Psychosocial interventions for pain management in older adults with dementia: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials

Aim: To assess the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions on pain in older adults living with dementia. Design: A systematic review with meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Data sources: Scopus, ProQuest, EBSCO (CINAHL and MEDLINE), PubMed, OVID (PsycINFO), Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were searched from their inception up to 2 May 2018. Review Methods: Risk of bias assessment and meta-analysis were conducted according to the Cochrane methods using RevMan 5.3 and findings were generated using the GRADE profiler software. Results: Eight studies met the inclusion criteria, but the quality of the current evidence was low to moderate. Results showed that psychosocial interventions significantly reduced the observational pain score and pain medication. Subgroup analyses indicated that sensory stimulation and individual interventions showed a reduction in observational pain in people with dementia. Conclusion: Findings suggest that psychosocial interventions may be potentially effective alternatives for pain management in people with dementia. However, caution is needed in interpreting these results due to limited studies, risk of bias and heterogeneity across studies. Furthermore, well-designed research is needed on psychosocial interventions to strengthen quality of pain management in people with dementia. Impact: This review synthesized current evidence using psychosocial interventions to manage pain in people with dementia. Findings suggest that psychosocial interventions may lead to a potential reduction in pain and pain medication in people with dementia. Healthcare providers may wish to integrate psychosocial interventions as part of the multimodal approach to the management of pain in people living with dementia.No Full Tex

Fluctuating pressures measured beneath a high-temperature, turbulent boundary layer on a flat plate at Mach number of 5

Fluctuating pressures were measured beneath a Mach 5, turbulent boundary layer on a flat plate with an array of piezoresistive sensors. The data were obtained with a digital signal acquisition system during a test run of 4 seconds. Data sampling rate was such that frequency analysis up to 62.5 kHz could be performed. To assess in situ frequency response of the sensors, a specially designed waveguide calibration system was employed to measure transfer functions of all sensors and related instrumentation. Pressure time histories were approximated well by a Gaussian prohibiting distribution. Pressure spectra were very repeatable over the array span of 76 mm. Total rms pressures ranged from 0.0017 to 0.0046 of the freestream dynamic pressure. Streamwise, space-time correlations exhibited expected decaying behavior of a turbulence generated pressure field. Average convection speed was 0.87 of freestream velocity. The trendless behavior with sensor separation indicated possible systematic errors

Bad Nature, Bad Nurture, and Testimony Regarding MAOA and SLC6A4 Genotyping in Murder Trials

Recent research—in which subjects were studied longitudinally from childhood until adulthood—has started to clarify how a child’s environment and genetic makeup interact to create a violent adolescent or adult. For example, male subjects who were born with a particular allele of the monoamine oxidase A gene and also were maltreated as children had a much greater likelihood of manifesting violent antisocial behavior as adolescents and adults. Also, individuals who were born with particular alleles of the serotonin transporter gene and also experienced multiple stressful life events were more likely to manifest serious depression and suicidality. This research raises the question of whether testimony regarding a defendant’s genotype, exposure to child maltreatment, and experience of unusual stress is appropriate to present during the guilt or penalty phases of criminal trials, especially when capital punishment is a consideration. The authors present their experience in genotyping criminal defendants and presenting genetic information at criminal trials

Bad Nature, Bad Nurture, and Testimony Regarding MAOA and SLC6A4 Genotyping in Murder Trials

Recent research—in which subjects were studied longitudinally from childhood until adulthood—has started to clarify how a child’s environment and genetic makeup interact to create a violent adolescent or adult. For example, male subjects who were born with a particular allele of the monoamine oxidase A gene and also were maltreated as children had a much greater likelihood of manifesting violent antisocial behavior as adolescents and adults. Also, individuals who were born with particular alleles of the serotonin transporter gene and also experienced multiple stressful life events were more likely to manifest serious depression and suicidality. This research raises the question of whether testimony regarding a defendant’s genotype, exposure to child maltreatment, and experience of unusual stress is appropriate to present during the guilt or penalty phases of criminal trials, especially when capital punishment is a consideration. The authors present their experience in genotyping criminal defendants and presenting genetic information at criminal trials

Individual differences in dissonance arousal/reduction relate to physical exercise : testing the action-based model

Introduction: The present research was designed to test predictions derived from the action-based model of cognitive dissonance theory. These predictions were that dissonance arousal would be negatively related to effective behavior, and that dissonance reduction would be positively related to effective behavior. Method: Dissonance arousal and reduction were measured using an individual differences questionnaire. Effective behavior was measured as amount of physical exercise obtained from an exercise app that measures exercise using GPS (cycling kilometers over one year; Study 1) and from self-reports (number of days during the previous week; Study 2–3). Results: Results suggested that individual differences in dissonance arousal relate to less exercise and that individual differences in dissonance reduction relate to more exercise. Statistically controlling for trait approach and avoidance motivation as well as satisfaction with life revealed that dissonance processes predicted exercise behavior over these traits. This pattern of results was generally consistent across the three studies. Moreover, results from Studies 2–3 suggested possible statistical mediators from the exercise commitment literature of the relationship between trait dissonance arousal/reduction and exercise behavior. Discussion and conclusion: These results highlight the importance of considering dissonance processes as adaptive ones, and they suggest possible ways of increasing exercise behavior

Does Musical Behavior Promote Affiliation?

Past research suggested that greater rhythmic complexity in musical behavior increases affiliation in small groups. The current research tested the hypothesis that musical behavior including melody would promote affiliation. In the current experiment, a video showed models either singing nonsense syllables in unison or speaking identical syllables in synchrony. Participants were assigned to either imitate, or merely listen to, the videos. Participants perceived both the synchronous speaking condition and singing conditions as musical behavior. In the imitate conditions, synchronous speaking produced more affiliation and ingroup favoritism and less embarrassment than singing, whereas in the listen-only conditions, affiliation, ingroup favoritism, and embarrassment did not differ between singing and speaking. Reported happiness and fun were greater in the imitate conditions. The successfulness of imitation, coded by judges, was less, and self-reported difficulty was greater, in the singing condition compared to the synchronous speaking condition. Ratings of success at imitation were positively related to affiliation, positive affect, and ingroup favoritism. Ratings of success were also related to the average trait approach motivation, agreeableness, and emotional stability of the groups. The results partially supported the hypothesis that musical behavior promotes affiliation. However, performance of the sound-making task was much worse in the singing condition than in the synchronous speaking condition. Because melody was confounded with failure at the sound-making activity, the effect of melody on affiliation is difficult to interpret. Future research should examine the effect of melody on affiliation when melody is not confounded with failure