Repositório do ISPA
Repositório Institucional do Ispa-Instituto Universitário
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Emotion regulation, fear of hypoglycemia, and diabetes distress in parents of children with type 1 diabetes
Publication . Vieira, Anabela; Costa, Vasco; Pais Brandão, Tânia Raquel
Parents of children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) are responsible for intensive daily disease management and often experience high levels of emotional distress. This study examined whether fear of hypoglycemia mediates the association between parents’ emotion regulation strategies and diabetes-related distress. Participants were recruited through Facebook and WhatsApp groups for parents of children and adolescents with T1D, and data was collected via self-report online questionnaires. A total of 102 parents, 92.2% mothers (aged 32–58 years) of children with T1D aged 8–17 years, completed measures of fear of hypoglycemia (Hypoglycemia Fear Survey—Parent Version), diabetes distress (Problem Areas in Diabetes-Parent Revised) and emotion regulation strategies (Emotion Regulation Questionnaire), along with a sociodemographic questionnaire. Four mediation models were tested using PROCESS, including cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression as predictors and the worry and behavior subscales of fear of hypoglycemia as mediators. Results revealed a significant indirect effect of worry on the relationship between cognitive reappraisal and diabetes distress (indirect effect = −0.15, 95% CI [−0.35, −0.02]), highlighting worry as a potential mediator between these variables, while the direct effect was negative but non-significant. No significant indirect effects were found for expressive suppression on the behavior subscale (indirect effect = 0.12; 95% IC [−0.07; 0.36]) or on the worry subscale (indirect effect = 0.07; 95% IC [−0.08; 0.24]). These findings suggest that cognitive reappraisal may be associated with lower diabetes-related distress through lower levels of excessive worry about hypoglycemia. Clinically, the results highlight fear-related cognition can be a relevant intervention target, alongside emotion regulation skills, in psychosocial support programs for parents of youth with T1D.
Solution-phase ITC validation of literature-reported Glyphosate DNA Aptamers: Affinity ranking and an operational selectivity boundary
Publication . Sun, Jingchun; Zhang, Linbing; Goncalves, David; Kuang, Shaoping; Yang, Hongsheng
Glyphosate is a highly polar herbicide, the reliable molecular recognition of which is complicated by co-occurring structural analogues, metabolites, and derivatives in real-world samples. Rather than reporting new aptamer discovery, this study establishes a standardized, solution-phase isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) workflow to thermodynamically reassess two literature-reported glyphosate DNA aptamers, Seq03 and Seq05, under matched buffer composition and instrument settings. After verification of baseline stability and evaluation of heat-of-dilution contributions, ligand-to-aptamer titrations yielded apparent dissociation constants of approximately 8.14 μM for Seq03 and 40.2 μM for Seq05, enabling affinity-based prioritization of these reported candidates within the tested concentration window. To define an application-relevant selectivity boundary, we further constructed a counter-screen panel restricted to glyphosate-related chemicals, including structural analogues, metabolites, and derivatives, and evaluated all candidates using an identical ITC protocol with explicit background handling. None of the counter-screen compounds produced binding-consistent, saturable isotherms after integration and control-based interpretation; instead, their responses remained close to background heat and were therefore operationally classified as having no detectable binding under the tested conditions, including a reverse-titration format check with Glufosinate-N-acetyl. Collectively, these results position ITC as a label-free, platform-independent validation step for small-molecule aptamer benchmarking prior to analytical translation, while also highlighting that the present conclusions are bounded by the tested PBS-based conditions and the sensitivity window of the current ITC configuration.
In-session emotional experiencing in brief psychotherapy conducted by trainee psychologists: Process, alliance, and the role of therapist persuasiveness
Publication . Soares, Andreia; Ladislau, Laura; Aleixo, Ana; Santos, João M.; Sousa, Daniel
Despite the recognition of emotional experiencing as a key change factor in psychotherapy, gaps remain regarding how clinical training influences this dimension, particularly in brief interventions conducted by trainees, and preliminary process data on this phenomenon in Portuguese clinical training contexts are scarce. This study examined emotional experiencing in brief psychotherapy conducted by trainee psychologists undergoing structured experiential training with deliberate practice, analyzing whether patients show a progressive increase in experiential depth across sessions, whether higher levels of emotional experiencing are associated with stronger therapeutic alliance and greater symptom reduction, and whether therapists’ persuasiveness predicts patients’ emotional experiencing at different session moments. A quantitative repeated measures design was adopted with 5 trainee psychologists and 15 adult patients in a university clinic. Four sessions per patient were analyzed by three independent researchers using standardized measures: the Outcome Questionnaire-45 (OQ-45), the Working Alliance Inventory – Short Revised (WAI-SR), the Experiencing Scale (EXP), and the Therapist Persuasiveness Rating Scale (TPRS). Mixed linear models were then applied to assess longitudinal changes and relationships among variables. A significant reduction in psychological distress and an increase in therapeutic alliance indices, particularly in the tasks and bond dimensions, were observed. No significant changes were found in the depth of emotional experiencing, nor robust associations of this variable with symptom improvement or alliance, except for a marginal negative relationship between goal consensus and modal emotional experiencing. These findings suggest a stability of emotional experiencing in brief intervention contexts, highlighting the central role of collaborative processes in clinical change.
Correction to: Ethical principles and frameworks in dementia care: A Scoping Review
Publication . Serrat, Rodrigo; Lauridsen, Sigurd; Bobrowicz‑Campos, Elzbieta; Brandao, Tânia; BritesRute; Cannella, Valentina; Celdrán, Montserrat; Chacur‑Kiss, Karima; Cin, Aynur; Faba, Josep; Jarašiūnaitė‑Fedosejeva, Gabija; Korkmaz‑Yaylagul, Nilufer; Pons‑Vila, Joan; Porras, Yoselyn; Radenkovic, Miroslav; Thoft, Diana Schack; Silva, Rosa; Stončikaitė, Ieva; Szcześniak, Dorota; Jensen, Rasmus Thybo; Yokus, Sidika Ece; Schou‑Juul, Frederik
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Work–family conflict and relationship satisfaction during COVID-19 in general and healthcare career professionals: The role of dyadic coping
Publication . Sentieiro, Maria Leonor; Ferreira, Luana Cunha; Pires de Miranda, Mariana
The COVID-19 pandemic altered workplace dynamics, significantly
affecting couples, especially healthcare professionals
due to risky environments and high demands. Career professionals
also faced negative impacts from increased workloads
and remote work, leading to family-work conflicts.
Recognizing the importance of relational resources during crises,
the study assessed the different contributions of the two
mediators—work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict.
We predicted that these mediations will be moderated by
dyadic coping. This quantitative study (n¼443) found that
healthcare professionals experienced more work-to-family conflict
during the COVID-19 pandemic comparing to general career
professionals. Our findings indicated that elevated levels
of negative dyadic coping may act as a significant moderator
between professional status and relationship satisfaction. We
also found that positive dyadic coping led to less work-to-family
conflict and family-to-work conflict and to more relationship
satisfaction. There is a need to address negative dyadic
coping strategies, in healthcare professionals, to diminish
work–family conflict and improve relationship satisfaction. The
study shows that work–family conflict is a relational process,
linked to dyadic coping and relationship satisfaction. It
addresses a theoretical gap by integrating dyadic coping into
existing models of work–family conflict and its implications for
couple dynamics.