A influência das características da água para a estabilidade química, física, microbiológica e sensorial dos produtos alimentares

Mestrado em Bioquímica - Bioquímica AlimentarA empresa Mendes Gonçalves, SA dedica-se à produção de vinagres, molhos e temperos. O aparecimento de turvação/sedimentos e perda de cor nos vinagres pela presença de anidrido sulfuroso é uma problemática das indústrias vinagreiras, sendo importante para a empresa a sua resolução. Por outro lado a água é o principal constituinte dos produtos da empresa consequentemente as suas caraterísticas físico-químicas afetam muitas das características físico-químicas, microbiológicas e sensoriais destes produtos. Os objetivos deste trabalho foram 1) avaliar a influência das caraterísticas da água na produção de vinagres e maionese e 2) estudar a conservação do vinagre de sidra utilizando filmes à base de quitosana. Este trabalho permitiu determinar o tratamento mais adequado a ser aplicado na água obtida na nova captação da empresa (furo novo) e a viabilidade da redução ou eliminação da utilização de dióxido de enxofre, utilizado como conservante no vinagre, garantindo a sua estabilidade microbiana e evitando a sua oxidação. Na produção dos vinagres (vinho branco, 6% em ácido acético, e sidra, 5%) e da maionese foi utilizada água do furo novo e água destilada. Os vinagres foram também elaborados com e sem metabissulfito de potássio para avaliar a viabilidade da redução ou eliminação deste conservante quando se utiliza água destilada. Foram realizadas análises ao pH, turvação, cor, acidez e sensoriais durante 3 meses. As amostras de vinagre produzidas com água destilada sem adição de metabissulfito apresentaram melhores características sensoriais e maior estabilidade físico-química, não havendo formação de depósito e estabilização da cor. As amostras de vinagre tratadas com os filmes de quitosana levaram à clarificação do vinagre, apresentando uma menor turvação relativamente à amostra com metabissulfito. Estes vinagres apresentaram também uma cor mais estável, tendo-se observado um escurecimento no vinagre sem tratamento e uma cor demasiado clara no vinagre com metabissulfito. Relativamente à maionese, a nível sensorial e estabilidade de cor, a amostra produzida com água destilada apresentou um melhor sabor e uma maior estabilidade físico-química e microbiológica, comparativamente às elaboradas com a água do furo novo. Os resultados demonstram que a utilização de uma água com baixo teor de sais será uma mais-valia para a produção de vinagres e maionese. A formação de depósitos/nébulas nos vinagres poderá ser retardada ou prevenida, reduzindo a utilização de conservantes. Este efeito também pode ser potenciado com filmes à base de quitosanaMendes Gonçalves, SA is dedicated to the production of vinegars, sauces and seasonings. The turbidity / sediment formation and loss of colour in vinegars by the addition of sulphur anhydride is a problem of the vinegar industry. Consequently, it is very important for the company to solve it. On the other hand, water is the main constituent of Mendes Gonçalves products. Consequently, the amount and composition of water affect a large number of physico-chemical, microbiological and sensorial characteristics of these products. The objectives of this work are 1) to understand the influence of water composition in the production of vinegars and mayonnaise and 2) to study cider vinegar preservation using chitosan-based films. This work will allow determining the most appropriate treatment to be applied to the water obtained from the new water hole of the company and the viability to eliminate or reduce the use of sulphur anhydride, used as preservative, to assure microbiological stability and to avoid oxidation. In vinegars (white wine, 6% acetic acid, and cider, 5%) and mayonnaise production it was used water from the new hole and distilled water. In addition, the same vinegars were prepared with and without potassium metabisulphite to evaluate the viability of reduce or eliminate this preservative when used distilled water. Physicochemical and sensorial analyzes were performed along 3 months. Vinegar samples prepared with distilled water without metabisulphite showed better organoleptic characteristics and improved physico-chemical stability, namely no deposit formation and better colour attributes. The vinegar samples with chitosan films had a lower turbidity compared with the sample with metabisulphite due to the formation of a precipitate. This shows that chitosan films have potential to promote vinegar clarification. These vinegars also showed colour stability along storage, contrarily to the sample without treatment that became darker and the one with metabisulphite that became lighter. In the mayonnaise, the sample with distilled water showed better flavour and higher physico-chemical and microbiological stability when compared to the one prepared with water from the new hole. This work allows inferring that the use of water with lower content of salts may be an advantage for vinegar and mayonnaise production. The formation of deposits in vinegars can be delayed or even prevented by the use of water with this characteristic. This effect could be also enhanced by chitosan films

Interrelación enseñanza, investigación, extensión en los cursos de pregrado en salud

This article aimed to describe and evaluate the extension program "Integrating knowledge to the family integral care" composed of five projects that aimed to enrich knowledge and develop skills in the academic field, to accomplish health actions, based on the families' and community' needs. A total of 33 faculties from the nursing, medical and biomedical schools at the "Triângulo Mineiro Federal University" participated in the projects during eight months in the "Family Health Program", out-patient clinics and at the School Hospital, attending 2,000 clients. The faculty members were subjects in their own learning process, experiencing and reflecting upon this social reality. The program also favored inter-institutional integration, as well as, showed connection between teaching-research-extension.Este artigo tuvo por objetivo describir y evaluar el programa "Integrando conocimientos para la atención integral a la familia", compuesto por cinco proyectos que visaron ampliar conocimientos y desarrollar habilidades en el académico, para la realización de acciones de salud, con base en las necesidades de la familia y comunidad. Participaron 33 académicos de los cursos de enfermería, medicina y biomedicina de la Universidad Federal del Triángulo Mineiro", por ocho meses en los Programas de Salud de la Familia, ambulatorios y Hospital Escuela, atendiendo a 2.000 clientes. Los académicos fueron sujetos de su aprendizaje, vivenciando y reflexionando sobre la realidad social. El programa favoreció integración interinstitucional y indisociabilidad enseñanza-investigación-extensión.Este artigo objetivou descrever e avaliar o programa de extensão "Integrando saberes para a atenção integral à família" composto por cinco projetos que visaram ampliar conhecimentos e desenvolver habilidades no campo acadêmico, para a realização de ações em saúde, baseadas nas necessidades da família e comunidade. Participaram 33 acadêmicos dos cursos de enfermagem, medicina e biomedicina da Universidade Federal do Triângulo Mineiro, por oito meses nos Programa Saúde da Família, ambulatórios e Hospital Escola, atendendo 2.000 clientes. Os acadêmicos foram sujeitos de seu aprendizado, vivenciando e refletindo sobre a realidade social. O programa favoreceu integração interinstitucional e indissociabilidade entre ensino-pesquisa-extensão

El conocimiento de los profesores sobre el manejo de los niños diabéticos

Trata-se de um estudo seccional e descritivo que objetivou verificar o conhecimento dos professores sobre o diabetes mellitus e as dificuldades encontradas no manejo da criança com diabetes. Participaram 184 professores da educação infantil de escolas municipais do município de Uberaba-MG, entre os meses de abril e julho de 2009. Os dados foram coletados por meio de questionário e analisados por estatística descritiva. Os resultados evidenciaram que os professores investigados denotaram conhecimento sobre o que é diabetes (58,15%); no entanto, demonstraram desconhecer as manifestações clínicas (27,72%), as abordagens terapêuticas (33,70%) e as principais condutas adotadas diante de situações adversas (42,40%). Este estudo contribuiu para enfatizar a necessidade de capacitar os professores da educação infantil na temática diabetes mellitus, a fim de possibilitar a abordagem à criança com conhecimento e segurança.This is a descriptive and sectional study that aimed to verify the teachers' knowledge about the diabetes mellitus and the difficulties found in the management of children with diabetes. Participated 184 teachers of infant education in municipal schools of the city of Uberaba, Minas Gerais, between the months of April to July 2009. Data were collected through questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results showed that investigates teachers had denoted knowledge about what is diabetes (58.15%), however, showed disregard the clinical manifestations (27.72%), therapeutic approaches (33.70%) and the main procedures to be adopted in adverse situations (42.40%). This study contributed to emphasize the need to train teachers of the infant education in thematic diabetes in the subject, to enable the approach to children with knowledge and safety.Este estudio descriptivo de corte transversal tuvo como objetivo verificar el conocimiento sobre la diabetes mellitus y las dificultades encontradas por los profesores en el manejo de los niños diabéticos. El estudio se hizo con 184 profesores de educación preescolar en las escuelas municipales del municipio de Uberaba-MG, entre abril y julio de 2009. Los datos fueron recolectados a través de cuestionario y se analizaron mediante estadística descriptiva. Los resultados mostraron que los profesores entrevistados tienen conocimiento acerca de la diabetes (58,15%), sin embargo, mostraron desconocimiento sobre las manifestaciones clínicas (27,72%), los enfoques terapéuticos (33,70%) y los principales procedimientos que se adoptarán en situaciones adversas (42,40%). Este estudio contribuyó a resaltar la necesidad de capacitar a los maestros sobre el tema de la diabetes mellitus de la primera infancia, para permitir el acercamiento al niño con conocimiento y seguridad

Influence of monoterpenes in biological activities of Nectandra megapotamica (Spreng.) mez essential oils

Investigating the influence of seasonal variations on biological activities is important for pharmacological studies and metabolic engineering. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the variation of the chemical composition of essential oils obtained from Nectandra megapotamica leaves, collected at different stages of plant development, as well as its influence on the biological activities. A total of 38 compounds were identified that accounted for 97–99.2% of the chemical composition of the oils. Major differences were observed in the monoterpenic fraction, representing 5.1% of the compounds identified in the productive rest phase to 37.1% in the blooming phase. Bicyclogermacrene and germacrene D were the predominant compounds identified in the oil of all collections. Furthermore, limonene, β-pinene, and spathulenol were identified predominantly in the samples of blooming and fruiting phases. The oils exhibited significant antichemotactic activity and different effects in scavenging the radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl. Variations were also observed in the antifungal activity, with the minimum inhibitory concentrations ranging from 125 to 500 μg/mL. These results demonstrate the influence of monoterpenes, primarily limonene, α-pinene, and β-pinene, on the bioactivities of the oil. Studies investigating the variations in the chemical composition of essential oil may offer a strategy to produce a compound or a group of compounds of interest to industries with a specific pharmacological focus

Ultrasonication processing for the production of plant-based nanoemulsions

Plant-derived proteins have been emerging and growing in interest over the past few years, due to their interesting properties and the trend to replace animal-derived proteins [1]. Ultrasonication processing can be used to develop nanoemulsions based on plant proteins that are kinetically stabilized by their small dimension, unlike classic emulsions [2]. In this work, oil-in-water nanoemulsions were produced through high-speed homogenization, followed by ultrasonic homogenization (US), using different plant-derived proteins, including potato (Solanum tuberosum), lupin (Lupinus angustifolius), pea (Pisum sativum), chickpea (Cicer arietinum) and faba bean (Vicia faba) protein as emulsifiers. A central composite rotatable experimental design was used to evaluate the influence of three independent variables: water/oil ratio (65-75% of water), protein content (1-6%) and US time (1-7 min) on the size average (by intensity) and polydispersity index (PDI) of the nanoemulsions. A total of 17 experiments were performed with 14 three-level experimental points, and 3 replicates at the central point. The effect of the US time (0, 3, 4.5 and 6 min) in the potato and lupin proteins primary and secondary structures were analysed through SDS-PAGE electrophoresis and circular dichroism, respectively. Results showed that the use of potato, lupin and pea proteins lead to the formation of stable nanoemulsions, while chickpea and faba bean proteins resulted in non-stable nanoemulsions, with phase separation. The smallest mean droplet size for potato protein was 439.9 nm and PDI value 0.464 [21:73 (w/w) oil/water ratio, 6% of protein and 6 min of US]. The smallest mean droplet size for lupin protein was 505.5 nm and PDI value 0.434, and for pea protein the droplet size was 551.3 nm and PDI value 0.249 [23.6:73 (w/w) oil/water ratio, 3.4% of protein and 6 min of US]. Electrophoresis results show that for native potato and lupin samples the ultrasonication did not induce significant changes in the protein pattern, indicating that the US treatment did not modify the primary structure. Regarding the second structure, US did not change the secondary structure of potato protein but induced a slight increase of -helix for all US treatments for lupin protein. Stable nanoemulsions can be developed using plant-derived proteins and ultrasonication, foreseeing different applications in the food industry.This study was supported by the project cLabel+ (POCI-01-0247-FEDER-046080) cofinanced by Compete 2020, Lisbon 2020, Portugal 2020 and the European Union, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Multiomics analysis of naturally efficacious lipid nanoparticle coronas reveals high-density lipoprotein is necessary for their function

In terms of lipid nanoparticle (LNP) engineering, the relationship between particle composition, delivery efficacy, and the composition of the biocoronas that form around LNPs, is poorly understood. To explore this we analyze naturally efficacious biocorona compositions using an unbiased screening workflow. First, LNPs are complexed with plasma samples, from individual lean or obese male rats, and then functionally evaluated in vitro. Then, a fast, automated, and miniaturized method retrieves the LNPs with intact biocoronas, and multiomics analysis of the LNP-corona complexes reveals the particle corona content arising from each individual plasma sample. We find that the most efficacious LNP-corona complexes were enriched with high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and, compared to the commonly used corona-biomarker Apolipoprotein E, corona HDL content was a superior predictor of in-vivo activity. Using technically challenging and clinically relevant lipid nanoparticles, these methods reveal a previously unreported role for HDL as a source of ApoE and, form a framework for improving LNP therapeutic efficacy by controlling corona composition.</p

Atrasentan and renal events in patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease (SONAR): a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial

Background: Short-term treatment for people with type 2 diabetes using a low dose of the selective endothelin A receptor antagonist atrasentan reduces albuminuria without causing significant sodium retention. We report the long-term effects of treatment with atrasentan on major renal outcomes. Methods: We did this double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial at 689 sites in 41 countries. We enrolled adults aged 18–85 years with type 2 diabetes, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR)25–75 mL/min per 1·73 m 2 of body surface area, and a urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR)of 300–5000 mg/g who had received maximum labelled or tolerated renin–angiotensin system inhibition for at least 4 weeks. Participants were given atrasentan 0·75 mg orally daily during an enrichment period before random group assignment. Those with a UACR decrease of at least 30% with no substantial fluid retention during the enrichment period (responders)were included in the double-blind treatment period. Responders were randomly assigned to receive either atrasentan 0·75 mg orally daily or placebo. All patients and investigators were masked to treatment assignment. The primary endpoint was a composite of doubling of serum creatinine (sustained for ≥30 days)or end-stage kidney disease (eGFR <15 mL/min per 1·73 m 2 sustained for ≥90 days, chronic dialysis for ≥90 days, kidney transplantation, or death from kidney failure)in the intention-to-treat population of all responders. Safety was assessed in all patients who received at least one dose of their assigned study treatment. The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01858532. Findings: Between May 17, 2013, and July 13, 2017, 11 087 patients were screened; 5117 entered the enrichment period, and 4711 completed the enrichment period. Of these, 2648 patients were responders and were randomly assigned to the atrasentan group (n=1325)or placebo group (n=1323). Median follow-up was 2·2 years (IQR 1·4–2·9). 79 (6·0%)of 1325 patients in the atrasentan group and 105 (7·9%)of 1323 in the placebo group had a primary composite renal endpoint event (hazard ratio [HR]0·65 [95% CI 0·49–0·88]; p=0·0047). Fluid retention and anaemia adverse events, which have been previously attributed to endothelin receptor antagonists, were more frequent in the atrasentan group than in the placebo group. Hospital admission for heart failure occurred in 47 (3·5%)of 1325 patients in the atrasentan group and 34 (2·6%)of 1323 patients in the placebo group (HR 1·33 [95% CI 0·85–2·07]; p=0·208). 58 (4·4%)patients in the atrasentan group and 52 (3·9%)in the placebo group died (HR 1·09 [95% CI 0·75–1·59]; p=0·65). Interpretation: Atrasentan reduced the risk of renal events in patients with diabetes and chronic kidney disease who were selected to optimise efficacy and safety. These data support a potential role for selective endothelin receptor antagonists in protecting renal function in patients with type 2 diabetes at high risk of developing end-stage kidney disease. Funding: AbbVie

The IDENTIFY study: the investigation and detection of urological neoplasia in patients referred with suspected urinary tract cancer - a multicentre observational study

Objective To evaluate the contemporary prevalence of urinary tract cancer (bladder cancer, upper tract urothelial cancer [UTUC] and renal cancer) in patients referred to secondary care with haematuria, adjusted for established patient risk markers and geographical variation. Patients and Methods This was an international multicentre prospective observational study. We included patients aged ≥16 years, referred to secondary care with suspected urinary tract cancer. Patients with a known or previous urological malignancy were excluded. We estimated the prevalence of bladder cancer, UTUC, renal cancer and prostate cancer; stratified by age, type of haematuria, sex, and smoking. We used a multivariable mixed-effects logistic regression to adjust cancer prevalence for age, type of haematuria, sex, smoking, hospitals, and countries. Results Of the 11 059 patients assessed for eligibility, 10 896 were included from 110 hospitals across 26 countries. The overall adjusted cancer prevalence (n = 2257) was 28.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 22.3–34.1), bladder cancer (n = 1951) 24.7% (95% CI 19.1–30.2), UTUC (n = 128) 1.14% (95% CI 0.77–1.52), renal cancer (n = 107) 1.05% (95% CI 0.80–1.29), and prostate cancer (n = 124) 1.75% (95% CI 1.32–2.18). The odds ratios for patient risk markers in the model for all cancers were: age 1.04 (95% CI 1.03–1.05; P < 0.001), visible haematuria 3.47 (95% CI 2.90–4.15; P < 0.001), male sex 1.30 (95% CI 1.14–1.50; P < 0.001), and smoking 2.70 (95% CI 2.30–3.18; P < 0.001). Conclusions A better understanding of cancer prevalence across an international population is required to inform clinical guidelines. We are the first to report urinary tract cancer prevalence across an international population in patients referred to secondary care, adjusted for patient risk markers and geographical variation. Bladder cancer was the most prevalent disease. Visible haematuria was the strongest predictor for urinary tract cancer

Diseño de una mesa-consola para centros de control

Treball final de Grau en Enginyeria en Disseny Industrial i Desenvolupament de Productes. Codi: DI1048. Curs acadèmic: 2017/2018El objeto del trabajo es diseñar y proyectar una mesa - consola que se adapte a las necesidades de los puestos de trabajo de los Centros de Control. El diseño consiste en un sistema modular que permita configurar la distribución de las distintas estaciones de trabajo, según las necesidades de cada empresa y su disponibilidad de espacios. Se trata de un mobiliario técnico que tiene que integrar los diferentes equipos que necesita el usuario para desarrollar su trabajo: Monitores, CPUs, teléfonos, sonido, soportes, tomas eléctricas, almacenamiento en papel, equipos domóticos, iluminación… La integración de los elementos se hará poniendo como premisa la buena distribución del área de trabajo y la accesibilidad de los equipos. Además, teniendo en cuenta las prestaciones ergonómicas y funcionales propias del puesto. El trabajo se justifica teniendo en cuenta el auge y la importancia que tienen los Centros de Control. Cada vez existen más procesos que se dirigen desde puestos centralizados mediante control permanente, sin tener que desplazarse al campo. En estos puestos se concentra y monitoriza toda la información y se actúa en remoto para intervenir sobre los procesos