Tangerines cultivated on Madeira Island: a high throughput natural source of bioactive compounds

Tangerines (Citrus reticulata) are popular fruits worldwide, being rich in many bioactive metabolites. The setubalense variety cultivated on Madeira Island has an intense aroma easily distinguishable from other tangerines, being traditionally used to enrich several foods and beverages. Nonetheless, setubalense volatile composition has never been characterized, and we aimed to unveil the bioactive potential of peels and juices of setubalense tangerines and compare them with the murcott variety grown in Portugal mainland. Using headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography mass spectrometry (HS-SPME/GC-MS), we identified a total of 128 volatile organic metabolites (VOMs) in the juice and peels, with d-limonene, γ-terpinene, β-myrcene, α- and β-pinene, o-cymene, and terpinolene, the most dominant in both cultivars. In contrast, setubalense juices are richer in terpenes, many of them associated with health protection. Discriminant analysis revealed a pool of VOMs, including β-caryophyllene and E-ocimene, with bioactive properties able to differentiate among tangerines according to variety and sample type (peel vs. juice). This is the first report on the volatile composition of setubalense tangerines grown on Madeira Island revealing that its pungent aroma is constituted by secondary metabolites with specific aroma notes and health properties. This is strong evidence of the higher nutraceutical value of such fruit for the human diet.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The potential of microextraction techniques for the analysis of bioactive compounds in food

For a long time, the importance of sample preparation and extraction in the analytical performance of the most diverse methodologies have been neglected. Cumbersome techniques, involving high sample and solvent volumes have been gradually miniaturized from solid-phase and liquid-liquid extractions formats and microextractions approaches are becoming the standard in different fields of research. In this context, this review is devoted to the analysis of bioactive compounds in foods using different microextraction approaches reported in the literature since 2015. But microextraction also represents an opportunity to mitigate the environmental impact of organic solvents usage, as well as lab equipment. For this reason, in the recent literature, phenolics and alkaloids extraction from fruits, medicinal herbs, juices, and coffee using different miniaturized formats of solid-phase extraction and liquid-liquid microextraction are the most popular applications. However, more ambitious analytical limits are continuously being reported and emergent sorbents based on carbon nanotubes and magnetic nanoparticles will certainly contribute to this trend. Additionally, ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents constitute already the most recent forefront of innovation, substituting organic solvents and further improving the current microextraction approaches.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Evaluation of the Health-Promoting Properties of Selected Fruits

In this study, the health-promoting benefits of different fruits grown in Madeira Island, namely lemon (Citrus limon var. eureka), tangerine (Citrus reticulata var. setubalense), pitanga (Eugenia uniflora var. red), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum var. gordal) and uva-da-serra, an endemic blueberry (Vaccinium padifolium Sm.), were investigated. The phenolic composition (total phenolics and total flavonoids content) and antioxidant capacity (assessed through ABTS and DPPH assays) were measured revealing a high phenolic potential for all fruits, except tomato, while uva-da-serra is particularly rich in flavonoids. In relation to the antioxidant capacity, the highest values were obtained for pitanga and uva-da-serra extracts. The bioactive potential was also assessed through the ability of the extracts to inhibit digestive enzymes linked to diabetes (α-amylase, α- and β glucosidases) and hypertension (angiotensin-converting enzyme, ACE). The results obtained point to a very high bioactive potential with the selected samples exhibiting very important ACE anti enzymatic capacities. A statistical analysis of the obtained data reveals a very strong correlation between ABTS and TPC, and a strong contribution of the fruit polyphenols for enzyme inhibition, and thus, presenting high antihypertensive and antidiabetic capacities. Overall, the results obtained clearly show a high bioactive potential of the selected fruits that should be further studied, in terms of specific phenolic composition. Moreover, these results strongly support the valorisation of pitanga seeds usually discarded as a waste, and uva-da-serra, an endemic and wild bush, as potential bioresources of bioactive compounds with impact in human diet.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A vocação da Amazônia é florestal e a criação de novos estados pode levar ao aumento do desflorestamento na Amazônia brasileira

The state of Pará has a rich diversity of ecosystems. However, it is one of the states that the most contribute with the deforestation of Amazonian. Actually, 22% of the state was deforested. Currently, a new policy of occupation is being studied for the Amazonian, based on the creation of new states. The creation of new states can increase deforestation in the Amazonian, especially in regions where the agricultural frontier and minerals activities are intense such as the state of Para. This study compares the changes of the representativeness of protected areas and deforestation, considering the proposed of division of the Para in three new states. The creation of new states can lead to a reduction or elimination of the protected areas resulting in the increase of the deforestation. Another serious consequence of the creation of new states will be the extinction of the Ecological-Economic Zoning of Para, an important instrument of public policy. The creation of new states must be preceded by studies involving the evaluation of the environmental, social and economic variables. One of the most serious consequences if it is not taken into consideration is the creation of a legal vacuum that will be used to increase the pressure on natural resources of the Amazon.O Pará detém uma rica diversidade de ecossistemas. Contudo, é um dos Estados que mais contribuem para o desmatamento na Amazônia. Atualmente, 22% do Estado foram desflorestados. Uma nova política de ocupação está sendo estudada para a Amazônia, baseada na criação de novos Estados. A criação de novos Estados pode aumentar o desmatamento na Amazônia, especialmente em regiões onde a fronteira agropecuária e mineraria é intensa como no Pará. Este estudo compara as mudanças da representatividade das áreas protegidas e do desmatamento, considerando a proposta de divisão do Estado do Pará em três novos Estados. A criação dos novos Estados pode levar a uma diminuição ou mesmo eliminação de algumas unidades de conservação, o que terá como consequência direta o aumento do desmatamento. Outra consequência grave da criação de novos Estados será a extinção do Zoneamento Ecológico-Econômico do Pará, um importante instrumento de políticas públicas. A criação de novos Estados deve ser precedida de estudos que envolvam uma avaliação criteriosa dos impactos ambientais, sociais e econômicos. Umas das consequências mais graves se isso não for levado em consideração é a criação de um vácuo jurídico que será aproveitado para aumentar a pressão nos recursos naturais da Amazônia

Urinary Volatomic Expression Pattern: Paving the Way for Identification of Potential Candidate Biosignatures for Lung Cancer

The urinary volatomic profiling of Indian cohorts composed of 28 lung cancer (LC) pa tients and 27 healthy subjects (control group, CTRL) was established using headspace solid phase microextraction technique combined with gas chromatography mass spectrometry methodology as a powerful approach to identify urinary volatile organic metabolites (uVOMs) to discriminate among LC patients from CTRL. Overall, 147 VOMs of several chemistries were identified in the intervention groups—including naphthalene derivatives, phenols, and organosulphurs—augmented in the LC group. In contrast, benzene and terpenic derivatives were found to be more prevalent in the CTRL group. The volatomic data obtained were processed using advanced statistical analysis, namely partial least square discriminative analysis (PLS-DA), support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF), and multilayer perceptron (MLP) methods. This resulted in the identification of nine uVOMs with a higher potential to discriminate LC patients from CTRL subjects. These were furan, o-cymene, furfural, linalool oxide, viridiflorene, 2-bromo-phenol, tricyclazole, 4-methyl-phenol, and 1-(4-hydroxy-3,5-di-tert-butylphenyl)-2-methyl-3-morpholinopropan-1-one. The metabolic pathway analysis of the data obtained identified several altered biochemical pathways in LC mainly affecting glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, pyruvate metabolism, and fatty acid biosynthesis. Moreover, acetate and octanoic, decanoic, and dodecanoic fatty acids were identified as the key metabolites responsible for such deregulation. Furthermore, studies involving larger cohorts of LC patients would allow us to consolidate the data obtained and challenge the potential of the uVOMs as candidate biomarkers for LC.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Cultivation of algae in photobioreator and obtention of biodiesel

In this work we described the cultivation of Chlorella vulgaris in a photobioreactor to algal biomass production. The dried biomass was used as feedstock for biodiesel production, it presented 26% lipids and via sonocatalysis stage of the methodology resulted in 60% of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME). The FAME content was confirmed by Gas Chromatography (GC).CNPqFAPERGSCoordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES

Remoção de retentores com ultrassom: Análise do tempo e aquecimento radicular

 Objetivo: Avaliar o tempo de vibração necessário para remover retentores metálicos cimentados com fosfato de zinco em dentes caninos inferiores humanos extraídos, analisando também o aquecimento radicular gerado na superfície externa ao se empregar um ou dois aparelhos de ultrassom para a remoção. Métodos: Trinta caninos inferiores humanos receberam tratamento endodôntico, preparo do conduto padronizado, moldagem, confecção dos retentores e posterior cimentação. Na sequência os dentes foram aleatoriamente distribuídos em dois grupos, cujo procedimento de remoção foi realizado com um ou dois ultrassons e o tempo de vibração utilizado até a remoção do retentor foi registrado com cronômetro. O aquecimento foi mensurado por termopares fixados na superfície radicular externa nos três terços da raiz. Resultados: O tempo de retirada com dois ultrassons foi significativamente menor (p=0,002) do que aquele observado ao se utilizar apenas um aparelho (38,02±10,66 < 109,21±30,92 segundos). Em relação à diferença da temperatura entre o momento em que foi mais elevada e aquela no momento inicial, houve um efeito significativo do terço do dente analisado (p<0,001), porém, não foi observado um efeito significativo da técnica empregada para a retirada do retentor (p=0,511) e nenhuma interação entre estes dois fatores (p=0,070). Conclusões: O tempo de vibração necessário para remover retentores metálicos com o ultrassom mostrou-se adequado, apresentando melhor desempenho quando usados dois aparelhos concomitantemente. O aquecimento radicular gerado (máximo registro < 4ºC) foi inferior ao limite padrão usado na literatura científica (10ºC), independente da técnica escolhida.  Palavras-chave: Remoção de retentores. Aquecimento radicular. Ultrassom

Association between circulating exhausted CD4+ T cells with poor meningococcal C conjugate vaccine antibody response in HIV-infected children and adolescents

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the expression levels of surface markers of activation (CD38 and HLA-DR), inhibition (PD-1, TIGIT and CD57) and co-stimulation (CD28 and CD127) on CD4+ T cells of children/adolescents with vertical HIV infection (HI patients) and HIV-uninfected (HU) controls vaccinated with the meningococcal C conjugate vaccine (MCC). METHODS: HI patients (n=12), aged 8–17 years, were immunized with two MCC injections, while HU controls (n=9), aged 5.3–10.7 years, received a single MCC dose (as per national recommendation at the time of this study, a single MCC vaccine dose should be given for healthy children and youth aged 1–18 years). The HI patients were categorized according to the combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) treatment. Blood samples were obtained before vaccination, after priming, and after the administration of a booster dose of vaccine to determine the serum bactericidal antibody (SBA) titers and the expression levels of surface markers on CD4+ T cells by flow cytometry. The levels of serum cytokines, IL-4 and CXCL-13 were also measured using Luminex kits. RESULTS: The co-expression of the TIGIT-HLA-DR-CD38 molecules increased in the CD4+ T cells of HI patients/ no-cART who also showed a lower frequency of CD127+CD28+ CD4+ T cells than HI patients/cART and HU group subjects. There were significant negative correlations between the frequency of exhausted CD4+ T cells and the SBA response. IL-4 levels were higher in HI patients/cART and positively correlated with SBA titers but negatively associated with the expression of exhaustion markers. Moreover, the CXCL-13 levels were positively correlated with the exhausted CD4+ T cells. CONCLUSION: The results of our study suggest that the co-expression of exhaustion markers and/or loss of co-stimulatory molecules influence the SBA response in HI patients