Maria João Nunes

• PhD
• Researcher at Universidade NOVA de Lisboa

This study investigated the fatty acids (FA) profile of 54 actinomycete strains isolated from marine sediments collected off the Portugal continental coast, specifically from the Estremadura Spur pockmarks field, by GC/MS. Fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) were prepared from the ethyl acetate lipidic extracts of these strains and analyzed by gas chr...

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) has been widely studied due to its environmental persistence and bioaccumulation potential, raising concerns about its effects on aquatic life. This research evaluates the impact of PFOA on the antioxidant defenses and stress response systems of the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis. Mussels were exposed to three concen...

We live in a time marked by significant changes brought about by the development of the Internet and digital publications, and, in this context, the newspaper is a medium that has undergone profound transformations. In a context marked by the speed of production and dissemination of news content, in which “news no longer sells newspapers”, we seek,...

Marine sponges are highly efficient in removing organic pollutants and their cultivation, adjacent to fish farms, is increasingly considered as a strategy for improving seawater quality. Moreover, these invertebrates produce a plethora of bioactive metabolites, which could translate into an extra profit for the aquaculture sector. Here, we investig...

Human emotions using analytical methods and biomarkers are a recent field with increasing relevance, not only in the military context but also in the society. Both physical and psychological stress have been related to several disorders including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The control of emotions and stress is of extreme importance for...

Detection of stress biomarkers molecules, non-invasively, through (non-induced) sweat sampling is an important research field since sweat is a potential diagnostic fluid for early and continuous human health monitoring, not only for stress-related conditions directly but also for other pathologies (e.g., associated with chronic diseases). The simul...

Sweat is a potential biological fluid for the non-invasive analytical assessment of diverse molecules, including biomarkers. Notwithstanding, the sampling methodology is critical, and it must be assessed prior to using sweat for clinical diagnosis. In the current work, the analytical methodology was further developed taking into account the samplin...

The generalized use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine may cause the development of antibiotic resistance, namely, in farmed fish, and subsequently, transmission of such resistance to humans. To overcome this serious problem, it is necessary to improve the efficiency of antibiotic removal processes from water, and a route for attaining that goal...

Background Intense and continuous physical training in sports is related with psychological and physiological stress, affecting the health and well-being of athletes. The development of non-invasive sampling methodologies is essential to consider sweat as a potential biological fluid for stress biomarker assessment. In the current work, the identif...

The European regulation 2003/2003 stipulates that several methods may be applied for the determination of total nitrogen content in fertilisers for compliance in the European market. For most of the different types of fertilisers with different matrices obliged to comply with this regulation there is a lack of parameters validation data. Thus, thes...

Directive 86/278/EEC sets maximum levels of heavy metals in sewage sludge used in agriculture to regulate the risk of using these organic soil improvers. The assessment of the compliance of soil improvers with this legislation should be supported on measurements with adequately low uncertainty. This work presents a strategy for assessing the perfor...

This key comparison (KC), CCQM-K73, was performed to demonstrate the capability of the participating National Metrology Institutes (NMIs) to measure the amount content of H+, νH+, in an HCl solution with a nominal νH+ of 0.1 mol kg−1. The comparison was a joint activity of the Electrochemical Working Group (EAWG) and Inorganic Analysis Working Grou...

The first interlaboratory comparison at national level for pH measurement of a primary standard phosphate buffer solution was carried out. The main aim of th e exercise was to verify the way laboratories are pla nning and performing pH measurements and evaluates the performance of each laboratory. Seven laboratories have partici pated in this study...

COMPARISON OF TWO ATMOSPHERIC SAMPLING METHODOLOGIES WITH NON-PARAMETRIC STATISTICAL TOOLS. In atmospheric aerosol sampling, it is inevitable that the air that carries particles is in motion, as a result of both externally driven wind and the sucking action of the sampler itself. High or low air flow sampling speeds may lead to significant particle...

In atmospheric aerosol sampling, it is inevitable that the air that carries particles is in motion, as a result of both externally driven wind and the sucking action of the sampler itself. High or low air flow sampling speeds may lead to significant particle size bias. The objective of this work is the validation of measurements enabling the compar...

Atmospheric aerosol sampling has been performed in parallel with both high and low air flows. A comparison of the results requires proper statistical design and analysis. The presence of several outliers and the increase of residuals with increasing concentration have led to the recommendation of handling the data with non-parametric methods rather...

Results from analysis of aerosol ion composition and condensation nuclei (CN) concentration measurements carried out at the second Aerosol Characterization Experiment (ACE-2) Tenerife site, in the eastern North Atlantic subtropical region between July 1995 and May 1997, are described. Sea-salt derived Na+ dominated the samples having an average con...

Multiresidue analysis of organophosphorus, organochlorine and pyrethroid pesticides in medicinal plants, gives problems of extraction, purification and detection. Analytical methodologies have been developed for vervain and tested for camomile and peppermint without prior knowledge of the pesticides used in their treatment. Extraction is common to...