Artigos em revistas internacionais
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- Prevalence of autism spectrum disorder in children in the Azores Islands (Portugal): sociodemographic and clinical profilePublication . Conde, Ana Rita; Mota, Pilar; Botelho, Tânia; Caldeira, Suzana; Rego, Isabel; Silva, Osvaldo; Sousa, Áurea Sandra Toledo de; Freitas, Carina; De Barros Freitas, Carina Patrícia; Freitas, CarinaAbstract Prevalence studies are essential to provide objective indicators about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and are a source of information for public policies. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of ASD among children in the Azores Islands (Portugal). Administrative data on the number of children with a proven diagnosis of ASD were collected from all schools. Parents completed a questionnaire about the child’s sociodemographic characteristics, the diagnostic process, and clinical history. The overall prevalence of ASD in the Azores region was 9.92 per 1000 children, approximately equivalent to 1% (0.99). The prevalence of ASD in the Azores seems to be higher when compared with the global rate in Portugal, as well as with other regions of Europe. There appears to be a concentration of children with ASD in the region, and the results appear to support the hypothesis of a heritable predisposition to ASD.
- The fingerprint of fortified wines—From the sui generis production processes to the distinctive aromaPublication . Perestrelo, Rosa; Jaouhari, Yassine; Abreu, Teresa; Castillo, Mariangie M.; Travaglia, Fabiano; Pereira, Jorge A. M.; Câmara, José S.; Bordiga, Matteo; Perestrelo, Rosa; Augusto Machado Pereira, Jorge; Câmara, JoséThe fortified wines that originated in Mediterranean countries have, in common, a high alcohol content to increase their shelf-life during long journeys to northern Europe and the American continent. Nowadays, the world’s better-known wines, including Marsala, Madeira, Port, and Sherry, due to their high alcoholic content, sweet taste, and intense aromatic profile, are designated as dessert wines and sometimes served as aperitifs. This review gives an overview of the traditional vinification process, including the microbiota and autochthonous yeast, as well as the regulatory aspects of the main Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish fortified wines. The winemaking process is essential to defining the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that characterize the aroma of each fortified wine, giving them an organoleptic fingerprint and “terroir” characteristics. The various volatile and odorous compounds found in fortified wines during the oxidative aging are discussed in the last part of this review.
- Exploring the potential of microextraction in the survey of food fruits and vegetable safetyPublication . Berenguer, Cristina V.; García-Cansino, Laura; Ángeles García, María; Marina, María Luisa; Câmara, José S.; Pereira, Jorge A. M.; Câmara, José; Augusto Machado Pereira, JorgeThe increasing demand for food to feed an exponentially growing population, the fast evolution of climate changes, how global warming affects soil productivity, and the erosion of arable lands, create enormous pressure on the food chain. This problem is particularly evident for fresh fruits and vegetables that have a short shelf life. For this reason, food safety precautions are not always a priority and they are often overused to increase the productivity and shelf life of these food commodities, causing concerns among consumers and public authorities. In this context, this review discusses the potential of microextraction in comparison to conventional extraction approaches as a strategy to improve the survey of food safety requirements. Accordingly, selected examples reported in the literature in the last five years will focus on the detection and quantification of pesticides, antibiotics, hormones, and preservatives in fresh fruits and vegetables using different extraction approaches. Overall, the use of microextraction techniques to survey the presence of contaminants in the food chain is very advantageous, involving simpler and faster protocols, reduced amounts of solvents and samples, and consequently, reduced waste produced during analysis while conserving a high potential for automation. Additionally, this higher greener profile of the microextraction techniques will boost a progressive substitution of conventional extraction approaches by microextraction processes in most analytical applications, including the survey of food chain safety.
- Evaluation of tropane alkaloids in teas and herbal infusions: effect of brewing time and temperature on atropine and scopolamine contentPublication . González-Gómez, Lorena; Morante-Zarcero, Sonia; Pereira, Jorge A. M.; Câmara, José S.; Sierra, Isabel; Augusto Machado Pereira, Jorge; Câmara, JoséAtropine and scopolamine belong to the tropane alkaloid (TA) family of natural toxins. They can contaminate teas and herbal teas and appear in infusions. Therefore, this study focused on analyzing atropine and scopolamine in 33 samples of tea and herbal tea infusions purchased in Spain and Portugal to determine the presence of these compounds in infusions brewed at 97 °C for 5 min. A rapid microextraction technique (µSPEed®) followed by high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS/MS) was used to analyze the selected TAs. The results showed that 64% of the analyzed samples were contaminated by one or both toxins. White and green teas were generally more contaminated than black and other herbal teas. Of the 21 contaminated samples, 15 had concentrations above the maximum limit for liquid herbal infusions (0.2 ng/mL) set by Commission Regulation (EU) 2021/1408. In addition, the effects of heating conditions (time and temperature) on atropine and scopolamine standards and naturally contaminated samples of white, green, and black teas were evaluated. The results showed that at the concentrations studied (0.2 and 4 ng/mL), there was no degradation in the standard solutions. Brewing with boiling water (decoction) for 5 and 10 min allowed for higher extraction of TAs from dry tea to infusion water.
- Differences in the volatilomic urinary biosignature of prostate cancer patients as a feasibility study for the detection of potential biomarkersPublication . Riccio, Giulia; Berenguer, Cristina V.; Perestrelo, Rosa; Pereira, Ferdinando; Berenguer, Pedro; Ornelas, Cristina P.; Sousa, Ana Célia; Vital, João Aragão; Pinto, Maria do Carmo; Pereira, Jorge A. M.; Greco, Viviana; Câmara, José S.; Berenguer, Cristina; Perestrelo, Rosa; Augusto Machado Pereira, Jorge; Câmara, JoséProstate cancer (PCa) continues to be the second most common malignant tumour and the main cause of oncological death in men. Investigating endogenous volatile organic metabolites (VOMs) produced by various metabolic pathways is emerging as a novel, effective, and non-invasive source of information to establish the volatilomic biosignature of PCa. In this study, headspace solid-phase microextraction combined with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (HS-SPME/GC-MS) was used to establish the urine volatilomic profile of PCa and identify VOMs that can discriminate between the two investigated groups. This non-invasive approach was applied to oncological patients (PCa group, n = 26) and cancer-free individuals (control group, n = 30), retrieving a total of 147 VOMs from various chemical families. This included terpenes, norisoprenoid, sesquiterpenes, phenolic, sulphur and furanic compounds, ketones, alcohols, esters, aldehydes, carboxylic acid, benzene and naphthalene derivatives, hydrocarbons, and heterocyclic hydrocarbons. The data matrix was subjected to multivariate analysis, namely partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). Accordingly, this analysis showed that the group under study presented different volatomic profiles and suggested potential PCa biomarkers. Nevertheless, a larger cohort of samples is required to boost the predictability and accuracy of the statistical models developed.
- Delving into agri-food waste composition for antibacterial phytochemicalsPublication . Pereira, Jorge A. M.; Berenguer, Cristina V.; Câmara, José S.The overuse of antibiotics in the healthcare, veterinary, and agricultural industries has led to the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), resulting in significant economic losses worldwide and a growing healthcare problem that urgently needs to be solved. Plants produce a variety of secondary metabolites, making them an area of interest in the search for new phytochemicals to cope with AMR. A great part of agri-food waste is of plant origin, constituting a promising source of valuable compounds with different bioactivities, including those against antimicrobial resistance. Many types of phytochemicals, such as carotenoids, tocopherols, glucosinolates, and phenolic compounds, are widely present in plant by-products, such as citrus peels, tomato waste, and wine pomace. Unveiling these and other bioactive compounds is therefore very relevant and could be an important and sustainable form of agri-food waste valorisation, adding profit for local economies and mitigating the negative impact of these wastes’ decomposition on the environment. This review will focus on the potential of agri-food waste from a plant origin as a source of phytochemicals with antibacterial activity for global health benefits against AMR.
- Underlying features of prostate cancer—Statistics, risk factors, and emerging methods for Its diagnosisPublication . Berenguer, Cristina V.; Pereira, Ferdinando; Câmara, José S.; Pereira, Jorge A. M.; Berenguer, Cristina; Câmara, José; Augusto Machado Pereira, JorgeProstate cancer (PCa) is the most frequently occurring type of malignant tumor and a leading cause of oncological death in men. PCa is very heterogeneous in terms of grade, phenotypes, and genetics, displaying complex features. This tumor often has indolent growth, not compromising the patient’s quality of life, while its more aggressive forms can manifest rapid growth with progression to adjacent organs and spread to lymph nodes and bones. Nevertheless, the overtreatment of PCa patients leads to important physical, mental, and economic burdens, which can be avoided with careful monitoring. Early detection, even in the cases of locally advanced and metastatic tumors, provides a higher chance of cure, and patients can thus go through less aggressive treatments with fewer side effects. Furthermore, it is important to offer knowledge about how modifiable risk factors can be an effective method for reducing cancer risk. Innovations in PCa diagnostics and therapy are still required to overcome some of the limitations of the current screening techniques, in terms of specificity and sensitivity. In this context, this review provides a brief overview of PCa statistics, reporting its incidence and mortality rates worldwide, risk factors, and emerging screening strategies.
- Understanding the tolerance of different strains of human pathogenic bacteria to acidic environmentsPublication . Figueira, Priscilla Porto; Câmara, José S.; Vigário, Ana M.; Pereira, Jorge A. M.; Porto-Figueira, Priscilla; Câmara, José; Augusto Machado Pereira, JorgeIt is known that many bacteria are susceptible to low pH, but it is less clear how the acid nature influences this susceptibility. The objective of this work was to evaluate the susceptibility of selected bacteria to different low pH conditions and to understand if their tolerance is affected by the type of acid (organic vs inorganic) in the media acidification. Strains of different species of human pathogenic bacteria were cultivated at different acidic conditions, using organic or inorganic acids. Overall, we verified that tolerance to acidic conditions is dependent on the type of acid used to acidify the growing medium, organic or inorganic. The strains analysed, although having different tolerance to low pH, were shown to be more susceptible to organic than inorganic acids. This result shows that beyond the pH of the media, the nature of the acid affects bacterial growth. Such a result has consequences in the evaluation of the efficiency of an antibacterial extract, which should take into consideration the differential susceptibility of bacteria to low pHs obtained using organic or inorganic acids.
- Current challenges in the sustainable valorisation of agri-food wastes: a reviewPublication . Berenguer, Cristina V.; Andrade, Carolina; Pereira, Jorge A. M.; Perestrelo, Rosa; José S. Câmara; Berenguer, Cristina; Augusto Machado Pereira, Jorge; Perestrelo, Rosa; Câmara, JoséIn the upcoming years, the world will face societal challenges arising, in particular, from the impact of climate change and the inefficient use of natural resources, in addition to an exponential growth of the world population, which according to the United Nations (UN) estimations will be 9.8 billion in 2050. This increasing trend requires optimized management of natural resources with the use of value-added waste and a significant reduction in food loss and food waste. Moreover, the recent pandemic situation, COVID-19, has contributed indisputably. Along with the agri-food supply chain, several amounts of waste or by-products are generated. In most cases, these biomass wastes cause serious environmental concerns and high costs to enterprises. The valorisation of the agri-food loss and food industry wastes emerged as a useful strategy to produce certain value-added compounds with several potential applications, namely in the food, health, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and environmental fields. Therefore, in this review, some of the crucial sustainable challenges with impacts on the valorisation of agri-food loss/wastes and by-products are discussed and identified, in addition to several opportunities, trends and innovations. Potential applications and usages of the most important compounds found in food loss/waste will be highlighted, with a focus on the food industry, pharmaceutical industry, and the environment.
- Editorial: Food bioactives: cutting-edge methodologies for extraction and characterizationPublication . Pereira, Jorge A. M.; Casado, Natalia; Câmara, José S.; Augusto Machado Pereira, Jorge; Câmara, José