A team of several faculty members and graduate students at Universidad de las Amricas Puebla is improving engineering design teaching and learning by creating richer learning environments that promote an interactive classroom while integrating formative assessment into classroom practices by means of Tablet PCs and associated technologies. Learning environments that are knowledge-, learner-, community-, and assessment-centered as highlighted by the How People Learn framework, have been developed. To date, the redesign of the undergraduate course entitled Introduction to Engineering Design has signicantly (p<0.05) increased student participation; formative assessment and feedback are more common and rapid; and instructors are utilizing the information gained through real-time formative assessments to tailor instruction to meet student needs. Particularly important have been opportunities to make student thinking visible and to give them chances to revise, as well as opportunities for "what if" thinking.

High protein yoghurt was made from whole milk, fortified with egg white (30% v/v) and skim milk powder at 12% (w/v). Different yoghurt mixes, with albumin content of 15%, 30% and 45% (v/v), were prepared. The control was made from whole milk, fortified with skim milk powder at 12% (w/v). The blended premixes were pasteurized at 74ºC for 4 seconds, cooled and then inoculated with 3% (w/v) Direct Vat Set yoghurt starter culture at 45ºC. After fermentation for 3 hours in a water bath maintained at 46+-1C, product was cooled to 5ºC and then stored for 24 hours. The effect of the fortification on physico-chemical and sensory properties was investigated. Protein content increased to 8.50% at 45% egg white utilization. Susceptibility to wheying was reduced in egg-white fortified samples, without signicant difference in sensory attributes of the test samples compared to the control. Sensory analysis showed that yoghurt fortified with 45% egg white was organoleptically acceptable. The yoghurt was rated as having better sensory appeal as compared to the control.

Nowadays, food production has the challenging mission to encourage the growth of the rural economy assuring long term sustainability of their natural resources. The qualification of human resources and the generation of new knowledge are the main pillars that give sustainability to agribusiness. Animal protein production is one of the branches of the agribusiness sector. Swine production is recognized as an activity of high pollution potential, producing a large quantity of waste. This study aimed to identify the activities developed in partnership among academic, research and extension institutes in a midsize company of the agribusiness sector, more specifically a swine farm (São Roque Farm) in its sustainable restructuring. An exploratory and quantitative research was developed, which comprehended literature reviews, data collection and analysis of documents from the São Roque Farm. It was considered the period that includes the beginning of the sustainable restructuring of the property (2003) until December 2011. During the analysis of the Sustainable Restructuring Project, special attention was given to the readjustment of the wastewater treatment system and to the energy management and carbon credits, being innovative and pilot projects in the state of Santa Catarina. For this purpose, technologies and knowledge are being developed and applied in treatment of three routes: gaseous, liquid and solid. This pilot project allowed the development of applied studies at undergraduate, masters and PhD level and the main results achieved are the improvement of understanding and the achievement of technical and financial benefits by connecting agribusiness, academia and government research institutions.

The effects of organic material and biofilm formation on the efficacy of Suma Tab D4 chlorine tablets and Suma Bac D10 quaternary ammonium compound (QAC) against Listeria monocytogenes was determined in suspension and on stainless steel and polystyrene surfaces according to standard disinfectant test methodology. Exposure to 200 and 740 mg L-1 QAC and to 150 mg L-1 active chlorine resulted in a > 5.0 log10 CFU mL-1 and > 5.0 log10 CFU/coupon reduction of six L. monocytogenes strains within one minute, in suspension tests, and on stainless steel surfaces, respectively. Additionally, there was a reduction by as much as 5 log10 CFU/coupon or 5 log10 CFU/well of reference strains EGDe and Scott A biofilms within five minutes on stainless steel and polystyrene surfaces. Organic material, added as bovine serum albumin at 0.3% (w/v) completely prevented the inactivation of L. monocytogenes in 150 mg L-1 chlorine, while reductions of only 0.6 +- 0.1 log10 CFU mL-1 were recorded in the presence of UHT milk at 3% (v/v). In contrast, reductions of 5 log10 CFU mL-1 were recorded within one minute on exposure to 740 mg L-1 QAC in the presence of 0.3% (w/v) bovine serum albumin and within two minutes in the presence of 20 % (v/v) UHT milk. Although Suma D4 chlorine tablets and Suma Bac D10 QAC are effective listericidal agents at recommended concentrations, Suma Tab D4 chlorine efficacy against L. monocytogenes is impaired by the presence of low concentrations of organic material, while Suma Bac D10 QAC maintains its listericidal activity in high organic loads.