Efeito de um programa de Halliwick na competência aquática, postura, equilíbrio estático e dinâmico de pessoas diagnosticadas com deficiência.

O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar qual o Efeito de um programa de Halliwick na competência aquática, postura, equilíbrio estático e dinâmico de pessoas diagnosticadas com deficiência. Dez sujeitos (33±12,3 anos) diagnosticados com paralisia cerebral (n=3), incapacidade mental (n=4) e trissomia 21 (n=3) participaram num programa de 10 pontos de Halliwick. O programa decorreu ao longo de 15 semanas com uma sessão por semana de 1 hora de duração. Todas as sessões foram planeadas e implementadas por um terapeuta especializado. No início (pré) e no final (pós) do programa foram avaliados a competência aquática, postura, equilíbrio estático e dinâmico. A competência aquática foi medida com recurso à Water Orientation Test Align 2 (WOTA) circunscrita a uma pontuação máxima de 81 pontos. A postura estática foi avaliada com recurso a fotogrametria de modo a obter os desvios do centro de massa (CoM) nos planos sagital e frontal. O equilíbrio estático foi avaliado através do teste de apoio unipodal, alcance funcional e teste de Romberg nas suas variantes. O teste Time Up & Go foi selecionado como medida de equilíbrio dinâmico. A competência aquática demonstrou melhorias significativas (WOTApré = 36±15 pontos vs WOTApós = 52±21 pontos, p <0,01). Não se registram alterações nos indicadores do CoM em termos estáticos. Verificou-se uma alteração nos registos do apoio unipodal (Unipodalpré = 14,20±12,22 s vs Unipodalpós = 16,30±12,03 s, p = 0,03) e alcance funcional (Alcancepré = 18,5±0,09 cm vs Alcancepós = 22,5±0,11 cm, p < 0,01). Existiu uma redução dos 70% para os 30% nas oscilações do teste de Romberg com os pés paralelos. Verificou-se ainda uma melhoria no equilíbrio dinâmico (Up&Gopré = 9,49±2,72 vs Up&Gopós = 8,08±2,81 s, p < 0,01) após o programa. No final verificou-se uma associação significativa entre a competência aquática e o Unipodal (Rs = 0,81, p < 0,01) e o Up&Go (Rs = -0,78, p < 0,01). Pode-se concluir que 15 semanas de experiência aquática com base no método de Halliwick são suficientes para induzir melhorias na competência aquática de indivíduos diagnosticados com deficiência. Parece ainda existir uma transferência positiva de capacidades adquiridas em meio aquático para a postura e equilíbrio em meio terrestre

Inactivation of Alicyclobacillu acidoterrestris in apple juice under ultraviolet irradiation treatments

Heat processing is the most commonly used treatment for microbial inactivation. However, temperature may have adverse effects on sensory and nutritional attributes of foods. Non-thermal technologies have received increasing attention for preservation of beverages, due to their potential for inactivating spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms. In addition, they can help minimizing quality losses, namely flavour, colour and nutritional value. Ultraviolet-C radiation (UV-C) is widely used as an alternative strategy to control microorganism in food products. Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris is a thermo-acidophilic, non-pathogenic and spore-forming bacterium, able to grow at low pH (3.0–3.5) and high temperatures (50–70 °C). It has been considered a new type of spoilage bacterium, with important potential spoilage concern for hot-fill fruit and fruit juices. The main objective of this work was to study the influence of UV-C radiation treatments with seven different intensities (0.32, 0.86, 2.59, 5.59, 8.45, 11.50 and 13.44 W/m2) on A. acidoterrestris inactivation in apple juices. Commercial juices were artificially inoculated with bacterium, with initial loads around 107 CFU/mL. They were then exposed to UV-C radiation and the treatment impact on microbial loads was assessed throughout exposure times. Results showed that the log-survival of A. acidoterrestris decreased linearly with treatment time, for all intensities tested. A decimal reduction time at a given UV-C intensity was estimated by fitting a first order kinetic model to experimental data. When the most severe intensity was used (i.e., 13.44 W/m2), the number of spores decreased drastically (around 5-log reduction, which attains US Food and Drug Administration requirements) after 8 min of treatment. For the remaining UV-C intensities, this inactivation was achieved for higher exposure times. Overall it can be concluded that UV-C radiation is a promising treatment with a drastic impact on the loads of A. acidoterrestris in apple juices, especially when high intensities are used

Influence of Prolonged Wearing of Unstable Shoes on Upright Standing Postural Control

To study the influence of prolonged wearing of unstable shoes on standing postural control in prolonged standing workers. The participants were divided into two groups: one wore unstable shoes while the other wore conventional shoes for 8 weeks. Stabilometry parameters related to centre of pressure (CoP), rambling (RM) and trembling (TR) as well as the total agonist/antagonist muscle activity, antagonist co-activation and reciprocal activation were evaluated during upright standing, before and after the 8 week period. In both moments, the subjects were evaluated wearing the unstable shoes and in barefoot. The unstable shoe condition presented increased CoP displacement related variables and decreased co-activation command compared to barefoot before and after the intervention. The prolonged wearing of unstable shoes led to: (1) reduction of medial-lateral CoP root mean square and area; (2) decreased anteroposterior RM displacement; (3) increased anteroposterior RM mean velocity and mediolateral RM displacement; (4) decreased anteroposterior TR RMS; and (5) increased thigh antagonist co-activation in the unstable shoe condition. The unstable shoe condition is associated to a higher destabilizing effect that leads to a selection of more efficient and accurate postural commands compared to barefoot. Prolonged wearing of unstable shoes provides increased effectiveness and performance of the postural control system, while wearing of unstable shoes in upright standing, that are reflected by changes in CoP related variables and by a reorganization of postural control commands

Bioremoval of hexavalent chromium by A. viscosus supported on Y and ZSM5 zeolites

Este resumo faz parte de: Book of abstracts of the Meeting of the Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 2, Braga, Portugal, 2010. A versão completa do livro de atas está disponível em: http://hdl.handle.net/1822/1096

Olefin oligomerisation over nanocrystalline MFI-based micro/mesoporous zeotypes synthesised via bottom-up approaches

The oligomerisation of 1-butene was studied under high-pressure continuous-flow conditions (200–250 °C, 30–40 bar), in the presence of micro/mesoporous zeotypes based on the MFI topology, which were prepared via different non-destructive bottom-up strategies: crystallization of silanized protozeolitic units; co-templating with a dual function (polymeric) template; and using a sole structure directing agent (non-surfactant and non-polymeric) to generate mesoporosity. The synthesis method influenced the material properties and consequently the catalytic performance. In targeting hydrocarbons with boiling point ranges characteristics of diesel, the zeotypes benefited from regular morphology, reduced crystallite size, mesoporosity and enhanced molar ratio of Lewis (L) to Brønsted (B) acid sites (L/B). In general, the zeotypes outperformed commercial zeolite ZSM-5. The best-performing zeotype was prepared according to the Serrano strategy based on the crystallization of silanized zeolitic seeds, and led to 97% conversion and an average space-time yield of liquid products of 1077 mg gcat−1 h−1, at 250 °C, 40 bar. The zeotypes seemed more stable than the commercial zeolite, based on molecular level characterization studies of the used/regenerated catalysts, with some differences in catalytic activity.publishe

Removal of organic compounds by a biofilm supported on GAC : modelling of batch and column data

The performance of a biofilm of Arthrobacter viscosus supported on granular activated carbon on the retention of organic compounds was evaluated. The presence of functional groups on the cell wall surface of the biomass that may interact with the organic compounds was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, to assess the applicability of this system to the removal of those compounds. The batch assays showed that the removal percentage decreases with the increasing initial concentration. The removal of phenol ranged from 99.5 to 93.4%, the chlorophenol removal ranged from 99.3 to 61.6% and the o-cresol removal ranged from 98.7 to 73.5%, for initial concentrations between 100 and 1,700 mg/L. The batch data were described by Freundlich, Langmuir, Redlich–Peterson, Dubinin-Radushkevich, Sips and Toth model isotherms and the best fit for the retention of phenol and for the retention of o-cresol was obtained with the Sips model, while for chlorophenol, the best fit was obtained with the Freundlich model. The column tests showed that the retention performance followed the order: phenol > chlorophenol > o-cresol, and increased with the increasing initial organic compound concentration. Data from column runs were described by Adams–Bohart, Wolborska and Yoon and Nelson models with good fitting for all the models.POCTI/FEDER - POCTI/CTA/44449/2002Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Study of Ni (II) and diethylketone removal from aqueous solutions using a biofilm of Streptococcus equisimilis supported on vermiculite

The novelty of this work lies in the development of an environmental-friendly technology to remove diethylketone and Ni (II) from aqueous solutions using the interaction between bacteria and clays. Concentrated biomass of Streptococcus equisimilis and vermiculite were used for the removal of both pollutants No published work on the usage of this combination to remove heavy metals and organic solvents from aqueous solutions was acknowledged. The developed work is original and its impact on society and on environment is evident due to the toxicological effects of those substances on the health of living beings

Optimization of production of extracellular polymeric substances by Arthrobacter viscosus and their interaction with a 13X zeolite for the biosorption of Cr(VI)

In this work we aimed to optimize the production of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) by an Arthrobacter viscosus biofilm supported on 13X zeolite to be used in the biosorption of Cr(VI). The optimization parameters were agitation rate, work volume, pH and glucose concentration. Following the optimization of EPS production, the biofilm was used in the biosorption of hexavalent Cr from liquid solutions. Differences between the use of dead or active biomass and between the performance of zeolite in powder or in pellet form were also studied. The optimized EPS production allowed values of metal uptake between 2.72 mg/gbiosorbent and 7.88 mg/gbiosorbent for initial Cr(VI) concentrations of 20–60 mg/L. For an initial concentration of 20 mg/L, the optimal conditions of EPS production allowed an increase of 10% on the removal percentage of total Cr, and the use of zeolite as a powder rather than the pelleted form produced an increase of 46.5% in the removal percentage. For the initial concentration of 60 mg/L, the use of active biomass compared to dried biomass allowed a reduction of the time required for the total removal of Cr(VI) from 20 to 13 days.The authors would like to gratefully acknowledge the financial support of this project by the Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia, Ministerio da Ciencia e Tecnologia, Portugal. Bruna Silva and Hugo Figueiredo thank FCT for a PhD grant and Cristina Quintelas thanks FCT for a Post Doctoral grant

Detergent formulations for wool domestic washings containing immobilized enzymes

The stability of immobilized and native Esperase, a commercial serine protease, was studied by incubating the enzymes in four formulations containing the same amount of anionic and non-ionic surfactants. The results show that the activity of the immobilized enzyme is not affected by the presence of detergents while the native enzyme lost 50% of activity after 20 min of incubation in these four formulations. The washing performance of the detergents prepared with the immobilized Esperase was studied on cotton and wool fabric samples stained with human blood and egg yolk, using as control the detergent containing native Esperase. The best stain removal for cotton samples stained with human blood was achieved using the detergent with immobilized Esperase. Several physical tests confirmed that wool keratin was not degraded by the immobilized Esperase, validating the ability to use formulated detergents containing this immobilized enzyme for safe wool domestic washing