Browsing by Author "Oliveira, Ana"
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- 6th European Conference for social work research: reflective social work practices in contemporary societies dialogues and new pathways between praxis and research. Book of abstracts & programme bookPublication . Branco, Francisco; Amaro, Maria Inês; Santos, Maria Isabel; Oliveira, Ana; Guerra, Inês
- Uma abordagem ao estudo dos estilos de identidade em adultos portuguesesPublication . Pinto, Joana Carneiro; Lagarto, Patrícia; Sousa, Nuno; Oliveira, AnaNum mundo globalizado e em constante mudança encontrar uma identidade própria é uma tarefa essencial da vida humana, cabendo à Psicologia o importante papel de contribuir para o estudo desta temática. Neste sentido, este trabalho avalia as qualidades psicométricas da versão portuguesa do Inventário de Estilos de Identidade (ISI5, Berzonsky, 2013; tradução de Pinto & Sousa, 2013), junto de 304 jovens adultos e adultos portugueses (M=37.29 anos; DP=11.19), com diferentes backgrounds sociodemográficos. Os resultados da Análise Fatorial Exploratória apontam para uma solução fatorial constituída por 3 fatores que explicam 43.15% da variância total dos itens, sendo os dados empíricos adequados à análise efetuada (KMO=.813). Por sua vez, a Análise Fatorial Confirmatória, após comparação de soluções fatoriais distintas, indica um modelo constituído por 3 fatores, cujos índices globais de adequação comprovam a sua qualidade no ajustamento aos dados empíricos (X2/df=2.433, CFI=.814, GFI=.853, RMSEA=.069). Estes resultados estimulam ao aprofundamento desta linha de investigação, no sentido de se desenvolver um instrumento robusto no que concerne a avaliação dos estilos pessoais de processamento de informação, de resolução de problemas e de tomada de decisão, no âmbito da (re)construção da identidade.
- Aerobic granules synthesized with EPS and degrading strain Rhodococcus FP1 for industrial wastewater treatmentPublication . Oliveira, Ana; Amorim, Catarina L.; Zlopasa, Jure; Lin, Yuemei; Loosdrecht, Mark V.L; Castro, Paula M. L.Aerobic granular sludge-sequencing batch reactors (AGS-SBR) is a promising and innovative wastewater treatment system. AGS is composed of microorganisms embedded in a self-produced extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) matrix, forming spherical sludge aggregates. Although AGS tolerance to toxicity, the indigenous microbial communities may not be effective in removing recalcitrant pollutants. Bioaugmentation strategies (addition of specific microorganisms to the system) can be a solution to overcome the difficulty to eliminate certain compounds in wastewaters. However, it is still not a well-established strategy. EPS was extracted from aerobic granules from Nereda® wastewater treatment plants in Utrecht or Garmerwolde, Netherlands. The extraction procedure is as described by Felz et al., 2016. The synthetic granules were produced using the extrusion technique with CaCl2, by mixing the extracted EPS, a concentrated bacterial suspension of Rhodococcus sp FP1 (OD450 of 67.0), and substances 1 or 2. The produced synthetic granules were subjected to a shear stress test, 400 or 800 rpm in a closed vessel for 1 hour, in order to measure their strength. A specific mixture composed of EPS, bacterial suspension and substance 2 generated strong synthetic granules, similar to Utrecht granules used as a control in the shear stress test. Beads produce only with substance 2 and bacterial suspension showed to be weaker than the granules previously mentioned. Thus, the EPS can be considered a key component to increase the strength of the synthetic granules. However, some inconsistencies were observed for synthetic granules with higher concentration of EPS and substance 2, which could indicate that the composition and crosslinking potential of the EPS could be the limiting factor for the granules strength and not only the EPS concentration. In summary, EPS composition and concentration can be important factors to be considered when synthesizing strong granules able to endure this shear stress test. In the future, the EPS biocompatibility and 2-fluorophenol biodegradation with these synthetic granules will be tested.
- Aerobic granules synthesized with EPS and degrading strain Rhodococcus sp. FP1 for industrial wastewater treatmentPublication . Oliveira, Ana; Amorim, Catarina L.; Zlopassa, Jure; Lin, Yuemei; van Loosdrecht, Mark; Castro, Paula M. L.Background: Aerobic granular sludge-sequencing batch reactors (AGS-SBR) have been introduced as a promising and innovative wastewater treatment system economically outcompeting the conventional activated sludge system. AGS is considered a special case of suspended biofilms, composed of self-immobilized microorganisms that form spherical sludge aggregates. Microorganisms are embedded in a self-produced extracellular polymeric substances matrix thus avoiding the need of any carrier. Many synthetic organic chemicals or metabolites are being released directly into the environment after wastewater treatment processes, which are not conceived to remove them from the effluents. In spite of the AGS tolerance to toxicity, the indigenous microbial communities in biotreatment processes may not be effective in removing recalcitrant pollutants. Bioaugmentation strategies, which consists of adding specific microorganisms to the system can be a solution to overcome the difficulty to eliminate certain compounds in wastewaters. However, it is still not a well-established strategy and deserves attention to become a promising alternative. This work aimed to synthesize strong aerobic granules using EPS (extracted from AGS) and a specialized bacterial strain capable of degrading 2-fluorophenol, with the aid of specific substances to increase the cross-linking potential of EPS. Conclusions: Substance 1 was not efficient in improving the strength of the granules, due to concentration or inability to promote the crosslinking of EPS; Granules from mixture 6 were the most similar in terms of strength to the Utrecht granules. The source of EPS affected the strength of the granules, even with conditions similar to mixture 6 Control beads from mixture 7 showed to be weaker than the ones from mixture 6, reinforcing that EPS was a key component to increase the strength of the produced granules. EPS composition and concentration are important to produce strong granules that can be further used in bioaugmentation.
- Ansiedade, depressão e stresse: um estudo com jovens adultos e adultos portuguesesPublication . Pinto, Joana Carneiro; Lagarto, Patrícia; Pinheiro, Teresa; Oliveira, AnaA nível europeu, Portugal é um dos países com maior prevalência de perturbações mentais, destacando-se as perturbações de ansiedade e as perturbações de humor (Wang et al., 2011). Diversas investigações têm reforçado a forte relação entre as perturbações de ansiedade e as respostas de stresse, bem como uma forte comorbilidade entre as perturbações de ansiedade e a depressão (e.g., Pais-Ribeiro, Honrado & Leal, 2004). Neste sentido, face aos vários fatores que podem contribuir para o desenvolvimento destas perturbações, bem como as suas consequências no bem-estar e qualidade de vida das pessoas, torna-se pertinente estudar estes sintomas emocionais através de instrumentos adequados à população portuguesa. Este estudo avalia as qualidades psicométricas da Escala de Ansiedade, Depressão e Stress (EADS-21; Pais-Ribeiro, Honrado, & Leal, 2004), e analisa diferenças nestes sintomas emocionais considerando variáveis sociodemográficas. Participaram 304 jovens adultos e adultos portugueses (M=37.29 anos; DP=11.19), tendo-lhes sido administrado o EADS-21, um instrumento de autorrelato constituído por 21 itens que incidem sobre a identificação de sintomas emocionais vivenciados na última semana. A análise de fiabilidade indicou valores de consistência interna de .824 para a ansiedade, .885 para a depressão e .861 para o stresse. A adequação do modelo foi avaliada através da análise fatorial confirmatória, sendo comprovada a sua qualidade no ajustamento aos dados empíricos (X2/df=1.971, CFI=.938, GFI=.898, RMSEA=.057). Registaram-se diferenças estatisticamente significativas nos níveis de ansiedade, depressão e stresse em função do sexo, idade, área de formação, e satisfação global com a vida. Retiram-se implicações para o aprofundamento desta linha de investigação.
- Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity improvement of lycopene from guava on nanoemulsifying systemPublication . Amorim, Adriany; Souza, Jéssica; Oliveira, Ana; Santos, Raimunda; Vasconcelos, Andreanne; Araújo, Thiago; Cabral, Wanessa; Silva, Maria; Mafud, Ana; Mascarenhas, Yvonne; Medeiros, Jand-Venes; Saraiva, Jaco; Muehlmann, Luis; Kückelhaus, Selma; Pintado, Manuela; Leite, José R.The nanoemulsion system can improve stability to antioxidant molecules when compared to the isolated molecule. Therefore, this study aimed to establish conditions on thermal stability, chemical characterization, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity of lycopene nanoemulsion. Different chemical assays were used to characterize the lycopene nanoemulsion (LN) and the purified lycopene from guava (LPG) as HPLC, UV-Vis, DLS, and ABTS to analyze the antioxidant activity of lycopene nanoemulsion. To test its thermal stability as an antioxidant in nanoemulsion it was used the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) techniques. The carrageenan-induced paw edema model in Swiss mice and histopathological analysis were used to evaluate anti-inflammatory activity. Emulsion with a mean droplet size of z-Average diameter 167.1 d.nm was produced. UV-vis detected kmax ¼ 447.1, 473.7, and 505.3nm to lycopene from guava and HPLC-DAD analysis by C30 at 472nm identified the presence of lycopene in the nanoemulsion. This lycopene nanoemulsion presented thermal stability at room temperature, as well as on concentration when stored for one year. Also significantly inhibited (p<0.05) the edema formation, with maximum inhibitory effect at 50mg/kg by oral and intraperitoneal route and reduced neutrophil migration in paw tissue. The lycopene nanoemulsion can be a potential candidate for investigation and therapy of various diseases, including inflammation because this lycopene nanoemulsion presented therapeutics application for inflammatory diseases, and has also potential to be used as ointment and/or cream additive for topic applications.
