Severe fibromyalgia alleviated by the unique muscle relaxation method of applying low force: A case report.

RATIONALE: Fibromyalgia (FM) is characterized by idiopathic persistent chronic pain in the ligaments or musculoskeletal system, and more than half of the patients with FM might have migraine headaches. Direct musculoskeletal intervention could be a non-pharmacological management to relieve symptoms. However, patients with severe FM often have intense pain from only a soft touch, thereby rendering musculoskeletal intervention challenging. PATIENT CONCERNS: A 47-year-old man had progressing intense pain, and this affected his everyday life. There were no abnormal physical findings on laboratory examination such as levels of complement, antinuclear antibodies, and C-reactive protein, which were within normal limits. Magnetic resonance imaging did not indicate abnormalities. DIAGNOSES, INTERVENTIONS, AND OUTCOMES: The patient satisfied the American College of Rheumatology criteria. Finally, we made a final diagnosis of fibromyalgia. The therapeutic intervention of Kanshoho, the unique muscle relaxation technique with low force, relieved his pain. LESSONS: If Kanshoho is carefully applied in a state of hospitalization under surveillance by an experienced physician, it could be a promising muscle relaxation method. Relaxing the trapezius muscle and reducing its intramuscular pressure might be key in treating patients with severe FM. However, it needs elucidation of its mechanism.

Progressive relaxation training in patients with breast cancer receiving aromatase inhibitor therapy-randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Aromatase inhibitors have positive impacts on the disease-free life of patients with breast cancer. However, their side effects, especially arthralgia, may be experienced by many patients. This study sought to assess the efficacy of Progressive Relaxation Exercises on the prevalent side effects of Aromatase Inhibitors in patients with breast cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This clinical trial was conducted with single-blind randomization at a physiotherapy department in a local hospital. Patients who received Aromatase Inhibitor were assigned at random to either the study or control group. The study group (n = 22) performed a Progressive Relaxation Exercises program four days a week for six weeks, while the control group (n = 22) received advice on relaxation for daily life. Data was collected before the intervention and after six weeks. The study's primary endpoint was the Brief Pain Inventory, which was used to measure pain severity. Secondary endpoints included assessments of quality of life and emotional status, which were measured using the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy and Hospital Anxiety and Depression scales, respectively. RESULTS: The study group exhibited a significant reduction in Pain Severity (p = 0.001) and Pain Interference (p = 0.012) sub-scores. Reduction in Pain Severity (p<0.001) and Patient Pain Experience (p = 0.003) sub-scores was also noted between the groups. Quality of Life and Emotional Status showed no significant variation both within and between the groups (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: The study demonstrated that Progressive Relaxation Exercises caused a significant reduction in pain scores among Breast Cancer patients receiving Aromatase Inhibitors. While a decrease in pain during the 6-week period is valuable data, it is necessary to monitor the long-term effects of relaxation techniques.

Biobehavioral treatments of migraine.

Pharmacotherapies are the mainstays of migraine management, though it is not uncommon for them to be poorly tolerated, contraindicated, or only modestly effective. There is a clear need for nonpharmacologic migraine therapies, either employed alone or in combination with pharmacotherapies. Behavioral and psychosocial factors known to contribute to the onset, exacerbation, and persistence of primary headache disorders (e.g., stress, sleep, diet) serve as targets within a self-management model for migraine-a model that features headache pharmacotherapies, behavioral skills training, medication adherence facilitation, relevant lifestyle changes, and techniques to limit headache-related impairment. Behavioral self-management interventions for migraine with the strongest empirical validation (e.g., relaxation training, biofeedback training, cognitive-behavior therapies) presently are available in specialty headache treatment centers and routinely show promise for reducing headache pain frequency/severity and related impairment, reducing reliance on pharmacotherapies, enhancing personal control over headache activity, and reducing headache-related distress and symptoms. These approaches may be particularly well-suited among patients for whom pharmacotherapies are unwanted, poorly tolerated, or contraindicated. Though underutilized, clinical trials indicate that new and well-established behavioral therapies are similarly effective to migraine medications for migraine prevention among adults and can be successfully employed in various settings.

Diverse learners: learning disabilities and quality of life following mind-body and health education interventions for adults with neurofibromatosis.

PURPOSE: Neurofibromatosis (NF) is associated with low quality-of-life (QoL). Learning disabilities are prevalent among those with NF, further worsening QoL and potentially impacting benefits from mind-body and educational interventions, yet research on this population is scarce. Here, we address this gap by comparing NF patients with and without learning disabilities on QoL at baseline and QoL-related gains following two interventions. METHODS: Secondary analysis of a fully-powered RCT of a mind-body program (Relaxation Response Resiliency Program for NF; 3RP-NF) versus an educational program (Health Enhancement Program for NF; HEP-NF) among 228 adults with NF. Participants reported QoL in four domains (Physical Health, Psychological, Social Relationships, and Environmental). We compare data at baseline, post-treatment, and 12-month follow-up, controlling for intervention type. RESULTS: At baseline, individuals with NF and learning disabilities had lower Psychological (T = -3.0, p = .001) and Environmental (T = -3.8, p < .001) QoL compared to those without learning disabilities. Both programs significantly improved all QoL domains (ps < .0001-0.002) from baseline to post-treatment, regardless of learning disability status. However, those with learning disabilities exceeded the minimal clinically important difference in only one domain (Psychological QoL) compared to three domains in individuals without learning disabilities. Moreover, those with learning disabilities failed to sustain statistically significant gains in Psychological QoL at 12-months, while those without learning disabilities sustained all gains. CONCLUSION: Adults with NF and learning disabilities have lower Psychological and Environmental QoL. While interventions show promise in improving QoL regardless of learning disabilities, additional measures may bolster clinical benefit and sustainability among those with learning disabilities.

A Nature-Based Intervention to Support the Well-Being of Baccalaureate Nursing Students.

BACKGROUND: The high stress of nursing education can adversely affect students' well-being. Nature-based therapies aim to lessen stress. There is a gap in knowledge related to nature-based therapies and the nursing student population. The aims of this study were: (1) to describe the well-being of nursing students; and (2) to assess the effects of a nature-based intervention on students' anxiety, stress, relatedness, resilience, and well-being. METHOD: This descriptive study included 28 nursing students at a midwestern university. Participants completed online questionnaires before and after a nature-based intervention at an arboretum that consisted of five 1-hour designated nature walks guided by an audio recording. RESULTS: Participants' mean (SD) scores for well-being were classified as average before the intervention (54.3 [3.7]) and increased significantly after the intervention (55.3 [3.2]) (p = .04). CONCLUSION: With rising stress and anxiety levels among college students, nature interventions can support nursing students' overall well-being. [J Nurs Educ. 2024;63(2):116-119.].

The Effect of Benson's Relaxation Technique on Fatigue and Quality of Life of Patients Diagnosed With Heart Failure.

Patients with heart failure (HF) reported poor quality of life (QOL) due to different reasons among which fatigue is the most important. Improving QOL is a crucial objective for patients with HF and their primary health care providers. Managing fatigue with medication is not enough. Benson's relaxation technique (BRT) is a complementary therapy used to manage fatigue among different populations with limited studies checking its effect among patients diagnosed with HF. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to check the effect of BRT on fatigue and QOL among 140 (68 intervention and 72 control) patients diagnosed with HF. Intervention group performed BRT for 20 minutes twice a day for 2 months. Control group received regular care from their health care providers. At baseline, there were no differences between intervention and control groups regarding fatigue, physical component summary, and mental component summary. At follow-up, intervention group had higher scores in physical and mental component summaries than control group (45.48 ± 10.52 vs 37.97 ± 14.78) and (46.22 ± 8.39 vs 41.01 ± 10.36), respectively. Also, intervention group had lower levels of fatigue than control group (2.54 ± 0.87 vs 6.33 ± 0.61). In conclusion, the use of BRT as a complementary therapy for patients with HF might decrease fatigue level and improve QOL.

Using slisemap to interpret physical data.

Manifold visualisation techniques are commonly used to visualise high-dimensional datasets in physical sciences. In this paper, we apply a recently introduced manifold visualisation method, slisemap, on datasets from physics and chemistry. slisemap combines manifold visualisation with explainable artificial intelligence. Explainable artificial intelligence investigates the decision processes of black box machine learning models and complex simulators. With slisemap, we find an embedding such that data items with similar local explanations are grouped together. Hence, slisemap gives us an overview of the different behaviours of a black box model, where the patterns in the embedding reflect a target property. In this paper, we show how slisemap can be used and evaluated on physical data and that it is helpful in finding meaningful information on classification and regression models trained on these datasets.

Personalized Virtual Reality Compared With Guided Imagery for Enhancing the Impact of Progressive Muscle Relaxation Training: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Empirical evidence has shown that virtual reality (VR) scenarios can increase the effects of relaxation techniques, reducing anxiety by enabling people to experience emotional conditions in more vivid settings. OBJECTIVE: This pilot randomized controlled study aims to investigate whether the progressive muscle relaxation technique (PMRT) associated with a personalized scenario in VR promotes psychological well-being and facilitates the recall of relaxing images more than the standard complementary intervention that involves the integration of PMRT and guided imagery (GI). METHODS: On the basis of a longitudinal, between-subject design, 72 university students were randomly exposed to one of two experimental conditions: (1) standard complementary procedure (PMRT and GI exposure) and (2) experimental procedure (PMRT and personalized VR exposure). Individuals were assessed by a therapist before and after 7 training sessions based on measures investigating anxiety, depression, quality of life, coping strategies, sense of presence, engagement, and side effects related to VR exposure. Heart rate data were also collected. RESULTS: Differences in changes between the 2 groups after the in vivo PMRT session conducted by the psychotherapist (T1) were statistically significant for state anxiety (F1,67=30.56; P<.001) and heart rate (F1,67=4.87; P=.01). Individuals in the VR group obtained lower scores both before (t67=-2.63; P=.01; Cohen d=0.91) and after (t67=-7.23; P<.001; Cohen d=2.45) the relaxation session when it was self-administered by participants (T2). A significant reduction in perceived state anxiety at T1 and T2 was observed for both groups (P<.001). After the VR experience, individuals reported feeling higher engagement in the experience than what was mentioned by participants in the GI group (F1,67=2.85; P=.03; ηp2=0.15), and they experienced the environment as more realistic (F1,67=4.38; P=.003; ηp2=0.21). No differences between groups regarding sense of presence were found (F1,67=1.99; P=.11; ηp2=0.11). Individuals exposed before to the VR scenario (T1) referred to perceiving the scenario recalled in-imagination at T2 as more realistic than what those in the GI group experienced (F1,67=3.21; P=.02; ηp2=0.12). The VR group had lower trait anxiety levels than the GI group after the relaxation session during session 7 (T2; t67=-2.43; P=.02). CONCLUSIONS: Personalized relaxing VR scenarios can contribute to improving relaxation and decreasing anxiety when integrated with PMRT as a complementary relaxation method. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05478941; https://classic.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05478941. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR2-10.2196/44183.

Investigation of the effect of Jacobson's relaxation technique on the fatigue of family caregivers of hemodialysis patients: a single-blinded randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Caring for hemodialysis patients could be a heavy burden on family caregivers, causing them to become fatigued and decrease their quality of life. This study aimed to investigate whether Jacobson's relaxation can help alleviate the fatigue of family caregivers of hemodialysis patients. METHODS: This randomized controlled trial was conducted in 2021. Sixty-six family caregivers of hemodialysis patients were recruited by convenience sampling from a referral hospital in Tehran, Iran, and assigned randomly by coin toss to two groups of experimental (n = 32) and control (n = 34). Caregivers in the experimental group performed Jacobson's relaxation three times a week, each time for 30-45 min, for 30 days. The score and severity of fatigue before, 2 weeks after, and 1 month after the intervention were measured with the Fatigue Severity Scale. Data analysis was performed in the statistics software SPSS using descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation) and analytic statistics (Independent Samples t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, Chi-Square test, Fisher's exact test, and RM-ANOVA test). The significance level was less than 0.05. RESULTS: The fatigue scores of the experimental and control groups were not significantly different before the intervention (4.42 ± 0.42 vs. 4.38 ± 0.42, P = 0.696). However, the experimental group had significantly lower fatigue scores than the control group 2 weeks after the intervention (4.11 ± 0.63 vs. 4.39 ± 0.42, P = 0.036) and 1 month after the intervention (3.5 ± 0.71 vs. 4.4 ± 0.44, P = 0.001). The results also showed a significant drop in the fatigue score of the experimental group after the intervention (P < 0.0001), but no such change in the control group (P = 0.662). CONCLUSION: Jacobson's relaxation technique was effective in alleviating the fatigue of family caregivers of hemodialysis patients. Nurses are therefore recommended to promote the technique as a safe and easy method of fatigue management for family caregivers.

Regular use of acupressure mats reduces perceived stress at subjective but not psychophysiological levels: Insights from a three-week relaxation training.

Acupressure mats are promoted as stress management tools for easy and effective self-application, promising reduced stress and increased well-being. However, the scientific evidence for these effects is based on few experimental studies and lacks the examination of acupressure mats as a solitary relaxation tool. Our study aimed to examine which changes in stress and well-being can be expected from the use of acupressure mats by healthy young people on the subjective and psychophysiological level. Unexperienced participants practiced relaxation for three weeks either with an acupressure mat or without any tools (active control group [CG]). As a results, subjective well-being and stress decreased, while sleep quality and concentration endurance increased across groups. Blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), pain threshold and pain tolerance did not change significantly from pre- to post-training measurements. Most importantly, no significant differences were found between groups, indicating that training with an acupressure mat yielded no superior effects compared with an active control condition in healthy young students. As a conclusion, taking time to relax has some but limited beneficial effects on the subjective levels independent of the specific method for healthy students. Potential beneficial effects of acupressure mats might be bound to specific impairments, such as tension pain.

Effect of slow breathing exercise and progressive muscle relaxation technique in the individual with essential hypertension: A randomized controlled trial.

PURPOSE: The present study aims to investigate the combined effect of slow breathing exercise (SBE) and progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) technique on blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), and anxiety in patients diagnosed with essential hypertension. TRIAL DESIGN: This study was based on a 4-arm parallel-group, randomized control design. METHODS: Sixty-four participants diagnosed with essential hypertension were randomly allocated into SBE, PMR, SBE-PMR, and Control groups, with 16 subjects each. All 3 groups received different treatments according to their name; however, the Control group received no treatment. Systolic and diastolic BP (SBP and DBP), HR, RR, and anxiety were all evaluated as the study outcomes using a digital sphygmomanometer and perceived stress scale (PSS) at baseline (pretest), 2nd week and 4th weeks post-intervention. A repeated measure analysis of variance test assessed intra-group comparison (overall) analyses across multiple time points. Bonferroni multiple comparison tests were used to analyze the mean differences between the groups. The confidence interval was kept at 95% for all the statistical analyses, that is, P < .05 is considered significant. RESULTS: There was a significant change in the HR (F = 239.04, P = .0001), RR (F = 167.74, P = .0001), SBP (F = 266.64, P = .0001), DSP (F = 279.80, P = .0001), and PSS (F = 473.42, P = .0001) as an outcome of baseline measurements versus (vs) the following weeks. There were significant (F = 48.57, P = .001) differences among different training on HR. The SBE vs SBE-PMR showed an insignificant difference (F = 48.54, P = 1.000). The RR showed significant differences (F = 32.05, 0.0001) between the SBE vs PMR, SBE vs Control, PMR vs Control, and SBE-PMR vs Control groups and insignificant differences for the SBE vs SBE-PMR and PMR vs SBE-PMR groups. The SBE vs SBE-PMR groups showed insignificant differences for DPP and SBP. However, PSS showed significant differences (F = 67.12, P = .0001) among the intervention groups except for the PMR and SBE-PMR groups. CONCLUSIONS: The combined interventions of SBEs and progressive muscle relaxation techniques can effectively reduce the heart rate, respiratory rate, BP, and anxiety in essential hypertensive patients compared to both techniques when given alone.

The effect of Benson relaxation technique on cancer patients: a systematic review.

PURPOSE: Although many studies have investigated the effect of this method on cancer patients, no review of the available literature has been done. So, a literature review is conducted to evaluate all published literature on the Benson relaxation technique in cancer patients. METHODS: A systematic literature search was conducted. A systematic search of online electronic databases including PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus Web of Science, PsycINFO, and EMBASE was performed using keywords extracted from Medical Subject Headings such as "Benson Relaxation Technique," "Cancer Patients," "Malignancy," and "Neoplasia" from the beginning to April 27, 2023. A total of 810 publications were assessed for relevance by title and abstract. The remaining 31 articles were examined using inclusion criteria for all Persian and English-language publications that evaluate the effectiveness of the Benson relaxation technique on cancer patients. We did not have gray literature in our review. The methodological quality of the included studies was appraised using specific checklists. RESULTS: Finally, nine studies were included in this systematic review. Studies on breast cancer patients showed improvement in fatigue, nausea, vomiting, pain, shortness of breath, insomnia, anorexia, constipation, diarrhea, treatment side effects, breast symptoms, arm symptoms, worry about hair loss, and scores of hope. Two studies were conducted among cervical cancer patients that showed a decrease in anxiety scores and an improvement in the quality of sleep. Another study on gastric cancer patients showed decreased Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea, Vomiting, and Retching scores. CONCLUSION: Overall, this systematic review showed that the Benson relaxation method could improve sleep quality, appetite, anxiety, and quality of life. Therefore, using the Benson relaxation technique is suggested to improve health-related outcomes in cancer patients.

Effects of Linpan nature therapy on health benefits in older women with and without hypertension.

Background: Nature therapy can significantly benefit the physiology and psychology of middle-aged and older people, but previous studies have focused on forest environments. The restoration potential of rural environments in urban fringe areas, which are more accessible to older people on a daily basis, has not been fully studied. This study assessed the effects of nature therapy on the physical and mental health of older women in a rural setting (locally known as Linpan) in the urban fringe area of Chengdu, China. Methods: We recruited a total of 60 older women (65.3 ± 5.5 years old) living in cities for 3 days of nature therapy in the winter (30 subjects) and spring (30 subjects), including 20 hypertensive patients. Results: The results showed that the overall blood pressure, pulse and sleep dysfunction rating scores of the participants were significantly lower than the pretest levels, and the finger blood oxygen saturation, mid-day salivary alpha-amylase and cortisol were increased post-treatment. Increases in these biomarker indicates and increase in stress. There were significant differences in the changes in systolic blood pressure between the hypertension group (HTN) and the normal group (normal) (HTN decreased by 8.8%, normal decreased by 5.4%), salivary alpha-amylase content (HTN decreased by 0.3%, normal increased by 16.9%), and sleep dysfunction rating scores (HTN decreased by 59.6%, normal decreased by 54%). The decreases in systolic blood pressure and pulse in the winter group were higher than those in the spring group by 1.8 and 4.4%, respectively, while the increases in salivary alpha-amylase content and salivary cortisol content were lower than those in the spring group by 11.7 and 11.2%, respectively, and the decrease in sleep dysfunction rating scores was lower than that in the spring group by 7.1%. Conclusion: Our study concluded that nature therapy based on various health activities in the Linpan has significant health effects on older women. It can regulate blood pressure and pulse in older women, relieve cardiovascular disease, improve sleep quality. Meanwhile, older women with high blood pressure experienced a more significant effect than the healthy group.

A comparative study on the effects of Mitchell and Benson relaxation techniques on quality of life of the old people in nursing homes: a quasi- experimental study.

BACKGROUND: There is slight evidence on the effectiveness of relaxation techniques to improve quality of life of the old people, and no comparative studies have particularly investigated this population. Hence, the present study was conducted to examine the effect of Mitchell relaxation versus Benson relaxation technique to improve quality of life of the old people. METHODS: In the present quasi-experimental study, 96 eligible old people in a nursing home were selected by available sampling method. Afterwards, they were assigned to three groups: Mitchell's Relaxation Technique, Benson Relaxation Technique, and control (each of 32 participants) using the random block sampling method. The intervention groups received relaxation for 8 weeks and 3 sessions of 20 min each week. However, the control group did not receive any relaxation. Data was gathered by questionnaires (SF-36) and (CASP-19) before (week 0) and after the intervention (week 8) and were analyzed using the SPSS software version 26. RESULTS: The results indicated that both Benson and Mitchell relaxation had improved the quality of life (SF-36) and (CASP-19) and their sub-scales in the participants compare to the control group (P < 0.001). Accordingly, the median (quartile 25, 75) of the specific quality of life of the participants before the intervention was 21 (18.25, 25.75) in the Benson group, 20.5 (16, 24) in the Michel group, and 21 (16.25, 24) in the control group. However, after the intervention they reached 35(26.25, 38.75), 34.5(26.75, 42.25), and 17 (14, 21) respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between the Benson and Michel relaxation groups. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the results, Benson and Mitchell relaxation techniques improve the quality of life of the old people. If the results be confirmed in other studies, the education of each of them, especially for the old people living in nursing homes and their caregivers, is suggested as routine care.

Effect of guided imagery relaxation on anxiety in cervical cancer: randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVES: to evaluate the effect of guided imagery relaxation through virtual reality on anxiety in women with cervical cancer undergoing radiochemotherapy. METHODS: randomized, non-blinded, single-center clinical trial conducted at a cancer reference hospital. 52 women participated, with randomized allocation of 24 in the control group and 28 in the experimental group (12 sessions of guided imagery relaxation through virtual reality, applied three times a week). The outcome was evaluated using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and statistical analysis was performed using the Generalized Linear Mixed Model. RESULTS: n the experimental group, women presented significant anxiety traits (p=0.010) before the intervention. Between the 4th and 12th week of follow-up, there was a reduction in anxiety levels, without statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: guided imagery relaxation through virtual reality provided evidence of anxiety reduction in women with cervical cancer undergoing radiochemotherapy and may contribute to clinical practice. Brazilian Clinical Trial Registry: RBR-7ssvytb.

Medical Nature-Based Rehabilitation Program for Individuals with Exhaustion Syndrome: Changes in Quality of Life, Exhaustion Symptoms and Overall Health.

Stress-related health problems have increased sharply over the last two decades and have become a serious issue at all levels of society. In the Jönköping Region in southern Sweden, a nature-based rehabilitation (NBR) program for adults with Exhaustion Syndrome has been developed and then implemented into the Swedish National Healthcare System. The main aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of this NBR-program. This was achieved by examining patients' quality of life, exhaustion symptoms and overall health using self-assessment instruments, comparing the results before participation to immediately after, three months after and six months after. With a sample size of 67 participants, the results show a statistically significant improvement for all points. From a public health perspective, and with background knowledge of the nature of the patient group under treatment, the studied program would appear to be effective and economic, having a satisfied patient group as well as a favourable comparison with the outcomes of other research programs. Although the results are promising, as this is a naturalistic field study, there is no control group, and further research is encouraged. We suggest randomised controlled studies, longitudinal studies and investigation of mediators.

