Composite Central Face Design—An Approach to Achieve Efficient Alginate Microcarriers

Funding: This work was supported by Portuguese Agency for Innovation (PT2020) through the projects (CENTRO-01-0145-FEDER-000014) and (POCI-01-0247-FEDER-017771). It was also supported by the project PAMI – Portuguese Additive Manufacturing Initiative (project nº22158 – SAICT- AAC nº 01/SAICT/2016) and also, by the CDRSP– ID/Multi/04044/2019, funded by the Portuguese Government through FCT/MCTES and co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Partnership Agreement PT2020. This work was also supported by funds from the Health Sciences Research Center (CICS-UBI) through National Funds by FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology (UID / Multi / 00709/2019).Microparticulated drug delivery systems have been used as promising encapsulation systems for protecting drugs for in vitro and in vivo applications, enhancing its stability, providing an increased surface to volume ratio, reducing adverse effects, and hence an improvement in bioavailability. Among the studied microparticles, there is a rising interest in the research of alginate microparticles for pharmaceutical and biomedical fields confirming its potential to be used as an effective matrix for drug and cell delivery. Moreover, calcium alginate has been one of the most extensively forming microparticles in the presence of divalent cations providing prolonged drug release and suitable mucoadhesive properties. Regarding the above mentioned, in this research work, we intended to produce Ca-alginate micro-vehicles through electrospraying, presenting high encapsulation efficiency (EE%), reduced protein release across the time, reduced swelling effect, and high sphericity coefficient. To quickly achieve these characteristics and to perform an optimal combination among the percentage of alginate and CaCl2, design of Experiments was applied. The obtained model presented to be statistically significant (p-value < 0.05), with a coefficient of determination of 0.9207, 0.9197, 0.9499, and 0.9637 for each output (EE%, release, swelling, and sphericity, respectively). Moreover, the optimal point (4% of alginate and 6.6% of CaCl2) was successfully validated.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Residual Biomass: A Comprehensive Review on the Importance, Uses and Potential in a Circular Bioeconomy Approach

ReviewThe paradigm shift towards sustainable growth is urgent, and biomass, which is the oldest energy source that humans have used since the discovery of fire, might play an important role. Biomass waste from forestry and agriculture is expected to fuel part of the increasing demand for biomass, and its valorization allows for more the efficient use of nutrients and resources. In this study, we carried out an extensive literature review on the valorization of residual agroforestry biomass since the 1970s to understand the leading research focuses on the subject over the last few decades, identify the most recent trends, and establish a possible solution path for the future of biomass. It was observed that most studies focused on biomass as being capable of replacing fossil energy sources. According to the literature, biomass has the most significant potential to meet requirements and ensure fuel supplies in the future. The developments of the last decades have significantly improved the conversion processes, leading to greener solutions, but there is still much to be studied and put into practice. Closing the loop into biomass waste recovery will be essential for a genuinely circular bioeconomyinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Assessment of Woody Residual Biomass Generation Capacity in the Central Region of Portugal: Analysis of the Power Production Potential

Biomass is an alternative energy source with high potential to contribute to the global energy mix and to countries’ energetic independence. The case of Portugal is particularly relevant, given its biomass availability. Thus, the quantification of woody residual biomass is assumed to be urgent. To achieve the objective of quantifying residual woody biomass, various available data were used, namely the Land Cover and Soil Use Map (COS 2018), from which areas occupied by different categories were selected as being the most relevant. Then, based on coefficients previously established, the amounts of residual woody biomass were determined, namely for maritime pine forests, eucalyptus forests, scrubland, vineyards, olive groves, and orchards. Then, the potential for generating electricity was estimated. It was found that for the hypothetical scenario of the total conversion of the recently closed Pêgo coal power plant to biomass, the available amounts of residual woody biomass in the country would not be sufficient to ensure the operation. On the other hand, if the power plant only worked as a backup unit, the available quantities could ensure its operation and contribute to creating a value chain for residual woody biomass of forest and agricultural origin within a circular economy and sustainable development approachinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Reducing Rural Fire Risk through the Development of a Sustainable Supply Chain Model for Residual Agroforestry Biomass Supported in aWeb Platform: A Case Study in Portugal Central Region with the Project BioAgroFloRes

In the European Mediterranean region, rural fires are a widely known problem that cause serious socio-economic losses and undesirable environmental consequences, including the loss of lives, infrastructures, cultural heritage, and ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration and the provisioning of raw materials. In the last decades, the collapse of the traditional rural socioeconomic systems that once characterized the Mediterranean region, along with land-use changes, have created conflicts and additional driving factors for rural fires. Within Europe, Portugal is the most affected country by rural fires. This work intends to demonstrate the importance of recovering and valorizing residual agroforestry biomass to reduce rural fire risk in Portugal, and thus contributing to a fire resilient landscape. From the results of the known causes of fires in Portugal, it becomes very clear that it is crucial to educate people to end risky behaviors, such as the burning of agroforestry leftovers that causes 27% of fires in Portugal each year. The valorization of the existing energy potential in the lignocellulosic biomass of agroforestry residues favors the reduction of the probability of rural fires, this being the focus of the project BioAgroFloRes—Sustainable Supply Chain Model for Residual Agroforestry Biomass supported in a Web Platform—introduced and explained hereinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A partial study of vertical distribution of conventional no-till seeders and spatial variability of seed depth placement of maize in the Alentejo region, Portugal

The requirements for a good stand in a no-till field are the same as those for conventional planting as well as added field and machinery management. Among the various factors that contribute towards producing a successful maize crop, seed depth placement is a key determinant. Although most no-till planters on the market work well under good soil and residue conditions, adjustments and even modifications are frequently needed when working with compacted or wet soils or with heavy residues. The main objective of this study, carried out in 2010, 2011 and 2012, was to evaluate the vertical distribution and spatial variability of seed depth placement in a maize crop under no-till conditions, using precision farming technologies and conventional no-till seeders. The results obtained indicate that the seed depth placement was affected by soil moisture content and forward speed. The seed depth placement was negatively correlated with soil resistance and seeding depth had a significant impact on mean emergence time and the percentage of emerged plants. Shallow average depth values and high coefficients of variation suggest a need for improvements in controlling the seeders’ sowing depth mechanism or more accurate calibration by operators in the field

Post-depositional processes of elemental enrichment inside dark nodular masses of an ancient aeolian dune from A Coruña, Northwest Spain

This paper focuses on a residual ancient aeolian climbing dune from Punta Penaboa (A Coruña, Northwest Spain) showing evidence of post-depositional weathering, particularly the presence of dark brown nodular masses. The partitioning of trace elements between nodular masses and host sand during post-depositional weathering of the dune is investigated in this work, with the main objective of studying the elemental enrichment patterns in the dark masses. Data of the concentrations of chemical elements were obtained by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and complemented by mineralogical and microchemical studies, using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) / energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS). The dune was dated by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) , yielding an age of 300ka B.P.. The dark nodular masses preserved the dune sand structure, without defined concentric layers, suggesting an early stage of formation. They consist mainly of quartz grains cemented by clay materials enriched in the majority of the elements studied, especially in Mn, Co, Ba, Sb, Ce, Tb, Th, As, Zr and Hf. The post-depositional transformations of the dune were most likely influenced by migration of chemical compounds from the surrounding slope deposits and granitic rocks, as well as microbial activity that promoted metals concentration in the solutions percolating through the pore network of the dune. Seasonal changes in the redox potential were required to produce the accumulation of Mn and other trace elements in the dune pore network and to promote the fractionation between Ce4+ and trivalent rare earth elements that was observed in the geochemical patterns

Characterization of anti-crotalic antibodies

AbstractCrotalus durissus terrificus, C. d. collilineatus, C. d. cascavella and C. d. marajoensis are responsible minor but severe snake bites in Brazil. The venoms of these snakes share the presence of crotoxin, a neurotoxin comprising of two associated components, crotapotin and phospholipase A2 (PLA2). Treatment of the victims with specific antiserum is the unique effective therapeutic measure. The ability of anti-Crotalus antisera produced by the routine using crude venom to immunize horses or purified crotoxin and PLA2 as individual immunogens was compared. Antisera obtained from horses immunized with C. durissus terrificus crude venom were able to recognize and neutralize not only the toxins presents in C. durissus terrificus, but also the ones present in the venoms from C. d. collilineatus, C. d. cascavella and C. d. marajoensis. Antisera from horses immunized with individual crotoxin or PLA2, although in lesser titers, were also able of recognizing the toxins in all four Crotalus species and neutralize the lethality of the C. d. terrificus venom

In situ crosslinked electrospun gelatin nanofibers for skin regeneration

Due to its intrinsic similarity to the extracellular matrix, gelatin electrospun nanofibrous meshes are promising scaffold structures for wound dressings and tissue engineering applications. However, gelatin is water soluble and presents poor mechanical properties, which generally constitute relevant limitations to its applicability. In this work, gelatin was in situ crosslinked with 1,4-butanediol diglycidyl ether (BDDGE) at different concentrations (2, 4 and 6 wt%) and incubation time-points (24, 48 and 72 h) at 37 °C. The physico-chemical and biological properties of BDDGE-crosslinked electrospun gelatin meshes were investigated. Results show that by changing the BDDGE concentration it is possible to produce nanofibers crosslinked in situ with well-defined morphology and modulate fiber size and mechanical properties. Crosslinked gelatin meshes show no toxicity towards fibroblasts, stimulating their adhesion, proliferation and synthesis of new extracellular matrix, thereby indicating the potential of this strategy for skin tissue engineering.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Torque-angle-velocity relationships and muscle performance of professional and youth soccer players

Soccer matches consist of a variety of different activities, including repeated sprints. Time to attain velocity (TTAV), load range (LR) and the torque-angle-velocity relationship (TAV3D) represent an important measurement of muscle performance however there are few studies related. The aim of this study was to compare these outcomes between soccer players of different age category. Seventeen professional (PRO) and seventeen under-17 (U17) soccer players were assessed for concentric knee flexion/extension at 60, 120 and 300 °/s. For the extensor muscles, differences were found in favor of the U17 group for TTAV and LR outcomes at 120 °/s, however, the PRO group maintained higher torques in both movement directions in comparison to the U17 in TAV3D evaluation. These results suggest that muscle performance of the PRO group is more efficient than the U17 group

Epidemiological status of bovine brucellosis in the Federal District, Brazil

Realizou-se um estudo para caracterizar a situação epidemiológica da brucelose bovina no Distrito Federal (DF). No total foram amostrados 2.019 animais, provenientes de 278 propriedades. Em cada propriedade visitada aplicou-se um questionário epidemiológico para verificar o tipo de exploração e as práticas de criação e sanitárias que poderiam estar associadas ao risco de infecção pela doença. O protocolo utilizado foi o da triagem com o teste do antígeno acidificado tamponado e a confirmação dos positivos com o teste do 2-mercaptoetanol. O rebanho foi considerado positivo quando pelo menos um animal foi reagente às duas provas sorológicas. A prevalência no DF foi de 2,5% [1,0-5,1%] para propriedades e de 0,16% [0,04-0,28%] para animais. Em razão dos resultados encontrados, que permitem pensar em estratégias de erradicação, recomenda-se que o DF intensifique o diagnóstico de brucelose, tanto na forma de testes sorológicos sistemáticos como pela introdução de mecanismos de detecção rápida em laticínios, em ambos os casos a fim de aumentar o número de propriedades certificadas como livres da doença e melhorar a sensibilidade do sistema de vigilância ativa.A study to characterize the epidemiological status of brucellosis was carried out in the Federal District of Brazil. A total of 2,019 serum samples from 278 herds were collected. In each herd, it was applied an epidemiological questionnaire focused on herd traits as well as husbandry and sanitary practices that could be associated with the risk of infection. The serum samples were screened for antibodies against Brucella spp. by the Rose-Bengal Test (RBT), and all positive sera were re-tested by the 2-mercaptoethanol test (2-ME). The herd was considered positive if at least one animal was positive on both RBT and 2-ME tests. Herd prevalence was estimated as 2.5% [1.0-5.1%] whereas animal prevalence was 0.16% [0.04-0.28%]. Given these results, that may warrant the implementation of eradication strategies, there is a case for intensifying the serological testing in the Federal District, coupled with the introduction of rapid detection methods by the dairy industries, with a view to increasing the number of accredited free herds and improving the sensitivity of the surveillance system..FAPESPCNPqSEAP-DFMAPA Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abasteciment