- Antimicrobial properties and bioactivity potential of smart nanoparticles for dental applicationsPublication . Correia, Bruna L.; Malekshiri, Moslem; Bartolomeu, Maria; Silva, Virgília; Oliveira, Ana; Noites, Rita; Cardoso, Miguel; Mendes, Karina; Gomes, Ana T. P. C.; Duarte, Ana Sofia
- Are olive pomace powders a safe source of bioactives and nutrients?Publication . Ribeiro, Tânia B.; Oliveira, Ana; Coelho, Marta; Veiga, Mariana; Costa, Eduardo M.; Silva, Sara; Nunes, João; Vicente, António A.; Pintado, ManuelaBACKGROUND Olive oil industry generates significant amounts of semi-solid wastes, namely the olive pomace. Olive pomace is a by-product rich in high-value compounds (e.g. dietary fibre, unsaturated fatty acids, polyphenols) widely explored to obtain new food ingredients. However, conventional extraction methods frequently use organic solvents, while novel eco-friendly techniques have high operational costs. The development of powdered products without any extraction step has been proposed as a more feasible and sustainable approach. RESULTS The present study fractionated and valorised the liquid and pulp fraction of olive pomace obtaining two stable and safe powdered ingredients, namely a liquid-enriched powder (LOPP) and a pulpenriched powder (POPP). These powders were characterized chemically, and their bioactivity was assessed. LOPP exhibited a significant amount of mannitol (141 g/ kg), potassium (54 g/ kg) and hydroxytyrosol/ derivatives (5 mg/g). POPP exhibited high amount of dietary fibre (620 g/ kg) associated to significant amount of bound phenolics (7.41 mg GAE/ g fibre DW) with substantial antioxidant activity. POPP also contained an unsaturated fatty acids composition similar to olive oil (76% of total fatty acids) and showed potential as a reasonable source of protein (12 %). Their functional properties (solubility, water‐holding and oil‐holding capacity), antioxidant capacity and antimicrobial activity were also assessed, and their biological safety was verified. CONCLUSION The development of olive pomace powders to apply in the food industry could be a suitable strategy to add-value to olive pomace and obtain safe multifunctional ingredients with higher health-promoting effects than dietary fibre and polyphenols itself.
- Behaviour of cyanidin-3-glucoside, β-lactoglobulin and polysaccharides nanoparticles in bulk and oil-in-water interfacesPublication . Oliveira, Ana; Pizones Ruiz-Henestrosa, Víctor M.; von Staszewski, Mariana; Pilosof, Ana M. R.; Pintado, ManuelaParticle size distributions as well the interfacial and rheological properties of the films at the oil/water interface were used to study the effect of the interacting system between β-lactoglobulin, cyanidin-3-glucoside and pectin or chitosan in buffer solutions. The particles obtained were smaller with cy-3-gluc-β–lg-pectin and had reduced polydispersity with cy-3-gluc-β–lg-chitosan. Based on time dependent surface pressure results, β–lg-pectin mixtures showed a slower increase at the beginning of the measurement, while β-lg-chitosan mixtures showed no differences with β–lg alone. Contrarily, dilatational properties increased for ternary chitosan mixtures, but they remained similar to the pure protein in ternary pectin mixtures. Cy-3-gluc interfacial properties were reduced by the presence of pectin and chitosan. The interactions between cy-3-gluc and the biopolymers that have been selected in the present work resulted in a lower content of free polyphenol, reduced antioxidant properties as well as free β–lg. The impact of this effect was more relevant when pectin was used.
- Bio-availability, anticancer potential, and chemical data of lycopene: an overview and technological prospectingPublication . Amorim, Adriany das Graças Nascimento; Vasconcelos, Andreanne Gomes; Souza, Jessica; Oliveira, Ana; Gullón, Beatriz; Leite, José Roberto de Souza de Almeida; Pintado, ManuelaThe purpose of this review was to collect relevant chemical data about lycopene and its isomers, which can be extracted using different non-polar or polar aprotic solvents by SC-CO2 or biosynthesis as a friendly technique. Lycopene and other carotenoids can be identified and quantified by UV–Vis and HPLC using a C18 or C30 column, while their characterization is possible by UV–Vis, Fluorescence, FTIR, MS, NMR, and DSC assays. Among these techniques, the last four can compare lycopene isomers and identify cis or all-trans-lycopene. FTIR, MS, and NMR techniques are more suitable for the verification of the purity of lycopene extracts due to the signal complexity generated for each isomer, which enables identification by subtle differences. Additionally, some biological activities of lycopene isolated from red vegetables have already been confirmed, such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and cytotoxic activity against cancer cells, probably by activating several pathways. The encapsulation of lycopene in nanoparticles demonstrated an improvement in oral delivery, and ex vivo assessments determined that these nanoparticles had better permeation and low cytotoxicity against human cells with enhanced permeation. These data suggest that lycopene has the potential to be applied in the food and pharmaceutical industries, as well as in cosmetic products.