Determination of the Uncertainty Bounds of a Continuous Distillation Code: Effect of Input Variability and Model Uncertainty

AbstractIn this work, the effect of input variability and model uncertainty on the distillate composition of a continuous distillation tower is studied. To do that, we developed a stationary distillation code by combining mass and energy balance equations with a liquid-vapor equilibrium model and tray efficiency correlations. Feed and model uncertainties were modeled by using normal and uniform distributions respectively. A Monte Carlo propagation method was used to determine the upper and lower uncertainty margins of the distillate composition. The results of the application to a methanol-water distillation showed that the model uncertainty is as high as that of the feed variability. The information can be useful for the robust design of distillation towers

Case Study: The analysis of an integrated project management.

Textile is still considered as special waste, and in the Metropolitan Area of Turin 4.960 tons (Città Metropolitana di Torino, 2020) of it are collected every year. This aspect, among others, is one of the challenges that this territory is confronting. The research paper has the aim to show the results that emerged from the state of the art of a specific area in Italy. These data are then confronted with information about a local company, Dual Sanitaly, that produces and distributes textile medical devices throughout Italy. The analysis is the starting point of a shift from a linear to a systemic process. The application of the holistic approach helped to focus both on the aspects that define both physically and socially the Metropolitan Area of Turin and on the flows of energy, matter and information of the company. The collection of data follows a path that goes from macro to micro and from a generic point of view to specific topics and aspects. The ultimate goal is to have a solid base from which to identify challenges and opportunities, both in the territory and in the company, to understand which elements are fundamental to create a systemic pattern of people, projects and stories

Microwave Non‐Destructive Testing of Non‐Dispersive and Dispersive Media Using High‐Resolution Methods

This chapter discusses the principle and application of two model‐based algorithms for processing non‐dispersive and dispersive ground penetrating radar (GPR) data over layered medium under monostatic antenna configuration. Both algorithms have been selected for their super‐time resolution capability and reduced computational burden; they allow GPR to measure a layer thickness smaller than the fraction of the dominant wavelength. For non‐dispersive data, the ESPRIT algorithm is generalized to handle different kinds of data models encountered in experiments and in the literature. For dispersive data, the proposed adaptation of the MPM algorithm allows recovering the full‐time resolution and jointly estimating the time delays and quality factors of a layered medium with reduced bias. Both processing techniques are applied to probe‐layered roadways for NDT&E purposes

Lampreys, the jawless vertebrates, contain three Pax6 genes with distinct expression in eye, brain and pancreas

10.1038/s41598-019-56085-8Scientific Reports911955

Neurodevelopment Genes in Lampreys Reveal Trends for Forebrain Evolution in Craniates

The forebrain is the brain region which has undergone the most dramatic changes through vertebrate evolution. Analyses conducted in lampreys are essential to gain insight into the broad ancestral characteristics of the forebrain at the dawn of vertebrates, and to understand the molecular basis for the diversifications that have taken place in cyclostomes and gnathostomes following their splitting. Here, we report the embryonic expression patterns of 43 lamprey genes, coding for transcription factors or signaling molecules known to be involved in cell proliferation, stemcellness, neurogenesis, patterning and regionalization in the developing forebrain. Systematic expression patterns comparisons with model organisms highlight conservations likely to reflect shared features present in the vertebrate ancestors. They also point to changes in signaling systems –pathways which control the growth and patterning of the neuroepithelium-, which may have been crucial in the evolution of forebrain anatomy at the origin of vertebrates

Re‐evaluation of celluloses E 460(i), E 460(ii), E 461, E 462, E 463, E 464, E 465, E 466, E 468 and E 469 as food additives

