Time series clustering is applied to inflammation and neutrophil cell development markers, CD16 and CD10, in sepsis, trauma and surgery patients and a dynamical model with an inflammation function, F , is used to represent their evolution over a two month period. Five patient clusters are identified, characterised and evaluated against medical assessment scores and the literature. A dynamical model for neutrophil and monocyte cell counts and maturity has been constructed based on mass balances and cell kinetics in both blood and bone marrow. Cell proliferation and flow rates, as well as expression of monocyte HLA-DR, depend on concentrations of pro- and anti- inflammatory cytokines, IL6 and IL10, via F . A good fit with the data is obtained for each cluster and the estimated parameters correlate to illness severity. The model is a potential tool for simulation of immunomodulatory therapies.

A dynamical model of the pathophysiological behaviors of IL18 and IL10 cytokines with their receptors is tested against data for the case of early sepsis. The proposed approach considers the surroundings (organs and bone marrow) and the different subsystems (cells and cyctokines). The interactions between blood cells, cytokines and the surroundings are described via mass balances. Cytokines are adsorbed onto associated receptors at the cell surface. The adsorption is described by the Langmuir model and gives rise to the production of more cytokines and associated receptors inside the cell. The quantities of pro and anti-inflammatory cytokines present in the body are combined to give global information via an inflammation level function which describes the patient's state. Data for parameter estimation comes from the Sepsis 48 H database. Comparisons between patient data and simulations are presented and are in good agreement. For the IL18/IL10 cytokine pair, 5 key parameters have been found. They are linked to pro-inflammatory IL18 cytokine and show that the early sepsis is driven by components of inflammatory character.

A kinetic model for hydrocracking a real vacuum gas oil at 120 bar and 400 degrees C in a semi-batch reactor has been constructed based on analysis results from two dimensional gas chromatography (GC x GC). The model has 217 pseudo-component lumps classified by carbon number and hydrocarbon family. Hydrogenation and cracking reactions are included separately and product distributions are generated using a probabilistic approach. Mass transfer resistances and vapour-liquid equilibrium are also accounted for. 17 parameters were estimated and the resulting model is able to fit the experimental data quite well. It was found that it is important to consider the average molecular structure within each lump. To this end, the non-reactivity of components within the paraffin lumps is taken into account in the probability matrix. A parameter has been included for the number of branches removed from the aromatics and naphthenes and it was also necessary to separate the aromatics and naphthenes into mono-ringed and multi-ringed lumps. This many lumped model allows us to approach the results found in studies with model molecules. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A two‐dimensional high gain observer has been constructed to estimate the reaction rate parameters in a laboratory scale stopped flow fixed bed reactor for gas phase ethylene polymerization. The observer is based on the heat balances of a validated model of the reactor and the measured variable is the outlet temperature of the fixed bed. To create an observable system of equations, the polymerization rate is considered in two parts, an activation energy term and a lumped parameter. The effective radial conductivity in the fixed bed and the heat‐transfer coefficient at the wall are considered separately. The polymerization rate is calculated from the observer results and is in good agreement with the measured data and calculated values. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J , 60: 3511–3523, 2014

A heterogeneous 2D dynamic model of a stopped flow fixed bed reactor for gas phase ethylene polymerisation has been constructed and validated. The reactor contains two solid phases with accumulation of mass within the reactor bed and the experiments modelled are of very short duration (0.1–75s). There is a good fit between measured data and calculated values, and the model results allow us to interpret the experimentally observed temperature rises. Higher than expected catalyst temperatures are found towards the reactor centre and exit which are due to the initial intensity of the polymerisation reaction.