Search results for " PLASMA"

Cold plasma processing of powdered Spirulina algae for spore inactivation and preservation of bioactive compounds

2020

Abstract Technologies for controlling microbial risks in a heat and humidity sensitive food powder are still limited. To preserve bioactive compounds while inactivating Bacillus subtilis spores in powdered Spirulina microalgae (Arthrospira platensis) with a non-thermal atmospheric plasma is the challenge presented in this paper. Artificially contaminated powder was treated with a custom-made surface micro-discharge cold atmospheric pressure plasma (SMD-CAPP) at the effective, specific surface energy of the plasma (Es) of 7–15 mW/cm2. The inactivation of spores in air plasma was faster than in nitrogen plasma. The final effect after 5 min exposure time of close to 2 log10 reduction could be …

Controlling protein interactions in blood for effective liver immunosuppressive therapy by silica nanocapsules

2020

Immunosuppression with glucocorticoids is a common treatment for autoimmune liver diseases and after liver transplant, which is however associated with severe side-effects. Targeted delivery of glucocorticoids to inflammatory cells, e.g. liver macrophages and Kupffer cells, is a promising approach for minimizing side effects. Herein, we prepare core–shell silica nanocapsules (SiO2 NCs) via a sol–gel process confined in nanodroplets for targeted delivery of dexamethasone (DXM) for liver immunosuppressive therapy. DXM with concentrations up to 100 mg mL−1 in olive oil are encapsulated while encapsulation efficiency remains over 95% after 15 days. Internalization of NCs by non-parenchymal muri…

Genetic polymorphisms affecting the phenotypic expression in familial hypercholesterolemia

2004

The clinical expression of heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is highly variable even in patients carrying the same LDL receptor (LDL-R) gene mutation. This variability might be due to environmental factors as well as to modifying genes affecting lipoprotein metabolism. We investigated Apo E (2, 3, 4), MTP (-493G/T), Apo B (-516C/T), Apo A-V (-1131T/C), HL (-514C/T and -250G/A), FABP-2 (A54T), LPL (D9N, N291S, S447X) and ABCA1 (R219K) polymorphisms in 221 unrelated FH index cases and 349 FH relatives with defined LDL-R gene mutations. We found a significant and independent effect of the following polymorphisms on: (i) plasma LDL-C (Apo E, MTP and Apo B); (ii) plasma HDL-C (HL, …

Numerical Study of Blow-Up Mechanisms for Davey-Stewartson II Systems

2018

We present a detailed numerical study of various blow-up issues in the context of the focusing Davey-Stewartson II equation. To this end we study Gaussian initial data and perturbations of the lump and the explicit blow-up solution due to Ozawa. Based on the numerical results it is conjectured that the blow-up in all cases is self similar, and that the time dependent scaling is as in the Ozawa solution and not as in the stable blow-up of standard $L^{2}$ critical nonlinear Schr\"odinger equations. The blow-up profile is given by a dynamically rescaled lump.

Comparison between probe stagnation point heat flux measurements and correlation formulas in SCIROCCO plasma wind tunnel tests

2012

A large part of the SCIROCCO Arc Heater Performance Map has been investigated. The heat flux measurements at the stagnation point of t he facility Calibratio Probe have been used to find an experimental fit. Such a formula ha s been compared with the predictions of the De Filippis-Serpico equation and the well known Fay-Riddell formula. Finally the experimental fit has been also compared with the Sa gner-Verant formula obtained at the ONERA F4 hypersonic plasma wind tunnel.

PHYSICO-CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF THE ACQUALADRONE ROSTRUM

2011

The archaeological discovery of the Acqualadrone rostrum (an offensive naval weapon mounted on the prow at the waterline), off the Italian coast near Messina in 2008, has led to the need for scientific research in order to plan the conservation treatment of this artefact. The discovery is exceptional because of the presence of a wooden section from the original ship. This paper describes the physico-chemical characterization of a metallic and two wooden samples by inductively coupled plasma – optical emission spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, 13 C{ 1 H} cross-polarization magic angle spinning NMR spectroscopy, energy-dispe…

Biological mineral content in Iberian skeletal cremains for control of diagenetic factors employing multivariate statistics

2013

Abstract The aim of this study was to define a strategy for a correct selection of bone samples by employing inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) for reconstructing the biological mineral content in bones through the determination of major elements, trace elements and Rare Earth Elements (REE, lanthanides) in skeletal cremains of ancient Iberians (III–II B.C), discovered in the Necropolis of Corral de Saus (Moixent, Valencia) between 1972 and 1979. The biological mineral content was determined taking into account diagenetic factors. A control method for a better reading of results was applied. To explore large geochemical datasets and to reduce the number of va…

Evolutionary Algorithms and Metaheuristics : Applications in Engineering Design and Optimization

2018

Modeling Chickenpox Dynamics with a Discrete Time Bayesian Stochastic Compartmental Model

2018

[EN] We present a Bayesian stochastic susceptible-exposed-infectious-recovered model in discrete time to understand chickenpox transmission in the Valencian Community, Spain. During the last decades, different strategies have been introduced in the routine immunization program in order to reduce the impact of this disease, which remains a public health's great concern. Under this scenario, a model capable of explaining closely the dynamics of chickenpox under the different vaccination strategies is of utter importance to assess their effectiveness. The proposed model takes into account both heterogeneous mixing of individuals in the population and the inherent stochasticity in the transmiss…

Hair Mercury Levels Detection in Fishermen from Sicily (Italy) by ICP-MS Method after Microwave-Assisted Digestion

2015

A number of ninety-six hair samples from Sicilian fishermen were examined for total mercury detection by an Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) method. The mercury levels obtained were compared with mercury levels of 96 hair samples from a control group, in order to assess potential exposure to heavy metals of Sicilian fishermen due to fish consumption and closeness to industrial activities. Furthermore, the mercury levels obtained from hair samples were sorted by sampling area in order to verify the possible risks linked to the different locations. The overall mean concentration in the hair of the population of fishermen was6.45±7.03 μg g−1, with a highest value in a fish…