A Review on the Obtaining of Functional Beers by Addition of Non-Cereal Adjuncts Rich in Antioxidant Compounds

Beer is one of the oldest and most consumed beverages worldwide, and recent trends point to increased consumption of functional beers. However, there is a lack in the scientific literature on the effects of adding functional adjuncts in distinct steps of the manufacturing process and its implications on the final physicochemical and sensorial profile. Therefore, the present review analyzes the ingredients used and their insertion stage to achieve a functional beer with bioactive compounds, higher antioxidant activity, and improved sensory characteristics. The addition of fruits, herbal extracts, plants, and mushrooms in beers was documented. Furthermore, adjuncts were successfully added in wort boiling, fermentation, maturation, and packaging. The wort boiling step stands out among these four due to the superior extraction of phenolic compounds from the added adjuncts. On the other hand, adjunct addition in the maturation step induced low increases in antioxidant and phenolic content of the respective enriched beers. Fruits represented the majority of adopted adjuncts among the studies evaluated. Furthermore, the addition of fruits represented a positive increment in the beer’s volatile profile and an increase in sensory acceptability. A gap in the literature was found regarding the analysis of phenolic compounds with appropriate techniques such as HPLC-MS. Furthermore, there is a need to study the bioavailability of the incorporated bioactive compounds to prove the health claims inferred about these beers. In conclusion, functional beers are a little-explored relevant field, with potential for new studies.

Exploring Match Plate’s Potential in Aiding Pupils’ Writing Skills

Teaching of writing skills has become a growing concern for teachers with the implementation of CEFR aligned curriculum in recent years. Lack of relevant materials and resources is one of the contributing factors to this concern. Furthermore, writing skill acquisition could pose a challenge in the primary ESL classroom. Therefore, this study was conducted in a suburban primary school with the aim to discover Match Plate's potential in aiding pupils' writing skills. This research employed action research as the research design, and utilised three data collection methods, namely a pre-test and post-test, questionnaire and observation checklist. A total of ten participants were involved in this study. The findings revealed that there is a positive increment in the post-test results as compared to the pre-test results. Based on the survey questionnaire, most participants showed positive perceptions towards the use of Match Plate. Additionally, the data gathered from the observation checklist showed that participants were able to build sentences using Match Plate. Hence, the findings suggest that Match Plate shows potential to support pupils’ mastering of writing skills. Apart from that, pupils' positive learning attitude could be observed throughout the treatment period. Thus, it is highly recommended for teachers to resort to alternative teaching aids for language teaching.

Effects of a Rehabilitation Programme Using a Nasal Inspiratory Restriction Device in COPD

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients are characterised for presenting dyspnea, which reduces their physical capacity and tolerance to physical exercise. The aim of this study was to analyse the effects of adding a Feel-Breathe (FB) device for inspiratory muscle training (IMT) to an 8-week pulmonary rehabilitation programme. Twenty patients were randomised into three groups: breathing with FB (FBG), oronasal breathing without FB (ONBG) and control group (CG). FBG and ONBG carried out the same training programme with resistance, strength and respiratory exercises for 8 weeks. CG did not perform any pulmonary rehabilitation programme. Regarding intra group differences in the value obtained in the post-training test at the time when the maximum value in the pre-training test was obtained (PostPRE), FBG obtained lower values in oxygen consumption (VO2, mean = −435.6 mL/min, Bayes Factor (BF10) > 100), minute ventilation (VE, −8.5 L/min, BF10 = 25), respiratory rate (RR, −3.3 breaths/min, BF10 = 2), heart rate (HR, −13.7 beats/min, BF10 > 100) and carbon dioxide production (VCO2, −183.0 L/min, BF10 = 50), and a greater value in expiratory time (Tex, 0.22 s, BF10 = 12.5). At the maximum value recorded in the post-training test (PostFINAL), FBG showed higher values in the total time of the test (Tt, 4.3 min, BF10 = 50) and respiratory exchange rate (RER, 0.05, BF10 = 1.3). Regarding inter group differences at PrePOST, FBG obtained a greater negative increment than ONBG in the ventilatory equivalent of CO2 (EqCO2, −3.8 L/min, BF10 = 1.1) and compared to CG in VE (−8.3 L/min, BF10 = 3.6), VCO2 (−215.9 L/min, BF10 = 3.0), EqCO2 (−3.7 L/min, BF10 = 1.1) and HR (−12.9 beats/min, BF10 = 3.4). FBG also showed a greater PrePOST positive increment in Tex (0.21 s, BF10 = 1.4) with respect to CG. At PreFINAL, FBG presented a greater positive increment compared to CG in Tt (4.4 min, BF10 = 3.2) and negative in VE/VCO2 intercept (−4.7, BF10 = 1.1). The use of FB added to a pulmonary rehabilitation programme in COPD patients could improve tolerance in the incremental exercise test and energy efficiency. However, there is only a statically significant difference between FBG and ONBG in EqCO2. Therefore, more studies are necessary to reach a definitive conclusion about including FB in a pulmonary rehabilitation programme.

Multi-taxa inventory of naturalized species in Chile

Here we present a multi-taxa inventory of naturalized alien species recorded on continental Chile and adjacent marine habitats, including eight taxonomic groups. We identified 1,122 species. These comprise 790 vascular plants (terrestrial and aquatic); 31 nonvascular plants [Bryophyta (mosses), Marchantiophyta (liverworts) and Anthocerotophyta (hornworts)]; 18 marine and freshwater macro and micro algae; 71 fungi; 39 terrestrial vertebrates (amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds); 108 insects; 37 marine and freshwater invertebrates and vertebrates (6 polychaetes, 3 mollusks and 28 Pisces); and 28 terrestrial gastropods. For all taxonomic groups, naturalized species were found to mainly be distributed in regions with Mediterranean and temperate climates, with few at either extreme of the country. The invasion curves show that naturalized species first underwent a positive increment, followed by an apparent plateau phase, mainly in vascular plants, insects and vertebrates. In fungi, marine and freshwater macro and microalgae, vertebrates and invertebrates, the cumulative number of naturalized species increased sharply starting in the early 20th century; the lack of collections before 1900 is also evident. When considering naturalized species as a whole, this inventory highlights that the rate of new naturalizations consistently increased after 1950, especially for some taxonomic groups such as insects, fungi, and vascular plants. This multi-taxa inventory of naturalized species provides a platform for national reporting on biodiversity indicators and highlights areas where Chile must invest resources to manage biological invasions.

Expressions of Gratitude Applied to Business: A Lesson for Managing Online Reviews

Online reviews are critical for business thriving, but their management is not often effective. Using data from one Social Media platform, with more than 600 observations of public online interactions between business owners and customers, we showed that a strategic management of online reviews predicts a positive increment of online reputation. Publicly expressing gratitude (Study 1), and specifically, directing these expressions towards beneficial online reviews (Study 2), are effective strategies supporting a general increase of the business online score. These findings identify public expressions of gratitude as a responsive, attentive gesture that signals care and consideration towards customers. Such gesture promotes the online reputation through satisfaction between business-community relationships.

Caracterização do Uso das Terras e das Áreas em Riscos de Desertificação em Parte da Floresta Nacional do Araripe (FLONA): Municípios de Barbalha e do Crato, Estado do Ceará (Characterization of Land Use and Desertification Risk Areas in the National...)

A presente pesquisa objetiva caracterizar e quantificar através de dados de imagem Landsat conjugados ao uso de SIG, às mudanças ocorridas na cobertura vegetal e as áreas em risco a desertificação, em parte da Floresta Nacional do Araripe - FLONA, compreendendo os municípios de Barbalha e Crato no Estado do Ceará. O software utilizado no desenvolvimento do trabalho foi o SPRING (Sistema para Processamento de Informações Georreferenciadas), versão 5.1.5, desenvolvido pelo Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE). Os resultados indicam que em parte da FLONA entre os anos de 2003 e 2008, ocorreu uma redução da vegetação semidensa a rala, sendo recomposta pela vegetação do tipo semidensa. As áreas de pastos e culturas agrícolas são pouco representativas e ocorre principalmente nas áreas de encostas. Com relação aos níveis de degradação das terras verifica-se que o incremento positivo em maior escala ocorreu para o nível de degradação das terras moderado baixo, enquanto o nível grave também apresenta mesmo que de forma menos expressiva uma alerta para os riscos de desertificação. Quando se analisa a degradação ambiental da FLONA por município, se verifica que em Barbalha o incremento positivo de maior expressão ocorreu para o nível de degradação moderado baixo, entretanto, ocorre um aumento mesmo que pequeno para o nível moderado grave e muito grave. No município do Crato o incremento positivo para os níveis de degradação moderado baixo, moderado, moderado grave e muito grave, mesmo em menor proporção indica a evolução do processo de desertificação. A B S T R A C T This research aims to characterize and quantify the changes in vegetation cover and the areas at risk of desertification in the National Forest Araripe - FLONA, comprising Barbalha and Crato in the State of Ceará, using data from Landsat conjugated with the use of GIS. The software used in the development of the work was the SPRING (System for Georeferenced Information Processing), version 5.1.5, developed by the National Institute for Space Research (INPE). The results indicate that in part of the National Forest between the years 2003 and 2008, there was a reduction of the sparse to semi dense vegetation, with was recomposed by vegetation type semi dense. The areas of pastures and crops are unrepresentative and occurs mainly in the areas of slopes. With respect to levels of land degradation is verified that the positive increment occurred on a larger scale to the level of land degradation moderately low, while the serious level also features even in a less expressive one alert to the risks of desertification. When analyzing the environmental degradation of FLONA per municipality, it is verified that in Barbalha the increase positive higher expression was for the low moderate level of degradation, however, there is an increase even small to moderate severe and very severe. In the municipality of Crato increment positive for levels of degradation moderate low, moderate, moderate severe and very severe, even lower ratio indicates the progress of desertification. Keywords: Remote sensing, geoprocessing, FLONA, municipalities, Barbalha, Crato, Ceará.