Search results for: Sergio A. Bernal-Chavez

Authors: Sergio Rapagnà, Alessandro Antonio Papa, Armando Vitale, Andre Di Carlo

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In recent years the world population has enormously increased the use of plastic products for their living needs, in particular for transporting and storing consumer goods such as food and beverage. Plastics are widely used in the automotive industry, in construction of electronic equipment, clothing and home furnishings. Over the last 70 years, the annual production of plastic products has increased from 2 million tons to 460 million tons. About 20% of the last quantity is mismanaged as waste. The consequence of this mismanagement is the release of plastic waste into the terrestrial and marine environments which represents a danger to human health and the ecosystem. Recycling all plastics is difficult because they are often made with mixtures of polymers that are incompatible with each other and contain different additives. The products obtained are always of lower quality and after two/three recycling cycles they must be eliminated either by thermal treatment to produce heat or disposed of in landfill. An alternative to these current solutions is to obtain a mixture of gases rich in H₂, CO and CO₂ suitable for being profitably used for the production of chemicals with consequent savings fossil sources. Obtaining a hydrogen-rich syngas can be achieved by gasification process using the fluidized bed reactor, in presence of steam as the fluidization medium. The fluidized bed reactor allows the gasification process of plastics to be carried out at a constant temperature and allows the use of different plastics with different compositions and different grain sizes. Furthermore, during the gasification process the use of steam increase the gasification of char produced by the first pyrolysis/devolatilization process of the plastic particles. The bed inventory can be made with particles having catalytic properties such as olivine, capable to catalyse the steam reforming reactions of heavy hydrocarbons normally called tars, with a consequent increase in the quantity of gases produced. The plant is composed of a fluidized bed reactor made of AISI 310 steel, having an internal diameter of 0.1 m, containing 3 kg of olivine particles as a bed inventory. The reactor is externally heated by an oven up to 1000 °C. The hot producer gases that exit the reactor, after being cooled, are quantified using a mass flow meter. Gas analyzers are present to measure instantly the volumetric composition of H₂, CO, CO₂, CH₄ and NH₃. At the conference, the results obtained from the continuous gasification of polypropylene (PP) particles in a steam atmosphere at temperatures of 840-860 °C will be presented.

Keywords: gasification, fluidized bed, hydrogen, olivine, polypropyle

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Authors: José Ramón López-Mínguez, Estrella Suárez-Corchuelo, Sergio López-Tejero, Luis Nombela-Franco, Xavier Freixa-Rofastes, Guillermo Bastos-Fernández, Xavier Millán-Álvarez, Raúl Moreno-Gómez, José Antonio Fernández-Díaz, Ignacio Amat-Santos, Tomás Benito-González, Fernando Alfonso-Manterola, Pablo Salinas-Sanguino, Pedro Cepas-Guillén, Dabit Arzamendi, Ignacio Cruz-González, Juan Manuel Nogales-Asensio

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Background and objectives: The treatment of patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) who need coronary stenting is challenging. The objective of the study was to determine whether left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) could be a feasible option and benefit these patients. To this end, we studied the impact of LAAO plus antiplatelet drugs vs oral anticoagulants (OAC) (including direct OAC) plus antiplatelet drugs in these patients’ long-term outcomes. Methods: The results of 207 consecutive patients with NVAF who underwent coronary stenting were analyzed. A total of 146 patients were treated with OAC (75 with acenocoumarol, 71 with direct OAC) while 61 underwent LAAO. The median follow-up was 35 months. Patients also received antiplatelet therapy as prescribed by their cardiologist. The study received the proper ethical oversight. Results: Age (mean 75.7 years), and the past medical history of stroke were similar in both groups. However, the LAAO group had more unfavorable characteristics (history of coronary artery disease [CHA2DS2-VASc], and significant bleeding [BARC ≥ 2] and HAS-BLED). The occurrence of major adverse events (death, stroke/transient ischemic events, major bleeding) and major cardiovascular events (cardiac death, stroke/transient ischemic attack, and myocardial infarction) were significantly higher in the OAC group compared to the LAAO group: 19.75% vs 9.06% (HR, 2.18; P = .008) and 6.37% vs 1.91% (HR, 3.34; P = .037), respectively. Conclusions: In patients with NVAF undergoing coronary stenting, LAAO plus antiplatelet therapy produced better long-term outcomes compared to treatment with OAC plus antiplatelet therapy despite the unfavorable baseline characteristics of the LAAO group.

Keywords: stents, atrial fibrillation, anticoagulants, left atrial appendage occlusion

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Authors: Paulo Sérgio Ribeiro de Araújo Bogas

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Although several studies have assumed (at least implicitly) that learners' approaches to learning develop into deeper approaches to higher education, there appears to be no clear theoretical basis for this assumption and no empirical evidence. As a scientific contribution to this discussion, a pedagogical intervention of a quasi-experimental nature was developed, with a mixed methodology, evaluating the intervention within a single curricular unit of Marketing, using cases based on real challenges of brands, business simulation, and customer projects. Primary and secondary experiences were incorporated in the intervention: the primary experiences are the experiential activities themselves; the secondary experiences result from the primary experience, such as reflection and discussion in work teams. A diversified learning relationship was encouraged through the various connections between the different members of the learning community. The present study concludes that in the same context, the student's responses can be described as students who reinforce the initial deep approach, students who maintain the initial deep approach level, and others who change from an emphasis on the deep approach to one closer to superficial. This typology did not always confirm studies reported in the literature, namely, whether the initial level of deep processing would influence the superficial and the opposite. The result of this investigation points to the inclusion of pedagogical and didactic activities that integrate different motivations and initial strategies, leading to the possible adoption of deep approaches to learning since it revealed statistically significant differences in the difference in the scores of the deep/superficial approach and the experiential level. In the case of real challenges, the categories of “attribution of meaning and meaning of studied” and the possibility of “contact with an aspirational context” for their future professional stand out. In this category, the dimensions of autonomy that will be required of them were also revealed when comparing the classroom context of real cases and the future professional context and the impact they may have on the world. Regarding the simulated practice, two categories of response stand out: on the one hand, the motivation associated with the possibility of measuring the results of the decisions taken, an awareness of oneself, and, on the other hand, the additional effort that this practice required for some of the students.

Keywords: experiential learning, higher education, mixed methods, reflective learning, marketing

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Authors: Luis Fernando Calvo Prieto, Raul Herrero Martínez, Mónica Santamarta Llorente, Sergio Paniagua Bermejo

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The project that is presented starts from the questioning about the compartmentalization of knowledge that occurs in university higher education. There are several authors who describe the problems associated with this reality (Rodamillans, M) indicating a lack of integration of the knowledge acquired by students throughout the subjects taken in their university degree. Furthermore, this disintegration is accentuated by the enrollment system of some Faculties and/or Schools of Engineering, which allows the student to take subjects outside the recommended curricular path. This problem is accentuated in an ostentatious way when trying to find an integration between humanistic subjects and the world of experimental sciences or engineering. This abrupt separation between humanities and sciences can be observed in any study plan of Spanish degrees. Except for subjects such as economics or English, in the Faculties of Sciences and the Schools of Engineering, the absence of any humanistic content is striking. At some point it was decided that the only value to take into account when designing their study plans was “usefulness”, considering the humanities systematically useless for their training, and therefore banishing them from the study plans. forgetting the role they have on the capacity of both Leadership and Civic Humanism in our professionals of tomorrow. The teaching guides for the different subjects in the branch of science or engineering do not include any competency, not even transversal, related to leadership capacity or the need, in today's world, for social, civic and humanitarian knowledge part of the people who will offer medical, pharmaceutical, environmental, biotechnological or engineering solutions to a society that is generated thanks to more or less complex relationships based on human relationships and historical events that have occurred so far. If we want professionals who know how to deal effectively and rationally with their leadership tasks and who, in addition, find and develop an ethically civic sense and a humanistic profile in their functions and scientific tasks, we must not leave aside the importance that it has, for the themselves, know the causes, facts and consequences of key events in the history of humanity. The words of the humanist Paul Preston are well known: “he who does not know his history is condemned to repeat the mistakes of the past.” The idea, therefore, that today there can be men of science in the way that the scientists of the Renaissance were, becomes, at the very least, difficult to conceive. To think that a Leonardo da Vinci can be repeated in current times is a more than crazy idea; and although at first it may seem that the specialization of a professional is inevitable but beneficial, there are authors who consider (Sánchez Inarejos) that it has an extremely serious negative side effect: the entrenchment behind the different postulates of each area of knowledge, disdaining everything. what is foreign to it.

Keywords: STEM, higher education, social sciences, history

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Authors: Jose R. Garcia, Lexi Frankel, Amalia Ardeljan, Sergio Medina, Ali Yasback, Omar Rashid

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Background: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a gram-negative, spiral-shaped bacterium that affects nearly half of the population worldwide and humans serve as the principal reservoir. Infection rates usually follow an inverse relationship with hygiene practices and are higher in developing countries than developed countries. Incidence varies significantly by geographic area, race, ethnicity, age, and socioeconomic status. H. pylori is primarily associated with conditions of the gastrointestinal tract such as atrophic gastritis and duodenal peptic ulcers. Infection is also associated with an increased risk of carcinogenesis as there is evidence to show that H. pylori infection may lead to gastric adenocarcinoma and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma. It is suggested that H. pylori infection may be considered as a systemic condition, leading to various novel associations with several different neoplasms such as colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, and lung cancer, although further research is needed. Emerging evidence suggests that H. pylori infection may offer protective effects against Mycobacterium tuberculosis as a result of non-specific induction of interferon- γ (IFN- γ). Similar methods of enhanced immunity may affect the development of bronchogenic carcinoma due to the antiproliferative, pro-apoptotic and cytostatic functions of IFN- γ. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlation between Helicobacter pylori infection and the incidence of bronchogenic carcinoma. Methods: The data was provided by a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant national database to evaluate the patients infected versus patients not infected with H. pylori using ICD-10 and ICD-9 codes. Access to the database was granted by the Holy Cross Health, Fort Lauderdale for the purpose of academic research. Standard statistical methods were used. Results:-Between January 2010 and December 2019, the query was analyzed and resulted in 163,224 in both the infected and control group, respectively. The two groups were matched by age range and CCI score. The incidence of bronchogenic carcinoma was 1.853% with 3,024 patients in the H. pylori group compared to 4.785% with 7,810 patients in the control group. The difference was statistically significant (p < 2.22x10-16) with an odds ratio of 0.367 (0.353 - 0.383) with a confidence interval of 95%. The two groups were matched by treatment and incidence of cancer, which resulted in a total of 101,739 patients analyzed after this match. The incidence of bronchogenic carcinoma was 1.929% with 1,962 patients in the H. pylori and treatment group compared to 4.618% with 4,698 patients in the control group with treatment. The difference was statistically significant (p < 2.22x10-16) with an odds ratio of 0.403 (0.383 - 0.425) with a confidence interval of 95%.

Keywords: bronchogenic carcinoma, helicobacter pylori, lung cancer, pathogen-associated molecular patterns

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Authors: Omar Romero-Hernandez, Federico Castillo, Armando Sanchez, Sergio Romero, Andrea Romero, Michael Mitchell

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Environmental policies for resource conservation in rural areas include subsidies on services and social programs to cover living expenses. Government's expectation is that rural communities who benefit from social programs, such as payment for ecosystem services, are provided with an incentive to conserve natural resources and preserve natural sinks for greenhouse gases. At the same time, global climate change has affected the lives of people worldwide. The capability to adapt to global warming depends on the available resources and the standard of living, putting rural communities at a disadvantage. This paper explores whether rural entrepreneurship can represent a solution to resource conservation and global warming adaptation in rural communities. The research focuses on a sample of two coffee communities in Oaxaca, Mexico. Researchers used geospatial information contained in aerial photographs of the geographical areas of interest. Households were identified in the photos via the roofs of households and georeferenced via coordinates. From the household population, a random selection of roofs was performed and received a visit. A total of 112 surveys were completed, including questions of socio-demographics, perception to climate change and adaptation activities. The population includes two groups of study: entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs. Data was sorted, filtered, and validated. Analysis includes descriptive statistics for exploratory purposes and a multi-regression analysis. Outcomes from the surveys indicate that coffee farmers, who demonstrate entrepreneurship skills and hire employees, are more eager to adapt to climate change despite the extreme adverse socioeconomic conditions of the region. We show that farmers with entrepreneurial tendencies are more creative in using innovative farm practices such as the planting of shade trees, the use of live fencing, instead of wires, and watershed protection techniques, among others. This result counters the notion that small farmers are at the mercy of climate change and have no possibility of being able to adapt to a changing climate. The study also points to roadblocks that farmers face when coping with climate change. Among those roadblocks are a lack of extension services, access to credit, and reliable internet, all of which reduces access to vital information needed in today’s constantly changing world. Results indicate that, under some circumstances, funding and supporting entrepreneurship programs may provide more benefit than traditional social programs.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, global warming, rural communities, climate change adaptation

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Authors: Victoria Molina, Wendy Franco, Sergio Benavides, José M. Troncoso, Ricardo Luna, Jose R. PéRez-Correa

