Production of iron-peptide complexes from spent yeast for nutraceutical industry

Iron (Fe) deficiencies are a major health condition concern and over the years many solutions in the form of Fe supplementation have been investigated. Organic Fe-complexes are the most promising for Fe deficiencies remediation. The aim of present study was to value peptide rich waste streams from β-glucan and mannan production from spent yeast (Gpep and Mpep, respectively) as Fe-peptide complexes for Fe supplementation. These waste streams were first subjected to ultrafiltration treatment before assessing the capacity of these fractions to complex Fe was evaluated, without, and with nitrogen. Results have shown that Gpep> 1 kDa was the best fraction with a optimal pH of 6.0 and a time of 30 min. The resulting Fe-peptide complex was characterized using powder XDR, fluorescence, FTIR, SEM and Mastersizer Laser Diffraction. Results have shown that Gpep and Mpep waste streams have potential application as Fe supplementation in the form of Fe peptide complexes.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Up-scalable approaches for yeast mannan oligosaccharides (MOS) production: characterization and immunomodulatory properties

Mannan oligosaccharides (MOS) are widely used as feed additives due to their effects on gut microbiome modulation. Its application in the nutraceutical and functional food industries is also increasing. Numerous studies portraying MOS production from β-mannans can be found, but its production from yeast mannans is barely explored. Herein, two up-scalable approaches to produce yeast-derived MOS are presented: hydrothermal and acidic processing. Process efficiency was evaluated, and the resulting extracts were characterized (ATR-FT-IR, PXRD, SEM, MWD, DSC, sugar, and protein content). Extracts were also evaluated for their cytotoxicity and immunomodulatory effect; furthermore, a simulated gastrointestinal tract digestion was performed to confirm their biological potential. The hydrothermal process resulted in the highest yield, whereas the acidic process resulted in lower molecular weight populations. Immunomodulatory results indicate that MOS digested extracts do not hold anti-inflammatory activity but grant an immunostimulant effect, whereas the non-digested MOS acidic extract showed an anti-inflammatory potential. This work provides valuable contributions towards the industrial production of yeast-derived MOS extracts, highlighting their potential for applications in various fields while contributing to a circular economy approach.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Simulation of NaCl and KCI mass transfer during salting of prato cheese in brine with agitation: a numerical solution

The association of dietary NaCl with arterial hypertension has led to a reduction in the levels of this salt in cheeses. For salting, KCl has been used as a partial substitute for NaCl, which cannot be completely substituted without affecting product acceptability. In this study a sensorially adequate saline solution (NaCl/KCl) was simultaneously diffused during salting of Prato cheese in brine with agitation. The simultaneous multicomponent diffusion during the process was modeled with Fick’s second generalized law. The system of partial differential equations formed was solved by the finite element method (FEM). In the experimental data concentration the deviation for NaCl was of 7.3% and for KCl of 5.4%, both of which were considered acceptable. The simulation of salt diffusion will allow control and modulation of salt content in Prato cheese, permitting the prediction of final content from initial conditions.A associação da dieta com NaCl hipertensão arterial levou a uma redução nos níveis de este sal no queijo. Para a salga, KCl tem sido usado como substituto parcial do NaCl, que não pode ser totalmente substituído sem afetar a aceitabilidade do produto. Neste estudo, a solução salina sensorialmente adequadas solução (NaCl / KCl) foi difundida simultaneamente, durante a salga de queijo prato em salmoura com agitação. A difusão multicomponente simultânea durante o processo foi modelado com a segunda lei de Fick generalizada. O sistema de equações diferenciais parciais formados foi resolvido pelo método dos elementos finitos (FEM). Na concentração de dados experimentais do desvio de NaCl foi de 7,3% e KCl de 5,4%, sendo que ambos foram considerado aceitável. A simulação da difusão do sal vai permitir o controle e modulação do teor de sal no Queijo Prato, permitindo a predição do conteúdo final das condições iniciais

Crew Dispatch for Commercial and Technical Services in an Electric Power Distribution Company Using ACO Technique

The aim of this paper is to describe the application of ACO optimization method for dispatch of road crews for commercial and supply restoration services in an electric power distribution company. The proposed methodology takes as input a large amount of different service orders (commercial and supply restoration), ranked by importance. Thus, it is able to create routes to be taken by each road crew, to select the sequence in which the requests will be met on the current day and the ones that will be met on another day in order to better achieve the company’s targets. The methodology presented in this paper is of great relevance for electricity utilities because it optimizes the use of the potential capacity of the available road crews, increasing its efficiency and reducing costs. A computer program – named as ANTECOM – has been developed to apply this method and the results were compared with the ones from the current methodology used by CEMAR (and from other available on the literature), providing better results. Also, it is more suitable for real time applications

Effectiveness of habitat management in the recovery of low-density populations of wild rabbit.

Understanding the relationship between spatial patterns of landscape attributes and population presence and abundance is essential for understanding population processes as well as supporting management and conservation strategies. This study evaluates the influence of three factors: environment, habitat management, and season on the presence and abundance of the wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), an important prey species for Mediterranean endangered predator species. To address this issue, we estimated wild rabbit presence and abundance by latrine counting in transects located in 45 plots within a 250×250 m grid from June 2007 until June 2009 in a 1,200 ha hunting area in southern Portugal.We then analyzed how wild rabbit presence and abundance correlatewith the aforementioned factors. Our results showed that the main variable influencing wild rabbit presence and abundance was the distance to the artificial warrens. North and northeast slope directions were negatively related to wild rabbit presence. Conversely, rabbit presence was positively correlated with short distances to ecotone, artificial warrens, and spring. Regarding rabbit abundance, in addition to artificial warrens, soft soils, bushes, and season also had a positive effect. We found that environmental variables, management practices, and season each affect wild rabbit presence and abundance differently at a home range scale in low-density population. Thus, our major recommendations are reducing the distance to artificial warrens and ecotone, ideally to less than 100 m, and promoting habitat quality improvement on slopes with plenty of sun exposure