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Experiments are useful scientific tools for testing hypotheses by manipulating variables of interest while controlling for other factors that can bias or confuse the results and their interpretation. To ensures accuracy and reproducibility, experiments must have transparent and repeatable methodologies. Due to the importance of shredder invertebrates in organic matter processing, carbon cycling, and nutrient cycling, we tested experimentally the effect of different methodological approaches in microcosm experiments on the consumption and survival of shredders. We found that the shredder species, the presence or absence of the case, and the use or non-use of air-pumps in the microcosms did not affect shredder performance (i.e., consumption and survival). Furthermore, the type of water (stream or bottled) did not affect shredder performance. On the other hand, the amount of light had a negative effect on shredder performance, with constant light (i.e., 24 h) reducing shredder consumption and survival. Our results demonstrate that the use of different methodologies does not always result in changes in outcomes, thus ensuring comparability. However, luminosity is a critical factor that deserves attention when conducting microcosm experiments. Our findings provide valuable insights that can assist researchers in designing experiments with shredders from neotropical streams and conducting systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

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Crop improvement efforts have exploited new methods for modeling spatial trends using the arrangement of the experimental units in the field. These methods have shown improvement in predicting the genetic potential of evaluated genotypes. However, the use of these tools may be limited by the exposure and accessibility to these products. In addition, these new methodologies often require plant scientists to be familiar with the programming environment used to implement them; constraints that limit data analysis efficiency for decision-making. These challenges have led to the development of Mr.Bean, an accessible and user-friendly tool with a comprehensive graphical visualization interface. The application integrates descriptive analysis, measures of dispersion and centralization, linear mixed model fitting, multi-environment trial analysis, factor analytic models, and genomic analysis. All these capabilities are designed to help plant breeders and scientist working with agricultural field trials make informed decisions more quickly. Mr.Bean is available for download at https://github.com/AparicioJohan/MrBeanApp.

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Buriti (Mauritia flexuosa L.) is a significant source of carotenoids, but these compounds have been extracted using laborious and low-effective methods. The present work evaluated the high-intensity ultrasound combined with a chemometric approach to developing an optimal extraction method of carotenoids from buriti pulp. The multivariate optimization was carried out through two steps. First, a simplex-lattice mixture design was used to optimize the extractor solution finding higher extraction yield (903 ± 21 µg g-1) with the acetone:ethanol (75/25) mixture. After, sample mass (80 mg) and sonication time (30 min) were optimized applying central composite design (CCD) which provided a 14% improvement in the extraction method yield. So, the total carotenoid content (TCC) with optimal extraction conditions was 1026 ± 13 µg g-1which is almost twice the yield of methods known in the literature for buriti. The RP-HPLC-DAD analysis revealed that the carotenoids are gently extracted and ß-carotene is the major compound in the extracts. To confirm the accuracy, buriti samples spiked with ß-carotene standard and the developed method showed recovery >84% and precision <6.5%. Furthermore, the optimized ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) method was applied to other samples (tomato, guava, carrot, mango, acerola, papaya, and pumpkin) and presented a yield to 5.5-fold higher when compared to the reported methods indicating high robustness. Based on results, the UAE method developed has demonstrated feasibility and reliability for the study of carotenoids in buriti pulp as well as in other plant matrices with high biological relevance.

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Design of Experiments (DoE) is a statistical tool used to plan and optimize experiments and is seen as a quality technology to achieve products excellence. Among the experimental designs (EDs), the mixture designs (MDs) stand out, being widely applied to improve conditions for processing, developing, or formulating novel products. This review aims to provide useful updated information on the capacity and diversity of MDs applications for the industry and scientific community in the areas of food, beverage, and pharmaceutical health. Recent works were selected following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses statement (PRISMA) flow diagram. Data analysis was performed by self-organizing map (SOM) to check and understand which fields of application/countries/continents are using MDs. Overall, the SOM indicated that Brazil presented the largest number of works using MDs. Among the continents, America and Asia showed a predominance in applications with the same amount of work. Comparing the MDs application areas, the analysis indicated that works are prevalent in food and beverage science in the American continent, while in Asia, health science prevails. MDs were more used to develop functional/nutraceutical products and the formulation of drugs for several diseases. However, we briefly describe some promising research fields in that MDs can still be employed.

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BACKGROUND: Nonribosomal peptide synthases (NRPS) can synthesize functionally diverse bioactive peptides by incorporating nonproteinogenic amino acids, offering a rich source of new drug leads. The bacterium Escherichia coli is a well-characterized production host and a promising candidate for the synthesis of nonribosomal peptides, but only limited bioprocess engineering has been reported for such molecules. We therefore developed a medium and optimized process parameters using the design of experiments (DoE) approach. RESULTS: We found that glycerol is not suitable as a carbon source for rhabdopeptide production, at least for the NRPS used for this study. Alternative carbon sources from the tricarboxylic acid cycle achieved much higher yields. DoE was used to optimize the pH and temperature in a stirred-tank reactor, revealing that optimal growth and optimal production required substantially different conditions. CONCLUSIONS: We developed a chemically defined adapted M9 medium matching the performance of complex medium (lysogeny broth) in terms of product concentration. The maximum yield in the reactor under optimized conditions was 126 mg L-1, representing a 31-fold increase compared to the first shaking-flask experiments with M9 medium and glycerol as the carbon source. Conditions that promoted cell growth tended to inhibit NRPS productivity. The challenge was therefore to find a compromise between these factors as the basis for further process development.

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Aromatization of extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) with aromatic plants is commonly used to enrich the oil with aromatic and antioxidant compounds. Ultrasound can be an alternative to accelerate this process. The objective of this work was to determine if ultrasound is able to accelerate EVOO aromatization with rosemary and basil and how it affects the migration of volatile and other compounds, the oxidative stability and the antioxidant capacity of the aromatized products. Ultrasound parameters (amplitude, time, and temperature of extraction) were optimized for each herb with central composite designs. Free fatty acid, peroxide value, K232, K270, ΔK, fatty acid profile, total phenolics, antioxidant capacity, polar compounds, oxidative stability and volatile compounds profile were evaluated in all samples. Physical effects of ultrasound on the herbs were observed by scanning electron microscopy. In the optimization, variables related to the oxidative processes were minimized and compounds migration and oxidative stability were maximized. Results were 70.09% amplitude, 36.6 min and 35 °C for rosemary and 95.98% amplitude, 9.9 min and 30 °C for basil. These conditions were compared to 7 and 15 days of conventional maceration (CM). Aromatization of EVOO with rosemary, both by ultrasound assisted maceration (UAM) or CM, improved total phenolics, terpenes, esters, ketones, stability and induction times, as well as decreased the values for the quality parameters. The use of UAM accelerated the process to 37 min. However, aromatization with basil by CM increased the values for the quality parameters and reduced the total phenolics, the antioxidant capacity and the induction and stability times. UAM with basil reached better results than those observed for CM, in only 10 min. In conclusion, rosemary is more appropriate than basil for EVOO aromatization, and UAM was the best choice to accelerate the processes when compared to CM.

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This work describes the application of an experimental design in optimizing the decomposition and spectrometer operational conditions for analysis of fish feeds. The content of 22 elements (six macroelements, four microelements and eleven trace elements) in feeds for fishes (ornamental and for human consumption) was determined by inductively coupled plasma (ICP)-based methods. Limits of quantification were obtained and the values ranged between 0.02 mg kg-1 (Cd) and 76 mg kg-1 (Al). Evaluation of the methods was achieved through analysis of standard reference material, Oyster Tissue (NIST 1566b) and Tea (NCS DC 73351). Element concentrations in feed samples for ornamental fish ranged from <0.02 mg kg-1 (Cd) to 2.79% (P) and for fish breeding for human consumption from <0.02 mg kg-1 (Cd) to 2.00% (Ca). The concentrations of the elements obtained in the analyzed fish feeds were within the limits established by Brazilian and American legislation for regulated elements.

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Statistical analyses are an essential part of scientific research. Several choices, including the setup of the experiment, influence the selection of statistical procedures. Thus, successful planning implies accurate analysis. We used a 95% confidence interval and a 7% error margin to sample and characterize the statistical techniques used in studies on micropropagation and to discuss the effects of misusing these techniques. We quantified the following: sample size, number of replications, design, scheme (factorial or not factorial) and number of treatments, whether data transformation was used, transformation type and criteria for selection; variable type (quantitative or qualitative); statistical test and regression types. Although statistics were consistently used in these micropropagation experiments, there were several limitations such as small plot sizes, low replication numbers, employing data transformation while neglecting to inform the criteria used or even using the wrong criteria. Although statistical approaches were applied homogeneously, neglecting to use blocking can lead to errors. Blocking is recommended to increase sample size. For example, the times of an experiment or the number of people needed to set up an experiment can be used as blocks. Micropropagation studies typically employ factorial experiments to identify plant regulator types and application rates. Thus, these experiments have numerous treatments. The Tukey test is used for qualitative data while regression models (linear and quadratic) are more frequently used for quantitative data.

As análises estatísticas são uma parte essencial da pesquisa científica. Vários procedimentos desde a elaboração do experimento têm impacto nos procedimentos estatísticos finais adotados, assim um correto planejamento implica em uma análise precisa. Por meio de uma amostragem utilizando intervalo de confiança a 95% e margem de erro de 7% objetivou caracterizar as estatísticas utilizadas pelos pesquisadores da área de cultura de tecidos vegetais, e com base nos resultados discutir os principais impactos do mau uso. Foram quantificadas as informações referentes ao tamanho da amostra; número de repetições; delineamento; esquema adotado (fatorial ou não) e número de tratamentos; uso ou não de transformação, critério para adoção e tipo de transformação; tipo da variável (quantitativo ou qualitativo), teste e tipos de regressão. Mesmo com uso consistente da estatística nos experimentos de micropropagação alguns gargalos permanecem, como o tamanho das parcelas e o número reduzido de repetições. Soma-se a isto, a transformação de dados na qual não são informados os critérios para a adoção, ou usam-se critérios equivocados. Mesmo considerando as condições homogêneas, o não uso da blocagem nos experimentos pode configurar em um erro. Recomenda-se a blocagem para aumentar o tamanho da amostra, tendo como bloco o tempo e, ou, o fator humano envolvido na instalação do experimento. Como característica da área tem-se o uso de experimentos fatoriais, visando definir doses e reguladores vegetais, assim os experimentos apresentam grande número de tratamentos. Para comparação dos dados qualitativos utiliza-se o teste de Tukey e no quantitativo as regressões preferidas são as lineares e quadráticas.

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Plants endue a key role against illnesses caused by oxidative stress. These attributes are frequently associated with polyphenolic compounds. However, presence and concentration of secondary metabolites are affected by abiotic factors. The in vitro culture techniques can solve these drawbacks. Peppers can be a suitable alternative to obtain polyphenols. Aiming to optimise the callus culture stage from Capsicum baccatum to produce polyphenols, this work evaluated systemically the effects of the explant's origin (root, hypocotyl and cotyledon), growth hormone type (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), benzylaminopurine (BAP) and a combination of 2,4-D/BAP at five-to-one ratio) and concentration (0.023-10.000 mg L-1) on callus culture efficiency parameters using a multilevel factorial design. The root explant in combination with BAP at 1.138 mg L-1 ensured the optimal values of the assessed responses; ​callus mass (225.03 mg), antioxidant activity (35.95%), total phenols (11.48 mg of GAE/g DE) and flavonoids (15.92 mg of RU/g DE) production.

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BACKGROUND: There are large numbers of short-term medical mission (STMM) groups traveling yearly from the United States to underdeveloped countries. Medical professionals educated in the Western biomedical model of treatment have an ethnocentric view of how to treat illness. PURPOSE: The purpose of this pilot study was to demonstrate that a 2-hour culturally sensitive educational program administered to medical professionals travelling to Haiti on a STMM could raise their cultural competency as measured by a specific tool. METHOD: The participants were invited to a short educational program designed to help them understand their own biases and make better treatment decisions for their patients based on the five constructs of Dr. Campinha-Bacote's cultural competence model. FINDINGS: Following an evidence-based educational program, the members of the STMM groups demonstrated improved levels of cultural competency. IMPLICATIONS: This program could provide an appropriate way to raise the cultural competency of medical mission health care providers.

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INTRODUCCIÓN: los diseños experimentales (DE) podrían ser el futuro de las intervenciones de enfermería, dado que se realizarían manipulando intencionalmente una variable en un grupo experimental versus un control, para mostrar la efectividad del cuidado enfermero. Sin embargo, en la literatura, los DE son minoritarios, es posible que se deba a la falta de financiamiento o preparación metodológica en la formación de estos profesionales. OBJETIVO: Determinar si los artículos publicados en enfermería con diseño experimental cumplen con los requisitos de rigurosidad metodológica. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: Diseño retrospectivo y transversal. Se analizaron dos revistas nacionales y tres internacionales, indizadas en LILACS, CINAHL, CUIDEN, PubMed e ISI Web of Science, publicadas del 2008 al 2012. RESULTADOS: Se revisaron 400 artículos de los cuales solo 35 cumplieron con los criterios de selección. En aspectos generales, el 34.3% son escritos por Maestros en ciencias, 28.6% muestra co- elaboración multidisciplinaria, el 31.4 % utilizan conceptos teóricos de enfermería, la temática clínica abarcó 45.7% y el ámbito educativo 51.4%. Respecto a los diseños, el 48. 6% de los artículos son cuasi-experimentales, 22.9% preexperimentales y el 22.9% ensayos clínicos. DISCUSIÓN Y CONCLUSIONES: realizar investigaciones experimentales en enfermería podría reforzar los PLACE, la taxonomía NANDA, NIC, NOC y los modelos teóricos. Esto podría mostrar bajo evidencia científica y rigurosidad metodológica que las intervenciones de enfermería son efectivas. La calidad de la mayoría de los artículos revisados podría mejorar, dado que no cuentan con potencia estadística, tamaño del efecto y el cálculo de la muestra no es claro.

INTRODUCTION. Experimental designs (ED) could be the nursing interventions future, since they would be performed intentionally manipulating a variable in an experimental group vs a control one, aiming to show nurse care effectiveness. However, in the literature, ED are a minority; it is possible this is due the lack of financial fostering or methodological preparation of these professional's upbringing. OBJECTIVE. Determine if the published nursing papers with an experimental design fulfill the methodological rigor requisites. MATERIAL AND METHODS. Retrospective and transversal design. Two national and three international journals published from 2008 to 2012 and indexed in LILACS, CINAHL, CUIDEN, PubMed, and Web of Science were analyzed. RESULTS. Four hundred articles were reviewed, and only 35 out of them fulfill the selection criteria. In general aspects, 34.3% are written by science teachers, 28.6% shows a multidisciplinary collaboration, 31.4% use nursing theoretical concepts, clinical thematic comprised 45.7%, and 51.4% cover the educational scope. Regarding designs, 48.6% are quasi-experimental, 22.9% pre-experimental, and 22.9% are clinical essays. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS. Performing nursing experimental research could reinforce the PLACE, NANDA taxonomy, NIC, NOC, and the theoretical models. Then so, it could be shown under scientific evidence and methodological rigor that nursing interventions are effective. However, most reviewed articles quality could be enhanced, since they lack statistical potency, effect size, and the sample calculation is unclear.

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El objetivo de este trabajo fue comprobar la optimización de la encapsulación de avobenzona en liposomas, y evaluar si constituye una barrera física de protección contra la fotodegradación de avobenzona en presencia de octilmetoxicinnamato. Se aplicó un diseño experimental para optimizar los procesos de encapsulación. Los resultados obtenidos mostraron un aumento significativo en la eficiencia de encapsulación al encontrar una relación óptima del agente encapsulante con el agente a encapsular y las interacciones apropiadas entre los factores evaluados. Los valores obtenidos en la eficiencia de encapsulación están alrededor de un 90,00 por ciento y el tamaño logrado fue de 9,156 mm. La fotoestabilidad de la avobenzona en presencia del filtro solar UVB, octilmetoxicinnamato, mejoró al estar encapsulado en liposomas con un porcentaje de degradación del 22,07 por ciento contra un 32,96 por ciento de la avobenzona sin encapsular, y la estabilización coloidal de la dispersión de liposomas mejoró con la utilización de carbopol 940 al 1,00 por ciento. En conclusión, la encapsulación de avobenzona en liposomas al usar isolecitina se logra con alta eficiencia, y se comproba que la degradación de la avobenzona promovida por la luz disminuye al estar encapsulada, aun en presencia de octilmetoxicinnamato.

This study was aimed at confirming the optimization of Avobenzone encapsulation in liposomes, and at evaluating whether this is a physical barrier to protect AVO from photodegradation in presence of octylmetoxycinnamate or not. An experimental design served to optimize the processes of encapsulation. The results showed a significant increase in the encapsulation efficiency since optimal relationship between the encapsulating agent and the agent to be encapsulated, as well as adequate interactions among the studied factors were found. The values of encapsulation efficiency were roughly 90.00 percent and the particle size obtained was 9.156 mm. The Avobenzone photostability in presence of UVB filter octylmetoxycinnamate improved when being encapsulated in liposomes, with a degradation percentage of 22.07 percent against 32.96 percent of the non-encapsulated, and the colloidal stabilization of liposomal dispersion improved with the use of 1.00 percent Carbopol 940. It can be concluded that the encapsulation of avobenzone in liposomes using isolecitine is highly efficient, and it is confirmed that Avobenzone photodegradation decreases when it is encapsulated, regardless of octylmetoxycinnamate.