The diffusion dynamics of nanocarriers in the vitreous and the influence of nanocarrier physicochemical properties on these dynamics is an important aspect of the efficacy of intravitreal administered nanomedicines for the treatment of posterior segment eye diseases. Here we use fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) to determine liposome diffusion coefficients in the intact vitreous (DVit) of ex vivo porcine eyes using a modified Miyake-Apple technique to minimize the disruption of the vitreous fine structure. We chose to investigate whether the zeta potential of polyethylene glycol functionalized (i.e. PEGylated) liposomes altered liposome in situ diffusion dynamics in the vitreous. Non-PEGylated cationic nanocarriers have previously shown little to no diffusion in the vitreous, whilst neutral and anionic have shown diffusion. The liposomes investigated had diameters below 150nm and zeta potentials ranging from −20 to +12mV. We observed that PEGylated cationic liposomes had significantly lower DVit values (1.14μm2s−1) than PEGylated neutral and anionic liposomes (2.78 and 2.87μm2s−1). However, PEGylated cationic liposomes had a similar biodistribution profile across the vitreous to the other systems. These results show that PEGylated cationic liposomes with limited cationic charge can diffuse across the vitreous and indicate that the vitreous as a barrier to nanocarriers (Ø<500nm) is more complicated than simply an electrostatic barrier as previously suggested.
Health-related online social networks are starting to play a role in many people's daily lives by enabling them to monitor their diet and motivating them to change their lifestyles. These social networks provide different motivation mechanisms. However, little research has been done on the effectiveness of these motivation mechanisms. This research analyzes data collected from a digital health community to examine what mechanisms can help motivate people. The results suggest that there is a high level of correlation between users' exercise activities and their participation in these digital health communities. This research benefits the digital health communities by providing insights into the design of motivation mechanisms.
Converging findings suggest that depressed individuals exhibit disturbances in positive emotion. No study, however, has ascertained which specific positive emotions are implicated in depression. We report two studies that compare how depressive symptoms relate to distinct positive emotions at both trait and state levels of assessment. In Study 1 (N=185), we examined associations between depressive symptoms and three trait positive emotions (pride, happy, amusement). Study 2 compared experiential and autonomic reactivity to pride, happy, and amusement film stimuli between depressive (n=24; DS) and non-depressive (n=31; NDS) symptom groups. Results indicate that symptoms of depression were most strongly associated with decreased trait pride and decreased positive emotion experience to pride-eliciting films. Discussion focuses on the implications these findings have for understanding emotion deficits in depression as well as for the general study of positive emotion.
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Discriminatory experiences are not only momentarily distressing, but can also increase risk for lasting physical and psychological problems. Specifically, significantly higher rates of depression and depressive symptoms are reported among people who are frequently the target of prejudice. Given the gravity of this problem, this research focuses on an individual difference, trait mindfulness, as a protective factor in the association between discrimination and depressive symptoms. In a community sample of 605 individuals, trait mindfulness dampens the relationship between perceived discrimination and depressive symptoms. Additionally, mindfulness provides benefits above and beyond those of positive emotions. Trait mindfulness may thus operate as a protective individual difference for targets of discrimination.
Discriminatory experiences are not only momentarily distressing, but can also increase risk for lasting physical and psychological problems. Specifically, significantly higher rates of depression and depressive symptoms are reported among people who are frequently the target of prejudice. Given the gravity of this problem, this research focuses on an individual difference, trait mindfulness, as a protective factor in the association between discrimination and depressive symptoms. In a community sample of 605 individuals, trait mindfulness dampens the relationship between perceived discrimination and depressive symptoms. Additionally, mindfulness provides benefits above and beyond those of positive emotions. Trait mindfulness may thus operate as a protective individual difference for targets of discrimination.
Discriminatory experiences are not only momentarily distressing, but can also increase risk for lasting physical and psychological problems. Specifically, significantly higher rates of depression and depressive symptoms are reported among people who are frequently the target of prejudice (Kessler et al., 1999, Schulz et al., 2006). Given the gravity of this problem, this research focuses on an individual difference, trait mindfulness, as a protective factor in the association between discrimination and depressive symptoms. In a community sample of 605 individuals, trait mindfulness dampens the relationship between perceived discrimination and depressive symptoms. Additionally, mindfulness provides benefits above and beyond those of positive emotions. Trait mindfulness may thus operate as a protective individual difference for targets of discrimination.
Recent research has demonstrated that higher levels of mindfulness are associated with greater psychological and physical health. However, the majority of this research has been conducted with adults; research is only beginning to examine the effects of mindfulness among adolescents. Further, research into adolescent mindfulness has typically conceptualized mindfulness as a unidimensional phenomenon and has not yet examined multidimensional models of mindfulness that have emerged in the adult literature. Further, the mechanisms through which mindfulness influences these outcomes are presently unclear. The present study examined the effects of three facets of mindfulness among adolescents. Seventy-eight adolescents (61% female, 94% Caucasian, M age = 16) completed a measure of dispositional mindfulness at baseline. Participants then completed measures of daily stress, dysphoric affect, and state rumination over a 7-day period. Multilevel modeling analyses revealed that facets of mindfulness (i.e., nonreactivity and nonjudgment) were associated with lower levels of dysphoric mood. Mindfulness interacted with daily stress to predict later dysphoria; less mindful individuals were particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of stress. Finally, analyses demonstrated that the effect of the Mindfulness × Stress Moderation was significantly mediated by increases in daily rumination. These findings support the importance of mindfulness among adolescents and help to elucidate the mechanisms through which mindfulness influences psychological health.
ObjectiveIt is imperative that research identifies factors related to depression among individuals in substance use treatment, as depression is associated with substance use relapse. Dispositional mindfulness and spirituality may bear an important role in the relationship between depression and substance use.
Method
Using preexisting patient medical records (N = 105), the current study investigated dispositional mindfulness and spirituality in relation to depressive symptom clusters (affective, cognitive, and physiological) among men in residential substance use treatment. The mean age of the sample was 41.03 (standard deviation = 10.75).
Results
Findings demonstrated that dispositional mindfulness and spirituality were negatively associated with depressive symptoms. After controlling for age, alcohol use, and drug use, dispositional mindfulness remained negatively associated with all of the depression clusters. Spirituality only remained associated with the cognitive depression cluster.
Conclusion
Mindfulness‐based interventions may hold promise as an effective intervention for reducing substance use and concurrent depressive symptoms.
BackgroundPsychological difficulties, especially depression and anxiety, are the most prevalent non-motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease. Pharmacological treatments for these conditions appear relatively ineffective in Parkinson’s disease. Mindfulness courses are increasingly popular and recognised as effective for managing emotional states, and there is growing evidence for the effectiveness of mindfulness courses for people with long-term medical conditions. With this exploratory pilot trial, we want to assess the feasibility of the procedures and processes, including recruitment, most appropriate outcome measure(s), acceptability of type and number of measures, potential nocebo effects, and potential effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a specially adapted distance-delivered mindfulness-based intervention in people affected by Parkinson’s disease.
Methods/Design
This is a pilot two-arm randomised parallel group controlled trial. Sixty participants who meet eligibility criteria will be randomly assigned either to an 8-week mindfulness-based intervention group or a wait-list control group. The mindfulness intervention will include 1-h weekly sessions delivered by a health psychologist trained to facilitate mindfulness courses. Participants in both groups will complete standardised questionnaires assessing anxiety, depression, pain, insomnia, fatigue, and daily activities at four time points (baseline, 4, 8, and 20 weeks). The analysis will also consider potential mechanisms of change, such as acceptance, self-compassion, and tolerance of uncertainty, as well as health economic outcomes. Participants’ experiences of the mindfulness interventions will be explored via in-depth interviews.
Discussion
A mindfulness-based intervention for people with Parkinson’s delivered remotely, through Skype group videoconferences, may represent a viable, more accessible, intervention for people with mobility limitations and people who live in rural areas. The trial will provide important information about the feasibility, potential efficacy and cost-effectiveness, and acceptability of the intervention as well as mechanisms of psychosocial adjustment. The results of this pilot trial will help us design a phase III trial to assess efficacy of an online mindfulness-based intervention in Parkinson’s disease and evaluate significance.
Recent research has begun to distinguish between various aspects of self-report measures of mindfulness, including the distinction between mindful process and outcome. Therefore, our primary goal in this study was to examine whether an increase in mindful outcome mediated the relationship between an increase in mindful process and improvements in mental and physical health and perceived stress among mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) participants. Consistent with expectations, we found that changes in mindful outcome partially mediated relationships between changes in mindful process and two outcomes: mental health and perceived stress (but not physical health). Moreover, as expected, in an alternate model, changes in mindful outcome did not facilitate changes in mindful process and improvements in any of the outcome variables. The implications and limitations of these findings, as well as recommendations for future research, are discussed.
The authors explain how multitasking and distractions from technology affect the brain; how meditation can rewire the brain and cultivate new habits; and how technology can be used to support rather than detract from our attention, health, and wellbeing.
Distress is highly prevalent in cancer survivors, from the point of diagnosis through treatment and recovery, with rates higher than 45% reported worldwide. One approach for helping people cope with the inherent stress of cancer is through the use of mind-body therapies (MBTs) such as mediation, yoga, hypnosis, relaxation, and imagery, which harness the power of the mind to affect physical and psychological symptoms. One group of MBTs with a growing body of research evidence to support their efficacy focus on training in mindfulness meditation; these are collectively known as mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs). Research supports the role of MBIs for dealing with common experiences that cause distress around cancer diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship including loss of control, uncertainty about the future, fears of recurrence, and a range of physical and psychological symptoms including depression, anxiety, insomnia, and fatigue. Growing research also supports their cost-effectiveness, and online and mobile adaptations currently being developed and evaluated increase promise for use in a global context.
Distress is highly prevalent in cancer survivors, from the point of diagnosis through treatment and recovery, with rates higher than 45% reported worldwide. One approach for helping people cope with the inherent stress of cancer is through the use of mind-body therapies (MBTs) such as mediation, yoga, hypnosis, relaxation, and imagery, which harness the power of the mind to affect physical and psychological symptoms. One group of MBTs with a growing body of research evidence to support their efficacy focus on training in mindfulness meditation; these are collectively known as mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs). Research supports the role of MBIs for dealing with common experiences that cause distress around cancer diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship including loss of control, uncertainty about the future, fears of recurrence, and a range of physical and psychological symptoms including depression, anxiety, insomnia, and fatigue. Growing research also supports their cost-effectiveness, and online and mobile adaptations currently being developed and evaluated increase promise for use in a global context.
Distress is highly prevalent in cancer survivors, from the point of diagnosis through treatment and recovery, with rates higher than 45% reported worldwide. One approach for helping people cope with the inherent stress of cancer is through the use of mind-body therapies (MBTs) such as mediation, yoga, hypnosis, relaxation, and imagery, which harness the power of the mind to affect physical and psychological symptoms. One group of MBTs with a growing body of research evidence to support their efficacy focus on training in mindfulness meditation; these are collectively known as mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs). Research supports the role of MBIs for dealing with common experiences that cause distress around cancer diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship including loss of control, uncertainty about the future, fears of recurrence, and a range of physical and psychological symptoms including depression, anxiety, insomnia, and fatigue. Growing research also supports their cost-effectiveness, and online and mobile adaptations currently being developed and evaluated increase promise for use in a global context.
This study tested whether distress tolerance, body image, and body mass index (BMI) predicted adherence to a yoga intervention. Participants were 27 women who participated in a yoga intervention as part of a randomized controlled trial. Attendance and distress tolerance were assessed weekly, and body image and BMI were measured at baseline. Multilevel modeling revealed a three-way interaction of distress tolerance, BMI, and body image (p < .001). For participants with few body image concerns, distress tolerance was positively associated with adherence regardless of BMI (p = .009). However, for those with poor body image, increases in distress tolerance were associated with increases in adherence among overweight participants (p < .001) but lower adherence among obese participants (p = .007). Distress tolerance may be implicated in adherence to a yoga intervention, although its effects may be dependent on body image concerns, BMI, and their interaction. Research and clinical implications are discussed.
This study tested whether distress tolerance, body image, and body mass index (BMI) predicted adherence to a yoga intervention. Participants were 27 women who participated in a yoga intervention as part of a randomized controlled trial. Attendance and distress tolerance were assessed weekly, and body image and BMI were measured at baseline. Multilevel modeling revealed a three-way interaction of distress tolerance, BMI, and body image (p < .001). For participants with few body image concerns, distress tolerance was positively associated with adherence regardless of BMI (p = .009). However, for those with poor body image, increases in distress tolerance were associated with increases in adherence among overweight participants (p < .001) but lower adherence among obese participants (p = .007). Distress tolerance may be implicated in adherence to a yoga intervention, although its effects may be dependent on body image concerns, BMI, and their interaction. Research and clinical implications are discussed.
To systematically search for the availability of evidence for exercise impacting on sleep for people who have rheumatoid arthritis. Two reviewers independently searched seven electronic databases, identified and extracted relevant studies by applying eligibility criteria. Sources of bias were assessed independently by two reviewers using the Cochrane bias assessment tool for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale for non-RCTs. Data were synthesized using a level of evidence approach. Meta-analyses were deemed to be inappropriate due to the heterogeneity of study designs, measurement tools and interventions. Five studies were included: one RCT; two pilot RCTs and two samples of convenience. A total of 262 people with RA were included. Interventions used were difficult to assess due to the heterogeneity of study designs and the inclusion of two using different types of yoga as an intervention. Different sleep outcome measures were used thus, it was not feasible to pool results. Studies had a high risk of bias. This review could find no consistent or conclusive evidence on whether exercise impacts on sleep in people who have rheumatoid arthritis, therefore no firm conclusions can be made. However, there is some indication that exercise may have positive benefits on sleep in people who have rheumatoid arthritis. Further studies with improved study designs, using subjective and objective measures, are needed.
Cultivating empathy is a presumed benefit of mindfulness, but this possibility has rarely been investigated experimentally. We examined whether a five-minute mindfulness exercise would cultivate empathy relative to two equally brief control exercises: relaxation and mind-wandering. We further examined whether mindfulness would be especially beneficial for people with autistic or narcissistic traits. Results showed no effect of mindfulness relative to both control conditions on mind reading, empathic responding, or prosocial behavior. Mindfulness effects were independent of autistic traits. Unexpectedly, people higher in autistic traits did show increased prosocial behavior across conditions. Intriguingly, mindfulness improved mind reading in non-narcissistic people, but reduced it in narcissistic people. These findings question whether a brief mindfulness exercise is sufficient for building empathy.
OBJECTIVES:Major depressive disorder is a significant mental illness that is highly likely to recur, particularly after three or more previous episodes. Increased mindfulness and decreased rumination have both been associated with decreased depressive relapse. The aim of this study was to investigate whether rumination mediates the relationship between mindfulness and depressive relapse.
DESIGN:
This prospective design involved a secondary data analysis for identifying causal mechanisms using mediation analysis.
METHODS:
This study was embedded in a pragmatic randomized controlled trial of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) in which 203 participants (165 females, 38 males; mean age: 48 years), with a history of at least three previous episodes of depression, completed measures of mindfulness, rumination, and depressive relapse over a 2-year follow-up period. Specific components of mindfulness and rumination, being nonjudging and brooding, respectively, were also explored.
RESULTS:
While higher mindfulness scores predicted reductions in rumination and depressive relapse, the relationship between mindfulness and relapse was not found to be mediated by rumination, although there appeared to be a trend.
CONCLUSIONS:
Our results strengthen the argument that mindfulness may be important in preventing relapse but that rumination is not a significant mediator of its effects. The study was adequately powered to detect medium mediation effects, but it is possible that smaller effects were present but not detected.
PRACTITIONER POINTS:
Mindfulness may be one of several components of MBCT contributing to prevention of depressive relapse. Although the original rationale for MBCT rested largely on a model of relapse causally linked to rumination, our findings suggest that the mechanism by which mindfulness impacts relapse is more complex than a simple effect on rumination.
Abstract, This article reviews data that have accumulated since the early 1970s on the role of the dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus (DMN) in neuroendocrine and autonomic homeostasis. Both the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VMN) and the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) project to the DMN, which in turn projects to the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN), thus placing the DMN at an important nodal point of neuroendocrine/autonomic circuitries. The DMN is composed of cells and fibers containing neuropeptide Y (NPY), and the nutritional status (starvation-refeeding) is reflected in NPY levels of both VMN and DMN in Sprague-Dawley, Zucker (fa/fa), and corpulent rats (cp/cp JCR:LA). The DMN is involved in the final common pathway of corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) secretion by the PVN, sympathetic nervous system outflow to the adrenal gland, and brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis. The DMN is also part of a “fear circuitry” regulating cardiovascular responses to stress such as myocardial blood flow and the tachycardia associated with the defense reaction. This appears to be mediated by a gamma amino butyric acid (GABA) mechanism. Although exhibiting reduced ponderal and linear growth and hypophagia and hypodipsia, the rat with DMN lesions (DMNL rat) has normal body composition, anabolic hormone levels, and intermediary metabolism, and it responds normally to numerous endocrine, nutritional, intra- and extracellular thirst and body weight-regulatory challenges. The DMNL rat shows normal efficiency of food utilization, but shows an attenuated response to the feeding-stimulatory effect of insulin. The only other lesion-induced abnormalities are hyperprolactinemia and a disrupted circadian corticosterone rhythm. The hyperprolactinemia in DMNL rats appears to be related to an attenuation of dopamine (DA). Rats with DMNL are capable of mating and can bear offspring, but there is a dramatic effect on litter size and other litter parameters that only improves when one parent is a DMNL rat. Antiaging effects produced by DMNL are evident in the prevention of age-associated microalbuminuria and kidney lesions, as well as, in prevention of the age-related decline in circulating insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I). Recent evidence suggests that DMN, together with the VMN and the arcuate nucleus (ARC) of the hypothalamus, may be part of the circuitry that is responsive to the feedback signal from adipose tissue by the hormone leptin. The above findings and others suggest that the DMN plays a diverse role in physiological regulatory processes.
A number of studies have documented a normative decline in academic achievement across the transition from elementary school to middle or junior high school. The current study examined the effectiveness of varying levels of a social-emotional learning intervention, "Talking with TJ," in limiting achievement loss across transition. Data were gathered on 154 students during their fifth and sixth grade years in an urban, low socio-economic school district. Students participated in the "Talking with TJ" program over their fifth grade years, and curriculum fidelity in individual classrooms was evaluated. Changes in grade point average were assessed across the middle school transition. Overall, students showed a significant decline in GPA across the transition. Students in classrooms where higher dosages of intervention were delivered showed significantly smaller drops in GPA across transition than did students in lower dosage classrooms. Data on differential program effectiveness among demographic groups and along varying levels of baseline emotional intelligence also are presented. Editors' Strategic Implications: The authors present promising findings for a school transition program, link dosage to effects, and raise interesting theoretical questions about the relationships between social-emotional learning and academic growth and achievement.
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