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- Polyphenols as next-generation prebiotics targeting intestinal mucosal tolerancePublication . Ferreira, Carolina; Vieira, Pedro; Figueirinha, Artur; Salgueiro, Lígia; Pintado, Maria Manuela; Malva, João; Branco, Miguel Castelo; Reis, Flávio; Viana, SofiaPolyphenols, long recognized for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, are widely consumed as dietary components or as constituents of functional foods and nutraceuticals. Emerging evidence, however, supports a paradigm shift beyond a purely redox-centered perspective, repositioning polyphenols as functionally relevant prebiotic phytochemicals with significant immunomodulatory capacity. This review frames polyphenols as next-generation prebiotics, emphasizing their capacity to act through coordinated, multi-layered mechanisms that extend beyond the stimulation of intestinal microbial growth. It examines how the gut ecosystem leverages their low systemic bioavailability and explores mechanisms linking their health benefits to microbiota-mediated intestinal mucosal tolerance as interconnected dimensions of prebiotic functionality. Emphasis is placed on the multimodal actions of polyphenol-derived microbial metabolites, increasingly recognized as bona fide postbiotics with therapeutic potential. These metabolites modulate key functional microbial outputs, including the secretion and cargo of bacterial extracellular vesicles, thereby regulating tolerogenic immune responses across the epithelial layer, lamina propria, Peyer’s patches, and mesenteric lymph nodes. This integrated mode of action clearly distinguishes polyphenols from classical carbohydrate-based prebiotics, positioning them within a candidate functional category capable of targeting immune pathways in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes and food allergies. The review further explores polyphenol-based prebiotic interventions driven by microbial functionality rather than taxonomic composition alone and highlights challenges and opportunities of polyphenols as tools in precision immunonutrition protocols where interventions are tailored to individual metabotypes, health status and metabolic variability.
- A short questionnaire to assess changes in lifestyle-related behavior upon stressful events: translation, cultural adaptation, and validation study for the Portuguese languagePublication . Pinto, Elisabete Cristina Bastos; Costa, Sofia Carvalho da; Irving, Susana Couto; Gomes, Ana Maria Pereira; Martins, Ana Sofia Pimenta; Correia, Maria Marta AscensãoThe COVID-19 pandemic impacted considerably university students’ health and well-being, justifying the development and use of validated measuring tools to analyse and assess mental/physical health, and well-being throughout consecutive confinements (or lockdowns), or any other endured stressful periods. This study aims to describe the translation, the cultural adaptation, and the validation of a short questionnaire to assess changes in lifestyle-related behavior, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in Portuguese university students. We enrolled 128 university students (mean age: 38.3 [13.0] studying at/attending the Portuguese Catholic University). The validation study included Cronbach alpha for the whole scale, corrected item-total correlations, and Cronbach alpha to evaluate the scale reliability whenever items were deleted. Exploratory factor analysis was performed, and 3 factors were extracted through the principal component extraction with varimax rotation. Communalities were also observed. The mean and standard deviation of the total questionnaire score was -1.73 (6.65). No difference was seen between genders. However, participants who already had COVID-19 symptoms, and participants who perceived their health as worse than in the prepandemic period, presented lower questionnaire scores. Internal consistency of 0.74, as measured by Cronbach alpha, was considered as acceptable. Exploratory factor analysis corroborated the validity of the tool. This short questionnaire could be applied to detect changes in lifestyle- related behavior throughout stressful situations in a Portuguese university student’s population.
- Collaborative research networks as a strategy to synthesize knowledge of Amazonian biodiversityPublication . Resende, Bethânia Oliveira; Juen, Leandro; Schietti, Juliana; Baccaro, Fabricio Beggiato; Krempser, Eduardo; Moura, James; Colares, Lucas; Carvalho, Raquel L.; Phillips, Oliver L.; Souza, Gahelyka; Michelan, Thaisa Sala; Ghidini, André Ricardo; Demori, André; Façanha, Bruna Letícia Barreto; Rosa, Clarissa; Venticinque, Eduardo; Bomfim, Francieli; Raseira, Marcelo; Famelli, Shirley; Esquivel-Muelbert, Adriane; Kasseboehmer, Ana Claudia; Fares, Ana Luísa; Ferreira, Anthony Santana; Ribas, Camila Cherem; Castilho, Carolina; Nunes, Cássio Alencar; de Andrade, Dárlison F.C.; Silvério, Divino; Cunha, Erlane José Rodrigues; Antunes, Ettore; Rodrigues, Eva; Silva, Everton; Alves-Martins, Fernanda; Schmidt, Fernando Augusto; Elias, Fernando; Carvalho, Fernando Geraldo de; Vaz-De-Mello, Fernando Z.; Cruz, Gabriel; Palheta, Giovanni; Teodoro, Grazielle; Ter Steege, Hans; Albert, James; Nascimento, Jeanne; Brito, Joás; Toledo, José Júlio; Oliveira-Junior, José Max B.; Monteles, Josinete; Arieira, Julia; Stropp, Juliana; Dias-Silva, Karina; Castello, Leandro; Giacomin, Leandro L.; Brasil, Leandro Schlemmer; Calvão, Lenize; Vieira, Letícia; Stegmann, Lis; Montag, Luciano; Santos, Marcos Pérsio Dantas; Silveira, Marcos; Guerrero-Moreno, Mayerly Alexandra; Nascimento, Nathália; Hamada, Neusa; Marini-Filho, Onildo; Melo, Pablo; Ferreira, Palmira; De Marco Júnior, Paulo; Maciel, Rafaella; Pinheiro, Raimunda; Ligeiro, Raphael; Lima, Renato; Martins, Renato; Koroiva, Ricardo; Silva, Rogerio R.; Ribeiro, Sabina; Bernardi Vieira, Thiago; Tagliacollo, Victor Alberto; Ferreira, Victor Rennan Santos; Beiroz, Wallace; Kuikuro, Yuri; Machado França, FilipeThe Amazon region is critical for maintaining global biodiversity and mitigating climate change; however, it faces escalating threats from deforestation and habitat degradation. Addressing these threats requires evidence-based strategies grounded in investments in science, technology, innovation and collaborative research. The Brazilian National Institute of Science and Technology (INCT) programme plays a central role in advancing scientific and technological progress by establishing collaborative research networks across diverse fields and regions. In this context, we present the INCT in Synthesis of Amazonian Biodiversity (INCT-SynBiAm) as a case study, illustrating how research networks can promote diversity in academia and enhance our understanding of biodiversity in hyperdiverse tropical regions. The SynBiAm network integrates 47 academic and non-academic institutions from Brazil and abroad. Its key objectives are to establish and expand a collaborative initiative for research synthesis in Amazonia, deepen our understanding of biodiversity patterns, threats and drivers in forest and freshwater ecosystems, inform environmental and educational practices and policies, and train future educators, decision-makers and scientists committed to the Amazon’s conservation and sustainability. We outline the INCT programme and demonstrate how the INCT-SynBiAm network can achieve these goals, providing a model for future collaborative initiatives aimed at addressing socio-ecological challenges in tropical regions.
- Integrated PM–MOX–thermal sensing for monitoring bioaerosol dynamics in controlled indoor environmentsPublication . Barbosa, Maria Inês; Roxo, Hugo; Ribeiro, Pedro; Menezes, José; Vieira, Eduarda; Moreira, Patrícia; Rodrigues, Pedro MiguelIndoor monitoring of biological contamination is essential for protecting cultural heritage and public health. However, conventional culture-based methods limit timely intervention. This study presents an affordable modular multisensor system for indirectly detecting airborne fungal contamination using Penicillium chrysogenum as a representative model organism and its environmental signatures. The proposed prototype integrates PMSA003I, BME688 and AMG8833 sensors and was evaluated under controlled environmental conditions. Biological ground truth was established using a volumetric inertial-impaction sampling protocol (SAS sampler), validating four contamination levels (~6 to 165, CFU/m3). A total of 1989 observations were analyzed. Non-parametric statistical tests (Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney U) confirmed significant differences between all the exposure conditions (𝑝<0.001). Supervised machine learning (ML) models showed strong performance across all the classification tasks, with accuracy and AUC values near 100%. In most cases, pressure alone was sufficient. The statistical and ML analyses consistently identified pressure, particulate-related variables, gas resistance and humidity as the most informative features. Overall, the results indicate that the proposed approach can reliably capture indirect environmental signatures associated with airborne fungal presence under controlled conditions. The study supports the feasibility of low-cost multisensor systems for continuous indoor bioaerosol monitoring while highlighting the need for further optimization and validation in real-world environments.
