51 research outputs found

    CFD Analysis of a Tubular Heat Exchanger for the Conditioning of Olive Paste

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    The use of a heat exchanger for the conditioning of the olive paste could enhance the olive oil extraction process. Particularly, paste pre-heating could reduce the malaxation time and, most of all, improve the temperature control during this process (e.g., 27 ◦C). In this study, a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of a tubular heat exchanger was carried out to better understand the influence of the inlet conditions of the olive paste on thermal and hydrodynamic behavior within it. CFD analysis was performed with SOLIDWORKS Flow Simulation (ver.2016). The heat exchanger consists of a tube-in-tube module, in which the inner tube was fed with the olive paste, while the jacket was filled of hot water. The main aim was that to predict the heat transfer and pressure drop in paste side of the exchanger. Multiple analyses by varying the mass flow rate and inlet temperature of the paste were carried out, and temperature and pressure drop were estimated. The numerical model has proved very useful in identifying the main factors affecting the optimization of the heat exchanger in order to improve the extraction process of the olive paste

    366. Development of Engineered Magnetic Nanoparticles Coupled With Lentiviral Vectors for Targeted Cancer Therapy and Hyperthermia

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    BackgroundIn recent years, considerable efforts have been spent to develop magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) and to improve their applicability in several areas including hyperthermia and target cancer gene therapies.The aim of the present study was to synthesize and characterize Fe3O4, magnetite core-silica shell and magnetite core-silica shell doped with calcium ions nanoparticles (NPs) in combination with lentiviral vectors to deliver therapeutic genes in vivo.Materials and MethodsMagnetite NPs were prepared by co-precipitation method, the silica shell was obtained by wet chemistry on the magnetic core stabilized with citric acid. Calcium ions were added to the silica shell modulating the NPs surface reactivity.The NPs were characterized with X-Ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, Vibrating Sample Magnetometer and zeta potential.Cytocompatibility tests were performed using both direct and not-direct contact models with murine endothelial cells (MS1) both in static and dynamic conditions using MNP coupled with/out LV.MNP and MNP-LV were tail vein injected intravenously in C57/Bl6 mice, biodistribution and expression studies were performed by histology and immunofluorescence using GFP as a marker gene.ResultsSpherical magnetite nanoparticles of about 15 nm in diameter were obtained with good dispersion in water. Addition of silica and calcium allowed obtaining a thin and amorphous silica or Ca-enriched silica shell, maintaining good dispersion in water. All the MNPs displayed a superparamagnetic behaviour.The MNP+/-LV used demonstrated to be cytocompatible in both static traditional and dynamic cytocompatibility models. Moreover when MNP-LV injected in mice we detected GFP expression mainly in the liver and spleen with biodistribution differences based on the MNPs-LV combination used.ConclusionThese results suggest these NPs as promising for in vivo applications. Biodistribution studies in vivo of Fe3O4 NPs in mice models were performed and accumulation of NPs into vital organs was minimal with no toxicity in mice up to 1 month later and sustained GFP expression detected with no inflammatory responses. The present studies can significantly improve the cancer therapy effectiveness by means of a selective and localized delivery of transgenes together with the opportunity to conjugate hyperthermic and genetic approaches using therapeutic transgenes

    Renal Insufficiency in Non-Diabetic Subjects: Relationship of MTHFR C677t Gene Polymorphism and Left Ventricular Hypertrophy

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    Association of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) 677CT gene polymorphism with hyperhomocysteinemia, renal failure, and cardiovascular events is controversial. We investigated the relationship of MTHFR 677CT polymorphisms with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and renal insufficiency.Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and left myocardial ventricular mass/m2 were assessed in 138 non-diabetic subjects (age, 50.93 ± 14.85 years; body mass index, 27.95 ± 5.98 kg/m(2)), 38 no-mutation wild MTHFR C677CC, 52 heterozygous MTHFR C677CT, and 48 homozygous MTHFR C677TT, all with adequate adherence to current international healthy dietary guidelines. Serum homocysteine, insulin resistance, high-sensitivity C-reactive-protein (hsCRP), parathyroid hormone, and renal artery resistive index (RRI) were challenged by odds ratio analysis and multiple linear regression models.MTHFR 677CT polymorphism showed higher GFR (73.8 ± 27.99 vs. 58.64 ± 29.95; p= 0.001) and lower renal failure odds (OR, 0.443; 95% confidence interval, 0.141-1.387) in comparison with wild MTHFR genotype. A favorable effect on GFR of MTHFR polymorphism is presented independently by the negative effects of LVH, increased intra-renal arterial resistance, and hyperparathyroidism; GFR is the significant predictive factor to LVH.Renal insufficiency in non-diabetic subjects is explained by interactions of MTHFR C677T polymorphism mutation with LVH, hsCRP, intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH), and RRI. Sign of these predictive effects is opposite: subjects with MTHFR 677CT polymorphism have lower likelihood of renal insufficiency; differently, wild-type MTHFR genotype subjects have lower GFR and greater hsCRP, iPTH, RRI, and LVH

    Hyperspectral imaging system to on-line monitoring the soy flour content in a functional pasta

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    Pasta enriched with soy flour can be considered as a functional food, due to its content in nutraceutical compounds such as isoflavones, carotenoids, and other antioxidants. The quantification of the amount of a functional ingredient is an important step in food authenticity. The availability of non-destructive techniques for quantitative and qualitative analyses of food is therefore desirable. This research was aimed to investigate the feasibility of hyperspectral imaging in reflectance mode for the evaluation of the soy flour content, also to investigate on the possibility to implement a feed-back control system to precisely dose the soy flour during the industrial production of pasta. Samples of pasta in shape of spaghetti were produced with durum wheat semolina and soy flour at increasing percentages (0, to 50%, steps of 5%). A feature selection algorithm was used to predict the amount of soy flour. The most influent wavelengths were selected, and a six-term Gauss function was trained, validated, and tested. The identified transfer function was able to predict the percentage of soy flour with high accuracy, with an R2adj value of 0.98 and RMSE 1.31. The developed system could represent a feasible tool to control the process in a continuous mode

    Preoperative imaging findings in patients undergoing transcranial magnetic resonance imaging-guided focused ultrasound thalamotomy

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    The prevalence and impact of imaging findings detected during screening procedures in patients undergoing transcranial MR-guided Focused Ultrasound (tcMRgFUS) thalamotomy for functional neurological disorders has not been assessed yet. This study included 90 patients who fully completed clinical and neuroradiological screenings for tcMRgFUS in a single-center. The presence and location of preoperative imaging findings that could impact the treatment were recorded and classified in three different groups according to their relevance for the eligibility and treatment planning. Furthermore, tcMRgFUS treatments were reviewed to evaluate the number of transducer elements turned off after marking as no pass regions the depicted imaging finding. A total of 146 preoperative imaging findings in 79 (87.8%) patients were detected in the screening population, with a significant correlation with patients' age (rho = 483, p < 0.001). With regard of the group classification, 119 (81.5%), 26 (17.8%) were classified as group 1 or 2, respectively. One patient had group 3 finding and was considered ineligible. No complications related to the preoperative imaging findings occurred in treated patients. Preoperative neuroradiological findings are frequent in candidates to tcMRgFUS and their identification may require the placement of additional no-pass regions to prevent harmful non-targeted heating

    Genetic Variants Associated with Chronic Kidney Disease in a Spanish Population

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    Chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients have many affected physiological pathways. Variations in the genes regulating these pathways might affect the incidence and predisposition to this disease. A total of 722 Spanish adults, including 548 patients and 174 controls, were genotyped to better understand the effects of genetic risk loci on the susceptibility to CKD. We analyzed 38 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in candidate genes associated with the inflammatory response (interleukins IL-1A, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, ICAM-1), fibrogenesis (TGFB1), homocysteine synthesis (MTHFR), DNA repair (OGG1, MUTYH, XRCC1, ERCC2, ERCC4), renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (CYP11B2, AGT), phase-II metabolism (GSTP1, GSTO1, GSTO2), antioxidant capacity (SOD1, SOD2, CAT, GPX1, GPX3, GPX4), and some other genes previously reported to be associated with CKD (GLO1, SLC7A9, SHROOM3, UMOD, VEGFA, MGP, KL). The results showed associations of GPX1, GSTO1, GSTO2, UMOD, and MGP with CKD. Additionally, associations with CKD related pathologies, such as hypertension (GPX4, CYP11B2, ERCC4), cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer predisposition (ERCC2) were also observed. Different genes showed association with biochemical parameters characteristic for CKD, such as creatinine (GPX1, GSTO1, GSTO2, KL, MGP), glomerular filtration rate (GPX1, GSTO1, KL, ICAM-1, MGP), hemoglobin (ERCC2, SHROOM3), resistance index erythropoietin (SOD2, VEGFA, MTHFR, KL), albumin (SOD1, GSTO2, ERCC2, SOD2), phosphorus (IL-4, ERCC4 SOD1, GPX4, GPX1), parathyroid hormone (IL-1A, IL-6, SHROOM3, UMOD, ICAM-1), C-reactive protein (SOD2, TGFB1, GSTP1, XRCC1), and ferritin (SOD2, GSTP1, SLC7A9, GPX4). To our knowledge, this is the second comprehensive study carried out in Spanish patients linking genetic polymorphisms and CKD

    Study and analysis of a cogeneration system with microturbines in a food farming of dry pasta

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    The Main purpose of this paper is to assess the possibility of installing a cogeneration plant in a food industry for dry pasta production. In particular, it was verified the feasibility of implementation of microturbines assembled in cluster, for a medium size cogeneration plant. This way it was seen that it is possible to combine the advantages in terms of the heat recovery at high temperatures of medium size turbines and of the greater flexibility of internal combustion engines. A preliminary analysis was carried out about the energy needs of the farm, mainly focusing on the thermal and electrical loads and the current methods of both energy supply and production. Several simulations were carried out for the preliminary design of the cogeneration plant, using suitable programming codes developed in Matlab and referring to the technical documentation for each machine used in the plant. It was shown that this plant allows for energy savings in all tested configurations. However, a good balance among various parameters leads to choose a size that is around the annual average value of the requested electric power (corresponding to 13 microturbines) or more. This is also confirmed by the analysis of the annual energy costs, which present a minimum in correspondence of the above chosen size. In addition to the energy and economic advantages, the system proposed in this paper also presents greater flexibility of use than that of individual engines and turbines. In fact, a peculiar characteristic of a cluster of microturbines is the possibility to efficiently meet the variability of the load and also to follow the expansion of the plant, gradually increasing the installed power. Therefore, the system studied in this paper shows that it is possible to use small machines, not only in the context of micro-cogeneration, but also in medium-sized applications, resulting advantageous in energy terms
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