From maize flour to bread: assessing the impact of processing on phenolic and volatile composition

Broa is a Portuguese ethnic bread traditionally prepared from maize open pollinated varieties (OPVs). These traditional varieties have been threatened by the progressive introduction of hybrid varieties, which do not possess the ability to produce high-quality broas and are less resilient to adverse environmental conditions. Scarce scientific studies have been reported regarding the nutritional and sensorial quality of broas and traditional Portuguese maize varieties. This work aimed to address this gap by providing information on the phenolic and volatile composition of broas and maize OPVs, important quality parameters in foods, related to health benefits and sensory attributes. Results showed that Portuguese maize OPVs and broas are a valuable source of phenolic compounds, in particular hydroxycinnamic acids and hydroxycinnamic acid amides (HCAAs). Several HCAAs were tentatively identified for the first time. Phenolic compounds not only resisted to the bread making process, but their free content also increased, suggesting that their bioaccessibility was improved. The traditional OPVs and corresponding broas showed higher phenolic contents when compared with a commercial maize flour and broa. The major volatiles detected in maize flours and broas were aldehydes derived from lipid oxidation reactions. Other compounds, derived from bread making, as pyranones, were also detected in broas. According to the results from a sensory panel evaluation, broas with higher contents in pyranones and lower in aldehydes were preferred by the consumers. Phenolic compounds appear to inhibit lipid oxidation reactions and increase browning reactions during bread making and, consequently, origin broas with better sensory characteristics. In addition, results suggested that a more advanced technique (comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography) is able to unveil relevant volatile compounds, since it allowed the detection of minor volatiles which may significantly influence broas overall aroma, as sulphur compounds. Overall, the results obtained in this work reinforce the importance of preserving these valuable genetic resources.A broa é um pão tradicional português preparado originalmente a partir de variedades de milho de polinização aberta. Estas variedades tradicionais têm sido ameaçadas pela introdução progressiva de variedades híbridas, menos resistentes a condições ambientais adversas e que originam broas de qualidade inferior. Existem poucos estudos científicos sobre a qualidade nutricional e sensorial das broas e das variedades de milho portuguesas. Este trabalho teve como objetivo colmatar esta lacuna, reunindo dados sobre a composição fenólica e volátil das variedades de milho tradicionais e broas, importantes parâmetros de qualidade alimentar, relacionados com características sensoriais e possíveis benefícios para a saúde. Os resultados demonstraram que as variedades de milho tradicionais portuguesas e respetivas broas são uma fonte importante de compostos fenólicos, em particular de ácidos hidroxicinâmicos e amidas de ácidos hidroxicinâmicos (HCAAs). Foram putativamente identificadas novas HCAAs que não tinham sido previamente reportadas. Os compostos fenólicos não apenas resistiram ao processo de panificação, como o seu teor livre aumentou, indicando uma melhoria na sua bioacessibilidade. As variedades tradicionais de milho e respetivas broas apresentaram teores superiores de compostos fenólicos, quando comparadas com uma farinha de milho e broa comercial. Os principais compostos voláteis detetados nas farinhas de milho e broas foram aldeídos derivados de reações de oxidação lipídica. Também foram identificados compostos resultantes do processo de panificação das broas, como piranonas. De acordo com os resultados de uma avaliação sensorial, as broas preferidas pelos consumidores apresentaram teores superiores em piranonas e inferiores em aldeídos. Os compostos fenólicos aparentam inibir as reações de oxidação lipídica e aumentar as reações que ocorrem durante o processo de cozedura e, consequentemente, originam broas com melhores características sensoriais. Adicionalmente, os resultados mostraram que a utilização de uma técnica mais avançada (cromatografia gasosa bidimensional abrangente) permite a deteção de voláteis minoritários, tais como compostos com enxofre, que podem influenciar significativamente o aroma das broas. De modo geral, os resultados obtidos neste trabalho reforçam a importância da preservação destes preciosos recursos genéticos

Colaboração online: uma estratégia para o desenvolvimento profissional de professores