- Multi-output machine learning for prediction of postoperative outcomes after cardiac surgery using patient blood management biomarkersPublication . Coelho, Henrique; Paupério, Diana; Silva, Fernando; Barbosa, Maria Inês; Ribeiro, Pedro; Correia, Marta; Rodrigues, Pedro MiguelBackground/Objectives: Postoperative complications following adult cardiac surgery are biologically interrelated, yet most machine learning models predict single outcomes. We developed an explainable multi-output model integrating routinely collected clinical variables and patient blood management (PBM) biomarkers to predict multiple postoperative outcomes simultaneously, with complementary mono-output analyses for selected endpoints. Methods: This retrospective single-center cohort included 1414 adults undergoing cardiac surgery. In total, 513 complete cases were analyzed. Thirteen outcomes were modeled, including major binary complications and ICU/ward length of stay. An initial 80:20 train–test split was used only for algorithm screening across six candidate multi-output regressors and training-set-defined feature subsets. The selected regressor was then evaluated across five random states, and global permutation feature importance was used for multi-output explainability. Mono-output binary analyses using the selected regressor and the same training-set-only feature-selection workflow were evaluated along with accuracy, precision, recall/sensitivity, and F1-scores. Results: The Decision Tree Regressor was selected. Across five random states, global multi-output performance was R2 = 0.83, MSE = 1.296, RMSE = 1.132, MAE = 0.298, and MAPE = 0.128. Based on global multi-output permutation importance, creatinine, ferritin, platelet count, estimated glomerular filtration rate, preoperative red blood cell units, and EuroSCORE II were ranked the highest. Atrial fibrillation had the lowest mono-output F1-score (0.719), whereas acute kidney injury, postoperative bleeding, infection, and 1-year hospital readmission yielded F1-scores of 0.928, 0.970, 0.963, and 0.975, respectively. Conclusions: This proof-of-concept study shows the feasibility of explainable multi-output modeling for postoperative outcomes after adult cardiac surgery using clinical and PBM variables. However, external validation is required prior to clinical use.
- Influence of harvesting and seasonal variability on the physicochemical and antioxidant properties of native bee (tetragonisca fiebrigi) honey from bolivia’s tropical dry forestsPublication . Romero-Padilla, Alejandra; Castro, Luís M. G.; Pintado, Manuela; Brassesco, María EmiliaThis study evaluates the influence of harvesting methods and seasonal variability on the physicochemical and antioxidant properties of Tetragonisca fiebrigi honey produced in the tropical dry forest of Bolivia. Despite the growing interest in stingless bee honey, studies addressing the combined effects of seasonality and collection practices in this region remain scarce. Honey samples were collected during winter and spring using three approaches: conventional, optimized (based on good manufacturing practices), and direct racking from natural nests. Physicochemical parameters (pH 4.60–6.15; moisture 28–34%; water activity 0.69–0.75) and sugar composition (glucose 10.60–29.03 g/100 g; fructose 9.01–21.97 g/100 g; sucrose 0.70–3.23 g/100 g) showed variability primarily associated with season rather than harvesting method. Bioactive compounds exhibited a marked seasonal effect, with higher total phenolic content (up to 11.03 mg GAE/100 g), flavonoids (up to 23.08 mg QE/100 g), and antioxidant capacity (DPPH up to 1.33 mol TE/100 g; ORAC up to 25.93 mol TE/100 g) in spring samples. Multivariate analysis (PCA) revealed that honey variability is structured along bioactive and physicochemical axes, with samples obtained using the optimized method showing reduced dispersion and greater compositional consistency. These results indicate that while seasonality governs the compositional and functional properties of T. fiebrigi honey, improved harvesting practices contribute to reducing variability and enhancing product standardization. This study provides one of the first comprehensive datasets on Bolivian stingless bee honey and highlights its potential as a functional food, supporting the development of species-specific quality criteria and sustainable meliponiculture in tropical dry forest ecosystems.
- Survival and adaptation of Listeria monocytogenes in the food industry: insights into persistence mechanismsPublication . Sousa, Pedro; Magalhães, Rui; Teixeira, PaulaListeria monocytogenes is a well-known foodborne pathogen responsible for severe cases of listeriosis, an infection that primarily affects individuals with a compromised immune system or other underlying conditions, such as the elderly or pregnant women. This microorganism can persist in food processing environments due to its resistance to a wide variety of adverse conditions, posing a significant food safety concern. Hence, it is essential to further understand which factors contribute to this persistence, including the pathways by which this microorganism can endure such harsh environments within food processing facilities. This review explores the survival mechanisms of L. monocytogenes strains and the current methodologies applied to analyse their distinctive persistent behaviour. Recent advances in genomic and computational approaches are reviewed, highlighting their potential to improve the identification, characterisation, and prediction of L. monocytogenes persistence in food processing environments. Understanding these aspects may be crucial for developing an effective control strategy that can be successfully implemented in the food industry.
