Polyphenol Conjugates and Human Health: A Perspective Review

In recent years, antioxidants have gained great importance because of their potential use in food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. This interest is rooted in the cumulative evidence connecting active oxygen and free radicals with numerous human degenerative disorders, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, aging, and atherosclerosis. Polyphenols are the major class of antioxidant able to reduce the oxidative damages of lipids, proteins, enzymes, carbohydrates, and DNA in living cells and tissues. Among the realm of polyphenol compounds, polyphenol conjugates have been proposed as innovative materials which, by combining the advantageous properties of both the components, can increase the efficiency of antioxidants and their range of application in nutritional and biomedical fields. This work is an overview of the different class of polyphenol conjugates, which will be analyzed in terms of nutritional and biological properties, showing how these bio-conjugates will positively affect the human health.     

MFB50 on-board estimation methodology for combustion control

Due to the increasing request for pollutant emissions reduction, modern closed-loop combustion control strategies require the on-board evaluation of the center of combustion (MFB50), i.e. the angular position where 50% of the injected fuel mass is burned. This work presents an MFB50 estimation algorithm based on engine speed measurement, that can be performed using the same toothed wheel already present on-board. Therefore, this approach is compatible with on-board application and requires no additional hardware cost. The complete methodology has been applied to a Diesel engine mounted on-board a vehicle and the accuracy of the obtained results is compatible with on-board requirements.     

On the Use of Feedback Control in the Design of Computing System Components

Feedback controllers are typically applied to computing systems by acting on some quantities (“tunable parameters” in the computer science lexicon, e.g., a packet drop rate) to attain some goal (e.g., a required bandwidth allocation). In other words, control loops are closed around the computing system. In the authors' opinion, this is definitely a partial use of control. Many critical parts of computing systems should not be controlled, but rather redesigned in the form of controllers. This paper formalises the statement above and illustrates some results, including application examples, to demonstrate the advantages of such a novel approach, and to stimulate research on the matter.     

Support vector machines for surrogate modeling of electronic circuits

In electronic circuit design, preliminary analyses of the circuit performances are generally carried out using time-consuming simulations. These analyses should be performed as fast as possible because of the strict temporal constraints on the industrial sector time to market. On the other hand, there is the need of precision and reliability of the analyses. For these reasons, there is more and more interest toward surrogate models able to approximate the behavior of a device with a high precision making use of a limited set of samples. Using suitable surrogate models instead of simulations, it is possible to perform a reliable analysis in less time. In this work, we are going to analyze how the surrogate models given by the support vector machine (SVM) perform when they are used to approximate the behavior of industrial circuits that will be employed in consumer electronics. The SVM is also compared to the surrogate models given by the response surface methodology using a commercial software currently adopted for this kind of applications.     

Naive probability: A mental model theory of extensional reasoning.

This article outlines a theory of naive probability. According to the theory, individuals who are unfamiliar with the probability calculus can infer the probabilities of events in an extensional way: They construct mental models of what is true in the various possibilities. Each model represents an equiprobable alternative unless individuals have beliefs to the contrary, in which case some models will have higher probabilities than others. The probability of an event depends on the proportion of models in which it occurs. The theory predicts several phenomena of reasoning about absolute probabilities, including typical biases. It correctly predicts certain cognitive illusions in inferences about relative probabilities. It accommodates reasoning based on numerical premises, and it explains how naive reasoners can infer posterior probabilities without relying on Bayes's theorem. Finally, it dispels some common misconceptions of probabilistic reasoning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

BEM approach to protection of structures from seismic waves by a viscoelastic stratum

In the context of the anti-plane problem, we study harmonic oscillations of an elastic rectangle whose base is isolated from the foundation by a viscoelastic stratum of finite thickness. Such a (viscoelastic) medium is embedded in the ground, which is simulated as a homogeneous isotropic elastic half-space. By using the fundamental representation of solution through single and double layer potentials, the problem is reduced to a set of integral equations. The main practical aspect of this investigation is connected with seismic base isolation. We thus estimate the wave attenuation, which results in the decrease of the vibration amplitude for the rectangular construction, provided by the viscoelastic stratum.     

Fatty Acid Composition of Freshwater Wild Fish in Subalpine Lakes: A Comparative Study

In this study, the proximate and fatty acid compositions of the muscle tissue of 186 samples of fish belonging to fifteen species of freshwater fish harvested in subalpine lakes (bleak, shad, crucian carp, whitefish, common carp, pike, black bullhead, burbot, perch, Italian roach, roach, rudd, wels catfish, chub and tench) were investigated. Most of the fish demonstrated a lipid content in the fillet lower than 2.0 g 100 g^?1 wet weight (range 0.6–9.7). A strong relationship between feeding behavior and fatty acid composition of the muscle lipids was observed. Planktivorous fish showed the lowest amounts of n‐3 fatty acids (p < 0.05), but the highest monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) contents, in particular 18:1n‐9. Conversely, carnivorous fish showed the highest amounts of saturated fatty acids and n‐3 fatty acids (p < 0.05), but the lowest MUFA contents. Omnivorous fish showed substantial proportions of n‐3 fatty acids and the highest contents of n‐6 fatty acids. Principal component analysis showed a distinct separation between fish species according to their feeding habits and demonstrated that the most contributing trophic markers were 18:1n‐9, 18:3n‐3, 22:6n‐3 and 20:4n‐6. The quantitative amounts n‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acid in muscle tissues varied depending on the fish species, the lipid content and the feeding habits. Some species were very lean, and therefore would be poor choices for human consumption to meet dietary n‐3 fatty acid requirements. Nevertheless, the more frequently consumed and appreciated fish, shad and whitefish, had EPA and DHA contents in the range 900–1,000 mg 100 g^?1 fresh fillet.     

A Peltier cells differential calorimeter with kinetic correction for the measurement of cp(H,T) and Δs(H,T) of magnetocaloric materials

In this paper we describe and test a setup for the characterization of the magnetocaloric effect around room temperature. The setup is a differential calorimeter able to measure both the specific heat c(p)(H,T) under constant magnetic field H and the isothermal entropy change induced by changing H, Δs(H,T), in the room temperature range. The setup uses miniaturized Peltier cells to measure the heat flux, with resolution of about 1 μW, and power Peltier cells to regulate the temperature in the range from 243 K (-30 °C) to 343 K (+70 °C). The kinetic effects due to the heat capacity of the measuring cells are taken into account by a simple model of the heat flux diffusion in the calorimetric cell. As measurement examples, we show the characterization of the magnetocaloric effect in magnetic materials with a second order transition [without latent heat and without hysteresis, as in the La(1)(Fe(1-x-y)Co(y)Si(x))(13) alloy with x=0.077 and y=0.079] and with a first order transitions (with latent heat and hysteresis as in Ni(50)Mn(36)Co(1)Sn(13)). As a result we compare the entropy change Δs(H,T) derived from (i) the integration of the specific heat c(p)(H,T) and (ii) the direct isothermal measurements, obtaining an excellent agreement.     

A fuzzy logic procedure for ventilation control in case of fire in long tunnels

Ventilation is a crucial element while managing fire events in tunnels. This paper deals with ventilation strategies to be applied in case of fire in a long tunnel. The Frejus road tunnel has been considered as an application. This is a single tube road tunnel with semi-transversal ventilation. Ordinary and emergency ventilations are operated by using dedicated supply and extraction ducts.