Evidence has linked excessive salt consumption to the development of chronic degenerative diseases. Therefore, special attention has been given to the consumption of healthier products with reduced sodium contents. This study aimed to develop a Mozzarella cheese with a reduced sodium content using a mixture of salts through acceptance testing and temporal sensory evaluation. The following 3 formulations of Mozzarella cheese were prepared: formulation A (control), which was produced only with NaCl (0% sodium reduction), formulation B (30% sodium reduction), and formulation C (54% sodium reduction). Every formulation was produced using a mixture of salts consisting of NaCl, KCl, and monosodium glutamate at different concentrations. The products underwent sensory acceptance tests, and the time intensity and temporal dominance of sensations were evaluated. The proportions of salts used did not cause strange or bad tastes but did result in lower intensities of saltiness. Mozzarella with low sodium content (B and C) had a sensory acceptance similar to that of traditional Mozzarella (A). Therefore, the use of a mixture of salts consisting of NaCl, KCl, and monosodium glutamate is a viable alternative for the production of Mozzarella, with up to a 54% reduction in the sodium content while still maintaining acceptable sensory quality.

Youth problem gambling has become an emergent public health issue, and adolescents constitute a vulnerable age group for the development of gambling-related problems. Although there is research concerning the risk factors of youth problem gambling, rigorous evaluations of the effectiveness of preventive initiatives is still rare. The present study evaluated the efficacy of an integrative intervention to prevent youth problem gambling based on a multidimensional set of factors including gambling-related knowledge, misconceptions, attitudes, gambling frequency, amount of money spent, total hours spent gambling per week, and sensation seeking. A pre-and post-test design was performed with 111 Portuguese high-school students randomly assigned to two groups (experimental and control). The findings demonstrated that the intervention was effective in improving correct knowledge about gambling, reducing misconceptions and attitudes, and in decreasing the total hours spent gambling per week. The intervention was also effective in reducing the number of at-risk/problem gamblers during the study period. Furthermore, these findings were stable after a 6-week follow-up. Overall, the intervention program appeared to be effective in correcting some gambling-related behaviours, and provides suggestions for future interventions.

A obtenção artificial de genótipos com duplicação cromossômica em forrageiras busca maximizar características de interesse agronômico, como valor nutricional e produção de forragem, resistência a pragas e doenças, tolerância a estresses abióticos e restauração da fertilidade de híbridos estéreis. Outro objetivo da duplicação cromossômica é a geração de variabilidade genética em espécies apomíticas, por meio da duplicação cromossômica de acessos sexuais igualando a ploidia de modo a permitir a realização de cruzamentos e a obtenção de descendentes férteis. A indução de poliploidia é feita utilizando substâncias antimitóticas, sendo a colchicina a mais amplamente usada em plantas forrageiras. Entretanto, devido a sua toxicidade, outras substâncias como herbicidas e cafeína vem sendo empregadas com sucesso em gramíneas. A eficácia na obtenção de poliploides artificialmente depende de uma série de fatores exógenos, tais como as substâncias antimitóticas utilizadas, o tipo de explante, o tempo e as condições de exposição e as concentrações dos antimitóticos. Esta revisão tem por objetivo apresentar os principais métodos usados para indução de poliploidia em gramíneas forrageiras e os avanços obtidos no melhoramento genético, a partir do uso de genótipos poliploidizados.

-Artificial chromosome duplication of diploid genotypes of

AbStRACt. The texture of corn grains is a fundamental characteristic for the industry as well as for grain producers and processors. To further understand the mechanisms involved in grain hardness, contrasting corn cultivars for grain hardness and protein quality were evaluated. The cultivars were Cateto L 237/67 (hard endosperm and low protein value), QPM BR 451 (semi-hard endosperm and high protein value); Bolivia-2 (floury endosperm and low protein value), and Opaque-2 (floury endosperm and high protein value). Evaluations were carried out at 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 days after pollination in developing corn grains and in the mature grain. In developing grains, evaluation consisted in the determination of the area, percentage of starch granules, distribution of starch granules, and protein bodies in the endosperm. In mature corn grains, the parameters evaluated were: density, percentage of total proteins, levels of lysine and tryptophan, and banding pattern of zeins. The results 499©FUNPEC-RP www.funpecrp.com.br Genetics and Molecular Research 7 (2): 498-508 (2008) Corn grain texture indicate that the higher physical resistance of corn grains from the cultivars analyzed is influenced by the high percentage of total proteins, high synthesis of 27-kDa zeins, presence of protein bodies, and perfect organization of starch granules in the endosperm, independent of their sizes.