Food industry digitalization: from challenges and trends to opportunities and solutions

Over the last years, manufacturing companies have to face several challenges, mainly related to the volatility of the demand and to the continuously changing requirements, both from the customers and suppliers. In the meantime, new technological roadmaps and suggested interventions in manufacturing systems have been implemented. These solutions aim to exploit the high innovation and economic potential resulting from the continuing impact of rapidly advancing information and communication technology (ICT) in industry. This paper explores these topics focusing on the food sector. Indeed, companies belonging to this industry are facing global challenges, which can be met with the support of the information technologies (IT). The overall goal of this study is to help food companies toward digitalization, with a particular focus on the design and manufacturing processes. From the methodological point of view, Case Study has been used as research method. Furthermore, a questionnaire characterized by the different elements of the Manufacturing Value Modelling Methodology (MVMM) has been developed and used to gather information from companies. A framework for the digitalization process in the food industry has been developed basing on the results of a preliminary literature review and of different focus groups. On completion of the aforementioned framework, a list of enabling technologies has been discussed. These represent the technological solutions for the specific food issues highlighted by the framework. Finally, a case study has been accomplished in order to test and validate the contents' framework. (C) 2018, IFAC (International Federation of Automatic Control) Hosting by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Food industry digitalization: from challenges and trends to opportunities and solutions

Over the last years, manufacturing companies have to face several challenges, mainly related to the volatility of the demand and to the continuously changing requirements, both from the customers and suppliers. In the meantime, new technological roadmaps and suggested interventions in manufacturing systems have been implemented. These solutions aim to exploit the high innovation and economic potential resulting from the continuing impact of rapidly advancing information and communication technology (ICT) in industry. This paper explores these topics focusing on the food sector. Indeed, companies belonging to this industry are facing global challenges, which can be met with the support of the information technologies (IT). The overall goal of this study is to help food companies toward digitalization, with a particular focus on the design and manufacturing processes. From the methodological point of view, Case Study has been used as research method. Furthermore, a questionnaire characterized by the different elements of the Manufacturing Value Modelling Methodology (MVMM) has been developed and used to gather information from companies. A framework for the digitalization process in the food industry has been developed basing on the results of a preliminary literature review and of different focus groups. On completion of the aforementioned framework, a list of enabling technologies has been discussed. These represent the technological solutions for the specific food issues highlighted by the framework. Finally, a case study has been accomplished in order to test and validate the contents\u2019 framework

Cost–utility analysis of pharmacogenetic testing based on CYP2C19 or CYP2D6 in major depressive disorder: assessing the drivers of different cost-effectiveness levels from an Italian societal perspective

Background and Objectives Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common and severe psychiatric disorder that has enor- mous economical and societal costs. As pharmacogenetics is one of the key tools of precision psychiatry, we analyze the cost–utility of test screening of CYP2C19 and CYP2D6 for patients suffering from major depressive disorder (MDD) and try to understand the main drivers that influence the cost–utility. Methods We developed two pharmacoeconomic nonhomogeneous Markov models to test the cost–utility, from an Ital- ian societal perspective, of pharmacogenetic testing genetic to characterize the metabolizing profiles of cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2C19 and CYP2D6 in a hypothetical case study of patients suffering from major depressive disorder (MDD). The model considers different scenarios of adjustment of antidepressant treatment according to the patient’s metabolizing profile or treatment over a period of 18 weeks. The uncertainty of model parameters is tested through both a probabilistic sensitivity analysis and a one-way deterministic sensitivity analysis, and these results are used in a post-hoc analysis to understand the main drivers of three alternative cost-effectiveness levels (“poor,” “standard,” and “high”). These drivers are first evaluated from an exploratory multidimensional perspective and next from a predictive perspective as the probability that a patient belongs to a specific cost-effectiveness level is estimated on the basis of a restricted set of parameters used in the original pharmacoeconomic model. Results The models for CYP2C19 and CYP2D6 indicate that screening has an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of 60,000€ and 47,000€ per quality-adjusted life year (QALY), respectively. The probabilistic sensitivity analysis shows that the treat- ments are cost-effective for a 75,000€ willingness to pay (WTP) threshold in 58% and 63% of the Monte Carlo replications, respectively. The post-hoc analysis highlights the factors that allow us to clearly discriminates poor cost-effectiveness from high cost-effectiveness scenarios and demonstrates that it is possible to predict with reasonable accuracy the cost-effectiveness of a genetic test and the associated therapeutic pattern. Conclusions Our findings suggest that screenings for both CYP2C19 and CYP2D6 enzymes for patients with MDD are cost-effective for a WTP threshold of 75,000€ per QALY, and provide relevant suggestions about the most important aspects to be further explored in clinical studies aimed at addressing the cost-effectiveness of genetic testing for patients diagnosed with MDD

Seaweed supplementation failed to affect fecal microbiota and metabolome as well as fecal iga and apparent nutrient digestibility in adult dogs

