Treatment of contaminated groundwater by reverse osmosis

Estágio realizado no Institute of Chemical Technology Prague e orientado pelo Doutor Martin KubalTese de mestrado integrado. Engenharia Química. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 200

Novas aplicações de métodos multivariados na análise da mortalidade : um estudo na região Norte de Portugal, 2001-2005

A análise da mortalidade é fundamental no processo de planeamento da saúde e dos serviços de saúde, sendo a taxa de mortalidade padronizada pela idade um dos principais indicadores utilizados. A aplicação da Análise em Componentes Principais e da Análise de Clusters surge, neste trabalho, com o objectivo de identificar conjuntos de causas de morte que possam estar mais correlacionadas entre si e de reunir Agrupamentos de Centros de Saúde (ACES) segundo perfis de mortalidade semelhantes

Can avocado oil enriched fresh cheese modulate the obesity-related metabolism?

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The influence of leisure activities on the health and welfare of older people living in nursing home

Background: Leisure activities, often left in the background throughout life, play an important role for older persons. They are activities that they like to accomplish, according to individual preferences that make it easier to maintain an active life, on a physical, mental and social level, improving their health. Objectives: I) Identify the leisure habits of older people living in nursing homes; II) Describe the nursing homes’offer of leisure activities; III) Identify relationships between leisure activities and the seniors’health condition. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive correlational study, in 12 nursing homes in the north of Portugal with a sample of 1,131 seniors. We performed a descriptive and inferential statistical data analysis using SPSS/PC for Windows, version 22. Results: Participants were mostly female, widows, with an average age of 84 years. The most common leisure activity is watching TV. Impaired sight and illiteracy are the most frequent causes of elderly people’s non-adherence to leisure activities. Leisure activities: card/board games, crafts and reading are associated with better cognitive performance; sightseeing and reading are associated with greater independence in self-care; watching television is associated with greater compromise of bodily processes and greater dependence on self-care; performing manual work is associated with less depression; walking is associated with a lower compromise of bodily processes and lower risk of falling. Conclusions: Leisure habits are important in maintaining the health of older people living in nursing homes.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Optimization of a microplate-based assay to assess esterase activity in the alga Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata

The present work describes the optimization of a short-term assay, based on the inhibition of the esterase activity of the alga Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata, in a microplate format. The optimization of the staining procedure showed that the incubation of the algal cells with 20 μmol L−1 fluorescein diacetate (FDA) for 40 min allowed discrimination between metabolic active and inactive cells. The short-term assay was tested using Cu as toxicant. For this purpose, algal cells, in the exponential or stationary phase of growth, were exposed to the heavy metal in growing conditions. After 3 or 6 h, cells were subsequently stained with FDA, using the optimized procedure. For Cu, the 3- and 6-h EC50 values, based on the inhibition of the esterase activity of algal cells in the exponential phase of growth, were 209 and 130 μg L−1, respectively. P. subcapitata cells, in the stationary phase of growth, displayed higher effective concentration values than those observed in the exponential phase. The 3- and 6-h EC50 values for Cu, for cells in the stationary phase, were 443 and 268 μg L−1, respectively. This short-term microplate assay showed to be a rapid endpoint for testing toxicity using the alga P. subcapitata. The small volume required, the simplicity of the assay (no washing steps), and the automatic reading of the fluorescence make the assay particularly well suited for the evaluation of the toxicity of a high number of environmental samples.The authors thank the Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT) through the Portuguese Government for their financial support of this work through the grant PEST-OE/EQB/LA0023/2011 to IBB. Manuela D. Machado gratefully acknowledges the postdoctoral grant from FCT (SFRH/BPD/72816/2010)

