IMPORTANCE: Mounting evidence supports the role of spiritual, existential, religious, and theological components in mediating psychedelic-assisted therapy, yet integration of these elements into the ...clinical setting is lagging OBSERVATIONS: Although psychedelic-assisted therapy commonly produces spiritually, existentially, religiously, or theologically relevant experiences for patients, these have not been systematically integrated into the psychotherapies that accompany therapeutic uses of psychedelics. As a key feature and potential mediator of therapeutic effects, evidence-based psychedelic-assisted therapies should include these topics in the treatment model. Research across multiple diagnostic targets and treatment contexts suggests that spiritually integrated psychotherapies are effective, feasible, and produce add-on benefits in spiritually, existentially, religiously, and theologically relevant outcomes, which are particularly germane to psychedelics. Established standards in spiritually integrated psychotherapy may be fruitfully applied to psychedelic-assisted therapy. Objectives for spiritually, existentially, religiously, and theologically integrated psychedelic-assisted therapy based on these standards and informed by considerations specific to psychedelics are recommended. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Spiritual, existential, religious, and theological topics’ integration in psychedelic-assisted therapy is needed to ensure culturally competent, evidence-based treatment aligned with the highest standards of clinical care. Neglecting to address these topics can detract from cultural competence, contribute to risks for patients, and potentially undermine treatment success.
Psychedelic-assisted therapies hold early promise for treating multiple psychiatric conditions. However, absent standards for the care, teams providing psychedelic-assisted therapy pose a major ...roadblock to safe administration. Psychedelics often produce spiritually and existentially meaningful experiences, and spiritual health practitioners have been involved in administering psychedelic-assisted therapies in multiple settings, suggesting important qualifications for delivering these therapies. However, the roles and competencies of spiritual health practitioners in psychedelic-assisted therapies have not been described in research.
This study examined interviews with 15 spiritual health practitioners who have facilitated psychedelic-assisted therapy. Thematic analyses focused on their contributions, application of expertise and professional background, and roles in administering these therapies.
Seven themes emerged, comprising two domains: unique and general contributions. Unique contributions included: competency to work with spiritual material, awareness of power dynamics, familiarity with non-ordinary states of consciousness, holding space, and offer a counterbalance to biomedical perspectives. General contributions included use of generalizable therapeutic repertoire when conducting PAT, and contributing to interdisciplinary collaboration.
Spiritual health practitioners bring unique and specific expertise to psychedelic-assisted therapy based on their training and professional experience. They are skilled at interprofessional collaboration in a way that complements other clinical team members. Psychedelic-assisted therapy teams may benefit from including spiritual health practitioners. In order to ensure rigorous standards and quality care, further efforts to delineate the roles and necessary qualifications and training of spiritual health clinicians for psychedelic-assisted therapy are needed.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The objective was to evaluate removal efficacy of agrichemicals from water using a small-scale granular activated carbon (GAC) system. The GAC system consisted of a series of three 1.9- to 4.1-L ...filter canisters filled with 8 × 30 US mesh (595 to 2380 μm) bituminous coal GAC. In experiment 1, 11 agrichemicals (acephate, bifenthrin, chlorpyrifos, flurprimidol, glyphosate, hydrogen peroxide + peracetic acid, imidacloprid, paclobutrazol, didecyldimethylammonium chloride (DDAC), triclopyr, and uniconazole) used in greenhouse and nursery production were exposed to 0, 12, or 64 s of GAC contact time. Chemical concentrations were prepared at a 1:10 dilution of a recommended label rate for ornamental crops to represent a possible residual concentration found in recaptured irrigation or surface water. In experiment 2, three other chemicals iron ethylene diamine-N,N′-bis(hydroxy phenyl acetic acid) (iron-EDDHA, a chelated iron fertilizer), soracid blue dye (a fertilizer dye), and sodium hypochlorite (a sanitizing agent) were also tested with 0, 12, 38, or 64 s of GAC contact time. Agrichemical concentration was reduced with 12 s of GAC contact time compared with the 0 s for all chemicals tested, and in most cases was further increased at 64-s contact time. Chemicals reduced below their minimum detection limits with 64 s GAC included acephate, flurprimidol, paclobutrazol, uniconazole, peracetic acid, DDAC, and chlorine (free and total). Percent reduction for other chemicals with 64 s GAC was 72.2% for bifenthrin, 89% chlorphyrifos, 85.3% imidacloprid, 99% glyphosate, 99.4% triclopyr, 99.3% hydrogen peroxide, 47.6% iron-EDDHA, and 94.6% soracid blue dye. Iron-EDDHA and soracid blue dye could be used as indicator chemicals for onsite monitoring of GAC filter efficacy. Results indicate that GAC filtration can remove a wide range of agrichemical contaminants commonly used in greenhouse and nursery production, although the required contact time in commercial production is expected to be greater than in this research study.
is a flagellated gut anaerobic bacterium belonging to the
family within the Firmicutes phylum. A significant decrease of
colonization in the gut of ulcerative colitis patients has recently been ...demonstrated. In this work, we have investigated the mechanisms of
-host cross talk using both murine and
models.
The complete genome sequence of
A2-183 was determined. C3H/HeN germ-free mice were mono-colonized with
, and the host-microbe interaction was studied using histology, transcriptome analyses and FACS. Further investigations were performed
and using the TLR5KO and DSS-colitis murine models.
In the bacterium,
, host gut colonization upregulated genes involved in conjugation/mobilization, metabolism, motility, and chemotaxis. In the host cells, bacterial colonization upregulated genes related to antimicrobial peptides, gut barrier function, toll-like receptors (TLR) signaling, and T cell biology. CD4
CD25
FoxP3
T cell numbers increased in the
of both mono-associated and conventional mice treated with
. Treatment with the
bacterium provided protection against DSS-induced colitis. The role of flagellin in host-bacterium interaction was also investigated.
Mono-association of mice with
bacteria results in specific bidirectional gene expression patterns. A set of genes thought to be important for host colonization are induced in
, while the host cells respond by strengthening gut barrier function and enhancing Treg population expansion, possibly
TLR5-flagellin signaling. Our data reveal the immunomodulatory properties of
that could be useful for the control and treatment of gut inflammation.
Healthcare personnel experienced unprecedented stressors and risk factors for burnout, anxiety, and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. This may have been particularly true for spiritual health ...clinicians (SHCs), also referred to as healthcare chaplains. We administered a daily pulse survey that allowed SHCs to self-report burnout, depression, and well-being, administered every weekday for the first year of the pandemic. We used a series of linear regression models to evaluate whether burnout, depression, and well-being were associated with local COVID-19 rates in the chaplains’ hospital system (COVID-19 admissions, hospital deaths from COVID-19, and COVID-19 ICU census). We also compared SHC weekly rates with national averages acquired by the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey (HPS) data during the same timeframe. Of the 840 daily entries from 32 SHCs, 90.0% indicated no symptoms of burnout and 97.1% were below the cutoff for depression. There was no statistically significant relationship between any of the COVID-19 predictors and burnout, depression, or well-being. Mean national PHQ-2 scores were consistently higher than our sample’s biweekly means. Understanding why SHCs were largely protected against burnout and depression may help in addressing the epidemic of burnout among healthcare providers and for preparedness for future healthcare crises.
Crohn's Disease (CD) and Ulcerative Colitis (UC) are world-wide health problems in which intestinal dysbiosis or adverse functional changes in the microbiome are causative or exacerbating factors. ...The reduced abundance and diversity of the microbiome may be a result of a lack of exposure to vital commensal microbes or overexposure to competitive pathobionts during early life. Alternatively, many commensal bacteria may not find a suitable intestinal niche or fail to proliferate or function in a protective/competitive manner if they do colonize. Bacteria express a range of factors, such as fimbriae, flagella, and secretory compounds that enable them to attach to the gut, modulate metabolism, and outcompete other species. However, the host also releases factors, such as secretory IgA, antimicrobial factors, hormones, and mucins, which can prevent or regulate bacterial interactions with the gut or disable the bacterium. The delicate balance between these competing host and bacteria factors dictates whether a bacterium can colonize, proliferate or function in the intestine. Impaired functioning of NOD2 in Paneth cells and disrupted colonic mucus production are exacerbating features of CD and UC, respectively, that contribute to dysbiosis. This review evaluates the roles of these and other the host, bacterial and environmental factors in inflammatory bowel diseases.
Bereavement increases in prevalence as people age and is associated with multiple psychological and health risks, including cardiovascular risk. Religious and existential variables may play an ...important role in the health impacts of bereavement. Theorized pathways linking religious and existential variables with health have suggested these associations are due to intermediary psychosocial variables, but have not been tested in bereavement. This research empirically tested these pathways in a bereaved population. In N = 73 adults within 1 year of bereavement (mean age = 64.36), this study examined associations between (1) religious and existential characteristics (religious and spiritual struggles, intrinsic religiosity, and existential quest) and intermediary psychosocial variables (depression, loneliness, and difficulties in emotion regulation), and between (2) intermediary psychosocial variables and bereavement‐relevant health outcomes (self‐reported health, change in health since last year, grief severity, and cardiovascular biomarkers). Cardiovascular biomarkers (heart rate, heart rate variability, and blood pressure) were collected before, during, and after a laboratory grief recall emotion elicitation. Anticipated associations between self‐reported religious and existential characteristics and intermediary variables, and between intermediary variables and self‐reported bereavement‐relevant outcomes, were consistently observed. However, associations between intermediary variables and cardiovascular biomarkers were largely unobserved. This study examined the role of religious and existential variables in whole‐person health after bereavement and is among the first to include biomarkers of cardiovascular risk. Results suggest that although religious and existential variables are associated with important bereavement‐related outcomes, these associations may be “skin‐deep,” and extensions to cardiovascular functioning should be re‐examined.
Spiritual, existential, religious, and theological (SERT) variables are often salient in bereavement. We used a laboratory grief recall protocol, assessing cardiovascular biomarkers and self‐report, to examine how SERT variables associate with cardiovascular biomarkers in response to grief, and with psychological well‐being. Previously theorized models were only partly upheld: SERT related to theorized intermediary and psychological variables, but rarely associated with cardiovascular biomarkers.
DNA-based identification of mixed-organism samples offers the potential to greatly reduce the need for resource-intensive morphological identification, which would be of value both to bioassessment ...and non-native species monitoring. The ability to assign species identities to DNA sequences found depends on the availability of comprehensive DNA reference libraries. Here, we compile inventories for aquatic metazoans extant in or threatening to invade the Laurentian Great Lakes and examine the availability of reference mitochondrial COI DNA sequences (barcodes) in the Barcode of Life Data System for them. We found barcode libraries largely complete for extant and threatening-to-invade vertebrates (100% of reptile, 99% of fish, and 92% of amphibian species had barcodes). In contrast, barcode libraries remain poorly developed for precisely those organisms where morphological identification is most challenging; 46% of extant invertebrates lacked reference barcodes with rates especially high among rotifers, oligochaetes, and mites. Lack of species-level identification for many aquatic invertebrates also is a barrier to matching DNA sequences with physical specimens. Attaining the potential for DNA-based identification of mixed-organism samples covering the breadth of aquatic fauna requires a concerted effort to build supporting barcode libraries and voucher collections.
Over the last decade, numerous interventions and techniques that aim to engender, strengthen, and expand compassion have been created, proliferating an evidence base for the benefits of compassion ...meditation training. However, to date, little research has been conducted to examine individual variation in the learning, beliefs, practices, and subjective experiences of compassion meditation. This mixed-method study examines changes in novice meditators' knowledge and contemplative experiences before, during, and after taking an intensive course in CBCT® (Cognitively-Based Compassion Training), a contemplative intervention that is increasingly used for both inter- and intrapersonal flourishing. The participants in this study (
= 40) were Christian healthcare chaplains completing a 1-year residency in Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) who learned CBCT as part of their professional chaplaincy training curriculum. Prior to and upon completion of training, we surveyed participants to assess their beliefs about the malleability of compassion, types of engagement in compassion meditation, and perceptions of the impact of taking CBCT. We also conducted in-depth interviews with a subset of participants to gain a qualitative understanding of their subjective experiences of learning and practicing compassion meditation, a key component of CBCT. We found that participants reported increases in the extent to which they believed compassion to be malleable after studying CBCT. We also found high levels of variability of individual ways of practicing and considered the implications of this for the study of contemplative learning processes. This multi-methodological approach yielded novel insights into how compassion practice and compassion-related outcomes interrelate, insights that can inform the basic scientific understanding of the experience of learning and enacting compassion meditation as a means of strengthening compassion itself.
High coverage whole genome sequencing provides near complete information about genetic variation. However, other technologies can be more efficient in some settings by (a) reducing redundant coverage ...within samples and (b) exploiting patterns of genetic variation across samples. To characterize as many samples as possible, many genetic studies therefore employ lower coverage sequencing or SNP array genotyping coupled to statistical imputation. To compare these approaches individually and in conjunction, we developed a statistical framework to estimate genotypes jointly from sequence reads, array intensities, and imputation. In European samples, we find similar sensitivity (89%) and specificity (99.6%) from imputation with either 1× sequencing or 1 M SNP arrays. Sensitivity is increased, particularly for low-frequency polymorphisms (MAF < 5%), when low coverage sequence reads are added to dense genome-wide SNP arrays--the converse, however, is not true. At sites where sequence reads and array intensities produce different sample genotypes, joint analysis reduces genotype errors and identifies novel error modes. Our joint framework informs the use of next-generation sequencing in genome wide association studies and supports development of improved methods for genotype calling.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK