Effectiveness of progressive muscle relaxation on sleep disturbance in athletes

Background: Athletes have general complaints about sleep disturbance which is important for body recovery, healthy brain and body functions, tissue wear and tear, and the body's immune system. Objective: To determine the effectiveness of Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) on sleep disturbance in athletes. Methodology: N=24 athletes aged 18 to 36 years participating in a competition were included in a randomized controlled trial. Athletes who were training for a competition, aged between 18 -and 36 years, and athletes with sleep disturbance score (SDS) falling above 4 on the Athletic Sleep Screening Questionnaire were included. Athlete sleep screening questionnaire (ASSQ) was used to assess sleep disturbance score (SDS). Athletes were randomly assigned to the experimental (n=12) and control (n=12) groups. The experimental group was given progressive muscle relaxation and re-assessed the next day for SDS. Results: The pre-post analysis showed that progressive muscle relaxation reduced the athletes' sleep disturbance score significantly one day after the intervention with a large effect size (p=0.006 Cohen's d= 1.44) in the experimental group. The mean of the mean differences of SDS of both groups were compared which showed a group had a significantly improved sleep disturbance score compared to a control group with a large effect size. (Mean= 1.41 ±1.44 v/s 0.00±1.85, p≤ 0.01, Cohen's d= 1.66). Conclusion: Progressive Muscle Relaxation exercises can be a non-pharmacological method to help athletes sleep by simple head-to-toe muscles contract and relax technique. Clinical Trail No: NCT0569509

Enhancing willingness-to-respond to disasters and public health emergencies among Health care workers using mHealth intervention: A multidisciplinary approach

Health care workers (HCWs) are increasingly faced with the continuous threat of confronting acute disasters, extreme weather-related events, and protracted public health emergencies. One of the major factors that determines Emergency Department-based HCWs\u27 willingness to respond during public health emergencies and disasters is self-efficacy. Despite increased public awareness of the threat of disasters and heightened possibility of future public health emergencies, the emphasis on preparing the health care workforce for such disasters is inadequate in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Interventions for boosting self-efficacy and response willingness in public health emergencies and disasters have yet to be implemented or examined among emergency health care workers in LMICs. Mobile health (mHealth) technology seems to be a promising platform for such interventions, especially in a resource-constrained setting. This paper introduces an mHealth-focused project, that demonstrates a model of multi-institutional and multidisciplinary collaboration for research and training to enhance disaster response willingness among Emergency Department workers in Pakistan

The role of self-efficacy and risk perception in willingness to respond to weather disasters among emergency medicine healthcare workers in Pakistan

Objective: Optimizing healthcare workers\u27 (HCWs) willingness to respond (WTR) is critical in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) for proper health system functioning during extreme weather events. Pakistan frequently experiences weather-related disasters, but limited evidence is available to examine HCW willingness. Our study examined the association between WTR and behavioral factors among emergency department HCWs.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from August to September 2022 among HCWs from two hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan. Non-probability purposive sampling was used to recruit participants. A survey tool was informed by Witte\u27s Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM). Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the association between WTR and attitudes/beliefs as well as EPPM profiles.Results: 29% of HCWs indicated low WTR. HCWs using public transportation had higher WTR. Perceived knowledge and skills, self-efficacy, and perceived impact of one\u27s response showed positive associations with WTR if required. Perception that one\u27s colleagues\u27 would report to work positively predicted WTR if asked. Consistent with the EPPM, HCWs with high efficacy and perceived threat were willing to respond to weather disasters.Conclusions: Our findings highlight the need of strengthening WTR by promoting self-efficacy, and enhancing accurate risk perception as a response motivator, among emergency department HCWs in Pakistan

Applications of Innovative Non-Thermal Pulsed Electric Field Technology in Developing Safer and Healthier Fruit Juices

The deactivation of degrading and pectinolytic enzymes is crucial in the fruit juice industry. In commercial fruit juice production, a variety of approaches are applied to inactivate degradative enzymes. One of the most extensively utilized traditional procedures for improving the general acceptability of juice is thermal heat treatment. The utilization of a non-thermal pulsed electric field (PEF) as a promising technology for retaining the fresh-like qualities of juice by efficiently inactivating enzymes and bacteria will be discussed in this review. Induced structural alteration provides for energy savings, reduced raw material waste, and the development of new products. PEF alters the α-helix conformation and changes the active site of enzymes. Furthermore, PEF-treated juices restore enzymatic activity during storage due to either partial enzyme inactivation or the presence of PEF-resistant isozymes. The increase in activity sites caused by structural changes causes the enzymes to be hyperactivated. PEF pretreatments or their combination with other nonthermal techniques improve enzyme activation. For endogenous enzyme inactivation, a clean-label hurdle technology based on PEF and mild temperature could be utilized instead of harsh heat treatments. Furthermore, by substituting or combining conventional pasteurization with PEF technology for improved preservation of both fruit and vegetable juices, PEF technology has enormous economic potential. PEF treatment has advantages not only in terms of product quality but also in terms of manufacturing. Extending the shelf life simplifies production planning and broadens the product range significantly. Supermarkets can be served from the warehouse by increasing storage stability. As storage stability improves, set-up and cleaning durations decrease, and flexibility increases, with only minor product adjustments required throughout the manufacturing process