Following a request from the European Commission, the EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient sources added to Food (ANS) was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on the re-evaluation of microcrystalline cellulose (E 460(i)), powdered cellulose (E 460(ii)), methyl cellulose (E 461), ethyl cellulose (E 462), hydroxypropyl cellulose (E 463), hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (E 464), ethyl methyl cellulose (E 465), sodium carboxy methyl cellulose (E 466) and enzymatically hydrolysed carboxy methyl cellulose (E 469) as food additives. The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) and the Scientific Committee on Food (SCF) established an acceptable daily intake (ADI) ‘not specified’ for unmodified and modified celluloses. Celluloses are not absorbed and are excreted intact in the faeces; in addition, microcrystalline cellulose, powdered and modified celluloses could be fermented by the intestinal flora in animals and humans. Specific toxicity data were not always available for all the celluloses evaluated in the present opinion and for all endpoints. Given their structural, physicochemical and biological similarities, the Panel considered it possible to read-across between all the celluloses. The acute toxicity of celluloses was low and there was no genotoxic concern. Short-term and subchronic dietary toxicity studies performed with E 460(i), E 461, E 462, E 463, E 464, E 466 and E 469 at levels up to 10% did not indicate specific treatment related adverse effects. In chronic toxicity studies performed with E 460(i), E 461, E 463, E 464, E 465 and E 466, the no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) values reported ranged up to 9,000 mg/kg body weight (bw) per day. No carcinogenic properties were detected for microcrystalline cellulose and modified celluloses. Adverse effects on reproductive performance or developmental effects were not observed with celluloses at doses greater than 1,000 mg/kg bw by gavage (often the highest dose tested). The combined exposure to celluloses (E 460–466, E 468 and E 469) at 95th percentile of the refined (brand-loyal) exposure assessment for the general population was up to 506 mg/kg bw per day. The Panel concluded that there was no need for a numerical ADI and that there would be no safety concern at the reported uses and use levels for the unmodified and modified celluloses (E 460(i); E 460(ii); E 461–466; E 468 and E 469). The Panel considered an indicative total exposure of around 660–900 mg/kg bw per day for microcrystalline, powdered and modified celluloses

The Shark Alar Hypothalamus:Molecular Characterization of Prosomeric Subdivisions and Evolutionary Trends

The hypothalamus is an important physiologic center of the vertebrate brain involved in the elaboration of individual and species survival responses. To better understand the ancestral organization of the alar hypothalamus we revisit previous data on ScOtp, ScDlx2/5, ScTbr1, ScNkx2.1 expression and Pax6 immunoreactivity jointly with new data on ScNeurog2, ScLhx9, ScLhx5, and ScNkx2.8 expression, in addition to immunoreactivity to serotonin (5-HT) and doublecourtin (DCX) in the catshark Scyliorhinus canicula, a key species for this purpose since cartilaginous fishes are basal representatives of gnathostomes (jawed vertebrates). Our study revealed a complex genoarchitecture for the chondrichthyan alar hypothalamus. We identified terminal (rostral) and peduncular (caudal) subdivisions in the prosomeric paraventricular and subparaventricular areas (TPa/PPa and TSPa/PSPa, respectively) evidenced by the expression pattern of developmental genes like ScLhx5 (TPa) and immunoreactivity against Pax6 (PSPa) and 5-HT (PPa and PSPa). Dorso-ventral subdivisions were only evidenced in the SPa (SPaD, SPaV; respectively) by means of Pax6 and ScNkx2.8 (respectively). Interestingly, ScNkx2.8 expression overlap over the alar-basal boundary, as Nkx2.2 does in other vertebrates. Our results reveal evidences for the existence of different groups of tangentially migrated cells expressing ScOtp, Pax6 and ScDlx2. The genoarchitectonic comparative analysis suggests alternative interpretations of the rostral-most alar plate in prosomeric terms and reveals a conserved molecular background for the vertebrate alar hypothalamus likely acquired before/during the agnathan-gnathostome transition, on which Otp, Pax6, Lhx5, and Neurog2 are expressed in the Pa while Dlx and Nkx2.2/Nkx2.8 are expressed in the SPa

L’éducation de « l’enfance coupable ». L’enfance aux frontières du droit, de l’éducation et du paradigme médico-judiciaire.: Sous la direction d’Anne-Claire Husser et Michel Fabre

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