Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling and experimental validation of thermal processing of canned fruit salad in glass jar

In this paper the heat transfer of a fruit salad during the pasteurization treatment was investigated. The objective of the paper was to develop and validate a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model for predicting the temperature profiles during the thermal processing of this sample. Samples of a commercial fruit salad, composed of five different fruits with different shapes, sizes and thermal properties, submerged in water/sugar syrup, were submitted to thermal treatments in a pilot plant and temperature profiles at different locations were experimentally recorded. Results showed that the slowest heating point (SHP) was positioned at 19–20% of the can height: fruit closest to the SHP such as pear presented the lowest F value. Moreover, F values resulted to be influenced by the distance from the jar bottom as function of natural convection motion of the syrup. CFD model simulations data were then successfully validated against the experimental ones: results, expressed as RMSE, showed a good fitting between calculated and experimental data, both for syrup (mean RMSE 1.47 C) and fruit pieces (mean RMSE 1.63 C). In addition, F values calculated from both experimental and simulated temperatures resulted very similar with only little differences. In conclusion, the proposed approach and mathematical model can thus be usefully applied for the simulation and prediction of thermal processes of canned fruit salad for process design and optimization

Which comes first? New insights on comorbidity between eating disorders and bipolar disorders.

Abstract Aims : Bipolar disorders (BDs) and eating disorders (EDs) are both common and severe mental illness and present wide areas of symptomatological overlap. The present study aims to focus on the most significant aspects of this comorbidity. Methods This review summarizes epidemiology, aethiopathology, prognostic impact, assessment, treatment of comorbidity between BDs and EDs, and comorbidity between bipolar or eating disorders and other psychiatric disorders. We have reviewed articles published in PubMed/Medline, Scopus, Embase, ScienceDirect from 2005 to 2020 concerning comorbidity between eating and bipolar disorders, and systematic reviews or metanalysis on comorbidities between EDs or BDs and other psychiatric disorders. Results Studies that specifically evaluate the prevalence of EDs in patients with bipolar disorder are more than the studies that investigate the opposite. In BDs, binge eating disorder (BED) represents the most common eating disorder with a prevalence ranging from 8,8% to 28,8%, whereas BN has a prevalence ranging from 4,8% to 10%, and AN from 1% to 7,4%. Instead, in ED patients, prevalence of bipolar disorders ranges from 11,5% to 68.1%. The relationship between EDs and BDs has not been yet investigated enough and consequently has not been totally understood. The presence of EDs has been considered as a marker of clinical severity in patients with bipolar disorders, whereas the presence of bipolar disorder in patients with EDs seems not to have a considerable effect on the age at onset of ED symptoms and on their severity. Comorbidities between EDs or BDs and other psychiatric disorders were also examined. Discussion Given the strong co-occurrence of eating and bipolar disorder, the treatment for one of these should consider that the other one may co-exist, and therefore should focus on both of them. In patients suffering from one of these disorders, the early screening for the other one should be made. As for pharmacological treatment, it is mandatory to consider that pharmacological treatment effective for one of the two disorders could worsen symptoms of the other, for instance many psychotropic medications could cause weight gain. Further studies are needed to reach an early diagnosis through the development of screening tools, and to deepen aspects of this comorbidity that remain still unknown with particular regard to pharmacological treatment and to biopsychological aspects that might be useful in determining the aetiopathology

Ultrasound of the plantar foot: a guide for the assessment of plantar intrinsic muscles

Plantar intrinsic muscles play a pivotal role in posture control and gait dynamics. They help maintain the longitudinal and transverse arches of the foot, and they regulate the degree and velocity of arch deformation during walking or running. Consequently, pathologies affecting the plantar intrinsic muscles (for instance, acquired and inherited neuropathies) lead to foot deformity, gait disorders, and painful syndromes. Intrinsic muscle malfunctioning is also associated with multifactorial overuse or degenerative conditions such as pes planus, hallux valgus, and plantar fasciitis. As the clinical examination of each intrinsic muscle is challenging, ultrasound is gaining a growing interest as an imaging tool to investigate the trophism of these muscular structures and the pattern of their alterations, and potentially to follow up on the effects of dedicated rehabilitation protocols. The ten plantar intrinsic muscles can be dived into three groups (medial, central and lateral) and four layers. Here, we propose a regional and landmark-based approach to the complex sonoanatomy of the plantar intrinsic muscles in order to facilitate the correct identification of each muscle from the superficial to the deepest layer. We also summarize the pathological ultrasound findings that can be encountered when scanning the plantar muscles, pointing out the patterns of alterations specific to certain conditions, such as plantar nerves mononeuropathies

How resistant are levodopa-resistant axial symptoms? Response of freezing, posture and voice to increasing levodopa intestinal infusion rates in Parkinson's disease

Treatment of freezing of gait (FoG) and other Parkinson's disease (PD) axial symptoms is challenging. Systematic assessments of axial symptoms at progressively increasing levodopa doses are lacking. We sought to analyze the resistance to high levodopa doses of FoG, posture, speech, and altered gait features presenting in daily-ON therapeutic condition

Ultrasound of the palmar aspect of the hand: normal anatomy and clinical applications of intrinsic muscles imaging

Intrinsic hand muscles play a fundamental role in tuning the fine motricity of the hand and may be affected by several pathologic conditions, including traumatic injuries, atrophic changes induced by denervation, and space-occupying masses. Modern hand surgery techniques allow to target several hand muscle pathologies and, as a direct consequence, requests for hand imaging now carry increasingly complex diagnostic questions. The progressive refinement of ultrasound technology and the current availability of high and ultra-high frequency linear transducers that allow the investigation of intrinsic hand muscles and tendons with incomparable resolution have made this modality an essential tool for the evaluation of pathological processes involving these tiny structures. Indeed, intrinsic hand muscles lie in a superficial position and are amenable to investigation by means of transducers with frequency bands superior to 20 MHz, offering clear advantages in terms of resolution and costs compared to magnetic resonance imaging. In addition, ultrasound allows to perform dynamic maneuvers that can critically enhance its diagnostic power, by examining the questioned structure during stress tests that simulate the conditions eliciting clinical symptoms. The present article aims to review the anatomy, the ultrasound scanning technique, and the clinical application of thenar, hypothenar, lumbricals and interossei muscles imaging, also showing some examples of pathology involving these structures

Validation of a Simple, Rapid, and Cost-Effective Method for Acute Rejection Monitoring in Lung Transplant Recipients

Despite advances in immunosuppression therapy, acute rejection remains the leading cause of graft dysfunction in lung transplant recipients. Donor-derived cell-free DNA is increasingly being considered as a valuable biomarker of acute rejection in several solid organ transplants. We present a technically improved molecular method based on digital PCR that targets the mismatch between the recipient and donor at the HLA-DRB1 locus. Blood samples collected sequentially post-transplantation from a cohort of lung recipients were used to obtain proof-of-principle for the validity of the assay, correlating results with transbronchial biopsies and lung capacity tests. The results revealed an increase in dd-cfDNA during the first 2 weeks after transplantation related to ischemia-reperfusion injury (6.36 ± 5.36%, p < 0.0001). In the absence of complications, donor DNA levels stabilized, while increasing again during acute rejection episodes (7.81 ± 12.7%, p < 0.0001). Respiratory tract infections were also involved in the release of dd-cfDNA (9.14 ± 15.59%, p = 0.0004), with a positive correlation with C-reactive protein levels. Overall, the dd-cfDNA percentages were inversely correlated with the lung function values measured by spirometry. These results confirm the value of dd-cfDNA determination during post-transplant follow-up to monitor acute rejection in lung recipients, achieved using a rapid and inexpensive approach based on the HLA mismatch between donor and recipient