Spiritual needs, prayer and cardiac function changes in healthy young women – the interconnection of spirituality with human physiology

The aim was to assess the cardiac function of healthy women by applying the spiritual intervention, i.e. a prayer, in different circumstances. Methods: a descriptive, intervention study design was used. The data were collected during three weeks in May, 2019. A total of 39 women with normal physiologic health at the age of 25-50 years who considered themselves as religious persons participated in the study. The cardiac-spiritual intervention process consisted of nine episodes with the heart rate measurements applied. For data recording and analysis researchers used ECG system Kaunas-Load that was developed at Lithuanian University of Health Sciences. With the ECG record RR interval, HRV and ST interval amplitude were analysed. The Spiritual Needs Questionnaire (SpNQ) was used to assess the spiritual needs of participants. Data were recorded and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM SPSS Statistics) version 25.0. Results: Religious and Existential needs were the most important spiritual needs for women. Existential needs the most strongly correlated with Religious needs and needs of Inner peace. The reactions to prayer were more expressed in women of older age. The general tendency of increase in RR average during the praying episodes was observed; at resting position women’s heart rate decreased. During all phases of the study, the HR spectrum power was higher in the group of women with stronger expression of their unmet spiritual needs and the general physiologic condition of these women was also better. The increasing significant (p < 0.1) relationship between spiritual needs scores and changes of women heart rate was observed during pray episodes of spiritual intervention process. Conclusions: changes in the heart rate of healthy women during separate episodes of spiritual intervention demonstrated the reaction toward prayer. Individual or group praying caused the calming effect for women under the study. Assessment of unmet spiritual needs of women and the relationship with the heart rate changes during spiritual intervention process supported the idea that heart activity depends on the level of personal religiosity and spirituality

Local geomagnetic field fluctuations relationship with mental and physical health among adults in Lithuania

The study examined the relationship between local geomagnetic field fluctuations and physical and mental health among young adults in Lithuania. 264 participants were recruited for a two-week period study, during which they had to fill-in paper questionnaires, consisting of a 12-Item Short Form Survey (SF-12), assessing physical and mental health, 4 questions about physical vitality, emotional vitality, social wellbeing and overall wellbeing, and questions regarding sociodemographic data. The results of the study revealed that possible influence of geomagnetic field fluctuations appear not simultaneously with the changes in human health status, but with a 12-hour lag. This relationship was found to be weak but significant, however, only with mental health

Investigation of the stability of fluctuations in electrocardiography data

A new algebraic algorithm based on the concept of the rank of a sequence for the analysis of electrocardiography (ECG) signals is proposed in this paper. The task of the proposed algorithm is to develop strategy for finding the nearest algebraic progression to each segment of time series of the ECG parameters. ECG parameters of different duration were used to investigate the dynamics of different physiological processes in human heart during load. It indicates that proposed algebraic algorithm can be effectively used for the analysis of ECG parameters. Different behavior can be observed in fluctuations of ECG parameters in different fractal levels

Study on dynamical characteristics of electrocardiographic parameters during physical load

The analysis of electrocardiographic parameters concatenations can be used to describe physiological changes in the whole body during physical load. Research aim was to analyse dynamical characteristics of electrocardiographic parameters in different physical ability men group during bicycle ergometry. The research contingent consisted of 63 healthy men, who according to the power achieved at the anaerobic threshold were divided into 2 groups. The following tests were used: anthropometric measurements, electrocardiography, bicycle ergometry, spiroergometry and mathematical statistics. During bicycle ergometry the pulmonary gas exchange rates were collected, which was used to establish the anaerobic threshold. This research has shown changes in the functional parameters of the cardiovascular system and inter-parametric concatenations of different fractal levels between aerobic and anaerobic work. This study established that the best results were obtained in the high aerobic power group. This research established that the functional parameters of the cardiovascular system depended on physical ability of the subjects. In the high aerobic power group, the body metabolism and regulatory systems (JT/QRS) and heart and body (RR/QRS) interaction was weaker, and the heart metabolism and regulatory systems (RR/JT) interaction was stronger than in other research group (p< 0.05) during physical load

The effect of differential training-based occupational therapy on hand and arm function in patients after stroke: Results of the pilot study

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of differential training-based occupational therapy on the recovery of arm function and to compare these data with the results obtained after conventional occupational therapy. Methods A total of 27 patients who had suffered a cerebral infarction in the left brain hemisphere were recruited for the study. There were 9 men (33.33%) and 18 women (66.67%). All the patients had paresis of the right arm. The patients were divided into 2 groups: the control group comprised 15 patients who were given conventional occupational therapy (5 times per week) and the study group consisted of 12 patients who underwent conventional occupational therapy (3 times per week) along with occupational therapy based on differential training (2 times per week). Results In the control group, the mean performance time of only 2 tasks, i.e., flip cards and fold towel, improved significantly (P&lt;0.05), while significant deterioration in the mean performance time of the task “lift can” was observed (P&lt;0.05). In the study group, the mean performance time of all the tasks except for forearm to box (side), hand to box (front), and lift paperclip improved significantly (P&lt;0.05), and no deterioration in arm function was observed. Conclusion Both patients’ groups improved arm function after occupational therapy sessions, but the patients who underwent conventional occupational therapy along with differential training-based occupational therapy recovered their arm function more effectively than their counterparts after conventional occupational therapy

Associations between muscle myotonometry (a)symmetry and functional movement performance in young women and men

Asymmetry of body parts refers to absence of symmetry and unevenly developed body parts in terms of the axis and plane. It has been long ago noticed that no perfectly correct human body exists, and bodies are to a greater or lesser extent asymmetric. A passive way of life, insufficient movement and inappropriate ergonomics of the workplace have a negative impact on the skeletal muscle system, usually resulting in reduced muscle power, static and dynamic muscle endurance, and altered muscle tone. The aim is to determine whether muscle myotonometry parameters are informative in early risk diagnostics to predict the likelihood of skeletal muscle system trauma. The study involved 382 people aged 18-24. Participants were devided into two groups: according to the accumulated composite score. Testing was made one time. The study consisted of functional movement and myotonometry evaluation. The study analyses and presents comparisons of the results depending on the trauma likelihood and sex. In addition, asymmetry of the left and the right body side is investigated. The analysis of the asymmetries (delta) in the frequency of damped oscillations of trapezius, biceps femoris, gastrocnemius (inner and outer part) on the left and right sides of the body demonstrated greater asymmetries between the left and the right sides of the body in the groups of both men and women with a lower chance of trauma. The assessment of asymmetries in femoris rectus and tibialis anterior between the left and the right sides of the body showed differences in the frequency of damped oscillations in all groups. Muscle myotonometry parameters are informative and may be used in early risk diagnostics to predict skeletal muscle system trauma. The asymmetry in tibialis muscle tone between the left and the right leg causes poorer parameters of functional movement performance in women. No associations were found to exist with the ability to perform functional movements in men. The asymmetry in femoris muscle tone between the left and right leg demonstrates the ability of young subjects to perform functional movements. It is characteristic of men and, to a lower extent, of women

Investigation of 5-Year Interconnections between Local Earth Magnetic Field Fluctuations and Acute Myocardial Infarction in Lithuania

The impact of the local Earth magnetic field (LEMF) on cardiovascular events has been studied recently. Data gathered during past years encouraged us to conduct this epidemiological analysis evaluating the association between changes in LEMF and hospital admissions due to AMI in Lithuania between August 2014 and September 2019. This study is unique due to its coverage of all Lithuanian patients. The frequency of morbidity of AMI was compared with the intensity of the LEMF and correlation coefficient was evaluated. The LEMF was measured by the Global Coherence Monitoring Network magnetometer located in Lithuania. LEMF was measured by pikotesla square (pT²). The LEMF was analized in five frequency ranges [Hz], generally called between Schumann resonance, which overlap with the human brain activity waves on electroencefalogram (EEG) frequency ranges (here, they are named as SDelta (0-3.5Hz), STheta (3.5-7Hz), SAlpha (7-15Hz), SBeta (15-32Hz) and SGamma (32-65Hz) to distinguish from the EEG bands). Significant correlations between weekly admissions of AMI cases and the weekly LEMF strength in five frequency ranges and in total range was found. A clear negative correlation was observed between cases of AMI in female group and LEMF frequency ranges SDelta (0-3.5Hz), STheta (3.5-7Hz), SAlpha (7-15Hz), SBeta (15-32Hz) and in total range. In the second half of the year the number of AMI is lower, therefore negative correlations between SDelta (0-3.5Hz), STheta (3.5-7Hz), SAlpha (7-15Hz) and SBeta (15-32Hz) ranges are stronger than in the first one. This is particularly noticeable in 2016 and 2018 years

Method for Prediction of Acute Hypotensive Episodes

Hypotension is type of secondary insult and it is related to poor outcome. The ability to predict adverse hypotensive events, where a patient's arterial blood pressure drops to abnormally low levels, would be of major benefit to the fields of primary and secondary health care. The aim of the paper is to present the novel method for predicting of acute hypotensive episodes, based on ECG analysis by the complex system theory approach. 45 patients (in four neurointensive care facilities throughout Europe) data were selected for the analysis. 11 patients had EUSIG-defined hypotensive events. The method includes determining of time varying biomarkers corresponding to plurality of physiological processes in patient's organism as a non-linear dynamic complex system and generating an acute hypotension prediction classifier. The calculations of biomarkers are based on complex system approach and algebraic matrix analysis of ECG parameters. The classifier is based on the comparison of biomarkers behaviour in 3D images. It is demonstrated that the presented method allows us to predict arterial hypotension events 40-50 minutes ahead with a sensitivity of 81 %, specificity 94 %. This result was obtained from prospective real-time data collection in a live clinical intensive care environment