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Previous research has supported the emergence of approaches focused on the cultivation of compassion as a means of decreasing psychopathology and improving well-being. However, some individuals show resistance against compassion, which may compromise these interventions. The Fears of Compassion Scales (FCS) is a self-report questionnaire comprising three scales, that measure fear of compassion (FC) for others, from others and for self. The aim of this study was to confirm the original factor structure of FCS and examine its psychometric properties, in a sample of Portuguese individuals with psychosis. A total of 196 participants (141 male and 55 female) diagnosed with a psychotic disorder or a mood disorder with psychotic features answered a set of self-report questionnaires that included the FCS, as well as measures of self-criticism, self-compassion, social safeness and severity of psychotic symptomatology. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated an excellent fit to the single-factor structure for each scale. FC from others and for self scales maintained all the items, however, four items with inadequate loadings were removed in the FC for others scale. The three scales were correlated with each other and showed the expected associations with the remaining measures. Additionally, FC from others and FC for self were associated with both positive and negative psychotic symptomatology. Overall, our results confirm that the FCS is a reliable and valid measure of FC in individuals with psychosis and reinforce that it may be a useful tool in clinical and research settings., Author(s): Diana Carvalho [sup.1] , Cristiana C. Marques [sup.2] [sup.3] , Ana Margarida Pinto [sup.2] [sup.3] [sup.4] , Maria João Martins [sup.1] [sup.2] [sup.3] [sup.5] , Inês Leal [sup.2] , [...]

The UK National Student Survey (NSS) is a sound and widely used instrument for assessing students' academic experiences. We aimed to translate the NSS for Portuguese students and to validate the instrument in a sample of medical undergraduates. The research team translated and adapted the NSS for Portuguese students (NSS-P). The survey was administered on an online platform to 1,256 final-year students at eight Portuguese medical schools. A total of 329 medical students (69.9% female) replied to the NSS-P, a response rate of 26.2%. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the original six-factor structure had an adequate fit to the data. Adequate internal consistency was observed for all the subscales. Medium to large correlations were found among all the subscale scores and between the subscale scores and the students' overall satisfaction. Multiple regression showed that the scores on the Teaching, Organization and Management and Personal Development subscales significantly predicted the students' overall satisfaction. Approximately 64% of the students reported being satisfied with the quality of their courses. Significant differences among the medical schools in their NSS-P scores were found. The NSS-P is a valid and reliable measure for assessing medical students' perceptions of academic quality.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has a high prevalence worldwide, with increasing incidence in low- and middle-income countries, and is associated with high morbidity and mortality, particularly from cardiovascular disease. Protein-restricted diets are one of the most widely used non-pharmacological approaches to slow the progression of CKD and prevent associated metabolic abnormalities. However, some concerns have been raised about the long-term safety of these diets, particularly with regard to patients' nutritional status and bone and mineral disorders. Therefore, the aim of this article is to review the most recent scientific evidence on the relevance of using protein-restricted diets (with or without keto-analogue supplementation) and, in particular, their relationships with malnutrition and mineral and bone disorders in people with CKD without kidney replacement therapies. Although protein-restricted diets, especially when supplemented with keto-analogues and highly personalized and monitored, do not appear to be associated with malnutrition, research on their effects on bone and mineral disorders is scarce, deserving further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of this article is to analyse the Si solar cell's behaviour when it is exposed to light of different colours. An experimental work, with 100 experimental tests, was carried out, using an RGB LED. In order to obtain better fitting of the characteristic curves' results, we used a novel discrete model, d1MxP. The obtained results showed that all experimental points of the tests were inside the two triangles that connected the three theoretical primary colours and the three experimental primary colours in the chromaticity diagram. With this diagram, the colour purity could be determined, which presented values between 20% and 60%. The primary colours of the three different LEDs of the light source presented a dominant wavelength that corresponded to the peak wavelengths of the light source spectrum, which showed high purity. However, the obtained results show that mixing colours may not lead to an increase in the cell's output power. Additionally, an increase in the cell's temperature was observed, due to the surplus absorbed energy, which was converted into heat, being one of the causes of the cell's efficiency reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heart failure (HF) is a clinical entity included in cardiovascular diseases affecting millions of people worldwide, being a leading cause of hospitalization of older adults, and therefore imposing a substantial economic burden on healthcare systems. HF is characterized by dyspnea, fatigue, and edema associated with elevated blood levels of natriuretic peptides, such as N Terminal pro-B-type Natriuretic Peptide (NT-proBNP), for which there is a high demand for point of care testing (POCT) devices. Optical fiber (OF) biosensors offer a promising solution, capable of real-time detection, quantification, and monitoring of NT-proBNP concentrations in serum, saliva, or urine. In this study, immunosensors based on plasmonic uncladded OF tips were developed using OF with different core diameters (200 and 600 µm). The tips were characterized to bulk refractive index (RI), anddetection tests were conducted with NT-proBNP concentrations varying from 0.01 to 100 ng/mL. The 200 µm sensors showed an average total variation of 3.6 ± 2.5 mRIU, an average sensitivity of 50.5 mRIU/ng·mL−1, and a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.15 ng/mL, while the 600 µm sensors had a response of 6.1 ± 4.2 mRIU, a sensitivity of 102.8 mRIU/ng·mL−1, and an LOD of 0.11 ng/mL. Control tests were performed using interferents such as uric acid, glucose, and creatinine. The results show the potential of these sensors for their use in biological fluids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]