Effects of Mindfulness-Based Interventions on Promoting Athletic Performance and Related Factors among Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trial.

In recent years, mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been widely applied in competition sports with respect to athletic performance and mental health promotion, whereas evidence of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) has not been well summarized. Therefore, this study aimed to systematically review and meta-analyze the existing evidence on the effects of MBIs on improving athletic performance, mindfulness level, mindfulness-related psychological components (e.g., acceptance, self-compassion, flow), and mental health (e.g., burnout, stress, psychological well-being) among athletes. Following the PRISMA guidelines, a literature search was implemented on five electronic databases (Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest, and ScienceDirect) and relevant review papers. The article selection, risk of bias assessment, and data extraction were performed by two investigators independently. The standardized mean difference (SMD) was calculated to evaluate the effects of interventions using the random effect model. Among the 1897 original hits, thirty-two eligible RCT studies were included in the systematic review, of which seven were involved in the meta-analysis. The results showed that MBIs were effective in promoting athletes' athletic performances (by narrative synthesis), mindfulness-level (n = 3; SMD = 0.50, 95% CI = [0.17, 0.83]; I2 = 45%, p = 0.16), and mindfulness-related psychological components (n = 5; SMD = 0.81, 95% CI = [0.53, 1.10], I2 = 77%, p =0.001), while no significant intervention effects were found on the mental health of athletes (n = 4; SMD = -0.03, 95% CI = [-0.35, 0.29], I2 = 89%, p < 0.001). Our findings preliminarily support the potential effectiveness of MBIs, whereas more high-quality RCTs were needed in the future.

The Effect of Mindfulness Intervention on the Psychological Skills and Shooting Performances in Male Collegiate Basketball Athletes in Macau: A Quasi-Experimental Study.

BACKGROUND: This study adopted a quasi-experimental design to examine the effect of a 7-week mindfulness intervention on the psychological coping ability and shooting performance of college-level male basketball athletes in Macau. METHODS: A total of 43 male college basketball athletes in Macau were selected as the participants. Besides the regular basketball training, the intervention group (n = 23) received a 7-week mindfulness training; the weekly mindfulness intervention session lasted around one hour according to the mindfulness training manual for athletes, while the control group (n = 20) did not receive any mindfulness training. Before and immediately after the 7-week intervention, all players performed the following tests: the "Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire", the "Acceptance and Action Questionnaire", the "Sport Competition Anxiety Test", the "Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale", and three shooting tests. An independent-sample t-test and a paired-sample t-test were used to analyze the between- and within-group differences. Moreover, a repeated measures ANOVA was used to assess the group, time, and group-by-time effects on psychological skills and shooting performances. RESULTS: The intervention resulted in both significant between-group and within-group differences in mindfulness level, acceptance level, attention level, three-point, and free-throw shooting performances (all p < 0.05, Cohen's d ranging from 0.565 to 1.117). CONCLUSION: While further study is necessary, the present study suggests that the 7-week mindfulness training program can significantly improve psychological outcomes and shooting performance in Macau college basketball athletes. Future studies involving competition settings and objective metrics will aid in verifying mindfulness as the prevalent practice among basketball practitioners and athletes.

A network pharmacology-based exploration of the active compounds and potential drug targets of Si-Jun-Zi decoction in the treatment of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), a kind of skin cancer with high rates of morbidity and mortality, occurs frequently in the clinic. Although early surgical treatment can achieve good results, there is no effective prevention and treatment for the recurrence and metastasis of cSCC. As a useful resource to protect humans from disease, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been adopted by clinicians for thousands of years. Methods: In this study, we collected a Chinese medicine formula and then employed a data mining method to analyze drug combinations of Si-Jun-Zi (SJZ) decoction. Multiple databases were used in this study to predict various ingredients, compounds, and their targets in the decoction. The potential targets of cSCC were also obtained from the database in the same way. In addition, as bioinformatics analysis methods, Gene Ontology (GO) analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis were used in our research as supplementary means to network pharmacology. Finally, we used ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) fingerprinting to analyze the effective components of the TCM decoction. Results: We detected 559 active compounds from Ginseng, Largehead Atractylodes, India Bread, and Glycyrrhiza Inflata, and selected 136 molecules under specific conditions. The mechanisms of the TCM formula were illustrated by the network pharmacology, such as compounds-herb network, compounds-target network, disease-target network, and target-target interaction network, as well as characteristics of the TCM. Then, GO analysis and KEGG analysis were performed on the compounds in the network using multiple methods of data mining and bioinformatics, and 10 candidate targets were identified. In addition, the UPLC fingerprinting method was used to analyze the components of SJZ decoction. Conclusions: Network pharmacology was performed to investigate the characteristics and mechanism of SJZ decoction, and a bioinformatics method was used to analyze the relationship between the effective compounds of the SJZ TCM decoction and cSCC-related specific targets and pathways, to find a variety of candidate compounds with multi-target activity.

The role of mentoring, supervision, coaching, teaching and instruction on professional identity formation: a systematic scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Mentoring's pivotal role in nurturing professional identity formation (PIF) owes much to its combined use with supervision, coaching, tutoring, instruction, and teaching. However the effects of this combination called the 'mentoring umbrella' remains poorly understood. This systematic scoping review thus aims to map current understanding. METHODS: A Systematic Evidence-Based Approach guided systematic scoping review seeks to map current understanding of the 'mentoring umbrella' and its effects on PIF on medical students and physicians in training. It is hoped that insights provided will guide structuring, support and oversight of the 'mentoring umbrella' in nurturing PIF. Articles published between 2000 and 2021 in PubMed, Scopus, ERIC and the Cochrane databases were scrutinised. The included articles were concurrently summarised and tabulated and concurrently analysed using content and thematic analysis and tabulated. The themes and categories identified were compared with the summaries of the included articles to create accountable and reproducible domains that guide the discussion. RESULTS: A total of 12201 abstracts were reviewed, 657 full text articles evaluated, and 207 articles included. The three domains identified were definitions; impact on PIF; and enablers and barriers. The mentoring umbrella shapes PIF in 3 stages and builds a cognitive base of essential knowledge, skills and professional attitudes. The cognitive base informs thinking, conduct and opinions in early supervised clinical exposure in Communities of practice (COP). The COPs' individualised approach to the inculcation of desired professional characteristics, goals, values, principles and beliefs reshapes the individual's identity whilst the socialisation process sees to their integration into current identities. CONCLUSION: The mentoring umbrella's provides personalised longitudinal support in the COP and socialisation process. Understanding it is key to addressing difficulties faced and ensuring holistic and timely support.

Decreased bioavailability of hydrogen sulfide links vascular endothelium and atrial remodeling in atrial fibrillation.

Oxidative stress drives the pathogenesis of atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common arrhythmia. In the cardiovascular system, cystathionine γ-lyase (CSE) serves as the primary enzyme producing hydrogen sulfide (H2S), a mammalian gasotransmitter that reduces oxidative stress. Using a case control study design in patients with and without AF and a mouse model of CSE knockout (CSE-KO), we evaluated the role of H2S in the etiology of AF. Patients with AF (n = 51) had significantly reduced plasma acid labile sulfide levels compared to patients without AF (n = 65). In addition, patients with persistent AF (n = 25) showed lower plasma free sulfide levels compared to patients with paroxysmal AF (n = 26). Consistent with an important role for H2S in AF, CSE-KO mice had decreased atrial sulfide levels, increased atrial superoxide levels, and enhanced propensity for induced persistent AF compared to wild type (WT) mice. Rescuing H2S signaling in CSE-KO mice by Diallyl trisulfide (DATS) supplementation or reconstitution with endothelial cell specific CSE over-expression significantly reduced atrial superoxide, increased sulfide levels, and lowered AF inducibility. Lastly, low H2S levels in CSE KO mice was associated with atrial electrical remodeling including longer effective refractory periods, slower conduction velocity, increased myocyte calcium sparks, and increased myocyte action potential duration that were reversed by DATS supplementation or endothelial CSE overexpression. Our findings demonstrate an important role of CSE and H2S bioavailability in regulating electrical remodeling and susceptibility to AF.

[Simultaneous determination of the four effective components in Huaijiao pill by HPLC].

OBJECTIVE: To develop an HPLC method for determination of the four effective components (genistin; rutin; quercetin; genistein) in Huaijiao pill. METHOD: The chromatographic separation was performed on a Shim-packODS (4.6 mm x 150 mm, 5.0 microm) eluted with a mobile phase of MeOH-H2O-HAc (40:60:0.25). The detection wavelength was set at 256 nm and column temperature was set at 30 degrees C . RESULT: Nice linear relation between the peak area and injected amount exists when the amount is within 0.059-0.352 microg for genistin, within 0.435-2.610 microg for rutin, within 0.020-0.121 microg for quercetin and within 0.053-0.319 microg for genistein. The correlation coefficient of each component is 0.999 6, 0.998 2, 0.998 9 and 0.999 9 respectively. The average recoveries of the four components are from 98.7% to 100.2%. The RSD of each group are 1.21%, 1.36%, 0.47% and 1.54% (n = 5). CONCLUSION: The method was accurate, repeatable and suitable to determine four effective components in Huaijiao pill. It can be use for quality control of Huaijiao pill.

Simultaneous determination of the four effective components in Huaijiao pill by HPLC / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To develop an HPLC method for determination of the four effective components (genistin; rutin; quercetin; genistein) in Huaijiao pill.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The chromatographic separation was performed on a Shim-packODS (4.6 mm x 150 mm, 5.0 microm) eluted with a mobile phase of MeOH-H2O-HAc (40:60:0.25). The detection wavelength was set at 256 nm and column temperature was set at 30 degrees C .</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Nice linear relation between the peak area and injected amount exists when the amount is within 0.059-0.352 microg for genistin, within 0.435-2.610 microg for rutin, within 0.020-0.121 microg for quercetin and within 0.053-0.319 microg for genistein. The correlation coefficient of each component is 0.999 6, 0.998 2, 0.998 9 and 0.999 9 respectively. The average recoveries of the four components are from 98.7% to 100.2%. The RSD of each group are 1.21%, 1.36%, 0.47% and 1.54% (n = 5).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The method was accurate, repeatable and suitable to determine four effective components in Huaijiao pill. It can be use for quality control of Huaijiao pill.</p>