58 research outputs found
Simple methodology for the quantitative analysis of fatty acids in human red blood cells
In the last years, there has been an increasing
interest in evaluating possible relations between fatty acid
(FA) patterns and the risk for chronic diseases. Due to the
long life span (120 days) of red blood cells (RBCs), their
FA profile reflects a longer term dietary intake and was
recently suggested to be used as an appropriate biomarker
to investigate correlations between FA metabolism and diseases.
Therefore, the aim of this work was to develop and
validate a simple and fast methodology for the quantification
of a broad range of FAs in RBCs using gas chromatography
with flame ionization detector, as a more common
and affordable equipment suitable for biomedical and
nutritional studies including a large number of samples. For
this purpose, different sample preparation protocols were
tested and compared, including a classic two-step method
(Folch method) with modifications and different one-step methods, in which lipid extraction and derivatization were
performed simultaneously. For the one-step methods, different
methylation periods and the inclusion of a saponification
reaction were evaluated. Differences in absolute FA
concentrations were observed among the tested methods,
in particular for some metabolically relevant FAs such as
trans elaidic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid. The one-step
method with saponification and 60 min of methylation time
was selected since it allowed the identification of a higher
number of FAs, and was further submitted to in-house validation.
The proposed methodology provides a simple, fast
and accurate tool to quantitatively analyse FAs in human
RBCs, useful for clinical and nutritional studies.This work received financial support from the
European Union (FEDER funds through COMPETE) and National
Funds (FCT, Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) through project
PTDC/SAU-ENB/116929/2010 and EXPL/EMS-SIS/2215/2013.
ROR acknowledges PhD scholarship SFRH/BD/97658/2013 attributed
by FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Design of agile supply chains including analysing the trade-off between number of partners and reliability
The reliability of supply partners is particularly vital in agile supply chains as it is vulnerable to the inability of a supply partner to meet its high responsiveness and flexibility requirements resulting in the disruption of the whole network. Disruption can have expensive and extensive results for the entire agile supply chain. To mitigate the risk of disruption and improve the reliability of the whole agile supply chain, decision-makers need to pay more attention to supply chain design and construction, whilst simultaneously taking into account the sourcing strategy decisions. This paper proposes a series of models for the design of agile supply chains using dynamic programming modelling. These provide decision-makers with a systematic way of analysing one of the key decisions of sourcing strategy, namely the trade-off between the number of supply partners and reliability. The efficacy of the models is demonstrated through their application to a Chinese bus and coach manufacturer by way of an empirical illustration. The results show that this approach is effective for this application and it can be applied in other related decision-making scenarios. The methods offered in this paper provide managers with a practical tool to design their agile supply chains while considering the trade-offs between the number of partners and the reliability of the entire agile supply chain
Notes for genera: basal clades of Fungi (including Aphelidiomycota, Basidiobolomycota, Blastocladiomycota, Calcarisporiellomycota, Caulochytriomycota, Chytridiomycota, Entomophthoromycota, Glomeromycota, Kickxellomycota, Monoblepharomycota, Mortierellomycota, Mucoromycota, Neocallimastigomycota, Olpidiomycota, Rozellomycota and Zoopagomycota)
Compared to the higher fungi (Dikarya), taxonomic and evolutionary studies on the basal clades of fungi are fewer in number. Thus, the generic boundaries and higher ranks in the basal clades of fungi are poorly known. Recent DNA based taxonomic studies have provided reliable and accurate information. It is therefore necessary to compile all available information since basal clades genera lack updated checklists or outlines. Recently, Tedersoo et al. (MycoKeys 13:1--20, 2016) accepted Aphelidiomycota and Rozellomycota in Fungal clade. Thus, we regard both these phyla as members in Kingdom Fungi. We accept 16 phyla in basal clades viz. Aphelidiomycota, Basidiobolomycota, Blastocladiomycota, Calcarisporiellomycota, Caulochytriomycota, Chytridiomycota, Entomophthoromycota, Glomeromycota, Kickxellomycota, Monoblepharomycota, Mortierellomycota, Mucoromycota, Neocallimastigomycota, Olpidiomycota, Rozellomycota and Zoopagomycota. Thus, 611 genera in 153 families, 43 orders and 18 classes are provided with details of classification, synonyms, life modes, distribution, recent literature and genomic data. Moreover, Catenariaceae Couch is proposed to be conserved, Cladochytriales Mozl.-Standr. is emended and the family Nephridiophagaceae is introduced
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