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Journal of American College Health : J... Jun 2024To evaluate impact of a 12-week, online, guided, self-paced intervention of mindfulness and self-care practices on self-compassion, attentiveness, and perceived stress.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate impact of a 12-week, online, guided, self-paced intervention of mindfulness and self-care practices on self-compassion, attentiveness, and perceived stress.
PARTICIPANTS
University healthcare faculty and students.
METHODS
Participants received 7 different mindful and self-care activity options every week for 12 wk. A pre-survey, weekly surveys, and one-month post-survey assessed outcome measures of the Perceived Stress Scale 4, Self-Compassion Scale-SF, Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, health behaviors, and feasibility.
RESULTS
A total of 232 participants had one or more outcome measures and 68 completed all 14 measures. Students and faculty demonstrated significantly increased mindful attention awareness, days of mindfulness practice, self-compassion, and trended toward more physical activity. They reported significantly lower stress and that mindful practice altered the way they dealt with stress. Days of mindfulness practice were significantly negatively correlated to stress and positively correlated to self-care.
CONCLUSIONS
This intervention demonstrated both effectiveness and feasibility, with most participants choosing shorter meditation, yoga, and self-care options.
PubMed: 38848318
DOI: 10.1080/07448481.2024.2360423 -
Pest Management Science Jun 2024Flystrike, primarily caused by Lucilia cuprina, is a major health and welfare issue for sheep wool industries. Current chemical-based controls can have limited...
BACKGROUND
Flystrike, primarily caused by Lucilia cuprina, is a major health and welfare issue for sheep wool industries. Current chemical-based controls can have limited effectiveness due to the emergence of resistance in the parasite. RNA interference (RNAi), which uses double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) as a trigger molecule, has been successfully investigated for the development of innovative pest control strategies. Although RNAi offers great potential, the efficient identification, selection of target genes and delivery of dsRNA represent challenges to be overcome for the successful application of RNAi for control of L. cuprina.
RESULTS
A primary L. cuprina (blowfly) embryo cell line (BFEC) was established and confirmed as being derived from L. cuprina eggs by PCR and amplicon sequencing. The BFECs were successfully transfected with plasmids and messenger RNA (mRNA) expressing fluorescent reporter proteins and dsRNA using lipid-based transfection reagents. The transfection of dsRNA into BEFC in this study suggested decreased mRNA levels of target gene expression, which suggested RNAi-mediated knockdown. Three of the dsRNAs identified in this study resulted in reductions of in target gene mRNA levels in BFEC and loss of biological fitness by L. cuprina larvae in a feeding bioassay.
CONCLUSION
This study confirms that the novel BFEC cell line can be used to improve the efficacy of dsRNA-mediated screening to accelerate the identification of potential target genes in the development of RNAi mediated control approaches for L. cuprina. The research models established in this study are encouraging with respect to the use of RNAi as a blowfly control method, however further improvement and validation are required for field applicationsnot prefect, and could be ongoing developing. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.
PubMed: 38847522
DOI: 10.1002/ps.8190 -
Heliyon Jun 2024This study investigated the effects of mindfulness training on alleviating fear of the COVID-19 epidemic among international students in China during the academic year...
This study investigated the effects of mindfulness training on alleviating fear of the COVID-19 epidemic among international students in China during the academic year 2020. The training group participants (N = 41) and the control group participants (N = 44) were surveyed pre-and post-training with the two English questionnaires: The Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) and the fear of the COVID-19 scale (FCV-19S). The results showed that, regarding the relationship between the two main variables in the study, mindfulness is related negatively to the COVID-19 epidemic. Moreover, compared to the control group, results showed that individuals in the training group demonstrated significant improvements in mindfulness levels and decreased Fear of COVID-19. Thus, findings suggest that a short online mindfulness meditation training may reduce fear of the COVID-19 epidemic.
PubMed: 38845936
DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e31809 -
Journal of Sport Rehabilitation Jul 2024Mindfulness interventions (yoga, meditation) in traumatic brain injury populations show promising improvements in injury outcomes. However, most studies include all...
CONTEXT
Mindfulness interventions (yoga, meditation) in traumatic brain injury populations show promising improvements in injury outcomes. However, most studies include all injury severities and use in-person, general programming lacking accessibility and specificity to the nuance of concussion. Therefore, this study investigated the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of an online, concussion-focused meditation intervention among young adults with a concussion history.
DESIGN
Unblinded, single-arm, pilot intervention.
METHODS
Fifteen young adults aged 18 to 30 with a concussion history within the past 5 years completed 10 to 20 minutes per day of online, guided meditations for 6 weeks. Feasibility was assessed using the Feasibility of Intervention Measure. Concussion symptoms were measured using the Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptom Questionnaire, perceived stress the Perceived Stress Scale-10, and mindfulness the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire. Descriptive statistics described the study sample and determined intervention adherence and feasibility. Paired sample t tests were used to examine preintervention/postintervention changes in concussion symptoms, perceived stress, and mindfulness, with descriptive statistics further detailing significant t tests.
RESULTS
Fifteen participants were enrolled, and 12 completed the intervention. The majority completed 5+ days per week of the meditations, and Feasibility of Intervention Measure (17.4 [1.8]) scores indicated high feasibility. Concussion symptom severity significantly decreased after completing the meditation intervention (11.3 [10.3]) compared with before the intervention (24.5 [17.2]; t[11] = 3.0, P = .01). The number of concussion symptoms reported as worse than before their concussion significantly decreased after completing the meditation intervention (2.7 [3.9]) compared with before the intervention (8.0 [5.7]; t[11] = 3.7, P = .004). Postintervention, 83.33% (n = 10) reported lower concussion symptom severity, and 75.00% (n = 9) reported less concussion symptoms as a mild, moderate, or severe problem (ie, worse than before injury).
CONCLUSIONS
Findings suggest positive adherence and feasibility of the meditation intervention, with the majority reporting concussion symptom improvement postintervention. Future research is necessary to expand these pilot findings into a large trial investigating concussion-specific meditation programming.
Topics: Humans; Brain Concussion; Feasibility Studies; Young Adult; Adult; Male; Pilot Projects; Female; Meditation; Mindfulness; Adolescent; Surveys and Questionnaires; Stress, Psychological
PubMed: 38843862
DOI: 10.1123/jsr.2023-0329 -
PloS One 2024Previous literature suggests that mindfulness meditation can have positive effects on mental health, however, its mechanisms of action are still unclear. In this...
Previous literature suggests that mindfulness meditation can have positive effects on mental health, however, its mechanisms of action are still unclear. In this pre-registered study, we investigate the effects of mindfulness training on lapses of attention (and their associated neural correlates) during meditation practice. For this purpose, we recorded Electroencephalogram (EEG) during meditation practice before and after 8 weeks of mindfulness training (or waitlist) in 41 participants (21 treatment and 20 controls). In order to detect lapses of attention and characterize their EEG correlates, we interrupted participants during meditation to report their level of focus and drowsiness. First, we show that self-reported lapses of attention during meditation practice were associated to an increased occurrence of theta oscillations (3-6 Hz), which were slower in frequency and more spatially widespread than theta oscillations occurring during focused attention states. Then, we show that mindfulness training did not reduce the occurrence of lapses of attention nor their associated EEG correlate (i.e. theta oscillations) during meditation. Instead, we find that mindfulness training was associated with a significant slowing of alpha oscillations in frontal electrodes during meditation. Crucially, frontal alpha slowing during meditation practice has been reported in experienced meditators and is thought to reflect relative decreases in arousal levels. Together, our findings provide insights into the EEG correlates of mindfulness meditation, which could have important implications for the identification of its mechanisms of action and/or the development of neuromodulation protocols aimed at facilitating meditation practice.
Topics: Humans; Meditation; Mindfulness; Male; Female; Adult; Electroencephalography; Self Report; Attention; Middle Aged
PubMed: 38843236
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0299275 -
Journal of Correctional Health Care :... Jun 2024Jail programming is rarely informed by site-specific health needs, diagnostic-specific screening tools that are validated, or the input of incarcerated individuals....
Jail programming is rarely informed by site-specific health needs, diagnostic-specific screening tools that are validated, or the input of incarcerated individuals. Using the community needs assessment (CNA) framework, we aimed to fill these gaps among people incarcerated in the Pulaski County Regional Detention Facility (PCRDF), Arkansas' largest jail. Participants were 179 adults at the PCRDF who completed surveys and open-ended questions focused on (a) their mental and behavioral health and (b) programming needs at the facility. Using a concurrent transformative mixed-methods design, we descriptively analyzed surveys and conducted content analysis of the open-ended questions. Over half of participants reported clinically significant anxiety (62.6%), post-traumatic stress disorder (53.1%), and/or depression (50.3%) symptoms; positive substance use disorder screening was especially common (91.7%). Nearly all (97%) individuals queried desired more programming, with the most desired being mental health and substance use programs. Other desired programs included physical health, education, community reintegration, family support, recreation, nutrition, religious/spiritual services, and meditation. Our CNA ensured the input of those directly impacted during program-focused decision making and identified strategies to effectively implement and sustain jail-based programs. Such assessments can be a potential mechanism for addressing the burden of mental and behavioral health problems in jail populations.
Topics: Humans; Arkansas; Male; Female; Adult; Needs Assessment; Substance-Related Disorders; Jails; Middle Aged; Prisoners; Mental Health; Mental Disorders; Prisons
PubMed: 38842733
DOI: 10.1089/jchc.23.12.0098 -
Supportive Care in Cancer : Official... Jun 2024Breast cancer survivors commonly experience menopausal symptoms, specifically when undergoing antihormonal therapy. Unfortunately, they often have a restricted range of... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
PURPOSE
Breast cancer survivors commonly experience menopausal symptoms, specifically when undergoing antihormonal therapy. Unfortunately, they often have a restricted range of treatment options available to alleviate menopausal symptoms. The objective of this qualitative study was to explore breast cancer survivors' experiences and effects of a yoga and meditation intervention supplementing previously reported RCT outcomes.
METHODS
The qualitative data included in this study were part of a larger randomized controlled trial which evaluated the efficacy and safety of a 12-week yoga and meditation intervention on menopausal symptoms in breast cancer survivors. All participants who underwent the yoga intervention (n = 19) were invited to take part in semi-structured interviews after all quantitative data collection had been completed. Interviews (n = 9) were recorded, transcribed, and then coded into superordinate themes using thematic analysis.
RESULTS
Nine female participants were interviewed, and the following themes emerged: (1) representations and expectations from the yoga intervention; (2) course structure and implementation; (3) perceptions and effects of the intervention (at emotional, physical, behavioral, and spiritual level); (4) differences between the study yoga intervention and other physical activities.
CONCLUSIONS
In accordance with the accounts of participants, yoga might offer a promising intervention for breast cancer survivors. All those interviewed either currently attended a yoga class or expressed a desire to continue practicing yoga. Additionally, our findings inform future studies regarding aspects such as the importance of extending outcome measures beyond specific cancer-related complains, the advantages of addressing homogenous groups (i.e., breast cancer specific), or considering that different intervention components might need different assistance to encourage long-term use.
Topics: Humans; Yoga; Female; Breast Neoplasms; Middle Aged; Meditation; Cancer Survivors; Qualitative Research; Menopause; Aged; Adult; Interviews as Topic
PubMed: 38842686
DOI: 10.1007/s00520-024-08603-2 -
Scientific Reports Jun 2024Yoga nidra (YN) practice aims to induce a deeply relaxed state akin to sleep while maintaining heightened awareness. Despite the growing interest in its clinical...
Yoga nidra (YN) practice aims to induce a deeply relaxed state akin to sleep while maintaining heightened awareness. Despite the growing interest in its clinical applications, a comprehensive understanding of the underlying neural correlates of the practice of YN remains largely unexplored. In this fMRI investigation, we aim to discover the differences between wakeful resting states and states attained during YN practice. The study included individuals experienced in meditation and/or yogic practices, referred to as 'meditators' (n = 30), and novice controls (n = 31). The GLM analysis, based on audio instructions, demonstrated activation related to auditory cues without concurrent default mode network (DMN) deactivation. DMN seed based functional connectivity (FC) analysis revealed significant reductions in connectivity among meditators during YN as compared to controls. We did not find differences between the two groups during the pre and post resting state scans. Moreover, when DMN-FC was compared between the YN state and resting state, meditators showed distinct decoupling, whereas controls showed increased DMN-FC. Finally, participants exhibit a remarkable correlation between reduced DMN connectivity during YN and self-reported hours of cumulative meditation and yoga practice. Together, these results suggest a unique neural modulation of the DMN in meditators during YN which results in being restful yet aware, aligned with their subjective experience of the practice. The study deepens our understanding of the neural mechanisms of YN, revealing distinct DMN connectivity decoupling in meditators and its relationship with meditation and yoga experience. These findings have interdisciplinary implications for neuroscience, psychology, and yogic disciplines.
Topics: Humans; Yoga; Female; Male; Adult; Meditation; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Brain; Middle Aged; Brain Mapping; Connectome; Young Adult
PubMed: 38839877
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-63765-7 -
Social Science & Medicine (1982) May 2024Medicalization represents an increasingly significant form of social control. Emergent evidence suggests that workplace managers take up medicalized practices and...
Medicalization represents an increasingly significant form of social control. Emergent evidence suggests that workplace managers take up medicalized practices and discourses to produce a compliant labor force, but this phenomenon has received limited sociological attention. This paper extends prior theories of medicalization to investigate therapeutic management in the low-wage workplace. I draw upon eight months of ethnographic fieldwork in Disability Works, a nonprofit job training program for people with mental illnesses, and interviews with other providers and advocates within this field. Disability Works harnesses therapy, psychiatry, and "softer" therapeutic practices such as mindfulness meditation, sleep hygiene, and positive affirmations to produce its workforce. This paper identifies two dimensions of therapeutic management: (1) it aims to inculcate work norms at the level of client-workers' embodied dispositions, and (2) it aims to transform structural problems into individual ones. Findings illuminate therapeutic management as an emergent workplace regime and may guide future research on its effects.
PubMed: 38838531
DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117026 -
Journal of Traumatic Stress Jun 2024This is a conceptual overview of a premeeting institute (PMI) I presented at the 39th International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) annual meeting in...
This is a conceptual overview of a premeeting institute (PMI) I presented at the 39th International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) annual meeting in November 2023 entitled, "A Functional Approach to Repairing Moral Injury and Traumatic Loss in Context: Evidence, Change Agents, Clinical Strategies, and Lessons Learned." This paper was invited by the co-chairs of the Scientific Program Committee, Isaac Galatzer-Levy and Katharina Schultebraucks. I first describe the aims of the PMI and then summarize the foundational assumptions that led me to expand adaptive disclosure and create adaptive disclosure-enhanced (AD-E). The foundational assumptions are that (a) moral injury is a unique measurable potential clinical problem, (b) moral injury damages the sustaining building blocks to personal and collective humanity, and (c) repairing moral injury requires corrective humanizing and virtuous experiences and connections. I then provide an overview of AD-E and describe two new change agents- loving-kindness meditation and letter writing-that augment the original AD in service of promoting corrective experiences in the social world that are valued, valuing, and promote the experience of belonging.
PubMed: 38837451
DOI: 10.1002/jts.23063