Rapid assessment of fertilizers manufacturing methods by means of a novel waveguide vector spectrometer

This study aims to test the suitability of a waveguide spectrometer, as a rapid and cheap tool to discriminate between different fertilizers according to two different manufacturing methods, such as granulation and blending. The tested instrument is a waveguide vector spectrometer, patented in 2016, that operates in the range 1.6-2.7 GHz, giving both spectral phase and gain measurements. Granulated and blended fertilizers were dehydrated and pulverized to avoid possible interferences due to the water content and the geometry of the sample. The spectral data were analysed by multivariate statistical analysis [principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA)] in order to obtain a discrimination tool considering the whole hidden spectral information. PC1 (95% of the explained variance) and PC2 (4% of the explained variance) are shown to explain most of the spectral variability. A tendency to group samples according to the different production methods can be seen, even if the discrimination is influenced by the different chemical compositions of fertilizers. However, PLS-DA models correctly classified 100% of the samples into granulated and blended classes using spectra obtained by waveguide spectroscopy. Despite being preliminary, the tests carried out on a small number of samples show how the technique coupled with PLS-DA models could be able to discriminate between the analysed fertilizers by means of their spectral signature and according to the manufacturing method, if the chemical composition is kept constant. Further tests are necessary to validate the model, also considering the possibility of grouping fertilizers on the basis of their similar composition

Effectiveness of the mechanical excitation applied to the olive paste: possible improving of the oil yield, in malaxation phase, by vibration systems

The mechanical vibrations characterized by a frequency lower than 200 Hz could promote the cells breakage and improve the oil extraction process by avoiding, at the same time, the negative effects on the commercial qualitative parameters due to the use of the heating during malaxation. Vibration tests were conducted by means of an electrodynamic shaker in order to find the optimal frequency levels of excitation, able to put in a resonant condition the olive paste. Sinusoidal accelerations at constant acceleration (120 m/s2), in a range between 5 and 200 Hz were explored. The 50 Hz and 80 Hz frequencies were able to put in resonant condition the olive paste. In the vibrated samples at 50 Hz (15 min of treatment), the maximum increment of the extraction efficiency (about 53% in comparison with the control), was observed. Further studies could be conducted in order to assess the synergic effect of the mechanical vibrations and the malaxation on the oil extraction efficiency, with the aim of reducing the time of the whole phase and avoiding changes in the oil quality traits

Human mesenchymal stem cells from chorionic villi and amniotic fluid are not susceptible to transformation after extensive in vitro expansion.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are promising candidates for cell therapy and tissue engineering. Increasing evidence suggests that MSCs isolated from fetal tissues are more plastic and grow faster than adult MSCs. In this study, we characterized human mesenchymal progenitor cells from chorionic villi (CV) and amniotic fluid (AF) isolated during the first and second trimesters, respectively, and compared them with adult bone marrow-derived MSCs (BM). We evaluated 10 CV, 10 AF, and 6 BM samples expanded until the MSCs reached senescence. We used discarded cells from prenatal analyses for all the experiments. To evaluate the replicative stability of these cells, we studied the telomerase activity, hTERT gene transcription, and telomere length in these cells. Spontaneous chromosomal alterations were excluded by cytogenetic analysis. We studied the expression of c-myc and p53, tumor-associated genes, at different passage in culture and the capacity of these cells to grow in an anchorage-independent manner by using soft agar assay. We isolated homogeneous populations of spindle-shaped CV, AF, and BM cells expressing mesenchymal immunophenotypic markers throughout the period of expansion. CV cells achieved 14 ± 0.9 logs of expansion in 118 days and AF cells achieved 21 ± 0.9 logs in 118 days, while BM cells achieved 11 × 0.4 logs in 84 days. Despite their high proliferation capacity, fetal MSCs showed no telomerase activity, no hTERT and c-myc transcriptions, and maintained long, stable telomeres. A constant expression level of p53 and a normal karyotype were preserved throughout long-term expansion, suggesting the safety of fetal MSCs. In conclusion, our results indicate that fetal MSCs could be an alternative, more accessible resource for cell therapy and regenerative medicine

Omeostasi dei telomeri nelle sindromi mielodisplastiche

I telomeri sono delle strutture altamente conservate situati nella parte terminale dei cromosomi degli eucarioti, sono formati da sequenze di DNA (TTAGGG)n ripetuto in tandem e da proteine ad esse associate. Le regioni telomeriche sono implicate in molteplici funzioni biologiche. Le sindromi mielodisplastiche (SMD) rappresentano un insieme di disfunzioni clonali delle cellule staminali emopoietiche caratterizzate da displasia, ematopoiesi inefficace che coinvolge una o più linee di maturazione delle cellule mieloidi e da un elevato rischio di progressione in leucemia acuta mieloide (LAM). In questo studio sono stati analizzati la lunghezza dei telomeri (TFR), l’attività telomerasica (AT) e l’espressione dei geni hTERT, c-myc, mad1 e p53 nel midollo osseo di pazienti affetti da SMD (n=109), da LAM (n=47) e nei controlli (n=24). Sono stati suddivisi i pazienti affetti da SMD in due gruppi sulla base dello score IPSS: pazienti SMD-BR (IPSS basso ed intermedio-1, n=83) e pazienti SMD-AR (IPSS intermedio-2 ed alto, n=20). Sono stati analizzate separatamente le leucemie mielomonocitiche croniche (LMMC, n=8) e le LAM. La TFR era minore nelle SMD rispetto ai controlli (p<0.001); tra le SMD la TFR era superiore nelle SMD-BR rispetto alle SMDAR (p<0.01), tali dati dimostravano un’accentuata erosione dei telomeri con il progredire della malattia. I pazienti mostravano un’espressione di hTERT e un’attività telomerasica molto eterogenee e non si evidenziavano differenze significative. Il gene mad-1 era iperespresso nelle SMD rispetto ai controlli (p<0.01). L’espressione di c-myc aumentava nel gruppo delle SMD-AR e nelle LAM (p<0.05 e p<0.01, rispettivamente). Il gene p53 era espresso allo stesso livello dei controlli in tutti i gruppi di pazienti analizzati. In conclusione l’omeostasi della regione telomerica, in particolare la lunghezza dei telomeri e l’espressione di alcuni fattori della trascrizione coinvolti nella sua regolazione, come c-myc e mad-1, potrebbero essere utilizzati in futuro per stratificare i pazienti in accordo con il sistema di classificazione del rischio di progressione della sindrome mielodisplastica

Spectral-sensitive Pulsed Photometry to predict the fat content of commercialized milk

Dairy industry has a strong interest in quick and inexpensive techniques able to estimate milk fat content both in off and on-line processes. In the present study, a simple and inexpensive optical technique is preliminary described, discussed, and then tested for the prediction of this parameter. It's essentially based on the different intensity and spectral emission of a tungsten lamp during its progressive lighting combined with the photodiode wavelength sensitivity. Measurements were carried out at 22 \ub0C on thirteen samples of commercialized milk (and mixture of them) (fat content ranging from 0.05% to 3.8%). The influence of the milk temperature on the optical behaviour was also investigated. The detected voltage waveform was strictly and not-linearly correlated with the fat content (R^2 up to 0.985) and predictions with R2 up to 0.997 were obtained by using artificial neural networks (ANN). Milk temperature differently influenced the measurements for milks with various fat content

Rapid Assessment of Wine Vinegar Qualitative Parameters by Means of a Waveguide Vector Spectrometer. Rapid device for vinegar quality assessment

The potentiality of a Waveguide Vector Spectrometer combined with multivariate data analysis was explored in order to set up predictive models of the main quality parameters of vinegar samples. Gain and phase spectra were acquired from 1.6 to 2.7 GHz and were used to build Partial Least Squares regression models. Segmented cross validations evidenced good accuracies for all the explored qualitative parameters with coefficient of determination values up to 0.997 (dry matter content)

Analizzatore di materiali per spettroscopia nelle microonde

La presente invenzione si riferisce ad un sistema per la misura di parametri, legati alle proprietà dielettriche di un materiale, utili per determinare talune caratteristiche chimico-fisiche del materiale stesso. Il sistema comprende una guida d’onda, preferibilmente rettangolare, provvista di un’apertura richiudibile per accedere all’interno della guida dove sono collocati un portacampione destinato a contenere ed alloggiare un materiale da analizzare, un’antenna trasmittente ed un’antenna ricevente poste a due lati opposti del supporto. Il sistema comprende poi un generatore di segnale a radiofrequenza operativamente connesso all’antenna trasmittente per generare un segnale radio nella guida d’onda. Il sistema comprende poi un comparatore di guadagno e fase collegato all’antenna ricevente e a quella trasmittente, per fornire all’unità di controllo il guadagno e la fase introdotti dal percorso nella guida d’onda sul segnale trasmesso dall’antenna trasmittente. L’unità di controllo provvede inoltre alla trasmissione dei dati per le necessarie elaborazioni

Assessment of food compositional parameters by means of a Waveguide Vector Spectrometer

A Waveguide Vector Spectrometer (WVS), operating in the frequency range 1.6–2.7 GHz, was designed, set up and tested for rapid assessment of main chemical-physical properties of a plurality of food products. The system, completely integrated, includes a waveguide, a control unit, a signal generator, a gain/phase comparator, a power supply, and a USB port (for control and data transfer). The information contained in the gain and phase waveforms related to the product dielectric properties are exploited for the prediction of different compounds characterising both simple liquid solutions and more complex food products. By processing spectral data with Partial Least Square Regression (PLS) algorithm, high levels of prediction accuracy were observed for all the tested products (R2 values from 0.940 to 0.999, in validation). Generally, both gain and phase waveforms appeared to be effective, for the selected foods, in terms of prediction accuracy. On the whole, the proposed system seems able to assess the content of varied substances both on simple and complex matrices. Simple prospective changes of the sample holder make the equipment potentially suitable for on-line monitoring of the quality of food products

A Non-Invasive Soil Moisture Sensing System Electronic Architecture: A Real Environment Assessment

This paper will show the electronic architecture of a portable andvnon-invasive soi lmoisture system based on an open rectangular waveguide. The spectral information, measured in the range of 1.5\u20132.7 GHz, is elaborated on by an embedded predictive model, based on a partial least squares (PLS) regression tool, for the estimation of the soil moisture (%) in a real environment. The proposed system is composed of a waveguide, containing Tx and Rx antennas, and an electronic circuit driven by a microcontroller (MCU). It will be shown how the system provides a useful and fast estimation of moisture on a silty clay loam soil characterized by a moisture range of about 9% to 32% and a soil temperature ranging from about 8\u25e6C and 18\u25e6C. Using the PLS approach, the moisture content can be predicted with an R2 value of 0.892, a root mean square error (RMSE) of 1.0%, and a residual prediction deviation (RPD) of 4.3. The results prove that it is possible to make accurate and rapid moisture assessments without the use of invasive electrodes, as currently employed by state-of-the-art approaches

A capacitive technique to assess water content in extra virgin olive oils

The present research investigated the correlations between capacitance and water content of extra virgin olive oils (EVOO). A commercial capacitor probe for radio applications and an LCR meter were used for electric tests in the frequency range from 500 Hz to 512 kHz. Seventeen samples of different EVOO with a moisture content ranging from 178 to 1321 mg/kg oil were selected for study. To assess the influence of moisture only, the oil with the maximum water content was filtered down to 288 mg/kg oil and five samples with intermediate water contents were prepared and submitted to electrical measurements. Subsequently, the capacitance of all 17 EVOO samples was measured at selected frequencies. Water content and capacitance for filtered oil were linearly correlated, showing R2 values up to 0.959 and a root mean square error (RMSE) of 48 mg/kg oil at 2 kHz. When the main oil composition together with the moisture changed, the trend was always linear, but the correlation (R2) decreased to 0.818 with an RMSE value of 123 mg/kg oil (at 8 kHz), so that the system remains suitable for screening of water content. Strong correspondences between capacitance and impedance suggest that these measurements can be carried out with very simple instruments for measuring voltage and current. Some novel linear correlations also emerged between water content, capacitance and fatty acid composition