Quality Evaluation of Meals served at a Portuguese Hospital

[resumo][abstract

Expression profile of genes potentially associated with adequate glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

CAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIORFAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULODespite increasing research in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D), there are few studies showing the impact of the poor glycemic control on biological processes occurring in T2D. In order to identify potential genes related to poorly/well-controlled patients2017CAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIORFAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIORFAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOsem informação2007/08362-82009/16233-92010/10882-

A study to guide breeding of new cultivars of organic cherry tomato following a consumer-driven approach

AbstractAgricultural studies focusing on the development and/or improvement of new varieties of fruits and vegetables usually prioritize the productivity, disease resistance, response to fertilization, and higher nutrient content. However, new product development needs to take into account not only flavour preference, but also consumer preference for appearance since without tasting products, consumers have to make decisions based on the way a product looks. The present study evaluated the sensory characteristics and consumer preference of ten promising accessions of organic cherry tomato for fresh consumption aiming at identifying the sensory attributes related to appearance that contributed to consumer liking/disliking the fruit. More specifically, the objective of the study was to guide producers regarding the target appearance attributes that play a role on consumer acceptance of cherry tomatoes. Ten accessions of organic cherry tomatoes were evaluated by a trained panel using the QDA methodology, and also by 80 tomato consumers for the acceptance of appearance and intention to purchase. The results achieved after integrating these two data sets (from the trained panel and consumers) in a multidimensional map allowed the elucidation of consumer liking of tomatoes in relation to the appearance, i.e. drivers of liking/disliking were identified. Results revealed that tomatoes with round shape and red colour (reddish) (cultivar ENAS 1031, ENAS 1010, ‘Perinha Agua Branca’, Super Sweet, and ‘Joana’) were the most liked cherry tomatoes. Those genotypes were also liked by the smallest segment (17.5% of participants) but for them unusual shapes (oblong and pear), orange-yellow colour, and bigger size were also liked. Despite the small number of participants in this study (80 consumers), new shapes and colours for the organic cherry tomatoes could be considered promising alternatives in the Brazilian market, and can be an opportunity for the producers of the state of Rio de Janeiro

Development of bioactive purple-red colorants from red raspberry waste using heat/ultrasound-assisted extractions coupled with RSM

Food colorants are increasingly used in the industry to preserve, improve or change the color of a wide range of food products. While the quite controversial artificial colorants are widely used in this sector, the natural counterparts have been less selected in part due to the limited availability of options, higher costs, and stability issues [1]. Within this additive class, anthocyanins are naturally occurring pigments that can be found in different plant matrices, including berries such as red raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.). These water-soluble compounds show attractive colors ranging from red to purple and present health-promoting effects [2,3]. Therefore, this work aimed to develop a novel anthocyanin-rich food colorant from red raspberry waste through the optimization of a sustainable extraction methodology and to characterize this ingredient for its functionality. Heat (HAE)- and ultrasound (UAE)-assisted extraction methods were implemented to recover the anthocyanins from red raspberry waste. Processing time, ethanol concentration, and temperature or ultrasonic power were the independent variables analyzed in central composite designs coupled with response surface methodology for processes optimization. The extraction yield and levels of anthocyanins (cyanidin-3-O-sophoroside and cyanidin-3-O-glucoside) were monitored gravimetrically and by HPLC-DAD-ESI/MSn, respectively, and used as response criteria. The constructed polynomial models were fitted to the experimental data, statistically validated, and used to determine the optimal processing conditions. Overall, HAE originated slightly higher response values (61% extract weight and 8.7 mg anthocyanins/g extract) but needed 76 min processing at 38 °C, with 21% ethanol, while the UAE process required 16 min sonication at 466 W, using 38% ethanol, to obtain 58% extract weight and 8.3 mg anthocyanins/g extract. The predictive models were experimentally validated and the purple-red extracts obtained under optimal condition showed antioxidant activity through lipid peroxidation and oxidative hemolysis inhibition, and antibacterial effects against food-related bacteria, such as Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis [4]. These results highlighted the potential of the developed red raspberry extracts as natural food colorants with bioactive/preserving effects. In future studies, it will be interesting to investigate the stability of the developed anthocyanin-rich extracts when exposed to different adverse factors and in real food matrices.To the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020). M. Añibarro-Ortega thanks FCT for his PhD grant (2020.06297.BD). National funding by FCT, P.I., through the individual and institutional scientific employment program-contract for the J. Pinela (CEECIND/01011/2018) and L. Barros contracts, respectively. This research was funded by FEDER-Interreg España-Portugal programme through the Project TRANSCoLAB 0612_TRANS_CO_LAB_2_P, and by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Regional Operational Program North 2020, within the scope of Project Mobilizador Norte-01-0247-FEDER-024479: ValorNatural® and Project GreenHealth - Norte-01-0145- FEDER-000042. The authors thank Ponto Agrícola Unipessoal, Lda for the plant material.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Richness and abundance of anurans (amphibia) in pasture and secondary forest areas near to Porto Velho (Rondonia, Brazil)

The Amazon has a great biodiversity, however in this regions some locations still without no research, showing the need for studies in this localities. The lack of information about the diversity of frogs and the speed of change in the landscape that have been taking place on the planet, demonstrates the urgent need to preserve the remaining resources. In this adverse scenario, live frogs that are sensitive to changes in natural forest areas, and are recognized as Bioindicator of environmental integrity. The present study had scoped to do a survey of the anuran species in a country area, near to the city of Porto Velho (RO). This land, is formed by two separate areas, one classified as secondary forests and the other as pasture area. The sampling was carried out from January to may 2012, using tools and techniques for catch in the night delimited by time, pitfall traps and frogs occasional meetings Were captured 63 specimens of Anurans, distributed in six families, where the richest in species were the Leptodactylidae (n = 6), Hylidae (n = 5), Bufonidae (n = 4), Microhylidae (n = 2), Brachycephalidae (n = 2) and Aromobatidae (n = 2), totaling 21 species identified.The most abundant species were the Leptodactylus chaquensis (n = 12) and Leptodactylus andreae (n = 8). The pasture area exhibited the greatest number of individuals captured with 65.07% of all frogs collected

The predictive role of raw bioelectrical impedance parameters in water compartments and fluid distribution assessed by dilution techniques in athletes

The aims of this study were to analyze the usefulness of raw bioelectrical impedance (BI) parameters in assessing water compartments and fluid distribution in athletes. A total of 202 men and 71 female athletes were analyzed. Total body water (TBW) and extracellular water (ECW) were determined by dilution techniques, while intracellular water (ICW) was calculated. Fluid distribution was calculated as the ECW/ICW ratio (E:I). Phase angle (PhA), resistance (R) and reactance (Xc) were obtained through BI spectroscopy using frequency 50kHz. Fat (FM) and fat\u2010free mass (FFM) were assessed by dual\u2010energy X\u2010ray absorptiometry. After adjusting for height, FM, FFM, age and sports category we observed that: PhA predicted ICW (females: \u3b2 = 1.62, p < 0.01; males: \u3b2 = 2.70, p < 0.01) and E:I (males and females: \u3b2 = 120.08; p < 0.01); R explained TBW (females: \u3b2 = 120.03; p < 0.01; males: \u3b2 = 120.06; p < 0.01) and ECW (females: \u3b2 = \u20130.02, p < 0.01; males: \u3b2 = 120.03, p < 0.01) and ICW (females: \u3b2 = \u20130.01, p < 0.053; males: \u3b2 = \u20130.03 p < 0.01); and Xc predicted ECW (females: \u3b2 = 120.06, p < 0.01; males: \u3b2 = 120.12, p < 0.01). A higher PhA is a good predictor of a larger ICW pool and a lower E:I, regardless of body composition, age, height, and sports category. Lower R is associated with higher water pools whereas ECW expansion is explained by lower Xc. Raw BI parameters are useful predictors of total and extracellular pools, cellular hydration and fluid distribution in athletes

Wave function mapping conditions in Open Quantum Dots structures

We discuss the minimal conditions for wave function spectroscopy, in which resonant tunneling is the measurement tool. Two systems are addressed: resonant tunneling diodes, as a toy model, and open quantum dots. The toy model is used to analyze the crucial tunning between the necessary resolution in current-voltage characteristics and the breakdown of the wave functions probing potentials into a level splitting characteristic of double quantum wells. The present results establish a parameter region where the wavefunction spectroscopy by resonant tunneling could be achieved. In the case of open quantum dots, a breakdown of the mapping condition is related to a change into a double quantum dot structure induced by the local probing potential. The analogy between the toy model and open quantum dots show that a precise control over shape and extention of the potential probes is irrelevant for wave function mapping. Moreover, the present system is a realization of a tunable Fano system in the wave function mapping regime.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure

The Dark Matter Density in the Solar Neighborhood reconsidered

Both the gas flaring and the dip in the rotation curve, which was recently reconfirmed with precise measurements using the VERA VLBI array in Japan, suggest doughnut-like substructure in the dark matter (DM) halo. A global fit to all available data shows that the data are indeed best described by an NFW DM profile complemented by two doughnut-like DM substructures with radii of 4.2 and 12.4 kpc, which coincide with the local dust ring and the Monocerus ring of stars, respectively. Both regions have been suggested as regions with tidal streams from "shredded" satellites. If real, the radial extensions of these nearby ringlike structures enhance the local dark matter density by a factor of four to about 1.3$\pm0.3$ GeV/cm$^3$. It is shown that i) this higher DM density is perfectly consistent with the local gravitational potential determining the surface density and the local matter density (Oort limit), ii) previous determinations of the surface density were biased by the assumption of a smoothly varying DM halo and iii) the s-shaped gas flaring is explained. Such a possible enhancement of the local DM density is of great interest for direct DM searches and would change the directional dependence for indirect DM searches.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, extended version, accepted for publication in JCA

RNA sequencing reveals region-specific molecular mechanisms associated with epileptogenesis in a model of classical hippocampal sclerosis

We report here the first complete transcriptome analysis of the dorsal (dDG) and ventral dentate gyrus (vDG) of a rat epilepsy model presenting a hippocampal lesion with a strict resemblance to classical hippocampal sclerosis (HS). We collected the dDG6CAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIORFAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOsem informaçãosem informaçãosem informaçã

Extraction of anthocyanins from red raspberry for natural food colorants development: Processes optimization and in vitro bioactivity

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Heat (HAE)-and ultrasound (UAE)-assisted extraction methods were implemented to recover anthocyanins from red raspberry. Processing time, ethanol concentration, and temperature or ultrasonic power were the independent variables combined in five-level rotatable central composite designs coupled with response surface methodology (RSM) for processes optimization. The extraction yield and levels of cyanidin-3-O-sophoroside (C3S) and cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (C3G) were monitored by gravimetric and HPLC-DAD-ESI/MSn methods, respectively, and used as response criteria. The constructed theoretical models were successfully fitted to the experimental data and used to determine the optimal extraction conditions. When maximizing all responses simultaneously, HAE originated slightly higher response values (61% extract weight and 8.7 mg anthocyanins/g extract) but needed 76 min processing at 38â—¦ C, with 21% ethanol (v/v), while the UAE process required 16 min sonication at 466 W, using 38% ethanol (v/v). The predictive models were experimentally validated, and the purple-red extracts obtained under optimal condition showed antioxidant activity through lipid peroxidation and oxidative hemolysis inhibition, and antibacterial effects against food-related microorganisms, such as Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis. These results highlight the potential of red raspberry extracts as natural food colorants with bioactive effects and could be exploited by industries interested in the production of anthocyanin-based products.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio