the process and to gain useful design insight

Association of MiR-126 with Soluble Mesothelin-Related Peptides, a Marker for Malignant Mesothelioma

BACKGROUND: Improved detection methods for diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) are essential for early and reliable detection as well as treatment. Since recent data point to abnormal levels of microRNAs (miRNAs) in tumors, we hypothesized that a profile of deregulated miRNAs may be a marker of MPM and that the levels of specific miRNAs may be used for monitoring its progress. METHODS AND RESULTS: miRNAs isolated from fresh-frozen biopsies of MPM patients were tested for the expression of 88 types of miRNA involved in cancerogenesis. Most of the tested miRNAs were downregulated in the malignant tissues compared with the normal tissues. Of eight significantly downregulated, three miRNAs were assayed in cancerous tissue and adjacent non-cancerous tissue sample pairs collected from 27 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded MPM tissues by quantitative RT-PCR. Among the miRNAs tested, only miR-126 significantly remained downregulated in the malignant tissues. Furthermore, the performance of the selected miR-126 as biomarker was evaluated in serum samples of asbestos-exposed subjects and MPM patients and compared with controls. MiR-126 was not affected by asbestos exposure, whereas it was found strongly associated with VEGF serum levels. Levels of miR-126 in serum, and its levels in patients' serum in association with a specific marker of MPM, SMRPs, correlate with subjects at high risk to develop MPM. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: We propose miR-126, in association with SMRPs, as a marker for early detection of MPM. The identification of tumor biomarkers used alone or, in particular, in combination could greatly facilitate the surveillance procedure for cohorts of subjects exposed to asbestos

Epigenome Microarray Platform for Proteome-Wide Dissection of Chromatin-Signaling Networks

Knowledge of protein domains that function as the biological effectors for diverse post-translational modifications of histones is critical for understanding how nuclear and epigenetic programs are established. Indeed, mutations of chromatin effector domains found within several proteins are associated with multiple human pathologies, including cancer and immunodeficiency syndromes. To date, relatively few effector domains have been identified in comparison to the number of modifications present on histone and non-histone proteins. Here we describe the generation and application of human modified peptide microarrays as a platform for high-throughput discovery of chromatin effectors and for epitope-specificity analysis of antibodies commonly utilized in chromatin research. Screening with a library containing a majority of the Royal Family domains present in the human proteome led to the discovery of TDRD7, JMJ2C, and MPP8 as three new modified histone-binding proteins. Thus, we propose that peptide microarray methodologies are a powerful new tool for elucidating molecular interactions at chromatin

Hymyc1 Downregulation Promotes Stem Cell Proliferation in Hydra vulgaris

Hydra is a unique model for studying the mechanisms underlying stem cell biology. The activity of the three stem cell lineages structuring its body constantly replenishes mature cells lost due to normal tissue turnover. By a poorly understood mechanism, stem cells are maintained through self-renewal while concomitantly producing differentiated progeny. In vertebrates, one of many genes that participate in regulating stem cell homeostasis is the protooncogene c-myc, which has been recently identified also in Hydra, and found expressed in the interstitial stem cell lineage. In the present paper, by developing a novel strategy of RNA interference-mediated gene silencing (RNAi) based on an enhanced uptake of small interfering RNAi (siRNA), we provide molecular and biological evidence for an unexpected function of the Hydra myc gene (Hymyc1) in the homeostasis of the interstitial stem cell lineage. We found that Hymyc1 inhibition impairs the balance between stem cell self renewal/differentiation, as shown by the accumulation of stem cell intermediate and terminal differentiation products in genetically interfered animals. The identical phenotype induced by the 10058-F4 inhibitor, a disruptor of c-Myc/Max dimerization, demonstrates the specificity of the RNAi approach. We show the kinetic and the reversible feature of Hymyc1 RNAi, together with the effects displayed on regenerating animals. Our results show the involvement of Hymyc1 in the control of interstitial stem cell dynamics, provide new clues to decipher the molecular control of the cell and tissue plasticity in Hydra, and also provide further insights into the complex myc network in higher organisms. The ability of Hydra cells to uptake double stranded RNA and to trigger a RNAi response lays the foundations of a comprehensive analysis of the RNAi response in Hydra allowing us to track back in the evolution and the origin of this process

Modelling and simulation of a hybrid solid oxide fuel cell coupled with a gas turbine power plant

The paper presents a simulation of a hybrid solid oxide fuel cell-gas turbine (SOFC-GT) power generation system fueled by natural gas. In the system considered, the unreacted fuel from a topping solid oxide fuel cell is burnt in an afterburner to feed a bottoming gas turbine and produce additional power. Combustion gas expands in the gas turbine after having preheated the inlet air and fuel and it is used to generate steam required by the reforming reactions. A novel thermodynamic model has been developed for the fuel cell and implemented into the library of a modular object-oriented Process Simulator, CAMELPro™. The relevant plant performance indicators have been analyzed to evaluate the incremental increase in efficiency brought about by the introduction of the gas turbine and heat regeneration system. Simulations were performed for different values of the main plant parameters