INFANT HEMANGIOMA AND ORAL PROPRANOLOL - CURRENT RECOMMENDATIONS

O hemangioma infantil é um tumor endotelial benigno caracterizado por um rápido crescimento nos primeiros meses de vida e regressão espontânea nos anos subsequentes. Desde 2008, o uso do propranolol oral tem sido crescente com eficácia superior à corticoterapia sistémica e ótimo perfil de segurança, assumindo uma posição de primeira linha no tratamento do hemangioma infantil em idade pediátrica. Na presente revisão, os autores propõem uma atualização sobre as mais recentes recomendações para a abordagem dos doentes com hemangioma infantil e indicação para tratamento com propranolol oral.Infantile hemangioma is a benign endothelial tumor characterized by rapid growth in the first months of life and spontaneous regression in subsequent years. Since 2008, the use of oral propranolol has been growing with superior efficacy compared to systemic corticosteroids and good safety profile, assuming a frontline position in the treatment of infantile hemangioma. In this paper, the authors propose an update on the latest recommendations for the management of patients with infantile hemangiomas and indication for treatment with oral propranolol

Remoção do pelo na adolescência

Introdução: Durante a puberdade devido à estimulação hormonal, ocorrem alterações do tipo e distribuição do pelo. Os pelos indesejados no corpo e na face, em ambos os sexos, podem ter um impacto psicológico negativo no adolescente. Existem disponíveis diversos métodos de remoção do pelo, mas a escolha do modo mais apropriado para cada indivíduo pode suscitar dúvidas. Objectivo: Rever os principais métodos de remoção do pelo e clarificar as suas indicações, vantagens e desvantagens. Desenvolvimento: Os métodos de remoção do pelo actualmente disponíveis são variados. A depilação com lâmina e com produtos químicos depilatórios são métodos temporários, em que existe a necessidade de repetição frequente do procedimento, uma vez que apenas existe a remoção do pelo junto à superfície cutânea. Os métodos epilatórios em que se procede à extração completa do pelo, incluem: epilação com cera, linha, pinça, máquinas epilatórias, laser, luz intensa pulsada, e eletrólise. Conclusão: A idade de inicio da remoção do pelo e a escolha do método deve ser individualizada e ter em consideração o tipo de pele e pelo, local, problemas dermatológicos e endocrinológicos, frequência de remoção, custo e preferências pessoais

Responses of the green alga Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata to short- and long-term exposure to heavy metals

Book of Abstracts of CEB Annual Meeting 2017[Excerpt] Algal cells can be exposed to toxicants for a short-term due to accidental discharges or, more commonly, for a long term. The green alga Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata has been widely used in ecological risk assessment, usually based on the impact of the toxicants in the alga growth. However, the physiological causes that lead algal growth inhibition are not completely understood. [...]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Impact of erythromycin on a non-target organism: cellular effects on the freshwater microalga Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata

The increasing and indiscriminate use of antibiotics is the origin of their introduction in aquatic systems through domestic and livestock effluents. The occurrence of erythromycin (ERY), a macrolide antibiotic, in water bodies raises serious concerns about its potential toxic effect in aquatic biota (non-target organisms), particularly in microalgae, the first organisms in contact with aquatic contaminants. This study aimed to evaluate the possible toxic effects of ERY on relevant cell targets of the freshwater microalga Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata. Algal cells incubated with significant environmental ERY concentrations presented disturbance of the photosynthetic apparatus (increased algal autofluorescence and reduction of chlorophyll a content) and mitochondrial function (hyperpolarization of mitochondrial membrane). These perturbations can apparently be attributed to the similarity of the translational machinery of these organelles (chloroplasts and mitochondria) with the prokaryotic cells. P. subcapitata cells treated with ERY showed a modification of metabolic activity (increased esterase activity) and redox state (alteration of intracellular levels of reactive oxygen species and reduced glutathione content) and an increased biovolume. ERY induced an algistatic effect: reduction of growth rate without loss of cell viability (plasma membrane integrity). The present study shows that chronic exposure (72h), at low (µg L-1) ERY concentrations (within the range of concentrations detected in surface and ground waters), induce disturbances in the physiological state of the alga P. subcapitata. Additionally, this work alerts to the possible negative impact of the uncontrolled use of ERY on the aquatic systems.This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER006684) and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fundunderthescopeof Norte2020 - Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. Manuela D. Machado gratefully acknowledges the post-doctoral grant from FCT (SFRH/BPD/72816/2010).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio