Mindfulness-Based and Mindfulness-Informed Interventions at the Workplace: A Systematic Review and Meta-Regression Analysis of RCTs.

Objectives: Positive effects of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) on occupational health have been demonstrated by several systematic review studies during the last two decades. So far, existing reviews excluded mindfulness-informed interventions (MIIs) that build on informal approaches or mixed techniques aiming at improving mindfulness indirectly. To address this research gap, the present comprehensive meta-analysis synthesizes the results of RCTs of MBIs and MIIs conducted in various workplace settings. Method: A systematic literature search was conducted in five electronic databases complemented by manual search. Random-effects models were used to synthesize standardized mean differences (SMDs) for 25 outcomes and seven overarching categories of outcomes, and to detect various temporal effects. Meta-regressions were run to elucidate average SMDs between mindfulness intervention types and intervention and population characteristics, with the goal of detecting sources of heterogeneity and help guide the selection of the most appropriate mindfulness intervention type. Results: Based on 91 eligible studies (from 92 publications), including 4927 participants and 4448 controls, the synthesis shows that MBIs and MIIs significantly improve mindfulness (SMD = 0.43; 95%-CI [0.33;0.52]), well-being (SMD = 0.63; 95%-CI [0.34;0.93]), mental health (SMD = 0.67; 95%-CI [0.48;0.86]), stress (SMD = 0.72; 95%-CI [0.54;0.90]), resilience (SMD = 1.06; 95%-CI [-0.22;2.34]), physical health (SMD = 0.45; 95%-CI [0.32;0.59]), and work-related factors (SMD = 0.62; 95%-CI [0.14;1.10]). Sensitivity analyses demonstrate a tendency towards smaller effect sizes due to extreme outliers. Effect sizes are stable in short-term follow-up assessments (1-12 weeks) for most outcomes, but not for long-term follow-up assessments (13-52 weeks). Meta-regressions suggest that observable intervention characteristics (e.g., online delivery) and population characteristics (e.g., age of participants), as well as study quality, do not explain the prevalence of heterogeneity in effect sizes. Conclusions: Generally effective, mindfulness interventions are a useful tool to enhance aspects of employee health. However, because of heterogeneity and risk of bias, studies aiming at high-quality data collection and thorough reporting are necessary to draw firm conclusions. Preregistration: A protocol of this systematic review was registered with PROSPERO (Registration-No. CRD42020159927). Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12671-023-02130-7.

Climate research must sharpen its view.

Human activity is changing Earth's climate. Now that this has been acknowledged and accepted in international negotiations, climate research needs to define its next frontiers.

Global radioxenon emission inventory based on nuclear power reactor reports.

Atmospheric radioactivity is monitored for the verification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, with xenon isotopes 131mXe, 133Xe, 133mXe and 135Xe serving as important indicators of nuclear explosions. The treaty-relevant interpretation of atmospheric concentrations of radioxenon is enhanced by quantifying radioxenon emissions released from civilian facilities. This paper presents the first global radioxenon emission inventory for nuclear power plants, based on North American and European emission reports for the years 1995-2005. Estimations were made for all power plant sites for which emission data were unavailable. According to this inventory, a total of 1.3PBq of radioxenon isotopes are released by nuclear power plants as continuous or pulsed emissions in a generic year.