Test-retest reliability of three-dimensional gait analysis in chronic low back pain individuals: a preliminary study

Trabalho apresentado no 1st Clinical Movement Analysis World Conference, 29 setembro a 4 outubro 2014, Roma, Itáli

Comparing the effects of glazing and chitosan-based coating applied on frozen salmon on its organoleptic and physicochemical characteristics over six-months storage

The perishable nature of fish, with an increase in fish consumption in recent years, led to the improvement of fish preservation techniques. Chitosan coatings adds to the traditional water glazing. The effect of a chitosan solution of 1.5% on the sensory properties of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) was studied over six months of storage. The sensory properties of the salmon were assessed through the use of a texturometer and a trained panel of judges. Microbiological parameters were studied in the form of Total Volatile Base Nitrogen (TVB-N) and Total Viable Count (TVC) tests. Microbiological analysis showed that chitosan had an anti-microbiological effect on the salmon samples, reducing the number of microorganisms present, while TVB-N values were maitained stable during experiment. Textural Profile Analysis (TPA) was performed and the results showed no significant differences between different coatings regarding texture. Sensory analysis by a trained panel showed that chitosan was a better choice in frozen samples, while in thawed and cooked samples no significant differences existed between chitosan-coated and glazed samples. Flavor diffusion from the chitosan coating was assessed, and analysis of the results showed no correlation between coating type and sample flavor, indicating that no flavor diffusion had occurred.The contribution of VANIBRU, Lda. regarding the PhD scholarship of Nuno Soares and the use of industrial facilities are gratefully acknowledged

Test-retest reliability and minimal detectable change of three-dimensional gait analysis in chronic low back pain patients and healthy individuals

Trabalho apresentado no IFOMPT 2016 - World Congress of Manual and Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy, 4-8 julho de 2016, Glasgow, Escóciainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Altered three-dimensional trunk and hip kinetics and loss of variability during gait in chronic low back pain individuals

Trabalho apresentado em 10th Interdisciplinary World Congress on Low Back & Pelvic Girdle Pain, 28-31 de outubro 2019, Antuérpia, BélgicaN/

Application of chitosan-based coatings on frozen salmon - Sensory assessment and retail simulation approach

GLUPOR 12 - 12nd International Meeting of the Portuguese Carbohydrate Chemistry GroupDue to an increase in fish consumption over the past years , in comb ination with the perishable nature of fish , the fish industry has given an added focus on the improvement of the currently used fish preservation techniques. Chitosan coatings may add improvements to the traditional water glazing , name ly in physical and ant i- microbial protection , allowing for shelf life extension. Nevertheless , during retail storage , frozen fish products can suffer temperature variations that lead to a decrease in quality. These temperature var iations can be caused by a multitude of reasons , some of which are easy to control , while others are due to unforeseen circumstances . In either case , thermal stress can often affect frozen fish products and this effect is of considerable importance . This work was meant to determ ine the influence of chitosan coatings in the organoleptic characteristics of salmon as well as report a strategy to help mitigate the effects of thermal stress of frozen fish samples .A 15 g/L chitosan solution was applied on frozen salmon samples through dipping at a temperature of 8 °C, wi th a dipping time of 10 s; water glazing was applied as blank treatment at 0.5 °C, with a dipping time of 40 s. Some of the samples were submitted to retail- simulated thermal stress conditions (i. e. a temperature variation of -15 °C to -5 °C was enforced ), and studied during a 70-days long experiment , while others were used to assess the sensory properties of chitosan coat ings on Atlantic salmon (Sa/mo salar) and were compared with uncoated and water glazed samples over a six-month storage period at -18 °C. Retail simulation samples were tested for variations in pH , coat i ng loss and color , while samples used for sensory analys is were evaluated by a sensory panel (frozen , frozen+thawed and frozen +thawed+cooked samples were assessed ,) regarding its organolept ic properties , and textural analysis , by means of a TPA (texture profile analys is ). Samples analys is common to both exper iments were microbiological stabi lity, assessed through TVC (ISO 4833-1 :2013 standard) , and chemical stability , determined as TVB-N (N P 2930 :2009 standard ). Through coating loss, it was possible to verify that chitosan coatings offer better protect ion, with water glazed samples becoming virtually unprotected after the evaluation period, with losses of more than 80 % of its glazing , while chitosan coated samples maintained 50 % of its coating. Extrapolat i ng this data to complete loss of water glazing shows an increase in shel f life of at le ast 26 % in chitosan coated samples. No significant changes between samples were obtained in the other parameters assessed . The anti-m icrobial effect of chitosan was confirmed through TVC which showed a reduction in microbial counts in chitosan coated samp les , whi le while TVB-N results showed to remain stable , for both experiments . The proven anti - microbial effect of chitosan coated samples in conjunction with a slower coating loss leads to an expected increase in shelf life , even in unforeseen circumstances of temperature change in retail transportation. Textural results from the TPA analysis showed no significant differences between different coatings. Results of the trained panel indicated that for frozen samples ch itosan was the preferred choice , while no significant differences existed between chitosan -coated and glazed samples in thawed and cooked samples. Flavor diffu sion from the chitosan coating to the samples was assessed by Principal Component Analysis and no correlation between coating type and sample flavor could be established , meaning that no chitosan flavor was detected by the panellists.Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/044691/2013 unit and COMPETE 2020 (POCl-01-0145-FEDER-006684) and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020 - Programa Operacional Regional do Norteinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A prática em contexto profissional na formação inicial:perspectivas de estudantes:contributos para a configuração profissional do educador de infância

