Data on European seabass fed with methionine-enriched diets obtained through label free shotgun proteomics

This data article is associated with the research article "Evaluating the impact of methionine-enriched diets in the liver of European seabass through label-free shotgun proteomics". Here it is described the data obtained from proteomic analysis of 36 European seabass juveniles (3 fish x 3 replicate tanks) after 18 days of feeding with experimental diets containing four inclusion levels of methionine (Met): 0.77%, 1%, 1.36% and 1.66% Met (w/w). We analysed this dataset and compared it with that obtained during the long-term feeding period i.e., 85 days. Fish liver proteins were digested with trypsin and purified peptides were analysed by LC-MS/MS. Proteins were identified with at least two peptides at 0.1% Decoy false discovery rate (FDR). In this dataset, we present the analysis of the differential abundant proteins (DAP) with significant differences across treatments after 18 days of feeding (One-Way ANOVA, p < 0.05). Treatment's comparisons were also performed between the 18- and 85-days feeding trials through Two-Way ANOVA (p < 0.05). MS/MS raw data are available via ProteomeXChange with identifiers PXD019610 and 10.6019/PXD019610 (18-days dataset); and PXD019622 and 10.6019/PXD019622 (85-days dataset). This dataset corresponds to fish sampled after 18-days of experimental trial and is made available to support the study conducted in the afore-mentioned article, by performing the analysis during a short-term period of feeding. The data presented may be further used in other nutritional studies e.g., addressing hepatic changes mediated by Met.ALG-01-0247-FEDER-3520/ UIDB/04326/2020/ IF/00482/2014/CP1217/CT0005info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Evaluation of the bibliometric scenario of the Delphi method with Brazilian affiliations

The Delphi method is a technique used to reach consensus among specialists in an area who will be able to predict demands or analyze conjunctures about strategic themes. Within this context, the present work consisted of a bibliometric evaluation performed in the Scopus database with the aid of VOSviewer software, prioritizing journals with an affiliation of Brazilian institutions and that made use of the Delphi method for the development of their research. Data collection went through validation stages, and the results obtained showed that this tool was used in several areas of knowledge, with great emphasis on health, more specifically in Medicine, Nursing, and Public health. Together, these three areas accounted for more than 60% of publications made available

Bee Pollination Highly Improves Oil Quality in Sunflower

Sunflower is a pollinator-dependent crop and one of the most cultivated oilseeds in the world, supporting important sectors of the agricultural industry, such as the food supply, because it is an important source of vitamin E and unsaturated fatty acids for human health. Although it is well stablished that bee pollination improves sunflower seed set, it is still unknown if pollinators influence the nutritional composition. Considering the economic importance of sunflowers for several Brazilian agricultural sectors, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the bee community for (1) achene quality (weight and nutritional composition) and (2) market value. Exclusion experiments were performed with hybrid sunflowers and showed that bee pollination enhanced the achene weight by 91 %, the levels of vitamin E by 45 % and unsaturated fatty acids by 0.3 %. Also, it was estimated that due to the pollination services provided by bees, the grower of the sunflower cultivar used in this study nearly duplicates the sale value of the achenes per hectare of cultivated area. Thus, the current study highlights the importance of bees as providers of cross- and self-pollination to nutritional quality of sunflower achenes and provides useful baseline figures to further evaluations of the effects of pollinators on human diets and health

Chitosan/virgin-coconut-oil-based system enriched with cubosomes: a 3D drug-delivery approach

Emulsion-based systems that combine natural polymers with vegetable oils have been identified as a promising research avenue for developing structures with potential for biomedical applications. Herein, chitosan (CHT), a natural polymer, and virgin coconut oil (VCO), a resource obtained from coconut kernels, were combined to create an emulsion system. Phytantriol-based cubosomes encapsulating sodium diclofenac, an anti-inflammatory drug, were further dispersed into CHT/VCO- based emulsion. Then, the emulsions were frozen and freeze-dried to produce scaffolds. The scaffolds had a porous structure ranging from 20.4 to 73.4 µm, a high swelling ability (up to 900%) in PBS, and adequate stiffness, notably in the presence of cubosomes. Moreover, a well-sustained release of the entrapped diclofenac in the cubosomes into the CHT/VCO-based system, with an accumulated release of 45 ± 2%, was confirmed in PBS, compared to free diclofenac dispersed (80 ± 4%) into CHT/VCO-based structures. Overall, the present approach opens up new avenues for designing porous biomaterials for drug delivery through a sustainable pathway.The authors especially acknowledge the financial support from the Portuguese FCT (grants CEECIND/01306/2018, SFRH/BPD/93697/2013, and SFRH/BPD/85790/2012). This work was also financially supported by the FCT R&D&I project, with reference PTDC/BII-BIO/31570/2017, and the R&D&I Structured Projects, with reference NORTE-01-0145-FDER-000021. We also acknowledge the financial support from São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) in Brasil through projects 2015/25406-5 and 2021/12071-6, and for the postdoctoral grant to D.G.V., 2019/12665-3. The project 2018/08045-7 is part of a bilateral agreement between FAPESP and the FCT (Portugal), involving the project Nature4Health

Estado nutricional e função pulmonar em pacientes com doença pulmonar obstrutiva crônica

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the nutritional status of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and to investigate the association between nutrition and pulmonary function in these patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We selected 210 patients with COPD (148 men and 62 women) who were divided into three groups of 70 patients depending on severity of disease: mild, moderate or severe. The association between nutritional status and pulmonary function was studied by measuring body mass index (BMI), forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1), and the FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio. RESULTS: Patient age ranged from 41 to 91 years (mean 65.7 ± 9.4 years). Means of BMI in the groups with mild, moderate and severe COPD were, respectively, 24.7, 25.1 and 23.7 kg/m2 (P = 0.1). Most patients (70.5%) had BMI between 20 and 29.9 kg/m2. Among the patients with BMI &lt; 20 kg/m2 , 24.3% had mild COPD, 43.2% had moderate COPD, and 32.4% had severe COPD. The correlation coefficient between BMI and FEV1 was 0.15, and between BMI and FEV1 /FVC, 0.22. CONCLUSION: There was no association between nutritional status and decreased pulmonary function in our studyOBJETIVO: Avaliar o estado nutricional de pacientes com doença pulmonar obstrutiva crônica (DPOC) e estudar a relação entre nutrição e função pulmonar nesses pacientes.&nbsp;PACIENTES E MÉTODOS: Foram selecionados 210 pacientes com DPOC (148 homens e 62 mulheres), separados em três grupos de 70 pacientes de acordo com a gravidade da doença: grau leve, moderado e grave. A associação entre estado nutricional e função pulmonar foi estudada usando o índice de massa corporal (IMC), o volume expiratório forçado no primeiro segundo (VEF1) e a relação VEF1/capacidade vital forçada (CVF).RESULTADOS: A idade dos pacientes variou entre 41 e 91 anos (média de 65,7 ± 9,4 anos). As médias do IMC nos grupos com DPOC leve, moderada e grave foram, respectivamente, 24,7, 25,1 e 23,7 kg/m2 (P = 0,1). A maioria dos pacientes (70,5%) apresentava IMC entre 20 e 29,9 kg/m2. Entre os pacientes com IMC &lt; 20 kg/m2, 24,3% apresentavam DPOC leve, 43,2% DPOC moderada e 32,4% DPOC grave. O coeficiente de correlação entre IMC e VEF1 foi 0,15, e entre IMC e relação VEF1 /CVF foi 0,22.CONCLUSÃO: Não houve associação entre estado nutricional e comportamento funcional pulmonar em nosso estudo