Physiological Particularities of Dromedary (Camelus dromedarius) and Experimental Implications

The one humped camel (Camelus dromedarius) or Arabian camel is an essential source of food and milk in  many parts of the world and especially in developing countries in Africa and Asia. The dromedary plays economic, social and ecological roles. In some regions, camels were expected to  boost local tourism and bring much-needed funds to the local economy. The camel contributes actively to  maintain the desert ecosystem. In fact, it possesses some unique qualities which make it distinctly superior  to other domestic livestock. The capacity of the dromedary to live under desert conditions and to survive in the incredibly hard  environment of the Sahara is due to its biological and physiological particularities. All the functions of the  dromedary organism are conceived to be physiologically adapted to “water and food restrictions” and to a  very hot climate. We will review the homeostatic adaptations in relation to the physiological characteristics of the dromedary  and the experimental implications, which result from these particularities. Indeed, the researcher must  consider the specificities of this species at various levels of the experimentation (housing, acclimation,  handling…) and must take consideration of the normal behaviour of the dromedary and its welfare.

Gestão da qualidade total e Lean no processo de logística de uma empresa que comercializa produtos LED de iluminação

Mestrado em Engenharia e Gestão IndustrialNowadays, the globalized economy leads the emergence of highly competitive companies. Many companies are competing not only to keep track and boost their customer’s satisfaction but also to look for other potential resources, to increase their market share regarding other competitors. The companies have to organize their business and internal processes in order to maximize efficiency and therefore achieve their objectives and maintain their growth and expansion in a very struggling economy constrained by austerity. For these reasons, the companies need to manage their industrial production/business process towards reducing the cost while maintaining high quality products or services to maintain and attract more customers. This seems clearly a conflicting situation, however, it is possible for the companies to balance these tradeoffs by implementing the methodologies of continuous quality improvement, waste minimization, and cost reduction simultaneously for their goods or services, through good management approaches of their supply chain, inventory, and quality control process. The objective of this master project is to integrate the total quality and supply chain management methodologies within a Lean thinking framework in order to install a sustainable continuous improvement(Kaizen) process in a company near Aveiro city, the Primelux company. This will be achieved through, firstly identifying the company current working processes and then trying to improve the quality in the overall processes by minimizing the failures in preparing orders and on the after-sales processes as well as through reducing the cost by minimizing the waste using 5S lean tools applied to the LED products logistics in the Company. The work will start by developing qualitative and visual representation of the above-mentioned logistics processes and completed with a quantitative analysis that evaluate the supply chain performance through adequate metrics after applying a set of action plans that were efficiently communicated to the employees by means of an easy and illustrative training. The achieved improvements through this proposed approach that combine the 5S-Kaizen-TQM tools are reported in this report, namely a reduction in failure rate and the time saving in the execution of the logistics process that will have surely a direct impact on the company customer satisfaction.No mercado contemporâneo as empresas competem pela angariação e manutenção do seu mercado suportadas na manutenção dum elevado grau de satisfação dos clientes e na adequação da sua oferta às necessidades evolutivas do mercado, contudo tal por si só não é suficiente para manter uma posição de mercado confortável ao longo do tempo, sendo necessário também um investimento continuo nos processos de negócio e de organização internos a cada empresa. Por estas razões as empresas precisam de gerir bem os seus processos de negócio tendo presente a redução dos custos, mantendo simultaneamente produtos e serviços de alta qualidade para manter e atrair clientes. A forma de equilibrar estes compromissos dispares é encontrada através da implementação das metodologias de melhoria contínua da qualidade, minimização do desperdício em resíduos e redução de custos globais tudo simultaneamente, através de uma boa gestão de aproximação da cadeia de abastecimento, do stock e do processo de controlo de qualidade. O objetivo deste projeto específico de mestrado é integrar os princípios da qualidade total e da gestão da cadeia de abastecimento num quadro de pensamento Lean, afim de implantar processos de melhoria contínua sustentável (Kaizen) numa empresa específica de produtos LED. Este objetivo será perseguido através de, em primeiro lugar, melhorar os processos de qualidade, minimizando as falhas na preparação de ordens de entrega e nos processos de pós-venda. Em segundo lugar, implementar-se-á a redução de custos, minimizando o desperdício, com recurso a ferramentas lean 5S aplicadas aos produtos LED e à logística na Primelux. O trabalho desenvolvido será iniciado através do desenvolvimento de representação qualitativa e visual dos processos logísticos e completado com uma análise quantitativa que permite avaliar o desempenho da cadeia de abastecimeto através de métricas adequadas após a aplicação de um plano de ação comunicado aos trabalhadores por meio de uma formação fácil e ilustrativa. A melhoria conseguida através destas abordagens propostas que combinam as ferramentas de 5S-Kaizen-TQM são relatados neste relatório e exibem como resultados uma redução na taxa de falhas e uma economia de tempo na execução do processo de logística que terá certamente um impacto direto positivo sobre a satisfação do cliente

Analyse dynamique des pentes argileuses et des remblais construits sur des dépôts d’argile sous l’effet de la variation de l’indice de plasticité et la zone sismique

Les pentes ont toujours été un sujet de discussion pour les ingénieurs en géotechnique. Leurs stabilités étant d’une importance majeure, puisque leur effondrement peut causer la perte d’inestimables et précieuses vies humaines. C’est l’une des raisons qui nous a poussé à étudier la sécurité des pentes. Dans ce projet, on a essayé de se concentrer sur les sols fins et plus précisément les argiles, pour voir l’effet de la variation de l’indice de plasticité sur la stabilité dynamique des pentes et des remblais construits sur des dépôt d’argile. On a aussi essayé d’étudier l’effet de la variation des zones sismiques au Québec (zone 3, 4 et 5) sur la stabilité des pentes face à des séismes de différentes caractéristiques. Alors, pour ce faire, plus que 2000 simulations numériques ont été réalisées sur un logiciel de calcul dynamique, FLAC, afin d’étudier le comportement de différentes pentes de 10 et 20 m d’épaisseur de dépôt (avec une hauteur de pente constante de 10 m) qui présentent une augmentation de cohésion de couche en sous-couche (delta) de 1,5, 2 et 2,5. La méthode pseudo-spectrale (récemment développée à l’université de Sherbrooke), qui se présente comme remplaçante à la méthode pseudostatique, a été utilisée pour comparer ses résultats avec ceux de la littérature et ensuite pouvoir la valider. L’effet de l’ajout d’une berme sur la stabilité dynamique a été également étudié

The availability of programs and methods of preventive awareness in Algerian institutions the analysis of some previous studies that dealt with it

تهدف هذه الدراسة لمحاولة التعرف على مدى توفر برامج وأساليب الوعي الوقائي من المخاطر المهنية والتي تحقق الأمن الصناعي في المؤسسات الجزائرية، وذلك من خلال تحليل بعض الدراسات السابقة التي تناولتها، والبحث في النتائج التي توصلت إليها تلك الدراسات حول فاعلية وتحقيق: - أنظمة ولوائح الوقاية من المخاطر المهنية التي تحقق الأمن الصناعي. - توفير وسائل الوقاية من المخاطر المهنية التي تحقق الأمن الصناعي. - توفير الخدمات الصحية وبرامج الإرشاد التي تحقق الأمن الصناعي.                     بحيث يعتبر هذا الموضوع من أهم الموضوعات التي تهدف إلى حماية العاملين في مكان العمل باعتبارهم الركن الأساسي للنهوض بمستوى المؤسسة، فكل هذا من أجل تعزيز ثقافة السلامة والصحة المهنية في مختلف مجالات العمل، حيث توصلت الدراسة إلى مجموعة من النتائج كان أبرزها ما يلي: _عدم قيام أغلب المختصين والمهندسين بمهامهم التي يفترض عليهم القيام بها، وذلك بالميل إلى الجانب الإداري ونسيان الجانب الميداني.This study aims to try to identify the extent of the availability of programmers and techniques of preventive awareness of occupational risks that achieve industrial security in Algerian institutions. This is done through analyzing some of the previous studies that dealt with it and searching the results of those studies about the effectiveness and achievement of: - Systems and prevention regulations of occupational risks that achieve industrial security. - Providing means of protection against occupational risks that achieve industrial security. - Providing health services and guidance programs that achieve industrial security.                This topic is considered one of the most important topics that aim at protecting workers in the                workplace as they are considered the main pillar for upgrading the level of the institution. This is all to boost the culture of occupational security and health in various fields of work, The study reached a set of results and the most prominent of which were the following: - The majority of specialists and engineers are not performing their tasks that they are supposed to do through their tendency to the administrative side and forgetting the field side

A prospective study on bioactive properties of wild mushrooms mycelium grown in vitro under different conditions

Wild mushrooms have been extensively studied for their value as sources of high quality nutrients and of powerful physiologically bioactive compounds [1,2]. The present study was designed to evaluate the in vitro development of two wild edible mushroom species: Pleurotus eryngii (DC.) Quél. and Suillus belinii (Inzenga) Watling, by testing different solid (Potato Dextrose Agar medium –PDA and Melin-Norkans medium- MMN) and liquid culture media (Potato dextrose broth- PDB and Melin-Norkans medium- MMN). Each strain of mushroom produces a special type of mycelium and this range of characteristics varies in form, color and growth rate. S. bellinii presents a pigmented and rhizomorphic mycelia, whereas, P. eryngii has depigmented and cottony mycelia. The mycelium isolated and grown in PDA showed a faster radial growth compared to the mycelium isolated and grown in both solid and liquid incomplete MMN medium. P. eryngii exhibited a rapid growth and a higher mycelia biomass in both medium compared to S. belinii. Moreover, the obtained mycelia will be characterized in terms of well-recognized bioactive compounds namely, phenolic acids and mycosterols (mainly ergosterol), by using high performance liquid chromatography coupled to diode array and ultraviolet detectors, respectively. These compounds will be correlated to mycelia bioactivity: i) antioxidant activity, evaluated through free radicals scavenging activity, reducing power and lipid peroxidation inhibition in vitro assays; ii) anti-inflammatory activity, assessed through nitric oxide production inhibition in murine macrophages (RAW 264.7 cell line); iii) cytotoxic activity, evaluated either in human tumor cell lines (MCF-7- breast adenocarcinoma, NCIH460- non-small cell lung cancer, HeLa- cervical carcinoma and HepG2- hepatocellular carcinoma) as also in a non-tumor porcine primary liver cells culture established in-house (PLP2). Overall, our expectation is that the bioactive formulations obtained by in vitro culture can be applied as nutraceuticals or incorporated in functional foods

Bioactive compounds and anti-inflammatory activity of Pleurotus eryngii and Suillus bellinii: A comparison between fruiting bodies and mycelia

For several centuries, wild mushrooms have been part of the normal human diet, and also extensively consumed due to their organoleptic, chemical and nutritional properties. Not just fruiting bodies, but also their mycelia have been exploited for the development of natural drugs. Pleurotus eryngii (DC.) Quél and Suillus bellinii (Inzenga) Watling, in particular, are interesting source of nutritional and bioactive compounds and properties. In this context, the present work deals with the production of mushrooms’ mycelium using different solid and liquid culture media (PDA, PDB and solid and liquid iMMN). Furthermore, phenolic acids and ergosterol were determined both in fruiting bodies and mycelia, by high performance liquid chromatography coupled to a photodiode array detector (HPLC-PAD) or an ultraviolet detector (HPLC-UV), respectively, and the in vitro anti-inflammatory effects were evaluated by measuring the down-regulation of NO production in LPS-stimulated RAW264 cells[1]. P. eryngii mycelia, under specific culture conditions, showed higher anti-inflammatory activity than the corresponding fruiting body. Otherwise, S. bellinii fruiting body had a strong anti-inflammatory activity which might be related to its higher contents in phenolic acids despite the higher amounts of ergosterol observed in its mycelium. Globally, the obtained mycelia maintained the functional components of the parent mushroom, namely phenolic acids and ergosterol, as also the anti-inflammatory properties, and could be used in nutraceutical or pharmaceutical formulations.N/

Amantagula fruit (Carissa macrocarpa (Eckl.) A.DC.): nutritional and phytochemical characterization

Fruits are one of the most promising food matrices and they have been explored in the discovery of new natural and safer bioactive compounds. Carissa macrocarpa (Eckl.) A. DC. fruits are widely consumed in African countries for the preparation of traditional foodstuff, but also for their beneficially health effects. Thus, as the authors’ best knowledge there are no studies on the chemical and bioactive characterization of these fruits. Therefore, fruits of C. macrocarpa from Tunisia were chemically characterized regarding their nutritional value and bioactive compounds. Furthermore, the hydroethanolic extract of these fruits was evaluated regarding its bioactive properties. The fruit powder sample showed high amounts of sugars and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). The organic acids and tocopherols’ profiles revealed the presence of five organic acids and two tocopherol isoforms, being quinic acid and α-tocopherol the most abundant. The hydroethanolic extract of the fruits presented high antioxidant, cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties, showing activity against all the bacterial strains studied, also inhibiting the cell growth of all the tested tumor cell lines, with the exception of HepG2, and did not reveal toxicity for the non-tumor cells PLP2. Therefore, the fruits of C. macrocarpa could be included in a daily basis diet as a source of high nutritional quality compounds with high bioactive potential.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and FEDER under Programme PT2020 for financial support to CIMO (UID/AGR/00690/ 2013), and L. Barros contract. To the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Regional Operational Program North 2020, within the scope of Project Mobilizador Norte-01-0247-FEDER- 024479: ValorNatural®.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Wild mushrooms and their mycelia as sources of bioactive compounds: Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic properties

Mushrooms are important sources of natural bioactive compounds. Pleurotus eryngii (DC.) Quél is recognized for its organoleptic quality and health effects, being extensively commercialized. Instead, Suillus bellinii (Inzenga) Watling is an ectomycorrhizal symbiont, whose main properties were scarcely reported. Considering current trends, the mycelia and the culture media of these mushrooms might be potential sources of bioactive compounds. Accordingly, P. eryngii and S. bellinii were studied for their phenolic acids and sterols, antioxidant capacity, anti-inflammatory effect and anti-proliferative activity. S. bellinii mycelia showed higher contents of ergosterol and phenolic compounds (also higher in its fruiting body) and stronger antioxidant activity than P. eryngii. Conversely, P. eryngii mycelia showed anti-inflammatory (absent in S. bellinii mycelia) and a cytotoxicity similar (sometimes superior) to its fruiting bodies, contrarily to S. bellinii. Furthermore, the assayed species showed differences in the growth rate and produced mycelia, which should be considered in further applications.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and FEDER under Programe PT2020 for financial support to CIMO (UID/AGR/00690/2013), LSRE (Project UID/EQU/50020/2013), J.C.M. Barreira (BPD/72802/2010), L. Barros (SFRH/BPD/107855/2015), and R.C. Calhelha (SFRH/BPD/ BPD/68344/2010) grants.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Bioactive properties and compounds in fruiting bodies and mycelia of Pleurotus eryngii (DC.) Quél and Suillus bellinii (Inzenga) Watling

Mushrooms have been used as sources of natural compounds for pharmaceutical applications. Not just fruiting bodies, but also their mycelium have been recognized as important sources of bioactive molecules. Pleurotus eryngii (DC.) Quél, in particular, is widely consumed due to its nutritional value and bioactive properties. On the other hand, Suillus bellinii (Inzenga) Watling is known as an ectomycorrhizal symbiont whose bioactivity has been scarcely studied. In the present work, each one of this species (fruiting body, mycelium and culture media) was characterized in terms of wellrecognized bioactive compounds namely, phenolic acids and ergosterol, by high performance liquid chromatography coupled to a photodiode array or an ultraviolet detector, respectively. The antioxidant activity of the samples was evaluated by four different assays: free radical scavenging activity, reducing power, b-carotene bleaching inhibition and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) assay. The cytotoxic activity, was evaluated either in human tumor cell lines (MCF-7- breast adenocarcinoma, NCI-H460- non-small cell lung cancer, HeLa- cervical carcinoma and HepG2- hepatocellular carcinoma), as also in a non-tumor porcine liver cells established in-house (PLP2). S. bellinii fruiting body and its mycelium showed higher contents of ergosterol and phenolic acids, and higher antioxidant activity than P. eryngii counterparts, Nevertheless, P. eryngii mycelium showed a cytotoxicity similar (sometimes superior) to its fruiting body, in comparison with S. bellinii mycelium that presented a lower anti-proliferative activity than its fruiting body. Overall, P. eryngii and S. bellinii, as well as their mycelia and culture media can be used as sources of bioactive compounds or as ingredients to be included in applications with antioxidant and cytotoxic properties.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Phenolic profile and bioactive properties of carissa macrocarpa (Eckl.) A.DC.: An in vitro comparative study between leaves, stems, and flowers

The present work aimed to characterize leaves, stems, and flowers of Carissa macrocarpa (Eckl.) A.DC., by performing an analysis of the phenolic compounds by HPLC-DAD/ESI-MS, correlating them with bioactive properties, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, cytotoxic, and antimicrobial activities. Thirty polyphenols were identified in the hydroethanolic extract, including phenolic acids, flavan-3-ols, and flavonol glycosides derivatives (which presented the highest number of identified compounds). However, flavan-3-ols showed the highest concentration in stems (mainly owing to the presence of dimers, trimmers, and tetramers of type B (epi)catechin). Leaves were distinguished by their high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, as well as their bactericidal e ect against E. coli, while stems presented a higher cytotoxic activity and bactericidal e ect against Gram-positive bacteria. Moreover, a high correlation between the studied bioactivities and the presence of phenolic compounds was also verified. The obtained results bring added value to the studied plant species.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and FEDER under Programmer PT2020 for financial support to CIMO (UID/AGR/00690/2019); L. Barros and M.I. Dias thank the national funding by FCT, P.I., through the institutional scientific employment program-contract for their contracts. The authors are also grateful to FEDER-Interreg España-Portugal programme for financial support through the project 0377_Iberphenol_6_E.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio