A sensitivity analysis of a cost optimality study on the energy retrofit of a single-family reference building in Portugal

Improvement of the energy efficiency of residential buildings must ensure compliance with cost optimality criteria, assuming a specific lifespan of the building. At the same time, the energy retrofit of buildings ought to preserve their intrinsic architectural and heritage value. Portuguese residential buildings constructed before 1960 did not follow any energy efficiency rules. They represent 29% of the housing stock in the country and there is a high potential for increasing their energy efficiency. However, it costs more to implement envelope energy efficiency measures through retrofitting works than to provide for them in new buildings. An evaluation based on cost optimality criteria should therefore be performed. This work evaluates the energy performance of a Portuguese reference building typical of the pre-1960 building stock for different thicknesses of thermal insulation retrofit solutions (roof, facade, and ground floor) and systems. The study describes a sensitivity analysis that took a range of climate data, intervention costs, energy prices, discount rates, and energy needs into account. An energy needs factor dealt with the occupants’ habits and the effective reduction of energy consumption compared with the estimated energy needs.     

Physicochemical and volatile profile alterations in pasteurized and frozen strawberry pulp during storage

This study evaluated the physicochemical characteristics and volatile profile of strawberry pulp subjected to factors, pasteurization (unpasteurized and pasteurized), freezing method (static air and forced air), and their interactions, during 12 months. Strawberry fruit were washed, sanitized, and pulped. The pulp was packaged, pasteurized, and frozen (0, 2, 4, 6, and 12 months). We concluded that pasteurization alters the strawberry pulp color. The impact of pasteurization and freezing method on the strawberry pulp pH, titratable acidity, and soluble solids variables is negligible. We tentatively identified 13 volatile compounds in fresh fruit and pulp, ethyl acetate, ethyl hexanoate, and linalool being the volatiles with the highest area percentage in the two products. The esters were predominant in both the fruit and strawberry pulp. Time is the most determining factor in modifying the strawberry pulp volatile profile, having an isolated effect on the increase of ethanol, ethyl butanoate, and linalool.

Practical applications

The strawberry is very used worldwide as raw material to different products, due to its color, flavor, and aroma. Thus, obtaining further information about the changes caused by processing and storage is of great importance for the food industry. This study shows the effect of simultaneous application of different processing techniques (pasteurization and freezing methods) on physicochemical variables and volatile profile of strawberry pulp over prolonged storage. Significant and unpublished results involving color, pH, acidity, soluble solids, and volatile compounds of strawberry frozen pulp over storage period are presented and may be applied for food industry to keep the pulp quality.     

Sugarcane Straw Reinforced Castor Oil Polyurethane Composites: Fiber Characterization and Analysis of Composite Properties

This work was concerned with the development of polyurethane (PU) composites reinforced with cellulose fibers attained from sugarcane straw. For the obtainment of cellulose, sugarcane straw was pretreated and delignified. For the production of the PU, the polyol (castor oil) to diisocyanate mass ratio was 1.5:1.0. Reinforcement of the matrix was done, changing the concentration of cellulose fibers (5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% w/w). The efficiency on the obtainment of cellulose fibers was verified by chemical characterization and the fibers morphological aspects by scanning electron microscopy. The influence of fibers content in the composites was studied by thermal analyses, tensile and moisture absorption tests.     

Jaboticaba berry peel intake prevents insulin‐resistance‐induced tau phosphorylation in mice

The hyperphosphorylation of microtubule‐associated protein tau (tau) in the hippocampus can be caused by central and peripheral insulin resistance and these alterations are related to the development of tauopathies, such as Alzheimer's disease. In this study, we used a high‐fat diet to induce obesity and insulin resistance in adult Swiss mice and checked whether supplementation with Myrciaria jaboticaba berry peel for 10 weeks could improve insulin sensitivity, learning/memory performance, and prevent tau phosphorylation in the hippocampus. Furthermore, adipocytokines, inflammatory markers, and oxidative stress were assessed. Myrciaria jaboticaba peel has phenolic compounds (e.g., cyanidin, ellagic acid), dietary fiber and carotenoids, which contribute to great antioxidant capacity. Supplementation of the high‐fat diet with 4% M. jaboticaba peel prevented fat weight gain and reduced peripheral insulin resistance. The treated group also showed lower tau phosphorylation in the hippocampus corroborating better learning/memory performance in the Morris water maze test. Maintenance of neuronal viability, lower levels of hippocampal inflammatory markers, and improved brain antioxidant defenses were also related to the consumption of M. jaboticaba peel. These findings contribute to a better understanding of how a high‐fat diet supplemented with jaboticaba berry peel counteracts the impairment of cognitive functions caused by high‐fat diet intake and diet‐induced insulin resistance.     

Coagulase-negative staphylococci species affect biofilm formation of other coagulase-negative and coagulase-positive staphylococci

Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) are considered to be commensal bacteria in humans and animals, but are now also recognized as etiological agents in several infections, including bovine mastitis. Biofilm formation appears to be an important factor in CNS pathogenicity. Furthermore, some researchers have proposed that CNS colonization of the intramammary environment has a protective effect against other pathogens. The mechanisms behind the protective effect of CNS have yet to be characterized. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of CNS isolates with a weak-biofilm phenotype on the biofilm formation of other staphylococcal isolates. We selected 10 CNS with a weak-biofilm phenotype and 30 staphylococcal isolates with a strong-biofilm phenotype for this study. We measured biofilm production by individual isolates using a standard polystyrene microtiter plate assay and compared the findings with biofilm produced in mixed cultures. We confirmed the results using confocal microscopy and a microfluidic system with low shear force. Four of the CNS isolates with a weak-biofilm phenotype (Staphylococcus chromogenes C and E and Staphylococcus simulans F and H) significantly reduced biofilm formation in approximately 80% of the staphylococcal species tested, including coagulase-positive Staphylococcus aureus. The 4 Staph. chromogenes and Staph. simulans isolates were also able to disperse pre-established biofilms, but to a lesser extent. We also performed a deferred antagonism assay and recorded the number of colony-forming units in the mixed-biofilm assays on differential or selective agar plates. Overall, CNS with a weak-biofilm phenotype did not inhibit the growth of isolates with a strong-biofilm phenotype. These results suggest that some CNS isolates can negatively affect the ability of other staphylococcal isolates and species to form biofilms via a mechanism that does not involve growth inhibition.     

Non-culture-based identification of mastitis-causing bacteria by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the detection limit of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) for direct identification, without previous microbiological culture, of bovine mastitis-causing bacteria from milk samples. Milk samples (n = 15) were experimentally contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus uberis, Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus dysgalactiae, and Escherichia coli to have bacterial counts ranging from 10³ to 10⁹ cfu/mL. These contaminated milk samples were subjected to a preparation protocol for bacterial ribosomal protein extraction using the MALDI Sepsityper kit (Bruker Daltonik, Bremen, Germany), which allowed MALDI-TOF MS coupled with Biotyper software (Bruker Daltonik) to identify bacterial fingerprints based on intact ribosomal proteins. The ability of MALDI-TOF MS to correctly identify bacterial strains from experimentally contaminated milk (without previous microbiological culture) depended on the bacterial count of the samples and on the species of the bacteria evaluated. Adequate identification at the bacterial species level (score ≥2.0) directly from milk samples required bacterial counts in the following ranges: ≥10⁶ cfu/mL of Staph. aureus, ≥10⁷ cfu/mL of E. coli, and ≥10⁸ cfu/mL of Strep. agalactiae, Strep. dysgalactiae, and Strep. uberis. We concluded that direct identification of mastitis-causing pathogens is possible for Staph. aureus, E. coli, Strep. agalactiae, Strep. dysgalactiae, and Strep. uberis, but correct identification depended on the bacterial count in the milk samples.