Modelling and Simulation of a Hybrid Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Coupled with a Gas Turbine Power Plant

The paper presents a simulation of a hybrid solid oxide fuel cell-gas turbine (SOFC-GT) power generation system fuelled by natural gas. The system consists of a fuel processor (pre-reformer), an internal reforming SOFC stack (IRSOFC), a combustor, a gas turbine, two compressors (for air and fuel) and three regenerators. A novel thermodynamic model of the fuel cell has been developed and implemented into the library of a modular object-oriented Process Simulator, Camel-Pro®. The relevant plant performance indicators extracted from the simulation results have been analyzed to evaluate the incremental increase in efficiency brought about by the introduction of the gas turbine and of the three regenerators. Simulations were performed for different values of the FC operating pressure, of the turbine inlet temperature, of the oxygen utilization ratio and of the current density. Energy balances are performed not only for the whole plant but also for each component in order to evaluate the distribution of the thermodynamic inefficiencies throughout the system

Mesoporous TiO2 from Metal-Organic Frameworks for Photoluminescence-Based Optical Sensing of Oxygen

Metal−organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of porous coordination networks extraordinarily varied in physicochemical characteristics such as porosity, morphologies, and compositions. These peculiarities make MOFs widely exploited in a large array of applications, such as catalysis, chemicals and gas sensing, drug delivery, energy storage, and energy conversion. MOFs can also serve as nanostructured precursors of metal oxides with peculiar characteristics and controlled shapes. In this work, starting from MIL125-(Ti), a 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate (BDC)-based MOF with Ti as metallic center, mesoporous TiO2 powders containing both anatase and rutile crystalline phases were produced. A challenging utilization of these porous MOF-derived Ti-based oxides is the optically-based quantitative detection of molecular oxygen (O2) in gaseous and/or aqueous media. In this study, the photoluminescence (PL) intensity changes during O2 exposure of two MOF-derived mixed-phase TiO2 powders were probed by exploiting the opposite response of rutile and anatase in VIS-PL and NIR-PL wavelength intervals. This result highlights promising future possibilities for the realization of MOF-derived doubly-parametric TiO2-based optical sensors

Oltre l\u2019era Covid-19: dall\u2019emergenza alle prospettive di sviluppo professionale.

L\u2019Universit\ue0 \ue8 entrata prepotentemente nell\u2019era della didattica a distanza (DaD) per far fronte all\u2019imperativo di garantire la formazione ai giovani anche nel periodo di lockdown imposto a seguito della pandemia del Covid-19. L\u2019esperienza ha costretto la docenza ad una veloce riconversione della didattica tradi-zionale all\u2019interno di modelli di azione on line per molti di loro sconosciuti e inusuali. Ci\uf2 ha determinato modificazioni significative negli approcci e nelle pratiche in uso, favorendo scelte e soluzioni spesso non considerate in precedenza. La ricerca indaga nello specifico l\u2019esperienza della DaD, definendone il costrutto, per far emergere le modificazioni intervenute nella pratica didattica, ponendo un\u2019attenzione particolare alla mediazione didattica e alla valutazione, due aree considerate fondative ed emblematiche nell\u2019azione di insegnamento-apprendimento. Attraverso la somministrazione di un questionario on line a cui hanno risposto 721 docenti, si evidenziano le metamorfosi intervenute nell\u2019azione di mediazione e di valutazione. Insieme ad un aumento di interesse verso l\u2019utilizzo di pratiche on line compaiono elementi di criticit\ue0, connessi soprattutto al permanere di modelli tradizionali, e di innovazione, indotti dall\u2019esigenza di offrire agli studenti un livello adeguato di qualit\ue0 didattica per l\u2019apprendimento. Nell\u2019insieme gli esiti emersi sembrano profilare, sia pure con diverso grado di intensit\ue0, l\u2019esigenza di considerare come centrale la professionalit\ue0 del docente indicata quale fattore chiave per riconvertire positivamente l\u2019esperienza della DaD oltre il portato contingente

Binding properties, cell delivery, and gene transfer of adenoviral penton base displaying bacteriophage

The penton base of adenovirus mediates viral attachment to integrin receptors and particle internalisation, properties that can be exploited to reengineer prokariotic viruses for the infection of mammalian cells. We report that filamentous phage displaying either the full-length penton base gene or a central region of 107 amino acids on their surface were able to bind, internalise, and transduce mammalian cells expressing integrin receptors. Both phage bound avb3, avb5, a3b1, and a5b1 integrin subtypes. Cell-binding was shown by electron microscopy; internalisation was investigated by immunofluorescence and confirmed by micropanning. As it has been described for adenovirus, pharmacologic disruption of phosphoinositide-30H kinase, but not of myosin light-chain kinase, inhibited phage internalisation. Recombinant phage encoding an eukaryotic expression cassette was able to mediate gene expression in mammalian cells. Taken together, these data open insights for the exploit of recombinant phage for integrin-targeted gene delivery