11237 research outputs found
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Music Therapist’s use of singing, listening, playing instruments and movement with music to improve cognition and reduce neuropsychiatric symptoms in music therapy for people living with dementia
No full textCurrent music therapy studies published in the field of dementia can often lack specificity in communicating the components of a music therapy intervention. These interventions can involve a wide range of musical activities depending on patient needs. This survey aimed to explore the use of singing, listening, playing instruments and movement with music, by music therapists working with people living with dementia, to further understand music therapists’ preferences, proclivities and clinical motivations. In total, 31 UK registered music therapists participated. The survey collected data on personal, clinical and external influences on therapists’ selection of musical activities during music therapy sessions. Analysis was completed using descriptive statistics and reflexive thematic analysis. The results showed that singing initiated by the therapist is the most common musical activity used by music therapists in this study. Reasons include therapists selecting activities that were comfortable and familiar, and those that provided musical flexibility in a clinical setting. There was also a connection found between the use of various musical activities and clinical aims. Further research can develop understanding on how various musical activities can fulfil specific needs of people living with dementia This can raise awareness for future music therapists and caregivers to choose the most appropriate musical intervention in a clinical setting.</p
Comparison of self-reported physical activity between survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and patients with myocardial infarction without cardiac arrest: a case–control study
No full textAims: To investigate whether out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survivors had lower levels of self-reported physical activity compared to a non-cardiac arrest control group with myocardial infarction (MI), and to explore if symptoms of anxiety, depression, kinesiophobia (fear of movement), and fatigue were associated with a low level of physical activity. Methods and results: Pre-defined case–control sub-study within the international Targeted Hypothermia versus Targeted Normothermia after Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (TTM2) trial. Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors at 8 of 61 TTM2 sites in Sweden, Denmark, and the UK were invited. Participants were matched 1:1 to MI controls. Both OHCA survivors and MI controls answered two questions on self-reported physical activity, categorized as a low, moderate, or high level of physical activity, and questionnaires on anxiety and depression symptoms, kinesiophobia, and fatigue 7 months after the cardiac event. Overall, 106 of 184 (58%) eligible OHCA survivors were included and matched to 91 MI controls. In total, 25% of OHCA survivors and 20% of MI controls reported a low level of physical activity, with no significant difference (P = 0.13). Symptoms of kinesiophobia and fatigue were significantly associated with a low level of physical activity in both groups. Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors had significantly more kinesiophobia compared to MI controls (18% vs. 9%, P = 0.04), while levels of anxiety and depression symptoms and fatigue were similar. Conclusion: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors had similar levels of physical activity compared to matched MI controls. High level of kinesiophobia and fatigue were associated with a low level of physical activity in both groups. Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03543332</p
The influence of cuff location on the oxygenation and reperfusion of the foot during ischemic preconditioning: A reliability study
No full textIschemic preconditioning (IPC) involves the application of occlusion cycles, typically prior to exercise. IPC is commonly applied at the arm or thigh for improving exercise performance, which can be combined with near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to assess the microcirculation and tissue oxygenation. Despite the use of NIRS during IPC, few studies have investigated the reliability of NIRS during lower limb IPC with no relevant publications investigating IPC at the ankle. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the intra-session reliability in the NIRS measurements during repeated IPC at the thigh, ankle and arm. Eighteen participants volunteered. IPC was applied at the thigh (220 mmHg), ankle (individualized arterial occlusion pressure: 212 ± 24 mmHg) and arm (220 mmHg) in a randomized order involving 3 repeated cycles of 5-min occlusion and reperfusion, within a session. NIRS recorded tissue oxygen saturation (SO2), oxygenated (O2Hb) and deoxygenated hemoglobin (HHb) at the abductor hallucis muscle. Reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients. For all NIRS measurements assessed, there was excellent reliability (All ICC > 0.94) for the average, minimum and maximum values. The results indicate that IPC can successfully be applied at the ankle, offering reliable measures between three repeated occlusions within a session.</p
Vibrational exercise for Crohn’s to observe response (VECTOR): protocol for a randomized controlled trial
No full textCrohn’s disease (CD) is a long-term inflammatory gastrointestinal disorder, often adversely affecting physical, emotional, and psychological well-being. Pharmaceutical management is habitually adopted; although medicinal therapies require continuous administration, and are often associated with significant side effects and low adherence rates. Whole body vibration (WBV) represents a non-invasive technique, that provides vibration stimulation to the entire body. As WBV appears to target the physiological pathways and symptoms pertinent to CD epidemiology, it may have significant potential as a novel non-pharmaceutical intervention therapy in CD. This paper presents the study protocol for a randomised controlled trial investigating the impact of WBV on health outcomes in individuals with CD. This 6-week, parallel randomised controlled trial will recruit 168 individuals, assigned to receive WBV and lifestyle education 3 times per week compared to control, receiving lifestyle education only. The primary outcome of the trial will be the difference from baseline to post-intervention in health-related quality of life between the groups, assessed with the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Quality of Life Questionnaire. Secondary outcomes will include between-group differences in other questionnaires assessing fatigue, anxiety and pain, measures of physical fitness, and biological markers for disease activity and inflammation. Statistical analyses will follow an intention-to-treat approach, using linear mixed-effects models to compare changes between time points and both trial groups. Ethical approval was granted by the Nottingham Research Ethics Committee (REC: 24/EM/0106) and the study has been registered prospectively as a clinical trial (NTC06211400).</p
PEGylated liposomes of disulfiram and paclitaxel: a promising chemotherapeutic combination against chemoresistant breast cancer
No full textBackground: Steric stabilization of liposomes using PEGylation has been used widely in pharmaceutical research to overcome the limitations of conventional liposomes and to extend circulation time. PEGylation tended to improve the physicochemical stability and reverse the chemoresistance in multidrug-resistant (MDR) breast cancer cell lines. In this study, PEGylated formulations of disulfiram (DS) and paclitaxel (PAC) were developed using the ethanol-based proliposome technology. Methods: PEGylated liposomal formulations of disulfiram (DS) and paclitaxel (PAC) were developed using the ethanol-based proliposome approach combined with high-pressure homogenization (HPH). The liposomes were characterized for particle size, polydispersity index (PDI), zeta potential, drug loading efficiency (DLE%), and drug entrapment efficiency (DEE%). Cytotoxicity studies were performed on sensitive (MCF7, MDA-MB-231) and chemoresistant (MDA-MB-231PAC10) breast cancer cell lines using the MTT assay to assess the anti-ancer potential of the formulations. Synergistic cytotoxic effects of DS and PAC co-delivery were also evaluated. Results: There was no significant difference in drug loading (DLE%) and drug entrapment efficiency (EE%) between conventional liposomes and the developed PEGylated vesicles. DS demonstrated higher loading in liposomes than PAC, and a greater cytotoxic effect on both sensitive (MCF7 and MDA-MB-231) and chemoresistant (MDA-MB-231PAC10) human breast cancer cell lines. For both DS- and PAC-loaded liposomes, PEGylation did not compromise the cytotoxic effect on both sensitive and chemoresistant cells. Interestingly, the combination of DS- and PAC-loaded PEGylated liposomes had significantly higher cytotoxic effect and lower IC50 than that of each drug alone. Conclusions: Overall, PEGylated liposomal formulation of DS and PAC acted synergistically to reverse the multidrug resistance in breast cancer cells and could serve as a promising system for delivery of PAC and DS simultaneously in one formulation using an alcohol-based proliposome formulation.</p
Half a century of research for mind-body interventions: a scientometric analysis.
No full textObjectives: We conducted a scientometric analysis on mind–body interventions to assess themes and trends in recent decades, providing insights for prospective research directions. Our systematic search, completed on 1 November, 2023, encompassed the Web of Science Core Collection and focused on scientific publications related to contemplative practices: Mindfulness, Yoga, Qi-gong, Tai-chi, Vipassana, Zen, Loving-kindness, and Transcendental meditation.Method: Integration of network analyses and bibliometrics using Bibliometrix and CiteSpace allowed us to identify evolving research themes. Our primary objective was to measure the evolution of research trends, while secondary aims involved uncovering influence networks tied to countries, publications, institutions, and authors. Co-citation reference networks specific to each mind–body practice were extracted.Results: Our analysis incorporated 16,310 documents (389,632 references) spanning the years 1973 to 2023, forming a well-structured network with credible clustering. The overarching dataset highlighted the dominance of mindfulness practice in the realm of mind–body interventions. To further explore research patterns, we explored individual co-citation reference networks for each practice, revealing varying sizes for Mindfulness (n = 2278), Yoga (n = 1303), Qi-gong (n = 582), Tai-chi (n = 1000), Vipassana (n = 344), Zen (n = 454), Loving-kindness (n = 552), and Transcendental meditation (n = 834). Each practice exhibited distinct clusters, focusing on applications for diverse mental disorders and physical health issues, ranging from substance abuse to schizophrenia, and from back pain to dementia.Conclusions: While research on mind–body interventions has been predominantly influenced by mindfulness in recent decades, each type of mind–body intervention contributes uniquely to both theoretical and clinical contexts. These insights have significant implications for funding agencies and research groups, guiding future directions in the field.Preregistration: The preregistered protocol can be found online (https://osf.io/qzb3c/).</p
Hematology patients’ metaphorical perceptions of the disease and psychosocial support needs in the treatment process: a phenomenological study from a rural region of Türkiye
No full textPurpose: Although health services and access to these services have increased worldwide, there are still major barriers to access to health services, especially for rural, poor, and disabled individuals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the metaphorical perceptions of hematology patients living in rural areas in Türkiye about the disease and their psychosocial support needs during the treatment process with a phenomenological approach. Methods: In this study, in which the phenomenological research method was used, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 14 hematology patients receiving treatment in a state hospital in a province in the eastern region of Türkiye. Criterion sampling method, one of the purposive sampling methods, was used to reach the sample group. Interviews continued until data saturation was achieved. The data of the study were evaluated using thematic analysis. The study was conducted and reported according to the COREQ checklist. Results: Data analysis revealed two main themes including the following: metaphorical perceptions towards hematologic cancer with the sub-themes of emotional turmoil, social alienation and stigma and physical debilitation, and pathways to resilience with the sub-themes of disease process management, inner resilience and faith, and psychosocial support. Conclusion: This study revealed that the adaptation process of patients to hematologic cancer is quite difficult, and psychosocial support is an indispensable requirement for them in their lives. In order for patients and their families to cope with this very difficult disease process, it is thought that providing them with a higher level of psychological support will be beneficial in coping with the disease effectively.</p
tidk: a toolkit to rapidly identify telomeric repeats from genomic datasets
No full textSummary: “tidk” (short for telomere identification toolkit) uses a simple, fast algorithm to scan long DNA reads for the presence of short tandemly repeated DNA in runs, and to aggregate them based on canonical DNA string representation. These are telomeric repeat candidates. Our algorithm is shown to be accurate in genomes for which the telomeric repeat unit is known and is tested across a wide variety of newly assembled genomes to uncover new telomeric repeat units. Tools are provided to identify telomeric repeats de novo, scan genomes for known telomeric repeats, and to visualize telomeric repeats on the assembly. “tidk” is implemented in Rust and is available as a command line tool which can be compiled using the Rust toolchain or downloaded as a binary from bioconda. Availability and implementation: The “tidk” Rust crate is freely available under the MIT license (https://crates.io/crates/tidk), and the source code is available at https://github.com/tolkit/telomeric-identifier.</p
Too much of a good thing? When empathy becomes associated with depression and anxiety in women
No full textPrevious research has suggested that increased empathy is associated with improved wellbeing, however, other research has also suggested that too much empathy is associated with heightened levels of anxiety and depression. This is particularly the case for women, with elevated empathy being linked with some female-biased psychiatric conditions. The current study aimed to clarify these contradictory findings by assessing the association between different empathy levels on the Empathy Quotient and psychiatric diagnoses quadratically, rather than just linearly. 2998 women completed an online questionnaire measuring empathy and diagnoses of common psychiatric conditions. Logistic regression analyses for diagnoses of depression and anxiety indicated that in both EQ scores had significant quadratic relationships albeit with small effect sizes. The frequency of depression and anxiety diagnoses was generally lower the higher the empathy, but cases rose for the highest levels of empathy. This indicates that while empathy is largely a positive trait, very high levels of empathy are a risk factor for diagnoses of depression and anxiety. These findings clarify prior inconsistencies in the literature and point to the importance of investigating non-linear relationships between key psychological constructs and mental health.</p
When two-fold is not enough: quantifying uncertainty in low-copy qPCR
No full textAccurate interpretation of qPCR data continues to present significant challenges, particularly at low target concentrations where technical variability, stochastic amplification, and efficiency fluctuations confound quantification. The widespread assumption that qPCR outputs are intrinsically reliable, coupled with inconsistent adherence to best-practice guidelines, has exacerbated issues of reproducibility and contributed to misleading conclusions. This may distort pathogen load quantification in diagnostic settings, whilst in gene expression studies, it can lead to overinterpretation of small fold changes. This study presents a systematic, cross-platform evaluation of qPCR performance across a wide dynamic range using defined reaction mixes and technical replicates. We show that calculated copy numbers can closely match expected values over more than three orders of magnitude, but that variability increases markedly at low input concentrations, often exceeding the magnitude of biologically meaningful differences. We conclude that establishing and reporting confidence intervals from the data itself is essential for transparency and for distinguishing reliable quantification from technical noise.</p
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