R - Teses de Doutoramento / Doctoral Theses
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Browsing R - Teses de Doutoramento / Doctoral Theses by Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) "01:Erradicar a Pobreza"
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- IMPULSE : IMpact of a PULSE-based partial replacement diet on metabolome and healthPublication . Ferreira, Helena Alexandra Gonçalves; Pinto, Elisabete Cristina Bastos; Vasconcelos, Marta Wilton Pereira Leite de; Gil, Ana Maria Pissarra CoelhoThis doctoral project was conceived in the context of urgent global challenges related to food security and environmental sustainability, as a response to the need for transitioning to plantrich dietary patterns. The project aimed to explore the feasibility and impact on human organisms of partially substituting animal protein-rich foods with plant-based protein-rich foods, specifically pulses, in omnivorous diets. Identified gaps in scientific evidence regarding the health effects of pulses, especially as protein alternatives, prompted a comprehensive exploration combining classical nutrition research tools with molecular biology and metabolomics techniques. A quasi-experimental dietary intervention was designed involving a single group of volunteers. Non-vegetarian individuals aged 18 to 45 were provided with a pulse-based vegetarian meal on weekdays for eight consecutive weeks in Porto, Portugal. Sociodemographic data, health-related information, and lifestyle details were recorded for each volunteer. A post-meal satisfaction questionnaire assessed participants' satisfaction with each meal using a nine-point hedonic scale. Untargeted 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) metabolomics was applied to plasma, urine, and fecal samples (totaling 248 samples), and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) molecular biology was used on fecal samples (34 samples) to obtain holistic and integrated information on the impact of pulse diets on the metabolome and intestinal microbiota. Additionally, three-day food diaries, anthropometric parameters, and blood biochemical analyses were obtained for each individual, contributing to a comprehensive data collection. Data analysis, including comparison of different parameters at the intervention's start and end, utilized various statistical tests for proportion and mean comparisons, and multivariate analysis. Significant differences were considered when the p-value was below 5%. The meal satisfaction analysis highlighted the significant role of cooking methods in determining food preferences, with greater satisfaction for stewed dishes and lower ratings for boiled dishes. Peas received lower appreciation, likely reflecting them being less preferred as protein alternatives. Moreover, most participants were able to meet national and international guidelines for pulse consumption without exacerbating nutritional inadequacies for the tested macro- and micronutrients, except for vitamin B12. The intervention demonstrated potential benefits in reducing blood lipids, with decreases in total and LDL cholesterol levels, supporting cardiovascular health benefits associated with pulse-rich diets. Using NMR spectroscopy, a dynamic metabolic response to pulse consumption was identified in plasma and urine samples, emphasizing the modulation of protein and energy metabolism, as well as the identification of potential intake markers. Correlations between bacterial quantification and fecal metabolome suggest possible metabolic patterns of some of the 8 studied bacterial groups. The results highlight the potential benefits and challenges of adopting pulse-based diets but suggest that pulses would be readily accepted in dietary habits if prepared and presented pleasantly. While positive impacts on cardiovascular health and metabolic activity are evident, the results emphasize the need to avoid nutritional deficiencies, especially in vitamin B12, when substituting animal-origin foods with pulses. Metabolomic analysis highlighted the dynamic nature of the response to pulse consumption, and its combination with molecular biology revealed the potential impact of these foods on the intestinal microbiota. Through a multidisciplinary approach, this study elucidated the potential of pulse-based diets in promoting individual well-being and sustainable food choices. These results need confirmation in experimental studies involving a larger number of participants and a control group, but they identify potential biomarkers and advance the understanding of the broader effects of pulses on human health. Future work should further optimize pulse-based dietary recommendations and explore innovative strategies to enhance the adoption of sustainable dietary patterns on a larger scale.
- A parentalidade em famílias em situação ou risco de sem-abrigo : construção de uma teoria explicativaPublication . Andrade, Filipa; Figueiredo, Amélia SimõesA parentalidade é o assumir da responsabilidade de ser mãe/pai, promovendo o desenvolvimento dos filhos. A família, apesar de constituir o espaço mais imediato de cuidados, nem sempre consegue proporcionar um ambiente homogéneo, podendo ter um impacto negativo no bem-estar e desenvolvimento da criança. Famílias em situação ou risco de Sem-Abrigo podem apresentar múltiplos problemas e necessidades, como sejam, fenómenos sociais, educacionais e de saúde. Por outro lado, para algumas famílias, esta experiência de Sem-Abrigo, potencia outras formas de parentalidade. Com este estudo, propôs-se aprofundar o conhecimento sobre o modo como se processa a parentalidade em famílias em situação ou risco de Sem-Abrigo. Pretendeu-se: Mapear famílias com filhos em situação ou risco de SemAbrigo, utilizadoras dos recursos vocacionados para a população vulnerável; Compreender qual o significado da parentalidade em famílias em situação ou risco de Sem-Abrigo; Identificar os eventos críticos que emergiram durante o processo de parentalidade; Identificar quais os fatores facilitadores e inibidores deste processo; Apresentar os padrões de resposta de parentalidade das famílias com filhos em situação ou risco de Sem-Abrigo e ainda desenvolver uma teoria explicativa que contribua para melhorar a qualidade dos cuidados prestados a estas famílias. A investigação enquadra-se no paradigma qualitativo, em que se procurou compreender como se processa a parentalidade em famílias em situação ou risco de SemAbrigo. O método da investigação adotado foi o indutivo – Grounded Theory. Após a caracterização do contexto empírico do estudo e da determinação da população acessível, o estudo foi sustentado por entrevistas a 30 famílias. Recorreu-se a um processo de codificação do corpus das entrevistas segundo Strauss e Corvina, para o tratamento dos dados. A parentalidade das famílias em situação ou risco de Sem-Abrigo é uma parentalidade sustentada pelos recursos pessoais, familiares e sociais. Distingue-se pelo cuidar à distância e assume diferentes formas, consoante as diferentes tipologias de situações ou risco de Sem-Abrigo. Na situação de risco de Sem-Abrigo identificou-se duas formas processuais da parentalidade, a parentalidade à distância com manutenção da autoridade parental e a parentalidade não totalitária quando não é exercida à distância. Na situação de Sem-Abrigo encontrou-se quatro formas processuais, a parentalidade à distância com manutenção da autoridade parental, parentalidade à distância unilateral, parentalidade interrompida e rotura da parentalidade. Acredita-se que este conhecimento possa contribuir para a sensibilização dos enfermeiros na resposta às reais necessidades destas famílias, bem como, para as políticas de saúde e sociais.
- Poverty and precarity in post-2008 Europe : visual practices and processes of social (in)visibilityPublication . Juvonen, Annimari Elisa; Gil, Isabel Maria de Oliveira CapeloaThis study focuses on the visual construction of contemporary poverty and precarity within the discursive space of the post-2008 economic and debt crises in Europe. As the understanding of poverty has shifted from material deprivation to a more complex and relative phenomenon, the traditional idea of poverty as social invisibility no longer reflects the contemporary social condition. Instead, a more holistic view of the field of (in)visibility allows for a more nuanced approach. The historically informed analysis focuses on three European collective artistic projects, Depression Era (Greece), Crónica21 (Spain), and Projecto Troika (Portugal). The framework for the discussion is the social documentary tradition that began in the urban peripheries of modernizing cities and crystallized in the Farm Security Administration photography project (1937–1946) that existed during the American Great Depression in the 1930s. The analysis addresses historical continuities and disruptions in the visual construction of the social world, highlighting patterns of othering that derive from colonial and anthropological practices of looking, problematized by the postmodern critique in the 1970s and 1980s. This study argues that there has occurred a zooming out from the human body toward alternative expressions of social experience, such as “social landscapes” that merely connote human presence and draw connections with other, present or looming, catastrophes from a critical perspective. However, the research also shows how the importance of the human subject continues to be relevant in discourses of social justice. In this perspective, Depression Era, Crónica21, and Projecto Troika are discussed through their collective visual practices, from digital archives and exhibition practices to photobooks, as platforms and networks with civil society. In this context, the analysis contributes to an understanding of how images of poverty have shaped social imaginaries and have a central role in the negotiations of social relationality and communality in changing societies.