scholarly journals Effects of a Dosed Exercise Intervention in Craving and Anhedonia: A Secondary Analysis from the STRIDE-CTN 0037 Clinical Trial

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Villalobos-Gallegos ◽  
Aldebarán Toledo-Fernández ◽  
Alexandra Valadez Jiménez ◽  
Diana Mejía Cruz ◽  
Laurent Ávila-Chauvet
Keyword(s):  
Exercise Intervention ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Future Research ◽  
High Dose ◽  
Exercise Interventions ◽  
Patient Profile ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Positive Time ◽  
Positive Direct

This is a secondary analysis from the project “CTN-0037-Stimulant Reduction Intervention Using Dosed Exercise (STRIDE)”. We aimed to test the effects of a Vigorous Intensity High Dose Exercise Augmentation (VIHD) when compared to a health education intervention (HEI) in stimulant drug-cravings and anhedonia. Three-hundred and two participants were randomized (VIHD = 152, DEI =150). No significant Time x Treatment interaction was found neither for craving nor anhedonia. For craving scores, a positive Time and negative Age effects were found. The results suggest that craving increases over time, and that younger individuals had higher craving scores across the trial. In the case of anhedonia scores, Gender had a positive direct effect, and the interaction Time x Gender had a negative effect. . Weighting the current evidence about exercise interventions for substance use, is possible that a particular patient profile and high adherence are required to be successful. Future research should focus on the identification of variables to identify who could benefit from systematic exercise programs.

scholarly journals The Theoretical Framework of the Clinical Pilates Exercise Method in Managing Non-Specific Chronic Low Back Pain: A Narrative Review

Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1096
Author(s):  
Boon Chong Kwok ◽  
Justin Xuan Li Lim ◽  
Pui Wah Kong
Keyword(s):  
Low Back Pain ◽  
Back Pain ◽  
Clinical Outcomes ◽  
Chronic Low Back Pain ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Low Back ◽  
Exercise Interventions ◽  
Directional Preference

Exercise plays an important role in rehabilitating people with chronic low back pain. Aerobic exercise and resistance training are general exercise strategies to manage chronic low back pain, but these strategies require longer intervention period to achieve clinical outcomes in pain reduction and functional improvements. Directional preference is recognised as an important exercise strategy in managing low back pain. The Clinical Pilates exercise method leverages on the directional preference of an individual to achieve clinical outcomes faster. Clinical Pilates is a hybrid of two of the best exercise interventions for low back pain, which are general Pilates and the McKenzie method. Due to the scarcity of Clinical Pilates literature, a review of its theory and studies was undertaken to provide a structured guide to the technique in managing people with chronic low back pain. Hypothetical algorithms are developed to support translation into clinical practice and future research studies. These algorithms are useful in the management of complex cases involving multiple directional trauma. Although limited, current evidence suggests that the Clinical Pilates exercise method is safe and provides faster functional recovery in the early stage of rehabilitation and similar longer term outcomes as general exercises.

scholarly journals A critical review of exercise as a treatment for clinically depressed adults: time to get pragmatic

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 65-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felipe Barreto Schuch ◽  
Ioannis Dimitrios Morres ◽  
Panteleimon Ekkekakis ◽  
Simon Rosenbaum ◽  
Brendon Stubbs
Keyword(s):  
Antidepressant Treatment ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Routine Practice ◽  
Pragmatic Trials ◽  
Exercise Interventions ◽  
Current Evidence Base ◽  
Clinically Depressed ◽  
Comparison Groups ◽  
The Impact

ObjectiveAlthough considerable evidence supports the efficacy of exercise as an antidepressant treatment, critical reviews informing routine practice and future research directions are scarce.MethodsWe critically reviewed exercise studies for clinically depressed adults, focussing on the PICOS criteria referred to participants, interventions, comparisons, outcomes, and study designs.ResultsMost studies have not screened their samples for symptom heterogeneity. Also, they have employed heterogeneous exercise interventions and control groups that may lead to an underestimation of the benefits of exercise. In addition, pragmatic trials allowing scalable replication and implementation in routine practice are scarce. Future studies, can consider the research domain criteria as a diagnostic framework, and conduct moderator analyses to identify depressed subgroups with symptomatology and biopsychosocial characteristics associated with differential responses to exercise interventions. The search for biomarkers of the antidepressant responses to exercise should be prioritised. Further, non-physically active comparison groups should be used to minimise treatment cross-overs and thus the underestimation of the effects of exercise interventions. Finally, the use of outcome measures that maintain their validity at low and moderate levels of symptom severity and the development of trials with a pragmatic design are essential.ConclusionThe current evidence base is fraught with methodological considerations that need to be taken into account in order to increase further our understanding on the impact of exercise as medicine in depression. Future research should include moderator analyses, incorporate biomarker assays, use appropriate control and comparison groups, assess outcomes with psychometrically sensitive measures, and prioritise pragmatic trials towards transition to routine practice.

