Mindfulness-Based Baduanjin Exercise for Depression and Anxiety in People with Physical or Mental Illnesses: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objectives: we used a quantitative method to systematically synthesize the emerging literature and critically evaluate the effects of Baduanjin on depression and anxiety in people with physical or mental illnesses. Additionally, we determined if the number of total Baduanjin training sessions is associated with decreased anxiety and depression levels. Methods: both English and Chinese databases were searched for potential studies published between January 1982 and October 2017. The eligible randomized controlled trials were considered for meta-analysis. Effect size (Hedge’s g) was computed for the pooled effects while the random-effect model was set. For moderator analysis; Subgroup meta-analysis for categorical variables and meta-regression for continuous variables were performed. Results: the aggregated result has shown a significant benefit in favour of Baduanjin on anxiety (Hedge’s g = −0.99; CI −1.63 to −0.74) and depression (Hedge’s g = −1.07; CI −1.3 to −0.83). For continuous potential moderators; meta-regression indicated a significant effect for total hours in Baduanjin practice (β = −0.0053; 95% CI −0.009 to −0.0014; p = 0.008). With regard to depression; meta-regression indicated a significant effect for total sessions of Baduanjin practice (β = −0.0023; 95% CI −0.006 to −0.0004; p = 0.028). Conclusions: the encouraging findings indicate the efficacy of Baduanjin exercise in reducing depression and anxiety symptoms in people with physical or mental illnesses. However; the results should be interpreted with caution because of existing methodological limitations (e.g., high risk of bias; Baduanjin combined with other behavioral interventions; and heterogeneity of control groups)

Complete Sequencing of pNDM-HK Encoding NDM-1 Carbapenemase from a Multidrug-Resistant Escherichia coli Strain Isolated in Hong Kong

BACKGROUND: The emergence of plasmid-mediated carbapenemases, such as NDM-1 in Enterobacteriaceae is a major public health issue. Since they mediate resistance to virtually all β-lactam antibiotics and there is often co-resistance to other antibiotic classes, the therapeutic options for infections caused by these organisms are very limited. METHODOLOGY: We characterized the first NDM-1 producing E. coli isolate recovered in Hong Kong. The plasmid encoding the metallo-β-lactamase gene was sequenced. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The plasmid, pNDM-HK readily transferred to E. coli J53 at high frequencies. It belongs to the broad host range IncL/M incompatibility group and is 88803 bp in size. Sequence alignment showed that pNDM-HK has a 55 kb backbone which shared 97% homology with pEL60 originating from the plant pathogen, Erwina amylovora in Lebanon and a 28.9 kb variable region. The plasmid backbone includes the mucAB genes mediating ultraviolet light resistance. The 28.9 kb region has a composite transposon-like structure which includes intact or truncated genes associated with resistance to β-lactams (bla(TEM-1), bla(NDM-1), Δbla(DHA-1)), aminoglycosides (aacC2, armA), sulphonamides (sul1) and macrolides (mel, mph2). It also harbors the following mobile elements: IS26, ISCR1, tnpU, tnpAcp2, tnpD, ΔtnpATn1 and insL. Certain blocks within the 28.9 kb variable region had homology with the corresponding sequences in the widely disseminated plasmids, pCTX-M3, pMUR050 and pKP048 originating from bacteria in Poland in 1996, in Spain in 2002 and in China in 2006, respectively. SIGNIFICANCE: The genetic support of NDM-1 gene suggests that it has evolved through complex pathways. The association with broad host range plasmid and multiple mobile genetic elements explain its observed horizontal mobility in multiple bacterial taxa

The United States COVID-19 Forecast Hub dataset

Academic researchers, government agencies, industry groups, and individuals have produced forecasts at an unprecedented scale during the COVID-19 pandemic. To leverage these forecasts, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) partnered with an academic research lab at the University of Massachusetts Amherst to create the US COVID-19 Forecast Hub. Launched in April 2020, the Forecast Hub is a dataset with point and probabilistic forecasts of incident cases, incident hospitalizations, incident deaths, and cumulative deaths due to COVID-19 at county, state, and national, levels in the United States. Included forecasts represent a variety of modeling approaches, data sources, and assumptions regarding the spread of COVID-19. The goal of this dataset is to establish a standardized and comparable set of short-term forecasts from modeling teams. These data can be used to develop ensemble models, communicate forecasts to the public, create visualizations, compare models, and inform policies regarding COVID-19 mitigation. These open-source data are available via download from GitHub, through an online API, and through R packages

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

THE MODERATING ROLE OF CHARACTER STRENGTHS IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CRITICAL INCIDENT EXPOSURE AND POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS SYMPTOMS AMONG PARAMEDICS IN SINGAPORE

Master'sMASTER OF PSYCHOLOGY (CLINICAL

Speech rate variation in English stop production and perception

The study examined how speech rate affects English speakers’ production and perception of word-initial stops. In line with previous studies, we found that English speakers produced long VOT for long-lag stops in slow speech and English listeners are also more likely to perceive short VOT stops as voiceless when they are embedded in fast speech than in slow speech. We then found that the speech rate effect in perception and production within an individual are closely linked—individuals who adjust their VOT boundary more in perception based on speech rate also produced a larger shift in production. The results raise future research questions about how the community-level production norm and the individual’s own production interact to shape one’s perception strategy

Salivary Gland Scintigraphy in Patients with Sjogren’s Syndrome: A local Experience with Dual-tracer

Objective(s): To review the findings of the patients with Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) having technetium-99m-pertechnetate (99mTc-pertechnetate) and gallium-67 citrate (Ga-67) salivary gland scintigraphy in the past eight years.Methods: The patients with SS, who were referred to our department for salivary gland scintigraphy during January 2008-December 2015 were studied using both 99mTc-pertechnetate and Ga-67 citrate scintigraphy.Results: Eighteen patients were included in the study, 17 of whom had positive findings on 99mTc- pertechnetate salivary gland scintigraphy. One patient had negative parotid glands findings on 99mTc-pertechnetate, but positive findings in Ga-67 study. Four patients had asymmetric involvement of the parotid glands, and one patient had asymmetric involvement of the submandibular glands in 99mTc-pertechnetate salivary gland scintigraphy. On the other hand, one patient had only submandibular gland involvement in the 99mTc-pertechnetate scan.Nine patients (9/18) had positive parotid gland findings on Ga-67 study. The involvements of the parotid glands were all symmetrical, except for one patient. No abnormal gallium uptake in the submandibular glands in our patients was noted.Conclusion: 99mTc-pertechnetate salivary gland scintigraphy is sufficient for the assessment in the majority of patients with SS. Ga-67 scintigraphy may be a useful supplementary test, especially if the result of 99mTc-pertechnetate scintigraphy is not conclusive

Effects of Meditative Movements on Major Depressive Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Background: Tai Chi, Qigong, and Yoga are recognized as the most popular complementary approaches for alleviating musculoskeletal pain, improving sleep quality, and reducing blood pressure. The therapeutic effects of these meditative movements for treating major depressive disorder (MDD) is yet to be determined. Therefore, we examined whether meditative movements (Tai Chi, Qigong, and Yoga) are effective for treating MDD. Seven electronic databases (SPORTDiscus, PubMed, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CNKI, and Wanfang) were used to search relevant articles. Randomized controlled trials (RCT) using Tai Chi, Qigong or Yoga as intervention for MDD were considered for the meta-analysis (standardized mean difference: SMD). Results: Meta-analysis on 15 fair-to-high quality RCTs showed a significant benefit in favor of meditative movement on depression severity (SMD = −0.56, 95% CI −0.76 to −0.37, p < 0.001, I2 = 35.76%) and on anxiety severity (SMD = −0.46, 95% CI −0.71 to −0.21, p < 0.001, I2 = 1.17%). Meditative movement interventions showed significantly improved treatment remission rate (OR = 6.7, 95% CI 2.38 to 18.86, p < 0.001) and response rate (OR = 5.2, 95% CI 1.73 to 15.59, p < 0.001) over passive controls. Conclusions: Emphasizing the therapeutic effects of meditative movements for treating MDD is critical because it may provide a useful alternative to existing mainstream treatments (drug therapy and psychotherapy) for MDD. Given the fact that meditative movements are safe and easily accessible, clinicians may consider recommending meditative movements for symptomatic management in this population