Using Twitter® as source of information for dietary market research: a study on veganism and plant-based diets

Social media has experienced rapid growth in recent years and has been subjected of discussions on a wide range of topics including new lifestyles and eating habits, providing a great opportunity to obtain spontaneous consumer information. In this sense, the present work aimed to understand the perception of Twitter^® users about themes of veganism and plant-based diets. The social networking data mining methodology was applied to measure the relationship between both terms. The significant differences found were analysed using the global chi-square (χ²) test, and their sources of variation were investigated by the chi-square per cell. The results indicate that the vegan group's posts are more related to the categories of recipes, trends, criticism and negative comments about veganism, being more often citing sources when compared to the other group. The results of the plant-based diet group are more significantly related to the impacts of nutrition, physical activity and consumer health. In conclusion, Twitter^® has proved to be an interesting tool for obtaining data on (re) produced food publications on social media and their results can guide the market and the academic environment in creating new products, services and marketing strategies to answer the needs of specific consumers.     

Beta control charts for monitoring fraction data

p-Charts and np-Charts are commonly used in monitoring variables of the fraction type and these charts assume that the monitored variables are binomially distributed. In this paper we propose a new control chart called Beta Charts, for monitoring fraction data (p). The Beta Chart presents the control limits based on the Beta probability distribution. It was applied for monitoring the variables in three real studies, and it was compared to the control limits with three schemes. The comparative analysis showed that: (i) Beta approximation to the Binomial distribution was more appropriate with values confined in the [0, 1]-interval; and (ii) the charts proposed were more sensitive to the average run length (ARL), in both in-control and out-of-control processes monitoring. The Beta Charts outperform the control charts analyzed for monitoring fraction data.     

Analytical Tools Used to Distinguish Chemical Profiles of Plants Widely Consumed as Infusions and Dietary Supplements: Artichoke,Milk Thistle,and Borututu

Artichoke, borututu, and milk thistle are three medicinal plants widely consumed as infusions or included in dietary supplements (e.g., pills and syrups). Despite the high consumption of these plants, studies on their nutritional value and primary metabolites are scarce, with their composition in secondary metabolites such as phenolic compounds being only reported. Therefore, their nutritional value was assessed, and analytical tools (liquid and gas chromatography coupled to different detectors) were used to distinguish their chemical profiles according to their hydrophilic (sugars and organic acids) and lipophilic (fatty acids and tocopherols) components. Chromatographic techniques are important analytical tools used in the identification and quantification of several molecules, also being a standard requirement to distinguish different profiles. Borututu gave the highest energetic value with the highest content of carbohydrates and fat, sucrose and total sugars, shikimic and citric acids, and α-, β-, δ-, and total tocopherols. Artichoke had the highest ash and protein contents, oxalic acid, SFA (mainly palmitic acid), and γ-tocopherol, and also the best n-6/n-3 ratio. Milk thistle showed the highest levels of fructose and glucose, quinic acid and total organic acids, and PUFA, mainly linoleic acid, and the best PUFA/SFA ratio. The hydrophilic compounds identified in the studied plants, mostly sugars, are responsible for the energy contribution of their widely consumed infusions. Otherwise, the bioactivity of lipophilic compounds, namely, unsaturated fatty acids and tocopherols, is lost in those preparations but can be recovered in dietary supplements based on the plants. As far as we know, this is the first report on the detailed composition of the three plants regarding their nutritional features.     

Analytical model of quality of service scheduling for optical aggregation in data centers

Optical switching technologies represent a promising solution for data center interconnection networks to support the increasing bandwidth requirements of current cloud-based applications, while reducing interconnection complexity and energy consumption. Furthermore, the heterogeneity of intra- and inter-data center traffic characteristics requires some form of quality of service management. This paper describes modeling and design aspects of data center optical interconnections with particular emphasis on the aggregation level, where hybrid switching and packet scheduling are jointly applied to effectively implement service differentiation. Priority scheduling of three different service profiles is applied to maximize intra- and inter-data center traffic throughput, while guaranteeing time transparency for delay-sensitive services and zero loss/fixed delay for guaranteed connections. An analytical model is defined and validated to assess loss of real time and throughput of best effort traffic, in asynchronous packet context, when considering best effort traffic saturating the channels of the optical link. The model can also be used to dimension the optical output interface of the aggregation level switch.     

Combination of Reaction and Separation in Heterogeneous Catalytic Hydrogenation of Ethylformate

Continuous hydrogenation reaction of ethyl benzoylformate was studied over a (–)‐cinchonidine (CD)‐modified Pt/Al₂O₃ catalyst. The catalyst showed a good stability, and high enantioselectivity was achieved in the fixed‐bed reactor. Chromatographic separation of (R)‐ and (S)‐ethyl mandelate originating from a post‐continuous hydrogenation reaction of ethyl benzoylformate over the (–)‐CD‐modified Pt/Al₂O₃ catalyst was investigated in the same reaction mixture. A commercial column filled with a chiral selector resin was chosen as a perspective preparative‐scale adsorbent. Since adsorption equilibrium isotherms were linear within the entire investigated range of concentrations, they were determined by pulse experiments for the isomers present in a post‐reaction mixture. Breakthrough curves were measured and described successfully by the dispersive plug‐flow model with linear driving force approximation.     

Effects of nisin concentration on properties of gelatin film-forming solutions and their films

The addition of nisin into a gelatin matrix can change properties of the film. The aim of this work was to develop gelatin-based films containing different nisin concentrations in order to study their influence on the film's antimicrobial and physical properties and their rheological properties as a film-forming solution (FFS). The FFS was characterised by rheological assays, and the gelatin-based active films were characterised and assessed by the effects of nisin concentrations on their various properties, including antimicrobial activity. Nisin's concentration affected not only its viscoelastic properties of FFS but also its film solubility in water, film surface roughness and light barrier. The addition of nisin also slightly modified the water contact angle and the mechanical properties of the gelatin films. Finally, the films demonstrated activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes at concentrations above 56 mg of nisin g⁻¹ of gelatin.     

Immobilization of aloin encapsulated into liposomes in Layer-by-layer films for transdermal drug delivery

Layer-by-layer (LbL) films have been exploited in drug delivery systems that may be used in the form of patches, but the encapsulation of poor water soluble drugs and their release with a controlled rate are still major challenges to be faced. In this paper, we demonstrate the controlled release of aloin (barbaloin), an important component of the widely used Aloe vera, encapsulated into liposomes and immobilized in LbL films with a polyelectrolyte. With a systematic study using fluorescence spectroscopy of aloin release from solutions and from LbL films with different phospholipid liposomes, we inferred that optimized release was achieved with aloin incorporated into palmitoyl oleyl phosphatidyl glycerol (POPG) or dipalmitoyl phosphatidyl glycerol (DPPG) liposomes immobilized in LbL films. Significantly, with this optimized system aloin was almost completely released within 30 h, with a small release rate at the end, which followed a sharp release in the first 5 h. Upon comparing the rates of the distinct systems, we conclude that the main factors controlling the release are the electrostatic interactions involving the negatively charged phospholipids. Because these interactions can be tuned in LbL films, the approach used here opens the way for new drug delivery systems to be developed with fine control of the drug release.     

Environmentally Friendly Determination of Quality Parameters of Biodiesel/Diesel Blends Using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectra

Multivariate calibration models based on data from mid‐infrared spectroscopy of biodiesel/diesel blends were obtained. The blends were prepared from diesel oil and esters of soybean oil, waste cooking oil, and hydrogenated vegetable oil in proportions ranging from 0 to 100 % biodiesel. The results showed that the multivariate regression models with interval partial least squares (iPLS), backward interval partial least squares (biPLS), and synergy interval partial least squares (siPLS) were able to determine the fractions of the infrared spectrum that contain the relevant information for estimating the values of physicochemical properties, flash point, specific gravity, and cetane number, which are used in quality control of the blends. In the best models, the values of determination coefficients were greater than 0.9500, proving their efficiency as an alternative to traditional analytical methods.     

Burial grounds’ impact on groundwater and public health: an overview

The most common practice for disposal of dead bodies is inhumation in soil, which favours interactions with the surrounding environment and returns nutrients to the life cycle. However, when the burial ground is located where hydrogeological, geological and climatic conditions are not favourable to the process, contamination of soils and groundwater may occur, and decomposition may be inhibited, leading to social, economic and political problems. The most critical parameters when assessing the pollution potential of a burial ground are inhumation depth, geological formation, depth of the water table, density of inhumations, soil type and climate. Considering that, this paper presents an overview of the potential threat that cemeteries can pose, analysing and discussing the influence of the main variables causing environmental impacts and public health risks.