Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2023-08"
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- Production of iron-peptide complexes from spent yeast for nutraceutical industryPublication . Oliveira, Ana Sofia; Ferreira, Carlos M. H.; Pereira, Joana Odila; Sousa, Sérgio; Faustino, Margarida; Durão, Joana; Pereira, Ana Margarida; Pintado, Manuela E.; Carvalho, Ana P.Iron (Fe) deficiencies are a major health condition concern and over the years many solutions in the form of Fe supplementation have been investigated. Organic Fe-complexes are the most promising for Fe deficiencies remediation. The aim of present study was to value peptide rich waste streams from β-glucan and mannan production from spent yeast (Gpep and Mpep, respectively) as Fe-peptide complexes for Fe supplementation. These waste streams were first subjected to ultrafiltration treatment before assessing the capacity of these fractions to complex Fe was evaluated, without, and with nitrogen. Results have shown that Gpep> 1 kDa was the best fraction with a optimal pH of 6.0 and a time of 30 min. The resulting Fe-peptide complex was characterized using powder XDR, fluorescence, FTIR, SEM and Mastersizer Laser Diffraction. Results have shown that Gpep and Mpep waste streams have potential application as Fe supplementation in the form of Fe peptide complexes.
- Validation of an instrument to assess the meaning in sufering: a methodological studyPublication . Romeiro, Joana; Martins, Helga; Casaleiro, Tiago; Caldeira, SílviaBackground Sufering is a complex, multidimensional and individual experience extensively described in literature concerning diferent life and health conditions, but often reduced to a physical perspective as a symptom. The relationship between sufering and meaning in life led to the development of measurement tools such as it is the case of the Meaning in Sufering Test (MIST). Additionally, recent studies have awakened the interest in the spiritual dimension and meaning in life lived by people with a reproductive health-condition, such as infertility. As such, there is an urge to study the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the Meaning in Sufering Test in the Portuguese context. Up to now, only one Portuguese study aimed to validate such tool in a sample of Portuguese adult patients with chronic rheumatic pain. Materials and methods More studies are needed to support structural validation and testing of the psychometric properties of MIST in diferent sets and samples. The Portuguese version of the Spiritual Wellbeing Questionnaire is a tool that could be used in such validation process. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Universidade Católica Portuguesa. It was performed a confrmatory factor analysis with a sample of 104 persons under fertility treatment. Results It was revealed a poor ft of previous structures and as such an exploratory factor analysis provided a fnal version with 16 items with three factors: “Meaning in life and subjective characteristics in the face of sufering”; “Positive responses to sufering”; and “Loss of control over sufering”. Conclusions Further research is necessary to better understand fluctuations in individuals undergoing long-term treatments and test the 16-item and three-factor version as a suitable, valid, and reliable structure for measuring meaning in suffering by nurses providing care to different patients with different health conditions and context.
- Evidence on how urban gardens help citizens and cities to enhance sustainable development. Review and bibliometric analysisPublication . Ribeiro, Alexandra; Madureira, Lívia; Carvalho, RaquelThis paper offers a comprehensive review on a bibliometric analysis of the published research on the most recent generation of urban gardens. Urban gardens have been part of the cities ever since; however, the present paper focus on the latest wave of this type of garden, that has been triggered by individual bottom-up initiatives driven by sustainability-related motivations, which have an impact on cities’ sustainable development. Its aim is to deliver an overview of the published scientific literature and to comprehensively review the evidence it provides on the role of urban gardens in Sustainable Development. A bibliometric analysis has been carried out using the Vosviewer software and searching the Web of Science database for ‘urban gardens’, ‘community gardens’ and ‘allotments’ as keywords. A narrow selection of the most co-cited publications on urban gardens pointed to four major strands of research grouped into four clusters. The first cluster (‘Citizens’) groups evidence on urban gardens and ‘People, lifestyle and sense of community’. Citizens are found to be major triggers of urban gardens initiatives, driven by ‘motivations, purposes and benefits’ that are explored by a second strand of literature captured by the second cluster, the ‘Drivers’ cluster. A third group of publications addresses urban gardens in the context of the sustainable development of cities. The ‘Cities’ cluster shows how urban gardens contribute to urban sustainability as well as some aspects that can hinder it, namely not being acknowledged by local public policies and urban planners, while being neglected by urban planning policies framework. Finally, the fourth cluster (‘Soil’) refers to sustainability shortcomings of urban gardens resulting from their being situated in vacant land that is only available due to soil contamination, which is related with its lack of institutional recognition. We were able to conclude the studies conducted are directly related to sustainable development and there are direct and necessary relationships between the three pillars and the literature on urban gardens that has been published in recent years. Besides, little importance has been given to this whole urban garden issue, not only because most of the studies reviewed in this work are case studies, but also because there is still much economic pressure affecting the sustainability pyramid.
- What way forward for European integration in permanent crisis mode?Publication . Bongardt, Annette; Torres, Francisco
- ESG, sustentabilidade empresarial e contratação responsável. Em especial, o papel do contrato e das “cláusulas éticas”Publication . Antunes, Ana Filipa Morais
- Preface to the special issue: urban food production: challenges and opportunities towards sustainable citiesPublication . Calheiros, C. S. C.; Pereira, R.; Skar, S. L. G.; Pereira, S. I. A.
- The relationship between religion and the meaning in suffering: perception of people with infertilityPublication . Romeiro, Joana; Martins, Helga; Caldeira, SílviaBackground Religion is a strategy that emerges, is developed, and is often used to face and overcome an adverse health event. Spirituality is essential to maintaining an individual´s mental health. Spiritual practices (such as prayer, mediation, attending religious services, and spending time in nature, reading religious books or self-help texts) are commonly used to recover mental well-being. Materials and methods For the purpose of the study of exploring the relationship between religion and the meaning of sufering in people with infertility, a cross-sectional study was carried out from September 2019 to June 2020. Informed consent was obtained. The Ethics Committee of The Institute of Health Sciences of Universidade Católica Portuguesa approved this study. The sample was composed of 104 Portuguese adults in the process of engaging or at any stage of a fertility treatment recruited from online forums and social (in)fertility-related websites. The survey comprised demographic questions, information about spiritual and religious beliefs, clinical-health aspects, and the Portuguese version of the Meaning in Sufering Test (MIST-P). Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS (version 26.0). Results The religious aspect stood out in the sample (n=20; 66.7%). A comparison between the change in the importance of spirituality/religion after the diagnosis of infertility and after the start of fertility treatment confrmed that there were more changes in the latter context than in the former. The meaning of unavoidable sufering was signifcantly associated with changes in religion during the infertility diagnosis phase (p = 0.03) with higher MIST-P scores (M = 3.88, SD = 0.81). Religion was identifed as a source of spiritual strength and support in the individual’s search for meaning in sufering. Conclusions Further longitudinal research is imperative to understand the profle of meaning in sufering and its relationship with religious and spiritual beliefs through long reproductive treatments.
- Ser Criança Project – a community-based learning project for vulnerable children and their familiesPublication . Veiga, N.; Mello-Moura, A. C.; Correia, P.; Couto, P.; Duarte, A. S.; Correia, M. J.
- Primary prevention of dental caries in the adult patient: a systematic reviewPublication . Veiga, N.; Figueiredo, R.; Correia, P.; Couto, P.; Lopes, P.; Correia, M. J.
- Investigation of the potential of deep eutectic solvents (DES) as alternative solvents in antimicrobial photodynamic therapyPublication . Vieira, Cátia; Bartolomeu, Maria; Pedro, Sónia N.; Gomes, Ana T. P. C.; Dias, Cristina J.; Gamelas, Sara R. D.; Lourenço, Leandro M. O.; Freire, Carmen S. R.; Neves, M. Graça P. M. S.; Faustino, M. Amparo F.; Almeida, AdelaideAntimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy (aPDT) is gaining recognition as an effective approach for the photoinactivation of a broad spectrum of microorganisms [1,2]. Due to their apolar behavior, photosensitizers (PS) often have low solubility in aqueous media requiring the use of toxic organic solvents that are incompatible with their application in the field [4]. In this study, the potential of Deep Eutectic Solvents (DES) to prepare formulations of one chlorin (bearing five cationic charges) and two porphyrins (neutral THPP, and tetra cationic Tetra-Py(+)-Me) poorly water-soluble was investigated. To this purpose, formulations of each PS were prepared in DMSO and three DES (betaine:glycerol, proline:xylitol and betaine:citric acid) and their physio-chemical properties, cytotoxicity for mammalian cells, and photodynamic action towards Escherichia coli, as a gramnegative bacterium model, were evaluated. The physico-chemical experiments revealed that all PS were soluble in the selected DES. However, PS stability varied highly depending on the solvent used. In dark conditions, chlorin remained stable in DES formulations while strong aggregation was observed in DMSO. In contrast, THPP showed better stability in the former solvent. Tetra-cationic porphyrin was stable in the dark regardless of the solvent used, but upon irradiation, DES formulations increased this PS photostability. Regarding the biological experiments, betaine:glycerol and proline:xylitol formulations lacked toxicity towards mammalian cells and improved Tetra-Py(+)Me photodynamic activity against E. coli. On the other hand, betaine:citric acid formulation, although highly toxic to Vero cells, enhanced the photodynamic action of both THPP and Tetra-Py(+)-Me. Overall, these findings indicate that DES have a high potential to prepare formulations of PS with low solubility in aqueous solutions and, in some cases, can improve their antimicrobial photodynamic activity.