Browsing by Author "Cabo Verde, Sandra"
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- Bacterial bioburden in hospital environmentPublication . Monteiro, Ana; Cabo Verde, SandraHospital buildings may be regarded as dynamic environments affected by season, weather conditions, indoor ventilation system design and operation, the intrusion of moisture, outdoor microbial load and the number of occupants, visitors and human activities. Airborne microorganisms, such as bacteria, can originate not only from humans (including patients), but can also be spawned by various indoor hospital characteristics and outdoor environmental sources. These factors may be associated with conditions for microbial growth, leading to bacterial air pollution. Poor hospital indoor air quality may cause hospital-acquired infections, sick hospital syndrome, and various occupational hazards. Therefore, ensuring effective disinfection procedures and regular monitoring measures of hospital environment is essential for microbial control by detecting the irregular introduction of airborne particles via clothing of visitors and medical staff or carriage by personal and medical materials. Achieving a satisfactory microbial control in hospitals environment is thus a multidisciplinary challenge for healthcare professionals, hospital managers, and occupational health.
- Bacterial contamination in hotel rooms during the cleaning activityPublication . Monteiro, Ana; Cabo Verde, Sandra; Carolino, ElisabeteIntroduction - Some studies point to human activities as one of the responsible for most bacterial concentration. However, there is no information regarding bacteria contamination in hotel room during the cleaning activity. Aim of the study - This study aims to assess and characterize the occupational exposure of bacterial contamination in hotel rooms, more precisely in a room with carpet floor and another room without carpet, during the cheaning activity.
- Bioburden characterization by active and passive methods in Portuguese dwellingsPublication . Viegas, Carla; Monteiro, Ana; Faria, Tiago; Caetano, Liliana Aranha; Gomes, Anita Quintal; Cabo Verde, SandraThe living environment can be a source for bioburden and azole-resistant mycobiota that depending on the occupant’s health status can be a serious public health problem. The objective of this study was to assess bioburden in Portuguese dwellings located in the Lisbon Region through active methods (air sampling) coupled with passive methods (Electrostatic dust cloth - EDC).
- Characterizing the fungal and bacterial microflora and concentrations in fitness centresPublication . Ramos, Carla A.; Viegas, Carla; Cabo Verde, Sandra; Wolterbeek, Humbert T.; Almeida, Susana M.Fitness centres are special places where conditions for microbiological proliferation should be considered. Moisture due to human perspiration and water condensation as a result of human physical activities are prevalent in this type of buildings. Exposure to microbial contaminants is clinically associated with respiratory disorders and people who work out in polluted environments would be susceptible to contaminants. This work studied the indoor air contamination in three gymnasiums in Lisbon. The sampling was performed at two periods: at the opening (morning) and closing (night) of the three gymnasiums. The airborne bacterial and fungal populations were sampled by impaction directly onto Tryptic Soy Agar (for bacteria) and Malt Extract Agar (for fungi) plates, using a Merck MAS-100 air sampler. Higher bacterial concentrations were found at night as compared to the morning but the same behaviour was not found for fungal concentrations. Gram-negative catalase positive cocci were the dominant bacteria in indoor air samples of the studied gymnasiums. In this study, 21 genera/species of fungal colonies were identified. Chrysosporium sp., Chrysonilia sp., Neoscytalidium hialinum, Sepedonium sp. and Penicillium sp. were the most prevalent species identified in the morning, while Cladosporium sp., Penicillium sp., Chrysosporium sp., Acremonium sp. and Chrysonilia sp. were more prevalent at night. A well-designed sanitation and maintenance program for gymnasiums is needed to ensure healthier space for indoor physical activity.
- Congresso internacional de saúde ambiental 2012: livro de resumosPublication . Albuquerque, Paula Cristina; Cabo Verde, Sandra; Manteigas, Vítor; Monteiro, Ana; Ramos, Carla; Silva, Andreia; Viegas, Carla; Viegas, Susana
- Effects of electron beam radiation on the phenolic composition and bioactive properties of olive pomace extractsPublication . Madureira, Joana; Gonçalves, Inês; Cardoso, Jéssica; Dias, Maria Inês; Santos, Pedro M. P.; Margaça, Fernanda M. A.; Santos-Buelga, Celestino; Barros, Lillian; Cabo Verde, SandraOlive pomace is an agro-industrial waste product generated from the olive oil industry and constituted by bioactive compounds with potential applications in several industrial sectors. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the effects of electron beam (e-beam) radiation on olive pomace, specifically on phenolic compounds (by HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS) and the bioactive properties (antioxidant, antiproliferative, and antimicrobial activities) of crude olive pomace (COP) and extracted olive pomace (EOP) extracts. The amount of total flavonoid content and the reducing power of COP extracts were higher than those obtained for EOP extracts. The results suggested that e-beam radiation at 6 kGy increased both total phenolic and total flavonoid contents as well as the reducing power of COP extracts, due to the higher extractability (>2.5-fold) of phenolic compounds from these samples, while decreasing the scavenging activity of extracts. The extracts of both olive pomaces showed antibacterial potential, and COP extracts at 400 µg/mL also presented antiproliferative activity against A549, Caco-2, 293T, and RAW264.7 cell lines, with both properties preserved with the e-beam treatment. All in all, e-beam radiation at 6 kGy appears to be a promising technology to valorize the pollutant wastes of the olive oil industry by enhancing phenolic extractability and bioactive properties and contributing to the environmental and economic sustainability of the olive oil industry.
- Exposição ocupacional a bioaerossóis durante atividades de limpeza de quartos de hotelPublication . Viegas, Carla; Monteiro, Ana; Faria, Tiago; Carolino, Elisabete; Cabo Verde, SandraO presente estudo pretende avaliar a exposição ocupacional a contaminação fúngica e bacteriana em quartos de hotel, mais precisamente em dois quartos com características diferentes, nomeadamente, com pavimento em alcatifa e outro sem alcatifa. Doze amostras de ar de 250L foram colhidas pelo método de impacto, em meio agar de extracto de malte (MEA) suplementado com cloranfenicol (0,05%) para fungos e em meio de TSA (agar de soja tríptica) com nistatina (0,2%) para bactérias. Foram também realizadas amostras de superfície nos mesmos locais. Em ambos os quartos apenas uma amostra de ar, no quarto sem alcatifa, apresentou contagens de fungos mais elevadas do que no exterior. No entanto, as concentrações de bactérias no ar interior foram superiores às do ar exterior. Em relação às superfícies, o quarto sem alcatifa apresentou diferenças estatisticamente significativas em relação ao quarto com alcatifa, sendo que o primeiro apresentou concentrações mais elevadas de fungos. Todas as superfícies analisadas apresentaram contaminação bacteriana, mas não houve diferenças estatisticamente significativas entre os quartos. Os géneros de fungos mais prevalentes no ar foram idênticos em ambos os quartos (Penicillium sp. 40,7% - 12,3% e Cladosporium sp. 43,5% - 55,4%). Nas superfícies analisadas, os isolados pertencentes ao complexo Aspergillus fumigatus foram os únicos encontrados no quarto com alcatifa, enquanto no outro quarto os géneros mais prevalentes foram Penicillium sp. (63,6%) e Aspergillus sp. (13,6%).
- Exposure and health effects of bacteria in healthcare units: an overviewPublication . Monteiro, Ana; Cardoso, Jéssica; Guerra, Nuno; Ribeiro, Edna; Viegas, Carla; Cabo Verde, Sandra; Sousa-Uva, AntónioHealthcare units consist of numerous people circulating daily, such as workers, patients, and companions, and these people are vehicles for the transmission of microorganisms, such as bacteria. Bacteria species may have different allergenic, pathogenic, infectious, or toxic properties that can affect humans. Hospital settings foment the proliferation of bacteria due to characteristics present in the indoor hospital environment. This review article aims to identify the potential health effects caused by bacterial contamination in the context of healthcare units, both in patients and in workers. A search was carried out for articles published in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus, between 1 January 2000 and 31 October 2021, using the descriptor hospital exposure assessment bacteria. This bibliographic research found a total of 13 articles. The bacteria transmission occurs mainly due to the contact between healthcare workers and patients or through the handling of/contact with contaminated instruments or surfaces. The most common bacterial contaminants are Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus spp., Staphylococcus aureus, and Micrococcus luteus, and the principal health effects of these contaminants are hospital-acquired infections and infections in immunocompromised people. Tight control of the disinfection methods is thus required, and its frequency must be increased to remove the microbial contamination of wards, surfaces, and equipment. A better understanding of seasonal variations is important to prevent peaks of contamination.
- Gamma radiation effects on microbial inactivation of two medicinal plantsPublication . Meneses, Márcia; António, Amílcar L.; Cabo Verde, SandraThe consumption of natural products has become a public health problem, since these medicinal teas are prepared using natural plants without an effective hygienic and sanitary control. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of gamma radiation, on the microbial burden of two medicinal plants: Melissa officinalis and Lippia citriodora. Dried samples of the two plants were irradiated at a Co-60 experimental equipment. The applied gamma radiation doses were 1, 3, and 5 kGy at a dose rate of 1.34 kGy/h. Non-irradiated samples followed all the experiments. Bacterial and fungal counts were assessed before and after irradiation by membrane filtration method. Challenging tests with Escherichia coli were performed in order to evaluate the disinfection efficiency of gamma radiation treatment. Characterization of M. officinalis and L. citriadora microbiota indicated an average bioburden value of 102CFU/g. The inactivation studies of the bacterial mesophilic population of both dried plants pointed out to a one log reduction of microbial load after irradiation at 5 kGy. Regarding the fungal population, the initial load of 30 CFU/g was only reduced by 0.5 log by an irradiation dose of 5 kGy. The dynamics with radiation doses of plants microbial population’s phenotypes indicated the prevalence of gram-positive rods for M. officinalis before and after irradiation, and the increase of the frequency of gram-negative rods with irradiation for L. citriadora. Among fungal population of both plants, Mucor, Neoscytalidium, Aspergillus and Alternaria were the most isolated genera. The results obtained in the challenging tests with E. coli on plants pointed out to an inactivation efficiency of 99.5% and 99.9% to a dose of 2 kGy, for M.officinalis and L. citriadora, respectively. The gamma radiation treatment can be a significant tool for the microbial control in medicinal plants.
- Impacto da qualidade do ar interior nos parâmetros cardiorrespiratórios durante o sonoPublication . Belo, Joana; Picado, M.; Lage, J.; Faria, Tiago; Macedo, Paula; Meira e Cruz, M.; Canha, Nuno; Cabo Verde, Sandra; Alves, C.; Viegas, Carla; Almeida, Susana MartaOs efeitos da poluição ambiental na saúde estão amplamente documentados, havendo evidências dos efeitos a longo e a curto prazo que se relacionam com maiores taxas de morbilidade e mortalidade, principalmente de causa cardiovascular e respiratória. No entanto, as evidências sobre os efeitos da qualidade do ar interior (QAI) no sono são ainda limitadas. Durante o sono NREM e REM existem diferentes mediadores ao nível da função autonómica, podendo conduzir a características distintas ao nível da frequência cardíaca (FC), respiratória (FR) e pressão arterial. O presente estudo tem o objetivo de avaliar a existência de correlações entre determinados parâmetros cardiorrespiratórios durante o sono e a QAI.