Mindfulness-Based Therapy for Military Populations with Chronic Pain: A Systematic Review.

Background: Due to the limited role of chronic pain medication in military personnel and the distress caused to the military population, mindfulness-based therapy has been considered for the follow-up treatment of military personnel with chronic pain. The purpose of this review is to explore the effect and the implementation of mindfulness-based therapy for the military population with chronic pain. Methods: The keywords for the search included "mindfulness" AND ("pain" OR "chronic pain") AND ("military" OR "veteran"). The PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were searched. The Cochrane Collaboration tool was used to independently assess the risk of bias of the included randomized controlled trials, and the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to independently assess the risk of bias of the included case-control studies. Results: A total of 175 papers were identified; 65 duplicates were excluded, and 59 papers that did not meet the inclusion criteria were excluded after reading the titles and abstracts. The remaining 51 papers were read in full, 42 of which did not meet the inclusion criteria. Nine papers met the inclusion criteria and were included in the study. The nine studies included 507 veterans and 56 active-duty female military personnel. All pain interventions were mindfulness-based therapy, and all of them were integrated into or adapted from standard mindfulness courses. The results all showed that after mindfulness-based therapy, the relevant indicators improved. Conclusions: Mindfulness-based therapy is an effective treatment method for the military population with chronic pain. The review indicates that future research should focus on the best setting for mindfulness-based therapy, including the course content and time.

Risk factors associated with the comprehensive needs of cancer caregivers in China.

BACKGROUND: Cancer incidence and mortality rates have been rising in developing countries, especially in Asia. Cancer caregivers face unique challenges which put them at risk for burden, poor quality of life, and burnout. The purpose of this study was to investigate the comprehensive needs and associated factors of cancer caregivers, and explore the correlation with cancer patients. METHODS: In Mainland China, 200 cancer patient-caregiver dyads were chosen and interviewed for a cross-sectional questionnaire survey by convenient sampling method. Cancer caregivers' comprehensive needs were assessed with Comprehensive Needs Assessment Tool in cancer for Caregivers(CNAT-C), including seven domains (health and psychological problems, family and social support, healthcare staffs, information, religious/spiritual support, hospital facilities and services, and practical support). The comprehensive needs assessment tool in cancer for patients (CNAT) was used to assess patients' comprehensive needs. The sociodemographic survey was completed by both cancer patients and caregivers. The mean differences in domain scores for different groups of characteristics were compared by one-way ANOVA or non-parametric analyses, and those factors that had significant differences were selected for the multivariate regression analysis to determine the final influencing factors. The correlation between cancer patients' and caregivers' needs was evaluated by Spearman's correlation analysis. RESULTS: The cancer caregivers' need for healthcare staff (82.60±19.56) was the highest among the seven domains, followed by the need for information (72.17±14.61) and the need for hospital facilities and services (56.44±18.22). The lowest score was the need for religious/spiritual support (28.33±16.05). Caregivers who were younger, highly educated, with high household income, and less than 1 year since diagnosis had higher scores of CNAT-C. Also sociodemographic characteristics were associated with each domain of cancer caregivers' need. Correlations between patients' and caregivers' comprehensive needs were low to moderate (0.013~0.469). CONCLUSION: Cancer caregivers experience high levels of comprehensive needs, which are closely related to their sociological characteristics. The tailored interventions and mobilization of social and health care support may thus provide multiple levels of benefit across cancer trajectories. The patient-caregiver dyad should be regarded as a unit for treatment in cancer care.

Observation of carrier localization in cubic crystalline Ge2Sb2Te5 by field effect measurement.

The tunable disorder of vacancies upon annealing is an important character of crystalline phase-change material Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST). A variety of resistance states caused by different degrees of disorder can lead to the development of multilevel memory devices, which could bring a revolution to the memory industry by significantly increasing the storage density and inspiring the neuromorphic computing. This work focuses on the study of disorder-induced carrier localization which could result in multiple resistance levels of crystalline GST. To analyze the effect of carrier localization on multiple resistant levels, the intrinsic field effect (the change in surface conductance with an applied transverse electric field) of crystalline GST was measured, in which GST films were annealed at different temperatures. The field effect measurement is an important complement to conventional transport measurement techniques. The field effect mobility was acquired and showed temperature activation, a hallmark of carrier localization. Based on the relationship between field effect mobility and annealing temperature, we demonstrate that the annealing shifts the mobility edge towards the valence-band edge, delocalizing more carriers. The insight of carrier transport in multilevel crystalline states is of fundamental relevance for the development of multilevel phase change data storage.

Risk assessment of heavy metals in air, water, vegetables, grains, and related soils irrigated with biogas slurry in Taihu Basin, China.

Metal contamination in farmlands irrigated with biogas slurry is of great concern because of its potential health risks to local inhabitants. Health risks that depend heavily on multi-pathway exposure to heavy metals (e.g., Pb, Cd, Cr, Zn, Cu, and As) in water, soil, air, and local food were studied through field sampling in Taihu Basin, China. Results show that Zn, Pb, and Cd in soils irrigated with biogas slurry exceed the soil quality standard values, and grown vegetables and grains contaminated with Pb and Cd exceed the permissible limits. Food ingestion plays an important role in the total average daily dose of metals, especially for Cu and Zn, which account for 94 and 91%, respectively. Non-carcinogenic risks posed to adults mainly result from Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd, and As through food ingestion and from Cr through soil ingestion. The highest non-carcinogenic risk was determined from food ingestion, followed by soil ingestion, air inhalation, air ingestion, and dermal contact with air. Carcinogenic risks to adults are 6.68 to 7.00 times higher than the safe level and can be attributed to Cr, As, and Cd pollution. The estimated risks mainly result from As and Cd through food ingestion and from Cr through soil ingestion. Both cancer and non-cancer risks through dermal contact can be ignored. Therefore, attention should be paid to health risks imposed by adults' multi-pathway exposure to heavy metals in vegetables, grains, and related soils irrigated with biogas slurry in Taihu Basin. Effective measures should be implemented to control heavy metal pollution and protect potentially exposed adults.

Contamination and risk assessment of heavy metals in soils irrigated with biogas slurry: a case study of Taihu basin.

The accumulation of heavy metals in different soils resulting from irrigation with biogas slurry obtained from Taihu basin may create a potential public health risk. We quantified the concentration of heavy metals (Zn, Pb, Cu, Cr, As, and Cd.) in soils. Results indicated that the concentrations of Ni, Zn, Cd, and Pb in soil exceeded the maximum permitted levels set by Chinese Soil Environmental Quality Standard (GB15618-2008). The highest mean level in the soil was noted for Zn, followed by Zn, Pb, Cu, Cr, As, and Cd, while maximum geoaccumulation index (Igeo) was found for Cd in all soil samples which ranged from strongly polluted to extremely polluted. Pollution levels varied with metals and soil types. Moreover, the concentrations of Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, and Pb in soils showed significant correlations with OM; pH showed positive correlations with Cd, Cu, As, and Cr; pH and OM were the most important factors controlling the uptake of heavy metals by soils. Multivariate principal component analysis showed anthropogenic contributions of Zn, Pb, Cu, As, and Cd in the different kinds of soils. The target hazard quotient (HQ) values of six metals in soils were less than 1, which suggested that non-carcinogenic risks of metal exposure to soils were generally assumed to be safe. The assessment results of carcinogenic risks in soils showed higher risks than an acceptable range of 1E-06 to 1E-04 that would pose potential cancer risks to the farmers due to the work of leafy and root vegetables grown locally.

Cancer pain management at home: voice from an underdeveloped region of China.