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Emamectin Benzoate (EB) is a crystal antiparasitic that belongs to the avermectin family. It is one of the most common treatments used in Chile to control Caligus rogercresseyi in Atlantic salmon. However, the sea lice acquired resistance to EB when it is exposed at sublethal EB doses. The low solubility rate of EB and its degradation at the acidic pH in the fish digestive tract are the causes of the slow absorption of EB in the intestine. To protect EB from degradation and enhance its absorption, specific microencapsulation technologies must be developed. Amorphous Solid Dispersion techniques such as Spray Drying (SD) and Ionic Gelation (IG) seem adequate for this purpose. Recently, Soluplus® (SOL) has been used to increase the solubility rate of several drugs with similar characteristics than EB. In addition, alginate (ALG) is a widely used polymer in IG for biomedical applications. Regardless of the encapsulation technique, the quality of the obtained microparticles is evaluated with the following responses, yield (Y%), encapsulation efficiency (EE%) and loading capacity (LC%). In addition, it is important to know the percentage of EB released from the microparticles in gastric (GD%) and intestinal (ID%) digestions. In this work, we microencapsulated EB with SOL (EB-SD) and with ALG (EB-IG) using SD and IG, respectively. Quality microencapsulation responses and in vitro gastric and intestinal digestions at pH 3.35 and 7.8, respectively, were obtained. A central composite design was used to find the optimum microencapsulation variables (amount of EB, amount of polymer and feed flow). In each formulation, the behavior of these variables was predicted with statistical models. Then, the response surface methodology was used to find the best combination of the factors that allowed a lower EB release in gastric conditions, while permitting a major release at intestinal digestion. Two approaches were used to determine this. The desirability approach (DA) and multi-objective optimization (MOO) with multi-criteria decision making (MCDM). Both microencapsulation techniques allowed to maintain the integrity of EB in acid pH, given the small amount of EB released in gastric medium, while EB-IG microparticles showed greater EB release at intestinal digestion. For EB-SD, optimal conditions obtained with MOO plus MCDM yielded a good compromise among the microencapsulation responses. In addition, using these conditions, it is possible to reduce microparticles costs due to the reduction of 60% of BE regard the optimal BE proposed by (DA). For EB-GI, the optimization techniques used (DA and MOO) yielded solutions with different advantages and limitations. Applying DA costs can be reduced 21%, while Y, GD and ID showed 9.5%, 84.8% and 2.6% lower values than the best condition. In turn, MOO yielded better microencapsulation responses, but at a higher cost. Overall, EB-SD with operating conditions selected by MOO seems the best option, since a good compromise between costs and encapsulation responses was obtained.

Keywords: microencapsulation, multiple decision-making criteria, multi-objective optimization, Soluplus®

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Authors: Alessandra Pardu, Elena Curti, Marco Caredda, Alessio Dedola, Margherita Addis, Massimo Pes, Antonio Pirisi, Tonina Roggio, Sergio Uzzau, Roberto Anedda

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Some of the artisanal cheeses products of European Countries certificated as PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) are made from raw milk. To recognise potential frauds (e.g. pasteurisation or thermisation of milk aimed at raw milk cheese production), the alkaline phosphatase (ALP) assay is currently applied only for pasteurisation, although it is known to have notable limitations for the validation of ALP enzymatic state in nonbovine milk. It is known that frauds considerably impact on customers and certificating institutions, sometimes resulting in a damage of the product image and potential economic losses for cheesemaking producers. Robust, validated, and univocal analytical methods are therefore needed to allow Food Control and Security Organisms, to recognise a potential fraud. In an attempt to develop a new reliable method to overcome this issue, Time-Domain Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (TD-NMR) spectroscopy has been applied in the described work. Daily fresh milk was analysed raw (680.00 µL in each 10-mm NMR glass tube) at least in triplicate. Thermally treated samples were also produced, by putting each NMR tube of fresh raw milk in water pre-heated at temperatures from 68°C up to 72°C and for up to 3 min, with continuous agitation, and quench-cooled to 25°C in a water and ice solution. Raw and thermally treated samples were analysed in terms of 1H T2 transverse relaxation times with a CPMG sequence (Recycle Delay: 6 s, interpulse spacing: 0.05 ms, 8000 data points) and quasi-continuous distributions of T2 relaxation times were obtained by CONTIN analysis. In line with previous data collected by high field NMR techniques, a decrease in the spin-spin relaxation constant T2 of the predominant 1H population was detected in heat-treated milk as compared to raw milk. The decrease of T2 parameter is consistent with changes in chemical exchange and diffusive phenomena, likely associated to changes in milk protein (i.e. whey proteins and casein) arrangement promoted by heat treatment. Furthermore, experimental data suggest that molecular alterations are strictly dependent on the specific heat treatment conditions (temperature/time). Such molecular variations in milk, which are likely transferred to cheese during cheesemaking, highlight the possibility to extend the TD-NMR technique directly on cheese to develop a method for assessing a fraud related to the use of a milk thermal treatment in PDO raw milk cheese. Results suggest that TDNMR assays might pave a new way to the detailed characterisation of heat treatments of milk.

Keywords: cheese fraud, milk, pasteurisation, TD-NMR

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Authors: Sergio A. Navarro Tuch, Martin Rogelio Bustamante Bello, Leopoldo Julian Lechuga Lopez

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In recent years, Mexico’s population has seen a rise of different physiological and mental negative states. Two main consequences of this problematic are deficient work performance and high levels of stress generating and important impact on a person’s physical, mental and emotional health. Several approaches, such as the use of audiovisual stimulus to induce emotions and modify a person’s emotional state, can be applied in an effort to decreases these negative effects. With the use of different non-invasive physiological sensors such as EEG, luminosity and face recognition we gather information of the subject’s current emotional state. In a controlled environment, a subject is shown a series of selected images from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) in order to induce a specific set of emotions and obtain information from the sensors. The raw data obtained is statistically analyzed in order to filter only the specific groups of information that relate to a subject’s emotions and current values of the physical variables in the controlled environment such as, luminosity, RGB light color, temperature, oxygen level and noise. Finally, a neural network based control algorithm is given the data obtained in order to feedback the system and automate the modification of the environment variables and audiovisual content shown in an effort that these changes can positively alter the subject’s emotional state. During the research, it was found that the light color was directly related to the type of impact generated by the audiovisual content on the subject’s emotional state. Red illumination increased the impact of violent images and green illumination along with relaxing images decreased the subject’s levels of anxiety. Specific differences between men and women were found as to which type of images generated a greater impact in either gender. The population sample was mainly constituted by college students whose data analysis showed a decreased sensibility to violence towards humans. Despite the early stage of the control algorithm, the results obtained from the population sample give us a better insight into the possibilities of emotional domotics and the applications that can be created towards the improvement of performance in people’s lives. The objective of this research is to create a positive impact with the application of technology to everyday activities; nonetheless, an ethical problem arises since this can also be applied to control a person’s emotions and shift their decision making.

Keywords: data analysis, emotional domotics, performance improvement, neural network

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Authors: Mostafa Shahriari, Sergio Rojas, David Pardo, Angel Rodriguez- Rozas, Shaaban A. Bakr, Victor M. Calo, Ignacio Muga

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Logging-While Drilling (LWD) is a technique to record down-hole logging measurements while drilling the well. Nowadays, LWD devices (e.g., nuclear, sonic, resistivity) are mostly used commercially for geo-steering applications. Modern borehole resistivity tools are able to measure all components of the magnetic field by incorporating tilted coils. The depth of investigation of LWD tools is limited compared to the thickness of the geological layers. Thus, it is a common practice to approximate the Earth’s subsurface with a sequence of 1D models. For a 1D model, we can reduce the dimensionality of the problem using a Hankel transform. We can solve the resulting system of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) either (a) analytically, which results in a so-called semi-analytic method after performing a numerical inverse Hankel transform, or (b) numerically. Semi-analytic methods are used by the industry due to their high performance. However, they have major limitations, namely: -The analytical solution of the aforementioned system of ODEs exists only for piecewise constant resistivity distributions. For arbitrary resistivity distributions, the solution of the system of ODEs is unknown by today’s knowledge. -In geo-steering, we need to solve inverse problems with respect to the inversion variables (e.g., the constant resistivity value of each layer and bed boundary positions) using a gradient-based inversion method. Thus, we need to compute the corresponding derivatives. However, the analytical derivatives of cross-bedded formation and the analytical derivatives with respect to the bed boundary positions have not been published to the best of our knowledge. The main contribution of this work is to overcome the aforementioned limitations of semi-analytic methods by solving each 1D model (associated with each Hankel mode) using an efficient multi-scale finite element method. The main idea is to divide our computations into two parts: (a) offline computations, which are independent of the tool positions and we precompute only once and use them for all logging positions, and (b) online computations, which depend upon the logging position. With the above method, (a) we can consider arbitrary resistivity distributions along the 1D model, and (b) we can easily and rapidly compute the derivatives with respect to any inversion variable at a negligible additional cost by using an adjoint state formulation. Although the proposed method is slower than semi-analytic methods, its computational efficiency is still high. In the presentation, we shall derive the mathematical variational formulation, describe the proposed multi-scale finite element method, and verify the accuracy and efficiency of our method by performing a wide range of numerical experiments and comparing the numerical solutions to semi-analytic ones when the latest are available.

Keywords: logging-While-Drilling, resistivity measurements, multi-scale finite elements, Hankel transform

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Authors: Milu T. Cherian, Sergio C. Chai, Morgan A. Casal, Taosheng Chen

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This study aims to use CINPA1, a recently discovered small-molecule inhibitor of the xenobiotic receptor CAR (constitutive androstane receptor) for understanding the binding modes of CAR and to guide CAR-mediated gene expression profiling studies in human primary hepatocytes. CAR and PXR are xenobiotic sensors that respond to drugs and endobiotics by modulating the expression of metabolic genes that enhance detoxification and elimination. Elevated levels of drug metabolizing enzymes and efflux transporters resulting from CAR activation promote the elimination of chemotherapeutic agents leading to reduced therapeutic effectiveness. Multidrug resistance in tumors after chemotherapy could be associated with errant CAR activity, as shown in the case of neuroblastoma. CAR inhibitors used in combination with existing chemotherapeutics could be utilized to attenuate multidrug resistance and resensitize chemo-resistant cancer cells. CAR and PXR have many overlapping modulating ligands as well as many overlapping target genes which confounded attempts to understand and regulate receptor-specific activity. Through a directed screening approach we previously identified a new CAR inhibitor, CINPA1, which is novel in its ability to inhibit CAR function without activating PXR. The cellular mechanisms by which CINPA1 inhibits CAR function were also extensively examined along with its pharmacokinetic properties. CINPA1 binding was shown to change CAR-coregulator interactions as well as modify CAR recruitment at DNA response elements of regulated genes. CINPA1 was shown to be broken down in the liver to form two, mostly inactive, metabolites. The structure-activity differences of CINPA1 and its metabolites were used to guide computational modeling using the CAR-LBD structure. To rationalize how ligand binding may lead to different CAR pharmacology, an analysis of the docked poses of human CAR bound to CITCO (a CAR activator) vs. CINPA1 or the metabolites was conducted. From our modeling, strong hydrogen bonding of CINPA1 with N165 and H203 in the CAR-LBD was predicted. These residues were validated to be important for CINPA1 binding using single amino-acid CAR mutants in a CAR-mediated functional reporter assay. Also predicted were residues making key hydrophobic interactions with CINPA1 but not the inactive metabolites. Some of these hydrophobic amino acids were also identified and additionally, the differential coregulator interactions of these mutants were determined in mammalian two-hybrid systems. CINPA1 represents an excellent starting point for future optimization into highly relevant probe molecules to study the function of the CAR receptor in normal- and pathophysiology, and possible development of therapeutics (for e.g. use for resensitizing chemoresistant neuroblastoma cells).

Keywords: antagonist, chemoresistance, constitutive androstane receptor (CAR), multi-drug resistance, structure activity relationship (SAR), xenobiotic resistance

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Authors: Itzel Amaro-Estrada, Eduardo Vergara-Rivera, Virginia Juarez-Flores, Mayra Cobaxin-Cardenas, Rosa Estela Quiroz, Jesus F. Preciado, Sergio Rodriguez-Camarillo

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Bovine anaplasmosis is an infectious, tick-borne disease caused mainly by Anaplasma marginale; typical signs include anemia, fever, abortion, weight loss, decreased milk production, jaundice, and potentially death. Sick bovine can recover when antibiotics are administered; however, it usually remains as carrier for life, being a risk of infection for susceptible cattle. Anaplasma marginale is an obligate intracellular Gram-negative bacterium with genetic composition highly diverse among geographical isolates. There are currently no vaccines fully effective against bovine anaplasmosis; therefore, the economic losses due to disease are present. Vaccine formulation became a hard task for several pathogens as Anaplasma marginale, but peptide-based vaccines are an interesting proposal way to induce specific responses. Phage-displayed peptide libraries have been proved one of the most powerful technologies for identifying specific ligands. Screening of these peptides libraries is also a tool for studying interactions between proteins or peptides. Thus, it has allowed the identification of ligands recognized by polyclonal antiserums, and it has been successful for the identification of relevant epitopes in chronic diseases and toxicological conditions. Protective immune response to bovine anaplasmosis includes high levels of immunoglobulins subclass G2 (IgG2) but not subclass IgG1. Therefore, IgG2 from the serum of protected bovine can be useful to identify ligands, which can be part of an immunogen for cattle. In this work, phage display random peptide library Ph.D. ™ -12 was incubating with IgG2 or blood sera of immunized bovines against A. marginale as targets. After three rounds of biopanning, several candidates were selected for additional analysis. Subsequently, their reactivity with sera immunized against A. marginale, as well as with positive and negative sera to A. marginale was evaluated by immunoassays. A collection of recognized peptides tested by ELISA was generated. More than three hundred phage-peptides were separately evaluated against molecules which were used during panning. At least ten different peptides sequences were determined from their nucleotide composition. In this approach, three phage-peptides were selected by their binding and affinity properties. In the case of the development of vaccines or diagnostic reagents, it is important to evaluate the immunogenic and antigenic properties of the peptides. Immunogenic in vitro and in vivo behavior of peptides will be assayed as synthetic and as phage-peptide for to determinate their vaccine potential. Acknowledgment: This work was supported by grant SEP-CONACYT 252577 given to I. Amaro-Estrada.

