A logística na cadeia de frio em Portugal: transporte de produtos perecíveis congelados

Trabalho Final de Mestrado para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia MecânicaEste trabalho é o resultado de uma dissertação de mestrado no âmbito do 2º ano de Mestrado em Energia, Refrigeração e Climatização do Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa, e vai desenvolver- se numa empresa que comercializa e distribui uma vasta gama de produtos originários do mar, com maior incidência no peixe congelado e marisco. No contexto atual da sociedade e face às exigências do mercado e dos Clientes, o transporte do produto congelado é um tema da atualidade e que reveste de importância crucial, uma vez que deve ser garantido que o produto perecível foi transportado dentro dos padrões legais de conservação e transporte e sem interrupção na cadeia logística. O principal objetivo do projeto foi identificar qual o método mais adequado de transporte rodoviário de produtos perecíveis congelados (peixe), e analisar a importância da minimização da variação da temperatura na gestão do transporte de produtos perecíveis (TPP), integrada na Supply Chain Management (SCM). Apurar quais as causas e as consequências das variações de temperatura e as medidas a implementar para minimizar o seu impacto, numa perspetiva logística. As medições das variações térmicas foram realizadas no interior da caixa isotérmica com o recurso a equipamentos de medição de temperatura, “Data Logger” e o “Termopar”, tendo sido coletados os dados que após análise foram produzidas as respetivas conclusões. De modo a avaliar esta temática foi elaborada uma revisão de literatura qualificada, base da em artigos científicos, livros da especialidade, teses e dissertações. O estudo foi realizado numa Empresa de dimensão média, localizada nos arredores de Lisboa, que realiza o transporte de peixe congelado e marisco. O referido estudo permitiu concluir que existem variações térmicas à medida que se aproxima do ponto de distribuição final e apresentadas soluções para a minimização deste problema.Abstract: This work aims is the resu lt of a master's thesis under the 2nd year of Master in Energy, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning of the Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa, and will develop a company that markets and distributes a wide range of products originating Sea, focusing on the frozen fish and seafood. In the current context of society and meet the demands of the market and customers, the transport of frozen product is a topical issue and of crucial importance, since it must be ensured that the perishable product has been transported within the legal conservation standards and transportation and rolling in the logistics chain. The main objective of the project was to identify the most appropriate method of road transport frozen perishable products (fish), and analyse the i mportance of minimizing the variation of temperature in the transport of perishables management (TPP), part of the Supply Chain Management (SCM). Which determine the causes and consequences of temperature changes and the measures to be implemented to minimize its impact on a logistics perspective. Measurements were made of the thermal variations within the isothermal box with the use of temperature measuring devices, " Data Logger" and "Thermocouple", the data having been collected which after analysis the respective conclusions were produced. In order to assess this issue was elaborated a qualified literature review based on scientific papers, specialty books, theses and dissertations. The study was performed in a medium- sized company located in the outskirt s of Lisbon, which transports frozen fish and seafood. The study concluded that there are temperature changes as it approaches the final distribution point and presented solutions to minimize this problem

Association of genetic variants in the promoter region of genes encoding p22phox (CYBA) and glutamate cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (GCLC) and renal disease in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Oxidative stress is recognized as a major pathogenic factor of cellular damage caused by hyperglycemia. NOX/NADPH oxidases generate reactive oxygen species and NOX1, NOX2 and NOX4 isoforms are expressed in kidney and require association with subunit p22phox (encoded by the <it>CYBA </it>gene). Increased expression of p22phox was described in animal models of diabetic nephropathy. In the opposite direction, glutathione is one of the main endogenous antioxidants whose plasmatic concentrations were reported to be reduced in diabetes patients. The aim of the present investigation was to test whether functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes involved in the generation of NADPH-dependent O₂^•-(-675 T → A in <it>CYBA</it>, unregistered) and in glutathione metabolism (-129 C → T in <it>GCLC </it>[rs17883901] and -65 T → C in <it>GPX3 </it>[rs8177412]) confer susceptibility to renal disease in type 1 diabetes patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>401 patients were sorted into two groups according to the presence (n = 104) or absence (n = 196) of overt diabetic nephropathy or according to glomerular filtration rate (GFR) estimated by Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) equation: ≥ 60 mL (n = 265) or < 60 mL/min/1.73 m²(n = 136) and were genotyped.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>No differences were found in the frequency of genotypes between diabetic and non-diabetic subjects. The frequency of GFR < 60 mL/min was significantly lower in the group of patients carrying <it>CYBA </it>genotypes T/A+A/A (18.7%) than in the group carrying the T/T genotype (35.3%) (P = 0.0143) and the frequency of GFR < 60 mL/min was significantly higher in the group of patients carrying <it>GCLC </it>genotypes C/T+T/T (47.1%) than in the group carrying the C/C genotype (31.1%) (<it>p </it>= 0.0082). Logistic regression analysis identified the presence of at least one A allele of the <it>CYBA </it>SNP as an independent protection factor against decreased GFR (OR = 0.38, CI95% 0.14-0.88, <it>p </it>= 0.0354) and the presence of at least one T allele of the <it>GCLC </it>rs17883901 SNP as an independent risk factor for decreased GFR (OR = 2.40, CI95% 1.27-4.56, <it>p </it>= 0.0068).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The functional SNPs <it>CYBA </it>-675 T → A and <it>GCLC </it>rs17883901, probably associated with cellular redox imbalances, modulate the risk for renal disease in the studied population of type 1 diabetes patients and require validation in additional cohorts.</p