scholarly journals Fasting and Exercise in Oncology: Potential Synergism of Combined Interventions

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 3421
Author(s):  
Rebekah L. Wilson ◽  
Dong-Woo Kang ◽  
Cami N. Christopher ◽  
Tracy E. Crane ◽  
Christina M. Dieli-Conwright
Keyword(s):  
Body Composition ◽  
Synergistic Effects ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Exercise Interventions ◽  
Safety Issues ◽  
Potential Safety ◽  
Patient Reported ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Potential Benefits

Nutrition and exercise interventions are strongly recommended for most cancer patients; however, much debate exists about the best prescription. Combining fasting with exercise is relatively untouched within the oncology setting. Separately, fasting has demonstrated reductions in chemotherapy-related side effects and improved treatment tolerability and effectiveness. Emerging evidence suggests fasting may have a protective effect on healthy cells allowing chemotherapy to exclusively target cancer cells. Exercise is commonly recommended and attenuates treatment- and cancer-related adverse changes to body composition, quality of life, and physical function. Given their independent benefits, in combination, fasting and exercise may induce synergistic effects and further improve cancer-related outcomes. In this narrative review, we provide a critical appraisal of the current evidence of fasting and exercise as independent interventions in the cancer population and discuss the potential benefits and mechanisms of combined fasting and exercise on cardiometabolic, body composition, patient-reported outcomes, and cancer-related outcomes. Our findings suggest that within the non-cancer population combined fasting and exercise is a viable strategy to improve health-related outcomes, however, its safety and efficacy in the oncology setting remain unknown. Therefore, we also provide a discussion on potential safety issues and considerations for future research in the growing cancer population.

scholarly journals The Effect of Nordic Hamstring Exercise Intervention Volume on Eccentric Strength and Muscle Architecture Adaptations: A Systematic Review and Meta-analyses

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Cuthbert ◽  
Nicholas Ripley ◽  
John J. McMahon ◽  
Martin Evans ◽  
G. Gregory Haff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Exercise Intervention ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Biceps Femoris ◽  
Muscle Architecture ◽  
Risk Of Bias ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
High Dose ◽  
Fascicle Length ◽  
Biceps Femoris Muscle ◽  
Professional Soccer

Abstract Background Although performance of the Nordic hamstring exercise (NHE) has been shown to elicit adaptations that may reduce hamstring strain injury (HSI) risk and occurrence, compliance in NHE interventions in professional soccer teams is low despite a high occurrence of HSI in soccer. A possible reason for low compliance is the high dosages prescribed within the recommended interventions. The aim of this review was to investigate the effect of NHE-training volume on eccentric hamstring strength and biceps femoris fascicle length adaptations. Methods A literature search was conducted using the SPORTDiscus, Ovid, and PubMed databases. A total of 293 studies were identified prior to application of the following inclusion criteria: (1) a minimum of 4 weeks of NHE training was completed; (2) mean ± standard deviation (SD) pre- and post-intervention were provided for the measured variables to allow for secondary analysis; and (3) biceps femoris muscle architecture was measured, which resulted in 13 studies identified for further analysis. The TESTEX criteria were used to assess the quality of studies with risk of bias assessment assessed using a fail-safe N (Rosenthal method). Consistency of studies was analysed using I2 as a test of heterogeneity and secondary analysis of studies included Hedges’ g effect sizes for strength and muscle architecture variables to provide comparison within studies, between-study differences were estimated using a random-effects model. Results A range of scores (3–11 out of 15) from the TESTEX criteria were reported, showing variation in study quality. A ‘low risk of bias’ was observed in the randomized controlled trials included, with no study bias shown for both strength or architecture (N = 250 and 663, respectively; p < 0.001). Study consistency was moderate to high for strength (I2 = 62.49%) and muscle architecture (I2 = 88.03%). Within-study differences showed that following interventions of ≥ 6 weeks, very large positive effect sizes were seen in eccentric strength following both high volume (g = 2.12) and low volume (g = 2.28) NHE interventions. Similar results were reported for changes in fascicle length (g ≥ 2.58) and a large-to-very large positive reduction in pennation angle (g ≥ 1.31). Between-study differences were estimated to be at a magnitude of 0.374 (p = 0.009) for strength and 0.793 (p < 0.001) for architecture. Conclusions Reducing NHE volume prescription does not negatively affect adaptations in eccentric strength and muscle architecture when compared with high dose interventions. These findings suggest that lower volumes of NHE may be more appropriate for athletes, with an aim to increase intervention compliance, potentially reducing the risk of HSI.