Keywords: bovine anaplasmosis, peptides, phage display, veterinary vaccines

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Authors: Sergio J. Calleja, Adria Roca, José D. Santotoribio

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Pancreatic endocrine diseases include pathologies like insulin resistance (IR), prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2). Some of them are highly prevalent in the U.S.—40% of U.S. adults have IR, 38% of U.S. adults have prediabetes, and 12% of U.S. adults have DM2—, as reported by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). Building upon this imperative, the objective of the present study was to develop a non-invasive test for the assessment of the patient’s pancreatic endocrine function and to evaluate its accuracy in detecting various pancreatic endocrine diseases, such as IR, prediabetes, and DM2. This approach to a routine blood and urine test is based around serum and urine biomarkers. It is made by the combination of several independent public algorithms, such as the Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP-III), triglycerides and glucose (TyG) index, homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), HOMA-2, and the quantitative insulin-sensitivity check index (QUICKI). Additionally, it incorporates essential measurements such as the creatinine clearance, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR), and urinalysis, which are helpful to achieve a full image of the patient’s pancreatic endocrine disease. To evaluate the estimated accuracy of this test, an iterative process was performed by a machine learning (ML) algorithm, with a training set of 9,391 patients. The sensitivity achieved was 97.98% and the specificity was 99.13%. Consequently, the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve, the positive predictive value (PPV), and the negative predictive value (NPV) were 92.48%, 99.12%, and 98.00%, respectively. The algorithm was validated with a randomized controlled trial (RCT) with a target sample size (n) of 314 patients. However, 50 patients were initially excluded from the study, because they had ongoing clinically diagnosed pathologies, symptoms or signs, so the n dropped to 264 patients. Then, 110 patients were excluded because they didn’t show up at the clinical facility for any of the follow-up visits—this is a critical point to improve for the upcoming RCT, since the cost of each patient is very high and for this RCT almost a third of the patients already tested were lost—, so the new n consisted of 154 patients. After that, 2 patients were excluded, because some of their laboratory parameters and/or clinical information were wrong or incorrect. Thus, a final n of 152 patients was achieved. In this validation set, the results obtained were: 100.00% sensitivity, 100.00% specificity, 100.00% AUROC, 100.00% PPV, and 100.00% NPV. These results suggest that this approach to a routine blood and urine test holds promise in providing timely and accurate diagnoses of pancreatic endocrine diseases, particularly among individuals aged 40 and above. Given the current epidemiological state of these type of diseases, these findings underscore the significance of early detection. Furthermore, they advocate for further exploration, prompting the intention to conduct a clinical trial involving 26,000 participants (from March 2025 to December 2026).

Keywords: algorithm, diabetes, laboratory medicine, non-invasive

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Authors: Caterina Muzzi, Sergio Albertini, Davide Giacomini

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The research is aimed to investigate the role of young entrepreneurs’ personality traits and their contextual background on the success of entrepreneurial initiatives. In the literature, the debate is still open about the main drivers in predicting entrepreneurial success. Classical theories are focused on looking at specific personality traits that could lead to successful start-ups initiatives, while emerging approaches are more interested in young entrepreneurs’ contextual background (such as the family of origin, the previous experience and their professional network). An online survey was submitted to the participants of an entrepreneurial training initiative organised by the Italian Young Entrepreneurs Association (Confindustria) in Brescia headquarter (AIB). At the time the authors started data collection for this research, the third edition of the initiative was just concluded and involved a total amount of 37 young future entrepreneurs. In the literature General self-efficacy (GSE) and, more specifically, entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) have often been associated to positive performances, as they allow future entrepreneurs to effectively cope with entrepreneurial activities, both at an early stage and in new venture management. In a counter-intuitive manner, optimism is not always associated with entrepreneurial positive results. Too optimistic people risk taking hazardous risks and some authors suggest that moderately optimistic entrepreneurs achieve more positive results than over-optimistic ones. Indeed highly optimistic individuals often hold unrealistic expectations, discount negative information, and mentally reconstruct experiences so as to avoid contradictions The importance of context has been increasingly considered in entrepreneurship literature and its role strongly emerges starting from the earliest entrepreneurial stage and it is crucial to transform the “intention of entrepreneurship” into the actual start-up. Furthermore, coherently with the “network approach to entrepreneurship”, context embeddedness allow future entrepreneurs to leverage relationships built through previous experiences and/or thanks to the fact of belonging to families of entrepreneurs. For the purpose of this research, entrepreneurial success was measured by the fact of having or not founded a new venture after the training initiative. In this research, the authors measured GSE, ESE and optimism using already tested items that showed to be reliable also in this case. They collected 36 completed questionnaires. The t-test for independent samples run to measure significant differences in means between those that already funded the new venture and those that did not. No significant differences emerged with respect to all the tested personality traits, but a logistic regression analysis, run with contextual variables as independent ones, showed that personal and professional networking, made both before and during the master, is the most relevant variable in determining new venture success. These findings shed more light on the process of new venture foundation and could encourage national and local policy makers to invest on networking as one of the main drivers that could support the creation of new ventures.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, networking, new ventures, personality traits

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Authors: Edda E. Falcone, Cinzia Federico, Sergio Bellomo, Lorenzo Brusca, Manfredi Longo, Walter D’Alessandro

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Although trace metals are an essential element for living beings, they can become toxic at high concentrations. Their potential toxicity is related not only to the total content in the environment but mostly upon their bioavailability. Volcanoes are important natural metal emitters and they can deeply affect the quality of air, water and soils, as well as the human health. Trace metals tend to accumulate in the tissues of living organisms, depending on the metal contents in food, air and water and on the exposure time. Birds are considered as bioindicators of interest, because their feathers directly reflects the metals uptake from the blood. Birds are exposed to the atmospheric pollution through the contact with rainfall, dust, and aerosol, and they accumulate metals over the whole life cycle. We report on the first data combining the rainfall metal content in three different areas of Mt Etna, variably fumigated by the volcanic plume, and the metal contents in the feathers of pigeons, collected in the same areas. Rainfall samples were collected from three rain gauges placed at different elevation on the Eastern flank of the volcano, the most exposed to airborne plume, filtered, treated with HNO₃ Suprapur-grade and analyzed for Fe, Cr, Co, Ni, Se, Zn, Cu, Sr, Ba, Cd and As by ICP-MS technique, and major ions by ion chromatography. Feathers were collected from single individuals, in the same areas where the rain gauges were installed. Additionally, some samples were collected in an urban area, poorly interested by the volcanic plume. The samples were rinsed in MilliQ water and acetone, dried at 50°C until constant weight and digested in a mixture of 2:1 HNO₃ (65%) - H₂O₂ (30%) Suprapur-grade for 25-50 mg of sample, in a bath at near-to-boiling temperature. The solutions were diluted up to 20 ml prior to be analyzed by ICP-MS. The rainfall samples most contaminated by the plume were collected at close distance from the summit craters (less than 6 km), and show lower pH values and higher concentrations for all analyzed metals relative to those from the sites at lower elevation. Analyzed samples are enriched in both metals directly emitted by the volcanic plume and transported by acidic gases (SO₂, HCl, HF), and metals leached from the airborne volcanic ash. Feathers show different patterns in the different sites related to the exposure to natural or anthropogenic pollutants. They show abundance ratios similar to rainfall for lithophile elements (Ba, Sr), whereas are enriched in Zn and Se, known for their antioxidant properties, probably as adaptive response to oxidative stress induced by toxic metal exposure. The pigeons revealed a clear heterogeneity of metal uptake in the different parts of the volcano, as an effect of volcanic plume impact. Additionally, some physiological processes can modify the fate of some metals after uptake and this offer some insights for translational studies.

Keywords: bioindicators, environmental pollution, feathers, trace metals, volcanic plume

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Authors: Angelica Alvarez-Lee, Sergio Martinez-Diaz, Jose Luis Garcia-Corona, Humberto Lanz-Mendoza

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World aquaculture is always looking for improvements to achieve productions with high yields avoiding the infection by pathogenic agents. The best way to achieve this is to know the biological model to create alternative treatments that could be applied in the hatcheries, which results in greater economic gains and improvements in human public health. In the last decade, immunomodulation in shrimp culture with probiotics, organic acids and different carbon sources has gained great interest, mainly in larval and juvenile stages. Immune priming is associated with a strong protective effect against a later pathogen challenge. This work provides another perspective about immunostimulation from spawning until hatching. The stimulation happens during development embryos and generates resistance to infection by pathogenic bacteria. Massive spawnings of white shrimp L. vannamei were obtained and placed in experimental units with 700 mL of sterile seawater at 30 °C, salinity of 28 ppm and continuous aeration at a density of 8 embryos.mL⁻¹. The immunostimulating effect of three death strains of non-pathogenic bacterial (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis) and a pathogenic strain for white shrimp (Vibrio parahaemolyticus) was evaluated. The strains killed by heat were adjusted to O.D. 0.5, at A 600 nm, and directly added to the seawater of each unit at a ratio of 1/100 (v/v). A control group of embryos without inoculum of dead bacteria was kept under the same physicochemical conditions as the rest of the treatments throughout the experiment and used as reference. The duration of the stimulus was 12 hours, then, the larvae that hatched were collected, counted and transferred to a new experimental unit (same physicochemical conditions but at a salinity of 28 ppm) to carry out a challenge of infection against the pathogen V. parahaemolyticus, adding directly to seawater an amount 1/100 (v/v) of the live strain adjusted to an OD 0.5; at A 600 nm. Subsequently, 24 hrs after infection, nauplii survival was evaluated. The results of this work shows that, after 24 hrs, the hatching rates of immunostimulated shrimp embryos with the dead strains of B. subtillis and V. parahaemolyticus are significantly higher compared to the rest of the treatments and the control. Furthermore, survival of L. vanammei after a challenge of infection of 24 hrs against the live strain of V. parahaemolyticus is greater (P < 0.05) in the larvae immunostimulated during the embryonic development with the dead strains B. subtillis and V. parahaemolyticus, followed by those that were treated with E. coli. In summary superficial antigens can stimulate the development cells to promote hatching and can have normal development in agreeing with the optical observations, plus exist a differential response effect between each treatment post-infection. This research provides evidence of the immunostimulant effect of death pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacterial strains in the rate of hatching and oversight of shrimp L. vannamei during embryonic and larval development. This research continues evaluating the effect of these death strains on the expression of genes related to the defense priming in larvae of L. vannamei that come from massive spawning in hatcheries before and after the infection challenge against V. parahaemolyticus.

Keywords: immunostimulation, L. vannamei, hatching, survival

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Authors: Davide Gotti, Milan Prodanovic, Sergio Pinilla, David Muñoz-Torrero

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Since its proposal, the Doyle-Fuller-Newman (DFN) lithium-ion battery model has gained popularity in the electrochemical field. In fact, this model provides the user with theoretical support for designing the lithium-ion battery parameters, such as the material particle or the diffusion coefficient adjustment direction. However, the model is mathematically complex as it is composed of several partial differential equations (PDEs) such as Fick’s law of diffusion, the MacInnes and Ohm’s equations, among other phenomena. Thus, to efficiently use the model in a time-domain simulation environment, the selection of the discretization technique is of a pivotal importance. There are several numerical methods available in the literature that can be used to carry out this task. In this study, a comparison between the explicit Euler, Crank-Nicolson, and Chebyshev discretization methods is proposed. These three methods are compared in terms of accuracy, stability, and computational times. Firstly, the explicit Euler discretization technique is analyzed. This method is straightforward to implement and is computationally fast. In this work, the accuracy of the method and its stability properties are shown for the electrolyte diffusion partial differential equation. Subsequently, the Crank-Nicolson method is considered. It represents a combination of the implicit and explicit Euler methods that has the advantage of being of the second order in time and is intrinsically stable, thus overcoming the disadvantages of the simpler Euler explicit method. As shown in the full paper, the Crank-Nicolson method provides accurate results when applied to the DFN model. Its stability does not depend on the integration time step, thus it is feasible for both short- and long-term tests. This last remark is particularly important as this discretization technique would allow the user to implement parameter estimation and optimization techniques such as system or genetic parameter identification methods using this model. Finally, the Chebyshev discretization technique is implemented in the DFN model. This discretization method features swift convergence properties and, as other spectral methods used to solve differential equations, achieves the same accuracy with a smaller number of discretization nodes. However, as shown in the literature, these methods are not suitable for handling sharp gradients, which are common during the first instants of the charge and discharge phases of the battery. The numerical results obtained and presented in this study aim to provide the guidelines on how to select the adequate discretization technique for the DFN model according to the type of application to be performed, highlighting the pros and cons of the three methods. Specifically, the non-eligibility of the simple Euler method for longterm tests will be presented. Afterwards, the Crank-Nicolson and the Chebyshev discretization methods will be compared in terms of accuracy and computational times under a wide range of battery operating scenarios. These include both long-term simulations for aging tests, and short- and mid-term battery charge/discharge cycles, typically relevant in battery applications like grid primary frequency and inertia control and electrical vehicle breaking and acceleration.

