Solid catalysts obtained from wastes for FAME production using mixtures of refined palm oil and waste cooking oils

More than 95% of biodiesel production feedstocks come from edible oils, however it may cause some problems such as the competition of land use between food production and biodiesel production. The waste cooking oils (WCO) are an alternative feedstock for biodiesel production; its usage reduces significantly the cost of biodiesel production and has environmental benefits, e.g., a waste recovery instead of its elimination. This work aims to produce a low-cost efficient solid catalyst for fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) production using mixtures of refined palm oil (RPO) and WCO. Four low cost catalysts were prepared (biomass fly ashes, natural dolomite rock, chicken eggshells and polyethylene terephthalate - PET), characterized (by SEM, EDX, XRD, BET, FT-IR and Hammett indicators) and tested regarding their performance in FAME production. The maximum yield of FAME achieved was around 96%wt. for biomass fly ashes catalyst at 60 °C, 9:1 (mol/mol) of methanol to oil mixture, 10%wt. catalyst to oil mixture, over 180 min in batch reactor. The results point out for promising bifunctional catalysts able to achieve also conversion of free fatty acids up to 100% using mixtures of RPO and WCO.publishe

Optimization of FAME production from blends of waste cooking oil and refined palm oil using biomass fly ash as a catalyst

One of the problems associated with biomass combustion is the amount of fly ashes generated and its subsequent management. The search for ways of valorizing these ashes has been a challenge for the academic and industrial community. On the other hand, used cooking oils are wastes which management is quite difficult, by they have a very important energetic potential. The goal of this work was to optimize the Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAME) process, recovering two residual materials (waste cooking oils (WCO), and biomass fly flash (BFA)). The optimization of the process was achieved using the response surface methodology and a Box-Benhken experimental design applied to mixtures of WCO and refined palm oil (RPO), using BFA as catalyst. The influence on FAME yield of four variables (catalyst loading, methanol/oil molar ratio, RPO/WCO ratio and reaction temperature) was studied. The higher FAME yield achieved was 73.8% for the following operating conditions: 13.57 wt% of catalyst loading, 6.7 of methanol/oil molar ratio, 28.04 wt% of RPO in the oil mixture with WCO and 55 °C for the reaction temperature. The reusability of the BFA catalyst in the process was also studied through three successive usage cycles finding no loss of catalytic activity.publishe

Differentiation of production method and geographical origin of salmon based on the analysis of fatty acid composition

Currently, aquaculture production supplies almost 50% of the global fish market, as a response to the increasing global demand for fish [1]. However, several consumers prefer wild over farmed fish, with the former generally attaining higher prices when the some species is considered. Therefore, there is the need to assure correct information, not only about the species, but also about the production method (farmed vs. wild) and the catch origin of fish. Salmon, a high-trophic - level carnivorous species with high economic value due to its popularity, is among the fish species that is frequently produced in aquoculture. Although the feed given to farm-raised salmon is designed to meet its nutritional requirements, it can present differences compared to the diet of wild salmon that con be reflected on the muscle composition of formed versus wild solmons. Therefore, in this work, the use of fatty acid composition combined with chemometrics was evaluated as a potential tool to authenticate salmon samples. In particular, the work aimed at identifying the geographical origin and production method (farmed vs. caught in the wild) of salmon.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Epidemiological Profile of Precocious Neonatal Mortality in the Period 2008 to 2015 in Porto Velho, Rondonia, Brazil

The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiological profile of precocious neonatal infant mortality in the city of Porto Velho, Rondonia. A quantitative, descriptive study with an ecological approach was carried out. The data source used was secondary, originating from the linkage between SINASC and SIM databases, from the Health Surveillance Agency of the Rondonia Health Department. For treatment, absolute frequency analyzes were performed. The neonatal infant mortality rate was 9.7 deaths per thousand live births, with a predominance of the preterm neonatal patient: 7.2 deaths per thousand live births. Of the deaths, 482 (72.8%) occurred in the precocious neonatal period (0 to 6 days) and 164 (24.7%) in the late neonatal 7 to 27 days of life. The findings indicate the need to improve the quality of health care services available in the city, both prenatal and obstetric care in the neonatal period

Servei intranet per a la consulta d'indicadors estadístics

El projecte presenta la creació d'un servei intranet per a la consulta d'indicadors estadístics en un entorn HTML viewer d'ArcIMS 9.2 (ESRI). La implementació s'ha portat a terme en l'ajuntament de Sant Boi de Llobregat. Les premisses principals són: obtenir una interfície amb dos mapes sincronitzats i el desenvolupament d'eines que permetin realitzar la cartografia temàtica dels indicadors. El servei intranet dissenyat representa una eina intuïtiva i fàcil d'utilitzar que permet tenir una visió ràpida de la distribució espacial dels indicadors estadístics. L' estructura del visor, amb dos mapes sincronitzats, permet optimitzar processos de comparació d'indicadors diferents o variacions temporal

Comparative analysis of fatty acid composition of wild vs. farmed salmon

To respond to the increasing global demand for fish, nowadays, almost 50% of the global fish market comes from aquaculture production [1]. Thus, there is the need to assure a correct information, not only about the species, but also about the production method (farmed vs. wild) and the catch origin of fish. Salmon, a hightrophic- level carnivorous species with high economic value due to its popularity, is among the fish species that is frequently produced in aquaculture. Although the feed given to farm-raised salmon is designed to meet its nutritional requirements, it can present differences compared to the diet of wild salmon that can be reflected on the muscle composition of farmed versus wild salmons. Therefore, this work aims at comparing the fatty acid composition of salmon from aquaculture and caught in the wild. Salmon specimens caught in the wild (n = 25) and farm-raised (n = 25) were obtained from West of Vancouver Island and Campbell River (Canada), respectively. Two lipid extraction methods (Soxhlet extraction with n-hexane and an adaptation of the Bligh and Dyer extraction method) and two derivatization procedures (alkaline transmethylation using KOH and acid-catalyzed transmethylation using BF3/MEOH solution) were tested. Fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) were analyzed in a Shimadzu GC-2010 Plus gas chromatograph equipped with a Shimadzu AOC-20i auto-injector, a flame ionization detector and a CP-Sil 88 silica capillary column (50 x 0.25 mm i.d., 0.20 μm). The injector and detector temperatures were 250 and 270 °C, respectively. The compounds were identified by comparison with standards (FAME 37, Supelco). Based on the obtained results, the modified Bligh and Dyer method was chosen for lipid extraction since it allowed obtaining higher amounts of long chain unsaturated fatty acids, particularly of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Similar results were obtained for both tested derivatization methodologies. In general, the two groups of salmon samples showed different profiles, with wild samples presenting significantly higher contents of omega-3 fatty acids, in particular docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaenoic acids, while farmed salmon had higher amounts of oleic and linoleic acids.To the European project FOODINTEGRITY (FP7-KBBE-2013-single-stage, No 613688), the project UID/QUI/50006/2013 – POCI/01/0145/FEDER/007265 with financial support from FCT/MEC through national funds and co-financed by FEDER, under the Partnership Agreement PT2020 and by the project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000011. L. Grazina and M.A. Nunes acknowledge the PhD fellowship (SFRH/BD/132462/2017 and SFRH/BD/130131/2017) funded by FCT.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Expression profiling in ovarian cancer reveals coordinated regulation of BRCA1/2 and homologous recombination genes

© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Predictive biomarkers are crucial in clarifying the best strategy to use poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPi) for the greatest benefit to ovarian cancer patients. PARPi are specifically lethal to cancer cells that cannot repair DNA damage by homologous recombination (HR), and HR deficiency is frequently associated with BRCA1/2 mutations. Genetic tests for BRCA1/2 mutations are currently used in the clinic, but results can be inconclusive due to the high prevalence of rare DNA sequence variants of unknown significance. Most tests also fail to detect epigenetic modifications and mutations located deep within introns that may alter the mRNA. The aim of this study was to investigate whether quantitation of BRCA1/2 mRNAs in ovarian cancer can provide information beyond the DNA tests. Using the nCounter assay from NanoString Technologies, we analyzed RNA isolated from 38 ovarian cancer specimens and 11 normal fallopian tube samples. We found that BRCA1/2 expression was highly variable among tumors. We further observed that tumors with lower levels of BRCA1/2 mRNA showed downregulated expression of 12 additional HR genes. Analysis of 299 ovarian cancer samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) confirmed the coordinated expression of BRCA1/2 and HR genes. To facilitate the routine analysis of BRCA1/2 mRNA in the clinical setting, we developed a targeted droplet digital PCR approach that can be used with FFPE samples. In conclusion, this study underscores the potential clinical benefit of measuring mRNA levels in tumors when BRCA1/2 DNA tests are negative or inconclusive.This research was funded by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal (PTDC/MED-ONC/29469/2017) and an unrestricted grant from AstraZeneca to M.C.-F. R.S. was a recipient of an EMBO Long-Term Fellowship (EMBO ALTF 101-2019). This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 842695.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Productivity measurement: the case of nature tourism firms in Portugal

Productivity measurement in the tourism sector has been raising increasing interest among researchers and is recognised as an important indicator for understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the sector and for enhancing its spillover effects on the economy. However, studies for Portugal and the particular activities included in the set of nature tourism activities are scarce. To overcome this research gap, this paper calculates the labour productivity and total factor productivity (TFP) measures of nature tourism firms to compare firms’ productivity performance across NUTS II regions in mainland Portugal during 2014–2017. Using data from SABI, Quadros do Pessoal, INE and the National Tourism Registry, the sample consists of 369 firms, representing 55% of firms operating in nature tourism in the mainland. Results show that the levels of TFP, unlike to labour productivity, are uneven over time and space. In 2015, a year of change in the business cycle, all regions experienced a negative increase in TFP except the Metropolitan Region of Lisbon, which seems to indicate that nature tourism in most of the country is less resilient to external economic shocks, performing better in periods of prosperity. Labour productivity growth does not present, in general, consistently positive results.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio