Putting the magnifying glass on minorities groups in entrepreneurship: What can we observe?

Although entrepreneurship plays a critical role in fostering economic development, erasing inequality, and generating more balanced societies, a gap concerning the course, nature, and state-of-the-art of minority entrepreneurship scientific literature need to be fulfilled. A hybrid methodology, combining bibliometric methods and topic models (latent Drichlet allocation) is used to perform a thematic analysis of the minority entrepreneurship research stream. The analysis provides insight into the most relevant research themes as well as further research agenda.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Application of nanotechnology in the agro-food sector

Nanotechnology is an emerging field of research that has been widely applied in different scientific and engineering areas. The agro-food sector is not an exception, which considers its applicability in several areas of major interest for both consumers and producers. This review considers major concepts related to nanostructures and nano-based instruments used in the food sector, as well as their applications in agro-food products. Food safety through the use of nanosensors for pathogen detection, smart packaging, and valorisation of food products by nanoencapsulation/nanodelivery of food ingredients (e.g. flavours) are examples of important areas of nanotechnology. Consumers' apprehension regarding food stability and safety issues is also considered.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Multiplicação vegetativa de azálea (Rhododendron simsii, Planch). I. Efeito de fito-hormônio e épocas de estaqueamento

Effects of Exuberone and planting seasons. This work refers to the study of the development of azalea (Rhododendron simsii, planch) cuttings, in the four different seasons of the year and the effect off phytolohormone (Exuberone) applied by the slow method, in eight different concentrations. The results, obtained showed that the best period for the rooting of azalea cuttings, was the and of spring (ovember), independently of the application of Exuberone. The phytohormone effects were variable in the same season and between seasons. The period less favourable for rooting was the end of winter (September).O presente trabalho refere-se ao estudo de estaqueamento de azálea (Rhododendron simsii, Planch), em épocas correspondentes ao final das quatro estações do ano e efeitos de aplicação de um fito-hormônio (Exuberone), pelo método lento, em oito diferentes concentrações. Foi utilizado ripado, em condições de Jaboticabal-SP, durante o período de março/1974 a março/1975. De quatro a cinco meses após o estaqueamento foi calculada a porcentagem de plantas enraizadas e foram feitas amostragens para obtenção do número de raízes, seu comprimento e peso de matéria seca e o numero de folhas desenvolvidas. Dos resultados analisados, conclui-se que a época de fins de primavera é a mais favorável para estaqueamento de azálea, independente do uso de Exuberone. Quanto ao efeito do Exuberone, os dados variaram tanto entre épocas como dentro de uma mesma época. A época menos favorável foi a de fins de inverno, havendo necessidade de serem testadas doses mais altas do produto

A survey on genetically modified maize in foods commercialised in Portugal

Maize, the second most important genetically modified (GM) crop, has the highest number of authorised GM events for food and feed in the EU. To provide consumer’s information, labelling for food products containing more than 0.9% of GM material is demanded by the actual EU legislation. Analysis of foods is then essential to detect and quantify GM maize material and verify the compliance with labelling information. The aim of the present work was to assess the presence of GM maize in a range of processed foods commercialised in Portugal between 2007 and 2010. For this purpose, screening of GM material was carried out by qualitative PCR targeting the 35S promoter and the NOS terminator, followed by the specific detection of Bt11, MON810, Bt176, GA21, MON863, NK603, TC1507 (also known as DAS1507), DAS59122 and MIR604 events. The identified maize events were confirmed and quantified by real-time PCR with hydrolysis probes. The overall results of GMO screening were 30% for 35S promoter, 10% for NOS terminator and 25% for identified events. The most frequently detected events were MON810, TC1507 and NK603, with one sample containing GA21, while the other events were not detected in any of the analysed foods. The quantitative results suggest the need for a more severe control since 4% of the analysed foods contained more than the threshold for labelling and none of them declared the presence of GMO

Development of an Oxy-Fuel Combustion System in a Compression-Ignition Engine for Ultra-Low Emissions Powerplants Using CFD and Evolutionary Algorithms

[EN] This study uses an optimization approach for developing a combustion system in a compression-ignition engine that is able to operate under oxy-fuel conditions, and produces mainly CO2 and H2O as exhaust gases. This is achieved because the combustion concept uses pure oxygen as an oxidizer, instead of air, avoiding the presence of nitrogen. The O-2 for the combustion system can be obtained by using a mixed ionic-electronic conducting membrane (MIEC), which separates the oxygen from the air onboard. The optimization method employed maximizes the energy conversion of the system, reducing pollutant emissions (CxHy, particulate matter, and carbon monoxides) to levels near zero. The methodology follows a novel approach that couples computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithms to optimize the complete combustion system in terms of engine performance and pollutant generation. The study involves the evaluation of several inputs that govern the combustion system design in order to fulfill the thermo-mechanical constraints. The parameters analyzed are the piston bowl geometry, fuel injector characteristics, air motion, and engine settings variables. Results evince the relevance of the optimization procedure, achieving very low levels of gaseous pollutants (CxHy and CO) in the optimum configuration. The emissions of CO were reduced by more than 10% while maintaining the maximum in-cylinder pressure within the limit imposed for the engine. However, indicated efficiency levels are compromised if they are compared with an equivalent condition operating under conventional diesel combustion.This research work has been supported by Grant PDC2021-120821-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by EuropeanUnion NextGenerationEU/PRTR. This research was partially supported by Agencia Valenciana de la Innovacio (AVI) through the project "Demostrador de un motor de oxicombustion con captura de CO2" (INNVA1/2021/38).Serrano, J.; Bracho Leon, G.; Gómez-Soriano, J.; Spohr-Fernandes, C. (2022). Development of an Oxy-Fuel Combustion System in a Compression-Ignition Engine for Ultra-Low Emissions Powerplants Using CFD and Evolutionary Algorithms. Applied Sciences. 12(14):1-27. https://doi.org/10.3390/app12147104127121

A comparative study of the dynamic critical behavior of the four-state Potts like models

We investigate the short-time critical dynamics of the Baxter-Wu (BW) and $n=3$ Turban (3TU) models to estimate their global persistence exponent $\theta _{g}$. We conclude that this new dynamical exponent can be useful in detecting differences between the critical behavior of these models which are very difficult to obtain in usual simulations. In addition, we estimate again the dynamical exponents of the four-state Potts (FSP) model in order to compare them with results previously obtained for the BW and 3TU models and to decide between two sets of estimates presented in the current literature. We also revisit the short-time dynamics of the 3TU model in order to check if, as already found for the FSP model, the anomalous dimension of the initial magnetization $x_{0}$ could be equal to zero

Soybean DNA extraction from blended refined vegetable oils

The major genetically modified (GM) crop species is soybean (Glycine max), accounting for 53% of the total world’s GM planted area and 70% of the soybean annual production in 2008 [1]. Since the approval of Roundup Ready® (RR) soybean in EU, the production of soybean oil using GM seeds has been increasing. In EU, the doubts raised by the use of genetically modified organisms (GMO) lead to the mandatory labelling for food products containing more than 0.9% of authorised GMO. In blended edible oils prepared with mixtures of two or more different oils, it is important to verify the labelling statements concerning their constituents and the presence of GM material, since soybean oil is frequently used. The analysis of DNA coupled with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been the technique of choice to monitor the presence of GMO in food. However, it is very difficult to obtain amplifiable DNA from oil since most vegetable oils, like crude soybean oil, must be refined prior to its consumption

Assessing the effect of pharmaceutical excipients on the DNA extraction from plant food supplements

in the EU market as ingredients in formulations, which are sold as plant food supplements (PFS). Among the several issues that may affect the safety of PFS, the most relevant concerns aduÍterations by the illegal addition of pharmaceutical drugs and/or the swap/ misidentification ofplant material, with cases of acate toxicity already reported [l]. Owing to the high similarity and distinct therapeutic uses ofseveral medicinal plants, accurate and fast methodologies allowing their distincüon are required. For that purpose, DNA-based methods are considered fast, sensitive and highly specific tools, allowing the unequivocal identification of plant species. Up to date, most of DNA methodologies reporting the identification of plant species essentially concern medicinal plants [2], with few works being developed for the authentication of PFS.This work was supported by the projects EXPL/DTP-SAP/1438/2013 (4SaferPFS) and Pest-C/EQB/LA0006/2013 financed by FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) (FEDER funds through COMPETE). Teimo J.R. Fernandes is grateful to FCT PhD grant (SFRH/BD/93711/2013) financed by POPH-QREN (subsidised by FSE and MCTES).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Corpus luteum blood flow evaluation on Day 21 to improve the management of embryo recipient herds

AbstractThe aim of the present study was to use blood flow evaluation of the CL at 14 days after embryo transfer to detect nonpregnant animals and optimize the management of bovine recipients. The estrous cycle was synchronized in 165 recipients, and the day of expected ovulation was considered to be Day 0. Embryo transfer was performed 7 days later, on Day 7. On Day 21, pregnancy was diagnosed on the basis of blood flow evaluation of the CL (DG21—predictive diagnostic). To validate this methodology, visual scores for blood flow were compared to objective data extracted from CL ultrasound images recorded in the Doppler mode. The size was also evaluated using recorded images of the CL in the B mode. Blood samples were also collected for further analysis of the progesterone (P4) concentration. The diagnosis of pregnancy was confirmed at 35 days after estrus (DG35—definitive diagnostic). The DG21 showed that 55.2% (90 of 163) of the animals were presumptively pregnant, and this value was higher (P < 0.04) than that obtained at DG35 (43.6%, 71 of 163). The predictive diagnostic achieved moderate specificity (79.3%) for the detection of pregnancy, but most importantly, high sensitivity (100%) for the detection of nonpregnant recipients. The overall accuracy of the diagnosis was 88.3%. The P4 concentrations were different (P < 0.02) and correlated with each visual score assigned for the CL size. Visual scores for CL blood flow were also efficient (P < 0.0001) to distinguish animals with different levels of P4; however, P4 concentrations were higher for scores 1 and 2 (high and regular blood flow, respectively) than those for score 3 (low blood flow). This technique showed high sensitivity and facilitated the early detection of nonpregnant animals. The DG21 would allow about 79.3% of nonpregnant animals to be resynchronized 9 to 14 days earlier, when compared to conventional management based on pregnancy diagnosis at Days 30 to 35

DNA extraction from plant food supplements: Influence of different pharmaceutical excipients

The consumption of plant food supplements (PFS) has been growing globally, with an increase of misleading labeling and fraudulent practices also being reported. Recently, the use of molecular biology techniques has been proposed to detect botanical adulterations, one of the possible frauds in PFS. However, difficulties in recovering DNA from some PFS samples have been described. Aiming at using DNA-based methods for the unequivocal identification of plant species in PFS, adequate DNA isolation is required. However, PFS often contain pharmaceutical excipients known to have adsorbent properties that might interfere with DNA extraction. Thus, the aim of this work was to assess the effect of different excipients (talc, silica, iron oxide and titanium dioxide) on the recovery/amplification of DNA. For that purpose, known amounts of template maize DNA were spiked either to PFS or to model mixtures of excipients and quantified by real-time PCR. The tested excipients evidenced clear adsorption phenomena that justify the hampering effect on DNA extraction from PFS. The use of either 10% talc or 0.5% dyes completely adsorbed DNA, resulting in negative PCR amplifications. For the first time, pharmaceutical excipients were shown to affect DNA extraction explaining the inability of recovering DNA from some PFS samples in previous studies.This work received financial support from the European Union (FEDER funds through COMPETE) and National Funds (FCT, Fundaç~ao para a Ci^encia e Tecnologia) through project EXPL/DTPSAP/ 1438/2013 (Safety of plant food supplements: searching for adulterant pharmaceutical drugs and plants) and UID/QUI/50006/ 2013. Joana Costa and Telmo J.R. Fernandes are grateful to FCT grants SFRH/BPD/102404/2014 and SFRH/BD/93711/2013, respectively, financed by POPH-QREN (subsidized by FSE and MCTES).This work received financial support from the European Union (FEDER funds through COMPETE) and National Funds (FCT, Fundaç~ao para a Ci^encia e Tecnologia) through project EXPL/DTPSAP/ 1438/2013 (Safety of plant food supplements: searching for adulterant pharmaceutical drugs and plants) and UID/QUI/50006/ 2013. Joana Costa and Telmo J.R. Fernandes are grateful to FCT grants SFRH/BPD/102404/2014 and SFRH/BD/93711/2013, respectively, financed by POPH-QREN (subsidized by FSE and MCTES).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio