Browsing by Author "Moura, D."
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- Antihypertensive effect of spent brewer yeast peptidePublication . Amorim, M.; Marques, C.; Pereira, J. O.; Guardão, L.; Martins, M. J.; Osório, H.; Moura, D.; Calhau, C.; Pinheiro, H.; Pintado, M.Numerous studies have investigated dietary approaches to prevent chronic lifestyle-related diseases, including hypertension. Spent brewer's yeast is the second largest byproduct originated by the brewing industry and it deserves considerable attention because of its high nutritional value, ca. 40% of its dry mass is rich in protein which can be hydrolyzed into biologically active peptides. To upgrade this byproduct, the aim of this study was initially in vitro assessment of biological properties, e.g. ACE inhibition and antioxidant activity, and then, the in vivo effect in short-term oral antihypertensive effect of hydrolyzed yeast fractions on a well characterized model to study hypertension - Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHR). Here, it was demonstrated that the fraction with molecular weight below 3 kDa containing tri and tetra- peptides with hydrophobic amino acid residues - SPQW, PWW and RYW, causes the most noticeable decrease in systolic, diastolic and mean blood pressure of SHR and shows highest antioxidant effect. These properties highlight the potential use of yeast extract as nutraceutical or functional food ingredient for the management and treatment of hypertension with antioxidant effect.
- Involuntary hospitalization and future coercive experiences - a retrospective studyPublication . Cagigal, C.; Moura, D.; Maia, B.; Cabral, A.Introduction: The involuntary hospitalization is required when an individual with severe mental illness poses serious danger to himself or others. Therefore, it is an intervention that profoundly affects one´s self-determination. The literature reports that patients being involuntarily admitted to hospital have a higher risk of involuntary readmissions. Objectives: To evaluate the influence of involuntary hospitalization on other future coercive hospital admissions. Methods: This is a retrospective study of a sample of 28 patients with a mean age of 46,9 years who underwent a psychiatric evaluation in the years of 2017 and 2018 at Coimbra Hospital and University Centre, Coimbra, Portugal. Several variables were collected, including the existence of past history of involuntary hospitalization and the need for further coercive hospitalization after the evaluation. All statistical data analyses were performed using IBM SPSS® version 26. Results: There was no statistically significant relationship between the history of involuntary hospitalization and subsequent compulsive hospital admissions (p > 0.05, α = 0.05). Conclusions: The results of our study do not corroborate data from previous research. Although we should take into account the small size of our sample, it is important to highlight the low rate of involuntary hospitalization in our country (3.2%) compared to other European countries (e.g. 30% in Sweden). The robust social support in the community, as well as our institution’s rehabilitation and psychotherapeutic programs focusing on insight, could be crucial contributors to these results.
- Optical fiber bioanalyzer based on enzymatic coating matrix for catecholamines and their metabolites assessment in patients with down syndromePublication . Silva, Lurdes I. B.; Gomes, A. M.; Pintado, M. M.; Pinheiro, H.; Moura, D.; Freitas, Ana C.; Rocha-Santos, Teresa A. P.; Pereira, M. E.; Duarte, A. C.The urinary levels of catecholamines [adrenaline (AD), noradrenaline (NA), and dopamine (DA)] and their metabolites [L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA), and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC)], as indicators of physiological stress, were assessed in 40 patients with Down syndrome (DS). The analysis was performed by an optical fiber (OF) bioanalyzer; which was constituted by two main components: a miniaturized chromatographic system and a detection system based on an OF coated with an enzymatic matrix. In this study some working conditions such as, number of fibers in the miniaturized chromatographic column, number of dips for sensitive coating deposition, temperature and time of cure of the sensitive matrix, were optimized in order to achieve higher analytical performance. After tested for calibration the bioanalyzer was applied to urine samples analysis of catecholamines and their metabolites, comparing the results with those obtained by both, a classical analytical method, namely high performance liquid chromatography coupled to an electrochemical detector (HPLC-ED), and an OF biosensor based on a sensitive cladding of laccase (LacOF biosensor). The results of catecholamines in patients with DS revealed that 15% and 22.5% of the analyzed subjects showed DA and AD concentrations, respectively, above the pathological levels. In the determinations of NA, the 40 samples showed concentration values below the normal levels, while in the determination of catecholamines metabolites 5% of the urine samples showed values above 118 and 1681 for L-DOPA and DOPAC, respectively. Index Terms—Catecholamines analysis, down syndrome, HPLC-ED, OF bioanalyzer.