Browsing by Author "Reis, Ana"
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- Effect of dry-salt processing on the textural properties and cell wall polysaccharides of cv. Thasos black olivesPublication . Cardoso, Susana M.; Mafra, Isabel; Reis, Ana; Georget, Dominique M. R.; Smith, Andrew C.; Waldron, Keith W.; Coimbra, Manuel A.BACKGROUND: Thasos is an olive variety cultivated mainly in Greece used to produce ‘naturally black dry-salted olives’. This process consists in placing the olives in disposed layers with coarse sodium chloride. The loss of water and other solutes gradually debitters and wrinkles the fruits. In this study, the effect of dry-salt processing on the texture and cell wall polysaccharide composition was investigated. RESULTS: This type of processing affected primarily the mechanical properties of the olive flesh. In processed olives, this tissue was approximately 4.5 times stronger and also more deformable up to failure and stiffer than that from the raw olives. The dry-salt processing had its strongest effect on pectic polysaccharides. This included the increment of solubilization of arabinose-rich polymers in aqueous solutions, and thus their partial loss to the soak medium during dry-salting. Contrarily, galacturonic acid-rich polymers were further retained in the processed olives, probably by their stabilization within the cell walls by reduction of the electrostatic repulsion between the acidic groups of these polysaccharides due to sodium ions. CONCLUSION: The texture improvement of olive flesh by dry-salt processing seems to be correlated with the reorganization of the galacturonic acid-rich pectic polysaccharides into the cell wall of the fruit.
- Fatigue and microgap behaviour of a three-unit implant-fixed dental prosthesis combining conventional and dynamic abutmentsPublication . Ferreira, José Rocha; Song, Nannan; Machado, Margarida; Machado, Luís; Correia, André; Reis, AnaThis is an in vitro study composed by a fatigue test followed by an optical microscopy analysis. Dynamic abutments concept, recently introduced on screw-retained implant dental prosthesis, consists on the screw channel customisation according to the individual needs of each rehabilitation. Geometry and tightening torque differences advise the assessment of their mechanical performance. Clarify whether the combination of dynamic and conventional abutments in a three-unit implant-fixed prosthesis has detrimental effects either on the mechanical performance under cyclic loading or on the implant-abutment microgap dimensions. The fatigue test was performed in agreement with the ISO standard 14801. Then on the samples that resisted 5 million cycles, the implant-abutment microgap was measured on dynamic and conventional abutments using optical microscopy. Two unloaded samples were used as control group. The samples supported a load of 1050 N. The implant-abutment microgap measurement did not show statistically significant differences (p =.086) between loaded and unloaded groups, but the loaded conventional abutments showed a significant lower implant-abutment microgap (p =.05) than the loaded dynamic abutments. The combination of conventional and dynamic abutments do not seem to produce a decrease in fatigue resistance to a level below the mastication forces or an increase in the joint dimensions.
- Therapeutic instruments used in therapeutic interventions: is there evidence in nursing care?: a systematic review of the literaturePublication . Basto, Marta Lima; José, Helena; Gomes, Idalina; Potra, Teresa; Diogo, Paula; Reis, AnaNursing development depends on clarification of terms currently used, but apparently with different meanings. That is the case of therapeutic interventions and therapeutic instruments. The present article tries to answer the following research question: “Which nursing interventions are considered therapeutic and what are their characteristics?” It was hoped that the meaning of therapeutic instruments would be achieved. A systematic review of the literature on nursing therapeutic interventions was done based on well known data basis through which were achieved 13 articles dated from 1993 to 2006. There is some degree of evidence of the use of therapeutic nursing interventions and general agreement on its meaning. Identified therapeutic instruments used by nurses in therapeutic interventions were: therapeutic letters, bathing and comforting care, humour, music, presence, mindfulness (cognitive therapy), therapeutic touch, information management and emotional management. The concept therapeutic instrument used in nursing needs maturation, justifying a concept clarification study.
- Type 2 Diabetes mellitus alters the cargo of (poly)phenol metabolome and the oxidative status in circulating lipoproteinsPublication . Reis, Ana; Rocha, Sara; Dias, Irundika HK.; Costa, Raquel; Soares, Raquel; Sánchez-Quesada, José Luis; Perez, Antonio; Freitas, Victor deThe incidence of diabetes on the worldwide population has tripled in the past 5 decades. While drug-based therapies are valuable strategies to treat and ease the socio-economic burden of diabetes, nutritional strategies offer valuable alternatives to prevent and manage diabetes onset and contribute to the sustainability of health budgets. Whilst, intervention studies have shown that (poly)phenol-rich diets improve fasting glucose levels and other blood parameters, very little is known about the distribution of ingested polyphenols in circulation and the impact of diabetes on its cargo. In this study we investigate the impact of type 2 diabetes on the cargo of plasma (poly)phenols. Our results show that phenolic compounds are heterogeneously distributed in circulation though mainly transported by lipoprotein populations. We also found that diabetes has a marked effect on the phenolic content transported by VLDL resulting in the decrease in the content of flavonoids and consequently a decrease in the antioxidant capacity. In addition to the reduced bioavailability of (poly)phenol metabolites and increase of oxidative status in LDL and HDL populations in diabetes, cell-based assays show that sub-micromolar amounts of microbial (poly)phenol metabolites are able to counteract the pro-inflammatory status in glucose-challenged endothelial cells. Our findings highlight the relevance of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins in the transport and delivery of bioactive plant-based compounds to the endothelium in T2DM supporting the adoption of nutritional guidelines as an alternative strategy to drug-based therapeutic approaches.