Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2022-12"
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- Through the lens of workers’ motivation: does it relate to work–family relationship perceptions?Publication . Lopes, Sílvia; Sabino, Ana; Dias, Paulo C.; Rodrigues, Anabela; Chambel, Maria José; Cesário, FranciscoWorkers’ motivations and the work–family relationship are two subjects that have been capturing the attention of researchers and practitioners. However, to date, little is known about the link between the two subjects. Thus, this research aimed to investigate the relationships among each type of motivation conceptualized in self-determination theory and work–family conflict, work–family enrichment, and work–family balance. In addition, the current study intended to investigate the relationships among work–family conflict, work–family enrichment, and Work–family balance. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire. To test the hypotheses, the PROCESS macro was used. The results suggested that intrinsic motivation is negatively associated with work–family conflict and positively associated with work–family enrichment and work–family balance. Additionally, identified regulations seem to be positively associated with work–family enrichment and work–family balance. However, contrary to expectations, this study revealed a positive relationship between introjected regulation and work–family enrichment and work–family balance. Concerning external regulation (material and social) and amotivation, globally, the findings were consistent with the hypotheses, i.e., the higher the external regulation and amotivation, the higher work–family conflict and the lower the work–family enrichment and work–family balance. Moreover, the higher the work–family conflict, the lower the work–family balance, and the higher the work–family enrichment, the higher the work–family balance. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
- Rubric’s development process for assessment of project management competencesPublication . Souza, Mariane; Margalho, Élida; Lima, Rui M.; Mesquita, Diana; Costa, Manuel JoãoAssessment rubrics are recognized for their positive effects, being defined as an evaluative instrument that establishes assessment criteria and performance levels. In this sense, assessment rubrics can be associated with professional practices for more authentic assessment processes. In the context of Project Management, the International Project Management Association (IPMA) has developed a framework that establishes the individual competences for professionals working in the area, the Individual Competence Baseline (ICB). The objective of this study is to propose a process of rubric development for competence assessment in Project Management. A rubric for Leadership competence was developed to show the applicability and relevance of the proposed process. The research methodology adopted in the study was Design Science Research. The application and evaluation of this rubric in a pilot study show that the rubric development process allowed the creation of a specific rubric for the assessment of leadership competence. This paper guides those who need to develop and assess project management competences, and it is intended to propose a replicable process for the other ICB competences.
- Innovative processing technologies to develop a new segment of functional citrus-based beverages: current and future trendsPublication . Vilas-Boas, Ana A.; Magalhães, Daniela; Campos, Débora A.; Porretta, Sebastiano; Dellapina, Giovanna; Poli, Giovanna; Istanbullu, Yildiray; Demir, Sema; San Martín, Ángel Martínez; García-Gómez, Presentación; Mohammed, Reda S.; Ibrahim, Faten M.; El Habbasha, El Sayed; Pintado, ManuelaThe food industries are interested in developing functional products due to their popularity within nutritional and healthy circles. Functional fruit-based beverages represent one of the fast-growing markets due to the high concentrations of bioactive compounds (BCs), which can be health promoters. Hence, functional beverages based on citrus fruits are a potential way to take advantage of their nutritional and bioactive properties that could attract the interest of consumers. In order to ensure microbial and quality stability, the beverages are subjected to preservation treatment; however, the application of high temperatures leads to the loss of thermolabile BCs. Nowadays, innovative processing technologies (IPT) such as pulsed electric field (PEF), high-pressure processing (HPP), ultrasound processing (US), ohmic heating (OH), and microwave (MW) are a promising alternative due to their efficiency and low impact on juice BCs. The available literature concerning the effects of these technologies in functional fruit-based beverages is scarce; thus, this review gathers the most relevant information about the main positive and negative aspects of the IPT in functional properties, safety, and consumer acceptance of functional citrus-based beverages, as well as the use of citrus by-products to promote the circular economy in citrus processing.
- International affect, personality, and embodied brain (APE) networkPublication . Sumich, Alexander; Oliveira-Silva, Patrícia; Heym, NadjaThis special issue comprises a selection of representative studies from the Affect, Personality and Embodied Brain conferences. The included studies span behavioral and brain studies of nonclinical and clinical populations.
- Analysis of the concept of guilt: from conceptual divergence to its implications for nursing researchPublication . Reis, Hugo; Deodato, SérgioBackground: Guilt has been an object of study in several areas of knowledge, including nursing. However, this concept is defined differently across disciplines, which is one of the main obstacles to developing studies on this topic. Objective: This study results from a narrative literature review. It aims to present a conceptual analysis of guilt while reflecting on the need to study the definition of the concept based on the former carers’ experience of this phenomenon. Main topics of analysis: Definition of the concept of guilt in the light of philosophy, legal sciences, and nursing, and presentation of the need to map the concept as a key starting point for the production of scientific knowledge. Conclusion: The literature describes the concept of guilt as a multidisciplinary concept with multiple meanings. Mapping the concept of guilt in a specific population and context is a key starting point for developing future studies on this topic.
- Valorization of porcine by-products: a combined process for protein hydrolysates and hydroxyapatite productionPublication . Borges, Sandra; Piccirillo, Clara; Scalera, Francesca; Martins, Rui; Rosa, Ana; Couto, José António; Almeida, André; Pintado, ManuelaThe meat industry generates large amounts of by-products that are costly to be treated and discarded ecologically; moreover, they could be used to extract high added-value compounds. In this work, we present an innovative combined process which allowed the parallel extraction of both organic and mineral compounds; more specifically protein hydrolysates and single-phase hydroxyapatite were obtained. The protein hydrolysates, extracted through an enzymatic hydrolysis with alcalase, showed a degree of hydrolysis of 53.3 ± 5.1%; moreover, they had a high protein content with peptides with molecular weight lower than 1.2 kDa. Their antioxidant activities, measured with ABTS and ORAC tests, were 21.1 ± 0.5 mg ascorbic acid equivalent/g of dry extract and 87.7 ± 6.3 mg Trolox equivalent/g of dry extract, respectively. Single-phase hydroxyapatite, obtained with a simple calcination at 700 °C on the residues of the hydrolysis process, showed a Ca/P ratio close to the stoichiometric one (1.65 vs. 1.67) and presented a nanometric structure. This study reports a simple and feasible process for the valorization of porcine by-products in a large-scale up generating products with potential applications for environment remediation, biomedicine, nutrition and catalysis/bioenergy.
- Validity and reliability of the Portuguese version of the rapid estimate of adult literacy in dentistry: REALD-29 PTPublication . Costa, Hélder; Amaral, Odete; Duarte, João; Correia, Maria José; Veiga, Nélio Jorge; López-Marcos, Joaquin FranciscoBackground: Health literacy is a main factor in health for its improvement, allowing the individuals to have a greater capacity to engage and participate in collective health promotion actions. The evaluation of functional health literacy is essential to determine the ability that each individual has to understand basic health information. The present study aimed to perform the translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Dentistry-30 to the Portuguese language and test the reliability and validity of this version. Methods: After translation and cultural adaptation, the instrument was applied to a group of individuals that participate in the program Atividade Senior, developed by the municipality of Viseu, Portugal. The final sample was composed by 206 participants that accepted responding to the translated version of the instrument. Statistical validation was accomplished to complete the process and obtain the final instrument. One question was removed for the creation of the final instrument with 29 questions, therefore being named Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Dentistry-29 PT. Results: The Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Dentistry-29 PT presented good internal reliability. Cronbach’s alpha ranged from 0.89 to 0.90 when words were deleted individually. The analysis of test–retest reliability revealed excellent reproducibility. We can verify that the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Dentistry-29 PT scale for assessment of oral health literacy among older adults presents an acceptable internal consistency, with a global Cronbach´s alpha of 0.894. Conclusions: The new scale can be applied to assess oral health literacy among older Portuguese adults, presenting an acceptable internal consistency and is validated to assess oral health literacy and is crucial in epidemiological studies.
- Peptide fraction identification by SE-HPLC and LC-MS/MS analysis of the body mucus from Portugal coastal fish Halobatrachus didactylusPublication . Cunha, Marta; Coscueta, Ezequiel R.; Brassesco, María Emilia; Almada, Frederico; Gonçalves, David; Pintado, ManuelaThe mucus covers the fish's body, working as a protective barrier. Besides physical protection, mucus provides molecules that protect the fish from pathogens damaging. 1,2These include antimicrobial peptides secreted in the mucus, which play an essential role in defense against microbial pathogens since these belong to the innate immune system2,3. In this study, two adult Halobatrachus didactylus individuals were captured from the wild in Sesimbra. Then, mucus collection was performed by scraping the dorsal-lateral body of the fish with a sponge. Our objective was the identification of new peptides with bioactive potential in mucus samples by chromatography analysis. Size exclusion high-performance liquid chromatography (SE-HPLC) analysis performed on mucus samples from the two individuals revealed a similar profile with an intense highlight peak which resulted in a distribution of about 775 Dalton. With interest in that peak, the two mucus samples were pooled for fractionation by SEC. The resulting fraction was analyzed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to identify the most probable peptide sequences. Identification from databases did not provide reliable results, indicating a lack of information on the matrix analyzed. We resorted to de novo sequencing with good results using PEAKS Studio software. Five identified peptides were selected according to their bioactivities predicted in silico. Furthermore, the five identified peptides were synthesized, and the molecular size was validated by SE-HPLC analysis. Overall, this chromatographic approach enabled the identification of promising peptides, which bioactivities will be evaluated in vitro in future work.
- Postmitotic differentiation of human monocytes requires cohesin-structured chromatinPublication . Minderjahn, Julia; Fischer, Alexander; Maier, Konstantin; Mendes, Karina; Nuetzel, Margit; Raithel, Johanna; Stanewsky, Hanna; Ackermann, Ute; Månsson, Robert; Gebhard, Claudia; Rehli, MichaelCohesin is a major structural component of mammalian genomes and is required to maintain loop structures. While acute depletion in short-term culture models suggests a limited importance of cohesin for steady-state transcriptional circuits, long-term studies are hampered by essential functions of cohesin during replication. Here, we study genome architecture in a postmitotic differentiation setting, the differentiation of human blood monocytes (MO). We profile and compare epigenetic, transcriptome and 3D conformation landscapes during MO differentiation (either into dendritic cells or macrophages) across the genome and detect numerous architectural changes, ranging from higher level compartments down to chromatin loops. Changes in loop structures correlate with cohesin-binding, as well as epigenetic and transcriptional changes during differentiation. Functional studies show that the siRNA-mediated depletion of cohesin (and to a lesser extent also CTCF) markedly disturbs loop structures and dysregulates genes and enhancers that are primarily regulated during normal MO differentiation. In addition, gene activation programs in cohesin-depleted MO-derived macrophages are disturbed. Our findings implicate an essential function of cohesin in controlling long-term, differentiation- and activation-associated gene expression programs.
- Human capital spillovers and returns to educationPublication . Portugal, Pedro; Reis, Hugo; Guimarães, Paulo; Cardoso, Ana RuteIn this paper, we quantify the impact of co-workers’ human capital on a worker’s productivity and, more specifically, the spillovers of co-workers’ education within the workplace. We identify the impact of peer quality and provide an unambiguous decomposition of the impact of unobserved heterogeneity on the estimated returns to education. We find that peer effects are quite sizeable. A one standard deviation increase in the measure of peer quality leads to a wage increase of 2.1 percent. We also unveil that an additional year of average education of co-workers yields a 0.5 percent increase in the individual own wage.