A dynamical system approach to higher order gravity

The dynamical system approach has recently acquired great importance in the investigation on higher order theories of gravity. In this talk I review the main results and I give brief comments on the perspectives for further developments.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, 2 tables, talk given at IRGAC 2006, July 200

Predicted adsorption affinity for enteric microbial metabolites to metal and carbon nanomaterials

Ingested nanomaterials are exposed to many metabolites that are produced, modified, or regulated by members of the enteric microbiota. The adsorption of these metabolites potentially affects the identity, fate, and biodistribution of nanomaterials passing the gastrointestinal tract. Here, we explore these interactions using in silico methods, focusing on a concise overview of 170 unique enteric microbial metabolites which we compiled from the literature. First, we construct quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) models to predict their adsorption affinity to 13 metal nanomaterials, 5 carbon nanotubes, and 1 fullerene. The models could be applied to predict log k values for 60 metabolites and were particularly applicable to ‘phenolic, benzoyl and phenyl derivatives’, ‘tryptophan precursors and metabolites’, ‘short-chain fatty acids’, and ‘choline metabolites’. The correlations of these predictions to biological surface adsorption index descriptors indicated that hydrophobicity-driven interactions contribute most to the overall adsorption affinity, while hydrogen-bond interactions and polarity/polarizability-driven interactions differentiate the affinity to metal and carbon nanomaterials. Next, we use molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to obtain direct molecular information for a selection of vitamins that could not be assessed quantitatively using QSAR models. This showed how large and flexible metabolites can gain stability on the nanomaterial surface via conformational changes. Additionally, unconstrained MD simulations provided excellent support for the main interaction types identified by QSAR analysis. Combined, these results enable assessing the adsorption affinity for many enteric microbial metabolites quantitatively and support the qualitative assessment of an even larger set of complex and biologically relevant microbial metabolites to carbon and metal nanomaterials.Horizon 2020(H2020)760813Solid state NMR/Biophysical Organic Chemistr

Thermochemical biomass gasification: a review of the current status of the technology

A review was conducted on the use of thermochemical biomass gasification for producing biofuels, biopower and chemicals. The upstream processes for gasification are similar to other biomass processing methods. However, challenges remain in the gasification and downstream processing for viable commercial applications. The challenges with gasification are to understand the effects of operating conditions on gasification reactions for reliably predicting and optimizing the product compositions, and for obtaining maximal efficiencies. Product gases can be converted to biofuels and chemicals such as Fischer-Tropsch fuels, green gasoline, hydrogen, dimethyl ether, ethanol, methanol, and higher alcohols. Processes and challenges for these conversions are also summarized.Peer reviewedBiosystems and Agricultural Engineerin

Rab27b Regulates Mast Cell Granule Dynamics and Secretion

The Rab GTPase family regulates membrane domain organization and vesicular transport pathways. Recent studies indicate that one member of the family, Rab27a, regulates transport of lysosome-related organelles in specialized cells, such as melanosomes and lytic granules. Very little is known about the related isoform, Rab27b. Here we used genetically modified mice to study the involvement of the Rab27 proteins in mast cells, which play key roles in allergic responses. Both Rab27a and Rab27b isoforms are expressed in bone marrow-derived mast cells (BMMC) and localize to secretory granules. Nevertheless, secretory defects as measured by β-hexosaminidase release in vitro and passive cutaneous anaphylaxis in vivo were found only in Rab27b and double Rab27 knockout (KO) mice. Immunofluorescence studies suggest that a subset of Rab27b and double Rab27-deficient BMMCs exhibit mild clustering of granules. Quantitative analysis of live-cell time-lapse imaging revealed that BMMCs derived from double Rab27 KO mice showed almost 10-fold increase in granules exhibiting fast movement (>1.5 μm/s), which could be disrupted by nocodazole. These results suggest that Rab27 proteins, particularly Rab27b, play a crucial role in mast cell degranulation and that their action regulates the transition from microtubule to actin-based motility

A computationally efficient Kalman filter based estimator for updating look-up tables applied to NOx estimation in diesel engines

No-x estimation in diesel engines is an up-to-date problem but still some issues need to be solved. Raw sensor signals are not fast enough for real-time use while control-oriented models suffer from drift and aging. A control-oriented gray box model based on engine maps and calibrated off-line is used as benchmark model for No-x estimation. Calibration effort is important and engine data-dependent. This motivates the use of adaptive look-up tables. In addition to, look-up tables are often used in automotive control systems and there is a need for systematic methods that can estimate or update them on-line. For that purpose, Kalman filter (KF) based methods are explored as having the interesting property of tracking estimation error in a covariance matrix. Nevertheless, when coping with large systems, the computational burden is high, in terms of time and memory, compromising its implementation in commercial electronic control units. However look-up table estimation has a structure, that is here exploited to develop a memory and computationally efficient approximation to the KF, named Simplified Kalman filter (SKF). Convergence and robustness is evaluated in simulation and compared to both a full KF and a minimal steady-state version, that neglects the variance information. SKF is used for the online calibration of an adaptive model for No-x estimation in dynamic engine cycles. Prediction results are compared with the ones of the benchmark model and of the other methods. Furthermore, actual online estimation of No-x is solved by means of the proposed adaptive structure. Results on dynamic tests with a diesel engine and the computational study demonstrate the feasibility and capabilities of the method for an implementation in engine control units. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Guardiola, C.; Pla Moreno, B.; Blanco-Rodriguez, D.; Eriksson, L. (2013). A computationally efficient Kalman filter based estimator for updating look-up tables applied to NOx estimation in diesel engines. Control Engineering Practice. 21(11):1455-1468. doi:10.1016/j.conengprac.2013.06.015S14551468211