Unidade de Investigação - ciTechCare - Center for Innovative Care and Health Technology
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Percorrer Unidade de Investigação - ciTechCare - Center for Innovative Care and Health Technology por Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável (ODS) "12:Produção e Consumo Sustentáveis"
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- Effect of Preventive Exercise Programs for Swimmer’s Shoulder Injury on Rotator Cuff Torque and Balance in Competitive Swimmers: A Randomized Controlled TrialPublication . Tavares, Nuno; Vilas-Boas, João Paulo; Castro, Maria AntónioBackground: Over the season, competitive swimmers experience a progressive imbalance in rotator cuff strength, predisposing them to a significant risk factor for a swimmer’s shoulder injury. Objectives: Verify the effectiveness of two 12-week preventive programs on the shoulder rotators’ peak torque and conventional/functional ratios. Design: A care provider- and participant-blinded, parallel, randomized controlled trial with three groups. Participants: Competitive swimmers aged 16 to 35 years with no prior clinical issues related to their shoulders. Interventions: Twice a week, over 12 weeks, the two experimental groups performed five exercises where the only difference was executing the program with weights or elastic bands, and the control group performed a sham intervention. Main outcome measures: The concentric and eccentric peak torque of the internal and external rotators of the dominant shoulder were assessed before and after the intervention using an isokinetic dynamometer Biodex System 3, at 60°/s, 120°/s, and 180°/s. Results: Among the experimental groups, only one test indicated a reduction (p ≤ 0.05) in rotator peak torque, while the control group showed a decrease (p ≤ 0.05) in five tests. Swimmers who completed the prevention programs demonstrated less imbalance in conventional/functional ratios than controls. Conclusions: Implementing a 12-week preventive program minimizes the progressive shoulder rotational imbalance over the season in competitive swimmers. Clinical Trial Registration number: NCT06552585.
- Energy Efficiency and Sustainability in an Aquaponic Greenhouse Supported by IoTPublication . Galvão, João; Santos, Pedro; Aires, Luis; Ribeiro, Vânia; Neves, FilipeThe increasing demand for agricultural crops and the necessity to reduce environmental impacts from traditional agriculture have led to the emergence of sustainable production systems such as hydroponics and aquaponics. These soil and pesticide-free systems require less water and fertilizers but need electrical energy and controlled greenhouse environmental conditions to be highly productive. This work presents a monitoring and management system for environmental parameters inside an aquaponic greenhouse, that allows the manager to assess in real-time the working status of the aquaponic system, helping in the detection of critical conditions that require a quick decision. This system was developed to measure, through IoT sensors network, the temperature and the relative humidity of the air, the temperature, pH and the electrical conductivity of the water that contains the dissolved nutrients that feed the growth of the plants. It is possible to visualize the measured parameters via the Internet, on a dashboard, in a mobile application and store these variables in a database. To further increase the sustainability of the aquaponic greenhouse, the electricity consumed during its activity will be produced locally by photovoltaic technology. The technologies proposed in this work may promote the emergence of small models of greenhouses, implemented by communities and populations, reducing production energy costs and transportation resources.
- Should Children Drink Water with Very Low Mineral Content? Implications of the Global Expansion of Water Filtration Systems and Relevance of Consumption of Water with Higher Mineralization LevelsPublication . Pereira, Cidália D.; Martins, Maria JoãoThe consumption of water with very low mineral content (W-VLMC; water with total dissolved solids below 50 mg/L), despite limited and inconsistent evidence and the resulting knowledge gaps, has not been associated with health risks for the general population. However, certain population subgroups (those eating very unbalanced diets or avoiding certain foods, engaged in prolonged periods of fasting, and/or doing prolonged or strenuous exercise as well as pregnant or breastfeeding women) should be mindful of maintaining sufficient intake of all essential minerals through their food if regularly using this type of water as their main beverage. The rapid expansion of water filtration systems—often producing W-VLMC—creates a timely and valuable opportunity to advance research on the health implications of W-VLMC intake. As these systems become increasingly common in educational settings and homes, children represent a subgroup experiencing rising exposure to W-VLMC. Additional studies are needed to assess the health effects of such exposure from early childhood. A complementary yet contrasting perspective is that the use of water intended for human consumption—with stringent quality control standards—and natural mineral waters—inherently pure, thus eliminating the need for filtration—with higher mineralization in both types of water, may provide an additional dietary source of essential minerals, especially for all the population subgroups mentioned above.