Impact of contact lenses on environment

Dissertação de mestrado em Genética MolecularAs lentes de contato (LC) são mais populares do que nunca e, com o aumento da prevalência da miopia e dos números de pessoas com presbiopia, espera-se que o número de utilizadores aumente. E, por questões de conveniência e de higiene, as lentes de contato descartáveis (LCD) tornam-se a primeira escolha, estando disponíveis para diferentes modalidades de uso. No entanto, estas podem ter um impacto ambiental adverso resultante da necessidade de descartar muitas lentes e as suas embalagens. Como não existem estudos que mostram se as LC têm impacto ambiental, este estudo tem como objetivo avaliar se os microrganismos conseguem degradar/deteriorar o material das LC. Foram selecionados seis fungos unicelulares (Pichia orientalis, P. fermentans, Candida humilis, C. intermedia, C. tropicalis e Wickerhamomyces anomalus), duas bactérias (Bacillus megaterium e Brucella melitensis) e três hifomicetes aquáticos (Articulospora tetracladia, Tricladium splendans e Varicosporium elodea) para incubar com os materiais de LC Nesofilcon A (Bausch & Lomb) e Senofilcon A (Johnson & Johnson) por um período desde 40 horas a 8 meses. O impacto da presença do material das LC no crescimento de leveduras, bactérias e hifomicetes aquáticos foi avaliado e os resultados indicaram que a sua presença não afetou significativamente o crescimento. Além disso, ao final do período de incubação com leveduras (40 h), o índice de refração das LC (IR) e o conteúdo em água (CA) não se alterou quando comparados com as lentes novas. A integridade da LC após as incubações com leveduras e bactérias permaneceu intacta, porém, após 8 meses na presença de hifomicetes aquáticos, as LC apresentaram roturas na sua superfície. Para avaliar o impacto da LC no meio ambiente, a LC foi colocada no solo e num extrato do solo e o IR e o CA também foram analisados após 1, 2, 4, 6 e 8 semanas. Os resultados indicaram que os valores de IR e CA não mudaram significativamente ao longo das semanas nas duas condições testadas. As análises aos materiais das LC com Microscopia de Força Atómica (AFM) e com Espectroscopia de Infravermelho com Transformada de Fourier acoplada a um acessório de refletância total atenuada (FTIR-ATR) incubadas por 6 e 8 semanas nestas condições indicam que há um aumento na rugosidade das LC, no entanto, não há alterações na composição polimérica das lentes. Estas LC foram incubadas com bactérias e testadas quanto à sua resistência ao estiramento. Os resultados mostram que a percentagem de alongamento até quebra da LC Senofilcon A piorou em todas as condições, mas o mesmo não foi observado para LC Nesofilcon A. Concluiu-se que as LC não afetam o crescimento de leveduras, bactérias e hifomicetes aquáticos. Após inseridas durante 8 semanas no solo ou no extrato do solo não parecem degradar-se ou deteriorar-se significativamente. No entanto, a lente Senofilcon A, composta por Silicone-Hidrogel (SiHi), começou a apresentar um sinal de deterioração, o que sugere que esta LC pode contribuir para o aumento dos microplásticos no meio ambiente. Considerando que o número esperado de utilizadores de LC aumentará, particularmente as LCD diárias, as LC que terminarem nos rios ou nos aterros sanitários devem ser consideradas um problema ambiental.Contact lenses (CL) are more popular than ever and with the increase in the prevalence of myopia and people with presbyopia, it is expected that the number of users will increase. The convenience and hygiene issues make disposable contact lenses (DCL) the first choice as they are available for different wearing modalities. However, they can have a high adverse environmental impact resulting from the need to discard many lenses and their packaging. Since there aren’t studies that show if CL have an environmental impact, this study aims to evaluate if microorganisms can degrade/deteriorate CL materials. Six unicellular fungi were selected (Pichia orientalis, P. fermentans, Candida humilis, C. intermedia, C. tropicalis, and Wickerhamomyces anomalus), two bacteria (Bacillus megaterium and Brucella melitensis), and three aquatic hyphomycetes (Articulospora tetracladia, Tricladium splendans, and Varicosporium elodea) to incubate with the Nesofilcon A (Bausch&Lomb) and Senofilcon A (Johnson&Johnson) CL for a period from 40 hours to 8 months. The impact of the presence of the CL material on yeast, bacteria and aquatic hyphomycete growth was evaluated and results indicated that their presence didn’t significantly affect their growth. Also, at the end of the incubation with yeast (40 h), the CL refractive index (RI) and water content (WC) didn’tt change when compared with the new lens. The CL integrity after the incubations with yeast and bacteria remains intact, however, after 8 months in the presence of aquatic hyphomycetes, the CL presented breaks at their surface. To evaluate the impact of CL on the environment, CL were placed in soil and in a soil extract and RI and WC were analyzed after 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks. Results indicated that the RI and WC values didn’t change significantly over the weeks in both conditions tested. Analyzes of CL materials with Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) incubated for 6 and 8 weeks in those conditions indicate that there is an increase in CL roughness, however, there are no changes in the polymeric composition of the CL. These CL and CL incubated with bacteria were tested for their resistance to stretch and the results show that there is an impairment of Senofilcon A in all conditions but the same was not observed for Nesofilcon A. We concluded that CL do not affect yeast, bacteria and aquatic hyphomycetes growth. After inserted during 8 weeks in soil or soil extract doesn’t seem to significantly degrade or deteriorate CL. However, Senofilcon A CL, composed of silicone-Hydrogel (SiHy), began to present a sign of deterioration, which suggests that this monthly DCL may contribute to the enhancement of microplastics in the environment. Considering that the expected number of CL users will increase, particularly the daily DCL, CL ending in the rivers or in the land field should be considered an environmental problem

Derivados de açúcar: internacionalização na cadeia produtiva do açúcar na segunda metade da década de 1990

This paper identifies a new way of sugar utilization for food industry supplying: the production of specific ingredients. It analyzes the occurrence of association among sugar mills and sugar products manufacturers in the context of productive deregulation and market globalization in the second half of the 90´s. The manufacturers of specific ingredients (sugar products) established associations and joint-ventures with sugar mills in order to guarantee sugar supplying. An important consequence of this process was the internationalization of the section of sugarcane second (and first) agricultural processing by means of those strategic alliances. These companies have the knowledge of productive processes of specific ingredients (based on biotechnology) which, when compared with conventional processes, presents great variation in productivity and production costs. There is a combination of the sugar mills capabilities for agricultural production and the technological qualification of transnational entities for the production of sugar derivatives.sugar productive chain, food industry, supply chain, strategic parternships, market globalization,

Tributação de criptomoedas: a incidência das normas tributárias nas operações realizadas com criptomoedas

O presente trabalho busca analisar a incidência das normas tributárias nas operações realizadas com criptomoedas. Para tanto, é necessário discorrer sobre o conceito e a natureza jurídica das criptomoedas, a partir de um estudo comparado, com vistas a abordar o entendimento de outros países sobre a questão. Ainda, este trabalho se propõe a realizar uma breve análise acerca dos desafios de cunho fiscal para a colocação, na prática, da tributação das criptomoedas. Faz-se necessário discorrer sobre o tema, uma vez que as operações realizadas com criptomoedas crescem cada vez mais e, até o momento, não foram traçadas definições legais que assegurem a tributação dessas operações em conformidade à Constituição Federal

Pedagogical differentiation in the early ages for the construction of an inclusive practice

Este estudo de natureza qualitativa centra-se na temática da diferenciação pedagógica (DP) na educação pré-escolar e no 1.º ciclo do ensino básico de modo a promover uma prática inclusiva. Foram realizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas a sete educadoras de infância e a sete professoras em que se procuraram identificar as suas conceções sobre DP e de que forma a implementam na sua prática. Da análise dos dados pode perceber-se que as docentes procuram implementar estratégias de DP de forma a responder às necessidades e capacidades de cada criança, respeitando os seus ritmos de aprendizagem. Neste sentido realçam o papel do planeamento da avaliação e organização do ambiente educativo. Verificam-se, no entanto, que são várias as dificuldades sentidas na implementação de estratégias de DP, o que nos leva a refletir sobre a necessidade de um maior apoio formativo nesta área, para o desenvolvimento de práticas que respondam efetivamente às necessidades específicas de cada criança.This qualitative study focuses on the theme of pedagogical differentiation (PD) in pre-school education and in the 1st cycle of basic education in order to promote an inclusive practice. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven kindergarten teachers and seven teachers in which they sought to identify their conceptions about PD and how they implemented it in their practice. From the analysis of the data it can be seen that the teachers seek to implement PD strategies in order to respond to the needs and capacities of each child, respecting their learning rhythms. In this sense, they emphasize the role of evaluation planning and organization of the educational environment. However, there are several difficulties in the implementation of PD strategies, which leads us to reflect on the need for greater formative support in this area, for the development of practices that effectively respond to the specific needs of each child.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Exploring plant tissue culture to improve the production of phenolic compounds: a review

Plant tissue and organ culture has been extensively used from the beginning of the XX century for the study and comprehension of some primary biological mechanisms such as morphogenesis. However, with the increasing demand of the market for novel products derived from plants, in vitro culture became a reliable technique for the mass production of plant material. Moreover, the potential to use this technique for the production of some bioactive compounds, such as phenolic compounds, is immense since it allows the manipulation of the biosynthetic routes to increase the production and accumulation of specific compounds. This work intends to make a brief historical review of in vitro culture, highlighting its use for the production of bioactive compounds. Also, emphasizes the importance of phenolic compounds for the consumer as well reviews the metabolic pathways involved in its production in plant cells. Furthermore, it was carried out a comprehensive study on the work developed for the production of plant phenolic compounds in in vitro cultures, as well as on the type of elicitors used to increase of the same production; also a brief highlighting of the phenolic compounds which serve as elicitors. There are numerous reports directed to the production of phenolic extracts in in vitro plant cultures, however there is a lack in the production of individual phenolic compounds mainly due to the complexity of the biosynthetic routes and extraction procedures. Elicitation procedures are often used to increase the production of phenolics, archieving in most cases higher yields than in non-elicitated cultures. The increasing production of bioactive phenolic extracts/compounds allows for their further applicability, namely in the industry of functional foods or in pharmaceutical/medical fields.The authors are grateful to Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal) for financial support to CIMO (strategic project PEst-OE/AGR/UI0690/2014) and M.I. Dias grant (SFRH/BD/84485/2012). This work received financial support from the European Union (FEDER funds through COMPETE) and National Funds (FCT) through project UID/QUI/50006/2013, and FEDER funds under the framework of QREN through Project NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000069

Organizational justice across cultures and entities: an investigation in Portugal and Angola

This thesis explores employees’ entity justice perceptions about the organization as a whole, their supervisor, work-colleagues, and subordinates, in Portugal and Angola. We relate these justice perceptions to individual, organizational, and cultural differences between the countries; and explore the implications for employees’ and organizations. The thesis includes two conceptual studies, which review the extant literature to explore factors underlying country differences in the ways employees develop and react to evaluations of justice; and how those sociocultural factors interact to explain country differences. Additionally, it includes three empirical studies, which apply and expand the GLOBE project cultural model to characterize values and practices in Portugal and Angola; explore the motivational effect of individual cultural orientations (i.e., interaction of cultural values and practices) and orientation consistency (i.e., discrepancy between cultural practices and values) on the relationship between entity justice and commitment; and finally, explore the relationship between entity justice, use of social and personal resources and perceived effectiveness of how host country national and expatriate middle-managers handle work events We investigate innovative justice foci, illustrating the importance of perceptions regarding colleagues and subordinates, and showing that perceptions regarding different entities have distinct antecedents and outcomes. We adopt a dynamic multi-trait approach to country differences, exploring the relationships between values and practices, in addition to individual and organizational differences. Finally, we explore seldom studied cultural contexts. By bringing organizational justice and cross-cultural research together we hope to shed light on uncharted areas of the justice experiences of employees in different countries.Esta tese investiga percepções de justiça dos trabalhadores, em Portugal e Angola, em relação à organização como um todo, supervisor, colegas de trabalho e subordinados. Essas percepções são relacionadas com diferenças individuais, organizacionais e culturais entre países e as implicações para trabalhadores e organizações são exploradas. A tese inclui dois estudos conceptuais que revêem a literatura existente para explorar os factores subjacentes às diferenças entre os países nas forma como os trabalhadores desenvolvem e reagem a avaliações de justiça; e como esses fatores socioculturais interagem para explicar as diferenças entre países. Além disso, inclui três estudos empíricos, que aplicam e expandem o modelo cultural do projeto GLOBE para caracterizar valores e práticas culturais em Portugal e Angola; explorar o efeito motivacional das orientações culturais individuais (i.e., interação entre valores e práticas) e sua consistência (i.e., discrepância entre valores e praticas) na relação entre justiça e implicação; e finalmente, explorar a relação entre justiça, uso de recursos sociais e pessoais, e eficácia percebida da forma como gestores intermédios nacionais e expatriados lidam com eventos no trabalho Investigamos focies de justiça inovadores, ilustrando a importância das percepções acerca de colegas e subordinados e demonstrando que as percepções sobre diferentes entidades têm antecedentes e outcomes distintos. Adotamos uma abordagem dinâmica e multifacetada das diferenças entre países explorando, além de diferenças individuais e organizacionais, relações entre valores e práticas culturais. Finalmente, investigamos contextos culturais raramente estudados. Ao combinar prespectivas de justiça organizacional e pesquisa inter-cultural esperamos desvendar aspectos desconhecidos das experiências de justiça dos trabalhadores em diferentes países

Written test for the assessment and analysis of writing skills - validation of the subtests 1 to 8: graphic shapes, letters, syllables, words and pseudowords

Trabalho apresentado em 11th European Speech and Language Therapy Congress - 2022 ESLA Congress, 26-28 maio, 2022, Salzburg, Austria.N/

Epidemiologia de Trichomonas vaginalis em mulheres

AbstractIntroductionTricomoniose is one of the most common not viral Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) in the whole world, with an annual incidence superior to 180 million cases.The World Health Organization estimated that this infection explains almost 50% of all the curable STDs in the whole world.In Portugal few epidemiologic studies have been carried out on parasitosis. Thus, the objective of this study consisted on determining the prevalence of the T. vagianlis in women who attended the consultation of family planning in the CS N.°1 CS N.°2 and the Hospital in Chaves, and on establishing a possible association of this parasatism with sociodemographic characteristics, symptomatology, sexual behaviour and previous treatment of parasitosis, through the reply to an inquiry.Materials and methodsA sample of vaginal smears was collected in 288 symptomatic and asymptomatic women for research of T. vaginalis appealing to the direct and cultural examination.ResultsOf the 288 women who adhered to the study, 11 (3,8%) were found to have tricomoniose. Variables such as age, marital status, degree of education, use of contraceptive, do not present significant statistical results relatively to the number of positive cases. Among positive cases only 54, 5% of the women were symptomatic being the remaining 45,5% asymptomatic. A statistical significant association was found between tricomoniose and multiple sexual partners.ConclusionIn result, there is a need for further studies with the intention to reevaluate the current picture of this parasitosis in Portugal. Finally it seems to be of the utmost importance to inform the population about the high number of asymptomatic cases of parasitosis, as well as about the consequences that may arise from that fact

Dissertações

Resumos de dissertações de mestrado em Educação Especial, defendidas na Universidade Lusófon

Optimização da instalação de água recuperada e seus consumos

aEstágio realizado na UNICER Cervejas e orientado pelo Eng.º José AleixoTese de mestrado integrado. Engenharia Química. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 200