The Feasibility and Impact of Delivering a Mind-Body Intervention in a Virtual World

Introduction: Mind-body medical approaches may ameliorate chronic disease. Stress reduction is particularly helpful, but face-to-face delivery systems cannot reach all those who might benefit. An online, 3-dimensional virtual world may be able to support the rich interpersonal interactions required of this approach. In this pilot study, we explore the feasibility of translating a face-to-face stress reduction program into an online virtual setting and estimate the effect size of the intervention. Methods and Findings: Domain experts in virtual world technology joined with mind body practitioners to translate an existing 8 week relaxation response-based resiliency program into an 8-week virtual world-based program in Second Life™ (SL). Twenty-four healthy volunteers with at least one month's experience in SL completed the program. Each subject filled out the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the Symptom Checklist 90- Revised (SCL-90-R) before and after taking part. Participants took part in one of 3 groups of about 10 subjects. The participants found the program to be helpful and enjoyable. Many reported that the virtual environment was an excellent substitute for the preferred face-to-face approach. On quantitative measures, there was a general trend toward decreased perceived stress, (15.7 to 15.0), symptoms of depression, (57.6 to 57.0) and anxiety (56.8 to 54.8). There was a significant decrease of 2.8 points on the SCL-90-R Global Severity Index (p<0.05). Conclusions: This pilot project showed that it is feasible to deliver a typical mind-body medical intervention through a virtual environment and that it is well received. Moreover, the small reduction in psychological distress suggests further research is warranted. Based on the data collected for this project, a randomized trial with less than 50 subjects would be appropriately powered if perceived stress is the primary outcome

Self-administration of methohexital, midazolam and ethanol: effects on the pituitary–adrenal axis in rhesus monkeys

There is disagreement in the literature with respect to how drugs of abuse affect the functioning of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, and whether these changes in endocrine function may be related to the rewarding effects of these drugs.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/46363/1/213_2004_Article_1986.pd

Inorganic Mass Spectrometry

To establish a method for sensitive, accurate, and precise determination of Se in real samples, isotope dilution analysis using high-power nitrogen microwave-induced plasma mass spectrometry (N 2 MIP-IDMS) was conducted. In this study, freeze-dried human blood serum (Standard Reference Material, NIES No. 4) provided by NIES (National Institute for Environmental Studies) was used as a real sample. The measured isotopes of Se were 78 Se and 80 Se which are the major isotopes of Se. The appropriate amount of a Se spike solution was theoretically calculated by using an error multiplication factor (F) and was confirmed experimentally for the isotope dilution analysis. The mass discrimination effect was corrected for by using a standard Se solution for the measurement of Se isotope ratios in the spiked sample. However, the sensitivity for the detection of Se was not so good and the precision of the determination was not improved (2-3%) by N 2 MIP-IDMS with use of the conventional nebulizer. Therefore, a hydride generation system was connected to N 2 MIP-IDMS as a sample introduction system (HG-N 2 MIP-IDMS) in order to establish a more sensitive detection and a more precise determination of Se. A detection limit (3σ) of 10 pg mL -1 could be achieved, and the RSD was less than 1% at the concentration level of 5.0-10.0 ng mL -1 by HG-N 2 MIP-IDMS. The analytical results were found to be in a good agreement with those obtained by the standard addition method using conventional Ar ICPMS. It is well-known that Se is an essential element for all mammals. Se deficiency leads to deficiency syndromes, for example, Keshan disease, which is known for cardiac insufficiency that occurred in children and pregnant women in China. Problems also occur if the concentration of Se is too high; for example, gastroenteric disorders, dermatitis, and neurotic disorders are caused by excessive intake of Se. Moreover, it is well-known that the range of permissive intake amounts of Se is very narrow for human beings. Therefore, it is restricted as a toxic element in environmental standards. There are several sources of environmental Se pollution: the processes of Se refinement and the production processes of Se-containing products. For these reasons, the accurate and precise determination of trace levels of Se in environmental and biological samples is required, and studies of Se determination have been reported by several groups. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Because Ar ICPMS can measure multiple elements at a concentration range from ng mL -1 to fg mL -1 , it has widespread use in the determination of trace elements in various samples. 12-25 However