Armazenamento de produtos agrícolas secos na região de Luanda, Angola

In the present work a summary on the phytossanitary features of stored products, mainly rice, maize, maize flour and cassava flour, in some stores and processing factory situated near Luanda, Angola is presented. A questionnaire was carried out in July/ August 2002 in order to get information on the store capacity, stored foodstuffs and storage period. An entomological survey in the observed storage facilities was conducted to detect inset infestations, by visual search, sampling and using traps with and without pheromone. Twelve insect species of the orders Coleoptera, Lepidoptera and Psocoptera were identified. The insect species found in these storage places may cause deterioration to stored products and their presence is considered a serious contamination risk

Applying SMED methodology in cork stoppers production

Organizations are increasingly required to have a high level of quality and flexibility in production. In order to remain in the market and become competitive, the working methods practiced must be reliable and efficient. The present project sought the improvement of an equipment of the cork industry by introducing a variation, through the application of Lean methods. The equipment under study performs the union of a cork stopper to a capsule, which is done by gluing it with hot-melt glue. The amount of production makes the changeover activity a regular process. The method followed in this work was the study and collection of information on the Lean production philosophy and its application in the cork industry. The working conditions of the assembly machine were also analyzed in order to find opportunities for improvement. Thus, the tool used was the Value Stream Mapping (VSM) technique in order to acknowledge the processes that really add value to the product. The SMED (Single Minute of Exchange of Die) methodology was applied in a way to reduce the downtime caused by tool changes, and a reduction of 43% in total changeover time was obtained. It was also created an A3 model to monitor the entire development of the SMED project, Finally, the OEE (Overall Equipment Efficiency) calculation was implemented as an indicator of overall equipment efficiency, in order to improve the monitoring of possible deviations during production. The feedback also proves that lean tools are a powerful method to get solid returns without large investments.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

New insights on the effects of formulation type and compositional mixtures over the antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of dietary supplements based-on hepatoprotective plants

Artichoke (A), borututu (B) and milk thistle (M) are included in several supplements to provide beneficial effects. Different formulations (infusions, pills and syrups), as also different proportions of A, B and M (1:1:1, 2:1:1, 1:2:1, 1:1:2) within each formulation were assayed to optimize the desired benefits. The antioxidant activity, anti-hepatocellular carcinoma activity, hepatotoxicity and bioactive compounds contents were evaluated. Syrups tended to be the formulation with highest antioxidant activity and total phenolics and flavonoids content; otherwise, pills were the worst formulation. In what concerns A:B:M ratios, the results did not reveal so pronounced differences. None of the assayed mixtures resulted to be toxic (up to the maximum assayed dose) for liver primary cells (PLP2), but some samples, especially infusions, showed toxicity for the hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (HepG2). With no exception, the mixtures for all formulations gave synergistic effects in antioxidant activity, when compared to the activity of single plants.The authors are grateful to Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal) for financial support to CIMO (strategic project PEst-OE/AGR/UI0690/2011). J.C.M. Barreira and R.C. Calhelha thank FCT, POPH-QREN and FSE for their grants (SFRH/BPD/68344/2010 and SFRH/BPD/72802/2010, respectively). L. Barros thanks “Compromisso para a Ciência 2008” for her contract

A methodology to generate design allowables of composite laminates using machine learning

This work represents the first step towards the application of machine learning techniques in the prediction of statistical design allowables of composite laminates. Building on data generated analytically, four machine algorithms (XGBoost, Random Forests, Gaussian Processes and Artificial Neural Networks) are used to predict the notched strength of composite laminates and their statistical distribution, associated to the uncertainty related to the material properties and geometrical features. This work focuses not only on the so-called Legacy Quad Laminates (0°/90°/±45°), typically used in the design of composite aerostructures, but also on the newer concept of double-double (or double-angle ply) laminates. Very good representations of the design space, translating in low generalization relative errors of around ±10%, and very accurate representations of the distributions of notched strengths around single design points and corresponding B-basis allowables are obtained. All machine learning algorithms, with the exception of the Random Forests, show very good performances, with Gaussian Processes outperforming the others for very small number of data points while Artificial Neural Networks have better performance for larger training sets. This work serves as basis for the prediction of first-ply failure, ultimate strength and failure mode of composite specimens based on non-linear finite element simulations, providing further reduction of the computational time required to virtually obtain the design allowables for composite laminates

An overview of clinical activities in Endo-ERN: the need for alignment of future network criteria

Objective Given that volumes of patients and interventions are important criteria to qualify as a reference centre (RC) for the European Reference Network on Rare Endocrine Conditions (Endo-ERN), the present study aimed to evaluate the data that were reported in the original application against subsequent assessments of activity and review the criteria that may define RCs using two main thematic groups (MTGs): Pituitary and Thyroid, as examples. Methods Review of content in application forms and continuous monitoring data and of a survey distributed to RCs. A list of ‘key procedures’ for the assessment of performance of RCs was composed with the help of the Pituitary and Thyroid MTG chairs. Results In the original application, the number of undefined procedures ranged from 20 to 5500/year (Pituitary) and from 10 to 2700/year (phyroid) between applicants. In the survey, the number of key procedures per centre ranged from 18 to 150/year (Pituitary) and from 20 to 1376/year (Thyroid). The median numbers of new patients reported in the continuous monitoring program were comparable with the application and survey; however, some centres reported large variations. Conclusions Monitoring of clinical activity in an ERN requires clear definitions that are optimally aligned with clinical practice, diagnosis registration, and hospital IT systems. This is a particular challenge in the rare disease field where the centre may also provide expert input in collaboration with local hospitals. Application of uniform definitions, in addition to condition-specific clinical benchmarks, which can include patient-reported- as well as clinician-reported outcome measures, is urgently needed to allow benchmarking of care across Endo-ERN

Associação independente da variante rs1333049, no locus 9p21, com a doença coronária, numa população portuguesa

Funding: This study was supported by the European Regional Development Fund’s Operational Programme for the Enhancement of Economic Potential and Territorial Cohesion for the Autonomous Region of Madeira (INTERVIR+).Introduction: Recent genome-wide association studies have identified single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at the 9p21 locus as risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD). Among them, the SNP rs1333049 has demonstrated a consistent association with CAD, which has been successfully replicated in several populations. Aim: To investigate whether the SNP rsl333049 located on the 9p21 chromosome is an independent risk factor for CAD in a Portuguese population. Methods: We performed a case-control study which included 1406 individuals, 723 consecutive coronary patients (mean age 53.7±8.9 years, 79.9% male) and 683 controls without coronary disease (mean age 53.3±10.5 years, 73.9% male). Cases and controls were selected so as not to be significantly different in terms of gender and age. We studied the SNP rs1333049 at the 9p21 locus in all individuals, using standard PCR combined with the TaqMan technique (Applied Biosystems). The allelic and genotype distribution (C/G), odds ratios and corresponding confidence intervals for CAD risk were determined. A forward Wald logistic regression analysis model was constructed, adjusted for age, gender, conventional risk factors, biochemical markers and the genotypes under study, in order to determine which variables were linked significantly and independently with CAD. Results: The C allele was found in 60% of the CAD patients and 53% of the controls, with OR=1.33; p=0.0002. The CC genotype appeared in 35.7% of CAD patients, with OR=1.34, p=0.010. The heterozygous CG genotype was present in 48.1% of the CAD patients and 47% of the controls, and did not present vascular risk (OR=1.05, p=0.670). After logistic regression analysis, the CC genotype remained in the equation with 0R=1.7; p=0.018 and CG with OR=I.5, p=0.048. Conclusion: In the present study we replicated the coronary risk linked to the recently discovered variant rs1333049 on the 9p21 chromosome in a Portuguese population. Although the mechanism underlying the risk is still unknown, the robustness of this risk allele in risk stratification for CAD has been consistent, even in very different populations. The presence of the CC or CG genotype may thus prove to be useful for predicting the risk of developing CAD in the Portuguese population.publishersversionpublishe

Angiotensin-(1–7)/Mas axis integrity is required for the expression of object recognition memory

AbstractIt has been shown that the brain has its own intrinsic renin–angiotensin system (RAS) and angiotensin-(1–7) (Ang-(1–7)) is particularly interesting, because it appears to counterbalance most of the Ang II effects. Ang-(1–7) exerts its biological function through activation of the G-protein-coupled receptor Mas. Interestingly, hippocampus is one of the regions with higher expression of Mas. However, the role of Ang-(1–7)/Mas axis in hippocampus-dependent memories is still poorly understood. Here we demonstrated that Mas ablation, as well as the blockade of Mas in the CA1-hippocampus, impaired object recognition memory (ORM). We also demonstrated that the blockade of Ang II receptors AT1, but not AT2, recovers ORM impairment of Mas-deficient mice. Considering that high concentrations of Ang-(1–7) may activate AT1 receptors, nonspecifically, we evaluate the levels of Ang-(1–7) and its main precursors Ang I and Ang II in the hippocampus of Mas-deficient mice. The Ang I and Ang II levels are unaltered in the whole hipocampus of MasKo. However, Ang-(1–7) concentration is increased in the whole hippocampus of MasKo mice, as well as in the CA1 area. Taken together, our findings suggest that the functionality of the Ang-(1–7)/Mas axis is essential for normal ORM processing

Xaropes à base de alcachofra, cardo mariano e borututu: efeitos sinergistas na atividade antioxidante e anti-tumoral

A alcachofra, o cardo mariano e o borututu são plantas medicinais muito conhecidas pela sua capacidade de prevenir o stresse oxidativo e doenças hepáticas. Num estudo anterior da nossa equipa, foi demonstrado que infus6es e comprimidos a base destas plantas revelavam atividade antioxidante e anti-tumoral [1]; neste trabalho, o objectivo foi avaliar a bioatividade de xaropes baseados nestas plantas e os sinergismos entre as mesmas em xaropes contendo combina<;:6es das três plantas. Avaliou-se, então, a atividade antioxidante (atividade captadora de radicais livres, poder redutor e inibição da peroxidação lipídica), a atividade anti-tumoral (linha de células tumorais humanas HepG2- carcinoma hepatocelular) e a hepatotoxicidade (em culturas primarias de células de fígado de porco- PLP2) [2]. De entre os xaropes individuais, os melhores resultados de atividade antioxidante foram obtidos para o de cardo mariano seguido do xarope de borututu com valores de EC50 entre 0,02 e 0,32 mg/mL e 0,15 e 1,34 mg/ mL, respetivamente. 0 xarope de cardo mariano revelou, ainda, ser o único xarope a base de uma única planta a possuir atividade anti-tumoral (com GI50 de 280,48 flg/mL) . Os efeitos maioritariamente observados em misturas de alcachofra, cardo mariano e borututu foram sinergistas (em 87,5% dos ensaios). A mistura dos três xaropes individuais contendo cada uma das plantas revelou ser mais eficaz, em termos de atividade antioxidante, que o xarope contendo as três plantas; por sua vez, este ultimo revelou melhores resultados nos ensaios de atividade anti-tumoral. Assim, xaropes baseados na mistura de plantas podem ser utilizados no tratamento de problemas de saúde onde as plantas não atuem individualmente, e nestes casos existem, de facto, efeitos sinergistas