Tese de doutoramento, Educação (Formação de Professores), Universidade de Lisboa, Instituto de Educação, 2014O presente trabalho tem como campo de pesquisa a Formação de Professores, mais especificamente a formação dos Educadores de Infância. Centra-se num olhar atento sobre os contributos da imersão na prática em contexto de trabalho durante a formação inicial, no âmbito da formação profissional do educador de infância. Incrito no paradigma interpretativo, incidindo na perspectiva dos sujeitos, a investigação desenvolveu-se em duas fases, conjugando diferentes metodologias e técnicas de recolha e análise de dados. Numa fase inicial, procedeu-se à realização de entrevistas de grupo a estudantes a frequentar o último ano de uma licenciatura em Educação de Infância e a uma entrevista individual ao supervisor institucional que acompanhou esse grupo de estudantes e respectiva análise de conteúdo. Esta fase passou ainda pela recolha e análise de conteúdo de reflexões semanais escritas e incidentes críticos contidos em portfólios de estudantes da referida licenciatura, onde se incluem os anteriores e a ainda a uma análise documental de legislação específica reguladora da formação e da actividade do educador de infância. Uma segunda fase, consistiu na construção e a aplicação de um questionário a estudantes a frequentar também o último ano de formação inicial em educação de infância em três escolas superiores de educação situadas na região de Lisboa e Vale do Tejo, com o intuito de obter uma visão mais ampla e, em simultâneo, mais focalizada do fenómeno em estudo. Os resultados obtidos quer na primeira, quer na segunda etapa permitiram reunir um conjunto de evidências que apontam para a pertinência específica (e incontornável) da prática em contexto profissional, designadamente, como “espaço e tempo” de tomada de consciência dos significados do que é ser EI, de aquisição de novos saberes e de desenvolvimento de outros, de aprendizagem de modos de agir e de estar essenciais ao exercício da profissão. Foi possível identificar ainda um conjunto de tomadas de consciência indiciadoras de mudanças de crenças e concepções iniciais e, por conseguinte, potenciadoras de mudanças de atitudes profissionais. Por fim, os dados permitiram evidenciar algumas pistas susceptíveis de constituírem suporte para reflexão e eventual reconceptualização da componente de prática em contexto profissional na formação inicial de educadores de infância à luz, designadamente, dos novos modelos de organização curricular emanados do processo de Bolonha.The present work is inserted in the research field of teachers training, in particular the initial training of early childhood educators, focusing on the analysis of the contribution of the practicum. The research was based on the interpretative paradigm, focusing on the perspective of the subjects, and was developed in two stages, combining different methodologies and techniques of data collection and analysis. The first step consisted on group interviews to students of the last year of a graduation in Early Childhood Education and an individual interview to the respective institutional supervisor, followed by the content analysis of these interviews. This stage included also the collection and content analysis of weekly written narratives and critical incidents contained in portfólios of students from this graduation, as well as a documental analysis of the specific legislation about the training and professional activity of early childhood educators. On a second stage, a survey was developed and applied to students also attending the last year of initial training in early childhood education in three institutions of higher education located in the Lisbon region, with the aim of obtaining a wider and more specific perspective of our object of study. The results support the importance of the practicum as a phase of the training process in which the student effectively realizes the meaning of being an early childhood educator, acquires and develops professional knowledge and ways of acting and being. It also allows awarenesses that indicate changes in the initial beliefs and conceptions and that can lead to changes in the professional attitudes. Finally, the data suggest clues that can support a reflection and eventual reconceptualization of the practicum in pre-service, namely in light of the new models of curricular organization of Bolonha.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT, Programa PROTEC

Analysis of sensory effects of chitosan-based coatings applied on frozen salmon over six-months storage

The 19th Gums & Stabilisers for the Food Industry Conference: Hydrocolloid MultifunctionalityDue to an increase in fish consumption over the past years, in combination with the perishable nature of fish, the fish industry has given an added focus on the improvement of the currently used fish preservation techniques. Chitosan coatings may add improvements to the traditional water glazing, namely in physical and anti-microbial protection, allowing for shelf life extension. This work was meant to determine the influence of chitosan coatings in the organoleptic characteristics of salmon. The effects of chitosan coatings on microbiological (Total Viable Count – TVC) and chemical (Total Volatile Base Nitrogen – TVB-N) parameters were also assessed. A 15 g/L solution of chitosan was used to coat frozen salmon samples, and its effect on the sensory properties of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) was compared with uncoated and water glazed samples, and was studied over six months of storage at -18 °C. Samples were dipped in the chitosan solution at 8 °C during 10 s; water glazing was applied at 0.5 °C, with a dipping time of 40 s. Textural properties were evaluated through Texture Profile Analysis (TPA), while sensory properties of frozen, frozen+thawed and frozen+thawed+cooked samples were assessed by a trained panel of judges. Microbiological stability was assessed through TVC (ISO 4833-1:2013 standard), and chemical stability was determined as TVB-N (NP 2930:2009 standard). TVC analysis showed an anti-microbial effect of chitosan in the coated samples (reduction of the number of microorganisms), while TVB-N results showed to remain stable during the experiment. Textural results from the TPA analysis showed no significant differences between different coatings. Results of the trained panel indicated that for frozen samples chitosan was the preferred choice, while no significant differences existed between chitosan-coated and glazed samples in thawed and cooked samples. Flavor diffusion from the chitosan coating to the samples was assessed by Principal Component Analysis and no correlation between coating type and sample flavor could be established, meaning that no chitosan flavor was detected by the panellists.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Microparticles in the Development and Improvement of Pharmaceutical Formulations: An Analysis of In Vitro and In Vivo Studies

: Microparticulate systems such as microparticles, microspheres, microcapsules or any particle in a micrometer scale (usually of 1-1000 µm) are widely used as drug delivery systems, because they offer higher therapeutic and diagnostic performance compared to conventional drug delivery forms. These systems can be manufactured with many raw materials, especially polymers, most of which have been effective in improving the physicochemical properties and biological activities of active compounds. This review will focus on the in vivo and in vitro application in the last decade (2012 to 2022) of different active pharmaceutical ingredients microencapsulated in polymeric or lipid matrices, the main formulation factors (excipients and techniques) and mostly their biological activities, with the aim of introducing and discussing the potential applicability of microparticulate systems in the pharmaceutical field

Comparing different packaging conditions on quality stability of high-pressure treated Serra da Estrela cheeses during cold storage

Serra da Estrela cheese with a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) is a traditional cheese that is wrapped in paper without vacuum. High-pressure processing (HPP), which requires vacuum packaging of the cheese, has been used for its cold pasteurization to overcome safety issues. In this study, two packaging systems were studied: non-vacuum greaseproof paper wrapping package and vacuum packaging in plastic film. Lactococci, lactobacilli, enterococci, and total mesophiles reached ca. 8 log cfu g−1 and 4–6 log cfu g−1 in control (unpasteurized) and HPP-treated cheeses, respectively, with no significant differences between packaging systems. Spoilage microorganisms' viable cell numbers were reduced to 5 log cfu g−1 in non-vacuum paper-wrapped cheeses. A vacuum-packaging system enabled better control of cheese proteolysis, which was revealed to be closer to that of the original control cheese values at the end of the 10-month storage period. In addition, cheese stored under vacuum film packaging became harder than non-vacuum paper-wrapped cheeses at each time point. Overall, conventional non-vacuum paper wrapping is adequate for short storage periods (<3 months), but for long periods vacuum packaging in plastic film is preferable.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio