The effects of short video app-guided loving-kindness meditation on college students' mindfulness, self-compassion, positive psychological capital, and suicide ideation.

OBJECTIVE: The study investigated the effects of a short video app guided loving-kindness meditation (LKM) on college students' mindfulness, self-compassion, positive psychological capital, and suicide ideation. The purpose of the study is to investigate the intervention effect of LKM training on suicidal ideation among college students with the help of the short video application and to provide an empirical basis for the exploration of early suicide intervention strategies for college students. METHODS: We recruited 80 college students from a university in China. The final 74 eligible participants were divided into two groups: app use group (n = 37) and the control group (n = 37). The app group accepted an 8-week app use interference, while the control group underwent no interference. We measured four major variable factors (mindfulness, self-compassion, positive psychological capital, and suicide ideation) before and after the app use intervention. RESULTS: In the app group, self-compassion and positive psychological capital were significantly higher, and suicide ideation was significantly lower than the control group. In the control group, there were no noticeable differences in any of the four variables between the pre-test and post-test. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that the short video app guided LKM may help to improve self-compassion, and positive psychological capital, and reduce suicide ideation. The finding of the short video app-guided LKM's effect extends our understanding of the integrative effects of positive psychology and digital media on the reduction of suicide ideation.

How flow and mindfulness interact with each other in mindfulness-based augmented reality mandala coloring activities.

Introduction: This study explores the effects of different types of augmented reality (AR) mandala coloring activities on mindfulness and flow in college students. Methods: A total of 76 college students participated in the study and were divided into two groups based on their drawing skills: the high-skilled group (n = 38) and the low-skilled group (n = 38). With the help of AR technology, two groups of subjects carried out three mandala coloring experiments with structured mandala, free mandala and cooperative mandala in order. The measurement evaluation in the experimental program included a pre-test before all the experiments (Time 0) and each post-test after three mandala coloring activities (Time 1, Time 2 and Time 3). The balance dimensions of flow and challenge skills of the two groups were measured. Results: ANOVA results showed that a single 30-min short-term datura coloring activity did not significantly improve mindfulness (f = 2.339, p = 0.074, η2 = 0.031), but did significantly improve flow (f = 11.918, p = < 0.001, η2 = 0.139). Linear regression results found positive correlations between mindfulness and certain dimensions of flow (e.g., focus on a task, unambiguous feedback, sense of control, challenge -- skill balance, and automatic experience). Mindfulness was also found to be negatively correlated with the loss of the self-conscious component of flow. We also found that the free mandala was quite challenging for subjects in the low-skill group, while the teamwork in the cooperative mandala helped them overcome difficulties and cope with challenges. Discussion: Flow can be quickly and effectively improved through short AR mandala coloring exercises. The contribution of this study is to provide inspiration and reference for further exploring how AR mandola coloring can improve subjects' mental state and promote the perfection and development of positive psychological mechanism.

The effects of short video app-guided loving-kindness meditation on college students' mindfulness, self-compassion, positive psychological capital, and suicide ideation

Abstract Objective The study investigated the effects of a short video app guided loving-kindness meditation (LKM) on college students' mindfulness, self-compassion, positive psychological capital, and suicide ideation. The purpose of the study is to investigate the intervention effect of LKM training on suicidal ideation among college students with the help of the short video application and to provide an empirical basis for the exploration of early suicide intervention strategies for college students. Methods We recruited 80 college students from a university in China. The final 74 eligible participants were divided into two groups: app use group (n = 37) and the control group (n = 37). The app group accepted an 8-week app use interference, while the control group underwent no interference. We measured four major variable factors (mindfulness, self-compassion, positive psychological capital, and suicide ideation) before and after the app use intervention. Results In the app group, self-compassion and positive psychological capital were significantly higher, and suicide ideation was significantly lower than the control group. In the control group, there were no noticeable differences in any of the four variables between the pre-test and post-test. Conclusions Our findings demonstrate that the short video app guided LKM may help to improve self-compassion, and positive psychological capital, and reduce suicide ideation. The finding of the short video app-guided LKM's effect extends our understanding of the integrative effects of positive psychology and digital media on the reduction of suicide ideation.