Keywords: Doyle-Fuller-Newman battery model, partial differential equations, discretization, numerical methods

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Authors: Hossein Aghababaei, Sergio Vitale, Giampaolo Ferraioli

Abstract:

In the context of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data, polarization is an important source of information for Earth's surface monitoring. SAR Systems are often considered to transmit only one polarization. This constraint leads to either single or dual polarimetric SAR imaging modalities. Single polarimetric systems operate with a fixed single polarization of both transmitted and received electromagnetic (EM) waves, resulting in a single acquisition channel. Dual polarimetric systems, on the other hand, transmit in one fixed polarization and receive in two orthogonal polarizations, resulting in two acquisition channels. Dual polarimetric systems are obviously more informative than single polarimetric systems and are increasingly being used for a variety of remote sensing applications. In dual polarimetric systems, the choice of polarizations for the transmitter and the receiver is open. The choice of circular transmit polarization and coherent dual linear receive polarizations forms a special dual polarimetric system called hybrid polarimetry, which brings the properties of rotational invariance to geometrical orientations of features in the scene and optimizes the design of the radar in terms of reliability, mass, and power constraints. The complete characterization of target scattering, however, requires fully polarimetric data, which can be acquired with systems that transmit two orthogonal polarizations. This adds further complexity to data acquisition and shortens the coverage area or swath of fully polarimetric images compared to the swath of dual or hybrid polarimetric images. The search for solutions to augment dual polarimetric data to full polarimetric data will therefore take advantage of full characterization and exploitation of the backscattered field over a wider coverage with less system complexity. Several methods for reconstructing fully polarimetric images using hybrid polarimetric data can be found in the literature. Although the improvements achieved by the newly investigated and experimented reconstruction techniques are undeniable, the existing methods are, however, mostly based upon model assumptions (especially the assumption of reflectance symmetry), which may limit their reliability and applicability to vegetation and forest scenarios. To overcome the problems of these techniques, this paper proposes a new framework for reconstructing fully polarimetric information from hybrid polarimetric data. The framework uses Deep Learning solutions to augment hybrid polarimetric data without relying on model assumptions. A convolutional neural network (CNN) with a specific architecture and loss function is defined for this augmentation problem by focusing on different scattering properties of the polarimetric data. In particular, the method controls the CNN training process with respect to several characteristic features of polarimetric images defined by the combination of different terms in the cost or loss function. The proposed method is experimentally validated with real data sets and compared with a well-known and standard approach from the literature. From the experiments, the reconstruction performance of the proposed framework is superior to conventional reconstruction methods. The pseudo fully polarimetric data reconstructed by the proposed method also agree well with the actual fully polarimetric images acquired by radar systems, confirming the reliability and efficiency of the proposed method.

Keywords: SAR image, polarimetric SAR image, convolutional neural network, deep learnig, deep neural network

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Authors: Hossein Aghababaei, Sergio Vitale, Giampaolo ferraioli

Abstract:

In the context of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data, polarization is an important source of information for Earth's surface monitoring . SAR Systems are often considered to transmit only one polarization. This constraint leads to either single or dual polarimetric SAR imaging modalities. Single polarimetric systems operate with a fixed single polarization of both transmitted and received electromagnetic (EM) waves, resulting in a single acquisition channel. Dual polarimetric systems, on the other hand, transmit in one fixed polarization and receive in two orthogonal polarizations, resulting in two acquisition channels. Dual polarimetric systems are obviously more informative than single polarimetric systems and are increasingly being used for a variety of remote sensing applications. In dual polarimetric systems, the choice of polarizations for the transmitter and the receiver is open. The choice of circular transmit polarization and coherent dual linear receive polarizations forms a special dual polarimetric system called hybrid polarimetry, which brings the properties of rotational invariance to geometrical orientations of features in the scene and optimizes the design of the radar in terms of reliability, mass, and power constraints. The complete characterization of target scattering, however, requires fully polarimetric data, which can be acquired with systems that transmit two orthogonal polarizations. This adds further complexity to data acquisition and shortens the coverage area or swath of fully polarimetric images compared to the swath of dual or hybrid polarimetric images. The search for solutions to augment dual polarimetric data to full polarimetric data will therefore take advantage of full characterization and exploitation of the backscattered field over a wider coverage with less system complexity. Several methods for reconstructing fully polarimetric images using hybrid polarimetric data can be found in the literature. Although the improvements achieved by the newly investigated and experimented reconstruction techniques are undeniable, the existing methods are, however, mostly based upon model assumptions (especially the assumption of reflectance symmetry), which may limit their reliability and applicability to vegetation and forest scenarios. To overcome the problems of these techniques, this paper proposes a new framework for reconstructing fully polarimetric information from hybrid polarimetric data. The framework uses Deep Learning solutions to augment hybrid polarimetric data without relying on model assumptions. A convolutional neural network (CNN) with a specific architecture and loss function is defined for this augmentation problem by focusing on different scattering properties of the polarimetric data. In particular, the method controls the CNN training process with respect to several characteristic features of polarimetric images defined by the combination of different terms in the cost or loss function. The proposed method is experimentally validated with real data sets and compared with a well-known and standard approach from the literature. From the experiments, the reconstruction performance of the proposed framework is superior to conventional reconstruction methods. The pseudo fully polarimetric data reconstructed by the proposed method also agree well with the actual fully polarimetric images acquired by radar systems, confirming the reliability and efficiency of the proposed method.

Keywords: SAR image, deep learning, convolutional neural network, deep neural network, SAR polarimetry

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Authors: Sergio Celaschi, Henrique Canavarro de Alencar, Claaudecir Biazoli

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Effluent quality is of the highest priority for compliance with the permit limits of environmental protection agencies and ensures the protection of their local water system. Of the pollutants monitored, the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) posed one of the greatest challenges. This work presents a solution for wastewater treatment plants - WWTP’s ability to react to different situations and meet treatment goals. Delayed BOD5 results from the lab take 7 to 8 analysis days, hindered the WWTP’s ability to react to different situations and meet treatment goals. Reducing BOD turnaround time from days to hours is our quest. Such a solution is based on a system of two BOD bioreactors associated with Digital Twin (DT) and Machine Learning (ML) methodologies via an Internet of Things (IoT) platform to monitor and control a WWTP to support decision making. DT is a virtual and dynamic replica of a production process. DT requires the ability to collect and store real-time sensor data related to the operating environment. Furthermore, it integrates and organizes the data on a digital platform and applies analytical models allowing a deeper understanding of the real process to catch sooner anomalies. In our system of continuous time monitoring of the BOD suppressed by the effluent treatment process, the DT algorithm for analyzing the data uses ML on a chemical kinetic parameterized model. The continuous BOD monitoring system, capable of providing results in a fraction of the time required by BOD5 analysis, is composed of two thermally isolated batch bioreactors. Each bioreactor contains input/output access to wastewater sample (influent and effluent), hydraulic conduction tubes, pumps, and valves for batch sample and dilution water, air supply for dissolved oxygen (DO) saturation, cooler/heater for sample thermal stability, optical ODO sensor based on fluorescence quenching, pH, ORP, temperature, and atmospheric pressure sensors, local PLC/CPU for TCP/IP data transmission interface. The dynamic BOD system monitoring range covers 2 mg/L < BOD < 2,000 mg/L. In addition to the BOD monitoring system, there are many other operational WWTP sensors. The CPU data is transmitted/received to/from the digital platform, which in turn performs analyses at periodic intervals, aiming to feed the learning process. BOD bulletins and their credibility intervals are made available in 12-hour intervals to web users. The chemical kinetics ML algorithm is composed of a coupled system of four first-order ordinary differential equations for the molar masses of DO, organic material present in the sample, biomass, and products (CO₂ and H₂O) of the reaction. This system is solved numerically linked to its initial conditions: DO (saturated) and initial products of the kinetic oxidation process; CO₂ = H₂0 = 0. The initial values for organic matter and biomass are estimated by the method of minimization of the mean square deviations. A real case of continuous monitoring of BOD wastewater effluent quality is being conducted by deploying an IoT application on a large wastewater purification system located in S. Paulo, Brazil.

