Influence of ohmic heating on production of whey protein aggregates

Ohmic Heating (OH) and its associated non-thermal effects due to the presence of an electrical field and frequency has been triggering the use of this technology for whey protein functionalization. Whey proteins have increasingly been used as functional ingredients in several food formulations presenting high nutritional and biological value (i.e., digestibility, amino acid pattern, and sensory characteristics). The purpose of this study was to characterize early steps of whey protein isolate denaturation and aggregation kinetics under the influence of OH treatments by combining different thermal and electrical effects. A multivariate characterization was performed in order to identify a global pattern in denaturation behaviour of WPI under OH applied by linking different structural stages, such as protein unfolding, exposure of protein hydrophobic core, loss of protein solubility and formation of protein aggregates. Results shows that exposure of reactive free thiol groups involved in molecular unfolding of β-lactoglobulin (β- lg) can be reduced from 10 to 20 % with OH. The presence of a moderate electric field (up to 12 V/cm) during heating also contributes to a change in the protein aggregation kinetics, as well as in the shape of the produced whey aggregates. Size growth was significantly reduced from 178 nm to 25 nm (p < 0.05) under influence of OH and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) discloses the appearance of β-lg small fibrillar aggregates upon the influence of OH. As conclusion, OH and its capability of fast heating coupled with treatments under relatively low electrical field strength, contributed to a synergistic effect yielding protein solutions with less protein aggregates and high amount of soluble proteins during early stages of heating. These fibril aggregates have a recognized potential to form physical gels, acting as thickeners or gelling agents in foods, and can be also used for encapsulation of bioactive ingredients. OH provide a novel method for production of a whey protein matrix with distinctive features and gel-forming properties

Moderate Electric Fields – a processing biotechnological tool

During the latest decade, much research on Ohmic Heating (OH) as electro-heating technology has been addressed, and the effects of its moderate electric fields (MEF) have been addressed aiming at fighting pathogens and improving the nutritional and sensory properties of food. In this piece of research, MEF appeared to be an interesting biotechnological tool for food processing, as well as to be used in bioprocesses at large. Our results show that the presence of MEF during heating contributes to a change in protein aggregation kinetics, as well in the shape of the aggregates obtained, thus highlighting the influence of non-thermal effects. Transmission electron microscopy unveiled that MEF can be used to transform e.g. whey products, containing mainly lactoglobulin in their composition, into in vitro small nano-fibrils which can attract the interest of biomedical sciences. Electro-heating treatment can be designed together with cold gelation for development of entirely biodegradable whey protein-based gels as potential devices for incorporation of nutraceuticals i.e. up to 60% of association efficiency, thus creating novel applications for both food and pharmaceutical industries . Electrical and thermal effects were optimized into a single step treatment to enhance thermal stabilization (i.e. inactivation of microorganisms and enzymes) and extraction of added-value or bioactive compounds (i.e. anthocyanins and phenolic compounds) from plant and fruit tissues. High frequency (25 kHz) and electric field (30 V/cm), combined with high temperatures (up to 90 ºC) were well suited for a significant effect (p < 0.05) upon extraction of phenolic compounds. The electro-heating capacity of applying high heating rates with an accurate temperature control, together with putative electroporation effects on cell tissues (due to presence of alternating electric fields), put forward an interesting solution as processing technology toward biorefinery systems

Characterization of micro and nanostructures from β‐lactoglobulin formed upon heat treatment and under selected environmental conditions

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Envelhecer em casa: contributos da terapia ocupacional /Aging in place: contributions from occupational therapy

Introdução: O termo envelhecer em casa tomou uma dimensão orientadora para dar resposta às necessidades dos idosos, adiando a institucionalização. O conceito “Aging in Place” dá a oportunidade para que as pessoas idosas permaneçam nas suas casas e mantenham os seus laços afetivos e as rotinas significativas.  Objetivo: O presente estudo tem como objetivo explorar o contributo da Terapia Ocupacional na Gerontologia Ambiental, com a temática “Envelhecer em casa”. Métodos: Assim, recorremos a uma revisão integrativa da literatura, a qual se desenvolveu em 6 etapas: definição do tema, identificação dos critérios de inclusão e exclusão, organização dos estudos pré-selecionados, categorização dos estudos analisados, discussão e interpretação dos resultados e revisão do conhecimento obtido. A recolha de dados foi feita de setembro a dezembro de 2019, tendo como critérios de inclusão estudos dentro do horizonte temporal de 2012 a 2020 publicados em bases indexadas em português e inglês. Resultados: Foram selecionados 26 estudos, sendo categorizados em i) Avaliação, que diz respeito às metodologias de avaliação utilizadas pela Terapia Ocupacional, no âmbito da Gerontologia Ambiental; e ii) Intervenção, com estudos direcionados às intervenções feitas pela Terapia Ocupacional no contexto domiciliar. Conclusão: Os terapeutas ocupacionais são indispensáveis para avaliar e intervir no contexto domiciliar da pessoa idosa, de forma a manter e/ou melhorar a sua capacidade funcional, além de a manter num ambiente que lhe é significativo. No entanto, há pouca evidência sobre os tipos de instrumentos de avaliação na área da Gerontologia Ambiental, sendo importante realizar mais estudos nesta temática.Palavras-chave: Gerontologia. Ambiente. Terapia Ocupacional. Envelhecimento. Domicílio. AbstractIntroduction: The concept ''aging in place'' became more instructing based, in order to answer the needs of the elderly, postponing institutionalization. Such concept offers elders an opportunity to remain in their homes as well as keeping their affective bonds and meaningful routines. Objective: Objectively, this study means to explore the contribute of Occupational Therapy in Environmental Gerontology, with the aging in place theme. Method: Therefore, we resorted to an integrative literature review, in which 6 steps were developed: the definition of the theme, recognition of the inclusion and exclusion criteria, organization of pre-selected studies, categorization of analysed studies, discussion and interpretation of results, and lastly, review of the gathered knowledge. The assembly of information was done from September to December in 2019, bearing as principles the inclusion of studies from within the years of 2012 to 2020 published in Portuguese and English. Results: From the 26 selected studies, these were categorized in: i) Evaluation, following the grading methods used by Occupational Therapy, on the scope of Environmental Gerontology; ii) Intervention, with studies aimed at interventions by Occupational Therapy in a household context. Conclusion: Occupational therapists are fundamental to evaluate and intervene on the elders' household context, in order to maintain or improve their functional capabilities, besides allowing the home environment to prevail. However, there is little evidence on the types of assessment instruments in the field of Environmental Gerontology, and it is important to carry out further studies on this topic.Keywords: Gerontology. Environment. Occupational Therapy. Aging in Place. ResumenIntroducción: La palabra envejecer en el hogar surgió de la necesidad de dar una respuesta a las necesidades de los mayores y sus familias. Las personas hacen su vida a diario, sus rutinas y evita una institucionalización de los mayores en centros. Los lazos de relación entre la familia y comunidad se mantienen al largo de la vida, no existiendo un hueco. Objetivo: Este estudio pretende conocer cuál el papel de la Terapia Ocupacional en áreas como Gerontología Ambiental y “Envejecer en Casa”. Método: Nos basamos en información variada y publicada que refiere 6 pasos tales como: definición del tema, definición de los criterios de inclusión/ excusión; organización de los estudios seleccionados, análisis de los estudios, discusión y debate de los resultados y un repaso del conocimiento obtenido. La recogida de información fue con encuestas y experimentos entre los meses de septiembre a diciembre de 2019. Resultados: Los estudios, un total de 26, entre los años 2012 y 2020 en publicaciones especializadas en lengua portuguesa e inglesa.  Todos ellos siguen orientaciones: i) evaluación, métodos utilizados en Gerontología Ambiental, ii) intervención con basis en los estudios hechos en contexto de la familia. Conclusión: En esta parte destacamos el papel fundamental ejercido por los terapeutas ocupacionales que con su intervención permiten el desarrollo de capacidades en el medio en que viven. Hemos concluido que los estudios sobre la intervención de especialistas como los terapeutas ocupacionales aún son reducidos, necesitando investigación y conocimiento.Palabras Clave: Gerontología. Ambiente. Terapía Ocupacional. Envejecimiento. Hogar

MAMMALS IN PORTUGAL : A data set of terrestrial, volant, and marine mammal occurrences in P ortugal

Mammals are threatened worldwide, with 26% of all species being includedin the IUCN threatened categories. This overall pattern is primarily associatedwith habitat loss or degradation, and human persecution for terrestrial mam-mals, and pollution, open net fishing, climate change, and prey depletion formarine mammals. Mammals play a key role in maintaining ecosystems func-tionality and resilience, and therefore information on their distribution is cru-cial to delineate and support conservation actions. MAMMALS INPORTUGAL is a publicly available data set compiling unpublishedgeoreferenced occurrence records of 92 terrestrial, volant, and marine mam-mals in mainland Portugal and archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira thatincludes 105,026 data entries between 1873 and 2021 (72% of the data occur-ring in 2000 and 2021). The methods used to collect the data were: live obser-vations/captures (43%), sign surveys (35%), camera trapping (16%),bioacoustics surveys (4%) and radiotracking, and inquiries that represent lessthan 1% of the records. The data set includes 13 types of records: (1) burrowsjsoil moundsjtunnel, (2) capture, (3) colony, (4) dead animaljhairjskullsjjaws, (5) genetic confirmation, (6) inquiries, (7) observation of live animal (8),observation in shelters, (9) photo trappingjvideo, (10) predators dietjpelletsjpine cones/nuts, (11) scatjtrackjditch, (12) telemetry and (13) vocalizationjecholocation. The spatial uncertainty of most records ranges between 0 and100 m (76%). Rodentia (n=31,573) has the highest number of records followedby Chiroptera (n=18,857), Carnivora (n=18,594), Lagomorpha (n=17,496),Cetartiodactyla (n=11,568) and Eulipotyphla (n=7008). The data setincludes records of species classified by the IUCN as threatened(e.g.,Oryctolagus cuniculus[n=12,159],Monachus monachus[n=1,512],andLynx pardinus[n=197]). We believe that this data set may stimulate thepublication of other European countries data sets that would certainly contrib-ute to ecology and conservation-related research, and therefore assisting onthe development of more accurate and tailored conservation managementstrategies for each species. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite thisdata paper when the data are used in publications.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Study of the B−→Λc+Λˉc−K−B^{-} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-} K^{-} decay

The decay $B^{-} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-} K^{-}$ is studied in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5 $\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ collected by the LHCb experiment. In the $\Lambda_{c}^+ K^{-}$ system, the $\Xi_{c}(2930)^{0}$ state observed at the BaBar and Belle experiments is resolved into two narrower states, $\Xi_{c}(2923)^{0}$ and $\Xi_{c}(2939)^{0}$, whose masses and widths are measured to be $$m(\Xi_{c}(2923)^{0}) = 2924.5 \pm 0.4 \pm 1.1 \,\mathrm{MeV}, \\ m(\Xi_{c}(2939)^{0}) = 2938.5 \pm 0.9 \pm 2.3 \,\mathrm{MeV}, \\ \Gamma(\Xi_{c}(2923)^{0}) = \phantom{000}4.8 \pm 0.9 \pm 1.5 \,\mathrm{MeV},\\ \Gamma(\Xi_{c}(2939)^{0}) = \phantom{00}11.0 \pm 1.9 \pm 7.5 \,\mathrm{MeV},$$ where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic. The results are consistent with a previous LHCb measurement using a prompt $\Lambda_{c}^{+} K^{-}$ sample. Evidence of a new $\Xi_{c}(2880)^{0}$ state is found with a local significance of $3.8\,\sigma$, whose mass and width are measured to be $2881.8 \pm 3.1 \pm 8.5\,\mathrm{MeV}$ and $12.4 \pm 5.3 \pm 5.8 \,\mathrm{MeV}$, respectively. In addition, evidence of a new decay mode $\Xi_{c}(2790)^{0} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} K^{-}$ is found with a significance of $3.7\,\sigma$. The relative branching fraction of $B^{-} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-} K^{-}$ with respect to the $B^{-} \to D^{+} D^{-} K^{-}$ decay is measured to be $2.36 \pm 0.11 \pm 0.22 \pm 0.25$, where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second systematic and the third originates from the branching fractions of charm hadron decays.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-028.html (LHCb public pages

Les droits disciplinaires des fonctions publiques : « unification », « harmonisation » ou « distanciation ». A propos de la loi du 26 avril 2016 relative à la déontologie et aux droits et obligations des fonctionnaires

The production of tt‾ , W+bb‾ and W+cc‾ is studied in the forward region of proton–proton collisions collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.98±0.02 fb−1 . The W bosons are reconstructed in the decays W→ℓν , where ℓ denotes muon or electron, while the b and c quarks are reconstructed as jets. All measured cross-sections are in agreement with next-to-leading-order Standard Model predictions.The production of $t\overline{t}$, $W+b\overline{b}$ and $W+c\overline{c}$ is studied in the forward region of proton-proton collisions collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.98 $\pm$ 0.02 \mbox{fb}^{-1}. The $W$ bosons are reconstructed in the decays $W\rightarrow\ell\nu$, where $\ell$ denotes muon or electron, while the $b$ and $c$ quarks are reconstructed as jets. All measured cross-sections are in agreement with next-to-leading-order Standard Model predictions

Measurement of the ratios of branching fractions R(D∗)\mathcal{R}(D^{*}) and R(D0)\mathcal{R}(D^{0})

The ratios of branching fractions $\mathcal{R}(D^{*})\equiv\mathcal{B}(\bar{B}\to D^{*}\tau^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\tau})/\mathcal{B}(\bar{B}\to D^{*}\mu^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\mu})$ and $\mathcal{R}(D^{0})\equiv\mathcal{B}(B^{-}\to D^{0}\tau^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\tau})/\mathcal{B}(B^{-}\to D^{0}\mu^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\mu})$ are measured, assuming isospin symmetry, using a sample of proton-proton collision data corresponding to 3.0 fb${ }^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity recorded by the LHCb experiment during 2011 and 2012. The tau lepton is identified in the decay mode $\tau^{-}\to\mu^{-}\nu_{\tau}\bar{\nu}_{\mu}$. The measured values are $\mathcal{R}(D^{*})=0.281\pm0.018\pm0.024$ and $\mathcal{R}(D^{0})=0.441\pm0.060\pm0.066$, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. The correlation between these measurements is $\rho=-0.43$. Results are consistent with the current average of these quantities and are at a combined 1.9 standard deviations from the predictions based on lepton flavor universality in the Standard Model.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-039.html (LHCb public pages

Multidifferential study of identified charged hadron distributions in ZZ-tagged jets in proton-proton collisions at s=\sqrt{s}=13 TeV

Jet fragmentation functions are measured for the first time in proton-proton collisions for charged pions, kaons, and protons within jets recoiling against a $Z$ boson. The charged-hadron distributions are studied longitudinally and transversely to the jet direction for jets with transverse momentum 20 $< p_{\textrm{T}} < 100$ GeV and in the pseudorapidity range $2.5 < \eta < 4$. The data sample was collected with the LHCb experiment at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.64 fb$^{-1}$. Triple differential distributions as a function of the hadron longitudinal momentum fraction, hadron transverse momentum, and jet transverse momentum are also measured for the first time. This helps constrain transverse-momentum-dependent fragmentation functions. Differences in the shapes and magnitudes of the measured distributions for the different hadron species provide insights into the hadronization process for jets predominantly initiated by light quarks.Comment: All figures and tables, along with machine-readable versions and any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-013.html (LHCb public pages

Physics case for an LHCb Upgrade II - Opportunities in flavour physics, and beyond, in the HL-LHC era

The LHCb Upgrade II will fully exploit the flavour-physics opportunities of the HL-LHC, and study additional physics topics that take advantage of the forward acceptance of the LHCb spectrometer. The LHCb Upgrade I will begin operation in 2020. Consolidation will occur, and modest enhancements of the Upgrade I detector will be installed, in Long Shutdown 3 of the LHC (2025) and these are discussed here. The main Upgrade II detector will be installed in long shutdown 4 of the LHC (2030) and will build on the strengths of the current LHCb experiment and the Upgrade I. It will operate at a luminosity up to 2×1034 cm−2s−1, ten times that of the Upgrade I detector. New detector components will improve the intrinsic performance of the experiment in certain key areas. An Expression Of Interest proposing Upgrade II was submitted in February 2017. The physics case for the Upgrade II is presented here in more depth. CP-violating phases will be measured with precisions unattainable at any other envisaged facility. The experiment will probe b → sl+l−and b → dl+l− transitions in both muon and electron decays in modes not accessible at Upgrade I. Minimal flavour violation will be tested with a precision measurement of the ratio of B(B0 → μ+μ−)/B(Bs → μ+μ−). Probing charm CP violation at the 10−5 level may result in its long sought discovery. Major advances in hadron spectroscopy will be possible, which will be powerful probes of low energy QCD. Upgrade II potentially will have the highest sensitivity of all the LHC experiments on the Higgs to charm-quark couplings. Generically, the new physics mass scale probed, for fixed couplings, will almost double compared with the pre-HL-LHC era; this extended reach for flavour physics is similar to that which would be achieved by the HE-LHC proposal for the energy frontier