| 1. |
- Carvalho, Sérgio A., et al.
(författare)
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Cognitive fusion and depressive symptoms in women with chronic pain : A longitudinal growth curve modelling study over 12 months
- 2019
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Ingår i: Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1063-3995 .- 1099-0879. ; 26:5, s. 616-625
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study aims to (a) explore individual differences in women with chronic pain (CP) in regard to pain intensity, functional impairment, cognitive fusion, and depressive symptoms and (b) longitudinally test whether cognitive fusion is a significant predictor of depression symptoms, while controlling for pain intensity and functional impairment, over a 12-month period. This study follows a longitudinal design and was conducted in a sample of 86 women with CP who responded to an online battery of questionnaires in three equally spaced assessment moments. In order to explore the growth trajectory of variables of interest, latent growth curve models were examined. Also, correlation analyses were conducted between demographic and illness-related variables and depressive symptoms, as well as between all variables in all assessment moments. Cognitive fusion and functional impairment (but not pain intensity) were significantly associated with baseline levels of depressive symptoms. Cognitive fusion significantly predicted the growth trajectory of depressive symptoms, whereas pain intensity and functional impairment did not. No demographic (age, marital status, education, socio-economic) nor illness-related variables (number of CP diagnoses, duration of CP, taking medication) were associated with depressive symptoms at any point. These results suggest that the trajectory of depressive symptoms in women with CP is not predicted by the intensity of pain nor pain-related functional impairment, but rather by the tendency to get entangled with internal experiences (e.g., thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations), which may or may not be related to pain-specific contents. Clinical implications are discussed.
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| 2. |
- Carvalho, Sérgio A., et al.
(författare)
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Efficacy of an ACT and Compassion-Based eHealth Program for Self-Management of Chronic Pain (iACTwithPain) : Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial
- 2021
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Psychology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 1664-1078. ; 12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Chronic pain (CP) has serious medical and social consequences and leads to economic burden that threatens the sustainability of healthcare services. Thus, optimized management of pain tools to support CP patients in adjusting to their condition and improving their quality of life is timely. Although acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is considered an evidence-based psychological approach for CP, evidence for the efficacy of online-delivered ACT for CP is still scarce. At the same time, studies suggest that self-compassion mediates the change in disability and psychopathological symptoms in ACT interventions for CP, although self-compassion is not a specific target in ACT. Thus, an explicit focus on self-compassion might increase the efficacy of ACT interventions for CP, although this hypothesis has not been tested. This study aims to develop an eHealth ACT and compassion-based self-management intervention for CP, the iACTwithPain, and to compare its efficacy in improving health outcomes to a similar ACT-only intervention and a medical TAU group.Methods: The eHealth platform that will host the interventions will be developed using a flat design identity and will be interactive. The iACTwithPain intervention will comprise eight weekly self-management sessions and will be developed taking into consideration the psychological flexibility model applied to CP, with the addition of explicit compassion-based components. To analyze whether the iACTwithPain intervention will present superiority in improving CP's impact and related health markers over the two other conditions, this study will follow an RCT design with three arms. CP patients will be recruited through direct contact with patient associations and healthcare services and a national press release in Portugal. Outcome measurement will be conducted at baseline, post-intervention and at 3- and 6-month follow-ups. The interventions' acceptability will also be assessed.Discussion: The iACTwithPain intervention is expected to improve CP patients' psychosocial functioning, quality of life, and empowerment, by promoting adaptive disease management and regulation of pain-related internal experiences. Results will contribute to a better understanding on the pertinence of adding compassion elements to ACT for CP and to reach an optimized intervention for CP.
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| 3. |
- Carvalho, Sérgio A., et al.
(författare)
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Self-Compassion and Depressive Symptoms in Chronic Pain (CP) : A 1-Year Longitudinal Study
- 2020
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Ingår i: Mindfulness. - : Springer. - 1868-8527 .- 1868-8535. ; 11:3, s. 709-719
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: Self-compassion is associated with less depressive symptoms, better mental health outcomes, and less disability in chronic pain (CP). However, it remains longitudinally unexplored the role of self-compassion in CP. Also, although it acknowledged the conceptual overlapping between mindfulness and self-compassion, few studies have explored the role of self-compassion in CP while controlling for mindfulness in a longitudinal design.Methods: The current study conducts correlational and hierarchical linear regression analyses in a sample of 86 women with CP who completed an online battery of questionnaires that assess pain intensity, functional impairment, depressive symptoms, mindfulness, and self-compassion in three time points: baseline (T0), 6 months (T1), and 12 months (T2).Results: Results show that self-compassion (but not mindfulness) significantly predicts depressive symptoms at T1 and at T2 above and beyond depressive symptoms and functional impairment. Also, the interaction between functional impairment and self-compassion at T0 significantly predicts depressive symptoms at T1, but not at T2.Conclusions: These findings expand the current knowledge on the role of self-compassion in CP in showing that self-compassion is a significant predictor of later depressive symptoms in CP and suggesting its potential role in buffering the impact of functional impairment in future levels of depressive symptoms.
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| 4. |
- Cooper, Declan L.M., et al.
(författare)
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Consistent patterns of common species across tropical tree communities
- 2024
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Ingår i: Nature. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 625:7996, s. 728-734
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Trees structure the Earth’s most biodiverse ecosystem, tropical forests. The vast number of tree species presents a formidable challenge to understanding these forests, including their response to environmental change, as very little is known about most tropical tree species. A focus on the common species may circumvent this challenge. Here we investigate abundance patterns of common tree species using inventory data on 1,003,805 trees with trunk diameters of at least 10 cm across 1,568 locations 1–6 in closed-canopy, structurally intact old-growth tropical forests in Africa, Amazonia and Southeast Asia. We estimate that 2.2%, 2.2% and 2.3% of species comprise 50% of the tropical trees in these regions, respectively. Extrapolating across all closed-canopy tropical forests, we estimate that just 1,053 species comprise half of Earth’s 800 billion tropical trees with trunk diameters of at least 10 cm. Despite differing biogeographic, climatic and anthropogenic histories 7, we find notably consistent patterns of common species and species abundance distributions across the continents. This suggests that fundamental mechanisms of tree community assembly may apply to all tropical forests. Resampling analyses show that the most common species are likely to belong to a manageable list of known species, enabling targeted efforts to understand their ecology. Although they do not detract from the importance of rare species, our results open new opportunities to understand the world’s most diverse forests, including modelling their response to environmental change, by focusing on the common species that constitute the majority of their trees.
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| 5. |
- Gouveia-Figueira, Sandra, et al.
(författare)
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Antioxidant Capacity, Cytotoxicity and Antimycobacterial Activity of Madeira Archipelago Endemic Helichrysum Dietary and Medicinal Plants
- 2014
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Ingår i: Antioxidants. - : MDPI. - 2076-3921. ; 3:4, s. 713-729
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The potential bioactivity of dietary and medicinal endemic Helichrysum plants from Madeira Archipelago was explored, for the first time, in order to supply new information for the general consumer. In vitro antioxidant properties were investigated using DPPH, ABTS(+), FRAP and beta-Carotene assays, and the total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) were also determined. Although the results generally showed a large variation among the three analyzed plants, the methanolic extracts showed the highest antioxidant capacity. Exception is made for H. devium n-hexane extract that showed good radical scavenger capacity associated to compounds with good reducing properties. In the Artemia salina toxicity assay and antimycobaterial activity, H. devium was the most potent plant with the lowest LD50 at 216.7 ± 10.4 and MIC ≤ 50mug·mL(-1). Chemometric evaluation (Principal Component Analysis-PCA) showed close interdependence between the ABTS, TPC and TFC methods and allowed to group H. devium samples.
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| 6. |
- Gouveia-Figueira, Sandra C., 1984-, et al.
(författare)
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Phenolic screening by HPLC-DAD-ESI/MSn and antioxidant capacity of leaves, flowers and berries of Rubus grandifolius Lowe
- 2015
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Ingår i: Industrial crops and products (Print). - : Elsevier. - 0926-6690 .- 1872-633X. ; 73, s. 28-40
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In Madeira Island (Macaronesia Island), Rubus grandifolius Lowe berries, locally known by amoras, are widely consumed fresh or processed as jam, juice or liquor. Folk medicine describes R. grandifolius Lowe fruits and leaves being used to treat diabetes, as depurative, diuretic and to relieve sore throat. The aim of this study was to investigate phenolic composition and antioxidant capacity of the different edible parts of the plant (berries, leaves and flowers). HPLC-DAD-ESI/MSn was used to establish the phenolic profile. Phenolic monomers such as flavonol O-glycosilated (quercetin and kaempferol), quinic acid and caffeic acid conjugates were characterized using the electrospray source in the negative mode; while positive mode was employed to detect glycosylated anthocyanins (cyanidin, delphinin and petunidin). The berries presented a higher radical scavenger capacity (DPPH and ABTS assays) and reducing properties (FRAP) than the leaves and the flowers. Ethanolic extracts showed highest antioxidant capacity when compared with water based extracts: DPPH values of 147.9 +/- 0.7 mu mol eq Trolox/g DM; ABTS value of 255.8 +/- 1.9 mu mol-eq Trolox/g DM and FRAP value 9455 +/- 29 mmol Fe(II)/mgDM). (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 7. |
- Gouveia, Sandra C., et al.
(författare)
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Artemisia annua L. : Essential oil and acetone extract composition and antioxidant capacity
- 2013
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Ingår i: Industrial crops and products (Print). - : Elsevier. - 0926-6690 .- 1872-633X. ; 45, s. 170-181
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aerial parts of Artemisia annua growth in three different locations of Madeira Archipelago were studied. The essential oil composition was established by GC-MS and the main components were mono- and sesquiterpenes; artemisia ketone was not detected. The presence of phenolic compounds in the acetone extracts was investigated by HPLC-DAD-ESI/MSn and a diversified phenolic profile of 40 hydrocinnamic acid derivatives and glycosylated flavonoids was found. A few compounds were reported for the first time in Artemisia annua. The antioxidant capacity of essential oils and extracts were measured by three different in vitro assays. For the essential oils, a very good antioxidant response was found and the extracts also showed a good antioxidant capacity, in particular as antiradical scavengers. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 8. |
- Guiomar, Raquel, et al.
(författare)
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Usability Study of the iACTwithPain Platform : An Online Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Compassion-Based Intervention for Chronic Pain
- 2022
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Psychology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 1664-1078. ; 13
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: This pilot study aims to test the usability of the iACTwithPain platform, an online ACT-based intervention for people with chronic pain, to obtain information on which intervention and usability aspects need improvement and on expected retention rates.Methods: Seventy-three Portuguese women with chronic pain were invited to complete the first three sessions of the iACTwithPain intervention assess their quality, usefulness and the platform's usability. Twenty-one accepted the invitation. Additionally, eight healthcare professionals working with chronic medical conditions assessed the platform and the intervention from a practitioner's point of view.Results: This study presented a considerable attrition rate (71.43%) among chronic pain participants, with six completers. There were no significant differences in demographic or clinical variables between dropouts and completers except for completed education (participants who dropped out presented less education than completers). Reasons for dropout were related to difficult personal events occurring during the time of the intervention, lack of time, or having forgotten. There seemed to be an overall satisfaction with both the intervention, its contents and form of presentation of information, and the platform, concerning its design, appearance, and usability. Real image videos were preferred over animations or audio by chronic pain participants. Healthcare professionals emphasized the appealing and dynamic aspects of the animation format.Conclusion: This study informs the ongoing improvement of the iACTwithPain platform and provides valuable information on aspects researchers should consider while developing online psychological interventions for chronic pain. Further implications are discussed.
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| 9. |
- Householder, John Ethan, et al.
(författare)
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One sixth of Amazonian tree diversity is dependent on river floodplains
- 2024
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Ingår i: NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION. - 2397-334X.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Amazonia's floodplain system is the largest and most biodiverse on Earth. Although forests are crucial to the ecological integrity of floodplains, our understanding of their species composition and how this may differ from surrounding forest types is still far too limited, particularly as changing inundation regimes begin to reshape floodplain tree communities and the critical ecosystem functions they underpin. Here we address this gap by taking a spatially explicit look at Amazonia-wide patterns of tree-species turnover and ecological specialization of the region's floodplain forests. We show that the majority of Amazonian tree species can inhabit floodplains, and about a sixth of Amazonian tree diversity is ecologically specialized on floodplains. The degree of specialization in floodplain communities is driven by regional flood patterns, with the most compositionally differentiated floodplain forests located centrally within the fluvial network and contingent on the most extraordinary flood magnitudes regionally. Our results provide a spatially explicit view of ecological specialization of floodplain forest communities and expose the need for whole-basin hydrological integrity to protect the Amazon's tree diversity and its function.
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| 10. |
- Llorent-Martinez, Eulogio J., et al.
(författare)
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HPLC-ESI-MSn characterization of phenolic compounds, terpenoid saponins, and other minor compounds in Bituminaria bituminosa
- 2015
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Ingår i: Industrial crops and products (Print). - : Elsevier BV. - 0926-6690 .- 1872-633X. ; 69, s. 80-90
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Bituminaria bituminosa is a wild legume that can endure drastic conditions, including contaminated and degraded soils. It has been traditionally used as feeding for livestock, and different uses in folk medicine are known. The chemical composition of leaves and flowers from B. bituminosa is presented for the first time. The screening of phytochemical compounds was carried out using high-performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization mass spectrometric detection (HPLC-ESI-MSn). More than 40 compounds were identified or tentatively characterized. A high percentage of the detected compounds corresponded to glycosylated flavonoids, especially from apigenin, although phenolic acids, lignans, and saponins were also identified.
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