Keywords: effluent treatment, biochemical oxygen demand, continuous monitoring, IoT, machine learning

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Authors: Patrizia Firmani, Sara Perucchini, Irene Rapone, Raffella Borrelli, Stefano Chiaberge, Manuela Grande, Rosamaria Marrazzo, Alberto Savoini, Andrea Siviero, Silvia Spera, Fabio Vago, Davide Deriu, Sergio Fanutti, Alessandro Oldani

Abstract:

According to the Renewable Energy Directive II, the use of palm oil in diesel will be gradually reduced from 2023 and should reach zero in 2030 due to the deforestation caused by its production. Eni aims at finding alternative feedstocks for its biorefineries to eliminate the use of palm oil by 2023. Therefore, the ideal vegetable oils to be used in bio-refineries are those obtainable from plants that grow in marginal lands and with low impact on food-and-feed chain; hence, Eni research is studying the possibility of using oleaginous seeds, such as castor, croton, and cotton, to extract the oils to be exploited as feedstock in bio-refineries. To verify their suitability for the upgrading processes, an analytical protocol for their characterization has been drawn up and applied. The analytical characterizations include a step of water and ashes content determination, elemental analysis (CHNS analysis, X-Ray Fluorescence, Inductively Coupled Plasma - Optical Emission Spectroscopy, ICP– Mass Spectrometry), and total acid number determination. Gas chromatography coupled to flame ionization detector (GC-FID) is used to quantify the lipid content in terms of free fatty acids, mono-, di- and triacylglycerols, and fatty acids composition. Eventually, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Fourier Transform-Infrared spectroscopies are exploited with GC-MS and Fourier Transform-Ion Cyclotron Resonance to study the composition of the oils. This work focuses on the GC-FID analysis of the lipid fraction of these oils, as the main constituent and of greatest interest for bio-refinery processes. Specifically, the lipid component of the extracted oil was quantified after sample silanization and transmethylation: silanization allows the elution of high-boiling compounds and is useful for determining the quantity of free acids and glycerides in oils, while transmethylation leads to a mixture of fatty acid esters and glycerol, thus allowing to evaluate the composition of glycerides in terms of Fatty Acids Methyl Esters (FAME). Cotton oil was extracted from cotton oilcake, croton oil was obtained by seeds pressing and seeds and oilcake ASE extraction, while castor oil comes from seed pressing (not performed in Eni laboratories). GC-FID analyses reported that the cotton oil is 90% constituted of triglycerides and about 6% diglycerides, while free fatty acids are about 2%. In terms of FAME, C18 acids make up 70% of the total and linoleic acid is the major constituent. Palmitic acid is present at 17.5%, while the other acids are in low concentration (<1%). Both analyzes show the presence of non-gas chromatographable compounds. Croton oils from seed pressing and extraction mainly contain triglycerides (98%). Concerning FAME, the main component is linoleic acid (approx. 80%). Oilcake croton oil shows higher abundance of diglycerides (6% vs ca 2%) and a lower content of triglycerides (38% vs 98%) compared to the previous oils. Eventually, castor oil is mostly constituted of triacylglycerols (about 69%), followed by diglycerides (about 10%). About 85.2% of total FAME is ricinoleic acid, as a constituent of triricinolein, the most abundant triglyceride of castor oil. Based on the analytical results, these oils represent feedstocks of interest for possible exploitation as advanced biofuels.

Keywords: analytical protocol, biofuels, biorefinery, gas chromatography, vegetable oil

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Authors: Alberto Alfano, Sergio D’ambrosio, Darshankumar Parecha, Donatella Cimini, Chiara Schiraldi.

Abstract:

The main objective of this study regards the setup of an efficient small-scale platform for the conversion of local renewable waste materials, such as whey, into added-value products, thereby reducing environmental impact and costs deriving from the disposal of processing waste products. The buffalo milk whey derived from the cheese-making process, called second cheese whey, is the main by-product of the dairy industry. Whey is the main and most polluting by-product obtained from cheese manufacturing consisting of lactose, lactic acid, proteins, and salts, making whey an added-value product. In Italy, and in particular, in the Campania region, soft cheese production needs a large volume of liquid waste, especially during late spring and summer. This project is part of a circular economy perspective focused on the conversion of potentially polluting and difficult to purify waste into a resource to be exploited, and it embodies the concept of the three “R”: reduce, recycle, and reuse. Special focus was paid to the production of health-promoting biomolecules and biopolymers, which may be exploited in different segments of the food and pharmaceutical industries. These biomolecules may be recovered through appropriate processes and reused in an attempt to obtain added value products. So, ultrafiltration and nanofiltration processes were performed to fractionate bioactive components starting from buffalo milk whey. In this direction, the present study focused on the implementation of a downstream process that converts waste generated from food and food processing industries into added value products with potential applications. Owing to innovative downstream and biotechnological processes, rather than a waste product may be considered a resource to obtain high added value products, such as food supplements (probiotics), cosmeceuticals, biopolymers, and recyclable purified water. Besides targeting gastrointestinal disorders, probiotics such as Lactobacilli have been reported to improve immunomodulation and protection of the host against infections caused by viral and bacterial pathogens. Interestingly, also inactivated microbial (probiotic) cells and their metabolic products, indicated as parabiotic and postbiotics, respectively, have a crucial role and act as mediators in the modulation of the host’s immune function. To boost the production of biomass (both viable and/or heat inactivated cells) and/or the synthesis of growth-related postbiotics, such as EPS, efficient and sustainable fermentation processes are necessary. Based on a “zero-waste” approach, wastes generated from local industries can be recovered and recycled to develop sustainable biotechnological processes to obtain probiotics as well as post and parabiotic, to be tested as bioactive compounds against gastrointestinal disorders. The results have shown it was possible to recover an ultrafiltration retentate with suitable characteristics to be used in skin dehydration, to perform films (i.e., packaging for food industries), or as a wound repair agent and a nanofiltration retentate to recover lactic acid and carbon sources (e.g., lactose, glucose..) used for microbial cultivation. On the side, the last goal is to obtain purified water that can be reused throughout the process. In fact, water reclamation and reuse provide a unique and viable opportunity to augment traditional water supplies, a key issue nowadays.

Keywords: biotech process, downstream process, probiotic growth, from waste to product, buffalo whey

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