ResumoDevido ao fato da berinjela (Solanum melongena, L.) apresentar um alto teor de fibra alimentar e tendo em vista que biscoitos possuem grande potencial para servir como produto nutritivo, o presente estudo teve como objetivo utilizar a farinha de berinjela na obtenção de biscoitos tipo salgado para apresentarem alto teor de fibra e serem sensorialmente aceitáveis. Utilizaram-se níveis de 10, 15 e 20% de farinha de berinjela. Nos biscoitos prontos avaliaram-se as características químicas e físicas. Os teores de proteína, cinzas, extrato etéreo e fibra alimentar total, dos biscoitos elaborados, aumentaram com o incremento das proporções utilizadas. Por outro lado, a expansão e o peso unitário dos biscoitos diminuíram com o aumento da concentração de farinha de berinjela e sua coloração se tornou mais escura. Os biscoitos elaborados com os três níveis de farinha de berinjela podem ser classificados como produtos de alto teor de fibra alimentar e prontos para consumo. Palavras-chave: berinjela; fibra alimentar; biscoito. AbstractDue to the fact that eggplant (Solanum melongena, L.) presents a high concentration of dietary fiber, and also that crackers show a great potential to be used as a nutritive product, the aims of this present work are the use of dehydrated eggplant flour in the composition of crackers in order to present a high level of fiber while keeping their sensorial quality. Levels of 10, 15 and 20% of eggplant flour where used. In the crackers, the chemical and physical characteristics were evaluated. In the final product, the concentration of protein, ash, lipids and total dietary fibers increased as the level of eggplant flour increased. On the other hand, the expansion and the weight decreased and the color became more intense. Therefore, crackers, of all three levels of eggplant flour, can be classified as high dietary fiber and ready-to-eat food.

Dietary practices of college students were described and examined according to the means by which they were admitted to the university (quota and non-quota students

The current widespread use of benzalkonium chloride (BAC) in different cleaning and disinfecting products led us to investigate its potential toxic effect on phytoplankton. To this aim, different physiological variables were monitored to detect toxicity of four ecologically relevant concentrations of BAC (15-200 μg l −1 ) on batch cultures of the microalgae Isochrysis galbana and Chaetoceros gracilis, and on a coastal phytoplankton assemblage. Fluorescence variables measured by fast repetition rate fluorometry, specifically variable fluorescence (F v ), were the most suitable to be used as endpoint among all the variables recorded (biomass, growth rate, size structure, and species composition). Calculated effective concentrations from F v data provided evidences of higher sensitivity in the natural assemblage at short exposure times (natural assemblage-EC 50 [24 h]= 36.4 μg l −1 vs. monoalgae-EC 50 [24 h]>120 μg l −1 ). Despite these differences, standard monoalgal laboratory toxicity tests provided comparable estimates of safe concentrations for microalgae in the environment. Assessed EC 10 fall within the range of BAC concentrations reported in the literature for different effluents.

The capacity of natural dissolved organic matter (DOM) produced during the onset, development and decay of a simulated bloom of the marine diatom Skeletonema costatum to complex free copper has been followed for a 2 week period. Total dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations could not accurately predict the complexing capacity of the culture, especially at the end of the bloom, and better predictions were obtained when fluorescence measurements were considered. During the onset and development (days 0 to 7) exuded dissolved free amino acids (DFAA) efficiently complexed free copper (60-80% of the total complexing capacity of the culture). During the decay (days 8 to 13), DFAA were replaced by humic substances as the complexing agent for copper (60-100% of the total complexing capacity). Humic substances were produced in situ as a by-product of the bacterial degradation of phytogenic materials, essentially during the decay of the bloom.

Dietary practices of college students were compared before and after implementation of the University Restaurant (UR) and examined according to frequency of UR use. A natural experiment was conducted with students (n = 1131) of a Brazilian public university using a validated self-completed and identified questionnaire that inquired information on practices of substituting lunch and/or dinner with a snack (≥ 5 days/week) and on regular consumption of foods that were markers of a healthy or unhealthy diet. At the second time point, UR use by students was also assessed based on their attendance to it. Changes in food practices were examined by determining differences in proportions between the two assessments. The analysis of the association between UR use and each dietary practice was carried out using multiple logistic regression models. An association was observed between greater UR use and higher frequency of regular consumption of beans, vegetables, raw vegetables, cooked vegetables and fruit and lower frequency of regular consumption of French fries and/or fried snacks. The UR proved to be an environment that facilitated the adoption of healthy dietary practices and promoted improvement in the diets of the students who were more assiduous to the restaurant.