Improving the performance of a SME in the cutlery sector using lean thinking and digital transformation

The main purpose of this paper is to show that if three specific contextual factors are present in a company, it is possible to achieve great performance improvements with a lean and industry 4.0 implementation. In terms of research methods, a case study was carried out of a project to implement digitalization and Lean practices in a cutlery company, which in fact encompassed a project of master’s degree in engineering and industrial management. Thus, the research question is: “It is possible to achieve major improvements in a lean and industry 4.0 implementation if three specific contextual factors are present in the company, namely (i) commitment of top management, (ii) knowledge on digitalization and lean, and (iii) very low Value-Added Ratio?”. Regarding the company project, action-research was adopted, and the project team began by mapping and diagnosing the production processes of the two product families (knives and spoons/forks). High levels of work in process, long throughput times, poor flow planning and control, and high stocks of finished products, quickly stood out in both families. Improvement proposals were developed and implemented, namely: (i) creation of a production scheduling and control system, (ii) improvement of the warehouse stock management system, and (iii) adoption of new routines, management tools, visual management, and kaizen meetings. The results achieved were excellent (e.g., throughput time reduced by 27.6% and productivity increased by 36.5%) and aligned with Sustainable Development Goals SDG 9 and 12. The findings of this study corroborate that exceptional results in the company performance can be achieved through a lean and industry 4.0 intervention, if the three referred contextual factors occur.This work has been supported by FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the R&D Units Project Scope: UIDB/00319/2020

Enzymatic determination of L(+) lactic and L(-) malic acids in wines by flow-injection spectrophotometry

A flow-injection system for the enzymatic determination of L( ) lactic acid and L(ÿ) malic acid in wines with spectrophotometric detection is described. The samples are dialysed in-line, and the enzymes in solution (malate dehydrogenase and lactate dehydrogenase) are injected as a train of plugs in the acceptor stream of the dialysis unit, yielding two peaks corresponding to the NADH formed for each determination. This methodology enables the determination of both acids with a single detector with a sampling rate of 20 h ÿ1 (0.4±3 g l ÿ1). The results are comparable to those obtained by the reference procedure, the repeatability is better than 5% (rsd), with low enzyme consumption (1.3 ml of suspension per sample)

Single nucleotide polymorphisms from Theobroma cacao expressed sequence tags associated with witches' broom disease in cacao

In order to increase the efficiency of cacao tree resistance to witches¿ broom disease, which is caused by Moniliophthora perniciosa (Tricholomataceae), we looked for molecular markers that could help in the selection of resistant cacao genotypes. Among the different markers useful for developing marker-assisted selection, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) constitute the most common type of sequence difference between alleles and can be easily detected by in silico analysis from expressed sequence tag libraries. We report the first detection and analysis of SNPs from cacao-M. perniciosa interaction expressed sequence tags, using bioinformatics. Selection based on analysis of these SNPs should be useful for developing cacao varieties resistant to this devastating disease. (Résumé d'auteur

Construction and use of a tubular picrate ion-selective electrode for reducing sugar determination in Port wine by flow-injection analysis

A picrate ion-selective electrode without inner reference solution and based on bis(triphenylphosphoranylidene)ammonium picrate dissolved in 2-nitrophenyloctyl ether was constructed and its characteristics assessed. With respect to reducing sugar determination in Port wine, a tubular electrode based on the same sensor system was developed and incorporated into a flow-injection manifold devised for this determination. The methodology involves a reaction between the reducing sugar and picric acid, the decrease in the picrate concentration being monitored with the tubular electrode. A linear dependence between peak width, at a fixed potential and the logarithm of sugar concentration in the range 25–200 g l−1 was obtained. The proposed system allows wine samples to be injected with no previous treatment and allows a sample throughput of 50 determinations per hour, a relative standard deviation less than 4%, and the results are comparable to the reference procedures

Antimicrobial activity and flow rate of newer and established root canal sealers

Endodontic sealers that possess both optimum flow ability and antimicrobial properties may theoretically assist in the elimination of microorganisms located in confined areas of the root canal system. The antimicrobial effects and the flow rate of the following sealers were investigated and compared: Kerr Pulp Canal Sealer EWT, Grossman's Sealer, ThermaSeal, Sealer 26, AH Plus, and Sealer Plus. The agar diffusion test was used to assess the antimicrobial activity of the sealers. In the flow assay, the sealers were placed between two glass slabs and a weight of 500 g was placed on the top of the glass. The diameters of the formed discs were recorded. All root canal sealers tested showed some antimicrobial activity against most of the microorganisms. There were no significant differences between the materials tested (p > 0.05). All root canal sealers also flowed under the conditions of this study. Statistical analysis of the results revealed that AH Plus and Kerr Pulp Canal Sealer EWT had flow values significantly superior to the other sealers tested (p > 0.05). Taken together, these findings suggest that these sealers have the potential to help in the microbial control in the root canal system

Fixed and volatile constituents oF genus Croton plants: C. adenoCalyx Baill -euphorBiaceae

aBstract This work describes the phytochemical analysis of Croton adenocalyx Baill (Euphorbiaceae), a plant that is representative of the species from Ceará State (Brazil). The GC-MS analysis of the essential oil, obtained by hydrodistillation of the leaves from C. adenocalyx, allowed the identification of eleven volatile constituents; the main components were identified as α-pinene (32.63%); bicyclogermacrene (13.96%); trans-caryophyllene (10.23%); germacrene D (10.14%); β-pinene (10.11%) and β-elemene (8.31%). The chromatographic purification of the ethanolic extract from the trunk bark, allowed the isolation and identification of the 6-methoxy-7-hydroxycoumarin (1) and 3´,5-dihydroxy-3,4´,7-trimethoxyflavone (2). Keywords: Euphorbiaceae, Croton adenocalyx, Essential oil, GC-MS, Flavonoid, Coumarin. resumen Este trabajo describe el análisis fitoquímico de Croton adenocalyx Baill (Euphorbiaceae), una planta representativa de las especies del Estado de Ceará-Brasil. El análisis por CG-EM del aceite esencial, obtenido por hidrodestilación de las hojas de C. adenocalyx Baill, permitió la identificación de diez constituyentes volátiles. Los componentes mayoritarios fueron identificados como α-pineno (32.63%), biciclogermacreno (13.96%), trans-cariofileno (10.23%), germacreno D (10.14%), β-pineno (10.11%) y β-elemeno (8.31%). La purificación cromatográfica del extracto etanólico de la corteza del tronco, permitió aislar e identificar la coumarina 6-metoxi-7-hidroxicumarina (1) y el 3´,5-dihidroxi-3,4´,7-trimetoxiflavona (2)

Evaluation of the antioxidant activity of extracts obtained form cherry seeds.

Annual cherry production in Portugal is around 19,000 tonnes, in an area of about 6,450 ha and covering about 11,100 farms, concentrated in some northern and central interior territories. It is also in these regions that in recent decades there has been a significant increase in farms specialized in the production of cherry, using new cultivars and new technologies in a business production model. Apart from being consumed in fresh form, cherries are used for many food preparations, like sweets, jellies or confectionary. In the plants that transform cherries, a significant amount of cherry seeds (also called cherry pits) is generated as residue or waste. The possible usage of these residues as raw material for extraction of compounds with antioxidant properties is beneficial in term of economic value as well as environmental impact. Hence, the objective of this work was to obtain extract rich in compounds with antioxidant activity from cherry seeds. The cherry seeds were obtained from a local waste management company, Nutrofertil, located in Tondela, in the district of Viseu (Portugal). They were grinded and then submitted to extraction procedures testing different operating conditions: magnetic stirrer versus ultrasound, different solvents (methanol, ethanol, water) and temperatures (from 35 ºC to 80 ºC). For the obtained extracts antioxidant activity was evaluated through spectrophotometric methods, using the DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and ABTS (2,2′-azino-di-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline sulfonic acid)) radicals, and also the Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power Assay (FRAP). All measurements were replicated at least trice, and were expressed as mg Trolox equivalents per gram (mg TE/g). The results obtained for the different experimental conditions indicated that least efficient extractions at ambient temperature were obtained with methanol using magnetic stirrer and with water using ultrasounds, for which the antioxidant activities measured by the DPPH method were 0.26 and 0.33 mg TE/g and by the ABTS method were 0.82 and 0.86 mg TE/g, respectively. Most efficient methods were water:ethanol (at 50% concentration) and water (100%), using magnetic stirrer in both cases. Highest antioxidant activity was obtained for water:ethanol by the DPPH method (0.72 mg TE/g) and for water (100%) by the ABTS method (1.25 mg TE/g). Tests with different concentrations for the aqueous solutions of ethanol and at different temperatures revealed that with increasing concentration of water the antioxidant diminished, from 0.62 to 0.27 mg TE/g at 35 ºC using the DPPH method. Additionally, the variation in temperature allowed reaching a maximum extraction of compounds with antioxidant activity at 70 ºC and decreasing thereafter. The maximum values obtained were registered at 70 ºC for all cases and were 0.74 mg TE/g for the water:ethanol 50:50 (v/v) by the DPPH method, 2.16 mg TE/g for the water:ethanol 60:40 (v/v) by the ABTS method and 3.43 mg TE/g for the water:ethanol 60:40 (v/v) by the FRAP method. The results obtained by the different methods were concordant in terms of the observed trends but giving different values of the measured antioxidant activity, which is a common characteristic observed in these types of evaluation techniques. This research allowed establishing some operational conditions that should be selected in order to maximize the extraction of compounds with antioxidant activity from cherry seeds. The use of ultrasounds was not found beneficial and the magnetic stirrer technique revealed to be more useful. Also the use of methanol was not found suitable, which is a good point given that this solvent is more pollutant and has more problems of toxicity. With respect to temperature, it was found that temperatures higher than 70 ºC are not beneficial because they induce the degradation of some bioactive compounds thus reducing the antioxidant activity of thee extracts.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Frequency of TERT promoter mutations in human cancers

Reactivation of telomerase has been implicated in human tumorigenesis, but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here we report the presence of recurrent somatic mutations in the TERT promoter in cancers of the central nervous system (43%), bladder (59%), thyroid (follicular cell-derived, 10%) and skin (melanoma, 29%). In thyroid cancers, the presence of TERT promoter mutations (when occurring together with BRAF mutations) is significantly associated with higher TERT mRNA expression, and in glioblastoma we find a trend for increased telomerase expression in cases harbouring TERT promoter mutations. Both in thyroid cancers and glioblastoma, TERT promoter mutations are significantly associated with older age of the patients. Our results show that TERT promoter mutations are relatively frequent in specific types of human cancers, where they lead to enhanced expression of telomerase.We thank to Mrs Mafalda Rocha for the excellent technical support in the sequencing work. This work was partially supported by the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT) through BPD (SFRH/BPD/85249/2012 to H. P.), PhD (SFRH/BD/81940/2011 to J.V. and SFRH/BD/79135/2011 to A. A.) and BI grants, and the grant through the Program Ciencia 2008 (J.L.) and the project (PIC/IC/83037/2007). Further funding was obtained from the project 'Microenvironment, metabolism and cancer' partially supported by Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2-O Novo Norte), under the Quadro de Referencia Estrategico Nacional (QREN), and through the Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER). IPATIMUP is an associate laboratory of the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education and is partially supported by the FCT

Alpinia

Species of the genus Alpinia are widely used by the population and have many described biological activities, including activity against insects. In this paper, we describe the bioactivity of the essential oil of two species of Alpinia genus, A. zerumbet and A. vittata, against Rhodnius nasutus, a vector of Chagas disease. The essential oils of these two species were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC-MS. The main constituent of A. zerumbet essential oil (OLALPZER) was terpinen-4-ol, which represented 19.7% of the total components identified. In the essential oil of A. vittata (OLALPVIT) the monoterpene β-pinene (35.3%) was the main constituent. The essential oils and their main constituents were topically applied on R. nasutus fifth-instar nymphs. In the first 10 min of application, OLALPVIT and OLALPZER at 125 μg/mL provoked 73.3% and 83.3% of mortality, respectively. Terpinen-4-ol at 25 μg/mL and β-pinene at 44 μg/mL provoked 100% of mortality. The monitoring of resistant insects showed that both essential oils exhibited antifeedant activity. These results suggest the potential use of A. zerumbet and A. vittata essential oils and their major constituents to control R. nasutus population