Effect of Benson's relaxation technique versus music intervention on physiological parameters and stress of children with thalassemia during blood transfusions: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Children with thalassemia are generally dependent on blood transfusions and face a lot of stress and alteration in their physiological parameters through the procedure. AIM: This study aimed to investigate the effect of Benson's relaxation technique versus music intervention on physiological parameters and stress of children with thalassemia during blood transfusions. DESIGN: A randomized, controlled trial with three parallel groups. METHODS: One hundred and twenty preschool-age children with thalassemia who underwent blood transfusions were randomly assigned to three groups. Children of the control group received only routine hospital care through blood transfusions. Music intervention group children listened to recorded Mozart's music and children of Benson's relaxation group received relaxation intervention before and during the blood transfusions. Outcome measures were physiological parameters and behavioral distress levels. SETTING: Hematology outpatient clinic of the Children's University Hospital at El-Shatby in Alexandria from October 2022 to February 2023. RESULTS: The mean total score of children's behavioral responses to stress before the blood transfusions procedure was 19.32 ± 4.08, 14.20 ± 0.93, and 16.92 ± 4.74 in the control, music, and Benson groups, respectively. Beyond that, there was a decline in their physiological parameters and behavioral stress response during and after procedure among groups of study (P = 0.005 & <0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION: Music and Benson's relaxation interventions had a helpful effect on stabilizing the physiological parameters and reducing behavioral distress levels in children with thalassemia undergoing blood transfusions. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: This study directs paediatric nurses to apply Benson's relaxation and music interventions for children with thalassemia to enhance their responses.

Force-Induced Visualization of Nucleic Acid Functions with Single-Nucleotide Resolution.

Nucleic acids are major targets for molecular sensing because of their wide involvement in biological functions. Determining their presence, movement, and binding specificity is thus well pursued. However, many current techniques are usually sophisticated, expensive, and often lack single-nucleotide resolution. In this paper, we report the force-induced visualization method that relies on the novel concept of mechanical force to determine the functional positions of nucleic acids with single-nucleotide resolution. The use of an adjustable mechanical force overcomes the variation of analyte concentration and differences in buffer conditions that are common in biological settings. Two examples are described to validate the method: one is probing the mRNA movement during ribosomal translocation, and the other is revealing the interacting sites and strengths of DNA-binding drugs based on the force amplitude. The flexibility of the method, simplicity of the associated device, and capability of multiplexed detection will potentially enable a broad range of biomedical applications.

An Overview of Traditional and Advanced Visualization Techniques Applied to Anatomical Instruction Involving Cadaveric Dissection.

This work provides an overview of the role, basic concepts, significance, and instructional contributions of current and evolving digital visualization technologies being applied in first-year anatomy curricula. These are visualization methods that have been and are being used to support both basic science and clinical applications of gross anatomical teaching and learning to the health professions (i.e., medical, dental, physical therapy, chiropractic and nursing students). It first presents a foundation as to how this discipline has been and is being taught within the professional school environment using visualization and illustration: aspects of learning, the format of the first-year anatomy curriculum, the nature of the visual information network in support of educational excellence and newer opportunities afforded by advanced technologies placing the student at the center of the learning experience. Then, the nature of each of these new methods is presented with their individual unique characteristics, and the results that anatomy faculty running cadaveric dissection courses had with the evaluation of the new technologies.The Conclusion section lists key points found in the literature as reported. Finally, the Future Work section proposes investigations into standardizing the presentation and assessment of anatomical concepts using prominent in situ structures of viscera, their enclosures and resident compartments for more precise and reproducible measurement of then instructional effectiveness of the new techniques.