Neste texto colocaremos em discussão, de forma predominante, o referencial teórico que norteou uma pesquisa de doutoramento acerca do desenvolvimento profissional de professores de História da Rede Municipal de Ensino de Belo Horizonte/Brasil, que vivenciaram um processo de formação e consolidação de um grupo colaborativo, mediado pelas tecnologias de informação e comunicação aplicadas à educação - TICE. Destacamos como a colaboração online pode ser potencializadora do desenvolvimento profissional de professores e apresentamos exemplos desta interacção mediadas pela ferramenta E-group. A partir do conceito de desenvolvimento profissional adoptado por Garcia (1999) - como o conjunto de processos e estratégias que facilitam a reflexão dos professores sobre a sua prática, que contribui para que os professores gerem conhecimento prático, estratégico e sejam capazes de aprender com sua experiência - acreditamos que o grupo colaborativo pode ser um espaço desencadeador e propício para que essas reflexões ocorram.In this communication to explore, the predominant form, the theoretical framework that guided a doctoral research on the professional development of teachers of history of the Municipal School of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, which experienced a process of formation and consolidation of a collaborative group Mediated by information and communication technologies applied to education - TICE. We highlight how online collaboration can be an aggravator of the professional development of teachers and provide examples of this interaction is mediated by E-tool group. From the concept of professional development adopted by Garcia (1999) - as the set of processes and strategies that facilitate teachers' reflection on their practice, which helps teachers to manage knowledge, strategy and are able to learn from their experience - we believe the group may be a collaborative work space is conducive to these thoughts occur

Low-Complexity Equalisers for Offset Constellations in Massive MIMO Schemes

This work was supported in part by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER), through the Competitiveness and Internationalization Operational Program of the Portugal 2020 Framework, in part by the Regional OP Centro under Grant POCI-01-0145-FEDER-030588, in part by the Regional OP Lisboa under Grant Lisboa-01-0145-FEDER-03058, in part by the FCT/MEC through national funds of MASSIVE5G Project under Grant SAICT-45-2017-02 and PES3N Project under Grant 2018-SAICT-45-2017-POCI-01-0145-FEDER-030629, in part by the UID/EEE/50008/2019 Project, and in part by the FCT Ph.D. under Grant SFRH/BD/108522/2015.Massive multi-input-multi-output (m-MIMO) schemes require low-complexity implementations at both the transmitter and the receiver side, especially for systems operation at millimeter wave (mmWave) bands. In this paper, we consider the use of offset constellations in m-MIMO systems operating at mmWave frequencies. These signals are designed to have either an almost constant envelope or be decomposed as the sum of constant-envelope signals, making them compatible with strongly nonlinear power amplifiers, which can have low-implementation complexity and high amplification efficient, making them particularly interesting for mmWave communications. We design and evaluate low-complexity frequency-domain receivers for offset signals. It is shown that the proposed receivers can have excellent performance/complexity trade-offs in m-MIMO scenarios, making them particularly interesting for future wireless systems operating at mmWave bands.publishersversionpublishe

Grupo colaborativo mediado pelas Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação aplicadas à Educação : uma ferramenta potencializadora do desenvolvimento profissional de professores

Neste texto colocaremos em discussão, de forma predominante, o referencial teórico que norteia uma pesquisa de doutoramento em andamento acerca do desenvolvimento profissional de professores de História da Rede Municipal de Ensino de Belo Horizonte/Brasil, que vivenciam um processo de formação e consolidação de um grupo colaborativo, mediado pelas tecnologias de informação e comunicação aplicadas à educação - TICE. O processo vivido pelo grupo, na sua criação e consolidação, e o material produzido pelo mesmo constituem-se no objecto central da investigação, tendo em vista compreender as contribuições que esses processos trazem para o desenvolvimento profissional de professores e o papel mediador das TICE. O referencial teórico apoia-se na perspectiva do desenvolvimento profissional de professores, TICE, e, trabalho colaborativo. O percurso metodológico incluiu desde os procedimentos teórico - metodológicos orientadores da criação e funcionamento do grupo, passando pelos procedimentos a serem utilizados para apreender o processo vivido pelo próprio grupo na sua criação e consolidação, até aos procedimentos de colecta do material produzido ao longo do processo por eles vivenciado. Destacaremos também exemplos de colaboração e interacção online do grupo analisado - por meio da ferramenta E-group, como e-mails e reflexões postadas, dando enfoque à potencialidade desta ferramenta.CNPQUniversidade do Minho. Centro de Investigação em Educação (CIEd

A colaboração on-line como estratégia para o desenvolvimento profissional dos professores

Nesta comunicação exploramos o conceito colaboração diferenciando da cooperação. Destacamos como a colaboração on-line pode ser potencializadora do desenvolvimento profissional de professores e apresentamos exemplos desta interacção mediadas pela ferramenta e-group. A partir do conceito de desenvolvimento profissional adoptado por Garcia (1999) - como o conjunto de processos e estratégias que facilitam a reflexão dos professores sobre a sua prática, que contribui para que os professores gerem conhecimento prático, estratégico e sejam capazes de aprender com sua experiência - acreditamos que o grupo de trabalho colaborativo pode ser um espaço desencadeador e propício para que essas reflexões ocorram

Relating Bioactivities with the Phenolic Compounds

Funding Information: V.W. acknowledges the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia for PhD fellowship 2021.08511.BD. This work was supported by the Associate Laboratory for Green Chemistry—LAQV, which is financed by national funds from FCT/MCTES (UIDB/50006/2020). The authors acknowledge the financial support from the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia and Portugal 2020 to the Portuguese Mass Spectrometry Network (LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-402-022125). This work was funded by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia/Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior (FCT/MCTES, Portugal) through national funds to iNOVA4Health (UIDB/04462/2020 and UIDP/04462/2020) and the Associate Laboratory LS4FUTURE (LA/P/0087/2020). A.T.S. also thanks FCT/MCTES for the individual grant CEECIND/04801/2017. This research was also funded by the Sociedade Ponto Verde—Sociedade de Resíduos de Embalagens, S.A., through the project entitled “Bioplastics and Edible, Vegan Films”. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.Arabinoxylan has prebiotic properties, as it is able to resist digestion in the small intestine and undergoes fermentation in the large intestine. In this work, arabinoxylan was extracted from corn fiber using an alkaline solution and further purified with membrane processing. It was found that the extracts were mainly composed of xylose (50–52%), arabinose (37–39%), galactose (9%) and glucose (1–4%), with an A/X ratio of 0.72–0.77. All the extracts were composed of phenolic compounds, including ferulic acid derivatives such as dimers, trimers and tetramers. The purified extract had a lower concentration of ferulic and p-coumaric acid (0.004 and 0.02 mg/mgdry_weight, respectively) when compared to raw extract (19.30 and 2.74 mg/mgdry_weight, respectively). The same effect was observed for the antioxidant activity, with purified extracts having a lower value (0.17 ± 0.02 µmol TEAC/mg) when compared to the raw extract (2.20 ± 0.35 µmol TEAC/mg). The purified extract showed a greater antiproliferative effect against the HT29 cell line with EC50 = 0.12 ± 0.02 mg/mL when compared to the raw extract (EC50 = 5.60 ± 1.6 mg/mL). Both raw and purified extracts did not show any cytotoxicity to the Caco-2 cell line in the maximum concentration tested (10 mg/mL).publishersversionpublishe

Olive pomace phenolic compounds stability and safety evaluation: From raw material to future ophthalmic applications

Funding Information: This project has received funding from the European Union?s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sk?odowska-Curie Initial Training Network (ITN) ?IT-DED3? (H2020-MSCA-ITN-2017) grant agreement No. 765608. The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support from Fundac?a?o para a Cie?ncia e Tecnologia (FCT) and Portugal 2020 to the Portu-guese Mass Spectrometry Network (Rede Nacional de Espectrometria de Massa RNEM; LISBOA 01 0145 FEDER 402 022125). Soraya Rodriguez Rojo acknowledges the University of Valladolid for her postdoctoral contract. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Nowadays, increasing interest in olive pomace (OP) valorization aims to improve olive’s industry sustainability. Interestingly, several studies propose a high-value application for OP extracts containing its main phenolic compounds, hydroxytyrosol and oleuropein, as therapy for ocular surface diseases. In this work, the stability and accessibility of OP total phenolic and flavonoid content, main representative compounds, and antioxidant activity were assessed under different pretreatment conditions. Among them, lyophilization and supercritical CO2 extraction were found to increase significantly most responses measured in the produced extracts. Two selected extracts (CONV and OPT3) were obtained by different techniques (conventional and pressurized liquid ex-traction); Their aqueous solutions were characterized by HPLC-DAD-MS/MS. Additionally, their safety and stability were evaluated according to EMA requirements towards their approval as ophthalmic products: their genotoxic effect on ocular surface cells and their 6-months storage stability at 4 different temperature/moisture conditions (CPMP/ICH/2736/99), together with pure hydroxy-tyrosol and oleuropein solutions. The concentration of hydroxytyrosol and oleuropein in pure or extract solutions was tracked, and possible degradation products were putatively identified by HPLC-DAD-MS/MS. Hydroxytyrosol and oleuropein had different stability as standard or extract solutions, with oleuropein also showing different degradation profile. All compounds/extracts were safe for ophthalmic use at the concentrations tested.publishersversionpublishe

Occurrence of antibiotics, antibiotic resistance genes and viral genomes in wastewater effluents and their treatment by a pilot scale nanofiltration unit

Funding Information: Funding: This research was funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia through the project PTDC/CTA-AMB/29586/2017. We also acknowledge the financial support from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia and Portugal 2020 to the Portuguese Mass Spectrometry Network (LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-402-022125). iNOVA4Health-UIDB/04462/2020, a program financially supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia/Ministério da Educação e Ciência, through national funds, is gratefully acknowledged. Associate Laboratory for Green Chemistry-LAQV, which is financed by national funds from FCT/MCTES (UID/QUI/50006/2019), is gratefully acknowledged. Funding from INTERFACE Program, through the Innovation, Technology and Circular Economy Fund (FITEC), is gratefully acknowledged. Funding Information: This research was funded by Funda??o para a Ci?ncia e a Tecnologia through the project PTDC/CTA-AMB/29586/2017. We also acknowledge the financial support from Funda??o para a Ci?ncia e Tecnologia and Portugal 2020 to the Portuguese Mass Spectrometry Network (LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-402-022125). iNOVA4Health-UIDB/04462/2020, a program financially supported by Funda??o para a Ci?ncia e Tecnologia/Minist?rio da Educa??o e Ci?ncia, through national funds, is gratefully acknowledged. Associate Laboratory for Green Chemistry-LAQV, which is financed by national funds from FCT/MCTES (UID/QUI/50006/2019), is gratefully acknowledged. Funding from INTERFACE Program, through the Innovation, Technology and Circular Economy Fund (FITEC), is gratefully acknowledged. Publisher Copyright: © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Broad-spectrum fluoroquinolone antibiotics (ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin), carbapenem and fluoroquinolone resistance genes, as well as viral genomes, were detected in grab samples of wastewater effluents. Passive samplers, which are simpler and easier to use and provide information about the concentrations and combination of contaminants present in a certain fluid matrix over time, proved to be extremely promising devices to monitor the presence of the target antibiotics in wastewater effluents. Nanofiltration was tested with a pilot-scale unit installed at a domestic wastewater treatment facility, using a Desal 5DK membrane operated at a constant transmembrane pressure of 6 bar and 70% recovery rate. In a 24 h experimental assay, the variation of the membrane permeance was low (6.3%). High rejections of the target contaminants from the wastewater effluent were obtained by the pilot-scale treatment. Hence, nanofiltration using the Desal 5DK membrane is considered to be a promising treatment to cope with chemical and biological contaminants present in wastewater effluents.publishersversionpublishe

An improved HILIC HPLC-MS/MS method for the determination of β-ODAP and Its α isomer in lathyrus sativus

This research was funded by EUROPEAN UNION'S SEVENTH FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement number 613551 and by FUNDACAO PARA A CIENCIA E TECNOLOGIA (IF/01337/2014, PTDC/AGR-TEC/0992/2014) and PORTUGAL 2020 to the Portuguese Mass Spectrometry Network, grant number LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-402-022125.β-N-Oxalyl-l-α,β-diaminopropionic acid (β-ODAP) is a non-protein amino acid present in Lathyrus sativus (grass pea) and other Lathyrus species, in parallel with its nontoxic isomer, α-ODAP. When consuming grass pea for several months as staple food, β-ODAP may cause neurolathyrism, a motor neuron degeneration syndrome. Therefore, the independent quantification of both ODAP isomers instead of only the total amount in grass pea allows the identification of less toxic varieties and the development of tools to support breeding for improving grass pea quality. In this work, a simple and fast HPLC-MS/MS method was developed without sample derivatization, using a hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) column and an isocratic gradient of eluents for 18 min, which allowed the determination of both α- and β-ODAP. The proposed method was fully validated and applied to the determination of α- and β-ODAP contents in a diverse collection of 107 grass pea accessions representative of the main grass pea-growing geographical regions in the world, with the prompt identification of contrasting accessions. β-ODAP content in the analyzed grass pea samples ranged from 0.45 ± 0.02 to 6.04 ± 0.45 mg g-1. The moderate correlation found between α- and β-ODAP contents (0.65) in this collection reinforces the importance of the independent quantification of both ODAP isomers.publishersversionpublishe