Biovalorization of lignocellulosic wastes for sugar alcohols production by the yeast Komagataella pastoris

Xilitol e arabitol são álcoois de açúcar naturais usados como alternativas à sucrose e adoçantes artificiais, que pertencem à lista de compostos de valor acrescentado a serem produzidos a partir de biomassa de baixo custo. As suas ótimas propriedades e benefícios para a saúde têm atraído a atenção das indústrias alimentares e farmacêuticas, mas as suas aplicações continuam limitadas pelo preço e baixa disponibilidade. O objetivo principal desta tese foi avaliar, pela primeira vez, a capacidade de levedura Komagataella pastoris DSM 70877 para produzir xilitol e arabitol utilizando resíduos lignocelulósicos como substrato, particularmente, cascas de banana, dreche, carolos de milho, bagaço e engaço de uva e serradura. Uma via biotecnológica promissora e alternativa à produção química em larga escala. A primeira parte do trabalho focou-se na obtenção de licores ricos em açúcares e fermentáveis, a partir dos diferentes resíduos lignocelulósicos, submetendo-os a uma hidrólise ácida diluída. Na dreche, engaço de uva e serradura revelou-se uma maior recuperação de açúcares, originando hidrolisados com um teor total de monossacarídeos entre 12.9 e 21.5 g/L e diferentes rácios de glucose, xilose e arabinose. Os inevitáveis subprodutos tóxicos do processo foram também detetados nos hidrolisados, nomeadamente, furfural, 5-HMF e ácido acético, e, portanto, na tentativa de os reduzir/eliminar recorreu-se a tratamentos com carvão ativado. Na segunda parte deste trabalho, os hidrolisados foram testados como substratos para o cultivo de K. pastoris e produção de álcoois de açúcar. Entre os ensaios em Erlenmeyer, o hidrolisado da dreche levou à maior produção de xilitol, 3.97 g/L, com um rendimento de xilitol/xilose de 0.47 g/g. Ensaios em bioreator também foram realizados, em batch e fed-batch, testando diferentes substratos e condições de arejamento. Os substratos selecionados foram dreche, cascas de banana, mistura de dreche (ou engaço de uva) com alimentação de serradura e ainda, uma mistura de três substratos: dreche (ou engaço de uva) e cascas de banana com alimentação de serradura. A levedura alcançou uma produção máxima de xilitol de 1.33 g/L (rendimento 0.18 gxilitol/gxilose) num ensaio em batch, com uma taxa de fluxo de ar de 0.5 L/min e usando como única fonte de carbono o hidrolisado de dreche concentrado 2 vezes e destoxificado. Apesar das baixas produções alcançadas, neste trabalho provou-se o potencial da levedura para produzir xilitol a partir de hidrolisados hemicelulósicos. Assim, este estudo terá de ser validado e aprofundado para desenvolver e otimizar o processo. Curiosamente, percebeu-se que a cultura estava a canalizar parte do carbono fornecido pelos hidrolisados hemicelulósicos para outras vias metabólicas e/ou produção de outros compostos, como detetado pela análise de HPLC. Abre-se assim a possibilidade da levedura K. pastoris ser capaz de produzir compostos de grande interesse e valor comercial.Xylitol and arabitol are natural sugar alcohols used as alternatives to sucrose and artificial sweeteners, that belong to the list of value-added compounds to be produced from low-cost biomass. Their great properties and health benefits have attracted the attention of food and pharmaceutical industries, but their applications are still limited by cost and lack of availability. The main goal of this thesis was to evaluate, for the first time, the ability of the yeast Komagataella pastoris DSM 70877 to produce xylitol and arabitol by using lignocellulosic waste materials as feedstocks, namely, banana peels, brewers’ spent grains (BSG), corncobs, grape pomace, grape stalks and sawdust, a promising biotechnological route as an alternative to the chemical large-scale production. The first part of this work was focused on obtaining sugar-rich and fermentable liquors from different lignocellulosic waste materials, by subjecting them to dilute acid hydrolysis. The higher sugar recoveries were achieved for BSG, grape stalks and sawdust, leading to hydrolysates with total monosaccharides’ contents between 12.9 and 21.5g/L, with different ratios of glucose, xylose and arabinose. The inevitable toxic by-products generated were also detected in the hydrolysates, furfural, 5-HMF and acetic acid, and attempts were done to reduce/eliminate them by treatment with activated charcoal. In the second part of this work, the hydrolysates were tested as substrate for cultivation of K. pastoris and sugar alcohols production. Within shake flask assays, BSG hydrolysate attained the highest xylitol production of 3.97 g/L, with a xylitol/xylose yield of 0.47 g/g. Bioreactor cultivations were also performed in batch and fed-batch modes, testing different feedstocks and aeration conditions. The selected feedstocks were BSG, banana peels, a mixture of BSG (or grape stalks) with feeding of sawdust and triple mixture of BSG (or grape stalks) and banana peels with feeding of sawdust. The yeast achieved a maximum xylitol production of 1.33 g/L (yield of 0.18 gxylitol/gxylose) in a batch cultivation with an airflow rate of 0.5 L/min, using twofold concentrated and detoxified BSG hydrolysate as the sole carbon source. Despite the low productions achieved, this work proved the yeast potential to produce xylitol from hemicellulosic hydrolysates. Thus, further research is required in order to develop and optimize the process. Interestingly, it was noticed that the culture was channeling part of the carbon provided by the hemicellulosic hydrolysates into other metabolic pathways and/or different products, as detected by HPLC analysis. This opens the possibility of K. pastoris to be able to produce other compounds of great interest and commercial value

Measuring patients' quality of life and the perceived quality in long term care services

With the ageing of the Portuguese population, there are more people in dependency situations and needing long-term care (LTC). In this context, it is important to ensure the quality of life (QoL) of those individuals, and that quality can be measured through their health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and overall well-being. Also, understanding how perceived service quality (PSQ) can be related to how people perceive their QoL is pertinent since service quality is an important factor to achieve patient health outcomes. To develop this project, a LTC unit located in the district of Lisbon was chosen, the LTC unit of Arruda dos Vinhos. The main objective was to assess the relation between the PSQ, the HRQoL and the overall well-being of patients receiving LTC at the LTC unit of Arruda dos Vinhos. A project based on a case study was performed, through interviews based on the items of the SERVPERF, EQ-5D and ICECAP-O questionnaires, which were then analysed through content analysis. Results showed there is a relation between PSQ and HRQoL and between HRQoL and overall well-being. It was also possible to realise that to better evaluate the quality of this specific service, other subjects as the activities performed at the LTC unit, the physiotherapy service and the food provided, should be taken in consideration. Concluding, there is a relation between PSQ and the QoL of the patients receiving LTC at the LTC unit of Arruda dos Vinhos, when quality of life is measured through HRQoL.Com o envelhecimento da população portuguesa, há cada vez mais pessoas em situações de dependência e que necessitam de cuidados continuados. Assim, é importante garantir a qualidade de vida destes indivíduos, que pode ser medida através da qualidade de vida relacionada com a saúde e do bem-estar geral. Além disso, perceber de que modo a qualidade percebida do serviço pode estar relacionada com a qualidade de vida é pertinente, visto que a qualidade do serviço é um fator importante para alcançar os resultados de saúde pretendidos. Para desenvolver este projeto, foi escolhida uma unidade de cuidados continuados integrados (UCCI), a UCCI de Arruda dos Vinhos, onde o objetivo foi avaliar a relação entre qualidade percebida do serviço, qualidade de vida relacionada com a saúde e bem-estar geral dos pacientes. Desenvolveu-se um projeto baseado num caso de estudo, através de entrevistas baseadas nos questionários SERVPERF, EQ-5D e ICECAP-O. Os resultados foram analisados através de análise de conteúdo. Os resultados mostraram que existe relação entre a qualidade percebida do serviço e a qualidade de vida relacionada com a saúde e entre este último e o bem-estar geral. Percebeu-se também que para avaliar melhor a qualidade deste serviço outros assuntos como atividades realizadas na UCCI, serviço de fisioterapia e comida fornecida devem ser considerados. Concluindo, existe relação entre a qualidade percebida do serviço e a qualidade de vida percebida pelos utentes da UCCI de Arruda dos Vinhos, quando a qualidade de vida é medida pela qualidade de vida relacionada com a saúde

Acute effects of smoking on the arterial function of young healthy smokers

Several studies have supported the idea that smoking induces changes with direct impact on endothelial function and arterial stiffness. The main purpose of this study was to assess the acute effects of smoking on vascular function in healthy young adults. METHODS: We designed a quasi-experimental study, including ninety participants aged between 18 and 25 years. Participants were divided into three groups: Active exposure group (AG) - 30 usual smokers; passive exposure group (PG) and non-exposure control group (CG), each including 30 non-smokers matched for age, gender and overall lifestyle. Heart rate (HR), brachial blood pressure (bBP), flow-mediated dilation (FMD), aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) and carotid pulse wave analysis (PWA) were evaluated in two moments: baseline and 30 minutes after smoking exposition (AG and PG) or 30 minutes after the first evaluation (CG). RESULTS: Significant changes from baseline were observed only in the AG, with an increase in PWV, from 5.6 ± 0.7 m/s to 6.1 ± 0.2 m/s post-smoking (p = 0.040), and a decrease in FMD of about -5.7 ± 2.3% after smoking one cigarette (p < 0.001). A significant increase in brachial and central BP was also observed in the AG. A trend for increase in brachial and central BP, and decrease in the FMD was observed in the PG and no significant changes were depicted in the CG. CONCLUSION: Just one cigarette produces significant detrimental acute effects on the vascular endothelium and hemodynamic profile of healthy young short-term smokers. Changes are also observed, although to a lesser extent, in passive smokers.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Nudging Higher Education Libraries: The Portuguese Recommendations

This study aims to present the Recommendations for Higher Education Libraries in Portugal presented by the Working Group of Higher Education Libraries of the Portuguese Association of Librarians, Archivists and Documentalists. These recommendations intend to work as Guidelines and have emerged as the answer to the need to adapt libraries to the 21st century changes regarding Information and Knowledge Societies. In Portugal, Library Information Science (LIS) professionals have been attentive to the changes that have occurred in higher education, technologies, communication and information sharing. The impact of these changes has been remarkable, especially concerning the skills which librarians must develop to respond to different user needs, to the new management of information systems, to the growing importance of information literacy, to new publication systems and in everything that includes the management and dissemination of scientific and academic knowledge. The Working Group of Higher Education Libraries integrates librarians from several public and private Portuguese institutions of higher education (universities and polytechnics) and is committed to continue an updated debate through the lines of intervention set out for its mission. Although these Recommendations are intended for higher education institution librarians, they can be followed by all LIS professionals who wish to improve their professional skills, therefore they can be used as guidelines helping to create professional development opportunities. Their main focuses are to meet the strategic objectives of creating knowledge, sharing experiences, promoting the transfer of knowledge and improving the conception of policies regarding information and documentation, including information literacy.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Measuring patients' quality of life and the perceived quality in long term care services

With the ageing of the Portuguese population, there are more people in dependency situations and needing long-term care (LTC). In this context, it is important to ensure the quality of life (QoL) of those individuals, and that quality can be measured through their health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and overall well-being. Also, understanding how perceived service quality (PSQ) can be related to how people perceive their QoL is pertinent since service quality is an important factor to achieve patient health outcomes. To develop this project, a LTC unit located in the district of Lisbon was chosen, the LTC unit of Arruda dos Vinhos. The main objective was to assess the relation between the PSQ, the HRQoL and the overall well-being of patients receiving LTC at the LTC unit of Arruda dos Vinhos. A project based on a case study was performed, through interviews based on the items of the SERVPERF, EQ-5D and ICECAP-O questionnaires, which were then analysed through content analysis. Results showed there is a relation between PSQ and HRQoL and between HRQoL and overall well-being. It was also possible to realise that to better evaluate the quality of this specific service, other subjects as the activities performed at the LTC unit, the physiotherapy service and the food provided, should be taken in consideration. Concluding, there is a relation between PSQ and the QoL of the patients receiving LTC at the LTC unit of Arruda dos Vinhos, when quality of life is measured through HRQoL

Biovalorization of lignocellulosic materials for xylitol production by the yeast komagataella pastoris

The main goal of this study was to screen different lignocellulosic materials for their ability to support the cell growth of the yeast Komagataella pastoris and the production of xylitol. Several lignocellulosic materials, namely banana peels, brewer’s spent grains (BSGs), corncobs, grape pomace, grape stalks, and sawdust, were subjected to dilute acid hydrolysis to obtain sugar rich solutions that were tested as feedstocks for the cultivation of K. pastoris. Although the culture was able to grow in all the tested hydrolysates, a higher biomass concentration was obtained for banana peels (15.18 ± 0.33 g/L) and grape stalks (14.58 ± 0.19 g/L), while the highest xylitol production (1.51 ± 0.07 g/L) was reached for the BSG hydrolysate with a xylitol yield of 0.66 ± 0.39 g/g. Cell growth and xylitol production from BSG were improved by detoxifying the hydrolysate using activated charcoal, resulting in a fourfold increase of the biomass production, while xylitol production was improved to 3.97 ± 0.10 g/L. Moreover, concomitant with arabinose consumption, arabitol synthesis was noticed, reaching a maximum concentration of 0.82 ± 0.05 g/L with a yield on arabinose of 0.60 ± 0.11 g/g. These results demonstrate the feasibility of using lignocellulosic waste, especially BSG, as feedstock for the cultivation of K. pastoris and the coproduction of xylitol and arabitol. Additionally, it demonstrates the use of K. pastoris as a suitable microorganism to integrate a zero-waste biorefinery, transforming lignocellulosic waste into two high-value specialty chemicals with high market demand.publishersversionpublishe

Business simulators and lecturer’s perception! The case of University of Algarve

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the usage of simulation/serious games in the University of Algarve (Portugal), because these novel learning environments are still on an early stage of adoption. Members of the Faculty of Economics (in a total 60 lecturers and their assistants) participated in this study through a mixed survey (closed and ask for agreement queries). The empirical evidences denote interesting results: (i) a response rate of 43 percent; (ii) these tools increase learning engagement; (iii) the lack of information and not sufficient alignment with the course unit hinders the uptake of these technologies within classrooms; (iv) lecturers have a positive perception and consider them as valuable for students’ better learning. Hence, this survey provides a good platform for future research and approaches how to promote a better exploration of simulation/serious games and their integration into course curriculum. To conclude, this paper will be divided into five sections: (i) research statement; (ii) research design (aims/objectives, research methodology and data collection/analysis); (iii) findings (lecturers’ profile, awareness, experiences and results summary); (iv) limitations and future work (methodological limitations and tools/ analysis upgrade); and, (v) conclusions

Verb Production and the Semantic Interference Effect

In three experiments, we explored the semantic interference effect in verb production with the picture-word interference paradigm. Experiments 1 and 3 addressed whether there is an effect of semantically related distracters on gerundial verb production; In Experiment 2, we explored the effect in naming verbs in sentence production and the third person singular form. The semantic interference effect was found in two of the three experiments. However, the effect was inconsistent when transitive and intransitive verbs were analyzed separately. The results are discussed in the context of models of the semantic interference effect in lexical access

Automatic Segmentation of Monofilament Testing Sites in Plantar Images for Diabetic Foot Management

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy is a major complication of diabetes mellitus, and it is the leading cause of foot ulceration and amputations. The Semmes–Weinstein monofilament examination (SWME) is a widely used, low-cost, evidence-based tool for predicting the prognosis of diabetic foot patients. The examination can be quick, but due to the high prevalence of the disease, many healthcare professionals can be assigned to this task several days per month. In an ongoing project, it is our objective to minimize the intervention of humans in the SWME by using an automated testing system relying on computer vision. In this paper we present the project’s first part, constituting a system for automatically identifying the SWME testing sites from digital images. For this, we have created a database of plantar images and developed a segmentation system, based on image processing and deep learning—both of which are novelties. From the 9 testing sites, the system was able to correctly identify most 8 in more than 80% of the images, and 3 of the testing sites were correctly identified in more than 97.8% of the images.Partially supported by FCT-UIDB/04730/2020 and FCT-UIDB/50014/2020 projects.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Geography of Food and the Urban Network in the Tri-Border Brazil-Peru-Colombia: The Case of Production and Commercialization of Poultry in the Amazon

In the Brazilian Amazon, a strong transformation of eating habits has been identified. An important element of this transformation is the replacement of locally obtained protein by “frozen” chicken meat. This transformation of eating habits occurs differently depending on the market structure, production and commerce. We sought to analyze the Tri-Border region of Brazil-Colombia-Peru from the perspective of the production and trade ofchicken. We identified the importance of the city of Tabatinga and the particularities of the other cities, as well as urban interactions, supply flows and the economic relations that occur with the nearby Peruvian and Colombian cities. Using “chicken” as an important variable, this paper discusses the urban network and the frontier dynamics in the western border of the Amazon