Pseudocereals have gained attention due to their adaptability to different climates, high nutritional value, and suitability for gluten-free and plant-based diets. However, a challenge lies in the necessary adaptations in the diet pathways, mainly due to the lack of matrix-matching metrological tools. To address this problem, we developed a classification system to support laboratory decisions without shaped Proficiency Testing (PT) or Certified/Standard References Material. This system evaluates method performance through limit of detection (LOD), maximum uncertainty, and statistical comparison. For that matter, the mineral contents (Cu, Mn, Fe, Zn, Mg, P, Ca, K, and Na) of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa), amaranth (Amaranthus caudatus), and buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) were determined, using three different digestion methods, including dry-ashing, microwave, and graphite block acid digestion. A decision was reached concerning the optimal digestion method to be employed, with the results classified into three categories: (i) “rejected if results failed in two categories; (ii) “use with caution” if results were not satisfactory in one category; or (iii) “accepted”, if the results passed in all the categories. The system efficacy was exemplified by the effectiveness of dry-ashing and graphite block acid digestion by comparison with microwave digestion. Neither dry-ashing nor graphite block acid digestion can be recommended as an alternative method to the microwave digestion method when all the prioritized nutrient minerals are understudied. Although the microwave method is preferable for multi-elemental analysis, it is possible to obtain, with caution, comparable results from all the digestion methods if a higher relative combined uncertainty is defined (target uncertainty < 11%) under the assumption that this is suitable for the study.

Organizations need to constantly improve their strategy, processes, and management practices to keep up with the ever-changing business environment. Over the past few years, there has been a significant surge in the popularity of lean and agile approaches. However, when we talk about a hybrid approach that combines both mindsets, more research is required to fully understand this hybrid concept. Based on the identified gap, a study will be conducted that will evaluate how lean and agile mindsets can be implemented in a private label product development process in an organization located in Portugal. The objective of this research project is to enhance the development process's efficiency and effectiveness by ensuring the product's speedy launch in the market while simultaneously improving its quality. This research project presented in this article is scheduled to take place over the course of the next two years.

Port and Douro wines are produced in the Douro Demarcated Region using different wine making processes. This works aims at evaluating the influence of the geographical origin and the wine making process in their multielement (Li, Be, B, Al, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Rb, Sr, Mo, Ag, Cd, Sn, Tl, Pb, Fe, Mg, P, Ca, Na, K) and isotopic compositions (87Sr/86Sr, δ11B, xPb/yPb, δ18O). Fifteen samples of each were analysed. ANOVA identified significant differences for Ca, Na, Rb, Zn, Cu, Cr, Se, 206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb, 206Pb/207Pb and δ11B. PCA revealed that Cr, Se and Cu are the main contributors for discrimination by type of wine. 87Sr/86Sr and δ18O are region specific and not influenced by the winemaking process or storage. Thus, make good natural tracers for geographical origin of this region. HCA suggested a common profile in Port and Douro in white wines, for Sr and K, which should be further investigated.

The cooked Andean cereals can be considered a good source of minerals, contributing to the recommended daily intakes as observed in previous works. This study evaluated quinoa, amaranth, and buckwheat’s chemical and nutritional compositions and their bioaccessibility through an in vitro gastric digestion simulation to understand their dietary changes. ICP-OES was used to quantify the mineral profile, and the impact of cooking on bioaccessibility was evaluated using multivariate statistical analysis. In this context, the contents of some essential minerals (potassium, magnesium, calcium, zinc, copper, iron and manganese) were evaluated. The lowest cooking losses were noted for calcium in quinoa (67%), and the highest was found for zinc in buckwheat (73%). The calcium and manganese concentration varied considerably with boiling among Andean cereals. For copper, magnesium, iron and manganese, was observed a higher bioaccessibility in cooked quinoa and amaranth. The lowest bioaccessibility was detected for phosphorus in the boiled quinoa fraction (36%). The results highlight the need to consider the losses in bioavailability for minerals during digestion and the related influence on the estimation of proper nutrient intake. These results contribute to understanding the bioaccessibility of minerals in cooked Andean cereals and the changes in these nutrient contents through the boiling process. Other ongoing cooking processes lead to a scientific recommendation of the best cooking method for boosting nutrient intake.

Every year, grapevine pruning produces huge amounts of residue, 90% of which are from vine shoots. These are a rich source of natural antioxidants, mostly phenolic compounds, which, when properly extracted, can give rise to added-value products. However, their lack of solubility in aqueous media and high susceptibility to thermal and oxidative degradation highly limit their bioavailability. Encapsulation in suitable carriers may have a positive impact on their bioavailability and bioactivity. Previous data on vine-shoot extraction have identified gallic acid (GA) and resveratrol (RSV) as the main phenolic compounds. In this work, model dry powder formulations (DPFs) of GA and RSV using hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) as carriers were developed using Supercritical CO2-Assisted Spray Drying (SASD). A 32 full factorial Design of Experiments investigated the solid and ethanol contents to ascertain process yield, particle size, span, and encapsulation efficiency. Amorphous powder yields above 60%, and encapsulation efficiencies up to 100% were achieved, representing excellent performances. SASD has proven to be an efficient encapsulation technique for these phenolic compounds, preserving their antioxidation potential after three months in storage with average EC50 values of 30.6 µg/mL for GA–DPFs and 149.4 µg/mL for RSV–DPF as assessed by the scavenging capacity of the DPPH radical.

This short review covers the most recent literature on the bottom-up assembling of composite dry powder formulations using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2)-based technologies for pulmonary delivery. Special attention is given to the integration of scCO2–assisted spray drying (SASD) with different technologies, namely living polymerization, layer-by-layer deposition and quality-by-design (QbD). Examples of inhalation drug delivery systems are provided to highlight specific advantages of the use of SASD versus traditional particle engineering technologies. The opportunities to generate release particles from small molecule therapeutics to biologic drugs and nucleic acids, the scale-up of processes and perspectives are examined.

European Mediterranean countries have been affected by unhealthy pollutants released by wildfire smoke. This work aims to determine the inorganic elements, present in the vegetable widely consumed by the rural population, provided by burned areas. Two groups composed the sampling plan; group one before forest fires and group two after forest fires under three campaigns: 1) immediately after forest fires; 2) after rainfall; 3) during springtime. ICP-MS analysed all the samples to evaluate the contents of As, Br, Cd, Co, Cr, Pb, Se, Sr, and Zn. The amounts of trace elements founded were the following Pb < Cd < Co < As < Cr < Se < Zn < Br < Sr. Hierarchical Cluster Analysis evidenced 4 clusters; the first with the highest contents of Cr and Pb, the second cluster was marked by the highest amounts of As, and Br, higher values of Se characterised the third cluster, and the fourth cluster presented the highest values of Zn and Cd. The contents of contaminants in group one is not a matter of concern. The results obtained in group two identified a hazard, decreasing one year after the fires and maintaining these patterns afterwards. Occurrence data from local foods is a pioneer to study the impact of forest fires on human health through food consumption.

The amino acid content of foods commonly consumed by specific populations is rarely measured systematically, especially if we take into account the different ways that foods are usually processed or cooked. The objective of this study is to evaluate the amino acid profile of the representative foods on the Portuguese diet, with a particular focus on indispensable amino acids. We also aim to assess the amino acid intake of the population and the most common sources of amino acids within the Portuguese diet. To achieve these goals, the amino acid intake of Portuguese adults was assessed combining data of food consumption with the food analysis data from samples collected according to the Total Diet Study methodologies. Results of the amino acid profiles of food groups typically consumed in Portugal are reported in this paper. We found that red meat consumption is the most common source of amino acids of the Portuguese population, followed by white meat and fish. The main contribution of individual portions to the recommended intakes of essential amino acids were: cheese, 88%88 %; red meat, 83 %; fatty fish, 81 % and seitan with 74 %. This data could be used to show alternative amino acid sources within commonly consumed foods.

The authors appreciate the support of Project CONFFIAR (2019DAN1611) and the financial support of INSA. Authors also acknowledge the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for funding MARE through the strategic programme UID/MAR/04292/201.

Este trabalho foi desenvolvido com o apoio da FCT. This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 739568.

This study reports the effect of boiling, steaming and malting on the amino acid composition of the pseudo cereals amaranth, buckwheat and quinoa. For all pseudocereals the foremost amino acid was glutamic acid, presenting 13.2% in both raw and malted (2.2 g/100 g), and 15.6% in steamed (2.5 g/100 g) amaranth; 10.8% in steamed (2.0 g/100 g) and 17.6% in boiled (2.1 mg/100 g) quinoa; 15.4% in malted (2.3 g/100 g) and 21.2% in raw (2.8 g/100 g) buckwheat. Almost all amino acids present in the three pseudocereals evinced a significant increase of the retention values in malted samples, except in amaranth and quinoa for cysteine and glutamic acid, respectively. Histidine and aromatic amino acids presented the highest values of amino acid scores. Cluster analysis allowed to identify the pseudocereals with the highest nutritional protein quality, were boiled and malted quinoa and raw and malted buckwheat were included. Malting process revealed to be the method that produce more effect on the amino acid content for all pseudocereals.

This work aims at characterizing the mineral profile of a Portuguese variety of pear, Rocha pear, and study the relationship between the nutritional profile and geographical origin. Multielement analysis of twenty-four elements (Al, As, B, Be, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Se, Sn, Sr, Tl, Zn) was performed using an ICP-MS and ICP-OES, on 50 samples originating from two regions, one with Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), known as "Pera Rocha do Oeste", and the other without (nPDO). Correlation analysis was performed to check for potential relationships between elements. Results from PDO and nPDO regions were compared using chemometric tools, namely Principal Component Analysis, Hierarquical Cluster Analysis and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA). The predictive model, built and validated, classified samples according to their regional origin with 100% accuracy. The present study shows that multielement analysis combined with the appropriate statistical tools can be a valuable contribution from the identification of the geographical provenance of Rocha Pears. It provides important nutritional information regarding the mineral composition of Rocha pears, not available until know, promoting the linkage between the nutritional profile and geographical origin, filling the gap of absent values in FCDBs.

A Formação Inicial de Professores (FIP) tem sido marcada internacionalmente com a introdução de instrumentos de reflexão, que fazem parte das boas práticas de ensino e aprendizagem no âmbito das Ciências de Educação. Mas no contexto angolano esta inovação não é um facto. Assim, o presente artigo propõe adaptar e utilizar na Prática Pedagógica do curso de Inglês, o Portfolio for Students Teachers of English no Instituto Superior de Ciências de Educação de Luanda (ISCED-POSTE). Para tal, utilizamos a metodologia quantitativa com recurso ao programa SPSS para determinar as frequências de preenchimento do portefólio e recorremos a metodologia qualitativa com realce à análise temática das entrevistas dos participantes. Da análise feita à sessão Self-Assessment, o Resource foi a categoria mais refletida com 38%, enquanto o Independent learning com 6% foi a menos utilizada pelos estudantes. A categoria do Dossier mais expressiva é o Evidence From Lesson Observation and Evaluation (EFLOE) com 50%. Tal como os participantes consideram que o ISCED-POSTE estimula a criatividade, promove a aprendizagem autónoma e reflexiva, contribui na organização do processo de aprendizagem e recomendam a sua utilização. Auguramo-nos que o presente trabalho sirva de protótipo para outros contextos de formação inicial de professores que privilegiam abordagens tradicionais de ensino nas práticas pedagógicas ou estágios.

This paper proposes a methodology to monitor and assess the stability of instrumental blank samples of four elements (lead, cadmium, nickel and chromium), analysed through inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The proposed methodology, which is based on multivariate control charts, comprises an intra-day control, used as an internal quality control tool, to monitor and detect possible contaminations that may occur in the measurement process. The strategy used to evaluate the multivariate control chart performance was a direct comparison with a set of four univariate control charts build for each element. The findings (of this exploratory study) suggest that multivariate control charts have potential to be effectively used as an internal quality control tool in a daily base in IPC-MS. Taking into account the statistics used in this chart, Q-Statistics, their sensitivity should be improved, as well as the mathematical complexity involved.

This study evaluated amino acids, antioxidant capacity, and arsenic species present in Indica and Japonica rice cultivars (Oryza sativa L.) grown in similar regions, as well as brown rice. Essential amino acids in brown rice exhibited a greater abundance when compared to white rice. Lysine was the only essential amino acid with higher concentration in white rice than in brown rice. Results showed antioxidant activity of 0.46 IC50 (mg mL(-1)) and TPC 0.11 mg eq. GA/g of sample. Total arsenic content in rice samples was about 200 mg/kg. HPLC-ICP-MS determinations revealed iAs as the predominant species in bran samples. Through Spearman's correlation, negative correlations between six amino acids and total arsenic content in japonica white rice were observed. Sulphur amino acid cysteine presented the highest negative correlation (rho = -0.758, p-value = 0.011). Based on our results, a regular benefit-risk assessment for rice products to enhance the consumption choice is recommended. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

•Content of 3 folate vitamers in pseudocereals were analysed.•Malting increased total folate content especially in amaranth and buckwheat.•Processed quinoa and amaranth contributed more than 25% the folate DRV.•Cooked and malted buckwheat contributed more than 15% of the folate DRV.

Purpose: Evaluate if etomidate modulates adrenal apoptosis and if this influences the development of critical illness-related corticosteroid insufficiency (CIRCI) in hemorrhagic shock (HS). Material and methods: Four groups of 16 male Wistar rats: GO (control group anesthetized with isoflurane and mechanical ventilation), G1 (like GO, but with buprenorphine), G2 (like G1 with HS), and G3 (like G2 with etomidate 1 mg/kg, IV, before HS). HS induced by collecting 30% of blood volume. Resuscitation performed 90 min later with the collected blood and normal saline. Hemodynamic parameters, blood gas analysis, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), corticosterone (CS), and TNF-alpha, IL6, IL10 were determined at 0, 90, 150, and 240 min post-HS induction (at the corresponding time points in GO and G1). Apoptosis and necrosis were determined by TUNEL and caspase-3 immunofluorescence and a necrosis score, respectively. Results: HS groups had significantly higher levels of apoptosis and necrosis than G1 and GO. Compared with G2, etomidate-treated animals had significantly lower levels of CS (compatible with CIRCI), PO2, PO2/FiO(2), BE, HCO3, apoptosis, and necrosis and significantly higher cytokine levels. Conclusions: Etomidate was associated with CIRCI. HS was associated with adrenal gland apoptosis and necrosis. The latter were decreased by etomidate, possibly by both direct and indirect mechanisms.