Percorrer por autor "Faria, Miguel"
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- Food authentication by molecular methodsPublication . Oliveira, Beatriz; Mafra, Isabel; Costa, Joana; Amaral, Joana S.; Faria, Miguel; Fernandes, Telmo J.R.; Soares, SóniaQuality and authenticity evaluation of foods encompasses many issues, such as the entire or partial fraudulent substitution of higher commercial value constituents by others with lower value and the presence of undeclared constituents/ingredients. To protect consumers from misleading labeling, regulations issued across the world have implemented specific guidelines and listed particular foods that sh ould be declared on the label. Particularly in the case of genetically modified foods, the introduc tion of specific regulations for labeling and traceability of genetically modified organisms (GMO) aimed to protect human health and environment and to give the consumer an informed choice. To address the referred food authenticity/safety problems, several analytical methodologies have been developed, particularly in processed foods, including refined oil matrices. For the first time, monitoring of amplifiable DNA in all the stages of a chemical refining industrial unit of soyb ean oil was succeeded by PCR techniques. Mo reover, we have also proved that it is possible to detect GM soybean along the refining process of crude oil. The study was also extended with success to commercial refined oils produced from blends and pure soybean.
- Interrater reliability of a manual diagnostic protocol for pancreatic functional visceral dysfunctionPublication . Faria, Miguel; Machado, Nuno; Sousa, Marcos; Pires, Patrícia; Pires, TelmaA reliable manual examination has not been validated as a diagnostic tool for nociplastic visceral pain. Aims: To establish the interrater reliability of a manual examination protocol for functional pancreatic visceral dysfunction and the clinical criteria for a manual palpatory diagnosis based on the clinical features of the noci- plastic visceral pain. Methods: This double-blind cross-sectional study involved 60 participants assessed by three raters using a manual protocol for diagnosing functional pancreatic visceral dysfunction. Five palpation-based criteria were evaluated: (1) local pain, (2) referred pain, (3) neurovegetative symptoms, (4) hyperalgesia or allodynia, and (5) tissue resistance/density. Interrater agreement was measured using percentage agreement and Fleiss’ kappa. The reliability of the Verbal Numerical Rating Scale (vNRS) was assessed using the intraclass correlation coef - cient (ICC). Repeated measures analysis of variance and Cochran’s Q test (with Bonferroni correction) were used to analyze vNRS scores and categorical outcomes, respectively. Signi cance was set at p < 0.05. Results: Criteria 1, 3, and 4 showed particularly high levels of agreement, with overall agreement percentages of 93.3%, 95.6%, and 95.6%, respectively. The corresponding Fleiss’ kappa values were 0.863, 0.880, and 0.908, indicating almost perfect agreement. In contrast, Criteria 2 and 5 demonstrated substantial, but compara- tively lower, agreement, with overall percentages of 86.7% and 87.8% and Fleiss’ kappa values of 0.679 and 0.755. The vNRS demonstrated excellent reliability across all three pancreas regions, with ICC values well >0.90: head (ICC= 0.943, 95% con dence interval [CI]= 0.913–0.964), body (ICC= 0.950, 95% CI= 0.923– 0.968), and tail (ICC= 0.963, 95% CI= 0.944–0.977). Conclusions: Three blinded raters reached an almost perfect pair-wise interrater agreement on the presence or absence of functional visceral dysfunction in the topographic projection of the pancreas. This study provides pre- liminary evidence that a manual diagnostic protocol is a reliable and potentially useful diagnostic tool in diagnos- ing nociplastic pain in the topographic projection of the pancreas. Future research should prioritize evaluating the validity of the nociplastic visceral pain diagnosis.
- Pine nuts authenticity in the Portuguese marketPublication . Santos, Carla; Porfírio, Bruno; Silva, Anaísa; Faria, Miguel; Cruz, Rebeca; Ramalhosa, Elsa; Pereira, J.A.; Cunha, Sara C.; Casal, SusanaPine nuts, the edible seed of the pine tree (Pinus spp.) are a valuable commodity in the international market, with Portugal attaining the fourth position with the exclusive production of Pinus pinea. Pine nuts from different pine species differ in size, nutritional value, taste and therefore commercial values, making it necessary to grant their authenticity. Following recent reports on pine nut mislabelling in European markets, mainly with those of Asiatic origin, the main objective of the present work was to characterize the quality and authenticity of the pine nuts sold in the Portuguese market. Samples (n=15) were analysed for their main morphological and chemical characteristics (seed weight and seed size, moisture, lipid, proteins, ash, total soluble sugars, fatty acid composition, vitamin E, phytosterols, total phenolic and antioxidant activity). The morphological characterization showed highly homogeneous fruits. The chemical assays showed also a very consistent composition, with 48.9 ± 1.0% of lipids, of which 85.1 ±0.5% were unsaturated, with an increased protein content of 30.6±1.0%, all on a fresh weight basis. The sterol composition was also decidedly constant, as was the vitamin E and total phenolic content. All the results were within those reported for P. pinea. Complementary, a genetic study allowed to identify samples species (Pinus pinea) and confirm its authenticity. The results achieved are indicative of the inexistence of mislabelling, with all samples being classified as Pinus pinea.
- Sistema integrado de planeamento de explorações de rochas ornamentaisPublication . Aguiar, José; Sousa, António; Faria, Miguel; Ribeiro, Jorge; Saraiva, José; Luis, António G.As rochas ornamentais constituem actualmente um dos mais importantes recursos geológicos do país, pelo que é fundamental avaliar e caracterizar as jazidas existentes e promover a sua valorização através do aproveitamento integral e racional das matérias-primas existentes. O trabalho apresentado é o resultado de actividades de investigação levadas a cabo no Centro de Geo-Sistemas (CVRM) do Instituto Superior Técnico nos últimos anos e descreve de forma sucinta um sistema informático, ainda em desenvolvimento (Sistema SIPERO), concebido para servir de ferramenta de apoio ao planeamento de explorações de rochas ornamentais (Aguiar, 2003). O Sistema SIPERO é um conjunto de seis programas informáticos desenvolvidos em ambiente Windows que permitem fazer a compilação e a análise da informação levantada nas frentes das pedreiras, com interesse para a modelação das redes de fracturação e para a definição de índices de qualidade e de recuperação de maciços rochosos com interesse ornamental. Finalmente apresenta-se um exemplo de aplicação do Sistema ao estudo de uma pedreira de mármore localizada no anticlinal de Estremoz1, actualmente em exploração que permitirá a curto prazo validar a aplicabilidade das metodologias de simulação implementadas.