BACKGROUND: Mental health professionals experiencing work-related stress may experience burn out, leading to a negative impact on their organization and patients. AIM: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of yoga classes on work-related stress, stress adaptation, and autonomic nerve activity among mental health professionals. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial was used, which compared the outcomes between the experimental (e.g., yoga program) and the control groups (e.g., no yoga exercise) for 12 weeks. Work-related stress and stress adaptation were assessed before and after the program. Heart rate variability (HRV) was measured at baseline, midpoint through the weekly yoga classes (6 weeks), and postintervention (after 12 weeks of yoga classes). RESULTS: The results showed that the mental health professionals in the yoga group experienced a significant reduction in work-related stress (t = -6.225, p < .001), and a significant enhancement of stress adaptation (t = 2.128, p = .042). Participants in the control group revealed no significant changes. Comparing the mean differences in pre- and posttest scores between yoga and control groups, we found the yoga group significantly decreased work-related stress (t = -3.216, p = .002), but there was no significant change in stress adaptation (p = .084). While controlling for the pretest scores of work-related stress, participants in yoga, but not the control group, revealed a significant increase in autonomic nerve activity at midpoint (6 weeks) test (t = -2.799, p = .007), and at posttest (12 weeks; t = -2.099, p = .040). LINKING EVIDENCE TO ACTION: Because mental health professionals experienced a reduction in work-related stress and an increase in autonomic nerve activity in a weekly yoga program for 12 weeks, clinicians, administrators, and educators should offer yoga classes as a strategy to help health professionals reduce their work-related stress and balance autonomic nerve activities.
BACKGROUND: Mental health professionals experiencing work-related stress may experience burn out, leading to a negative impact on their organization and patients. AIM: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of yoga classes on work-related stress, stress adaptation, and autonomic nerve activity among mental health professionals. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial was used, which compared the outcomes between the experimental (e.g., yoga program) and the control groups (e.g., no yoga exercise) for 12 weeks. Work-related stress and stress adaptation were assessed before and after the program. Heart rate variability (HRV) was measured at baseline, midpoint through the weekly yoga classes (6 weeks), and postintervention (after 12 weeks of yoga classes). RESULTS: The results showed that the mental health professionals in the yoga group experienced a significant reduction in work-related stress (t = -6.225, p < .001), and a significant enhancement of stress adaptation (t = 2.128, p = .042). Participants in the control group revealed no significant changes. Comparing the mean differences in pre- and posttest scores between yoga and control groups, we found the yoga group significantly decreased work-related stress (t = -3.216, p = .002), but there was no significant change in stress adaptation (p = .084). While controlling for the pretest scores of work-related stress, participants in yoga, but not the control group, revealed a significant increase in autonomic nerve activity at midpoint (6 weeks) test (t = -2.799, p = .007), and at posttest (12 weeks; t = -2.099, p = .040). LINKING EVIDENCE TO ACTION: Because mental health professionals experienced a reduction in work-related stress and an increase in autonomic nerve activity in a weekly yoga program for 12 weeks, clinicians, administrators, and educators should offer yoga classes as a strategy to help health professionals reduce their work-related stress and balance autonomic nerve activities.
BACKGROUND: Depression, anxiety, and fatigue are among the most significant problems that influence the quality of life of patients with breast cancer who receive adjuvant chemotherapy. Although evidence has shown yoga to decrease anxiety, depression, and fatigue in patients with cancer, few studies on the effects of yoga have targeted patients with breast cancer. Yoga interventions should be tested to promote the psychological and physical health of women with breast cancer. PURPOSE: This study examines the effectiveness of an 8-week yoga exercise program in promoting the psychological and physical health of women with breast cancer undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy in terms of depression, anxiety, and fatigue. METHODS: A sample of 60 women with nonmetastatic breast cancer was recruited. Participants were randomly assigned into either the experimental group (n = 30) or the control group (n = 30). A 60-minute, twice-per-week yoga exercise was implemented for 8 weeks as the intervention for the participants in the experimental group. The control group received standard care only. RESULTS: Analysis using the Johnson-Neyman procedure found that the yoga exercise reduced overall fatigue and the interference of fatigue in everyday life for the experimental group participants. Significant reductions were obtained after 4 weeks of intervention participation for those experimental group patients with relatively low starting baseline values (baseline item mean value .05) or anxiety (F = 2.7, p > .05). CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The 8-week yoga exercise program developed in this study effectively reduced fatigue in patients with breast cancer but did not reduce depression or anxiety. Oncology nurses should strengthen their clinical health education and apply yoga to reduce the fatigue experienced by patients with breast cancer who undergo adjuvant chemotherapy.
BACKGROUND: Depression, anxiety, and fatigue are among the most significant problems that influence the quality of life of patients with breast cancer who receive adjuvant chemotherapy. Although evidence has shown yoga to decrease anxiety, depression, and fatigue in patients with cancer, few studies on the effects of yoga have targeted patients with breast cancer. Yoga interventions should be tested to promote the psychological and physical health of women with breast cancer. PURPOSE: This study examines the effectiveness of an 8-week yoga exercise program in promoting the psychological and physical health of women with breast cancer undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy in terms of depression, anxiety, and fatigue. METHODS: A sample of 60 women with nonmetastatic breast cancer was recruited. Participants were randomly assigned into either the experimental group (n = 30) or the control group (n = 30). A 60-minute, twice-per-week yoga exercise was implemented for 8 weeks as the intervention for the participants in the experimental group. The control group received standard care only. RESULTS: Analysis using the Johnson-Neyman procedure found that the yoga exercise reduced overall fatigue and the interference of fatigue in everyday life for the experimental group participants. Significant reductions were obtained after 4 weeks of intervention participation for those experimental group patients with relatively low starting baseline values (baseline item mean value .05) or anxiety (F = 2.7, p > .05). CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The 8-week yoga exercise program developed in this study effectively reduced fatigue in patients with breast cancer but did not reduce depression or anxiety. Oncology nurses should strengthen their clinical health education and apply yoga to reduce the fatigue experienced by patients with breast cancer who undergo adjuvant chemotherapy.
BACKGROUND: Depression, anxiety, and fatigue are among the most significant problems that influence the quality of life of patients with breast cancer who receive adjuvant chemotherapy. Although evidence has shown yoga to decrease anxiety, depression, and fatigue in patients with cancer, few studies on the effects of yoga have targeted patients with breast cancer. Yoga interventions should be tested to promote the psychological and physical health of women with breast cancer. PURPOSE: This study examines the effectiveness of an 8-week yoga exercise program in promoting the psychological and physical health of women with breast cancer undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy in terms of depression, anxiety, and fatigue. METHODS: A sample of 60 women with nonmetastatic breast cancer was recruited. Participants were randomly assigned into either the experimental group (n = 30) or the control group (n = 30). A 60-minute, twice-per-week yoga exercise was implemented for 8 weeks as the intervention for the participants in the experimental group. The control group received standard care only. RESULTS: Analysis using the Johnson-Neyman procedure found that the yoga exercise reduced overall fatigue and the interference of fatigue in everyday life for the experimental group participants. Significant reductions were obtained after 4 weeks of intervention participation for those experimental group patients with relatively low starting baseline values (baseline item mean value .05) or anxiety (F = 2.7, p > .05). CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The 8-week yoga exercise program developed in this study effectively reduced fatigue in patients with breast cancer but did not reduce depression or anxiety. Oncology nurses should strengthen their clinical health education and apply yoga to reduce the fatigue experienced by patients with breast cancer who undergo adjuvant chemotherapy.
[Obbectives] To research the fingerprints of chemical components of chloroform parts of Renqing Mangue and Renqing Mangue powder (compatibility without Zuota), and to identify Renqing Mangjue compatibility with Zuota or not. [Methods] High-performance liquid chromatography was adopted. Chromatographic column was DIKMA diamonsil (4 . 6 mm X 250 mm, 5 p.m) ; flow rate was 1 mlLmin ; column temperature was 30 ° ; mobile phase was methanol-water with gradient elution. [Results] A total of 18 common fingerprint peaks were obtained. As for the petroleum ether parts of Renqing Mangue and Renqing Mague powder (compatibility without Zuota), eiggt characteristic peas were obtained. [Conclusions] Characteristic fingerprints of chloroform parts of Renqing Mangue and Renqing Mangue powder (compatibility without Zuota) could be obtained by the high-performance liquid chromatography. Therefore, the Renqing Mangue and Renqing Mague powder (compatibility without Zuota) could be identified according to their characteristic peaks.
BACKGROUND: Studies indicate that the incidence of disease, the mortality rate, and medical costs are significantly higher in people aged 65 years and over who do not engage in physical activities than in their peers who do engage in these activities. Therefore, promoting appropriate physical activity among older adults in the community is essential to delaying the health implications of aging. PURPOSE: This pilot test was developed to assess the effectiveness of a newly developed Senior Elastic Band (SEB) exercise program on the health of older adults in community care stations. METHODS: A quasiexperimental design was used. A convenience sample of 20 participants from a community care station was recruited. The SEB intervention included three phases (warm-up, aerobic motion, and static stretching) and was conducted three times per week, 40 minutes per session for 1 month. Twelve health indicators in three categories (functional fitness, self-perceived health status, and sleep quality) were examined before and immediately after 1 month of SEB exercises. RESULTS: Participants showed improved performance at the end of the 1-month study for the following indicators: lung capacity, cardiopulmonary fitness, upper and lower body flexibilities, upper limb muscle power, lower limb muscle endurance, and self-perceived physical health status (all ps < .05). No significant differences were identified for the other indicators. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The SEB exercise program shows preliminary and promising effects on improving the health of older adults in a community care station. Healthcare professionals who work with older adults living in the community may consider the SEB exercise program as a health promotion modality to recommend and implement with this population. However, we recommend further testing the long-term effects of this program on a larger population.
During the screening of a traditional Chinese folk herb library against HepG2 and Hep3B cell lines, the EtOAc extract from the Tibetan medicine, Caragana tibetica (CT-EtOAc) exhibited potential anti-hepatocellular carcinoma (anti-HCC) activity. HPLC-based activity profiling was performed for targeted identification of anti-HCC activity from CT-EtOAc by MS-directed purification method. CT-EtOAc was separated by time-based fractionation for further anti-HCC bioassay by a semipreparative HPLC column (150 mm × 10 mm i.d., 5 μm) with a single injection of 5 mg. Bioassay-guided and ESIMS-directed large scale purification was performed with a single injection of 400 mg of CT-EtOAc by peak-based fractionation. A 1.4-mm heavy wall micro NMR tube with z-gradient was used to measure one and two dimensional NMR spectra for the minor or trace amounts of components of the extract. Two active compounds could be elucidated as naringenin chalcone (CT-1) and 3-hydroxy-8, 9-dimethoxypterocarpan (CT-2) relevant to anti-HCC effects for the EtOAc extract of C. tibetica rapidly and unambiguously by this protocol.
During the screening of a traditional Chinese folk herb library against HepG2 and Hep3B cell lines, the EtOAc extract from the Tibetan medicine, Caragana tibetica (CT-EtOAc) exhibited potential anti-hepatocellular carcinoma (anti-HCC) activity. HPLC-based activity profiling was performed for targeted identification of anti-HCC activity from CT-EtOAc by MS-directed purification method. CT-EtOAc was separated by time-based fractionation for further anti-HCC bioassay by a semipreparative HPLC column (150 mm × 10 mm i.d., 5 μm) with a single injection of 5 mg. Bioassay-guided and ESIMS-directed large scale purification was performed with a single injection of 400 mg of CT-EtOAc by peak-based fractionation. A 1.4-mm heavy wall micro NMR tube with z-gradient was used to measure one and two dimensional NMR spectra for the minor or trace amounts of components of the extract. Two active compounds could be elucidated as naringenin chalcone (CT-1) and 3-hydroxy-8, 9-dimethoxypterocarpan (CT-2) relevant to anti-HCC effects for the EtOAc extract of C. tibetica rapidly and unambiguously by this protocol.
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: 'Ershiwuwei Shanhu' pill (ESP), a classical and famous prescription of traditional Tibetan medicine, has a long history of empirical clinical use for the treatment of cerebrovascular and neurological diseases, but the absence of scientific evidence for its effect restricted its clinical application and further development.MATERIALS AND METHODS: The methodology of plasma pharmacochemistry was adopted to analyze the potentially bioactive components in ESP extracts. A method based on UPLC-DAD/Q-TOF-MS was established to identify herb components in ESP extracts and analyze the absorbed components of ESP and their metabolites in rat plasma, brain, heart, liver and kidney samples after oral administration of ESP extracts.
RESULTS: A total of 61 herb components were detected and identified in ESP extracts, while 35 absorbed components-including 19 prototype compounds and 16 metabolites-were discovered as potentially bioactive components in rat plasma and tissues by comparative analysis of the UV and MS chromatograms of ESP extracts, blank biosamples and dosed biosamples.
CONCLUSIONS: The potentially bioactive components of ESP extracts identified from rat plasma and tissues provide useful information for further study of the pharmacology and mechanism of action of ESP.
‘Ershiwuwei Shanhu’ pill (ESP), a classical and famous prescription of traditional Tibetan medicine, has a long history of empirical clinical use for the treatment of cerebrovascular and neurological diseases, but the absence of scientific evidence for its effect restricted its clinical application and further development. The methodology of plasma pharmacochemistry was adopted to analyze the potentially bioactive components in ESP extracts. A method based on UPLC-DAD/Q-TOF-MS was established to identify herb components in ESP extracts and analyze the absorbed components of ESP and their metabolites in rat plasma, brain, heart, liver and kidney samples after oral administration of ESP extracts. A total of 61 herb components were detected and identified in ESP extracts, while 35 absorbed components—including 19 prototype compounds and 16 metabolites—were discovered as potentially bioactive components in rat plasma and tissues by comparative analysis of the UV and MS chromatograms of ESP extracts, blank biosamples and dosed biosamples. The potentially bioactive components of ESP extracts identified from rat plasma and tissues provide useful information for further study of the pharmacology and mechanism of action of ESP.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:Prevailing literature explains how depression, compulsion, and mindfulness affect heroin use; however, there is no comprehensive framework that explains their overall relationships. We therefore proposed and examined a hypothetical depression-compulsion-heroin use and mindfulness (DCHm) model.
METHODS:
We recruited 234 male heroin users. Self-reported levels of depression, mindfulness, compulsion to use, and severity of heroin use were measured. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the proposed DCHm model.
RESULTS:
Compulsion was a mediator between depression and heroin use. In addition, the DCHm model had satisfactory model fit indices. Depression indirectly affected heroin use through compulsion to use. The moderating effects of mindfulness in the two competing models were compared between the high- and low-mindfulness groups. The DCHm model in the high-mindfulness group had more favorable model fit indices than it did in the low-mindfulness group.
CONCLUSIONS:
Through learned emotional regulation strategies, addicted people with higher mindfulness were less likely to compulsively take drugs because of a depressive mood than were those with lower mindfulness. Furthermore, effective emotion-regulation strategies should be developed and examined in future studies.
SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE:
These results raise questions about the effect of compulsion on heroin use disorders. Mindfulness-based approaches to emotional regulatory strategies should be developed based on these findings. Further experimentation and prospective studies are needed to more fully examine the moderating role of mindfulness on depression and compulsion.
Tibetan medicine has a history of over one thousand years. With the recent fascination with Tibet and Tibetan culture, Tibetan medicine is receiving greater attention from the public, scholars, and the media. In the past few years, researchers and practitioners of Tibetan medicine have established a presence on the Internet, evident through Web sites and discussion groups. This paper presents a sampling of valuable resources about Tibetan medicine readily accessible on the Internet. The selected sites were evaluated on the basis of quality and quantity of information, authoritativeness, currency of material, quality of links, and navigability.
Tibetan medicine has a history of over one thousand years. With the recent fascination with Tibet and Tibetan culture, Tibetan medicine is receiving greater attention from the public, scholars, and the media. In the past few years, researchers and practitioners of Tibetan medicine have established a presence on the Internet, evident through Web sites and discussion groups. This paper presents a sampling of valuable resources about Tibetan medicine readily accessible on the Internet. The selected sites were evaluated on the basis of quality and quantity of information, authoritativeness, currency of material, quality of links, and navigability.
An ethyl acetate extract from the barks of the ethnic Chinese medicine <i>Daphne tangutica</i> Maxim. exhibited antihepatocellular carcinoma activity against HepG2 and Hep3B cell lines. By using high-performance liquid chromatography based activity profiling in combination with offline liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry and NMR analysis, we rapidly identified ten major components of the extract, including seven active principles, coumarins (<b>1-4</b>) and biscoumarins (<b>7, 8, 10</b>), along with three inactive flavonoids (<b>5, 6, 9</b>). This study demonstrated that our combined protocol can be used as an important strategy for chemical profiling, dereplication as well as the identification of bioactive compounds from herbal medicines.
"Shengdeng" is its Tibetan transliteration referring to many medicines. Tibetan doctors and pharmacists in different areas use different drugs in formulation and clinical application, which are easily confused. In order to grasp the formula and clinical application accurately, we conduct a literature survey on history and current state of botanical origin and clinical application of "Shengdeng", making clear the application of various herbs named "Shengdeng" and providing reference to all Tibetan researchers and clinical workers in formulation and clinical application.
Psychological issue is the most common co-morbidity of women with breast cancer (BC) after receiving treatment. Effective coping with this problem is significant importance. The aim of this meta-analysis is to evaluate the benefits of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on psychological distress among breast cancer survivors.METHODS:
PUBMED, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were systematically searched from their inception to June 30, 2014. Two reviewers independently reviewed and extracted the data. The primary outcomes of interest were psychological domains. Review Manager 5.3 was used to pool collected data.
RESULTS:
Nine articles involving 964 participants were identified. Compared with those in control group, patients in MBSR group have a significant improvement on psychological domains: depression [mean difference (MD), 5.09; 95 % confidence interval (CI), 3.63-6.55; P < 0.00001], anxiety (MD, 2.79; 95 % CI, 1.62-3.96; P < 0.00001), stress (MD, 4.10; 95 % CI, 2.46-5.74; P < 0.00001). MBSR can also improve the overall quality of life (QOL) (MD, -1.16; 95 % CI, -2.21 to -0.12; P = 0.03).
CONCLUSIONS:
On the basis of our findings, MBSR shows a positive effect on psychological function and QOL of breast cancer survivors. This approach can be recommended to breast cancer patients as a part of their rehabilitation.
INTRODUCTION:Given the known link between asthma and stress as well as the link between mindfulness and stress, we explore the possible association between trait mindfulness and asthma-related diagnosis and symptoms with a cross-sectional study.
METHOD:
In 2014, we surveyed a sample of college students in their freshman year, from a public university in Shanghai, China. We used three multilevel logistic regressions to estimate the association between trait mindfulness (measured by Mindful Awareness Attention Scale, MAAS) and self-report of ever having an asthma diagnosis, ever having had persistent dry cough, and ever having had wheezing symptoms. Age, gender, household registration status, and the frequency of smog in the respondent's hometown were used as control variables in the study. The home province of the student was used as the cluster variable in the multilevel models.
RESULTS:
Among the 1392 students in the analysis sample (mean age = 18.3), 47 (3.4%) self-reported an asthma diagnosis, 251 (18.1%) reported having had persistent dry cough, and 100 (7.2%) reported having had wheezing symptoms. A one-unit increase in MAAS is negatively associated with having a self-reported asthma diagnosis (Odds Ratio (OR): 0.662, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.452, 0.969, p = 0.034), having had persistent dry cough (OR: 0.658, 95% CI: 0.545, 0.795, p < 0.001), and wheezing (OR = 0.747, 95% CI: 0.569, 0.981, p = 0.036).
DISCUSSION:
This is the first study to suggest a link between trait mindfulness and asthma. Our finding provides evidence that people with higher level of mindfulness are less likely to have had an asthma diagnosis and less likely to have the symptoms of persistent dry cough and wheezing.
The grief of bereavement is recognized as a severe psychosocial stressor that can trigger a variety of mental and physical disorders, and the long-lasting unresolved grief has a detrimental effect on brain functionality. Literature has documented mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) as an efficient treatment for improving well-being, specifically related to the mood and cognition, in a variety of populations. However, little attention has been devoted to neural mechanisms with regard to bereaved individuals' cognition after MBCT intervention. In this study, we recruited 23 bereaved participants who lost a significant relative within 6 months to 4 years to attend 8-week MBCT course. We used self-reporting questionnaires to measure emotion regulation and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with the numerical Stroop task to evaluate the MBCT effect on executive control among the bereaved participants. The self-reported questionnaires showed improvements on mindfulness and reductions in grief, difficulties in emotion regulation, anxiety, and depression after the MBCT intervention. The fMRI analysis demonstrated two scenarios: (1) the activity of the fronto-parietal network slightly declined accompanied with significant improvements in the reaction time of incongruent trials; (2) the activities in the posterior cingulate cortex and thalamus were positively associated with the Texas Revised Inventory of Grief, implying emotional interferences on cognitive functions. Results indicated that MBCT facilitated the executive control function by alleviating the emotional interferences over the cognitive functions and suggested that the 8-week MBCT intervention significantly improved both executive control and emotion regulation in bereaved individuals.
Because they generate excellent images, nanoparticles (NPs), especially biosynthesized NPs, provide a new solution for tumor imaging. In this research, we unveil a novel type of biosynthesized NPs featuring multicolor fluorescence. These NPs exhibit little cytotoxicity to cells. The explored NPs, designated Zn-ZFP-GST NPs (Zinc NPs in abbreviation), are generated from leukemia cells treated with a Zn2+ solution, while zinc-finger protein and glutathione S-transferase (GST) were also identified in the Zinc NPs. Under near-UV illumination, the Zinc NPs simultaneously emit green, yellow, and red fluorescence. In addition, the intensity of the fluorescence increases with the existence of sulfides. Besides, the NPs are encapsulated by microvesicles (MVs) shed from the plasma membrane. As observed in whole-body research of nude mice, the NP-MVs migrate via blood circulation and are distinguished by their fluorescent signals. Furthermore, the folic acid (FA) &AVR2 (human VEGF antibody)-coated NP-MVs are exploited to target the tumor location, and the feasibility of this approach has been confirmed empirically. The Zinc NPs shed light on an alternative solution to tumor detection.
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