The application of virtual reality in health professions� digital education: a narrative review (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorraine Tudor Car ◽  
Bhone Myint Kyaw ◽  
Josip Car
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Health Professions ◽  
Health Professions Education ◽  
Narrative Review ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Educational Content ◽  
Potential Applications

BACKGROUND Digital technology called Virtual Reality (VR) is increasingly employed in health professions’ education. Yet, based on the current evidence, its use is narrowed around a few most applications and disciplines. There is a lack of an overview that would capture the diversity of different VR applications in health professions’ education and inform its use and research. OBJECTIVE This narrative review aims to explore different potential applications of VR in health professions’ education. METHODS The narrative synthesis approach to literature review was used to analyse the existing evidence. RESULTS We outline the role of VR features such as immersion, interactivity and feedback and explain the role of VR devices. Based on the type and scope of educational content VR can represent space, individuals, objects, structures or their combination. Application of VR in medical education encompasses environmental, organ and micro level. Environmental VR focuses on training in relation to health professionals’ environment and human interactions. Organ VR educational content targets primarily human body anatomy; and micro VR microscopic structures at the level of cells, molecules and atoms. We examine how different VR features and health professional education areas match these three VR types. CONCLUSIONS We conclude by highlighting the gaps in the literature and providing suggestions for future research.

Institutions and the Embedded Entrepreneur

2019 ◽  
pp. 115-134
Author(s):  
Maryann Feldman ◽  
Paige Clayton
Keyword(s):  
Current Evidence ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Institutional Logic ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Regional Resources

This chapter examines the relationship between entrepreneurs and the communities in which they are embedded. It argues that the actions of entrepreneurs and their firms are contextually situated in specific geographies that make their actions endogenous in the development of place and define a place-specific institutional logic. This argument is at odds with the view that industry clustering is due to the role of incumbent firms. This chapter reconciles these views by adopting a temporal view, allowing both incumbents and geography to co-occur and influence clustering. It then considers the current evidence of entrepreneurs’ effects on regional resources and capacity, and concludes with suggestions for future research.

scholarly journals Remote interventions to improve exercise behaviour in sedentary people living with and beyond cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BMC Cancer ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Saïd Ibeggazene ◽  
Rebecca Turner ◽  
Derek Rosario ◽  
Liam Bourke
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Exercise Intervention ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Exercise Interventions ◽  
Exercise Behaviour ◽  
Cancer Services ◽  
The Social ◽  
Intervention Adherence ◽  
Randomised Controlled ◽  
Exercise Guidelines

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many cancer services to consider a transition to a remote format of delivery that is largely untested. Accordingly, we sought to perform a systematic review of the effects of remotely delivered interventions to improve exercise behaviour in sedentary adults living with and beyond cancer. Methods Eligible studies were randomised controlled trials comparing a remotely delivered exercise intervention to a usual care comparison in sedentary people over 18 years old with a primary cancer diagnosis. Nine electronic databases were searched from inception to November 2020. Results The review included three trials, totalling 186 participants. Two of the included trials incorporated prescriptions that meet current aerobic exercise recommendations, one of which also meets the guidelines for resistance exercise. No trials reported an intervention adherence of 75% or more for a set prescription that meets current exercise guidelines. Conclusion There is little evidence suggesting that remote exercise interventions promote exercise behaviours or improve physical function in sedentary adults living with and beyond cancer. The development and evaluation of novel remote exercise interventions is needed to establish their usefulness for clinical practice. Given the social response to the COVID-19 pandemic, further research in this area is urgently needed.

scholarly journals The Economic, Social, and Environmental Impacts of Farmers Markets: Recent Evidence from the US

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3423
Author(s):  
Phillip Warsaw ◽  
Steven Archambault ◽  
Arden He ◽  
Stacy Miller
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
The United States ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Farmers Markets ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Regional Food ◽  
Recent Scholarship ◽  
Fresh Food

Farmers markets are regular, recurring gatherings at a common facility or area where farmers and ranchers directly sell a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, and other locally grown farm products to consumers. Markets rebuild and maintain local and regional food systems, leading to an outsized impact on the food system relative to their share of produce sales. Previous research has demonstrated the multifaceted impacts that farmers markets have on the communities, particularly economically. Recent scholarship in the United States has expanded inquiry into social impacts that markets have on communities, including improving access to fresh food products and increasing awareness of the sustainable agricultural practices adopted by producers, as well developing tools for producers and market stakeholders to measure their impact on both producers and communities. This paper reviews the recent scholarship on farmers markets to identify recent trends and synthesizes the current evidence describing the ways in which farmers markets contribute to the wellbeing of their communities, as well as identifying areas for additional future research.

scholarly journals Meaningful Work, Job Resources, and Employee Engagement

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 4045
Author(s):  
Simon L. Albrecht ◽  
Camille R. Green ◽  
Andrew Marty
Keyword(s):  
Employee Engagement ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Meaningful Work ◽  
Organizational Outcomes ◽  
Job Resources ◽  
Psychological State ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Positive Direct ◽  
The Relationship

Meaningful work and employee engagement have been the subject of increasing interest in organizational research and practice over recent years. Both constructs have been shown to influence important organizational outcomes, such as job satisfaction, wellbeing, and performance. Only a limited amount of empirical research has focused on understanding the relationship within existing theoretical frameworks. For this study, meaningful work is proposed as a critical psychological state within the job demands-resources (JD-R) model that can therefore, in part, explain the relationship between job resources and employee engagement. Survey data collected from 1415 employees working in a range of organizations, across a number of industries, were analyzed with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM). In support of expectations, job variety, development opportunities, and autonomy, each had a significant and positive direct association with meaningful work. These job resources also had a significant and positive indirect effect on employee engagement via meaningful work. Although job variety, development opportunities, autonomy, and feedback had significant positive direct associations with engagement, contrary to expectations, supervisor support had a negative association with engagement. The final model explained a sizable proportion of variance in both meaningful work (49%) and employee engagement (65%). Relative weights analyses showed that job variety was the strongest job resource predictor of meaningful work, and that meaningful work was more strongly associated with employee engagement than the job resources. Overall, the results show that meaningful work plays an important role in enhancing employee engagement and that providing employees with skill and task variety is important to achieving that goal. Practical implications, study limitations, and future research opportunities are discussed.

scholarly journals Long-Term Cryopreservation Does Not Affect Quality of Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Grafts: A Comparative Study of Native, Short-Term and Long-Term Cryopreserved Haematopoietic Stem Cells

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 096368972110360
Author(s):  
Daniel Lysak ◽  
Michaela Brychtová ◽  
Martin Leba ◽  
Miroslava Čedíková ◽  
Daniel Georgiev ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Stem Cell ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Extended Period ◽  
High Dose ◽  
Atp Production ◽  
Cd34 Cells ◽  
Negative Effect

Cryopreserved haematopoietic progenitor cells are used to restore autologous haematopoiesis after high dose chemotherapy. Although the cells are routinely stored for a long period, concerns remain about the maximum storage time and the possible negative effect of storage on their potency. We evaluated the effect of cryopreservation on the quality of peripheral stem cell grafts stored for a short (3 months) and a long (10 years) period and we compared it to native products.The viability of CD34+ cells remained unaffected during storage, the apoptotic cells were represented up to 10% and did not differ between groups. The clonogenic activity measured by ATP production has decreased with the length of storage (ATP/cell 1.28 nM in native vs. 0.63 in long term stored products, P < 0.05). Only borderline changes without statistical significance were detected when examining mitochondrial and aldehyde dehydrogenase metabolic activity and intracellular pH, showing their good preservation during cell storage. Our experience demonstrates that cryostorage has no major negative effect on stem cell quality and potency, and therefore autologous stem cells can be stored safely for an extended period of at least 10 years. On the other hand, long term storage for 10 years and longer may lead to mild reduction of clonogenic capacity. When a sufficient dose of stem cells is infused, these changes will not have a clinical impact. However, in products stored beyond 10 years, especially when a low number of CD34+ cells is available, the quality of stem cell graft should be verified before infusion using the appropriate potency assays.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document