Phytochemical Profiling of Amazonian Herbal Medicinal Products: The Role of Traditional Processing Methods

Research on traditional processing methods used to transform plants into medicines offers a valuable arena to investigate the correct formulation of herbal products. While scientific literature on traditional herbal medicines emphasizes the relevance of the taxonomical identification of the used species, the same rigor is not applied to recording the processing methods. In other words, attention is given to the ingredients, but not the recipes. This can not only jeopardize the quality of research on traditional herbal medicines, but also generate concerns once such medicines reach the global markets in compliance with modern manufacturing requirements, which are usually well far away from the traditional ones. In the present work, different traditional herbal medicines used in the region of San Martin, Peru, were analyzed by the means of UPLC-UV/DAD metabolite fingerprinting. Different extracts were prepared from same commercially available materials in order to test the effect of the recipes on the chemistry of the finished products. In particular, different plant parts and their status (fresh or dry), extraction solvents and decoction times were selected for metabolite comparisons between the extracts. In accord with literature data on others traditional pharmacopoeias, our results show how specific manufacturing steps can affect the chemistry of the finished products. Further efforts are necessary to evaluate the traditional herbal practices, whether understandable or not, with modern scientific approaches

Research of efficiency of the organic Rankine cycle on a mathematical model

The object of the study are the organic Rankine cycle. The purpose of research is to evaluate the impact on the net efficiency of the initial and final properties of the cycle at work on a saturated and superheated steam. Investigations were carried out on the basis of a mathematical model, in which the thermodynamic properties of materials are determined on the basis of "REFPROP". On the basis of the available scientific publications on the use of working fluids in an organic Rankine cycle analysis was selected ozone-safe pentane. A mathematical model has been developed on condition that condenser is used as air cooler which allows the substance to condense at a temperature below 0 С. Numerical study on the mathematical model shown that net efficiency at work on pentane linearly depends on the condensation temperature and parabolically depends on the initial temperature with the saturated steam. During work at the superheated steam efficiency strongly depends on both the initial temperature and of the initial pressure. With rising initial temperature is necessary to gradually increase the initial pressure under certain conditions

Development of a calculation tool for the evaluation of Hybrid Systems coupling ventilation and floor radiant plant considering the aspect of the thermal comfort in the room

This work has been done with the aim to calculate the thermal behavior of Hybrid Systems that could be used as set-point for further detailed investigations in a Test Room; this has required the develop of a calculation method, realized with a steady state model in Microsoft Excel environment, taking advantage by the combination of the program language Visual Basic in “macro” and the graphical interface offered by the software. This “tool” let to calculate the behavior of a plan

Potenzialità ed aspetti applicativi del funnel marketing (digitale). Spunti dal caso MSW / OZ Racing

Questo practical paper approfondisce le potenzialità, gli aspetti applicativi e le possibili ricadute del funnel marketing digitale, analizzando le iniziative della PMI vicentina OZ Racing, specializzata nella produzione di cerchi in lega per automobili destinati all’aftermarket, con particolare riferimento alle attività realizzate a supporto del brand MSW Wheels. Il funnel marketing è un approccio integrato di marketing analitico, comunicazione e commerciale, che, ripercorrendo adeguatamente la customer journey, può garantire ritorni importanti in termini di performance di vendita. Con lo sviluppo e la diffusione massiccia del digitale, questo approccio acquisisce maggiore complessità e nuove potenzialità, anche per abilitare o sostenere processi di marketing sempre più integrati e consapevoli da parte delle imprese minori, basati su una sperimentazione continua. La particolarità del funnel marketing digitale descritto in questo studio consiste nel fatto che le iniziative contenute al suo interno sono prevalentemente B2C, ma sono state concepite principalmente come supporto alla clientela commerciale (gommisti) del brand, in un’ottica di trade marketing e di fidelizzazione, aprendo così una prospettiva ampia sulle logiche di applicazione e sui possibili ritorni di questo modello