BACKGROUND: Pain is a major problem for patients with advanced cancer and one of the most frequent and disturbing of all cancer-related symptoms. Researchers continue to report that cancer pain remains undertreated. Inadequate pain control can significantly affect the patient's quality of life and may in turn affect the patient's will to live or comply with treatment recommendations. A better understanding of the experience of cancer pain management is important in identifying factors responsible for undertreated pain. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to obtain the experience of cancer pain management. INTERVENTIONS: We used a phenomenological approach to explore the status of cancer pain management through participants' experience. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 14 family caregivers, patients, and acquaintances and 14 health professionals (nurses and physicians) from a regional tertiary hospital in northwest China. Data were collected by in-depth interviews. We used a qualitative description after full transcription of every interview. Analysis involved the identification of themes and the development of a taxonomy of participants' experience of cancer pain management. RESULTS: Taxonomy used in this study is to identify, code, group, and name meaning units of the transcribed interviews by reading through repeatedly to obtain an initial sense. Four themes were identified: (1) marginalization, (2) hopelessness and helplessness, (3) deficiency of access and resources, and (4) expectations related to pain. CONCLUSION: Findings from this study suggest that the situation of patients with undertreated cancer pain continues. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Special attention should be paid by policymakers, professionals, and family caregivers to the marginalized group of cancer patients who suffer with pain.

[Effect of temperature on the response characteristics of shortcut nitrification granular sludge].

The experiment was carried out in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR), using granular sludge with 90% shortcut nitrification accumulation ratio, which had been cultivated by the laboratory to seed the reactor. The effects of temperature on characteristics, stability, nitrogen conversion properties and activity of short-cut nitrification granular sludge were investigated. The results show that the temperature has a significant influence on structure and short-cut nitrification performance of short-cut nitrification granular sludge. 30 degrees C was the optimum temperature for shortcut nitrification granular sludge cultivation, and the granules were more compact which led better flocculation and settleability. SVI and average diameter of sludge reached up to 39 mL x g(-1) and 3.03 mm, respectively. The nitrification accumulation was maintained at 96.17% during this period. When the temperature was at 25 degrees C, the granules changed to a loose-structure along with the electronegativity increased as well as the hydrophobicity decreased, which was due to the increase of EPS and decreased ratio of protein to polysaccharide. The granules disintegrated during this period, at the same time, the nitrification accumulation ratio was below 35%. It can be seen that the shortcut nitrification performance was destroyed. At 15 degrees C, the shortcut nitrification sludge also disintegrated and had a looser structure. However, the oxygen penetration depth increased at a lower temperature, which made the relative quantity of ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in reactor increased, the nitrification accumulation was around 68% ultimately.

Combination of salinomycin and gemcitabine eliminates pancreatic cancer cells.

Previous research has documented that a subpopulation of pancreatic cancer cells, named cancer stem cells (CSCs), harbor stem cell-like properties. Here, we examined the efficacy of combined treatments of salinomycin and gemcitabine in human pancreatic cancer cells. Salinomycin inhibited the growth of CSCs, while gemcitabine suppressed the viability of non-CSCs. Consistently, in vivo studies showed that salinomycin combined with gemcitabine could eliminate the engraftment of human pancreatic cancer more effectively than the individual agents. These data indicated that administration of salinomycin, which targets CSCs, may constitute a potential therapeutic strategy for improving the efficacy of gemcitabine to eradicate pancreatic cancer.

Effect of trace amounts of polyacrylamide (PAM) on long-term performance of activated sludge.

This study aims at evaluating the impacts of PAM addition on activated sludge performance. Four lab-scale sequencing batch reactors (SBRs), each with a working volume of 3L, were investigated with different PAM concentrations. Experiments were conducted with varying organic loading rate and the sludge volume index (SVI), particle size, zeta potential, specific oxygen uptake rate (SOUR), mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS), COD and ammonium removal efficiency were monitored over a 105-day period. The results showed that all of the PAM addition not only improved the removal efficiencies of COD and ammonium, but also exhibited some advantages on sludge performance. It was found that the sludge performance of settling property, flocculation and microbial activity increased with increasing concentration of PAM. However, high level of PAM (1mg/L) led to the formation of large amounts of loose-structure flocs, which eliminated dissolved oxygen transfer and caused the sludge disintegration, resulting in bad settleability and lower microbial activity. In this way, when the dosage of PAM was 0.1mg/L, the sludge had the best settling property and activity.