Exploring the Relationship Between Self-assessment of a Meditation Experience and Physiological Changes to Participants’ Brains

Based on the statistics, it’s easy to imagine that we are facing a tsunami of psychological disorders. About 1 in 5 Americans experience mental illness each year and mental illness costs about $200 billion in lost earnings. Yet, it’s been shown that there is no better way to produce beneficial biological alterations then through the use of meditation (Davidson 2015), In fact meditation has been clinically shown to reduce: Anxiety (Kabat-Zinn et al 1992, Golden 2009, others), Depression (Eisendrath 2008, Segal 2010), Pain (Kabat-Zinn et al 1985, Kingston et al 2007), Addiction (Brewer 2011, Carim-Todd 2013), Boost Immune System Function (Davidson 2003, Pace 2009). But recent studies show only about 8% of Americans meditate

Development and validation study of a 1D analytical model for the response of reheat flames to entropy waves

Numerical simulations of laminar premixed flames burning hydrogen and methane in spontaneous ignition mode are performed by harmonically exciting the reactants’ temperature at the domain inlet. The results are compared to an analytical model representing the same reactive flow configuration. The model provides a simplified but nevertheless accurate representation of reheat combustion taking place in sequential gas turbine combustors. An analytic expression for autoignition flames transfer functions to entropy waves is derived and used to extend transfer function models from the literature. For validation purposes, results from fully compressible Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS), including a complete representation of the fluctuating acoustic and entropic fields of the reactive flow, are analyzed and compared to incompressible Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) simulations that only take into account the fluctuating entropic field. Methane flames are found to be more sensitive to entropic forcing than hydrogen flames, featuring nonlinear phenomena even for low excitation amplitudes. In the linear regime, all flames behave as predicted by the analytical model and the URANS simulations are found to correctly predict the fluctuating entropic field. The transition from linear to nonlinear flame response is described in detail and its physical mechanisms are explained. Comparisons with results available in the literature show good prediction capabilities, both in terms of flame describing function and integrated heat release rate. Limitations of the proposed analytical model with respect to real combustion systems are discussed and a simple correction is proposed.acceptedVersio

Long COVID following mild SARS-CoV-2 infection: characteristic T cell alterations and response to antihistamines

Long COVID is characterized by the emergence of multiple debilitating symptoms following SARS-CoV-2 infection. Its etiology is unclear and it often follows a mild acute illness. Anecdotal reports of gradual clinical responses to histamine receptor antagonists (HRAs) suggest a histamine-dependent mechanism that is distinct from anaphylaxis, possibly mediated by T cells, which are also regulated by histamine. T cell perturbations have been previously reported in post-viral syndromes, but the T cell landscape in patients who have recovered from mild COVID-19 and its relationship to both long COVID symptoms and any symptomatic response to HRA remain underexplored. We addressed these questions in an observational study of 65 individuals who had recovered from mild COVID-19. Participants were surveyed between 87 and 408 days after the onset of acute symptoms; none had required hospitalization, 16 had recovered uneventfully, and 49 had developed long COVID. Symptoms were quantified using a structured questionnaire and T cell subsets enumerated in a standard diagnostic assay. Patients with long-COVID had reduced CD4+ and CD8+ effector memory (EM) cell numbers and increased PD-1 (programmed cell death protein 1) expression on central memory (CM) cells, whereas the asymptomatic participants had reduced CD8+ EM cells only and increased CD28 expression on CM cells. 72% of patients with long COVID who received HRA reported clinical improvement, although T cell profiling did not clearly distinguish those who responded to HRA. This study demonstrates that T cell perturbations persist for several months after mild COVID-19 and are associated with long COVID symptoms

Public awareness and auto-theft prevention: Getting it right for the wrong reason

This paper reports an evaluation of a public awareness campaign aimed at encouraging the use of car security measures, particularly Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) etching. It was found that the campaign coincided with an immediate reduction in the incidence of auto-theft. However, there did not appear to be any significant change in the behavior of car owners which would account for this reduction. Rather, it seems the reduction in thefts may have come about through an increased perception of risk the campaign generated among potential car thieves

In Defense of the Internet: The Relationship between Internet Communication and Depression, Loneliness, Self-Esteem, and Perceived Social Support

As more people connect to the Internet, researchers are beginning to examine the effects of Internet use on users' psychological health. Due in part to a study released by Kraut and colleagues in 1998, which concluded that Internet use is positively correlated with depression, loneliness, and stress, public opinion about the Internet has been decidedly negative. In contrast, the present study was designed to test the hypothesis that Internet usage can affect users beneficially. Participants engaged in five chat sessions with an anonymous partner. At three different intervals they were administered scales measuring depression, loneliness, self-esteem, and social support. Changes in their scores were tracked over time. Internet use was found to decrease loneliness and depression significantly, while perceived social support and self-esteem increased significantly.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/63277/1/109493102753770552.pd

Apparatus for Leak Testing Pressurized Hoses

A hose-attaching apparatus for leak-testing a pressurized hose may include a hose-attaching member. A bore may extend through the hose-attaching member. An internal annular cavity may extend coaxially around the bore. At least one of a detector probe hole and a detector probe may be connected to the internal annular cavity. At least a portion of the bore may have a diameter which is at least one of substantially equal to and less than a diameter of a hose to be leak-tested

Urban tourism and population change: Gentrification in the age of mobilities

The prepandemic unbridled growth of tourism has triggered a significant debate regarding the future of cities; several authors suggest that neighbourhood change produced by tourism should be conceived as a form of gentrification. Yet research on population shifts—a fundamental dimension of gentrification—in such neighbourhoods is scarce. Our exploration of the Gòtic area in Barcelona, using quantitative and qualitative techniques, reveals a process of population restructuring characterised by a decrease of long-term residents and inhabited dwellings, and the arrival of young and transnational gentrifiers that are increasingly mobile and form a transient population. We then use some insights from the mobilities literature to make sense of these results. In the gentrification of the Gòtic, the attractiveness of the area for visitors and for a wider palette of transnational dwellers feeds one another, resulting in an uneven negotiation whereby more wealthy and ‘footloose’ individuals gain access and control of space and housing over less mobile and more dependent populations.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio