Rheological and structural characterization of gels from whey protein hydrolysates/locust bean gum mixed systems

The gelling ability of whey proteins can be changed by limited hydrolysis and by the addition of other components such as polysaccharides. In this work the effect of the concentration of locust bean gum (LBG) on the heat-set gelation of aqueous whey protein hydrolysates (10% w/w) from pepsin and trypsin was assessed at pH 7.0. Whey protein concentrate (WPC) mild hydrolysis (up to 2.5% in the case of pepsin and 1.0% in the case of trypsin) ameliorates the gelling ability. The WPC synergism with LBG is affected by the protein hydrolysis. For a WPC concentration of 10% (w/w), no maximum value was found in the G′ dependence on LBG content in the case of the hydrolysates, unlike the intact WPC. However, for higher protein concentrations, the behaviour of gels from whey proteins or whey protein hydrolysates towards the presence of LBG becomes very similar. In this case, a small amount of LBG in the presence of salt leads to a big enhancement in the gel strength. Further increases in the LBG concentration led to a decrease in the gel strength

Towards an autonomous and intelligent airline operations control

Studies have estimated that irregular operations (flights affected by a disruption) can cost between 2% and 3% of the airline annual revenue and that a better recovery process could result in cost reductions of at least 20%. Even for small airlines this can represent millions of Euros. In this paper we propose a multi-agent system (MAS) whose members represent the roles, functionalities and competences existing in a typical Airline Operations Control Centre (AOCC), the airline entity responsible for managing the impact of irregular events on planned operations. This multiagent based system produces intelligent solutions in the sense that its outcomes are the result of an autonomous reaction and adaption to changes in the environment, solving partial problems simultaneously. We tested our MAS using real data from TAP Portuguese airline company and experimentally compared our system with solutions found by the human operators on TAP Portugal AOCC. A comparison was also made with a more traditional sequential approach that is the typical method followed by AOCCs when solving disruptions. Results from those comparisons show that it is possible to reduce costs and have a better integrated solution with the proposed system

An analytical framework to assess the contribution of new technologies to societal challenges

This paper addresses the topic of impact assessment of a research project (encompassed on a Joint Activities Program) considering the major priorities established under the societal challenges defined under the Horizon 2020 programme. A methodology is proposed and demonstrated for the particular case of a project aiming the development of an electric vehicle battery charging system with novel operating modes, which was tested at a laboratory scale. Firstly, the methodology is based on literature review in order to gather meaningful information about societal challenges addressed to this technology and, secondly, questionnaires and interviews directed to the research team of this project were conducted. A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis was derived from the data collected in the questionnaires and interviews to identify and assess the interest of the new technology and its barriers. The results show that, especially, the different operation modes for bidirectional energy transfer are a great advance comparing to other competing technologies. Moreover, the technology can contribute significantly to mitigate climate change by reducing the release of carbon dioxide emissions from the transport sector. However, since the project under analysis was tested only at laboratory, some aspects related to the software and hardware still need to be improved and the effective market uptake is still uncertain, as it is also dependent on the car manufacturers' interest.- This work is financed by the ERDF -European Regional Development Fund through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation -COMPETE 2020 Programme, and by National Funds through the Portuguese funding agency, FCT -Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia, within project SAICTPAC/0004/2015-POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016434 and project UID/CEC/00319/2019

Self-assembled nanoparticles made of fucan

Amphiphilic polymers can self-assemble in water due to hydrophilic and hydrophobic interactions, forming nanoparticles (NPs) with unique physicochemical characteristics and thermodynamic stability. A non toxic sulfated Fucan, extracted from Spatoglossum schroederi was chemically modified by the grafting of Hexadecylamine (C16) to the polymer hydrophilic backbone. The resulting modified material (Fucan-C16) formed nanosized particles which were characterized by 1H NMR to assess the substitution degree of the hydrophobic chains, fluorescence spectroscopy to determine the critical aggregation concentration (cac), cryo-field emission scanning electron microscopy (Cryo- FESEM) to evaluate the shape and size of the NPs, and dynamic light scattering (DLS) to verify the size distribution. The (cac) of Fucan-C16 NPs ranged between 0.05 and 0.03mg/mL. Cryo-FESEM revealed that Fucan-C16 formed spherical macromolecular particles with diameters between 120 and 180 nm, which were confirmed by DLS. In addition, the size of the NPs were not affected by the concentration of the polymer or by the variation of the pH.The size of nanoparticles increases with increasing its concentration in solution.CAPES, FCT and CNP

Characterization of organic matter at different stages of a composting process

The characterization of the organic matter from raw organic wastes, unmatured compost and maturated compost was performed by different techniques: gravimetric, FTIR-ATR, TGA and from the ability of their extracts to bind Cd2+ (evaluating the free cadmium ion by AGNES). Although the amount of humic-like and fulvic-like acids did not change significantly, the structure and properties of the organic matter changed with composting and maturation. These changes resulted in an increase of the stability of the organic material toward thermal decomposition and in an increase of the capacity to bind cadmium.0366_RES2VALHUM_1_P - Valorização de resíduos orgânicos: produção de substâncias húmicas, cofinanciada pelo Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento regional (FEDER) através do Programa INTERREG V-A Espanha-Portugal (POCTEP) 2014-2020

Anatomy and imaging of rat prostate: practical monitoring in experimental cancer-induced protocols

The rat has been frequently used as a model to study several human diseases, including cancer. In many research protocols using cancer models, researchers find it difficult to perform several of the most commonly used techniques and to compare their results. Although the protocols for the study of carcinogenesis are based on the macroscopic and microscopic anatomy of organs, few studies focus on the use of imaging. The use of imaging modalities to monitor the development of cancer avoids the need for intermediate sacrifice to assess the status of induced lesions, thus reducing the number of animals used in experiments. Our work intends to provide a complete and systematic overview of rat prostate anatomy and imaging, facilitating the monitoring of prostate cancer development through different imaging modalities, such as ultrasonography, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).publishe

Anatomy and Imaging of Rat Prostate: Practical Monitoring in Experimental Cancer-Induced Protocols

[EN] The rat has been frequently used as a model to study several human diseases, including cancer. In many research protocols using cancer models, researchers find it difficult to perform several of the most commonly used techniques and to compare their results. Although the protocols for the study of carcinogenesis are based on the macroscopic and microscopic anatomy of organs, few studies focus on the use of imaging. The use of imaging modalities to monitor the development of cancer avoids the need for intermediate sacrifice to assess the status of induced lesions, thus reducing the number of animals used in experiments. Our work intends to provide a complete and systematic overview of rat prostate anatomy and imaging, facilitating the monitoring of prostate cancer development through different imaging modalities, such as ultrasonography, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)SIThis research was funded by National Funds by FCT—Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under the project UID/AGR/04033/2019 and FEDER/COMPETE/POCI—Operational Competitiveness and Internationalization Program, under Project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016728 and National Funds by FCT—Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under the project PTDC/DTP-DES/6077/201

Comparison of cadmium binding by humic and fulvic acids extracted from two composts of different origin

Composting has been proven to be an environmentally friendly process for urban organic waste, that can represent an opportunity for new uses under the circular economy framework. The binding of cadmium to fulvic-like and humic-like acids extracted from compost of algae and urban residues were evaluated, and the results show significant differences. The fulvic and humic acids from algae compost bind cadmium more efficiently than those from urban residues compost. Furthermore, data from humic acids from both composts display significantly higher ability to bind to cadmium than both their corresponding fulvic acids and the generic soil extracted humic matter.  Cooperation Program Interreg V-A Spain-Portugal (POCTEP) 2014-2020 and the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund -FEDER within the scope of the project «RES2VALHUM -Valorization of Organic Waste: Production of Humic Substances» (0366_RES2VALHUM_1_P).The authors want to thank LIPOR for the supply of COUR sample. Members of the USC are also grateful to CRETUS Strategic Partnership (ED431E 2018/01) co-funded by FEDER and the Galician Competitive Research Group GRC ED431C/12.Members of the Department of Chemistry are also grateful toCenter of Chemistrythrough projects UID/QUI/00686/2016 and UID/QUI/00686/2019 (CQUM) funded by Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal