Browsing by Author "Freitas, Marisa"
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- 3rd International Congress of Environmental Health: Proceedings BookPublication . Vieira Da Silva, Manuela; Oliveira, Rui S.; Rodrigues, Matilde; Nunes, Mafalda; Santos, Joana; Carvalhais, C.; Rebelo, Andreia; Freitas, Marisa; Xavier, AnaThis third edition addresses to ‘Emerging risks and challenges for the environment, health and safety’ and intended as a guide to the various symposiums and workshops, to provide all present the most recent scientific and technological advances in the areas: Occupational Health and Toxicology; Exposure to Nanoparticles; Assessment and Risk Management; Occupational Safety; Exposure to Bioaerosols; Environment and Sustainability; Food Safety and Public Health.
- Analysis of the Use of Cylindrospermopsin and/or Microcystin-Contaminated Water in the Growth, Mineral Content, and Contamination of Spinacia oleracea and Lactuca sativaPublication . Llana-Ruiz-Cabello, Maria; Jos, Angeles; Cameán, Ana; Oliveira, Flavio; Barreiro, Aldo; Machado, Joana; Azevedo, Joana; Pinto, Edgar; Almeida, Agostinho; Campos, Alexandre; Vasconcelos, Vitor; Freitas, MarisaCyanobacteria and cyanotoxins constitute a serious environmental and human health problem. Moreover, concerns are raised with the use of contaminated water in agriculture and vegetable production as this can lead to food contamination and human exposure to toxins as well as impairment in crop development and productivity. The objective of this work was to assess the susceptibility of two green vegetables, spinach and lettuce, to the cyanotoxins microcystin (MC) and cylindrospermopsin (CYN), individually and in mixture. The study consisted of growing both vegetables in hydroponics, under controlled conditions, for 21 days in nutrient medium doped with MC or CYN at 10 μg/L and 50 μg/L, or CYN/MC mixture at 5 + 5 μg/L and 25 + 25 μg/L. Extracts from M. aeruginosa and C. ovalisporum were used as sources of toxins. The study revealed growth inhibition of the aerial part (Leaves) in both species when treated with 50µg/L of MC, CYN and CYN/MC mixture. MC showed to be more harmful to plant growth than CYN. Moreover spinach leaves growth was inhibited by both 5 + 5 and 25 + 25 µg/L CYN/MC mixtures, whereas lettuce leaves growth was inhibited only by 25 + 25 µg/L CYN/MC mixture. Overall, growth data evidence increased sensitivity of spinach to cyanotoxins in comparison to lettuce. On the other hand, plants exposed to CYN/MC mixture showed differential accumulation of CYN and MC. In addition, CYN, but not MC, was translocated from the roots to the leaves. CYN and MC affected the levels of minerals particularly in plant roots. The elements most affected were Ca, K and Mg. However, in leaves K was the mineral that was affected by exposure to cyanotoxins.
- Analysis of the use of microcystin-contaminated water in the growth and nutritional quality of the root-vegetable, Daucus carotaPublication . Machado, J.; Azevedo, J.; Freitas, Marisa; Pinto, Edgar; Almeida, A.; Vasconcelos, V.; Campos, A.Toxic cyanobacterial blooms are often observed in freshwaters and may reflect the increased eutrophication of these environments and alterations in climate. Cyanotoxins, such as microcystins (MCs), are an effective threat to many life forms, ranging from plants to humans. Despite the research conducted to date on cyanotoxins, the risks associated to the use of contaminated water in agriculture require further elucidation. To tackle this aim, a research was conducted with the root-vegetable Daucus carota. The specific aims of this work were the following: (i) to evaluate the effects of MC-LR on the plant growth and photosynthesis; (ii) to evaluate the nutritional quality of carrot roots; and (iii) to measure bioaccumulation. To this purpose, young carrots were grown in soil during 1 month in natural conditions and exposed to Mycrocystis aeruginosa aqueous extracts containing environmentally realistic concentrations of MC-LR (10 and 50 MC-LR μg/L). The results showed that MC-LR may decrease root growth after 28 days of exposure to 50 μg/L and increase photosynthetic efficiency. We also observed changes in mineral and vitamin content in carrots as a result of the exposure to contaminated water. Moreover, MC-LR was detected in carrot roots by ELISA at very low concentration 5.23 ± 0.47 ng MC eq./g FW. The soil retained 52.7 % of the toxin potentially available for plants. This result could be attributed to MC-LR adsorption by soil particles or due to microbial degradation of the toxin. We conclude that the prolonged use of MC-LR-contaminated water may affect crop growth, alter the nutritional value of vegetable products, and potentiate contamination.
- Application of real-time PCR in the assessment of the toxic cyanobacterium cylindrospermopsis raciborskii abundance and toxicological potentialPublication . Moreira, Cristiana; Martins, António; Azevedo, Joana; Freitas, Marisa; Regueiras, Ana; Vale, Micaela; Antunes, Agostinho; Vasconcelos, VítorCyanobacteria are prokaryotic photosynthetic microorganisms that pose a serious threat to aquatic environments because they are able to form blooms under eutrophic conditions and produce toxins. Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii is a planktonic heterocystous filamentous cyanobacterium initially assigned to the tropics but currently being found in more temperate regions such as Portugal, the southernmost record for this species in Europe. Cylindrospermopsin originally isolated from C. raciborskii is a cytotoxic alkaloid that affects the liver, kidney, and other organs. It has a great environmental impact associated with cattle mortality and human morbidity. Aiming in monitoring this cyanobacterium and its related toxin, a shallow pond located in the littoral center of Portugal, Vela Lake, used for agriculture and recreational purposes was monitored for a 2-year period. To accomplish this, we used the real-time PCR methodology in field samples to quantify the variation of specific genetic markers with primers previously described characterizing total cyanobacteria (16S rRNA), C. raciborskii (rpoC1), and cylindrospermopsin synthetase gene (pks). The results report the high abundance of both cyanobacteria and C. raciborskii in Vela Lake, with C. raciborskii representing 0.4% to 58% of the total cyanobacteria population. Cylindrospermopsin synthetase gene was detected in one of the samples. We believe that with the approach developed in this study, it will be possible to monitor C. raciborskii population dynamics and seasonal variation, as well as the potential toxin production in other aquatic environments.
- Applications of Proteomics in AquaculturePublication . Rodrigues, Pedro M.; Schrama, Denise; Campos, Alexandre; Osório, Hugo; Freitas, MarisaAquaculture is one of the fastest growing world industries due to the increased demand of fishery products for human consumption and capture restrictions as a result of aquatic ecosystems exploitation. Aquaculture is therefore an extremely competitive business with major challenges to keep a high quality farmed fish through a sustainable production system. These challenges imposed quite important changes in this more traditional market, namely at the level of integrating scientific knowledge and research. Proteomics presents itself as a powerful tool not only for a better understanding of the marine organisms biology but also to provide solutions to deal with changes and the increasing demand in the system’s production line to ensure the required supply. In this book chapter we will give an overview of aquaculture nowadays, its challenges and describe relevant proteomics studies in several areas of this industry. A brief description of the proteomics technical approaches applied to aquaculture will also be addressed.
- Are musicians exposed to excessive noise in Portuguese orchestras?Publication . Rodrigues, Matilde; Freitas, Marisa; Neves, M.P.; Vieira Da Silva, ManuelaNoise exposure is broadly recognized as one of the most frequent risk factor at industrial settings, however, for musicians the problematic of noise exposition is not well characterized. Previous studies showed that musicians, in particular orchestral musicians, could be exposed to high sound levels, which can result in hearing damages. These injuries have a negative impact on its performance due to the strongly dependence of their audition system.
- Assessment of cyanobacterial biomass as sustainable agricultural fertilizer: soil experiment with plants in Pot †Publication . Massa, Anabella; Azevedo, Joana; Azevedo, Rui; Pinto, Edgar; Costa, Anabela; Vasconcelos, Vitor; Campos, Alexandre; Freitas, MarisaProviding food to the growing human population in a sustainable way is one of the greatest challenges of modern society. In this context, cyanobacterial biomass (CB) can function as a source of macronutrients to increase soil productivity. These organisms can be collected from the environment in considerable amounts, since they tend to grow in large blooms. However, some of these cyanobacterial strains produce toxins that need to be carefully monitored to avoid food accumulation. The objective of this work was to evaluate the possible use of toxic and non-toxic strains of CB as fertilizer supplement in the growth of economically relevant vegetables. One-month old Raphanus sativus (radish) and Spinacia oleracea (spinach) plants were grown in pots in indoor controlled conditions. Six experimental conditions were set: (1) a control with no nutrient addition, (2) a recommended dose of a NK commercial fertilizer (CF), 0.6g of lyophilized CB of (3) a non-toxic strain of Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii, (4) a toxin-producing strain of C. raciborskii, (5) Microcystis aeruginosa, and (6) Anabaena sp. Several variables were estimated: in CB, this included the NPK dose addition, and in plants, the height, dry weight (dw) of the shoot and root, and the mineral content of plant edible parts. The mineral content in CB was estimated and compared with the recommended dose of CF, according to the information given by the fabricant label. We found no significative differences in N composition; nevertheless, there was a significative higher content in P and significative lower content in K in the CB. In the plants, we found no significative statistical differences between the treatments for the dw of radish root and spinach height. In spinach, the dw of the shoot in the M. aeruginosa treatment was significantly lower than the control, CF, and both the toxic and non-toxic C. raciborskii biomass. Additionally, in radish, the plant height and dw of the shoot M. aeruginosa treatment were significantly lower than in the toxic strain of C. raciborskii treatment. When analyzing mineral content in edible parts, we found that spinach treated with control and CF showed a higher content of Ca, Mo, N, P, and K, while in radish, the same two treatments plus the C. raciborskii toxic had higher Co and Fe content. M. aeruginosa amendment seems to impair shoot growth in both plant species. On the contrary, the toxic C. raciborskii CB seems to have a beneficial effect on growth and in mineral uptake on radish plants.
- Avaliação da higiene e práticas de trabalho em estúdios de tatuagem e perfuraçãoPublication . Teixeira, Sara; Freitas, Marisa; Rodrigues, Matilde; Vieira da Silva, ManuelaNos últimos anos o número de pessoas que aderiu à aplicação de tatuagens e piercings aumentou significativamente. Ambas as técnicas são invasivas e fragmentam a integridade da pele. Se não forem adoptadas medidas de instalação, de funcionamento e boas práticas de higiene, o potencial de contaminação microbiológica pode causar vários riscos por agentes biológicos e químicos. O objectivo deste estudo foi avaliar a higiene e o grau de conhecimento dos profissionais relativamente aos procedimentos e medidas de prevenção que utilizam estas práticas. Foi aplicada uma check-list, para avaliar as condições estruturais e higio-sanitárias dos estúdios, e um questionário na avaliação do nível de formação dos profissionais. Foi ainda estudado o grau de contaminação microbiológica das superfícies e equipamentos de trabalho. Ao nível estrutural foram encontradas não conformidades relacionadas com a inexistência de separação física entre as salas de realização de tatuagens, piercings e esterilização (60%), e a inexistência de lavatório para higienização das mãos nas salas de actividades (60%). Os resultados sobre o grau de conhecimentos indicam que apenas 30% e 35% tiveram formação na área de SHST e sobre o controlo de infecção, respectivamente. O grau de contaminação microbiana foi superior nos estabelecimentos em que foi detectado um maior número de não conformidades relativamente aos microrganismos mesofilos totais e Staphylococcus aureus O presente estudo permite concluir que os profissionais carecem de formação e orientações específicas, devendo ser trabalhadas e vistoriadas, realçando ainda, as questões básicas de higiene a aplicar nos estúdios de tatuagem e piercings, prevenindo o risco de transmissão de doenças.
- Avaliação de Impacto na Saúde da desinfeção de águas residuais como barreira à disseminação ambiental da resistência antimicrobianaPublication . Almeida, Liliana; Freitas, Marisa; Miraglia, Simone Georges El Khouri; Abe, Karina CamasmieDesde 1938, com a descoberta da penicilina, que os antibióticos vieram revolucionar a medicina com a sua capacidade de tratamento de infeções bacterianas. Contudo, devido à inata capacidade de adaptação das bactérias a agentes antimicrobianos, verifica-se atualmente que os níveis de resistência a antibióticos estão a aumentar, enquanto o progresso da descoberta de novos agentes tem sido lento e não tem acompanhado esta tendência com a introdução de novas substâncias ativas. Desta forma, a Resistência a Antimicrobianos (RAM) é atualmente um dos problemas de saúde pública mais relevantes a nível global, apresentando consequências clínicas e económicas preocupantes (Loureiro et al., 2015).
- Avaliação do impacte na saúde da expansão da linha Amarela do metro do PortoPublication . Amorim, Inês Ferreira; Miraglia, Simone Georges El Khouri; Abe, Karina Camasmie; Freitas, MarisaA Avaliação do Impacte Ambiental (AIA) é uma ferramenta de caráter preventivo que visa analisar e avaliar os potenciais impactes que uma ação/atividade poderá causar não só no ambiente, mas também, na saúde pública (EC, 1999; REA, 2014). Este processo permite assim fazer uma gestão dos possíveis impactes, positivos ou negativos, iniciando-se com a identificação e avaliação dos indicadores relevantes e terminado com a implementação de medidas de mitigação que impeçam ou minimizem que os impactes negativos possam ocorrer (REA, 2014; APA, 2021).