Use of fruit epicarps to formulate pectin-based bioactive films / Utilização de epicarpos de frutos para formulação de filmes bioativos à base de pectinas

The functional properties of biofilms can vary according to the biopolymer used as the raw material; thus, in the search for alternative sources for preparation of biodegradable films, fruits and vegetables have been used to extract compounds of interest with applications in the food industry. The objective of this work was to obtain and characterize bioactive films based on pectin extracted from the epicarps (skin) of the fruit. The genipap (Genipa americana), red pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus) and star fruit (Averrhoa carambola) were collected, washed, pulped and dried at 50 °C for 24 h, and their epicarps were ground and subjected to pectin extraction using the casting method. The films were characterized as to their visual appearance, moisture, pH, water solubility and antioxidant activity. The pectin-based films of G. americana and H. polyrhizus showed a yellowish color, while A. carambola was dark brown. The highest pectin yield (29%) and moisture content (13.9%) were obtained from the H. polyrhizus film, while A. carambola showed the highest solubility in water (98.6%) and had the highest pH (3.9). Additionally, the film based on A. carambola showed greater antioxidant potential against ABTS (30.5%) and DPPH (34%), as well as greater reducing power (0.262 absorbance at 750 nm) and content of total phenolic compounds (553 mg GAE/100 g), whereas H. polyrhizus had a higher percentage of chelating ability (27%). The physicochemical characteristics and bioactive properties exhibited make the film formulation a viable alternative for the food industry

Evaluation of information systems focusing on user satisfaction: a study developed in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte – MG

This paper presents the results of a study developed in organizations located in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte, in Minas Gerais state. The research aimed to evaluate: (a) the information systems (IS) used by the organizations; (b) the information provided by the IS; and (c) the satisfaction of the IS’s users. The study was based on a questionnaire applied to 335 users of several IS’s at 161 different companies. The following techniques were used to analyze the data: (i) descriptive statistics; (ii) exploratory factor analysis; (iii) Kolmogorov- -Smirnov test; (iv) analysis of variance (ANOVA); and (v) the Tukey test. It was found that the users evaluated every analyzed attribute of the IS’s, and the information provided by them, as “good”. Moreover, the users most satisfied with the IS usually responded positively to the attributes evaluated

NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES: a data set on carnivore distribution in the Neotropics

Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecological health and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carnivores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide management and conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropical region: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae. Herein, we include published and unpublished data on native terrestrial Neotropical carnivores (Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae). NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES is a publicly available data set that includes 99,605 data entries from 35,511 unique georeferenced coordinates. Detection/non-detection and quantitative data were obtained from 1818 to 2018 by researchers, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private consultants. Data were collected using several methods including camera trapping, museum collections, roadkill, line transect, and opportunistic records. Literature (peer-reviewed and grey literature) from Portuguese, Spanish and English were incorporated in this compilation. Most of the data set consists of detection data entries (n = 79,343; 79.7%) but also includes non-detection data (n = 20,262; 20.3%). Of those, 43.3% also include count data (n = 43,151). The information available in NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES will contribute to macroecological, ecological, and conservation questions in multiple spatio-temporal perspectives. As carnivores play key roles in trophic interactions, a better understanding of their distribution and habitat requirements are essential to establish conservation management plans and safeguard the future ecological health of Neotropical ecosystems. Our data paper, combined with other large-scale data sets, has great potential to clarify species distribution and related ecological processes within the Neotropics. There are no copyright restrictions and no restriction for using data from this data paper, as long as the data paper is cited as the source of the information used. We also request that users inform us of how they intend to use the data