Brief Yoga Intervention for Dental and Dental Hygiene Students: A Feasibility and Acceptability Study.

The present study investigated whether a brief yoga intervention would be feasible and acceptable for dental students. Based on empirical evidence about state mindfulness (SM), change in self-reported SM was assessed as a measure of the intervention's feasibility and acceptability. A repeated-measures within-subjects design was used. Participants were third- and fourth-year dental and dental hygiene students (76% female). The State Mindfulness Scale (SMS), a validated self-report measure of SM with 2 subscales, Mind and Body, was used. Students (n = 132) completed the SMS immediately prior to and following a 1-hour yoga intervention. Dispositional mindfulness, burnout, perceived stress, and depressive symptoms were also investigated as moderators of changes in state mindfulness to determine whether psychological variables had an effect on feasibility in this sample. Total SM significantly increased from pre- to post-intervention, t(46) = 10.26, P < .001. An analysis of covariance showed a significant interaction effect in the relationship between pre-/post-intervention SM of Mind (ß = 0.51, P = .048), such that higher levels of stress saw greater increases in SM of Mind. No other psychological variables were significant moderators. A brief yoga intervention for dental students significantly increased SM, suggesting that yoga interventions may be feasible and acceptable in this population. The results of moderation analyses suggest that a brief yoga intervention may be especially effective at increasing SM for those with high levels of stress. Future research should use a randomized control group to test group differences in SM after a brief yoga intervention for dental students.

"Awareness is the first step": An interprofessional course on mindfulness & mindful-movement for healthcare professionals and students.

High levels of stress and related burnout in healthcare professionals (HCPs) are prevalent and costly conditions. Mindfulness training has received recent attention as a possible prevention/intervention strategy to enhance resilience to stress and reduce risk of burnout in HCPs. The purpose of this mixed-methods pilot study was to evaluate the preliminary feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of an 8-week mindfulness curriculum for interprofessional HCPs and trainees (n = 27). Qualitative findings supported feasibility and acceptability of the course for a wide variety of HCP disciplines, including nursing, dentistry, medicine, pharmacy, social work, mental health, and clinical research. Despite being limited by a small sample size, there were statistically significant reductions in perceived stress, anxiety, and specific aspects of burnout from pre-to post-intervention and there was a trend in an enhanced sense of personal accomplishment over time.

Distinct cellular and therapeutic effects of obatoclax in rituximab-sensitive and -resistant lymphomas.

Bcl-2 proteins represent a rheostat that controls cellular viability. Obatoclax, a BH3-mimetic, has been designed to specifically target and counteract anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 proteins. We evaluated the biological effects of obatoclax on the anti-tumour activity of rituximab and chemotherapy agents. Obatoclax induced cell death of rituximab/chemotherapy-sensitive (RSCL), -resistant cell lines (RRCL) and primary tumour-cells derived from patients with B-cell lymphomas (N=39). Obatoclax also enhanced the activity of rituximab and had synergistic activity when combined with chemotherapy agents. The ability of Obatoclax to induce PARP cleavage varied between patient samples and was not observed in some RRCL. Inhibition of caspase activity did not affect obatoclax activity, suggesting the existence of caspase-independent death pathways. Autophagy was detected by LC3 conversion and/or electron microscopy in RRCL and in patient-derived tumour cells. Moreover, obatoclax activity was inhibited by Beclin-1 knockdown. In summary, obatoclax is an active Bcl-2 inhibitor that potentiates the activity of chemotherapy agents and, to a lesser degree, rituximab. Defining the molecular events triggered by obatoclax is necessary to further its clinical development and identify potential biomarkers that are predictive of response.