Waste assessment in distribution and marketing logistics of horticultural products: evidence from Brazil

Worldwide, one-third of the food produced is inconsumable due to marketable quality losses. Parallelly, and given the growing world population, levels of waste have become unacceptable. Supply channels play a fundamental role in establishing strategies for food waste mitigation. The objective of this research was to analyze if good operational practices with different dimensions of distribution and commercialization logistics may contribute to reduce fruit and vegetable waste. The studied dimensions were: logistics, operations, technology, trade and management. Several questionnaires were administered to 83 specialized wholesale merchants from a large supply center in Brazil, for lettuce, potato, orange, papaya and tomato. The results indicated that for papaya and potato, low and high waste generation are associated with a greater number of anti-waste actions (p = 0.0071 and p = 0.0469 respectively). For tomato, lettuce and orange, no significant differences for found. These results represent a first approach to understanding the reasons for food waste at wholesale centers. Highlights: Worldwide, one-third of the food produced is inconsumable due to marketable quality losses. In Brazil, about 40 thousand tons of food is wasted per year. Food waste in the fruit and vegetable supply chain is associated with the following dimensions: logistics, operation, technology, trade and management. For papaya and potatoes, low levels of residues are associated with a greater number of anti-waste actions such use of a cold chamber and use of promotional pricing, respectively. For tomato, lettuce and orange, no significant differences  was found for high and low levels of waste in relation to the number of actions undertaken in these chains.Worldwide, one-third of the food produced is inconsumable due to marketable quality losses. Parallelly, and given the growing world population, levels of waste have become unacceptable. Supply channels play a fundamental role in establishing strategies for food waste mitigation. The objective of this research was to analyze if good operational practices with different dimensions of distribution and commercialization logistics may contribute to reduce fruit and vegetable waste. The studied dimensions were: logistics, operations, technology, trade and management. Several questionnaires were administered to 83 specialized wholesale merchants from a large supply center in Brazil, for lettuce, potato, orange, papaya and tomato. The results indicated that for papaya and potato, low and high waste generation are associated with a greater number of anti-waste actions (p = 0.0071 and p = 0.0469 respectively). For tomato, lettuce and orange, no significant differences for found. These results represent a first approach to understanding the reasons for food waste at wholesale centers. Highlights: Worldwide, one-third of the food produced is inconsumable due to marketable quality losses. In Brazil, about 40 thousand tons of food is wasted per year. Food waste in the fruit and vegetable supply chain is associated with the following dimensions: logistics, operation, technology, trade and management. For papaya and potatoes, low levels of residues are associated with a greater number of anti-waste actions such use of a cold chamber and use of promotional pricing, respectively. For tomato, lettuce and orange, no significant differences  was found for high and low levels of waste in relation to the number of actions undertaken in these chains

Dynamics of early establishment of SARS-CoV-2 VOC Omicron lineages in Minas Gerais, Brazil

Brazil is one of the nations most affected by Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The introduction and establishment of new virus variants can be related to an increase in cases and fatalities. The emergence of Omicron, the most modified SARS-CoV-2 variant, caused alarm for the public health of Brazil. In this study, we examined the effects of the Omicron introduction in Minas Gerais (MG), the second-most populous state of Brazil. A total of 430 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) samples from November 2021 to June 2022 from Belo Horizonte (BH) city were sequenced. These newly sequenced genomes comprise 72% of all previously available SARS-CoV-2 genomes for the city. Evolutionary analysis of novel viral genomes reveals that a great diversity of Omicron sublineages have circulated in BH, a pattern in-keeping with observations across Brazil more generally. Bayesian phylogeographic reconstructions indicate that this diversity is a product of a large number of international and national importations. As observed previously, São Paulo state is shown as a significant hub for viral spread throughout the country, contributing to around 70% of all viral Omicron introductions detected in MG

Common variants in Alzheimer’s disease and risk stratification by polygenic risk scores

Funder: Funder: Fundación bancaria ‘La Caixa’ Number: LCF/PR/PR16/51110003 Funder: Grifols SA Number: LCF/PR/PR16/51110003 Funder: European Union/EFPIA Innovative Medicines Initiative Joint Number: 115975 Funder: JPco-fuND FP-829-029 Number: 733051061Genetic discoveries of Alzheimer's disease are the drivers of our understanding, and together with polygenetic risk stratification can contribute towards planning of feasible and efficient preventive and curative clinical trials. We first perform a large genetic association study by merging all available case-control datasets and by-proxy study results (discovery n = 409,435 and validation size n = 58,190). Here, we add six variants associated with Alzheimer's disease risk (near APP, CHRNE, PRKD3/NDUFAF7, PLCG2 and two exonic variants in the SHARPIN gene). Assessment of the polygenic risk score and stratifying by APOE reveal a 4 to 5.5 years difference in median age at onset of Alzheimer's disease patients in APOE ɛ4 carriers. Because of this study, the underlying mechanisms of APP can be studied to refine the amyloid cascade and the polygenic risk score provides a tool to select individuals at high risk of Alzheimer's disease

New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/'proxy' AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele

New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/'proxy' AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele

Relatório de estágio em farmácia comunitária

Relatório de estágio realizado no âmbito do Mestrado Integrado em Ciências Farmacêuticas, apresentado à Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade de Coimbr

Multiancestry analysis of the HLA locus in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases uncovers a shared adaptive immune response mediated by HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes

Across multiancestry groups, we analyzed Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) associations in over 176,000 individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) versus controls. We demonstrate that the two diseases share the same protective association at the HLA locus. HLA-specific fine-mapping showed that hierarchical protective effects of HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes best accounted for the association, strongest with HLA-DRB1*04:04 and HLA-DRB1*04:07, and intermediary with HLA-DRB1*04:01 and HLA-DRB1*04:03. The same signal was associated with decreased neurofibrillary tangles in postmortem brains and was associated with reduced tau levels in cerebrospinal fluid and to a lower extent with increased Aβ42. Protective HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes strongly bound the aggregation-prone tau PHF6 sequence, however only when acetylated at a lysine (K311), a common posttranslational modification central to tau aggregation. An HLA-DRB1*04-mediated adaptive immune response decreases PD and AD risks, potentially by acting against tau, offering the possibility of therapeutic avenues

Evaluation of waste in the logistics of distribution and marketing of horticultural : an analysis of the CEASA-CAMPINAS wholesale warehouse

Orientador: Andrea Leda Ramos de OliveiraDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia AgrícolaResumo: O abastecimento de alimentos e a comercialização de produtos hortifrutícolas tem, nos mercados atacadistas de alimentos, um importante canal de comercialização, capaz de articular e de organizar os interesses e as necessidades dos agentes envolvidos na cadeia de comercialização. No Brasil são perdidos, anualmente, cerca de 40 mil toneladas de alimentos posicionando o Brasil entre os dez países que mais perdem e desperdiçam alimentos no mundo. Avaliar a cadeia logística identificando as etapas ou condições que estão associadas a maiores níveis de desperdício permite propor estratégias e ações a fim de tornar a cadeia logística com menores níveis de desperdício. Isto posto, este trabalho busca analisar se as boas práticas e condutas das diferentes dimensões da logística de distribuição e comercialização promovem a redução nos níveis de desperdício de produtos hortifrutícolas selecionados. As dimensões estabelecidas neste trabalho foram: logística, operacional, tecnológica, comercial e gestão. Os dados foram obtidos junto a todos os comerciantes atacadistas especializados da CEASA Campinas de alface, batata, laranja, mamão e tomate. Os resultados indicam que quanto maior a frequência das variáveis das dimensões menores são os níveis de desperdício dos produtos analisados. A dimensão comercial para todos os produtos avaliados é a que apresenta as maiores ações que minimizam o desperdício. As baixas frequências identificadas das dimensões operacional e de gestão associam-se ao maior nível de desperdício de todos os produtos avaliados. O impacto no desperdício das ações da dimensão tecnológica foi dependente da demanda de preservação de cada produto hortícola avaliado. As variáveis da dimensão logística tiveram pouco impacto nos níveis de desperdício para os produtos, com exceção da laranjaAbstract: In food wholesale markets, food supply and marketing of vegetables have an important marketing channel capable of articulating and organizing the interests and needs of the agents involved in the marketing chain. In Brazil, about 40 thousand tons of food are lost annually, placing Brazil among the ten countries that lose the most and waste food in the world. Assessing the logistics chain by identifying the stages or conditions that are associated with higher levels of waste allows proposing strategies and actions in order to make the logistic chain with lower levels of waste. This paper seeks to analyze if the good practices and behaviors of the different dimensions of distribution and commercialization logistics promote the reduction in the levels of waste of selected horticultural products. The dimensions established in this work were: logistics, operational, technological, commercial and management. The data were obtained from all the specialized wholesalers of CEASA Campinas of lettuce, potato, orange, papaya and tomato. The results indicate that the higher the frequency of the variables of the smaller dimensions are the levels of waste of the analyzed products. The commercial dimension for all evaluated products is the one that presents the greatest actions that minimize waste. The identified low frequencies of the operational and management dimensions are associated with the highest level of waste of all evaluated products. The impact on the waste of the technological dimension was dependent on the demand for preservation of each evaluated horticultural product. The variables of the logistic dimension had little impact on the levels of waste for the products, except for orangeMestradoGestão de Sistemas na Agricultura e Desenvolvimento RuralMestre em Engenharia Agrícol

AISLAMIENTO DE PROTEÍNAS MONOCELULARES DE LEVADURA DE CERVEZA (Saccharomyces carlsbergens is)

Aislados y concentrados proteicos fueron obtenidos de células de levadura de cerveza S. carlsbergensis , mediante rompimiento mecánico de la pared celular, succinilación y precipitación isoeléctrica. Las suspensiones de Células con pared Celular Desintegrada, Concentrado Proteico Succinilado y Aislado Proteico Succinilado, fueron liofilizadas y caracterizadas química y nutricionalmente; determinándose 40.31, 36.62 y 54.11 g % de proteína respectivamente. El grado de succinilación, determinada por la cantidad de lisina disponible. fue superior al 90 % con una reducción de 5.89 para 4.71g % de ácidos nucleicos en el concentrado proteico.Las propiedades nutricionales fueron evaluadas en ratas machos albinas, con 20 días de edad, divididas en cuatro grupos, siendo uno Control. alimentado con dieta de caseína al 10%, y los otros tres grupos alimentados con una dieta conteniendo proteína de levadura, durante diez días.El aislado proteico presentó una mejor digestibilidad aparente (90.55 %); mientras que la dieta conteniendo proteínas de células desintegradas demostró valores mayores para el balance de nitrógeno, el valor biológico aparenre, Ia utilización líquida aparente, 923 mg, 77.30 g % y 66.98 g % respecfivamenre