Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2023"
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- Perceptions of probiotics and Kombucha consumption in relation to emotion regulation: an exploratory study comparing Portugal and BrazilPublication . Góis, Maria; Batista, Patrícia; Araújo, Magnólia; Oliveira-Silva, PatríciaProbiotic products have been the focus of research for several years due to the potential of their biological properties to impact mental health, mood, and cognitive functions. Kombucha is a probiotic drink that has been reported to be beneficial for mental health, particularly at the level of emotion regulation. This study aims to understand the perception of the Portuguese and Brazilian populations regarding the consumption of probiotics and Kombucha, as well as to understand these consumers’ perceptions related to the impact on emotion regulation (and the impact of this consumption on emotion regulation). The research was conducted through an online questionnaire and had a total sample of 256 participants. The results show that there are no statistically significant differences between the consumption of probiotics and Kombucha when comparing the Portuguese and Brazilian samples. Additionally, this study reveals a significant association between probiotic consumption patterns in both the Portuguese and Brazilian samples. However, no statistically significant relationship was found between the consumption of probiotics and Kombucha and emotion regulation. This study intends to contribute to the increase in knowledge about the perception of probiotics and Kombucha consumption in relation to emotion regulation, and to draw attention to the importance of this topic in the community (society, academia, and industry).
- Literacy for citizenship and democracy: framing propaganda within the scope of organized persuasive communicationPublication . Müller, NaídeThe global threat to democratic ideals and fundamental rights and freedoms requires that citizens critically assess the differences between consensual forms of persuasion and non-consensual, manipulative, and propagandistic forms of persuasion in order to make free and informed choices. Based on an ethnographic work with a Portuguese women’s rights organization during six months (January-June 2021), this paper analyses the intersection of activist public relations and organized persuasive communication within feminist campaigns. Propaganda appears as a multi-layered sociological phenomenon and the communication campaigns analyzed in this study indicate that, in principle, feminist activist communication can operate within the realm of strategic consensual persuasion and not on propaganda. Findings also illustrate the possible contributions of public relations for social mobilization, civic participation, and democratic adhesion. Observations showed that not all types of persuasion are harmful or false, and that propaganda does not only serve to change opinions but often intends to maintain dominant trends and the status quo.
- DNA repair SNPs as biomarkers of therapeutic response in oral cancer patients: a systematic reviewPublication . Mirahy, Bruna; Correia, Maria José; Silva, Raquel; Santos, Luís Silva
- Peri-implant diseases diagnosis, prognosis and dental implant monitoring: a narrative review of novel strategies and clinical impactPublication . Bornes, Rita; Montero, Javier; Correia, André; Marques, Tiago; Rosa, NunoBACKGROUND: The diagnosis of peri-implantar and periodontal relies mainly on a set of clinical measures and the evaluation of radiographic images. However, these clinical settings alone are not sufficient to determine, much less predict, periimplant bone loss or future implant failure. Early diagnosis of periimplant diseases and its rate of progress may be possible through biomarkers assessment. Once identified, biomarkers of peri-implant and periodontal tissue destruction may alert the clinicians before clinical signs show up. Therefore, it is important to consider developing chair-side diagnostic tests with specificity for a particular biomarker, indicating the current activity of the disease. METHODS: A search strategy was created at Pubmed and Web of Science to answer the question: "How the molecular point-of-care tests currently available can help in the early detection of peri-implant diseases and throws light on improvements in point of care diagnostics devices?". RESULTS: The PerioSafe® PRO DRS (dentognostics GmbH, Jena) and ImplantSafe® DR (dentognostics GmbH, Jena ORALyzer® test kits, already used clinically, can be a helpful adjunct tool in enhancing the diagnosis and prognosis of periodontal/peri-implantar diseases. With the advances of sensor technology, the biosensors can perform daily monitoring of dental implants or periodontal diseases, making contributions to personal healthcare and improve the current status quo of health management and human health. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the findings, more emphasis is given to the role of biomarkers in diagnosing and monitoring periodontal and peri-implant diseases. By combining these strategies with traditional protocols, professionals could increase the accuracy of early detection of peri-implant and periodontal diseases, predicting disease progression, and monitoring of treatment outcomes.
