Chemerin is an adipokine that has been associated with components of metabolic syndrome. It has been described to affect adipocyte metabolism and inflammatory responses in adipose tissue, as well as the systemic metabolism of lipids and glucose. Few epidemiological studies have evaluated classical and genetics cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) in the mixed adult rural population in Brazil. Therefore, the present study explored possible associations between CVRFs and chemerin. This cross-sectional study included 508 adults from the rural localities of Lavras Novas, Chapada, and Santo Antônio do Salto in Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Southeast Brazil. Demographic, behavioral, clinical, biochemical, anthropometric variables, and 12 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) linked with metabolic syndrome phenotypes were evaluated for associations with chemerin level. There was a significant association of high triglyceride levels [odds ratio (OR)=1.91, 95%CI: 1.23−2.98], insulin resistance (OR=1.82, 95%CI: 1.03−3.22), age (OR=1.64, 95%CI: 1.08−2.49), and sex (OR=1.99, 95%CI: 1.35−2.95) with high levels of chemerin. High chemerin levels were significantly associated with the genetic polymorphisms rs693 in the APOB gene (OR=1.50, 95%CI: 1.03−2.19) and rs1799983 in the NOS3 gene (OR=1.46, 95%CI: 1.01−2.12) for the AA and GT+TT genotypes, respectively. In the concomitant presence of genotypes AA of rs693 and GT+TT of rs1799983, the chance of presenting high levels of chemerin showed a 2.21-fold increase (95%CI: 1.25−3.88) compared to the reference genotype. The development of classical CVRFs in this population may be influenced by chemerin and by two risk genotypes characteristic of variants in well-studied genes for hypertension and dyslipidemia.

Association studies of genetic variants and obesity and/or obesity-related risk factors have yielded contradictory results. The aim of the present study was to determine the possible association of five single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located in the IGF2, LEPR, POMC, PPARG, and PPARGC1 genes with obesity or obesity-related risk phenotypes. This case-control study assessed overweight (n=192) and normal-weight (n=211) children and adolescents. The SNPs were analyzed using minisequencing assays, and variables and genotype distributions between the groups were compared using one-way analysis of variance and Pearson's chi-square or Fisher's exact tests. Logistic regression analysis adjusted for age and gender was used to calculate the odds ratios (ORs) for selected phenotype risks in each group. No difference in SNP distribution was observed between groups. In children, POMC rs28932472(C) was associated with lower diastolic blood pressure (P=0.001), higher low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (P=0.014), and higher risk in overweight children of altered total cholesterol (OR=7.35, P=0.006). In adolescents, IGF2 rs680(A) was associated with higher glucose (P=0.012) and higher risk in overweight adolescents for altered insulin (OR=10.08, P=0.005) and homeostasis model of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (OR=6.34, P=0.010). PPARG rs1801282(G) conferred a higher risk of altered insulin (OR=12.31, P=0.003), and HOMA-IR (OR=7.47, P=0.005) in overweight adolescents. PARGC1 rs8192678(A) was associated with higher triacylglycerols (P=0.005), and LEPR rs1137101(A) was marginally associated with higher LDL cholesterol (P=0.017). LEPR rs1137101(A) conferred higher risk for altered insulin, and HOMA-IR in overweight adolescents. The associations observed in this population suggested increased risk for cardiovascular diseases and/or type 2 diabetes later in life for individuals carrying these alleles.

In this work, an alternative procedure to retrofit an industrial plant is proposed, based on a new heat exchanger network (HEN) synthesis and evolution algorithm. The idea is to consider the retrofitting as a grassroots design, but with match constrains accounted for during the synthesis. First, a lower bound for the HEN total annual cost (TAC) is determined and a new HEN is synthesized. A comparison between this HEN and the actual one is performed to search for structural similarities, forming the set of match constrains. Then, a new HEN keeping those similarities is proposed. The comparison among the three HENs indicate the recommended structural modifications. A Case Study is considered. Results show a reduction on the TAC, indicating the actual HEN is poorly integrated and a retrofit can be performed without many changes on the structure. The automatic HEN synthesis and evolution are performed using the software AtHENS,

Cost optimization in the synthesis decision tree often leads to a reduced degree of freedom which degrades the process’s ability to reject disturbances as a consequence of low controllability. In fact, Heat Exchanger Networks (HENs) obtained by traditional synthesis procedures that ignore controllability aspects must be evaluated in this context a posteriori. The aim of this work was to develop a procedure that includes RGA and SVD measures of controllability, which are solely based on steady state information, thereby freeing the synthesis procedure of the cumbersome dynamic analysis. When a structure is defined during a traditional HEN synthesis procedure, a degree of freedom analysis is approached as a simulation problem. Next, an optimization is performed, since new variables are usually added to increase the degree of freedom of the HEN in order to render it controllable. A key point in the proposed procedure is the inference of controllability based on the proposed controllability measures, which also provide a control scheme by pairing controlled and manipulated variables during the process design. A HEN reported in the literature is used to illustrate the proposed procedure. The steady state simulator Aspen Plus and the dynamic simulator Aspen Dynamics (Aspentech, Inc.) were employed.

Heat exchanger network (HEN) synthesis has been traditionally performed without accounting for a more detailed unit design, which is important since the final HEN may require unfeasible units. Recently, publications on this matter have appeared, as well as softwares that simultaneously perform synthesis and units design. However, these publications do not clearly show the influence of the new added features on the final HEN. Hence, this work aims at showing that units' design can strongly affect the final HEN. Improvements on heat transfer area and total annual cost estimations, which influence the HEN structural evolution, are the main responsible for that. It is also shown the influence of some design bounds settings, which can indicate an unfeasible unit design and, therefore, the need for a new match search or the maintenance of a loop. An example reported in the literature is used to illustrate the discussion.

Recently, a new software (AtHENS) that automatically synthesizes a heat exchanger network with minima consumption of utilities was developed. This work deals with the next step, which represents the evolution of the initial network. Hence, new procedures to identify and break loops are incorporated, for which a new algorithm is proposed. Also, a heat exchanger design procedure which uses the available pressure drop to determine the film coefficient on the tube side and shell side is added, providing the utilization of more realistic heat exchangers in the network during its optimization. Results obtained from a case study point to the possibility of equipment design having a strong influence on the network synthesis.