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- A SWOT analysis of pilot implementationPublication . Hertzum, Morten; Clemmensen, Torkil; Campos, Pedro F.; Barricelli, Barbara Rita; Hansen, Carl Emil Derby; Herbæk, Linnea K.; Abdelnour-Nocera, Jose; Lopes, Arminda Guerra; Saadati, Parisa; Pereira Campos, Pedro Filipe
- Bilateral asymmetry and the relationship between unilateral isokinetic strength and balance performance in male adolescent football playersPublication . França, Cíntia; Martins, Francisco; Martinho, Diogo; Ihle, Andreas; Marques, Adilson; Sarmento, Hugo; Clemente, Manuel; Przednowek, Krzysztof; Campos, Pedro; Gouveia, Élvio Rúbio; França, Cíntia; Pestana Martins, João Francisco; Gouveia, Élvio RúbioMuscle strength and balance ability have been related to injury prevention and game actions performance in football. The aims of this study are twofold: (1) to examine bilateral asymmetries in isokinetic strength and balance assessments, and (2) to evaluate the relationship between muscle strength and balance measures. Eighty-eight male adolescent football players were assessed for body composition (InBody 770), isokinetic strength (Biodex System 4 Pro Dynamometer), and balance performance (Biodex Balance System). Paired samples t-tests were conducted to determine bilateral differences in strength and balance. Pearson correlations and multiple linear regression analyses evaluated the relationship between strength and balance. No significant bilateral strength differences were observed in knee flexors (KF) and knee extensors (KE) peak torque (PT) scores. No bilateral differences were found for balance measures, except in the lateromedial stability index, which was better while performing with the preferred leg (p ≤ 0.01; d = 0.29). Significant correlations were found between KE PT and balance tasks (p ≤ 0.01). KF and KE PT shared between 18 and 22% of the common variance in the overall stability index in the non-preferred and preferred leg, respectively. Monitoring strategies of bilateral asymmetries may be crucial to enhance performance in tasks underpinned by unilateral movements, such as changes of direction and sprints, and to identify players at risk of injury. Adopting these strategies during the early stages of football training might be crucial for players’ long-term development.
- From monitoring to assisting: a systematic review towards healthier workplacesPublication . Lopes, Laís; Rodrigues, Ana; Cabral, Diogo; Campos, Pedro; dos Santos Lopes, Laís; Campos, PedroLong-term stress is associated with a decline in global health, affecting social, intellectual, and economic development alike. Although comprehensive action plans have been implemented to provide people access to mental health services and promote mental well-being, employees’ mental health generally takes second place to productivity and profit in business settings. This review paper offers an overview of the current interactive approaches used for relieving work-related stress associated with mental health. Results from the 38 included studies show that affective computing is used mainly for monitoring purposes and is usually combined with tangible interfaces that collect workers’ physiological changes. Although the ability to sense and predict employees’ affective states can potentially improve mental health in the workplace, there is a substantial disparity between monitoring one’s health and the delivery of practical interventions to mitigate stress found in the surveyed studies. Designing systems that capitalize on embodied interaction principles is paramount, especially in the post-pandemic context, as the concepts of physical and mental safety take on new meanings that must be consciously and carefully addressed, particularly in workplace settings. Finally, this paper highlights the main design implications for the effective implementation of interfaces to help mitigate stress in the workplace.
- HCI design and evaluation during social confinement: reflections and techniquesPublication . Campos, Pedro Filipe; Pereira Campos, Pedro FilipeThe pandemic brought a number of challenges that provoked a major impact on almost every human activity. In this new context, designers of technologies aimed at supporting mental or physical health are faced with a lack of principles and guidelines for successfully evaluating them, since health authori-ties impose social confinement as a standard safety measure. Moreover, mental health technologies become even more important and more challenging in such context of constrain and anxiety. We discuss the design and evaluation of (i) a system for helping university students avoid smartphone overuse; (ii) a mobile system to support informal caregivers of dementia patients; and (iii) a VR-based system aimed at improving mental well-being. The design and evaluation of these systems was entirely performed during social confinement. We present a list of risks, challenges and lessons learned, as well as the techniques we employed to effectively overcome these limitations. Incorporating motivational or persuasive factors into the solutions was the key objective and we organize our reflections around reliability, usefulness and intrusiveness.
- Virtual reality exposure treatment in phobias: a systematic reviewPublication . Freitas, José Rúben Silva; Velosa, Vitor Hugo Silva; Abreu, Leonardo Tadeu Nunes; Jardim, Ricardo Lucas; Santos, João Artur Vieira; Peres, Beatriz; Campos, Pedro F.; Pereira Campos, Pedro FilipeWe compare the relative efficacy of virtual reality therapy exposure (VRET) versus in vivo therapy exposure among individuals suffering from phobias. A systematic search was completed up to 03 April 2020, using the following databases: ACM Digital Library, ResearchGate, IEEE, Science Direct, MIT PressJournals, Center for Direct Scientific Com munication (CCSD) and Mary Ann Liebert Publishers. Five authors searched the databases using the following terms: Virtual Reality, Phobia, Mental health, Computing, Therapy, HMD, CAVE, Virtual ambient, in virtuo, Avoidance, Exposure, VRET, in vivo, Anxiety, Agoraphobia, Social Phobia, Stimuli, Cognitive–behaviour. All studies that evaluate the effect of in virtuo exposure towards phobia rehabilitation were selected. By reviewing the article, each author then applied the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and 30 articles were selected. Data extracted included the number of samples, amount of sessions, study variables that may affect the final outcome, therapy technology. The data provided was synthesized using a meta-analysis based on the results. The results demonstrated a posi tive outcome of Virtual Reality Exposure Treatment in the treatment of most phobias. In contrast, some of these treatments did not work for a few specific phobias in which the standard procedures were more effective. The findings suggest that for some specific pho bias treatment, Virtual Reality Exposure Treatment does not reach the in vivo exposure level of immersion and presence. Further research is needed to perform studies with higher dimension samples, since many papers report a low sample size and that is probably why many of them have inconclusive results.
- Inhibitory activity of the peel and seed of Annona cherimola Mill. against Fusarium and Aspergillus pathogensPublication . Trindade, Clarissa; Gouveia, Carla S .S.; Oliveira, Maria Cristina O.; Nóbrega, Humberto; Freitas, José G. R. de; Carvalho, Miguel A. A. Pinheiro de; Gouveia, Carla; Oliveira, Cristina; Nóbrega, Humberto; Almeida Pinheiro de Carvalho, Miguel AngeloThe food industry plays a critical role in waste production, and new studies that propose innovative uses to bio-residue are of high importance. Annona cherimola Mill., also known as custard apple and cherimoya, has been described as a powerful source of bioactive compounds with various applications, such as antifungal applications. Fungal infection can lead to crop productivity limitation, product contamination, and food loss. This work evaluates the antifungal action of Annona cherimola Mill. oils against Fusarium oxysporum and Aspergillus niger. The oils were extracted from peel and seeds of 8 different A. cherimola varieties exclusive to Madeira Island (Portugal) and tested for their antifungal potential. This fruit waste was tested, using two different growth measurement methods. The extracted oils restricted the fungi growth, providing the first insights on antifungal properties of the varieties waste. Between the tested tissues, peel oils exhibited a slight better action over F. oxysporum than seed oils. Overall colony expansion of F. oxysporum was better controlled by custard apple oils than A. niger. Anis exhibited distinctive action against A. niger and Funchal, Perry Vidal, Matteus, and Dona Mécia controlled better F. oxysporum growth, suggesting phytochemical differences between them. There is no previous research on the biowaste oil extracts from Annona varieties found in Madeira Island and their properties against pathogens. This study successfully opened new insights on these varieties and the results exposed interesting properties that deserve further research.
- Organic farming enhances diversity and recruits beneficial soil fungal groups in traditional banana plantationsPublication . Oliveira, Maria Cristina O.; Alves, Artur; Ragonezi, Carla; Freitas, José G. R. de; Carvalho, Miguel A. A. Pinheiro de; Oliveira, Cristina; Ragonezi, Carla; Almeida Pinheiro de Carvalho, Miguel AngeloThis study investigates the impact of organic (OF) and conventional farming (CF) on soil fungal communities in banana monoculture plantations on Madeira Island. We hypothesized that OF promotes beneficial fungal groups over harmful ones, sustaining soil health. Soil samples were collected from six plantations (three OF and three CF) for ITS amplicon sequencing to assess fungal diversity. Results showed that OF significantly enhanced fungal alpha-diversity (Shannon–Wiener index) and Evenness. The phylum Ascomycota dominated OF systems, while Basidiomycota prevailed in CF. Mortierella, a beneficial genus, was abundant in OF and is observed in CF but was less evident, being the genus Trechispora the most well represented in CF agrosystems. Additionally, OF was associated with higher soil pH and Mg levels, which correlated positively with beneficial fungal groups. Functional analysis revealed that OF promoted saprotrophic fungi, crucial for the decomposition of organic matter and nutrient cycling. However, both systems exhibited low levels of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, likely due to high phosphorus levels. These findings suggest that organic practices can enhance soil fungal diversity and health, although attention to nutrient management is critical to further improving soil–plant–fungi interactions.
- Variations in the structure and function of the soil fungal communities in the traditional cropping systems from Madeira IslandPublication . Oliveira, Maria Cristina O.; Alves, Artur; Fidalgo, Cátia; Freitas, José G. R. de; Carvalho, Miguel A. A. Pinheiro de; Oliveira, Cristina; Almeida Pinheiro de Carvalho, Miguel AngeloAgricultural soils are responsible for ecological functions and services that include primary production of food, fiber and fuel, nutrient cycling, carbon cycling and storage, water infiltration and purification, among others. Fungi are important drivers of most of those ecosystem services. Given the importance of fungi in agricultural soils, in this study, we aimed to characterize and analyse the changes of the soil fungal communities of three cropping systems from Madeira Island, where family farming is predominant, and investigate the response of fungi and its functional groups to soil physicochemical properties. To achieve that, we sequenced amplicons targeting the internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) of the rRNA region, to analyse soil samples from 18 agrosystems: 6 vineyards (V), 6 banana plantations (B) and 6 vegetable plantations (H). Our results showed that alpha diversity indices of fungal communities are similar in the three cropping systems, but fungal composition and functional aspects varied among them, with more pronounced differences in B. Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Mortierellomycota were the main phyla found in the three cropping systems. Agaricomycetes and Sordariomycetes are the predominant classes in B, representing 23.8 and 22.4%, respectively, while Sordariomycetes (27.9%) followed by Eurotiomycetes (12.3%) were the predominant classes in V and Sordariomycetes (39.2%) followed by Tremellomycetes (8.9%) in the H. Saprotrophs are the fungal group showing higher relative abundance in the three cropping systems, followed by plant pathogens. Regarding symbionts, endophytes were highly observed in B, while mycorrhizal fungi was predominant in V and H. The structure of fungal communities was mainly correlated with soil content of P, K, N, Fe, and Cu. In addition, we identified bioindicators for each cropping system, which means that cultivated crops are also drivers of functional groups and the composition of communities. Overall, the three cropping systems favored diversity and growth of taxa that play important roles in soil, which highlights the importance of conservative management practices to maintain a healthy and resilient agrosystem.
- Microorganism community structure: a characterisation of agrosystems from Madeira ArchipelagoPublication . Oliveira, Maria Cristina O.; Ragonezi, Carla; Valente, Sofia; Freitas, José G. R. de; Carvalho, Miguel A. A. Pinheiro de; Oliveira, Cristina; Ragonezi, Carla; Valente, Sofia; Almeida Pinheiro de Carvalho, Miguel AngeloAbstract Microbial diversity profoundly influences soil ecosystem functions, making it vital to monitor community dynamics to comprehend its structure. Our study focused on six agrosystems in Madeira Archipelago, analysing bacteria, archaea, fungi and AMF through classical microbiology and molecular techniques. Despite distinct edaphoclimatic conditions and management practices, bacterial structures exhibited similarities, with Alphaproteobacteria at 18%–20%, Bacilli at 11%–18% and Clostridia at 9%–14%. The predominance of copiothrophic groups suggested that soil nutrient content was the driver of these communities. Regarding archaea, the communities changed among sites, and it was evident that agrosystems provided niches for methanogens. The Crenarchaeota varied between 15% and 29%, followed by two classes of Euryarchaeota, Methanomicrobia (17%–25%) and Methanococci (4%–32%). Fungal communities showed consistent composition at the class level but had differing diversity indices due to management practices and soil texture. Sordaryomycetes (21%–28%) and Agaricomycetes (15%–23%) were predominant. Conversely, AMF communities appeared to be also influenced by the agrosystem, with Glomus representing over 50% of the community in all agrosystems. These insights into microbial groups' susceptibilities to environmental conditions are crucial for maintaining healthy soil and predicting climate change effects on agrosystems' productivity, resilience and sustainability. Additionally, our findings enable the development of more robust prediction models for agricultural practices.
- Dietary intakes and daily distribution patterns of macronutrients in youth soccer playersPublication . Martinho, Diogo V.; Naughton, Robert J.; Leão, César; Lemos, João; Field, Adam; Faria, Ana; Rebelo, André; Gouveia, Élvio R.; Sarmento, Hugo; Gouveia, Élvio Rúbio; Gouveia, Elvio Rúbio; Gouveia, Elvio RúbioIntroductionThere has been an abundance of dietary analysis research conducted on adult male soccer players, while studies on youth players are lacking. Furthermore, the daily distribution of energy and macronutrient intake throughout the day has been reported to influence training adaptations, but this is often not considered in the literature. This study aims to quantify daily energy and macronutrient intake and assess their distribution over 5 days, and compare daily energy intakes and predicted daily energy expenditure in under-16 male soccer players.MethodsThe sample included 25 soccer participants aged 14.8–15.7 years. Five-day self-reported food diaries were used to record the food/drink consumption. Intake was analyzed for total daily energy, macronutrient intakes, and distribution among meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks). Daily energy expenditure was predicted by resting energy expenditure and physical activity levels developed for youth sports participants.ResultsThe mean total energy intake was 1,928 ± 388 kcal∙day−1, whereas the estimated daily energy expenditure was 3,568 kcal∙day−1. Relative daily protein intakes were lower at breakfast, morning snack, afternoon snack, and night snack compared to lunch and dinner.DiscussionYouth soccer players do not appear to meet energy requirements and daily CHO guidelines. Fluctuations in protein intake throughout the day were noted and may influence training adaptations (i.e., muscle protein synthesis and recovery).