- An in-depth analysis of the core microbiota of Tenebrio molitor: a comprehensive evaluation of its influences and significance for food safetyPublication . Carvalho, Teresa Bento de; Teixeira, Paula; Barbosa, Joana BastosThe microbiota of edible insects is increasingly recognized as a key factor in ensuring food safety, quality, and consumer acceptance. Understanding bacterial communities associated with Tenebrio molitor, a high-potential insect in the alternative protein industry, is essential for its safe use as a human food source. This systematic review synthesizes experimental studies reporting the microbiota of whole larvae, published between 2015 and 2025, identified in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, following PRISMA guidelines. Seven studies met the inclusion criteria, reflecting the limited but growing research on this topic. Despite heterogeneity, a reproducible core microbiota was identified. Enterobacteriaceae were detected in all studies, while Enterococcaceae and Clostridiaceae were reported in four. Other detected taxa included Lactobacillaceae and Streptococcaceae. These families comprise both beneficial microorganisms and opportunistic pathogens, highlighting the dual role of the mealworm microbiota and its relevance for food safety. Mealworm microbiota is influenced by rearing conditions, origin, methodologies, but certain taxa remain consistently present. Findings emphasize the promise and challenges of mealworm-based foods. Current evidence is limited by small sample sizes, heterogeneity, and lack of longitudinal data. Standardized approaches and functional studies are needed to strengthen the microbial safety framework for edible insects and expedite their sustainable integration into food systems.
- Impact of measures to increase packaging recyclability in stability of plant-based burgers: a comparative study between multilayer and monolayer lidding filmsPublication . Mena, Cristina; Pereira, Ricardo; Silva, Beatriz Nunes; Ventura, Rita; Carneiro, Ana; Teixeira, Susana; Silva, Fátima; Pereira, Joel; Mota, Inês; Ribeiro, João; Castro, Olga; Monteiro, Maria João; Moen, Birgitte; Teixeira, Paula; Poças, FátimaThe expanding market of plant-based meat analogues (PBMA) drives innovation toward sustainable packaging systems that ensure both product safety and environmental performance. This study aims at investigating the impact of measures to increase packaging circularity on the shelf life of plant-based burgers under refrigerated, modified atmosphere conditions. Two packaging systems were compared: a conventional polyethylene terephthalate (PET)-based tray with multilayer lidding system (STD) and a tray with a recyclable lidding film consisting of a machine-direction oriented polyethylene (MDO PE) monomaterial (NEW). Physicochemical (moisture, pH, titratable acidity, total volatile basic nitrogen, peroxide value, colour, texture, volatiles, and headspace gas composition), microbiological (total viable count, lactic acid bacteria, yeast and moulds, pathogens, and 16S rRNA sequencing), and sensory parameters were monitored during storage for 23 days at 4 ± 2 °C. Packaging materials were characterised for gas barrier and environmental impact. Results showed a similar performance for microbial growth at the end of shelf life in both packages. The NEW packaging showed to protect slightly less against oxidation and protein degradation. Sensory evaluation revealed more complex odour attributes in STD over time, and a greater tendency towards degradation odours in NEW. However, the environmental impact analysis demonstrated that the NEW system presents a 25% lower impact in global warming potential than the STD. Overall, although there are some differences noted in the burger behaviour when packaged in the NEW packaging compared to the STD, results support that the change into the monolayer lid can be performed, favouring circularity without relevant prejudice of the burger preservation. The findings inform sustainable packaging design for PBMA, highlighting the trade-offs between product stability and environmental performance in monomaterial versus multilayer systems. Results support packaging circularity strategies and European Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation alignment for plastic packaging.
- Efficacy of lignin from grape stalks in the sustainable management of the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne luciPublication . Cassoni, Ana C.; Maleita, Carla; Abrantes, Isabel; Pintado, Manuela; Vasconcelos, MartaRoot-knot nematodes (RKN, Meloidogyne spp.) cause substantial agricultural losses worldwide, and sustainable alternatives to synthetic nematicides are needed. This study evaluated the potential bionematicidal effects of two formulations based on micronized and nanoformulated lignin extracted from grape stalks via alkaline extraction and deep eutectic solvent (DES) methods against the RKN M. luci . In vitro assays revealed that micronized lignin achieved moderate second-stage juveniles (J2) mortality (maximum 66.5% at 30 mg/mL). Lignin nanoparticles (LigNPs) markedly improved efficiency, causing 68.6% J2 mortality at 0.250 mg/mL (representing a 99% reduction in concentration). Alkaline LigNPs demonstrated high J2 hatching inhibition (87.8% at 0.468 mg/mL), while DES LigNPs induced 44.6% inhibition at 0.250 mg/mL. Soil assays, performed to confirm in vitro results, revealed differential performance: J2 mortality decreased substantially (31.8% for DES at 0.5 mg/mL, negligible for alkaline at 0.94 mg/mL), likely due to adsorption in soil and reduced bioavailability. However, DES LigNPs maintained significant J2 hatching inhibition in soil (66.9% at 0.5 mg/mL), suggesting their potential for preventive applications. Hypothetical nematicidal mechanisms are discussed. Although requiring higher concentrations than metallic nanoparticles, lignin offers advantages including biodegradability, agricultural waste valorisation, and environmental safety. This first demonstration of LigNPs as bionematicides establishes a foundation for developing new sustainable RKN management strategies based on agricultural byproducts.