Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2024"
Now showing 1 - 10 of 3084
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- Exploring the potential of quercus robur kernel and shell for novel food applicationsPublication . Maia, Maria Luz; Rodrigues, Cristina V.; Babo, Pedro; Pintado, ManuelaIntroduction: Acorns are produced in abundance across Portugal, yet remain largely underutilized, with only 1% being currently incorporated into human diets. However, acorns, as a sustainable, gluten-free, and nutrient-rich raw material, align with current consumer trends. Additionally, acorn by-products present significant potential as sources of bioactive ingredients, offering opportunities to enhance food utilization, encourage upcycling, and deliver new nutritional and health benefits. Rich in bioactive compounds like fatty acids, phenolic compounds, and tocopherols—known for their antioxidant properties—acorns also stand out for their high mineral content, making them a valuable addition to traditional foods. Objective: This study focuses on characterizing the kernels and shells of Quercus robur, an endemic Portuguese species supplied by LandraTech. For that purpose, the two samples, kernel, and shells, were ground as flour and then analyzed regarding the physicochemical characteristics and nutritional value, complemented by the determination of their aqueous extract’s antioxidant activity through ABTS and DPPH assays. Conclusions: The characterization of kernels and shells from Quercus robur highlights the significant potential of acorns from native Portuguese oaks as valuable raw materials for sustainable and innovative food applications. This study also emphasizes the importance of exploring underutilized residues as viable resources for the global food industry, promoting a circular economy approach.
- A reviewed approach to vitamin D supplementation in pediatric age in PortugalPublication . Rêgo, Carla; Cordeiro-Ferreira, Gonçalo; Lages-Fonseca, Maria J.; Moura-Relvas, Mariana; Ferreira, Ricardo; Costa, Sofia Pinto daVitamin D deficiency is a well-established cause of rickets in children and has been reported as associated to impacts on other systems and organs. Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency are pediatric worldwide global health problems. Although data on the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency in the Portuguese pediatric population are scarce, data for Portuguese subpopulations and equivalent regions allows us to speculate that the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in Portugal should be also relevant. The current article focuses on vitamin D supplementation at pediatric age in Portugal reviewing the prevalence data of vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency for Portugal, the main groups and the risk factors for vitamin D deficiency and educational measures and vitamin D supplementation recommendations for different risk factors/groups.
- An encounter by another name: O último dia de leão as a ‘beyond’ and ‘before’ experiencePublication . Iyer, AishwaryaThe experience of an encounter populates Tim Ingold’s 2011 book Being Alive: Essays on Movement, Knowledge, and Description. Although Ingold decisively critiques premediated colonial encounters of the human mind and proposes a grounded approach for postcolonial encounters, his insights fall short of addressing the experience within the technological condition. Through a posthuman critique, the articulation of the experience from being purely in the physiologically here and now has seen a marked shift towards the transversal capacity of it trespassing linear temporal-spaces but also political, ecological, and social intersections (Ingold 2011; Haraway 2016; Braidotti 2018). However, while work in the field of postcolonial and posthuman studies has aimed to highlight the very aggression that has manifested in the mechanisms of the Modernity/ Coloniality project – delineating the encounter as a strategy primarily as acts of violence, a theoretical transgression through Sara Ahmed allows me to elaborate the experience as mediations that demonstrate the partial perception of encounters. With a reading of O Último Dia de Leão (Leo’s Last Day), a performance by Nany Dayanne, set within the condition of linguistic incommunicability, I present the mediated gesture of the experience, one aided with Ahmed’s understanding of it as an ethical ‘before’ and ‘beyond’, and present a proposition for an encounter by another name.
- A aplicação da cláusula geral anti-abuso ao substituto tributário: delimitação do âmbito de aplicação do artigo 38.º, n.º 5, da LGTPublication . Barbosa, Tiago FalcãoAnalise da aplicação da Cláusula Geral Anti‑Abuso (CGAA), prevista no artigo 38.º da LGT, à figura do substituto tributário, no âmbito da tripartição da relação jurídica tributária, tentando delimitar em que tipo de situações é que este, por ter ou dever ter conhecimento da construção ou séries de construções realizadas pelo contribuinte, pode ser responsabilizado nos termos da aplicação das regras gerais de responsabilidade em caso de substituição tributária.
- A importância da família na vida do idoso institucionalizadoPublication . Sampaio, Sandra Maria Martins; Duque, Eduardo Jorge Gomes da CostaEste artigo explora a importância das relações familiares na qualidade de vida dos idosos institucionalizados em Portugal, num contexto de envelhecimento demográfico acentuado e crescente institucionalização. A análise baseia-se numa revisão da literatura que aborda o impacto emocional e social do afastamento ou proximidade familiar nestes indivíduos. Os estudos discutidos revelam que, apesar dos desafios socioeconómicos e das alterações nas dinâmicas familiares e sociais, a família continua a ser um suporte essencial para os idosos, influenciando significativamente o seu bem-estar emocional e social. A investigação destaca também o papel das Estruturas Residenciais para Pessoas Idosas (ERPI) no apoio a estes indivíduos, enfatizando a necessidade de políticas e práticas que promovam a integração e a manutenção dos laços familiares como parte essencial do cuidado ao idoso. O estudo conclui que a interação entre a instituição, o idoso e a família deve ser cuidadosamente gerida para assegurar que a institucionalização seja uma experiência positiva, preservando a dignidade e a qualidade de vida dos idosos.
- Business operators’ perception of the impact of the portuguese way of St. JamesPublication . Remoaldo, Paula C.; Duque, Eduardo; Ribeiro, Vítor; Ribeiro, José Cadima; Lopes, Hélder Silva; Ferreira, Sandro; Faria, CátiaThis research aims to analyse business operators’ perception of the impact of the Portuguese Way of St. James and to assess the landscape situation along a total section of 115 kilometres. Perceptions were collected in a survey of 112 small operators between 2020 and 2021. The diversity and singular components of the landscape make it a pleasant route to experience, where pilgrims have the possibility to improve wellbeing, and enjoy the landscape. Operators have profited from the significant increase in the number of pilgrims walking along the Way and claim that they aim to continue their operations.
- How leaders ‘strength of heart’ and ‘strength of will’ enhance team performancePublication . Rego, Arménio; Simpson, Ace V.; Cunha, Miguel Pina e; Silard, Anthony; Oliveira, Eduardo André da Silva; Mamédio, Diórgenes FalcãoWe investigate the influence of leaders’ dispositional compassion on team development and performance through two studies. In the first multi-source study (n = 154 team leaders), leaders’ dispositional compassion is found to be associated with improved team performance through the adoption of helping behaviors aimed at developing team capabilities. This relationship is moderated by leaders’ perseverance, suggesting that compassionate leaders transition from being inclined to help to actually helping only when they also demonstrate perseverance. In the second multi-source longitudinal study (n = 52 team leaders), we find support for the notion that the positive effect of leaders’ dispositional compassion on team development-helping behaviors is conditional on leaders’ perseverance, thus reinforcing our findings from the first study. We suggest that although dispositional compassion, a ‘strength of heart,’ is a well-known predictor of helping, the feelings and intentions of compassion do not guarantee helping behaviors. Translating these feelings and intentions into compassionate behaviors requires perseverance – a ‘strength of will.’ Hence, our study indicates that leaders’ dispositional compassion is not just a potential humanizing force but also positively correlates with team performance. However, the impact of leaders’ dispositional compassion on team performance only emerges through perseverance in the face of challenges.
- Comparison of biofilm models for producing artificial active white spot lesionsPublication . Araujo, Erika Michele dos Santos; Vidal, Cristina de Mattos Pimenta; Zhu, Min; Banas, Jeffrey A.; Freitas, Anderson Zanardi de; Wetter, Niklaus Ursus; Matos, Adriana BonaCreating artificial caries-like lesions that mimic the complex changes observed in natural caries is essential for properly evaluating new strategies, dental materials, and devices designed to arrest their progression and avoid more costly and invasive treatments. Objective: This study compared three protocols for developing artificial white spot lesions (WSL) using biofilm models. Methodology: In total, 45 human enamel specimens were sterilized and allocated into three groups based on the biofilm model: Streptococcus sobrinus and Lactobacillus casei (Ss+Lc), Streptococcus sobrinus (Ss), or Streptococcus mutans (Sm). Specimens were incubated in filter-sterilized human saliva to form the acquired pellicle and then subjected to the biofilm challenge consisting of three days of incubation with bacteria (for demineralization) and one day of remineralization, which was performed once for Ss+Lc (four days total), four times for Ss (16 days total), and three times for Sm (12 days total). After WSL creation, the lesion fluorescence, depth, and chemical composition were assessed using Quantitative Lightinduced Fluorescence (QLF), Polarized Light Microscopy (PLM), and Raman Spectroscopy, respectively. Statistical analysis consisted of two-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test (α=0.05). WSL created using the Ss+Lc protocol presented statistically significant higher fluorescence loss (ΔF) and integrated fluorescence (ΔQ) in comparison to the other two protocols (p<0.001). Results: In addition, Ss+Lc resulted in significantly deeper WSL (137.5 µm), followed by Ss (84.1 µm) and Sm (54.9 µm) (p<0.001). While high mineral content was observed in sound enamel surrounding the WSL, lesions created with the Ss+Lc protocol showed the highest demineralization level and changes in the mineral content among the three protocols. Conclusion: The biofilm model using S. sobrinus and L. casei for four days was the most appropriate and simplified protocol for developing artificial active WSL with lower fluorescence, higher demineralization, and greater depth.
- Comunidades bacterianas e resistência a antibióticos em água residual tratada e em água docePublication . Leão, Inês; Antunes, Jorge; Baptista, Inês; Jorge, Ruben; Marinheiro, Luís; Löblich, Stefan; Vaz-Moreira, Ivone; Manaia, Célia M.Considerando a necessidade de utilizar águas residuais tratadas para irrigação agrícola, e a baixa aceitação pública desta prática, neste estudo pretendeu-se investigar a evolução da água residual ao longo do tratamento e comparar com fontes de água doce, no que se refere a comunidade bacteriana e perfis de resistência a antibióticos. As amostras foram colhidas em 6 pontos de uma estação de tratamento de água residual (ETAR; efluente bruto, efluente secundário, efluente após filtros de areia e coagulante, efluente após radiação ultravioleta, e armazenamento), sistemas piloto de tratamento avançado (plasma não térmico – PNT, ultrafiltração – UF, UF+ osmose reversa – UF + OR) e de fontes de água doce (duas ribeiras e um furo de captação). As amostras foram analisadas relativamente a diferentes parâmetros de qualidade (carência química de oxigénio, carência bioquímica de oxigénio em 5 dias, sólidos suspensos totais, azoto e fósforo), Escherichia coli, genes de resistência a antibióticos e outros (PCR quantitativo), composição da região variável dos integrões de classe 1 (sequenciação, Oxford Nanopore), e composição da comunidade bacteriana com base no gene 16S rRNA (sequenciação, Illumina). O tratamento secundário reduziu a abundância de E. coli e dos genes analisados (~1 log-unidade/volume) e diminuiu a diversidade de genes de resistência a antibióticos integrados em integrões. Após filtros de areia e adição de coagulante a redução foi de ~1.5 log-unidade/volume, não se observando efeito após radiação ultravioleta. UF+OR foi o tratamento avançado mais eficaz. Comparando a evolução da água residual e de fontes de água doce é evidente o decréscimo de abundância relativa de membros das famílias Aeromonadaceae, Moraxellaceae, Campylobacteraceae, Lachnospiraceae e de abundância e diversidade de genes de resistência a antibióticos (n=32), e de elementos de recombinação genética (n=12) ao longo do tratamento. Contudo a água ultrafiltrada continha maior abundância de alguns genes e outros não detetados em água doce. Comparada com água doce, em que predominavam membros das famílias Comamonadaceae, Chitinophagaceae, e Flavobacteriaceae, a água tratada por UF apresentava uma baixa riqueza taxonómica (~4000 água doce vs. 1200 água UF unidades taxonómicas) e era dominada por membros das famílias Alcaligenaceae, Sphingomonadaceae, Chitinophagaceae e Microbacteriaceae. Embora o tratamento avançado tenha melhorado significativamente a qualidade da água residual tratada, o estudo sugere que os processos de tratamento devem ser ajustados ao uso final pretendido e sobretudo representar uma alternativa sustentável ao uso de fontes de água doce.
- Where propaganda lives on: introductionPublication . Ribeiro, Nelson; Zelizer, BarbieMarked by high polarization and the dissemination of falsehoods via online platforms, contemporary media ecosystems are being used by a plethora of political actors to manipulate people’s perceptions of reality. Over the last decades the propagation of fake information mostly via social media has been labelled disinformation or fake news, concepts that we argue may not be the most adequate to fully understand how such practices impact public opinion and how they differ from other used in the past. We call for the concept of propaganda to be reconsidered as a theoretical construct used to problematize the different strategies and tactics used in the digital environment by actors aiming to deceive different publics.