45 research outputs found

    Aerobic exercise improves sleep in U. S. active duty service members following brief treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms

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    IntroductionPhysical exercise is a lifestyle intervention that can positively impact aspects of physical and psychological health. There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that physical exercise, sleep, and PTSD are interrelated. This study investigated possible relationships. Three research questions were posed: (1) Did randomization to an aerobic exercise intervention reduce insomnia more than being randomized to an intervention without exercise, (2) Did change in sleep predict change in PTSD symptoms, and (3) Did change in sleep impact the relationship between exercise and PTSD symptom reductions?MethodsData were collected from 69 treatment-seeking active duty service members with PTSD symptoms randomized into one of four conditions; two conditions included aerobic exercise, and two conditions did not include exercise. Participants in the exercise groups exercised five times per week keeping their heart rate > 60% of their heart rate reserve for 20–25 min.ResultsAt baseline, 58% of participants reported moderate or severe insomnia. PTSD symptom severity decreased following treatment for all groups (p < 0.001). Participants randomized to exercise reported greater reductions in insomnia compared to those in the no exercise group (p = 0.47). However, change in insomnia did not predict change in PTSD symptoms nor did it significantly impact the relationship between exercise and PTSD symptom reductions.DiscussionAdding exercise to evidence-based treatments for PTSD could reduce sleep disturbance, a characteristic of PTSD not directly addressed with behavioral therapies. A better understanding of exercise as a lifestyle intervention that can reduce PTSD symptoms and insomnia is warranted

    Proceedings of the 3rd Biennial Conference of the Society for Implementation Research Collaboration (SIRC) 2015: advancing efficient methodologies through community partnerships and team science

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    It is well documented that the majority of adults, children and families in need of evidence-based behavioral health interventionsi do not receive them [1, 2] and that few robust empirically supported methods for implementing evidence-based practices (EBPs) exist. The Society for Implementation Research Collaboration (SIRC) represents a burgeoning effort to advance the innovation and rigor of implementation research and is uniquely focused on bringing together researchers and stakeholders committed to evaluating the implementation of complex evidence-based behavioral health interventions. Through its diverse activities and membership, SIRC aims to foster the promise of implementation research to better serve the behavioral health needs of the population by identifying rigorous, relevant, and efficient strategies that successfully transfer scientific evidence to clinical knowledge for use in real world settings [3]. SIRC began as a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-funded conference series in 2010 (previously titled the “Seattle Implementation Research Conference”; $150,000 USD for 3 conferences in 2011, 2013, and 2015) with the recognition that there were multiple researchers and stakeholdersi working in parallel on innovative implementation science projects in behavioral health, but that formal channels for communicating and collaborating with one another were relatively unavailable. There was a significant need for a forum within which implementation researchers and stakeholders could learn from one another, refine approaches to science and practice, and develop an implementation research agenda using common measures, methods, and research principles to improve both the frequency and quality with which behavioral health treatment implementation is evaluated. SIRC’s membership growth is a testament to this identified need with more than 1000 members from 2011 to the present.ii SIRC’s primary objectives are to: (1) foster communication and collaboration across diverse groups, including implementation researchers, intermediariesi, as well as community stakeholders (SIRC uses the term “EBP champions” for these groups) – and to do so across multiple career levels (e.g., students, early career faculty, established investigators); and (2) enhance and disseminate rigorous measures and methodologies for implementing EBPs and evaluating EBP implementation efforts. These objectives are well aligned with Glasgow and colleagues’ [4] five core tenets deemed critical for advancing implementation science: collaboration, efficiency and speed, rigor and relevance, improved capacity, and cumulative knowledge. SIRC advances these objectives and tenets through in-person conferences, which bring together multidisciplinary implementation researchers and those implementing evidence-based behavioral health interventions in the community to share their work and create professional connections and collaborations

    Conductor: A Framework for Distributed Adaptation

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    ^TM ^TM~ ~ Most network applications provide poor service when the network's capabilities are below a minimum level assumed by the developer. As a wider array of network technologies become available, users will be increasingly frustrated with a lack of flexibility in such applications. The services provided by an application should be tunable to a level appropriate for the capabilities and associated costs of the underlying network. Other researchers have shown that proxy agents can tailor the communication pattern of an application to the characteristics of a network. Dynamic deployment of multiple adapting agents at various points in a network can extend these benefits. Conductor demonstrates an approach toward selecting an appropriate set of adaptive agents and a plan for their deployment. Conductor further allows arbitrary adaptations to be performed along the data path without reducing the reliability of the overall system. 1. Introduction An increasingly large percentage of ap..

    Conductor: Distributed Adaptation for Complex Networks

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    ~ ~ Computer networks are becoming more complex and diverse. Increasingly, an end-to-end connection will traverse several links with orders of magnitude differences in characteristics such as bandwidth, latency, error rate, jitter, and monetary cost. At the same time, most applications assume a level of network characteristics below which they either provide no service, or service at a cost higher than the user is willing to pay. Conductor is an adaptation framework that moves the responsibility for network complexity out of the application and into the network. Conductor allows an application 's use of the network to be tailored to the needs of the user in a manner that is transparent to the application. Conductor allows adaptation to be distributed to the points in the network where it is required. Further, Conductor allows arbitrary adaptations without compromising reliability. Finally, Conductor requires minimal changes to existing systems. All of these characteristics are incorpo..

    Distributed Adaptation of Dining Philosophers

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    Abstract. Adaptation of a component-based system can be achieved in the coordination modelling language Paradigm through the special component McPal. McPal regulates the propagation of new behaviour and guides the changes in the components and in their coordination. Here we show how McPal may delegate part of its control to local adaptation managers, created on-the-fly, allowing for distribution of the adaptation indeed. We illustrate the approach for the well-known example of the dining philosophers problem, by modelling the migration from a deadlock-prone solution to a deadlock-free starvation-free solution without any system quiescence. The adaptation goes through various stages, exhibiting shifting control among McPal and its helpers, and changing degrees of orchestrated and choreographic collaboration.
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