An optimization model for long-range transmission expansionplanning

A static network synthesis method for transmission expansion planning is presented. The static synthesis problem is formulated as a mixed-integer network flow model that is solved by an implicit enumeration algorithm. This model considers as the objective function the most productive trade-off, i.e. the one resulting in low investment costs and good electrical performance. The load and generation nodal equations are considered in the constraints of the model. The power transmission law of DC load flow is implicit in the optimization model. Results of computational tests are presented, showing the advantage of this method compared with a heuristic procedure. The case studies provide a comparison of computation times and costs of solutions obtained for the Brazilian North-Northeast transmission system     

Design of a sampling plan to detect ochratoxin A in green coffee

The establishment of maximum limits for ochratoxin A (OTA) in coffee by importing countries requires that coffee-producing countries develop scientifically based sampling plans to assess OTA contents in lots of green coffee before coffee enters the market thus reducing consumer exposure to OTA, minimizing the number of lots rejected, and reducing financial loss for producing countries. A study was carried out to design an official sampling plan to determine OTA in green coffee produced in Brazil. Twenty-five lots of green coffee (type 7 - approximately 160 defects) were sampled according to an experimental protocol where 16 test samples were taken from each lot (total of 16 kg) resulting in a total of 800 OTA analyses. The total, sampling, sample preparation, and analytical variances were 10.75 (CV = 65.6%), 7.80 (CV = 55.8%), 2.84 (CV = 33.7%), and 0.11 (CV = 6.6%), respectively, assuming a regulatory limit of 5 µg kg^-1 OTA and using a 1 kg sample, Romer RAS mill, 25 g sub-samples, and high performance liquid chromatography. The observed OTA distribution among the 16 OTA sample results was compared to several theoretical distributions. The 2 parameter-log normal distribution was selected to model OTA test results for green coffee as it gave the best fit across all 25 lot distributions. Specific computer software was developed using the variance and distribution information to predict the probability of accepting or rejecting coffee lots at specific OTA concentrations. The acceptation probability was used to compute an operating characteristic (OC) curve specific to a sampling plan design. The OC curve was used to predict the rejection of good lots (sellers' or exporters' risk) and the acceptance of bad lots (buyers' or importers' risk).     

The volatile composition of samples from the blend of monovarietal olive oils and from the processing of mixtures of olive fruits

The volatile fraction deriving from the lipoxygenase pathway of samples obtained by processing olive fruits of 2 cultivars in known proportions was compared with that of samples deriving from the blending of oils extracted from the same cultivars and in the same proportions. The varieties considered for the mixtures were Coratina and Koroneiki, Coratina and Frantoio, and Dritta and Bosana, respectively. The results confirmed that the accumulation of each volatile compound from the lipoxygenase pathway in the monovarietal oils was different and closely dependent on the genetic store of each variety. The concentrations of the mentioned compounds appeared to change in a way proportional to the percent of each monovarietal oil in the samples obtained by blending 2 monovarietal oils. Instead, the oils obtained by processing mixtures of fruits from the 2 corresponding cultivars showed a striking accumulation of volatile compounds, especially of C₆‐compounds, which reached higher concentration at different percentages depending on the cultivars processed.     

Heavy metals in sediments from canals for water supplying and drainage: mobilization and control strategies

One of the most critical aspects of the maintenance of canals for water supplying and drainage is the managing of deposited sediments, which must be periodically removed. Deposited sediments, if containing anthropogenic pollutants with a concentration exceeding specific law limits, must be stored as industrial wastes, thus raising additional economic and logistic problems to deal with. Our research considers polluted sediments from an area close to the south side of Po river, in order to characterize heavy metals associated with different mineral species, thus defining effective treatments for their inertization, and suggesting a possible process for their recycle. Our results demonstrate that the composition of these sediments is suitable for the production of tiles and bricks. Several tests were thus performed to optimize sample treatment and other process parameters, finally giving very encouraging results. Releasing tests on fired products reveal that all the heavy metals are well retained.     

Targeting PIK3CA Actionable Mutations in the Circulome: A Proof of Concept in Metastatic Breast Cancer

The study of circulating cancer-derived components (circulome) is considered the new frontier of liquid biopsy. Despite the recognized role of circulome biomarkers, their comparative molecular profiling is not yet routine. In advanced breast cancer (BC), approximately 40% of hormone-receptor-positive, HER2-negative BC cases harbor druggable PIK3CA mutations suitable for combined alpelisib/fulvestrant treatment. This pilot study investigates PIK3CA mutations in circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), tumor cells (CTCs), and extracellular vesicles (EVs) with the aim of determining which information on molecular targetable profiling could be recollected in each of them. The in-depth molecular analysis of four BC patients demonstrated, as a proof-of-concept study, that it is possible to retrieve mutational information in the three components. Patient-specific PIK3CA mutations were found in both tissue and ctDNA and in 3/4 cases, as well as in CTCs, in the classical population (large-sized CD45−/EpCAM+/− cells), and/or in the “non-conventional” sub-population (smaller-sized CD44+/EpCAM−/CD45− cells). Consistent mutational profiles of EVs with CTCs suggest that they may have been released by CTCs. This preliminary evidence on the molecular content of the different circulating biomaterials suggests their possible function as a mirror of the intrinsic heterogeneity of BC. Moreover, this study demonstrates, through mutational assessment, the tumor origin of the different CTC sub-populations sustaining the translational value of the circulome for a more comprehensive picture of the disease.     

A New Human Platelet Lysate for Mesenchymal Stem Cell Production Compliant with Good Manufacturing Practice Conditions Preserves the Chemical Characteristics and Biological Activity of Lyo-Secretome Isolated by Ultrafiltration

Recently, we proposed a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)-compliant production process for freeze-dried mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-secretome (lyo-secretome): after serum starvation, the cell supernatant was collected, and the secretome was concentrated by ultrafiltration and freeze-dried, obtaining a standardized ready-to-use and stable powder. In this work, we modified the type of human platelet lysate (HPL) used as an MSC culture supplement during the lyo-secretome production process: the aim was to verify whether this change had an impact on product quality and also whether this new procedure could be validated according to GMP, proving the process robustness. MSCs were cultured with two HPLs: the standard previously validated one (HPL-E) and the new one (HPL-S). From the same pool of platelets, two batches of HPL were obtained: HPL-E (by repeated freezing and thawing cycles) and HPL-S (by adding Ca-gluconate to form a clot and its subsequent mechanical wringing). Bone marrow MSCs from three donors were separately cultured with the two HPLs until the third passage and then employed to produce lyo-secretome. The following indicators were selected to evaluate the process performance: (i) the lyo-secretome quantitative composition (in lipids and proteins), (ii) the EVs size distribution, and (iii) anti-elastase and (iv) immunomodulant activity as potency tests. The new HPL supplementation for MSCs culture induced only a few minimal changes in protein/lipid content and EVs size distribution; despite this, it did not significantly influence biological activity. The donor intrinsic MSCs variability in secretome secretion instead strongly affected the quality of the finished product and could be mitigated by concentrating the final product to reach a determined protein (and lipid) concentration. In conclusion, the modification of the type of HPL in the MSCs culture during lyo-secretome production induces only minimal changes in the composition but not in the potency, and therefore, the new procedure can be validated according to GMP.     

Synergy at work between continuous-time and sampled-data analog filters for integrated high-frequency,high-Q signal processing

High-frequency, high-Q-factor analog signal processing systems based on sampled-data switched-capacitor circuitry and continuous-time filters are proposed in a way that tends to combine the most advantageous aspects of both techniques. The new systems are applicable to video, radio and radar filtering functions and have unparalleled potential for producing more accurate, economical, and repeatable results than have been achieved with other methods.1.F _s is the sampling frequency and M and L are integers.2. A similar model could easily be established for the complementary frequency upconversion operation following the SC filter and involving the SC interpolator and the output CT filter, but this will not be considered here for conciseness.     

PETROLEUM IN GLACIALLY-RELATED SANDSTONES OF GONDWANA: A REVIEW

The supercontinent of Gondwana (Antarctica, Africa, Australia, South America, India, the Arabian Peninsula, Madagascar and Sri Lanka) covered more than six times the combined area of the United States and Brazil. In this paper, the petroleum occurrences and potential of glacially-related rocks of Carboniferous-Permian age in this vast area are reviewed in terms of basin types, reservoirs, seals, traps and source rocks. Significant amounts of heavy oil, sourced by Precambrian algal-rich shales, are produced from glacially-related sandstones in some 20 fields in Oman. Bolivia has 27 oil- and gasfields sourced from underlying Devonian shales, and oil production occurs in two fields in nearby Argentina. In Australia, there is production from two basins: the Cooper Basin has 24 productive fields (mostly gas), and the Canning Basin has six small fields. In Brazil, four non-commercial shows have been found in the Paraná Basin and one in the Amazonas Basin. In Paraguay, southern Africa and India, there is no production from glacially-related sandstones. Production and shows occur in cratonic basins either in the interior or along the margins of Gondwana, except for those in Bolivia, Argentina and South Africa, which occur in foreland basins. Sandstone reservoirs were deposited mostly as glacial outwash, as small deltas, either in lakes or marine basins, or as turbidites in marine basins bordered by continental ice sheets. Seals are diamictites, mudstones, shales and possibly diabases in the Paraná Basin. Traps include tectonic and salt-related anticlines as well as pinch-outs against glacial channels. Glacial outwash and glacio-marine sandstones are thus important petroleum exploration targets. Commercial production to date is sourced from both older and younger non-glacial beds. The fields in Oman were sourced by Precambrian algal-rich shales, and those in Bolivia and adjacent Argentina by Devonian and possibly Silurian organic-rich shales. The source of the gas in the Cooper Basin is from overlying coal beds. Neither modern marine, high-latitude muds nor ancient glacially-influenced marine shales contain sufficient organic material to be considered adequate source rocks. This review indicates that petroleum production in Gondwana's glaciogenic deposits mostly occurs in cratonic and passive margin basins; it occurs wholly in sandstone reservoirs, chiefly in structural traps, and nearly everywhere, reservoirs are sourced by hydrocarbons from non-glaciogenic shales (either older or younger). The only “glacially unique” features of petroleum in Gondwana deposits are its seals of diamictites, which surely must also be true when considering the petroleum possibilities of older ancient glacial and glacially-influenced deposits.     

Parasitic-compensated switched-capacitor delay lines

Describes a systematic approach to the design of passive parasitic-compensated switched capacitor (SC) delay lines employing well known SC branches. Such delay lines are important building blocks for the implementation of high frequency FIR SC decimators and interpolators with high selectivity amplitude responses