Positive intervention effect of mobile health application based on mindfulness and social support theory on postpartum depression symptoms of puerperae.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the effects of mobile health application designed based on mindfulness and social support theory on parenting self-efficacy and postpartum depression symptoms of puerperae. METHODS: We recruited 130 puerperae from a hospital in China and randomized them to an App use group (n = 65) and a waiting control group (n = 65). The App group underwent an 8-week app use intervention while the control group underwent no intervention. We measured four main variables (mindfulness, perceived social support, maternal parental self-efficacy and postpartum depressive symptoms) before and after the App use intervention. RESULTS: In the App group, perceived social support, maternal parental self-efficacy were significantly higher and postpartum depressive symptoms was significantly lower. In the control group, there were no significant differences in any of the four variables between the pre-test and post-test. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicated that the mobile health application may help to improve perceived social support, maternal self-efficacy and reduce postpartum depressive symptoms. The finding of the mobile health application's effect extends our understanding of integrative effects of mindfulness and perceived social support on reduction of postpartum depressive symptoms and suggests clinical potentials in the treatment of postpartum depressive symptoms.

Effects of animated pedagogical agent-guided loving-kindness meditation on flight attendants' spirituality, mindfulness, subjective wellbeing, and social presence.

Loving-kindness meditation (LKM) was first practiced by Buddhists and then developed by clinical psychologist. Previous studies on LKM have mainly focused on the impact of real person-guided meditation on depression, anxiety, and other negative psychology. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this study explored the effect and mechanism of media-guided LKM on the improvement of social presence, mindfulness, spirituality, and subjective wellbeing (SWB). From the viewpoint of positive psychology, this study compared the different media effects of animated pedagogical agent (APA)-guided LKM and audio-guided LKM. A total of 82 flight attendants were recruited from airlines; then, they were randomly assigned to two groups: APA group (41 participants) and audio group (41 participants), which both underwent an 8-week LKM training intervention. The aforementioned four main variables were measured pre and post the meditation experiment. The results indicated that both APA-guided meditation and audio-guided meditation significantly improved subjects' spirituality and SWB. Compared with audio-guided meditation, APA-guided meditation significantly improved the subjects' spirituality, SWB, and social presence. Audio-guided meditation has no significant effect on social presence. This study highlights APA-guided meditation has a positive effect on spirituality, SWB, and social presence, which may provide individuals with a simple and easy method to improve their mental health.

The Effect of Animation-Guided Mindfulness Meditation on the Promotion of Creativity, Flow and Affect.

Creativity is so important for social and technological development that people are eager to find an easy way to enhance it. Previous studies have shown that mindfulness has significant effects on positive affect (PA), working memory capacity, cognitive flexibility and many other aspects, which are the key to promoting creativity. However, there are few studies on the relationship between mindfulness and creativity. The mechanism between mindfulness and creativity is still uncertain. Meditation is an important method of mindfulness training, but for most people who do not have the basic training, it's difficult to master how to get into a state of mindfulness. Animation has been shown by many studies to help improve cognition and is often used as a guiding tool. Using animation as the guiding carrier of meditation is more convenient and easier to accept. Therefore, this study adopted the intervention method of animation-guided meditation, aiming to explore: (1) the effect of animation-guided meditation on enhancing creativity; (2) the role of flow and emotion in the influence of mindfulness on creativity. We advertised recruitment through the internal network of a creative industrial park, and the final 95 eligible participants were divided into two groups: animation (n = 48) and audio (n = 47) guided meditation. The animation group was given an animated meditation intervention, and the audio group was given an audio meditation intervention, both interventions were performed 3 times a week and last for 8 weeks. Results: (1) Animation-guided meditation significantly increased participants' mindfulness and creativity levels; Significantly reduced their cognitive load compared to audio-guided meditation. (2) Mindfulness has a significant direct effect on creativity, and significant indirect effects on creativity; Flow and PA act as the mediating variable. Conclusion: (1) Mindfulness, flow, and PA all helped to improve the subjects' work creativity. In addition to the direct positive impact of mindfulness on creativity, mindfulness can also have an indirect positive impact on creativity through flow and PA. (2) Compared with audio, animation can significantly reduce cognitive load and help improve users' cognitive ability, which is more suitable for the guidance materials of mindfulness meditation to enhance the effect of meditation.

Focused-Attention Meditation Improves Flow, Communication Skills, and Safety Attitudes of Surgeons.

OBJECTIVE: Patient safety is a worldwide problem and a focus of academic research. Human factors and ergonomics (HFE) is an approach to improving healthcare work systems and processes. From the perspective of the cognitive ergonomics of HFE, the aim of this study is to improve the flow level, communication skills, and safety attitudes of surgeons through focused-attention meditation (FAM) training, thus helping to reduce adverse clinical events. METHODS: In total, 140 surgeons were recruited from three hospitals in China and randomly divided into two groups (FAM group and control group). The FAM group received 8 weeks of FAM training, while the control group was on the waiting list and did not receive any interventions. Three scales (WOLF, LCSAS, and SAQ-C) were used to measure the data of three variables (flow, communication skills, and safety attitude), respectively, at two times, before and after the intervention (pre-test and post-test). The incidence of adverse events during the intervention was also collected for both groups. RESULTS: The ANOVA results showed that all three variables had a significant main effect of time and significant interactions between time and group. The independent-sample T-test results showed that the incidence of adverse events during the intervention was significantly lower in the FAM group than in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: The intervention of FAM could significantly improve surgeons' flow levels, communication skills, and safety attitudes, potentially helping to reduce adverse clinical events.

Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Doctors' Mindfulness, Patient Safety Culture, Patient Safety Competency and Adverse Event.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the effects of mindfulness meditation on doctors' mindfulness, patient safety culture, patient safety competency, and adverse events. METHODS: We recruited 91 doctors from a hospital in China and randomized them to mindfulness meditation group (n = 46) and a waiting control group (n = 45). The mindfulness meditation group underwent an 8-week mindfulness meditation intervention, while the control group underwent no intervention. We measured four main variables (mindfulness, patient safety culture, patient safety competency, and adverse event) before and after the mindfulness meditation intervention. RESULTS: In the experimental group, mindfulness, patient safety culture and patient safety competency were significantly higher compared with those of the control group. In the control group, there were no significant differences in any of the three variables between the pre-test and post-test. Adverse events in the experimental group were significantly lower than in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: The intervention of mindfulness meditation significantly improved the level of mindfulness, patient safety culture and patient safety competency. During the mindfulness meditation intervention, the rate of adverse events in the meditation group was also significantly lower than in the control group. As a simple and effective intervention, mindfulness meditation plays a positive role in improving patient safety and has certain promotional value.

Acupuncture versus Lornoxicam in the Treatment of Acute Renal Colic: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the analgesic efficacy and safety of acupuncture and lornoxicam in acute renal colic (ARC). DESIGN SETTING PARTICIPANT: A randomized, double-blind, parallel-controlled, single-centered trial was conducted at Susong County People's Hospital from October 2019 to November 2020. Eighty-four patients with ARC were randomly divided into lornoxicam group (Group L) and acupuncture group (Group A). Group A was treated with acupuncture at Sanyinjiao (SP6), Yinlingquan (SP9) and normal saline, and Group L was treated with sham acupuncture at SP6, SP9 and lornoxicam. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Visual analogue scale (VAS) scores and adverse reactions such as nausea and dizziness were recorded within 5, 10, 15, 20 and 40 minutes after treatment. The main outcome of this study was the short-term effective (STE) rate, the secondary outcome was the onset time, and the safety index was incidence of adverse reactions. RESULTS: A total of 80 patients completed this study, including 41 patients (21 males and 20 females) in Group L and 39 patients (21 males and 18 females) in Group A. Group A exhibited lower scores versus group L after treatment (P < 0.05). The overall STE of group L was 61.00% (25/41), significantly lower than group A [84.62% (33/39)] (P < 0.001). There was no difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between group A [2.6% (1/39)] and group L [7.3% (3/41)] (P = 0.616). The ordered logistic regression analysis showed patients receiving acupuncture therapy are more likely to be cured [OR = 2.887, 95% CI: (1.190, 7.000), P = 0.019]. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture at SP6, SP9 and intramuscular injection of lornoxicam can effectively and safely relieve ARC, but the former has faster and better analgesic effect. Moreover, the incidence of adverse reactions was similar between the two treatments. This acupuncture therapy is recommended as a complementary therapy for ARC.

[Perceptions and Attitudes of Chengdu Residents toward "Medical and Aged Care" Integrated Models].

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the perceptions and attitudes of Chengdu residents toward "medical and aged care" integrated models and associated factors. METHODS: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted in 935 residents who were 45 years or older in 8 communities in Chengdu. Descriptive analyses and logistic binary regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: About 91.1% of respondents preferred self-care and family support, and only 8.9% preferred community and institutional care. About 84.9% of respondents reported no knowledge about the "medical and aged care" integrated models, and 15.1% had some basic understanding of the integrated care models. Middle-aged respondents were more likely to understand the integrated care models than their older counterparts, with 21.7% willing to endorse the integrated care models. The logistic regression analyses showed that age, educational attainment, marital status, chronic illness, available financial support, and knowledge and awareness were associated with the choice. CONCLUSIONS: Chengdu residents have low level of knowledge and awareness of the "medical and aged care" integrated models. Public education is needed to promote the new aged care models.

Antiviral screen identifies EV71 inhibitors and reveals camptothecin-target, DNA topoisomerase 1 as a novel EV71 host factor.

Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is one of the causative agents of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) associated with severe neurological disease. EV71's pathogenesis remains poorly understood and the lack of approved antiviral has led to its emergence as a clinically important neurotropic virus. The goals of this study were to: (i) identify novel anti-EV71 compounds that may serve as lead molecules for therapeutics; and (ii) investigate their targets in downstream studies. We screened a 502-compound library of highly purified natural products for anti-EV71 activities in a cell-based immunofluorescence assay that were then confirmed in viral plaque reduction assays. Along with known antivirals, novel inhibitors of EV71 were also identified. We selected camptothecin for downstream studies and found that it is a limited spectrum enterovirus inhibitor that inhibits coxsackievirus A16 but not ECHOvirus 7. Camptothecin, a DNA topoisomerase 1 (TOP1) inhibitor, inhibits both viral RNA replication and translation based on luciferase replicon studies. Depletion of TOP1 using siRNA was then able to rescue EV71 infection from camptothecin inhibition. Interestingly, EV71 viral RNA replication and translation were also in TOP1 depleted cells. We found that nuclear TOP1 was relocalized to cytoplasmic replication vesicles during EV71 infection and localized with viral 3CD using confocal microscopy and proximity-ligation assays. Our findings reveal camptothecin to be a limited spectrum antiviral against enteroviruses that functions in a TOP1-dependent but cytotoxicity-independent manner. TOP1 is in turn needed for maximal EV71 viral RNA replication and viral protein synthesis.

Capilliposide Isolated from Lysimachia capillipes Hemsl. Induces ROS Generation, Cell Cycle Arrest, and Apoptosis in Human Nonsmall Cell Lung Cancer Cell Lines.

Several data has reported that capilliposide, extracted from a traditional Chinese medicine, Lysimachia capillipes Hemsl. (LC) could exhibit inhibitory effect on cell proliferation in various cancers. The current study investigated the antitumor efficacy of Capilliposide and elucidated its potential molecular mechanism involved in vivo and vitro. Our results indicated that LC capilliposide inhibited proliferation of lung cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner. LC capilliposide induced cell cycle arrest at the S stage and enhanced apoptosis in NSCLC cells. Treatment with LC capilliposide increased the intracellular level of ROS, which activated the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. Blockage of ROS by NAC highly reversed the effect of LC capilliposide on apoptosis. Xenograft tumor growth was significantly lower in the LC-treated group compared with the untreated control group (P < 0.05). The results also show that LC treatment does not produce any overt signs of acute toxicity in vivo. These findings demonstrate that LC capilliposide could exert an anti-tumor effect on NSCLC through mitochondrial-mediated apoptotic pathway and the activation of ROS is involved.

Effect of Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Perfusion Chemotherapy in Combination with Intravenous Chemotherapy as Postoperative Adjuvant Therapy for Advanced Gastric Cancer.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The aim is to evaluate the preliminary efficacy and side effects of paclitaxel, 5-fluorouracil, and leucovorin intravenous chemotherapy in combination with cisplatin hyperthermic intraperitoneal perfusion chemotherapy (HIPEC) as postoperative adjuvant therapy for patients of locally advanced gastric cancer (GC) at high risk for recurrence after curative resection. METHODOLOGY: Four GC patients who underwent radical gastrectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy were enrolled. All patients received paclitaxel 135 mg/m2 on day 1, 5-FU 500 mg/m2 on days 1-5, LV 200 mg/m2 on days 1-5 intravenous chemotherapy, cisplatin 75 mg/m2 on day 5, and HIPEC one month after surgery. It was repeated at 3 weeks intervals and at least two cycles administered. RESULTS: A total of 181 cycles of chemotherapy were administered (median, 4 cycles). The median disease free survival time of patients was 40.8 months. The median overall survival time was 48.0 months. The one-, two-, and three-year recurrence rates were 14.6%, 26.8%, and 46.3%, respectively. The main relapse patterns were remnant GC and metastases of retroperitoneal lymph nodes. The morbidity of grade 3 and 4 toxicities of myelosuppression, nausea/ vomiting were less than 10%. The side effects of grade 1 and 2 of hematologic toxicity, nausea and vomiting, abnormal function of liver, kidney or cardiac, fatigue and neurotoxicity were well tolerated. CONCLUSIONS: Cisplatin HIPEC combined with paclitaxel, 5-fluorouracil, and leucovorin intravenous chemotherapy regimen could improve the survival rate and decrease the postoperative recurrence of locally advanced GC.