Eurythmy Therapy in clinical studies: a systematic literature review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We aimed to overview the current literature on eurythmy therapy (EYT) which is an integral part of Anthroposophic Medicine. EYT can be described as a movement therapy in which speech movements are transposed into exercises which address the patient's capability to soul expression and strengthen his salutogenetic resources.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We searched several databases such as Cochrane, EMBASE, NCCAM, NLM, DIMDI, CAMbase, and Medline for case-control studies, cohort studies and randomised controlled trials on the treatment effects of EYT in a clinical setting. In a second search we included journal databases from Karger, Kluwer, Springer, Thieme, and Merkurstab archive.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found 8 citations which met the inclusion criterion: 4 publications referring to a prospective cohort study without control group (the AMOS study), and 4 articles referring to 2 explorative pre-post studies without control group, 1 prospective, non-randomized comparative study, and 1 descriptive study with a control group. The methodological quality of studies ranged in from poor to good, and in sample size from 5 to 898 patients. In most studies, EYT was used as an add-on, not as a mono-therapy. The studies described positive treatment effects with clinically relevant effect sizes in most cases.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Indications, study designs and the usage of additional treatments within the identified studies were quite heterogeneous. Despite of this, EYT can be regarded as a potentially relevant add-on in a therapeutic concept, although its specific relevance remains to be clarified. Well performed controlled studies on this unique treatment are highly recommended.</p

Predictors of outcome after 6 and 12 months following anthroposophic therapy for adult outpatients with chronic disease: a secondary analysis from a prospective observational study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Anthroposophic medicine is a physician-provided complementary therapy system involving counselling, artistic and physical therapies, and special medications. The purpose of this analysis was to identify predictors of symptom improvement in patients receiving anthroposophic treatment for chronic diseases.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>913 adult outpatients from Germany participated in a prospective cohort study. Patients were starting anthroposophic treatment for mental (30.4% of patients, n = 278/913), musculoskeletal (20.2%), neurological (7.6%), genitourinary (7.4%) or respiratory disorders (7.2%) or other chronic indications. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis was performed with the improvement of Symptom Score (patients' assessment, 0: not present, 10: worst possible) after 6 and 12 months as dependent variables. 61 independent variables pertaining to socio-demographics, life style, disease status, co-morbidity, health status (SF-36), depression, and therapy factors were analysed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Compared to baseline, Symptom Score improved by average 2.53 points (95% confidence interval 2.39-2.68, p < 0.001) after six months and by 2.49 points (2.32-2.65, p < 0.001) after 12 months. The strongest predictor for improvement after six months was baseline Symptom Score, which alone accounted for 25% of the variance (total model 32%). Improvement after six months was also positively predicted by better physical function, better general health, shorter disease duration, higher education level, a diagnosis of respiratory disorders, and by a higher therapy goal documented by the physician at baseline; and negatively predicted by the number of physiotherapy sessions in the pre-study year and by a diagnosis of genitourinary disorders. Seven of these nine variables (not the two diagnoses) also predicted improvement after 12 months. When repeating the 0-6 month analysis on two random subsamples of the original sample, three variables (baseline Symptom Score, physical function, general health) remained significant predictors in both analyses, and three further variables (education level, respiratory disorders, therapy goal) were significant in one analysis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In adult outpatients receiving anthroposophic treatment for chronic diseases, symptom improvement after 6 and 12 months was predicted by baseline symptoms, health status, disease duration, education, and therapy goal. Other variables were not associated with the outcome. This secondary predictor analysis of data from a pre-post study does not allow for causal conclusions; the results are hypothesis generating and need verification in subsequent studies.</p

A method to derive satellite PAR albedo time series over first-year sea ice in the Arctic Ocean

Deriving sea ice albedo from spaceborne platforms is of interest to model the propagation of the photosynthetically available radiation (PAR) through Arctic sea ice. We show here that use of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) operational surface reflectance satellite product to derive albedo in the PAR spectral range is possible. To retrieve PAR albedo from the remote sensing surface reflectance, we trained a predictive model based on a principal component analysis with in situ and simulated data. The predictive model can be applied to first-year sea ice surfaces such as dry snow, melting snow, bare ice and melt ponds. Based on in situ measurements and the prescribed atmospheric correction uncertainty, the estimated PAR albedo had a mean absolute error of 0.057, a root mean square error of 0.074 and an R2 value of 0.91. As a demonstration, we retrieved PAR albedo on a 9-km2 area over late spring and early summer 2015 and 2016 at a coastal location in Baffin Bay, Canada. On-site measurements of PAR albedo, melt pond fraction and types of precipitation were used to examine the estimated PAR albedo time series. The results show a dynamic and realistic PAR albedo time series, although clouds remained the major obstacle to the method. This easy-to-implement model may be used for the partitioning of PAR in the Arctic Ocean and ultimately to better understand the dynamics of marine primary producers.publishedVersio

Arkeologisk og botanisk undersøkelse av hus i røysfelt øst på Forsandmoen. Forsand gnr. 241 bnr. 6, Sandnes k. (del av id. 64670)

Oppdragsgiver: StatnettI tidsrommet 24.08-02.10.2020 gjennomførte Arkeologisk Museum, UiS, en utgravning på garden Forsand gnr. 241, bnr. 6, i Sandnes kommune. Det ble åpnet opp et areal på til sammen 3522,1 m2 fordelt på to felt, begge innenfor kulturminnefelt id. 64670. Bakgrunnen for undersøkelsen lengst øst på Forsandmoen var Statnetts etablering av ny høyspentmast og demontering av gammel mast. Innenfor planområdet for demontering av den gamle masta ble det verken funnet røyser eller bosettingsspor. Anleggene registrert som små røyser på den tuete markoverflata viste seg å være oppspadde masser knyttet til etableringa av den gamle høyspentmasta. Innenfor anleggsområdet for ny strømmast var det registrert ei langrøys (id. 64670-5). I det avdekka arealet i dyrka mark ble det ikke funnet bevarte spor etter røyser. Det ble derimot funnet bosettingsspor i undergrunnen i form av fire identifiserte langhus. Tre av bygningene er datert til yngre romertid/folkevandringstid. Hus 2 og 3 er datert til yngre romertid, mens Hus 3 er datert til første del av folkevandringstid. Hus 1 skiller seg ut fra øvrige hus på Forsandmoen i konstruksjonsform (se Fig. 1). I Hus 3 var det bevarte lag tolket som rester av gulvlag, med høy forekomst av leirkarskår. Bosettingssporene fortsetter utenfor det vesle arealet avdekket for etablering av nytt mastefeste, med høyest konsentrasjon av bosettingsspor mot sørøstlig hjørne av undersøkelsesområdet. Området for bosettingsspor er således ikke avgrenset og vi må kunne anta at det utgravde feltet lengst øst på moen, på nordsida av fylkesveien, kun representerer del av et større bosettingsområde innenfor og utenfor de registrerte røysene synlige på dagens markoverflate

Dietary beauvericin and enniatin B exposure cause different adverse health effects in farmed Atlantic salmon

The extensive use of plant ingredients in novel aquafeeds have introduced mycotoxins to the farming of seafood. The emerging enniatin B (ENNB) and beauvericin (BEA) mycotoxins have been found in the novel aquafeeds and farmed fish. Little is known about the potential toxicity of ENNs and BEA in farmed fish and their feed-to-organ transfer. Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) presmolt (75.3 +/- 8.10 g) were fed four graded levels of spiked chemical pure ENNB or BEA feeds for three months, in triplicate tanks. Organismal adverse health end-point assessment included intestinal function (protein digestibility), disturbed hematology (red blood cell formation), bone formation (spinal deformity), overall energy use (feed utilization), and lipid oxidative status (vitamin E). Both dietary BEA and ENNB had a low ( liver > brain > muscle), with a higher transfer for ENNB compared to BEA. BEA caused a growth reduction combined with a decreased protein digestion and feed conversion rate-ENNB caused a stunted growth, unrelated to feed utilization capacity. In addition, ENNB caused anemia while BEA gave an oxidative stress response. Lower bench-mark dose regression assessment showed that high background levels of ENNB in commercial salmon feed could pose a risk for animal health, but not in the case of BEA.Grant 281032 HAVBRUK2;info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Measurement and modeling of volume scattering functions for phytoplankton from Norwegian coastal waters

The volume scattering function (VSF) describes the angular distribution of scattered light, and the VSF of phytoplankton is one of the most important inherent optical properties of oceanic water. Despite its importance, relatively few measurements of the VSF have been carried out in aquatic environments, and we present here data and analyses of measured VSFs at 442, 490, and 550 nm for 15 representative phytoplankton species from Norwegian coastal waters. In addition, the analytic scattering phase functions Henyey-Greenstein (HG) and Fournier-Forand, as well as Mie theory, were fitted and compared to the measured VSFs. The measured VSFs for all the species were strongly, but unequally forward peaked with HG-fitted asymmetry factors in the range 0.897–0.988. The VSF of Synechococcus sp., Phaeodactylum tricornutum, and Emiliania huxleyi (naked) had shoulders in the forward direction, whereas the VSF of the cylindrically shaped Chaetoceros calcitrans and Chaetoceros wighamii had minima in the backward direction. Results from this work indicate that internal structures influence the angular and spectral shape of the VSF more significantly than the morphology and size of the phytoplankton cells

Eurythmy therapy in chronic disease: a four-year prospective cohort study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Many patients with chronic diseases use complementary therapies, often provided by their physicians. In Germany, several physician-provided complementary therapies have been reimbursed by health insurance companies as part of health benefit programs. In most of these therapies, the patient has a predominantly passive role. In eurythmy therapy, however, patients actively exercise specific movements with the hands, the feet or the whole body. The purpose of this study was to describe clinical outcomes in patients practising eurythmy therapy exercises for chronic diseases.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In conjunction with a health benefit program, 419 outpatients from 94 medical practices in Germany, referred to 118 eurythmy therapists, participated in a prospective cohort study. Main outcomes were disease severity (Disease and Symptom Scores, physicians' and patients' assessment on numerical rating scales 0–10) and quality of life (adults: SF-36, children aged 8–16: KINDL, children 1–7: KITA). Disease Score was documented after 0, 6 and 12 months, other outcomes after 0, 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, and (SF-36 and Symptom Score) 48 months.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Most common indications were mental disorders (31.7% of patients; primarily depression, fatigue, and childhood emotional disorder) and musculoskeletal diseases (23.4%). Median disease duration at baseline was 3.0 years (interquartile range 1.0–8.5). Median number of eurythmy therapy sessions was 12 (interquartile range 10–19), median therapy duration was 119 days (84–188).</p> <p>All outcomes improved significantly between baseline and all subsequent follow-ups (exceptions: KITA Psychosoma in first three months and KINDL). Improvements from baseline to 12 months were: Disease Score from mean (standard deviation) 6.65 (1.81) to 3.19 (2.27) (p < 0.001), Symptom Score from 5.95 (1.75) to 3.49 (2.12) (p < 0.001), SF-36 Physical Component Summary from 43.13 (10.25) to 47.10 (9.78) (p < 0.001), SF-36 Mental Component Summary from 38.31 (11.67) to 45.01 (11.76) (p < 0.001), KITA Psychosoma from 69.53 (15.45) to 77.21 (13.60) (p = 0.001), and KITA Daily Life from 59.23 (21.78) to 68.14 (18.52) (p = 0.001). All these improvements were maintained until the last follow-up. Improvements were similar in patients not using diagnosis-related adjunctive therapies within the first six study months.</p> <p>Adverse reactions to eurythmy therapy occurred in 3.1% (13/419) of patients. No patient stopped eurythmy therapy due to adverse reactions.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Patients practising eurythmy therapy exercises had long-term improvement of chronic disease symptoms and quality of life. Although the pre-post design of the present study does not allow for conclusions about comparative effectiveness, study findings suggest that eurythmy therapy can be useful for patients motivated for this therapy.</p

Adapting for Scalability: Automating the Video Assessment of Instructional Learning

Although scalable programs, such as online courses, have the potential to reach broad audiences, they may pose challenges to evaluating learners’ knowledge and skills. Automated scoring offers a possible solution. In the current paper, we describe the process of creating and testing an automated means of scoring a validated measure of teachers’ observational skills, known as the Video Assessment of Instructional Learning (VAIL). Findings show that automated VAIL scores were consistently correlated with scores assigned by the hand scoring system. In addition, the automated VAIL replicated intervention effects found in the hand scoring system. The automated scoring technique appears to offer an efficient and reliable assessment. This study may offer additional insight into how to utilize similar techniques in other large-scale programs and interventions