Minas-type fresh cheese developed from buffalo milk with addition of L. acidophilus

Effective incorporation of a probiotic into foods requires the culture to remain viable all along processing and storage, without adverse alterations to sensory characteristics. The objective of this work was developing Minas-type fresh cheese with probiotic properties from buffalo milk. Four batches of Minas-type fresh cheese were prepared using buffalo milk: batch T1 in which neither culture nor lactic acid added; batch T3 in which only lactic acid added; batches T2 and T4 , both added of Lactobacillus acidophilus LAC 4, but T4 was also acidified. Resulting cheeses were evaluated for probiotic culture stability, texture profile, sensory acceptance, and changes in pH. The T4 probiotic cheese presented hardness, gumminess, and chewiness significantly lower than the other treatments. However, values for springiness and cohesiveness did not differ between all cheeses, and no sensory differences (p > 0.05) were found between treatments for texture, taste, and overall acceptance. The addition of probiotic to the acidified cheese (T4) yielded best aroma. The populations of L. acidophilus were greater than 10(6) CFU g-1 after 28 days of storage all products. Minas-type fresh cheese from buffalo milk is a suitable food for the delivery of L. acidophilus, since the culture remained viable during the shelf life of the products and did not negative affect analysed parameters.

Fatores determinantes de consumo alimentar: por que os indivíduos comem o que comem?

Objetivo: O presente trabalho teve como objetivo realizar uma revisão de literatura sobre os fatores determinantes do consumo alimentar. Método: Foi realizada uma revisão de literatura em bases de dados, como Medline e na biblioteca da Faculdade de Saúde Pública daUniversidade de São Paulo (FSP-USP). Resultados: Foram criadas quatro categorias de fatores determinantes do consumo alimentar: biológica, econômica, oferta/disponibilidade dos alimentos e social. Entre os fatores biológicos, podem-se destacar as características sensoriais dos alimentos, principalmente o sabor, apontado como um dos principais determinantes. Na categoria econômica são incluídos a renda familiar, o preço dos alimentos e a escolaridade. A oferta e a disponibilidade dos alimentos abrangem as influências do meio ambiente na aquisição dos alimentos e quanto aos determinantes sociais estão relacionados à estrutura, dinâmica e influência da família. Pouco se conhece sobre os fatores que determinam as escolhas e o consumo alimentar dos brasileiros. É necessária a realização de mais estudos para conhecê-los

Use of Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) in Portuguese for categorizing web-based healthcare content

Introduction: Internet users are increasingly using the worldwide web to search for information relating to their health. This situation makes it necessary to create specialized tools capable of supporting users in their searches. Objective: To apply and compare strategies that were developed to investigate the use of the Portuguese version of Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) for constructing an automated classifier for Brazilian Portuguese-language web-based content within or outside of the field of healthcare, focusing on the lay public. Methods: 3658 Brazilian web pages were used to train the classifier and 606 Brazilian web pages were used to validate it. The strategies proposed were constructed using content-based vector methods for text classification, such that Naive Bayes was used for the task of classifying vector patterns with characteristics obtained through the proposed strategies. Results: A strategy named InDeCS was developed specifically to adapt MeSH for the problem that was put forward. This approach achieved better accuracy for this pattern classification task (0.94 sensitivity, specificity and area under the ROC curve). Conclusions: Because of the significant results achieved by InDeCS, this tool has been successfully applied to the Brazilian healthcare search portal known as Busca Saude. Furthermore, it could be shown that MeSH presents important results when used for the task of classifying web-based content focusing on the lay public. It was also possible to show from this study that MeSH was able to map out mutable non-deterministic characteristics of the web. (c) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

MORTADELLA SAUSAGE PRODUCED WITH SOYBEAN OIL INSTEAD OF PORK FAT

This study examines the effects of partially or completely replacing pork backfat with soybean oil in mortadella production. Mortadella sausages of various formulations showed no differences (P > 0.05) in any of the technological and physico-chemical parameters evaluated (process yield, shear force, pH, water activity and proximate composition). When compared to products made with pork backfat, those made with vegetable oil had a higher unsaturated fatty acid content (P <= 0.05) and a similar cholesterol content (P > 0.05). Products made with vegetable oil scored lower (P <= 0.05) than those made with pork fat on all of the evaluated sensory attributes (colour, odour, flavour, texture and overall acceptability).

Maturation studies of pecan nuts grown in Queensland

Changes in chemical composition, physical and sensory characteristics were followed in two pecan cultivars Wichita and Western Schley harvested from a commercial orchard at Gatton in Queensland seven times during 1996. Testa colour of both pecan cultivars darkened and opalescence decreased as the nuts matured. Bitterness of Western Schley pecans decreased with maturity. Colour of shuck, shell and kernel of both cultivars developed as the nuts matured. Wichita pecans were larger than Western Schley at all harvest times. Both nut-in-shell and kernel moisture decreased with maturity, whereas oil and sucrose contents increased. Both pecan cultivars had reached advanced maturation by the first harvest on March 18.

Utilização de ultrassom na conservação de suco de laranja : efeito sobre características físico-químicas, enzimáticas, microbiológicas e sensoriais

O consumo de suco de frutas vem aumentando no Brasil. Entre 2002 e 2009 o consumo de sucos, sejam eles concentrados, em pó, sucos ou néctares, aumentou em 21%. Devido ao seu sabor agradável e doce, e ao seu valor nutricional, o suco de laranja é o suco mais comum fabricado pela indústria de processamento de bebidas. Diversos fatores podem afetar a qualidade do suco de laranja. A microbiota típica presente no suco de laranja pode ser proveniente de várias etapas de sua produção. Em relação às enzimas, a pectinametilesterase (PME) é a principal causadora de alterações em suco laranja. A pasteurização e a esterilização comercial são os métodos de conservação mais comuns utilizados para inativar enzimas e micro-organismos, porém podem causar efeitos adversos em relação às características sensoriais (cor, sabor, aroma, e outros) dos produtos. A tecnologia de ultrassom vem sendo estudada recentemente como uma forma de conservar os alimentos sem causar efeitos indesejáveis como os provocados pelos tratamentos térmicos. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a utilização da tecnologia de ultrassom e de ultrassom aliado a temperaturas brandas, como forma de conservar suco de laranja. Para isto, foram analisadas a contagem de mesófilos totais e bolores e leveduras, a atividade da pectinametilesterase, o teor de vitamina C, a cor, o pH, o teor de sólidos solúveis e a estabilidade em relação à turbidez. Ainda, avaliou-se a aceitação sensorial de suco de laranja submetido à termossonicação. Os resultados foram comparados com os obtidos para o suco natural e o suco pasteurizado. Utilizou-se um ultrassom de 40 kHz, associado às temperaturas de 25 ºC, 30 ºC, 40 ºC, 50 ºC e 60 ºC durante 10 minutos. Os tratamentos utilizando ultrassom a 50 ºC e 60 ºC foram capazes de reduzir a contagem de bolores e leveduras e de mesófilos totais, apresentando uma redução de 3 ciclos logarítmicos. Resultado similar foi encontrado quando realizado o tratamento térmico a 90 ºC por 30 segundos. Observou-se que a aplicação da termossonicação permitiu uma redução significativa na atividade de PME e uma menor perda de vitamina C. O tratamento que apresentou melhor redução na atividade de PME foi utilizando ultrassom 40 kHz com temperatura de 60 ºC. Em relação ao ácido ascórbico, quanto menor a temperatura utilizada em conjunto com a sonicação, menor foi a perda deste composto. O teor de sólidos solúveis, o pH e a cor do suco não foram alterados ao longo do processamento. Avaliando a aceitabilidade do suco, verificou-se que a cor não foi influenciada por nenhum tratamento. Em relação ao aroma, sabor e aceitação global o suco submetido a termossonicação obteve aceitação sensorial superior à encontrada para o suco pasteurizado. Concluiu-se então que a utilização da termossonicação como uma forma de conservação para suco de laranja é viável.

Long-term biosignals visualization and processing

Thesis submitted in the fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master in Biomedical Engineering

Frameworks e Bibliotecas Javascript

This report describes a study based on a research and evaluation of platforms (JavaScript frameworks and libraries carried out under the discipline of Tese/Dissertação/Estágio in the Master Degree Computer Science - area of expertise in Arquitecturas Sistemas e Redes, in Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP). The JavaScript language is increasingly present in the development of software and particularly software for the web environment. For this reason there is a need to investigate the issue, as the platforms that are emerging in the market have a very low level of maturity compared to existing, it is crucial to identify the main differences so that we can save time, labor and other costs in research and experimentation developers. This project aims to inform a range of platforms and existing JavaScript libraries on the market. For further investigation, a study of use cases used at this point in the market was held. To assist the work were used qualitative research methods through the existing content of research related to the area, and quantitative research methods. It was thus conducted a survey sent via email to fifty regular users of the language, platforms, and JavaScript libraries, linking the functional and non-functional characteristics of the platforms and existing use cases in the market, in order to realize what is the use of these tools in his professional life. This study allowed developers to access information that will be compared and evaluated in order to achieve a more precise evaluation of the various analyzed platforms. It was also made an evaluation of adaptation of the various platforms to the various use cases.

Development of an intelligent earthwork optimization system

Tese de Doutoramento em Engenharia Civil.

Influence of label information on dark chocolate acceptability

The aim of the present work was to study how the information on product labels influences consumer expectations and their acceptance and purchase intention of dark chocolate. Six samples of dark choco- late, varying in brand (premium and store brand) and in type of product (regular dark chocolate, single cocoa origin dark chocolate and high percentage of cocoa dark chocolate), were evaluated by 109 con- sumers who scored their liking and purchase intention under three conditions: blind (only tasting the products), expected (observing product label information) and informed (tasting the products together with provision of the label information). In the expected condition, consumer liking was mainly affected by the brand. In the blind condition, differences in liking were due to the type of product; the samples with a high percentage of cocoa were those less preferred by consumers. Under the informed condition, liking of dark chocolates varied depending on both brand and type of product. Premium brand chocolates generated high consumer expectations of chocolate acceptability, which were fulfilled by the sensory characteristics of the products. Store brand chocolates created lower expectations, but when they were tasted they were as acceptable as premium chocolates. Claims of a high percentage of cocoa and single cocoa origin on labels did not generate higher expectations than regular dark chocolates.

Brain Dopamine and Serotonin Receptors in the Perception of Pain. Positron Emission Tomography Studies in Healthy Subjects

The role of dopamine and serotonin in spinal pain regulation is well established. However, little is known concerning the role of brain dopamine and serotonin in the perception of pain in humans. The aim of this study was to assess the potential role of brain dopamine and serotonin in determining experimental pain sensitivity in humans using positron emission tomography (PET) and psychophysical methods. A total of 39 healthy subjects participated in the study, and PET imaging was performed to assess brain dopamine D2/D3 and serotonin 5-HT_1A receptor availability. In a separate session, sensitivity to pain and touch was assessed with traditional psychophysical methods, allowing the evaluation of potential associations between D2/D3 and 5-HT_1A binding and psychophysical responses. The subjects’ responses were also analyzed according to Signal Detection Theory, which enables separate assessment of the subject’s discriminative capacity (sensory factor) and response criterion (non-sensory factor). The study found that the D2/D3 receptor binding in the right putamen was inversely correlated with pain threshold and response criterion. 5-HT_1A binding in cingulate cortex, inferior temporal gyrus and medial prefrontal cortex was inversely correlated with discriminative capacity for touch. Additionally, the response criterion for pain and intensity rating of suprathreshold pain were inversely correlated with 5-HT_1A binding in multiple brain areas. The results suggest that brain D2/D3 receptors and 5-HT_1A receptors modulate sensitivity to pain and that the pain modulatory effects may, at least partly, be attributed to influences on the response criterion. 5-HT_1A receptors are also involved in the regulation of touch by having an effect on discriminative capacity.

Oat hulls treated with alkaline hydrogen peroxide associated with extrusion as fiber source in cookies

Cookies were prepared with the replacement of 20% of wheat flour by chemically (alkaline hydrogen peroxide) and physically (extrusion) treated oat hulls, with the objective to investigate the possibility of use of this modified material. Cookies elaborated with the untreated hulls were used as control. Cookies were evaluated for their physical (spread ratio, specific volume and color) and sensory characteristics, and no difference was detected (p<0.05) among the cookies in relation to the physical properties. Triangule test, used to verify difference (p<0.05) among treated and untreated cookies, confirmed the efficiency of the treatment in sensory level. The acceptance level of cookies with treated fiber was evaluated by potential consumers of the product, obtaining 91% acceptance. The cookies presented 10.6 g of dietary fiber per 100 g of product.

Quality of mussels cultivated and commercialized in Ubatuba, SP, Brazil: monitoration Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus growth after post-harvest processing

Aiming at improving the quality of Perna perna mussels cultivated and commercialized in Ubatuba, SP, Brazil, the growth and elimination of Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus artificially inoculated in mussels were studied. The inoculation was carried out in "in natura" and pre-cooked mussels for 30 min, and after that the mussels were kept for 10 hours at room temperature (25 ± 1 °C) and under refrigeration (7 ± 1 °C). Six thermal treatments were evaluated: three using steam (5, 10 and 15 minutes) and three in boiling water (5, 10 and 15 minutes), in order to find the best time/temperature binomial to provide pathogenic control. Yield and physical-chemical and sensory characteristics were evaluated. All thermal treatments were efficient to eliminate microorganisms in 2 logarithmic cycles. However, the boiling water treatments presented better results than the steam treatments. The physical-chemical and sensory analyses did not show statistical differences among the thermal treatments studied. The best performances were reached in the shortest times of heat exposure. Overall, the treatments in boiling water presented better results than the steam treatments.

Formal development of resilient distributed systems

Resilience is the property of a system to remain trustworthy despite changes. Changes of a different nature, whether due to failures of system components or varying operational conditions, significantly increase the complexity of system development. Therefore, advanced development technologies are required to build robust and flexible system architectures capable of adapting to such changes. Moreover, powerful quantitative techniques are needed to assess the impact of these changes on various system characteristics. Architectural flexibility is achieved by embedding into the system design the mechanisms for identifying changes and reacting on them. Hence a resilient system should have both advanced monitoring and error detection capabilities to recognise changes as well as sophisticated reconfiguration mechanisms to adapt to them. The aim of such reconfiguration is to ensure that the system stays operational, i.e., remains capable of achieving its goals. Design, verification and assessment of the system reconfiguration mechanisms is a challenging and error prone engineering task. In this thesis, we propose and validate a formal framework for development and assessment of resilient systems. Such a framework provides us with the means to specify and verify complex component interactions, model their cooperative behaviour in achieving system goals, and analyse the chosen reconfiguration strategies. Due to the variety of properties to be analysed, such a framework should have an integrated nature. To ensure the system functional correctness, it should rely on formal modelling and verification, while, to assess the impact of changes on such properties as performance and reliability, it should be combined with quantitative analysis. To ensure scalability of the proposed framework, we choose Event-B as the basis for reasoning about functional correctness. Event-B is a statebased formal approach that promotes the correct-by-construction development paradigm and formal verification by theorem proving. Event-B has a mature industrial-strength tool support { the Rodin platform. Proof-based verification as well as the reliance on abstraction and decomposition adopted in Event-B provides the designers with a powerful support for the development of complex systems. Moreover, the top-down system development by refinement allows the developers to explicitly express and verify critical system-level properties. Besides ensuring functional correctness, to achieve resilience we also need to analyse a number of non-functional characteristics, such as reliability and performance. Therefore, in this thesis we also demonstrate how formal development in Event-B can be combined with quantitative analysis. Namely, we experiment with integration of such techniques as probabilistic model checking in PRISM and discrete-event simulation in SimPy with formal development in Event-B. Such an integration allows us to assess how changes and di erent recon guration strategies a ect the overall system resilience. The approach proposed in this thesis is validated by a number of case studies from such areas as robotics, space, healthcare and cloud domain.

Modified broken rice starch as fat substitute in sausages

The demand for low-fat beef products has led the food industry to use fat substitutes such as modified starch. About 14% of broken rice is generated during processing. Nevertheless, this by-product contains high levels of starch; being therefore, great raw material for fat substitution. This study evaluated the applicability of chemically and physically modified broken rice starch as fat substitute in sausages. Extruded and phosphorylated broken rice was used in low-fat sausage formulation. All low-fat sausages presented about 55% reduction in the fat content and around 28% reduction in the total caloric value. Fat replacement with phosphorylated and extruded broken rice starch increased the texture acceptability of low-fat sausages, when compared to low-fat sausages with no modified broken rice. Results suggest that modified broken rice can be used as fat substitute in sausage formulations, yielding lower caloric value products with acceptable sensory characteristics.