Browsing by Author "Silva, Susana"
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- Health survey among people living near an abandoned mine. A case study: Jales mine, PortugalPublication . Gomes, Maria José; Mayan, Olga N.; Henriques, Amélia T.; Silva, Susana; Begonha, AndreiaCampo de Jales is a village surrounding the abandoned Jales mine. The area is heavily contaminated with heavy metals and dusts from large tailings piles as result of centuries of mining operations. The aim of this study is to investigate potential health threats associated with site contamination. The population studied comprised two groups: people living in Campo de Jales (n = 229) and a control group – people living in Vilar de Macada (n = 234). Lead and cadmium exposure and symptoms survey were carried out. The results showed a significant higher levels of blood lead and cadmium between the Campo de Jales residents (lead: 9.5 microgr/dl versus 7.7 microgr/dl; cadmium: 0.84 microgr/dl versus 0,65 microgr/dl) as well as to a higher prevalence of respiratory and irritation symptoms and great concern about his own health. In conclusion: community is the scene of long-term health problems resulting from the site environmental contamination.
- Hotel promotion through social media: hotel Anantara Vilamoura & Algarve resortPublication . Lousada, Inês; Silva, Susana; Esteves, Elsa TavaresThe main objective of the present study is to understand the role of networks in the promotion of the Hotel Anantara Vilamoura & Algarve Resort. In response to the objective research, the following specific objectives were considered: i) to identify social networks used by the hotel; ii) understand the monitoring that the hotel gives to social networks; iii) identify the social networks most used by customers; iv) identify problems and challenges faced by the hotel in the management of its social networks; v) understand how the hotel uses the networks to be more competitive. A qualitative methodology was applied supported by semi-structured interviews with the Hotel Director, the Head of Social Networks, and the Guests, between August and October 2020. The information on the interviews was handled individually through content analysis. It was concluded that the network services are a direct channel between the Hotel and consumers, which facilitates brand exposure and interaction with customers. In this regard, it allows for greater loyalty and to attract new customers. The results reveal that, when compared to other traditional means of communication, online social networks are a great tool that allows the hotel to publicize its services easily and quickly, in real-time, with great exposure and with reduced costs. The hotel is concerned to use social networks in the best way, with a focus on the current client and the target audience.
- Socioeconomic position early in adolescence and mode of delivery later in life: findings from a portuguese birth cohortPublication . Teixeira, Cristina; Silva, Susana; Severo, Milton; Barros, HenriqueObjective: This study assessed the influence of socioeconomic position at 12 years of age (SEP-12) on the variability in cesarean rates later in life. Methods: As part of the Portuguese Generation XXI birth cohort we evaluated 7358 women with a singleton pregnancy who delivered at five Portuguese public hospitals serving the region of Porto (April/2005–September/2006). Based on the twelve items that described socioeconomic circumstances at age 12, a latent class analysis was used to classify women’s SEP-12 as high, intermediate and low. Multiple Poisson regression was used to estimate adjusted risk ratio (RR) and respective 95% confidence interval (95% CI). Results: The cesarean rates in high, intermediate and low SEP-12 were, respectively, 40.9%, 37.5% and 40.5% (p=0.100) among primiparous women; 14.2%, 11.6% and 15.5% (p=0.04) among multiparous women with no previous cesarean and 78.6%, 72.2% and 70.0% (p=0.08) among women with a previous cesarean. A low to moderate association between SEP-12 and cesarean rates was observed among multiparous women with a previous cesarean, illustrating that women from higher SEP-12 were more likely to have a surgical delivery (RR=1.12;95%CI:1.01-1.24 comparing high with low SEP-12 and RR=1.03:95%CI:0.94-1.14 comparing intermediate with low SEP-12) not explained by potential mediating factors. No such association was found either in primiparous or in multiparous women without a previous cesarean. Conclusions: The association between SEP-12 and cesarean rates suggests the effect of past socioeconomic context on the decision concerning the mode of delivery, but only among women who experienced a previous cesarean. Accordingly, it appears that early-life socioeconomic circumstances drive cesarean rates but the effect can be modified by lived experiences concerning childbirth.
- Studies on sorption and regeneration of granulated cork for oil and grease removalPublication . Pereira, J.; Ferreira, Catarina Isabel de Almeida; Pintor, Ariana; Correia, P.; Silva, Susana; Vilar, Vítor J.P.; Botelho, Cidália; Martins, Ramiro; Órfão, J.; Boaventura, RuiThe aim of this work is to develop a method to recover sorbed oil and grease from granulated cork, in order to promote biomass regeneration. Experimental procedure involved biomass saturation with oil, followed by chemical regeneration. Oil removal by elution was tested using HNO3 and NaOH solutions, cationic and anionic surfactants and organic solvents, namely carbon tetrachloride and n-hexane. Chemical desorption efficiency using organic solvents achieved values of 90 ± 6 % and 72 ± 6 % for CCl4 and n-hexane, respectively. Although the use of organic solvents proved to be an efficient process, it involves high costs and a negative environmental impact. Physical regeneration could be an alternative to the use of solvents for oil removal from granulated cork.
- Use of whole blood to measure DNA damage in a group of wildland firefighterPublication . Abreu, Ana M.; Teixeira-Gomes, Armanda; Silva, Susana; Morais, Simone; Pereira, Maria do Carmo; Fernandes, Adília; Costa, Solange; Teixeira, João Paulo FernandesGenotoxicity evaluation is a valuable tool for studying the most important occupational hazards allowing a reasonable epidemiological evaluation of potential health effects. Comet assay has proven to be a very sensitive Corrigendum Abstracts of the 12th International Comet Assay Workshop held at the University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain, 29–31 August 2017 (https://icaw. vito.be/) Mutagenesis, Volume 32, Issue 6, 31 December 2017, Pages e1–e28, https://doi.org/10.1093/mutage/gex037 tool for the detection of different levels of DNA damage in human bio monitoring. Although lymphocytes are the preferred cells whole blood has been presented as a viable and easier alternative to lymphocytes in the comet assay. Its use avoids additional DNA damage from lymphocyte isolation steps and loss of cells. Portugal is among the European countries more devastated by forest fires in the summer each year. Firefighters are exposed to many toxic combustion products, including many known, probable or possible carcinogens. There are a limited number of studies evaluating genotoxic effects in firefighters results reported are inconsist ent and inconclusive. In this context, the aim of the present study was to assess DNA damage and oxidative stress in whole blood of Portuguese wildland firefighters. Study population consisted of a total of 61 non smoking male subjects, 30 firefighters and 31 control subjects.
- Valorisation of cork by-products for the treatment of vegetal and animal oil containing wastewatersPublication . Pereira, J.P.; Ferreira, Catarina Isabel de Almeida; Pintor, Ariana; Correia, P.; Silva, Susana; Vilar, Vítor J.P.; Botelho, Cidália; Martins, Ramiro; Orfão, J.; Boaventura, RuiIn this study, cork granules, which are by-products of the cork processing industry, were used as biosorbents for the removal of vegetable and animal oils from water. Simple oil-in-water emulsions were created by ultrasonic emulsification and batch adsorption tests were performed by contacting cork with these emulsions for a defined period of time. A mass transfer model was able to predict adequately the kinetic data, using a Linear Driving Force approximation for intraparticle diffusion and equilibrium described by the Langmuir-Freundlich equation. Maximum sorption capacities for vegetable and animal oil, as calculated by the Langmuir-Freundlich model, were 5 ± 4 and 2.3 ± 0.9 g g-1, respectively. Therefore, expanded cork granules proved to be an efficient, low-cost sorbent for both vegetable and animal oils