Mindful Awareness Training: A Pilot Study Integrating Mindfulness Practices into a Rural Jail-Based Substance Abuse Program

Mindfulness practices are now utilized in a variety of behavioral healthcare settings, including the criminal justice system. This article summarizes the findings of a pilot project incorporating mindfulness practices into a jail-based substance abuse program in a rural county jail. Participants that engaged in a psychoeducational mindfulness group that utilized practices adapted from the Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP) curriculum had improved scores on measures of mindfulness, self-compassion, and quality of life. A mediated path model suggested that the length of time participants were involved in the group and their estimated amount of mindfulness practice outside the group was related to increases in mindfulness, which appeared to support subsequent increases in self-compassion and quality of life. Implications for incorporating these practices into jail-based programs and limitations are discussed

Women In the weighing room: gender discrimination on the thoroughbred racetrack

Women jockeys are a small minority on the thoroughbred racetrack and securesignificantly fewer racing mounts than their male counterparts. This suggests female jockeys are facing discriminatory barriers, in one of the only major professional sportswhere men and women compete against each other on equal terms. This exploratorystudy considers discriminatory barriers that exist and the effects they have on women’scomparative profile and participation in the flat racing industry. Six participants wererecruited for the study from different areas within the industry, and with at least threeyears experience. Information was derived from semi structured individual interviews. The data was analysed using discourse analysis techniques. Five main themes wereevident: a culture of sexism, including the sense that women are more nurturing;opportunities, including for women to become trainers; body shape and strength; riskand danger; industry fashion and trends. The results from this study suggest women face discrimination in horseracing onaccount of a number of factors, the three main perceived reasons are due to theirphysical strength, body shape and the tradition and history embedded within theindustry. Whilst there is a shift starting to occur where more women are coming throughin flat racing, this is slow. Participants consider that women may find these barriers andperceptions held by others difficult to overcome, which may result in their inability toachieve equality in this sport. Given the exploratory character of the study, conclusionsare tentative and we propose a number of areas for further research

American College of Rheumatology Provisional Criteria for Clinically Relevant Improvement in Children and Adolescents With Childhood-Onset Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

10.1002/acr.23834ARTHRITIS CARE & RESEARCH715579-59

American college of rheumatology provisional criteria for clinically relevant improvement in children and adolescents with childhood-onset systemic Lupus erythematosus

To develop a Childhood Lupus Improvement Index (CHILI) as a tool to measure response to therapy in childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (cSLE), with a focus on clinically relevant improvement (CRIcSLE). Methods Pediatric nephrology and rheumatology subspecialists (n = 213) experienced in cSLE management were invited to define CRIcSLE and rate a total of 433 unique patient profiles for the presence/absence of CRIcSLE. Patient profiles included the following cSLE core response variables (CRVs): global assessment of patient well-being (patient-global), physician assessment of cSLE activity (MD-global), disease activity index score (here, we used the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index), urine protein-to-creatinine ratio, and Child Health Questionnaire physical summary score. Percentage and absolute changes in these cSLE-CRVs (baseline versus follow-up) were considered in order to develop candidate algorithms and validate their performance (sensitivity, specificity, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC]; range 0-1). Results During an international consensus conference, unanimous agreement on a definition of CRIcSLE was achieved; cSLE experts (n = 13) concurred (100%) that the preferred CHILI algorithm considers absolute changes in the cSLE-CRVs. After transformation to a range of 0-100, a CHILI score of >= 54 had outstanding accuracy for identifying CRIcSLE (AUC 0.93, sensitivity 81.1%, and specificity 84.2%). CHILI scores also reflect minor, moderate, and major improvement for values exceeding 15, 68, and 92, respectively (all AUC >= 0.92, sensitivity >= 93.1%, and specificity >= 73.4%). Conclusion The CHILI is a new, seemingly highly accurate index for measuring CRI in cSLE over time. This index is useful to categorize the degree of response to therapy in children and adolescents with cSLE.715579590CNPQ - Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e TecnológicoFAPESP – Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa Do Estado De São Paulo303422/2015-7; 7/2016-9; 304255/2015-7215/03756-

The Human Affectome

Over the last decades, the interdisciplinary field of the affective sciences has seen proliferation rather than integration of theoretical perspectives. This is due to differences in metaphysical and mechanistic assumptions about human affective phenomena (what they are and how they work) which, shaped by academic motivations and values, have determined the affective constructs and operationalizations. An assumption on the purpose of affective phenomena can be used as a teleological principle to guide the construction of a common set of metaphysical and mechanistic assumptions—a framework for human affective research. In this capstone paper for the special issue “Towards an Integrated Understanding of the Human Affectome”, we gather the tiered purpose of human affective phenomena to synthesize assumptions that account for human affective phenomena collectively. This teleologically-grounded framework offers a principled agenda and launchpad for both organizing existing perspectives and generating new ones. Ultimately, we hope Human Affectome brings us a step closer to not only an integrated understanding of human affective phenomena, but an integrated field for affective research

The Human Affectome

Over the last decades, the interdisciplinary field of the affective sciences has seen proliferation rather than integration of theoretical perspectives. This is due to differences in metaphysical and mechanistic assumptions about human affective phenomena (what they are and how they work) which, shaped by academic motivations and values, have determined the affective constructs and operationalizations. An assumption on the purpose of affective phenomena can be used as a teleological principle to guide the construction of a common set of metaphysical and mechanistic assumptions-a framework for human affective research. In this capstone paper for the special issue "Towards an Integrated Understanding of the Human Affectome", we gather the tiered purpose of human affective phenomena to synthesize assumptions that account for human affective phenomena collectively. This teleologically-grounded framework offers a principled agenda and launchpad for both organizing existing perspectives and generating new ones. Ultimately, we hope Human Affectome brings us a step closer to not only an integrated understanding of human affective phenomena, but an integrated field for affective research