The present study investigated in dogs the dietary effects of intact seaweeds on some fecal bacterial populations and metabolites, fecal IgA and apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD). Ten healthy adult dogs were enrolled in a 5 × 5 replicated Latin square design to evaluate five dietary treatments: control diet (CD); CD + Ascophyllum nodosum; CD + Undaria pinnatifida; CD + Saccharina japonica; CD + Palmaria palmata (n replicates per treatment = 10). Seaweeds were added to food at a daily dose of 15 g/kg. The CD contained silica as a digestion marker. Each feeding period lasted 28 d, with a 7 d wash-out in between. Feces were collected at days 21 and 28 of each period for chemical and microbiological analyses. Fecal samples were collected during the last five days of each period for ATTD assessment. Dogs showed good health conditions throughout the study. The fecal chemical parameters, fecal IgA and nutrient ATTD were not influenced by algal supplementation. Similarly, microbiological analyses did not reveal any effect by seaweed ingestion. In conclusion, algal supplementation at a dose of 15 g/kg of diet failed to exert noticeable effects on the canine fecal parameters evaluated in the present study

Raman spectra and vibrational analysis of CsPbI3: a fast and reliable technique to identify lead halide perovskite polymorphs

A major issue in the development of Lead halide perovskites is the assessment of the crystal structure of the samples, due to their typically limited time-stability, and the understanding of the role of external factors that can induce a crystal phase transformation (such as humidity, intense light flux, temperature, etc.). In this perspective, it is of utmost importance to have at disposal a fast and reliable experimental tool able to give an immediate indication of the polymorph of the sample with the possibility to integrate in-situ measurements for constant monitoring. In this paper we propose Raman spectroscopy as the ideal technique to solve this problem. The vibrational analysis of CsPbI3 in the α-phase and δ-phase and of the Cs4PbI6 secondary phase is reported and all the vibrational modes are assigned by comparing experimental spectra of the phases to Raman modes calculated within the DFT framework. Finally, the mechanism of laser induced phase degradation was studied using in-situ Raman measurements providing new insights on the secondary phase generated during the process

Spectroscopic characterisation of the stellar content of ultra diffuse galaxies

Understanding the peculiar properties of Ultra Diffuse Galaxies (UDGs) via spectroscopic analysis is a challenging task requiring very deep observations and exquisite data reduction. In this work we perform one of the most complete characterisations of the stellar component of UDGs to date using deep optical spectroscopic data from OSIRIS at GTC. We measure radial and rotation velocities, star formation histories (SFH) and mean population parameters, such as ages and metallicities, for a sample of five UDG candidates in the Coma cluster. From the radial velocities, we confirm the Coma membership of these galaxies. We find that their rotation properties, if detected at all, are compatible with dwarf-like galaxies. The SFHs of the UDG are dominated by old (~ 7 Gyr), metal-poor ([M/H] ~ -1.1) and alpha-enhanced ([Mg/Fe] ~ 0.4) populations followed by a smooth or episodic decline which halted ~ 2 Gyr ago, possibly a sign of cluster-induced quenching. We find no obvious correlation between individual SFH shapes and any UDG morphological properties. The recovered stellar properties for UDGs are similar to those found for DDO44, a local UDG analogue resolved into stars. We conclude that the UDGs in our sample are extended dwarfs whose properties are likely the outcome of both internal processes, such as bursty SFHs and/or high-spin haloes, as well as environmental effects within the Coma cluster.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA

Impact of Horse Grazing on Floristic Diversity in Mediterranean Small Standing-Water Ecosystems (SWEs)

Small standing-Water Ecosystems (SWEs), despite their pivotal ecological role due to their participation in hydrogeological processes and their richness in biodiversity, seem to be often overlooked by the scientific community. In this study, the vascular plant diversity in some representative SWEs, that host a peculiar assemblage of plant and animal species, was investigated in relation to the disturbance effects of a wild horse population. A total of 50 plots, equally distributed in small and large SWEs, were surveyed and a level of disturbance was attributed to each plot. We found greater species richness in small and undisturbed SWEs, which suggests the negative impact of horse grazing on the richness of plant species in this type of habitat. Significant differences in plant assemblage were found according to the disturbance level, whereas, contrary to what was observed for species richness, no differences were detected based on their size. The diversity indices, used to evaluate the richness and diversity in these areas, recorded the highest values for small and undisturbed areas. This result highlights that the disturbance of the horse grazing plays a pivotal role in affecting the diversity and richness of species in the SWEs. These findings suggest that SWE systems should be analyzed considering these areas as unique in order to allow the conservation of the plant richness and biodiversity of the SWE systems in conjunction with the protection of horses

Phase shifts of synchronized oscillators and the systolic/diastolic blood pressure relation

We study the phase-synchronization properties of systolic and diastolic arterial pressure in healthy subjects. We find that delays in the oscillatory components of the time series depend on the frequency bands that are considered, in particular we find a change of sign in the phase shift going from the Very Low Frequency band to the High Frequency band. This behavior should reflect a collective behavior of a system of nonlinear interacting elementary oscillators. We prove that some models describing such systems, e.g. the Winfree and the Kuramoto models offer a clue to this phenomenon. For these theoretical models there is a linear relationship between phase shifts and the difference of natural frequencies of oscillators and a change of sign in the phase shift naturally emerges.Comment: 8 figures, 9 page