Role of ultrasound, clinical and scintigraphyc parameters to predict malignancy in thyroid nodule

Background: This study aimed to evaluate clinical, laboratory, ultrasound (US) and scintigraphyc parameters in thyroid nodule and to develop an auxiliary model for clinical application in the diagnosis of malignancy. Methods: We assessed 143 patients who were surgically treated at a single center, 65% (93) benign vs. 35% (50) malignant lesions at final histology (1998-2008). The clinical, laboratory, scintigraphyc and US features were compared and a prediction model was designed after the multivariate analysis. Results: There were no differences in gender, serum TSH and FT4 levels, thyroid auto-antibodies (TAb), thyroid dysfunction and scintigraphyc results (P = 0.33) between benign and malignant nodule groups. The sonographic study showed differences when the presence of suspected characteristics was found in the nodules of the malignant lesions group, such as: microcalcifications, central flow, border irregularity and hypoechogenicity. After the multivariate analysis the model obtained showed age (>39 years), border irregularity, microcalcifications and nodule size over 2 cm as predictive factors of malignancy, featuring 81.7% of accuracy. Conclusions: This study confirmed a significant increase of risk for malignancy in patients of over 39 years and with suspicious features at US

Thyroid imaging reporting and data system score combined with bethesda system for malignancy risk stratification in thyroid nodules with indeterminate results on cytology

The thyroid imaging reporting and data system (TI-RADS) was designed to better select patients who had undergone fine-needle aspiration biopsies (FNABs) with high sensitivity and accuracy. However, the combination of TI-RADS scores and Bethesda system categories in indeterminate thyroid nodules has not been examined extensively. This study aimed to stratify indeterminate thyroid nodules (Bethesda categories III, IV and V) according to risk of malignancy as determined by combining TI-RADS score with Bethesda system classification. Retrospective study. Histopathological, cytological and ultrasound (US) data were available for 242 cases after surgery, including 136 indeterminate nodules. All thyroid cytopathological slides and US reports were reviewed and classified according to Bethesda system and TI-RADS categories. The malignancy rate was determined for each Bethesda category, TI-RADS score and both methods combined of indeterminate nodules. The malignancy rates were 87%, 513% and 675% for Bethesda categories III, IV and V, respectively. Based on histopathological comparison, the accuracy was 667% for TI-RADS greyscale. TI-RADS 3 and 4A scores were observed in 80% of Bethesda III cases, which led to 80% sensitivity and 90% of negative predictive value (NPV). In contrast, for nodules scored as TI-RADS 4B and 5, the combined cytological results of Bethesda IV and V resulted in a higher risk of malignancy (75% and 769%, respectively, P<0001). In view of the high NPV of TI-RADS 3/4A only in Bethesda III category, a surgical approach could be considered for lesions defined as Bethesda III, IV and V when TI-RADS 4B and 5 were concomitant823439444COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPESFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESP330030170652008/10183-

Linkage Disequilibrium With Hla-drb1-dqb1 Haplotypes Explains The Association Of Tnf-308g>a Variant With Type 1 Diabetes In A Brazilian Cohort.

A functional variant in the promoter region of the gene encoding tumor necrosis factor (TNF; rs1800629, -308G>A) showed to confer susceptibility to T1D. However, TNF rs1800629 was found, in several populations, to be in linkage disequilibrium with HLA susceptibility haplotypes to T1D. We evaluated the association of TNF rs1800629 with T1D in a cohort of Brazilian subjects, and assessed the impact of HLA susceptibility haplotypes in this association. 659 subjects with T1D and 539 control subjects were genotyped for TNF-308G>A variant. HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1 genes were genotyped in a subset of 313 subjects with T1D and 139 control subjects. Associations with T1D were observed for the A-allele of rs1800629 (OR 1.69, 95% CI 1.33-2.15, p<0.0001, in a codominant model) and for 3 HLA haplotypes: DRB1*03:01-DQB1*02:01 (OR 5.37, 95% CI 3.23-8.59, p<0.0001), DRB1*04:01-DQB1*03:02 (OR 2.95, 95% CI 1.21-7.21, p=0.01) and DRB1*04:02-DQB1*03:02 (OR 2.14, 95% CI 1.02-4.50, p=0.04). Linkage disequilibrium was observed between TNF rs1800629 and HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1 alleles. In a stepwise regression analysis HLA haplotypes, but not TNF rs1800629, remained independently associated with T1D. Our results do not support an independent effect of allelic variations of TNF in the genetic susceptibility to T1D.56850-5