- Procurement in times of crisis: the Portuguese experiencePublication . Carvalho, RaquelSince 2020, Portugal has enacted legislation specific to addressing the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, with two distinct moments in this process: one dedicated to the pandemic situation in particular and a more recent one, connected with European funding and its implementation, various energy crises, and effects of economic warfare. As regards the complex and intricately entangled Covid-19 legislation, swift public procurement procedures were established to comply with certain requirements to guarantee competition, since the pandemic constituted an abnormal and unforeseeable circumstance that did not fit into the forecast of urgency provided for in the Directives. Legislation was issued on the modification of long-term contracts, yet with presented a highly debatable solution for the changes’ implementation and prohibiting the use of pecuniary compensation. While that legislation has since been repealed, transitory rules and exceptions whose scope is still difficult to understand in full took its place – in the main, the current special legislation on public procurement, Law 30/2021, intended for executing the implementation plan for projects financed or co-financed by European funds, which contains several rules that deviate from the regime resulting from the European directives, plus re-establishment of monitoring by the Court of Auditors, creation of an Independent Commission for supervising the implementation of the associated legislation, and the passing of extraordinary price‑revision legislation. The paper presents a brief report on this Portuguese legislative context and on the respective monitoring by both jurisdiction-linked and non‑jurisdiction-associated bodies. It directs special attention to the difficulties and perplexities raised by the regimes involved.
- HIV/Mtb co-infection: from the amplification of disease pathogenesis to an "emerging syndemic"Publication . Azevedo-Pereira, José Miguel; Pires, David; Calado, Marta; Mandal, Manoj; Santos-Costa, Quirina; Anes, ElsaHuman immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) are pathogens responsible for millions of new infections each year; together, they cause high morbidity and mortality worldwide. In addition, late-stage HIV infection increases the risk of developing tuberculosis (TB) by a factor of 20 in latently infected people, and even patients with controlled HIV infection on antiretroviral therapy (ART) have a fourfold increased risk of developing TB. Conversely, Mtb infection exacerbates HIV pathogenesis and increases the rate of AIDS progression. In this review, we discuss this reciprocal amplification of HIV/Mtb coinfection and how they influence each other's pathogenesis. Elucidating the infectious cofactors that impact on pathogenesis may open doors for the design of new potential therapeutic strategies to control disease progression, especially in contexts where vaccines or the sterile clearance of pathogens are not effectively available.
- Biomarcadores de genotoxicidade em imagiologia medico-dentária: uma revisão sistemáticaPublication . Alonso, Susana; Correia, Maria José; Silva, Raquel; Santos, Luís
- The effects of chitosan on the healing process of oral mucosa: an observational cohort feasibility split-mouth studyPublication . Jesus, Gonçalo de; Marques, Lara; Vale, Nuno; Mendes, Rui AmaralThe healing process is a dynamic process accompanied by some classical symptoms of inflammation such as redness, swelling, pain, and loss of function. Chitosan is a natural polymer with properties that contribute to tissue healing, with properties that could be applied in periodontal therapy, such as the wound healing of oral mucosa. This experimental split-mouth study aims to assess the possibilities of chitosan influencing the healing process of oral mucosa in eight patients, where the studied group was subjected to two oral surgeries: one with chitosan hydrogel into the socket and other without the biomaterial. A semi-quantitative analysis of the data was performed. Some classic signs of inflammation in a short period of time were observed where chitosan acted, compared to the control. An absence of bleeding was observed in the chitosan cases. According to the literature, chitosan recruits and activates neutrophils and macrophages and stimulates angiogenesis. Hemostatic and antimicrobial activity of chitosan also play an important role in wound healing. Chitosan seems to improve the postoperative quality of patients, allowing rapid wound healing with less complications.