Microencapsulation of Probiotics for Food Functionalization: An Update on Literature Reviews

Functional foods comprise the largest growing food category due to both consumer demands and health claims by manufacturers. Probiotics are considered one of the best choices for meeting these demands. Traditionally, the food vehicle for introducing probiotics to consumers was dairy products, and to expand the benefits of probiotics for a wider range of consumers, the need to use other food items was essential. To achieve this goal while maximising the benefits of probiotics, protection methods used during food processing were tackled. The microencapsulation of probiotics is a promising methodology for achieving this function. This review highlights the use of the microencapsulation of probiotics in order to functionalise food items that initially were not considered suitable for probiotication, such as baked products, or to increase their functionality such as dairy products. The co-microencapsulation of probiotics with other functional ingredients such polyphenol, prebiotics, or omega-3 is also highlighted

Limosilactobacillus reuteri in Health and Disease

Limosilactobacillus reuteri is a microorganism with valuable probiotic qualities that has been widely employed in humans to promote health. It is a well-studied probiotic bacterium that exerts beneficial health effects due to several metabolic mechanisms that enhance the production of anti-inflammatory cytochines and modulate the gut microbiota by the production of antimicrobial molecules, including reuterin. This review provides an overview of the data that support the role of probiotic properties, and the antimicrobial and immunomodulatory effects of some L. reuteri strains in relation to their metabolite production profile on the amelioration of many diseases and disorders. Although the results discussed in this paper are strain dependent, they show that L. reuteri, by different mechanisms and various metabolites, may control body weight and obesity, improve insulin sensitivity and glucose homeostasis, increase gut integrity and immunomodulation, and attenuate hepatic disorders. Gut microbiota modulation by ingesting probiotic L. reuteri strains could be a promising preventative and therapeutic approach against many diseases and disorders

Akkermansia muciniphila, a new generation of beneficial microbiota in modulating obesity: A systematic review

Obesity is a complex syndrome and is recognized as the ultimate pathway of many chronic diseases. Studies using Akkermansia muciniphila supplementation strategy have proved to be effective for the prevention and treatment of obesity and other metabolic disorders. Although there are studies that support the protective effect of this strategy, the effects on the prevention of obesity on humans are not clear yet and need more investigation. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of A. muciniphila administration on modulating obesity. This systematic review was generated from articles published within the last 10 years. All articles were in English and included animal subjects. The review relied on the search engines Google Scholar, Pub Med, Web of Science and Medline using the following keywords: A. muciniphila, next-generation probiotic, new-generation probiotic, obesity, fat mass, body fat and lipid profile. The search has revealed 804 articles with relevant key words. After the exclusion of irrelevant articles, 10 studies were selected based on the criteria. These studies were randomized controlled trials that have shown that A. muciniphila modulates obesity by regulating metabolism and energy hemostasis and improving insulin sensitivity and glucose hemostasis. In addition, studies showed this microorganism enhances low grade inflammation by different mechanisms

Development of a Sliding Vane Rotary Pump for Engine Cooling

Abstract The efficiency of a pump for engine cooling system in automotive sector can be very low (15%-20%) during the homologation cycle which is more oriented to medium and low engine loads. Actual pump technology makes reference always to centrifugal pumps, which suffer in terms of efficiency when the speed changes as well as when head and flow rate delivered. In order to reduce the power absorbed by the pump, a different type is needed. A sliding vane rotary pump (SVRP) is a serious alternative having all the characteristics to fulfil the engine cooling circuit with high efficiency and reliability. In this work, a SVRP has been designed, built and tested for an existing engine cooling circuit: its performances were compared to the traditional (centrifugal) pump which today is mounted on that engine. The benefits over the homologation cycle in terms of mechanical energy and CO2 saving have been emulated thanks to a comprehensive mathematical model

The Potential of Mixtures of Pure Fluids in ORC-based Power Units fed by Exhaust Gases in Internal Combustion Engines

Abstract ORC represents an effective challenge in the waste heat recovery from ICEs. In spite of technological aspects, its thermodynamic design still deserves attention. Mixtures of pure fluids show interesting properties able to improve exergetic efficiency of the Rankine cycle, thanks to the positive slope of the phase changing. They can reduce also ODP and GWP, helping the replacement trends of working fluids. The paper optimizes cycle exergetic efficiency considering mixtures of pure fluids. The use of hydrocarbons in mixtures is particularly suitable and when used in limited fractions with other organic fluids they loses the limits related to the flammability.R245fa is a fluid that obtains a large net power increase when used in mixtures with hydrocarbons, compared to pure fluid an optimized R245fa/benzene mixture, for instance, attains an 11% net power increase

Imaging diagnostics and pathology in sars-cov-2-related diseases

In December 2019, physicians reported numerous patients showing pneumonia of unknown origin in the Chinese region of Wuhan. Following the spreading of the infection over the world, The World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020 declared the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak a global pandemic. The scientific community is exerting an extraordinary effort to elucidate all aspects related to SARS-CoV-2, such as the structure, ultrastructure, invasion mechanisms, replication mechanisms, or drugs for treatment, mainly through in vitro studies. Thus, the clinical in vivo data can provide a test bench for new discoveries in the field of SARS-CoV-2, finding new solutions to fight the current pandemic. During this dramatic situation, the normal scientific protocols for the development of new diagnostic procedures or drugs are frequently not completely applied in order to speed up these processes. In this context, interdisciplinarity is fundamental. Specifically, a great contribution can be provided by the association and interpretation of data derived from medical disciplines based on the study of images, such as radiology, nuclear medicine, and pathology. Therefore, here, we highlighted the most recent histopathological and imaging data concerning the SARS-CoV-2 infection in lung and other human organs such as the kidney, heart, and vascular system. In addition, we evaluated the possible matches among data of radiology, nuclear medicine, and pathology departments in order to support the intense scientific work to address the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. In this regard, the development of artificial intelligence algorithms that are capable of correlating these clinical data with the new scientific discoveries concerning SARS-CoV-2 might be the keystone to get out of the pandemic