The effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction program on the mental health of family caregivers: a randomized controlled trial

<b>Background</b> Caregivers of people with chronic conditions are more likely than non-caregivers to have depression and emotional problems. Few studies have examined the effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) in improving their mental well-being. <p></p> <b>Methods</b> Caregivers of persons with chronic conditions who scored 7 or above in the Caregiver Strain Index were randomly assigned to the 8-week MBSR group (n = 70) or the self-help control group (n = 71). Validated instruments were used to assess the changes in depressive and anxiety symptoms, quality of life, self-efficacy, self-compassion and mindfulness. Assessments were conducted at baseline, post-intervention and at the 3-month follow-up. <p></p> <b>Results </b>Compared to the participants in the control group, participants in the MBSR group had a significantly greater decrease in depressive symptoms at post-intervention and at 3 months post-intervention (p < 0.01). The improvement in state anxiety symptoms was significantly greater among participants in the MBSR group than those of the control group at post-intervention (p = 0.007), although this difference was not statistically significant at 3 months post-intervention (p = 0.084). There was also a statistically significant larger increase in self-efficacy (controlling negative thoughts; p = 0.041) and mindfulness (p = 0.001) among participants in the MBSR group at the 3-month follow-up compared to the participants in the control group. No statistically significant group effects (MBSR vs. control) were found in perceived stress, quality of life or self-compassion. <p></p> <b>Conclusions </b>MBSR appears to be a feasible and acceptable intervention to improve mental health among family caregivers with significant care burden, although further studies that include an active control group are needed to make the findings more conclusive

Thermolysis of the osmium-antimony clusters Os3(CO) 11(SbMe2Ar): Higher nuclearity clusters and arrested ortho metalation

10.1021/om0508132Organometallics251250-259ORGN

Estimation procedures for categorical survey data with nonignorable nonresponse

Communications in Statistics - Theory and Methods304643-663CSTM

Formulation and optimization of two culture media for the production of tumour necrosis factor-β in Escherichia coli

10.1002/jctb.280620312Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology623289-294JCTB

Nanoengineered Encapsulation of Mediator Microcrystals and Their Use as a Non-metallic Label System for the Silver Enhancement Technique

Electroanalysis161-2156-160ELAN

The reaction of [Cp*IrCl2]2 with 2-methyl-1-butene-3-yne: Formation of a η3-tetraenyl transition metal complex

10.1016/j.jorganchem.2013.04.037Journal of Organometallic Chemistry73952-56JORC

The formation of aldehydes from the photochemically activated reaction of Cp*Ir(CO)(Cl)(CH2R) complexes with water

10.1016/j.jorganchem.2012.11.030Journal of Organometallic Chemistry724275-280JORC

A Nonlinear Optimization Model for Transient Stable Line Switching

Transmission line switching is an important operational action in power transmission systems, and has been successfully applied to reduce generation costs and eliminate congestions. Prior work mainly focus on tackling the Optimal Transmission Switching problem based on steady states. This paper studies how to generalize these results when transmission switching is performed on highly congested systems. It proposes an optimization model to find the optimal line to switch and the corresponding optimal control parameters. The results show that optimizing the exciter and stabilizer control settings is critical to ensure stability and the optimization model can be solved within a few minutes. The model was validated with respect to a simulation model and is shown to an accuracy in the order of 103 (deg) accurate in rotor angle computations

Reactions of Cp Ir(CO)2 with pentafluorobenzonitrile: Half-sandwich iridium complexes Cp Ir(CO)(p-C6F4CN)(X)

10.1016/j.jorganchem.2013.05.038Journal of Organometallic Chemistry741-7421176-180JORC

Photochemical reaction of CpIr(CO)2 with C6F 5X (X = CN, F): Formation of diiridium(II) complexes

10.1021/om301055hOrganometallics3241053-1059ORGN