Browsing by Author "Carvalho, M."
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- Burnout as a multidimensional phenomenon: how can workplaces be healthy environments?Publication . Gaspar, T.; Carvalho, M.; Matos, M.Purpose: Burnout was already a significant problem before the pandemics, but in the aftermath became a serious concern and a public health and occupational health priority. This study had two aims. First, it investigated how different healthy workplace dimensions and other health individual-level variables are related to burnout. Second, it examined differences in terms of presentism, absenteeism, quality of life between employees who report burnout symptoms and those who do not. Methods: Participants were 1702 Portuguese employees from various organizations. 69.68% were female, age ranged from 18 to 72 years (M ¼ 43.25 years, SD ¼ 10.40). Almost half of the participants (49.9%; 851 participants) reported having at least one burnout symptom. Results: Participants reported that they have felt exhausted (43.7%), irritated (34.5%) and sad (30.5%) always or very often in the last 4 weeks. Regression analysis revealed that the global score on burnout symptoms was negatively related to leadership engagement, psychosocial work environment, personal health resources, health behaviours, and satisfaction with salary. In addition, the global score on burnout symptoms was positively related to worker involvement, enterprise community involvement, perceived stress, and screen time at work. Furthermore, females tend to report a higher level of burnout symptoms compared to males. In addition, burnout has an impact on sickness absenteeism, presentism, and quality of life. Conclusions: Our findings have an important contribution to understanding and promoting a healthier work environment and reinforce the need for measures and policies to promote mental health, manage stress, and prevent burnout in the workplace. Key messages: • What best explains the burnout symptoms is the workers’ perceived stress, followed by psychosocial risk factors at work. • There is a positive relationship between perceived stress and burnout: effective work stress management is one of the protective factors that prevents burnout.
- A GAC biofilm reactor for the continuous degradation of 4-chlorophenol: treatment efficiency and microbial analysisPublication . Carvalho, M.; Vasconcelos, I.; Bull, A.; Castro, P.Using a continuous enrichment technique, a bacterial consortium capable of degrading 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) was obtained from the rhizosphere of Phragmites australis. A granular activated carbon (GAC) biofilm reactor was established using this consortium, and the degradation of 4-CP was investigated under continuous flow operation using a feed of 20-50 mg l-1 with a hydraulic residence time of 17 min over a 6-month period. Chloride liberation occurred throughout the operation, and the reactor had 4-CP removal efficiencies of 69-100%. Periods of lower performance were attributed to clogging of the column with biomass and the formation of channels. Subsequently, the immobilized biofilm was subjected to a starvation period of 5 months, after which its degradative capacity was still maintained. The microbial consortium was characterized during the continuous flow experiment and dynamic population changes were observed throughout. One isolate recovered from the biofilm was shown to be capable of degrading 4-CP as a sole carbon and energy source.
- In vitro antimicrobial activities of various essential oils against pathogenic and spoilage microorganismsPublication . Carvalho, M.; Albano, H.; Teixeira, P.Background: Plant-derived Essential Oils (EOs) have shown remarkable antimicrobial activity against spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms isolated from food products. The objective of the current study was to determine in vitro antimicrobial effects of selected EOs against these microorganisms. Methods: Antimicrobial activity of EOs against food-borne and spoilage microorganisms was screened by disk diffusion assay; then, the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimal Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) were determined. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS 23.0 software for Windows. Results: Oregano and thyme EOs showed the highest antimicrobial activity and the lowest MICs, while anise, fennel, garlic, and ginger showed a lower activity with significant differences (p<0.05). It was demonstrated that Salmonella Typhimurium, Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, and Yersinia enterocolitica were the most sensitive bacteria to all the EOs tested (p<0.05). Among Gram-positive bacteria, Listeria innocua was demonstrated to be the most sensitive to most of the EOs (p<0.05). Furthermore, Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes were shown to be more sensitive than Enterococcus spp. (p<0.05). Yeasts were significantly (p<0.05) more sensitive than bacteria and were inhibited by most of the EOs. Conclusion: The use of the analyzed EOs may be interesting to food processors because of their antimicrobial properties. However, it is necessary to test their use in food products and gauge their sensory implications.
- REATIVA: programa promotor de um envelhecimento ativoPublication . Loureiro, H.; Mendes, A.; Fernandes, A.; Camarneiro, A.; Fonseca, António M.; Veríssimo, M.T.; Carvalho, M.; Silva, M.; Rodrigues, R.; Pedreiro, A.; Angelo, M.
- Spores in fabrics: resistance to disinfection by UVC radiation and ozonePublication . Gomes, J.; Rezende, L.; Barbosa, J.; Neto, C.; Carvalho, M.; Coelho, N.; Ferreira, J.; Costa, A. F.; Pintado, M.; Teixeira, P.