A Conceptual Framework For Structuring An IT Organization

Organizational efficiency and effectiveness result from aligning organizational needs and IT. Consequently, the structure of an IT Organization is crucial for obtaining good results, particularly in product and service delivery. However, in spite of the importance that IT Organization might have, no relevant documentation about its structure is found. As a result, using the Portuguese Navy as a case study to the design research, this paper aims at reviewing the main related research work and proposes a conceptual framework for structuring an IT organization. Through the proposed framework, it is possible to rationally structure an IT organization and, thus, contribute to the research in this area

Perfil do consumo alimentar infantil em São Tomé e Príncipe e produção de bolachas para complemento da dieta escolar

Mestrado em Engenharia Alimentar - Instituto Superior de AgronomiaSao Tome e Principe (STP) has a real public health issue when it comes to nutritional deficiencies in infancy and its effects on child development, namely in school performance, health and survival. Children from the ages of 6 to 12 years old are the least studied ones and to prevent hypovitaminosis A in this targeted group a complement to their diet is proposed in this work. A staple food, popular among children and easy to store, carry and eat, like sweet cookies, was selected to carry the envisaged diet supplements. Moreover the formulation was developed including over 60% of local produces and iodine salt and technology was transferred to a local bakery facility to set up all the conditions for the project to be successfully implemented in the near future. This goal was supported with the help of a questionnaire about children’s eating habits (QFA) and furthermore by a query to the children acceptability of the produced cookies. In this research project we were able to apply locally the QFA to over 1108 people and results worked out to support the cookies formulation as a diet supplement. The formulation was developed with the target of incorporating iodine and pro-vitamine A (carotene) compounds as well as the maximum possible of local all season products. The formula for the cookies was also fully described along with the respective recipe and processing conditions and technology directly transferred to a local institution with a bakery facility where more than ten productions were successfully achieved to supply cookies for the relevant testing. Furthermore, the quantification of the macronutrients and pro-vitamin A (beta-carotene) components of the produced cookies, the rheology characterization of the cookies dough and the instrumental evaluation of their crisp texture were performed at ISA labs in Lisbon. Lastly, the acceptance test was distributed to over 658 STP’s school children. It is concluded that the cookies are rich in fibres and can be included in the school menu, as it had a global acceptance of over 85%, has the STP Law demands. As for the eating habits of the population, it was possible to see that there is still an excess of candy, soda and alcoholic beverages in their diets. The consumption of food rich in proteins, such as milk or meat, is still very low. Therefore, this project is ready to go and be used as a complement to children diet by the local production and school distribution of these rich cookies

Nanocellulose bio-based composites for food packaging

The food industry is increasingly demanding advanced and eco-friendly sustainable packaging materials with improved physical, mechanical and barrier properties. The currently used materials are synthetic and non-degradable, therefore raising environmental concerns. Consequently, research efforts have been made in recent years towards the development of bio-based sustainable packaging materials. In this review, the potential of nanocelluloses as nanofillers or as coatings for the development of bio-based nanocomposites is discussed, namely: (i) the physico-chemical interaction of nanocellulose with the adjacent polymeric phase, (ii) the effect of nanocellulose modification/functionalization on the final properties of the composites, (iii) the production methods for such composites, and (iv) the effect of nanocellulose on the overall migration, toxicity, and the potential risk to human health. Lastly, the technology readiness level of nanocellulose and nanocellulose based composites for the market of food packaging is discussed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND Medical therapy for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction evolved since trials validated the use of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs). We sought to evaluate the performance of ICDs in reducing mortality in the era of modern medical therapy by means of a systematic review and meta-analysis of contemporary randomized clinical trials of drug therapy for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. METHODS AND RESULTS We systematically identified randomized clinical trials that evaluated drug therapy in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction that reported mortality. Studies that enrolled 40%, or patients in the acute phase of heart failure and study treatment with devices were excluded. We identified 8 randomized clinical trials, including 31 701 patients of whom 3631 (11.5%) had an ICD. ICDs were associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality (relative risk [RR], 0.85; 95% CI, 0.78-0.94) and sudden cardiac death (RR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.40-0.61). Results were consistent among studies published before and after 2010. In meta-regression analysis, the proportion of nonischemic etiology did not affect the associated benefit of ICD. CONCLUSIONS In our meta-analysis of contemporary randomized trials of drug therapy for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, the rate of ICD use was low and associated with a decreased risk in both all-cause mortality and sudden cardiac death. This benefit was still present in trials with new medical therapy.publishersversionpublishe

Performance of bacterial nanocellulose packaging film functionalised in situ with zinc oxide: migration onto chicken skin and antimicrobial activity

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO) are cost-effective antimicrobial agents with great potential for the active packaging industry. Bacterial NanoCellulose (BNC) features a porous fibre network, with high absorption capacity, flexible and with good mechanical properties, suitable as a carrier of active agents. In this work, BNCZnO films were developed and optimized regarding the particle size and ZnO concentration. The NaOH dropwise addition to BNC membranes immersed in Zn(CH3COO)2-PVOH enabled the production of ZnO nanoparticles with an z-average of 144 nm and a low polydispersity index. High ZnO incorporation (∼27%mZn/mBNCZnO) was obtained, with uniform distribution all over the BNC membranes. These composites were then characterized and evaluated for Zn migration using food simulants (10%, 20%, and 50% ethanol) with results lower than the limit. Migration into chicken skin, as a real food model, was low at 4 °C but exceeded the migration limit at 10 and 22 °C. Zn migration was also found to be temperature and pH dependent. When applied to chicken skin, BNCZnO was effective against E. coli, Salmonella (0.5–1.0 log reduction), and Campylobacter spp. (2.0 log reduction), indicating its potential for active packaging applications.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Antimicrobial activity of in-situ bacterial nanocellulose-zinc oxide composites for food packaging

Active substances such as zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO) have been extensively explored due to their antimicrobial properties, low cost and scalability. Yet, their effectiveness is highly dependent on their morphology and specific surface area. Bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) is a suitable carrier due to its ability to transport and deliver active substances. In the case of nanocellulose-ZnO composites, conclusions drawn from antimicrobial studies are often based on only a few representatives of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. A more comprehensive study using different species and strains, and different methods to assess antimicrobial activity is required. Therefore, in this work, the antimicrobial activity of ZnO suspensions and BNCZnO films was assessed against a wide range of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria using disc diffusion and viable cell count assays. Regarding the results of the disc diffusion assay, the increase of ZnO content (21–27% mZn/mBNCZnO) (in both ZnO suspensions and BNCZnO films), increased antimicrobial activity against all Gram-negative bacteria tested and some Gram-positive bacteria. In the viable cell count assay, BNCZnO films were effective against Escherichia coli (3 log reduction) and Listeria monocytogenes (1–3 log reduction) after 24 h. Low temperatures reduced the antimicrobial activity of BNCZnO.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A Stochastic Bi-objective Location Model for Reverse Logistics

Se presenta un modelo estocástico bietapa con dos criteros (coste, efecto obnoxio) para el diseño de una red de recogida de residuos

Response surface statistical optimization of bacterial nanocellulose fermentation in static culture using a low-cost medium

Supplementary material related to this article can be found, in the online version, at doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbt.2018.12.002.This work aimed at the optimization of bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) production by static culture, using Komagataeibacter xylinus BPR 2001 (K. xylinus). Response surface methodology - central composite design was used to evaluate the effect of inexpensive and widely available nutrient sources, namely molasses, ethanol, corn steep liquor (CSL) and ammonium sulphate, on BNC production yield. The optimized parameters for maximum BNC production were % (m/v): molasses 5.38, CSL 1.91, ammonium sulphate 0.63, disodium phosphate 0.270, citric acid 0.115 and ethanol 1.38 % (v/v). The experimental and predicted maximum BNC production yields were 7.5±0.54g/L and 6.64±0.079g/L, respectively and the experimental and predicted maximum BNC productivity were 0.829±0.046g/L/day and 0.734±0.079g/L/day, after 9 days of static culture fermentation, at 30°C. The effect of surface area and culture medium depth on production yield and productivity were also studied. BNC dry mass production increased linearly with surface area, medium depth and fermentation time. So long as nutrients were still available in the culture media, BNC mass productivity was constant. The results show that a high BNC production yield can be obtained by static culture of K. xylinus BPR 2001 using a low-cost medium. These are promising conditions for the static industrial scale BNC production, since as compared to agitated bioreactors, higher productivities may be reached, while avoiding high capital and operating costs.The authors would like to acknowledge the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for the financial support of the PhD grant SFRH/BD/89547/2012 attributed to Ana Cristina Rodrigues, the financial support from project SkinChip: Disruptive cellulose-based microfluidic device for 3D skin modelling, PTDC/BBB-BIO/1889/2014. ThisstudywasalsosupportedbythePortugueseFoundationforScience and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/ BIO/04469/2013 unit and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER006684) and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by European Regional Development Fund under the scope of NORTE 2020 - Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. The authors acknowledge COPAM Companhia Portuguesa de Amidos, S.A. (Portugal) and RAR Refinarias de Açúcar Reunidas, S.A. (Portugal) for kindly providing CSL and molasses, respectively.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Bacterial cellulose production by Gluconacetobacter xylinus by employing alternative culture media

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is used in different fields as a biological material due to its unique properties. Despite there being many BC applications, there still remain many problems associated with bioprocess technology, such as increasing productivity and decreasing production cost. New technologies that use waste from the food industry as raw materials for culture media promote economic advantages because they reduce environmental pollution and stimulate new research for science sustainability. For this reason, BC production requires optimized conditions to increase its application. The main objective of this study was to evaluate BC production by Gluconacetobacter xylinus using industry waste, namely, rotten fruits and milk whey, as culture media. Furthermore, the structure of BC produced at different conditions was also determined. The culture media employed in this study were composed of rotten fruit collected from the disposal of free markets, milk whey from a local industrial disposal, and their combination, and Hestrin and Schramm media was used as standard culture media. Although all culture media studied produced BC, the highest BC yield60 mg/mLwas achieved with the rotten fruit culture. Thus, the results showed that rotten fruit can be used for BC production. This culture media can be considered as a profitable alternative to generate high-value products. In addition, it combines environmental concern with sustainable processes that can promote also the reduction of production cost.The authors would like to acknowledge the Brazil National Council of Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq, FAPESP, and CAPES), the financial support from FAPESP 2009/14897-7, and Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT)/Portugal through the project PTDC/EBB-EBI/112170/2009 for the financial support and scholarship. Special thanks to Talita Almeida Vicentin for technical support