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- Fatores de variação do número de células somáticas do leite de ovelhas serra da estrela: método instrumental vs. método de referênciaPublication . Oliveira, Jorge; Lemos, Carlota; Brito, Manuel; Coutinho, Rui; Pinto, AntónioÉ cada vez mais evidente, para a contagem de células somáticas, o interesse em avaliar a eficiência de métodos indiretos comparativamente com o método de contagem direta por microscopia ótica (método de referência), permitindo a maior utilização deste indicador como preditor de incidência de mamites e a sua inclusão em programas de melhoramento animal em ovinos, em detrimento do método de referência. Pretendeu-se avaliar o número de células somáticas (NCS) do leite de ovelhas Serra da Estrela obtido pelo equipamento DCC da DeLaval (DeLaval International AB, Tumba, Suécia) comparativamente ao método de referência, bem como a influência dos observadores na leitura direta ao microscópio. Foram utilizadas 50 amostras de leite de ovelhas Serra da Estrela recolhidas em duas explorações. Cada amostra foi analisada no equipamento DCC da DeLaval e por 3 observadores através da contagem direta por microscopia, com 50 contagens por amostra. Os observadores foram classificados em 3 níveis de experiência: O1, maior experiência; O2, experiência média; O3, menor experiência. O estudo das diferenças entre o NCS foi realizado através do teste ANOVA de Friedman e análise dos contrastes (α=5%) com recurso ao SPSSv25. Retiraram-se 3 observações com valores extremos (outliers), superiores a 3 milhões de células somáticas por mL de leite, de acordo com Oliveira et al. (2019, ainda não publicado). O NCS obtido no DCC foi, em média, 274617±448537 cél./mL enquanto que o dos 3 observadores foi, respetivamente de 311830±418479 cél./mL (O1), 236936±369142 cél./mL (O2) e 179404±330639 cél./mL (O3). Os resultados indicaram existirem diferenças entre os três observadores e apenas entre o O3 e a leitura do DCC (p<0,05). Sendo certo que a experiência do observador na leitura das células somáticas é indispensável para a contagem adequada do NCS por microscopia, o método DCC apresentou uma precisão e fiabilidade adequadas para utilização de forma sistemática na leitura do NCS do leite de ovelhas Serra da Estrela.
- Effect of Biochar on Emission of Greenhouse Gases and Productivity of Cardoon Crop (Cynara cardunculus L.)Publication . Barracosa, Paulo; Cardoso, Isabel; Marques, Francisco; Pinto, António; Oliveira, Jorge; Trindade, Henrique; Rodrigues, P.; Pereira, José L.S.Cardoon could be cropped for agro-environmental, industrial, and pharmaceutical purposes. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of biochar on emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), and methane (CH4), and productivity of cardoon crop. A pot experiment was run outdoors from April to August 2018, with a cardoon plant per pot. The following four treatments, with four replicates each, were applied: control, soil only; mineral, soil amended with mineral fertilizer (2.5 g N m−2); biochar, soil amended with biochar (1 kg m−2); and mineral+biochar, soil amended with mineral fertilizer (2.5 g N m−2) and biochar (1 kg m−2). The morphological characteristics and biomass production of cardoon plants were evaluated, and the fluxes of N2O, CO2 and CH4 were measured by using the closed chamber technique. The application of biochar combined with mineral reduced N2O emissions by 36% and global warming potential (GWP) by 26% relative to mineral. However, the cumulative CO2 and CH4 emissions as well as yield-scaled GWP were not significantly different among amended soil treatments. Furthermore, the biomass production was increased by 50% by the application of biochar combined with mineral fertilizer relative to mineral. It was concluded that biochar combined with mineral fertilizer is recommended as a pathway mitigation for agro-environmental purposes, because it reduces the global warming potential and could increase the biomass production of cardoon plants.
- Industry 4.0: a challenge of competitionPublication . Antunes, Joaquim; Pinto, António; Reis, Pedro; Henriques, CarlaIntroduction: The value creation in industry in developed countries is being driven by the fourth stage of industrialization, denominated by Industry 4.0. The new industrial revolution will be motivated by next-generation information technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, Big Data and data analysis, robotics, mobile computing, simulation and modelling, cyber-physical systems, among others. This opens new horizons for industry, but the challenges are countless creating difficulties for companies in the adoption of these technologies. Objectives: To make a powerful and deep literature revision pursuing a technical analysis of the Industry 4.0 requirements. Further. Methods: We will address the main risks and challenges associated with IoT and define the regional attractiveness measures as growth drivers that leaders must put in place to appeal for companies chasing 4.0. Results: IoT joins the digital world and the physical world being considered the next generation network or the future Internet. It allows to give life and communication capacity either to living beiings or to inanimate objects. IoT's intervention in Industry 4.0 im extreme, with a continuous interconnection of the digital and physical domain. Conclusions: Portugal's growth prospects will increasingly depend on policies that enable the economy to compete successfully and create new income opportunities. At the moment, there are structural bottlenecks that continue to curb growth and exacerbate vulnerabilities. Solving some of these problems will now lay the foundation for solid growth in the coming years, but this calls for a renewal of the impetus for structural reforms. Industry 4.0, can contribute significantly to reducing regional asymmetries. But in the longer term, skills will need to be improved to foster development and reduce the high levels of such inequalities.
- Towards the Valorization of Elderberry By-Product: Recovery and Use of Natural Ingredients for Sorbet FormulationsPublication . Neves, Cláudia M. B.; Fogeiro, Élia; Cardoso, Susana M.; Gonçalves, Fernando Jorge; Pinto, António; Ferreira Wessel, DulcineiaOne of the food industry’s greatest challenges is to find natural ingredients capable of conferring antioxidant and color properties. In addition, the agri-food industry generates by-products that are often treated as waste, despite their abundance of phytochemicals that can be recovered and used as food ingredients. This study explores the potential of elderberry pomace, an industrial by-product of juice processing rich in anthocyanins and polyphenols, as a natural food additive in blueberry sorbet. Elderberry pomace was incorporated into the sorbet formulation in powder form or as aqueous extracts at two different concentrations. The analysis of the pomace extract by UHPLC-DAD-MS showed the presence of four anthocyanins: cyanidin-3,5-O-diglucoside, cyanidin-3-O sambubioside-5-O-glucoside, cyanidin-3-O-sambubioside, and cyanidin-3-O-glucoside. The physicochemical properties of the sorbets such as pH, ◦Brix, overrun, melting rate, and color were evaluated, as well as their levels of total phenolic compounds, total monomeric anthocyanins, and in vitro antioxidant activity. The potential of sorbets to stimulate the growth of probiotic bacteria was evaluated and a sensory analysis was conducted to assess consumer acceptance. Results indicated that the sorbet containing the more concentrated extract presented higher overrun, faster melting rate, higher contents of phenolic compounds and anthocyanins, and higher antioxidant activity compared to the control. Additionally, this formulation showed a darker hue (lower L* value) and a tendency to stimulate probiotic bacteria. Moreover, the sorbets with pomace in their composition had good consumer acceptability. These findings highlight the potential of elderberry pomace to be used as a natural, sustainable ingredient in the ice cream industry, aligning with growing consumer trends towards healthier and eco-friendly products.
- Influence of Nitrogen Application and Drip Irrigation on Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Yield of Cardoon Crop (Cynara cardunculus L.)Publication . Barracosa, Paulo; Antunes, Manuela; Marques, Francisco; Pinto, António; Oliveira, Jorge; Trindade, Henrique; Pereira, José L.S.Background: Cardoon is a multi-purpose crop with a wide spectrum of potential applications. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the effects of nitrogen (N) application and drip irrigation practices on emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O), carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) and morphological characterization and biomass production of cardoon crop. Methods: The experiment was run under field conditions from April to August 2018. The field experiment was a randomized complete block design with three replications and four treatments: (i) non-amended soil as control (CONTR); (ii) mineral N fertilizer and non-irrigated (NITRO); (iii) non-fertilized and drip irrigation (IRRIG); and (iv) mineral N fertilizer and drip irrigation by fertigation (FERTI). The fluxes of N2O, CO2 and CH4 were measured by the closed chamber technique and the morphological characteristics and yield of cardoon plants were evaluated per treatment. Results: Results showed that the N2O emissions and global warming potential were not significantly different among the application of mineral N fertilizer itself or by drip fertigation with an emission rate of 0.5% of N applied and -6,8 t CO2-eq. ha-1. The characteristics related to biomass production did not differ significantly (p>0.05) between amended treatments although numerically higher in IRRIG treatment. Conclusion: It was concluded that the application of mineral N fertilizer itself or drip fertigation had no significant effect on N2O emissions and global warming potential. Additionally, the plant growth, including biomass production, increased due to drip irrigation, but not significantly.
- Instrumental methods as strategic supporting tools for systematic biochemical analysis of serra da estrela sheep milk.Publication . Oliveira, Jorge; Lemos, Carlota; Brito, Manuel; Pinto, António; Coutinho, Rui Coutinho; Barracosa, Paulo; Coelho, Catarina; Dinis, RuiSerra da Estrela sheep crude milk is mandatory for the PDO Serra da Estrela (SE) cheese production. The production system implies the need for systematic knowledge of the values of useful matter (fat and protein) to produce cheese. The knowledge of somatic cell count (SCC) allows to predict the mammary health status of ewes as well as make decisions on the use of crude milk for human consumption, through its transformation into cheese. The need for simple, fast and reliable methodologies for the determination of this parameters is fundamental for the sustainability of this productive sector through milk recording procedure for animal genetic evaluation, as well for the previous analysis of the bulk milk, before the process of elaboration of the PDO SE cheese. Two sets of milk samples were collected: 50 individual samples of Serra da Estrela ewes’ milk from 2 farms for analysis of SCC and 53 samples of Serra da Estrela ewes’ milk (16 individual samples and 37 samples of bulk milk) for analysis of fat and protein contents (Fat% and Prot%). Duplicates of samples were simultaneously analyzed by reference and instrumental methodologies (DCC De Laval optical reader and FT-NIR MasterTM from Büchi) as reliable alternatives for parameters evaluation for the SE sheep milk. The results showed a significant agreement between the pairs of values (type of methodologies) for all parameters, with correlations between 0.925 (Prot%) and 0.960 (SCC) (p<0.001). The linear regressions for the pairs of data of the three parameters studied presented a strong adjustment (with the coefficients of determination between 0.856 and 0.921). The findings showed that both instrumental methodologies applied can be used as alternative to count somatic cells and evaluate fat and protein contents of SE sheep milk and will be useful as strategic measuring devices for milk farmers and cheesemakers.
- Waste elimination processes, from lean to kaizen in third sector organizationsPublication . Soeiro De Carvalho, Ana Branca; Pinto, António; Cesário, Carolina; Santos, Daniela; Saraiva, MarianaIn a globalized world, the challenges are many for companies and organizations. To face these challenges, organizations need to increase their productivity in order to become more competitive. This need leads organizations to look for new management methodologies and techniques. All available methodologies and techniques are an aid in business management. The Lean philosophy focuses on process efficiency and its main objective is to offer maximum value using the least amount of resources possible. Therefore, it is necessary to completely eliminate all waste (activities that do not add any value) and focus on completing only the necessary work within a certain period, so you can establish a progress of the company's processes. This article analyze the concepts and principles of these methodologies and make a comparative study between them, identifying the aspects that distinguish them and the similarities found, as well as verifying their application in a third sector institution. Third sector organizations are gaining more and more social weight, they increasingly need to achieve the much desired organizational sustainability and, for this purpose, they turn to management to perform a sustainable, effective, efficient, quality and transparent work. According to the previously developed concept of Lean Six Sigma, it was found that it is important for Third Sector Organizations, in particular, with regard to the sustainability of Organizations, as it is impactful in its various dimensions (financial, environmental and social) (Freitas; Costa and Ferraz, 2016). For this purpose, they created three pillars of organizational sustainability (financial, social and environmental pillar) and measured the influence of the implementation of Lean Six Sigma on these, having verified that the impacts are of greater magnitude in the financial and social pillar followed by the environmental pillar. The use and application of Lean and Six Sigma concepts in third sector organizations will allow for a better understanding and comparison of initial situations with the final results, in a context of improvements based on the elimination of waste and reduction of errors.