Mechanisms implemented for the sustainable development of agriculture: an overview of Cabo Verde performance

In 2005, the Economic Community ofWest African States (ECOWAS) adopted the Common Agricultural Policy of ECOWAS (ECOWAP), as an instrument for implementing the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP). The main goals of ECOWAP/CAADP were set to promote agriculture development and end hunger by 2025. In this study we focused on the Cabo Verde archipelago as one of the best performing countries within ECOWAS in terms of overall sustainable development. In this paper, the evolution of the ECOWAP implementation and of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) associated with agriculture in Cabo Verde, were assessed by semi-quantitative (e.g., agricultural policies, agrarian periodical literature) and quantitative (modeling regression of ECOWAP implementation and Sustainable Development Goals—SDGs—performance) analyses. Our integrated results suggest that the agriculture development strategies, the signature of ECOWAP/CAADP by the national government, and political stability might explain the progress made towards poverty reduction and the improvement of food security. The results also show that agriculture-related SDGs in Cabo Verde are higher than the mean values obtained from the remaining West African countries, well above the top 25% WA countries. Nevertheless, Cabo Verde public expenditure into agriculture under the ECOWAP was generally below the targeted 10% of the national budget, with food import required to meet internal food demandsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Evaporation from porous building materials and its cooling potential

Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the research project DRYMASS (PTDC/ECM/100553/2008)Evaporative cooling is a traditional strategy to improve summer comfort, which has gained renewed relevance in the context of the 6 transition to a greener economy. Here, the potential for evaporative cooling of two common porous building materials, natural stone and 7 ceramic brick, was evaluated. The work has relevance also to the protection of built heritage becauseevaporation underlies the problems of 8 dampness and salt crystallization, which are so harmful and frequent in this heritage. It was observed that the drying rate of the materials is, in 9 some cases, higher than the evaporation rate of a free water surface. Surface area measurements by a three-dimensional optical technique 10 suggested, as probable cause of this behavior, that surface irregularity gives rise to a large effective surface of evaporation in the material. 11 Surface temperature measurements by infrared were performed afterward during evaporation experiments outside during a hot summer day in 12 Lisbon. Their results indicate that ordinary building materials can be very efficient evaporative media and, thus, may help in achieving higher 13 energy efficiency while maintaining a simultaneous constructive or architectural function.proofpublishe

Toward sustainable wax extraction from the Saccharum officinarum L. filter cake byproduct: process optimization, physicochemical characterization, and antioxidant performance

Saccharum officinarum L. exploitation and processing result in different byproducts, such as filter cake (FC). This study aimed to establish the most suitable experimental conditions to obtain lipophilic bioactive compounds from FC industrial residues, considering their high efficiency, cost-effectiveness, extraction yield, composition, and physicochemical properties. Results indicated that the most appropriate methodology consisted of the pretreatment of the FC sample with H2SO4, followed by ethanolic extraction (B6 method), avoiding energy-consumption FC drying steps and providing ethanol recovery (approx. 90%). The obtained B6 extract yield was 9.59 ± 0.27 g/100 g of FC dry weight, and this methodology proved to be more efficient in obtaining fatty alcohols (20.28 ± 1.48 g/kg extract) and phytosterols (31.56 ± 0.18 g/kg extract) while maintaining lower total monosaccharide concentration (26.19 ± 1.82 mg/g extract). Furthermore, the geographically related multivariate analysis in wax composition and antioxidant activity was evaluated by comparing B6 waxes from Guariba (G) and Univalem (U), both provided by Brazil and collected in June 2020. Overall, the wax composition is affected, but the antioxidant activity is uncompromised, which indicates that the optimized wax extraction method can be applied to FC.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Bioactive sugarcane lipids in a circular economy context

Most of the global sugar and ethanol supply trade comes from the harvesting of Saccharum officinarum (i.e., sugarcane). Its industrial processing results in numerous by-products and waste streams, such as tops, straw, filter cake, molasses and bagasse. The recovery of lipids (i.e., octacosanol, phytosterols, long-chain aldehydes and triterpenoids) from these residues is an excellent starting point for the development of new products for various application fields, such as health and well-being, representing an important feature of the circular economy. By selecting green scalable extraction procedures, industry can reduce its environmental impact. Refluxed ethanol extraction methods have been demonstrated to meet these characteristics. On the other hand, effective non-solvent methodologies such as molecular distillation and supercritical CO2 extraction can fractionate lipids based on high temperature and pressure application with similar yields. Sugarcane lipophilic extracts are usually analyzed through gas chromatography (GC) and liquid chromatography (LC) techniques. In many cases, the identification of such compounds involves the development of high-temperature GC–MS/FID techniques. On the other hand, for the identification and quantification of thermolabile lipids, LC–MS techniques are suitable for the separation and identification of major lipid classes. Generically, its composition includes terpenes, phytosterols, tocopherol, free fatty acids, fatty alcohols, wax esters, triglycerides, diglycerides and monoglycerides. These compounds are already known for their interesting application in various fields such as pharma and cosmetics due to their anti-hypercholesterolemic, anti-hyperglycemic, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Suitability for commercial utilization of carnauba and sugarcane waxes through determination of possible alterations during an accelerated stability test

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Characterization of patchouli and vanillin industrial wastes as a strategy for their valorization

Patchouli is a cyclic terpene alcohol used as a fragrance ingredient (i.e. powerful sweet, herbaceous and spicy) [1] that has been demonstrated to exert low acute dermal toxicity [2-3]. The aromatic aldehyde Vanillin is a widely used flavoring agent and relevant antifoaming ingredient [4]. Fragrances/flavoring production from plants is accomplished by steam distillation, supercritical CO2 or microwave assisted extraction. Hence, recent investigation suggests using of genetically modified microorganism to ensure reliable and sustainable supply [5]. Thus, Vanillin can be isolated from Vanilla planifolia, from chemical synthesis or by fermentation procedures [6]. In the framework of a valorization strategy, this research work aims to characterized fermentation by-products of the production of Patchouli and Vanillin through liquid (HPLC-ELSD) and gas chromatography (GC-QqQ). The assayed materials derived from the production of Patchouli and Vanillin contained high-value molecules such as Patchouli alcohol, α-Guaiene, α-Bulnesene and Vanillin and Vanillic Acid, as well as vanillin glucosides. Future assessment of its bioactivity will provide better information on the application of these compounds to turn waste into resource.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Differential lipid accumulation on HepG2 cells triggered by palmitic and linoleic fatty acids exposure

Lipid metabolism pathways such as β-oxidation, lipolysis and, lipogenesis, are mainly associated with normal liver function. However, steatosis is a growing pathology caused by the accumulation of lipids in hepatic cells due to increased lipogenesis, dysregulated lipid metabolism, and/or reduced lipolysis. Accordingly, this investigation hypothesizes a selective in vitro accumulation of palmitic and linoleic fatty acids on hepatocytes. After assessing the metabolic inhibition, apoptotic effect, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation by linoleic (LA) and palmitic (PA) fatty acids, HepG2 cells were exposed to different ratios of LA and PA to study the lipid accumulation using the lipophilic dye Oil Red O. Lipidomic studies were also carried out after lipid isolation. Results revealed that LA was highly accumulated and induced ROS production when compared to PA. Lipid profile modifications were observed after LA:PA 1:1 (v/v) exposure, which led to a four-fold increase in triglycerides (TGs) (mainly in linoleic acid-containing species), as well as a increase in cholesterol and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) content when compared to the control cells. The present work highlights the importance of balancing both PA and LA fatty acids concentrations in HepG2 cells to maintain normal levels of free fatty acids (FFAs), cholesterol, and TGs and to minimize some of the observed in vitro effects (i.e., apoptosis, ROS generation and lipid accumulation) caused by these fatty acids.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Stability study of squalane and hemisqualane derived from synthetic biology

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Stability study of squalane and hemisqualane derived from synthetic biology

Lipids obtained through fermentative processes have emerged as an excellent alternative to produce high-value molecules without compromising natural resources and meeting sustainable requirements [1]. A good example is squalene, the precursor of cholesterol in humans, known by protecting skin against UV radiation. It has been recently shown to reduce side-effects of chemotherapy and is widely used as adjuvant for pharmaceutical applications [2,3]. However, squalene is an unsaturated lipid and therefore susceptible to undergo oxidation. As a more stable alternative, processes to produce commercial squalane (SQ) and hemisqualane (HSQ) have been also developed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Characterization of Patchouli and Vanillin Industrial Wastes as a Strategy for their Valorization

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio