Mindfulness has been shown to be effective in treating various medical and mental problems. Especially its incorporation in cognitive-behavioural interventions has improved long-term outcomes of ...those treatments. It has also been shown, that brief mindfulness-based trainings are effective in reducing distress. There have been few web-based interventions incorporating mindfulness techniques in their manual and it remains unclear whether a brief web-based mindfulness intervention is feasible.
Out of 50 adults (different distress levels; exclusion criteria: <18 years, indication of psychotic or suicidal ideation in screening) who were recruited via e-mail and screened online, 49 were randomized into an immediate 2-weeks-treatment group (N=28) or a waitlist-control group (N=21), starting with a 2-week delay. Distress (BSI), perceived stress (PSQ), mindfulness (FMI), as well as mood and emotion regulation (PANAS/SEK-27) were measured at pre-, post- and 3-month follow-up (3MFU). Intention-to-treat analyses using MI for missing data and per-protocol analyses (≥50% attendance) were performed.
26 participants of the treatment group completed post-measures. Most measures under ITT-analysis revealed no significant improvement for the treatment group, but trends with medium effect sizes for PSQ (d=0.46) and PANASneg (d=0.50) and a small, non-significant effect for FMI (d=0.29). Per-protocol analyses for persons who participated over 50% of the time revealed significant treatment effects for PSQ (d=0.72) and PANASneg (d=0.77). Comparing higher distressed participants with lower distressed participants, highly distressed participants seemed to profit more of the training in terms of distress reduction (GSI, d=0.85). Real change (RCI) occurred for PSQ in the treatment condition (OR=9). Results also suggest that participants continued to benefit from the training at 3MFU.
This study of a brief web-based mindfulness training indicates that mindfulness can be taught online and may improve distress, perceived stress and negative affect for regular users. Although there were no significant improvements, but trends, for most measures under ITT, feasibility of such a program was demonstrated and also that persons continued to use techniques of the training in daily life.
German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS): DRKS00003209.
To investigate the psychometric and structural properties of the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) among meditators, to develop a short form, and to examine associations of mindfulness ...with mental health and the mechanisms of mindfulness.
Two independent samples were used, a German (n = 891) and a Spanish (n = 393) meditator sample, practicing various meditation styles. Structural and psychometric properties of the FFMQ were investigated with multigroup confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory structural equation modeling. Associations with mental health and mechanisms of mindfulness were examined with path analysis.
The derived short form broadly matched a previous item selection in samples of non-meditators. Self-regulated Attention and Orientation to Experience governed the facets of mindfulness on a higher-order level. Higher-order factors of mindfulness and meditation experience were negatively associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety, and perceived stress. Decentering and nonattachment were the most salient mechanisms of mindfulness. Aspects of emotion regulation, bodily awareness, and nonattachment explained the effects of mindfulness on depression and anxiety.
A two-component conceptualization for the FFMQ, and for the study of mindfulness as a psychological construct, is recommended for future research. Mechanisms of mindfulness need to be examined in intervention studies.
Child maltreatment (CM) in foster care settings (i.e., institutional abuse, IA) is known to have negative effects on adult survivor’s mental health. This study examines and compares the extent of CM ...(physical, emotional, and sexual abuse; physical and emotional neglect) and lifetime traumatization with regard to current adult mental health in a group of survivors of IA and a comparison group from the community. Participants in the foster care group (n = 220) were adult survivors of IA in Viennese foster care institutions, the comparison group (n = 234) consisted of persons from the Viennese population. The comparison group included persons who were exposed to CM within their families. Participants completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the Life Events Checklist for DSM-5, the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5, the International Trauma Questionnaire for ICD-11, and the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 and completed a structured clinical interview. Participants in the foster care group showed higher scores in all types of CM than the comparison group and 57.7% reported exposure to all types of CM. The foster care group had significantly higher prevalence rates in almost all mental disorders including personality disorders and suffered from higher symptom distress in all dimensional measures of psychopathology including depression, anxiety, somatization, dissociation, and the symptom dimensions of PTSD. In both groups, adult life events and some but not all forms of CM predicted PTSD and adult life events partly mediated the association of PTSD and CM. Explanations for the severe consequences of CM and IA are discussed.
In this article, a novel approach for the versatile wrinkle-free application of (curved) precut adhesive tapes on freeform 3-D surfaces is presented. Straight and curved tape application paths are ...mapped onto the 3-D object as geodesics and as lines with imposed geodesic curvature, respectively. The proposed surface-based path following control concept extends the classical path following control by a novel parallel contact frame and a parallel projection operator. Using a static state feedback, the robotic system is transformed into a system with linear input-output behavior in the path coordinates. This allows to traverse a path on a 3-D object with a draping roll without turning around the surface normal vector. The latter prevents distortions and wrinkles of the applied tape. Experimental results with a Kuka LBR iiwa 14 R820 demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed approach.
Objectives
Past research of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) lacks clear results regarding its factorial validity, item fitting, mindfulness in the general population, and on the ...higher order structure of mindfulness. We derived an alternative two‐factor higher order structure for the FFMQ, delineating the attentional and experiential aspects of mindfulness.
Method
Data of 640 persons from the Austrian community were used for primary analyses, and data of 333 Austrian students were used for cross‐validation. Confirmatory analyses and exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) were utilized to investigate psychometric and structural properties. Associations with related variables and indicators of mental health were examined.
Results
Confirmatory models fitted only poorly on the full 39‐item FFMQ. Fit was acceptable in an abridged 20‐item version in both samples. The Nonreact scale had only weak psychometric properties. ESEM analyses suggested a good fit of two higher order factors and revealed structural differences between the samples. Beneficial effects of mindfulness appeared to be uniquely associated with the experiential aspects of mindfulness. Strategies of emotion regulation showed differential associations with the two higher order factors in the two samples.
Conclusions
Our findings are relevant both with regard to conceptual issues on mindfulness and the assessment of mindfulness with the FFMQ. Replications in meditating samples and in patients are needed.
In this article, an adaptive two-degrees-of-freedom current control algorithm for solenoids is presented comprising an adaptive pole placement controller in combination with a regularized ...least-squares parameter estimation law. An additional adaptive feedforward controller takes advantage of the estimated plant parameters to further enhance the tracking performance. The stability of the overall closed-loop system is rigorously proven. The proposed solution differs from existing approaches by the adaptive feedforward controller and the way the parameter estimation is performed. The control concept is applied with the same controller parametrization to three solenoids from different applications, with substantially differing parameters. The experimental results show high tracking performance and fast parameter convergence even with poor initial estimates and despite the nonlinear dependence of the inductance on the current and position. The experimental results are also compared to two benchmark control design paradigms known from the literature, i.e. a second-order sliding mode controller and a nonlinear model reference adaptive control solution, which are both outperformed by the proposed controller.
Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) are fundamental sensors that help driving tasks for autonomous driving at various levels. Commercially available systems come in different specialized design ...schemes and involve plenty of specifications. In the literature, there are insufficient representations of the technical requirements for LiDAR systems in the automotive context, such as range, detection quality, resolving power, field of view, and eye safety. For this reason, the requirements above require to be derived based on ADAS functions. The requirements for various key LiDAR metrics, including detection range, field of view, angular resolution, and laser safety, are analyzed in this paper. LiDAR systems are available with various radiation patterns that significantly impact on detection range. Therefore, the detection range under various radiation patterns is firstly investigated in this paper. Based on ADAS functions, the required detection range and field of view for LiDAR systems are examined, taking into account various travel speeds to avoid collision and the coverage of the entire lane width. Furthermore, the angular resolution limits are obtained utilizing the KITTI dataset and exemplary 3D detection algorithms. Finally, the maximum detection ranges for the different radiation patterns are compared under the consideration of derived requirements and laser safety.
Smart power switches are power switches with integrated control and protection functions for the switching of middle- and high-current loads. In particular in automotive applications, smart power ...switches have to be operated without additional stabilization networks, EMI filters, and heat sinks to keep the weight, required space and costs of the circuit boards as low as possible. Therefore, the generated electromagnetic emissions must be reduced by another measure without significantly increasing the switching losses. This can be achieved by the active control of the first and/or second derivative of the output voltage. This paper presents a digital slew rate control and its extension to an S-shape control strategy, which in addition to the slew rate, also controls the second derivative of the output voltage. Both strategies are based on feedforward gate current profiles, which are iteratively adapted by an iterative learning control strategy to compensate for load variations and temperature dependences. A rapid prototyping test bench is presented, and the performance and robustness of the control strategies are demonstrated by a series of measurement results. An EMC compliance test according to the CSIPR 25 standard shows that the generation of conducted electromagnetic emissions can be reduced in a power efficient way by the proposed approach.
Background: Anger and shame are aspects that are specifically associated with psychopathology and maladaptation after childhood abuse and neglect. They are known to influence symptom maintenance and ...exacerbation; however, their interaction is not fully understood.
Objective: To explore with network analysis the association and interaction of prolonged, complex interpersonal childhood abuse and neglect in institutional foster care settings institutional abuse (IA) with anger, shame, and the proposed 11th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-11) post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in adult survivors.
Method: Adult survivors of IA (N = 220, mean age = 57.95 years) participated in the study and were interviewed using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the International Trauma Questionnaire, the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory, the Displaced Aggression Questionnaire, and shame-related items. To identify the most central aspects, we used a staged network analysis and centrality analysis approach: (1) on the scale level; (2) on the item/symptom level; and (3) with modularity analysis to find communities within the item-level network.
Results: Trait anger, anger rumination, emotional abuse, and PTSD re-experiencing symptoms played the most important roles on a scale level and were then further analyzed on the item/symptom level. The most central symptom on the item level was anger rumination related to meaningful past events. The modularity analysis supported discriminant validity of the included scales.
Conclusions: Anger is an important factor in the psychopathological processes following childhood abuse. Anger rumination is closely related to PTSD symptoms; however, anger is not a part of the proposed ICD-11 PTSD in the present study.
Due to ambiguous findings on cardiovascular benefits of systemic omega-3 fatty acid therapy, endogenous mechanisms contributing to local organ-specific concentrations of highly unsaturated fatty ...acids (HUFA) were examined. Using gas chromatography, 43 fatty acids were analyzed in atrial and ventricular myocardium and in pericardial fluid of male Wistar rats. To examine the endogenous fatty acid metabolism, precursors were administered into the pericardial sac. Pro- and anti-inflammatory actions were induced by talc or fenofibrate, respectively. Physical exercise and a sedentary obese state were used for increased beta-oxidation. DHA (22:6n-3) was increased in ventricular when compared with atrial myocardium (9.0 ± 2.1% vs. 4.7 ± 1.0%, p < 0.001). Intrapericardial EPA (20:5n-3) application lead to an increase of the succeeding tetracosapentaenoic acid (24:5n-3) in atrial myocardium, which is a key precursor of DHA. In contrast, proinflammatory stimulation of the n-6 HUFA pathway did not influence the n-3 metabolism. Exercise- and obesity-induced increased beta-oxidation, the finalizing step of DHA synthesis, was associated with increased ventricular DHA concentrations (6.7 ± 1.0% vs. 8.4 ± 1.2%, p < 0.01). It is concluded that the endogenous metabolism contributes markedly to myocardial HUFA concentrations. The findings are supposed to influence the efficacy of oral HUFA treatment and provide a rationale for divergent findings of previous trials on omega-3 therapy.
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