Purpose Mindfulness has emerged as an important health concept based on evidence that mindfulness interventions reduce symptoms and improve health-related quality of life. The objectives of this ...study were to systematically assess and compare the properties of instruments to measure self-reported mindfulness. Methods Ovid Medline®, CINAHL®, and PsycINFO® were searched through May 2012, and articles were selected if their primary purpose was development or evaluation of the measurement properties (validity, reliability, responsiveness) of a self-report mindfulness scale. Two reviewers independently evaluated the methodological quality of the selected studies using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement INstruments checklist. Discrepancies were discussed with a third reviewer and scored by consensus. Finally, a level of evidence approach was used to synthe-size the results and study quality. Results Our search strategy identified a total of 2,588 articles. Forty-six articles, reporting 79 unique studies, met inclusion criteria. Ten instruments quantifying mindfulness as a unidimensional scale (n = 5) or as a set of 2–5 sub-scales (n = 5) were reviewed. The Mindful Attention Awareness Scale was evaluated by the most studies (n = 27) and had positive overall quality ratings for most of the psychometric properties reviewed. The Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire received the highest possible rating (“consistent findings in multiple studies of good methodological quality”) for two properties, internal consistency and construct validation by hypothesis testing. However, none of the instruments had sufficient evidence of content validity. Comprehensiveness of construct coverage had not been assessed; qualitative methods to confirm understanding and relevance were absent. In addition, estimates of test–retest reliability, responsiveness, or measurement error to guide users in protocol development or interpretation of scores were lacking. Conclusions Current mindfulness scales have important conceptual differences, and none can be strongly recommended based solely on superior psychometric properties. Important limitations in the field are the absence of qualitative evaluations and accepted external referents to support construct validity. Investigators need to proceed cautiously before optimizing any mindfulness intervention based on the existing scales.
A family of detoxifying enzymes called aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs) has been a subject of recent interest, as its role in detoxifying aldehydes that accumulate through metabolism and to which we ...are exposed from the environment has been elucidated. Although the human genome has 19 ALDH genes, one ALDH emerges as a particularly important enzyme in a variety of human pathologies. This ALDH, ALDH2, is located in the mitochondrial matrix with much known about its role in ethanol metabolism. Less known is a new body of research to be discussed in this review, suggesting that ALDH2 dysfunction may contribute to a variety of human diseases including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, stroke, and cancer. Recent studies suggest that ALDH2 dysfunction is also associated with Fanconi anemia, pain, osteoporosis, and the process of aging. Furthermore, an ALDH2 inactivating mutation (termed ALDH2*2) is the most common single point mutation in humans, and epidemiological studies suggest a correlation between this inactivating mutation and increased propensity for common human pathologies. These data together with studies in animal models and the use of new pharmacological tools that activate ALDH2 depict a new picture related to ALDH2 as a critical health-promoting enzyme.
We report on experiments demonstrating coherent control of magnon spin transport and pseudospin dynamics in a thin film of the antiferromagnetic insulator hematite utilizing two Pt strips for ...all-electrical magnon injection and detection. The measured magnon spin signal at the detector reveals an oscillation of its polarity as a function of the externally applied magnetic field. We quantitatively explain our experiments in terms of diffusive magnon transport and a coherent precession of the magnon pseudospin caused by the easy-plane anisotropy and the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. This experimental observation can be viewed as the magnonic analog of the electronic Hanle effect and the Datta-Das transistor, unlocking the high potential of antiferromagnetic magnonics toward the realization of rich electronics-inspired phenomena.
The term golden hour was coined to encourage urgency of trauma care. In 2009, Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates mandated prehospital helicopter transport of critically injured combat casualties in ...60 minutes or less.
To compare morbidity and mortality outcomes for casualties before vs after the mandate and for those who underwent prehospital helicopter transport in 60 minutes or less vs more than 60 minutes.
A retrospective descriptive analysis of battlefield data examined 21,089 US military casualties that occurred during the Afghanistan conflict from September 11, 2001, to March 31, 2014. Analysis was conducted from September 1, 2014, to January 21, 2015.
Data for all casualties were analyzed according to whether they occurred before or after the mandate. Detailed data for those who underwent prehospital helicopter transport were analyzed according to whether they occurred before or after the mandate and whether they occurred in 60 minutes or less vs more than 60 minutes. Casualties with minor wounds were excluded. Mortality and morbidity outcomes and treatment capability-related variables were compared.
For the total casualty population, the percentage killed in action (16.0% 386 of 2411 vs 9.9% 964 of 9755; P < .001) and the case fatality rate (CFR 13.7 469 of 3429 vs 7.6 1344 of 17,660; P < .001) were higher before vs after the mandate, while the percentage died of wounds (4.1% 83 of 2025 vs 4.3% 380 of 8791; P = .71) remained unchanged. Decline in CFR after the mandate was associated with an increasing percentage of casualties transported in 60 minutes or less (regression coefficient, -0.141; P < .001), with projected vs actual CFR equating to 359 lives saved. Among 4542 casualties (mean injury severity score, 17.3; mortality, 10.1% 457 of 4542) with detailed data, there was a decrease in median transport time after the mandate (90 min vs 43 min; P < .001) and an increase in missions achieving prehospital helicopter transport in 60 minutes or less (24.8% 181 of 731 vs 75.2% 2867 of 3811; P < .001). When adjusted for injury severity score and time period, the percentage killed in action was lower for those critically injured who received a blood transfusion (6.8% 40 of 589 vs 51.0% 249 of 488; P < .001) and were transported in 60 minutes or less (25.7% 205 of 799 vs 30.2% 84 of 278; P < .01), while the percentage died of wounds was lower among those critically injured initially treated by combat support hospitals (9.1% 48 of 530 vs 15.7% 86 of 547; P < .01). Acute morbidity was higher among those critically injured who were transported in 60 minutes or less (36.9% 295 of 799 vs 27.3% 76 of 278; P < .01), those severely and critically injured initially treated at combat support hospitals (severely injured, 51.1% 161 of 315 vs 33.1% 104 of 314; P < .001; and critically injured, 39.8% 211 of 530 vs 29.3% 160 of 547; P < .001), and casualties who received a blood transfusion (50.2% 618 of 1231 vs 3.7% 121 of 3311; P < .001), emphasizing the need for timely advanced treatment.
A mandate made in 2009 by Secretary of Defense Gates reduced the time between combat injury and receiving definitive care. Prehospital transport time and treatment capability are important factors for casualty survival on the battlefield.
•Mindfulness-Based Resilience Training (MBRT) is feasible and acceptable to law enforcement officers.•Relative to no intervention control (NIC), MBRT participants endorsed reduced aggression and ...health risk outcomes.•MBRT participants had lower cortisol levels on day 3 post-training compared to NIC participants.•Psychological and physiological improvements at post-training were not maintained at 3-month follow-up.•Follow-up training or “booster” sessions may be needed to maintain training gains.
The primary objective of this study was to assess feasibility and gather preliminary outcome data on Mindfulness-Based Resilience Training (MBRT) for law enforcement officers. Participants (n = 61) were randomized to either an 8-week MBRT course or a no intervention control group. Self-report and physiological data were collected at baseline, post-training, and three months following intervention completion. Attendance, adherence, post-training participant feedback, and interventionist fidelity to protocol all demonstrated feasibility of MBRT for law enforcement officers. Compared to no intervention controls, MBRT participants experienced greater reductions in salivary cortisol, self-reported aggression, organizational stress, burnout, sleep disturbance, and reported increases in psychological flexibility and non-reactivity at post-training; however, group differences were not maintained at three-month follow-up. This initial randomized trial suggests MBRT is a feasible intervention. Outcome data suggest MBRT targets key physiological, psychological, and health risk factors in law enforcement officers, consistent with the potential to improve officer health and public safety. However, follow-up training or “booster” sessions may be needed to maintain training gains. A fully powered longitudinal randomized trial is warranted.
Surface acoustic waves (SAWs) in the GHz frequency range are exploited for the all-elastic excitation and detection of ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) in a ferromagnetic-ferroelectric (Ni/LiNbO(3)) ...hybrid device. We measure the SAW magnetotransmission at room temperature as a function of frequency, external magnetic field magnitude, and orientation. Our data are well described by a modified Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert approach, in which a virtual, strain-induced tickle field drives the magnetization precession. This causes a distinct magnetic field orientation dependence of elastically driven FMR that we observe in both model and experiment.
Quantum communication protocols based on nonclassical correlations can be more efficient than known classical methods and offer intrinsic security over direct state transfer. In particular, remote ...state preparation aims at the creation of a desired and known quantum state at a remote location using classical communication and quantum entanglement. We present an experimental realization of deterministic continuous-variable remote state preparation in the microwave regime over a distance of 35 cm. By employing propagating two-mode squeezed microwave states and feedforward, we achieve the remote preparation of squeezed states with up to 1.6 dB of squeezing below the vacuum level. Finally, security of remote state preparation is investigated by using the concept of the one-time pad and measuring the von Neumann entropies. We find nearly identical values for the entropy of the remotely prepared state and the respective conditional entropy given the classically communicated information and, thus, demonstrate close-to-perfect security.
The rate of erroneous conviction of innocent criminal defendants is often described as not merely unknown but unknowable. There is no systematic method to determine the accuracy of a criminal ...conviction; if there were, these errors would not occur in the first place. As a result, very few false convictions are ever discovered, and those that are discovered are not representative of the group as a whole. In the United States, however, a high proportion of false convictions that do come to light and produce exonerations are concentrated among the tiny minority of cases in which defendants are sentenced to death. This makes it possible to use data on death row exonerations to estimate the overall rate of false conviction among death sentences. The high rate of exoneration among death-sentenced defendants appears to be driven by the threat of execution, but most death-sentenced defendants are removed from death row and resentenced to life imprisonment, after which the likelihood of exoneration drops sharply. We use survival analysis to model this effect, and estimate that if all death-sentenced defendants remained under sentence of death indefinitely, at least 4.1% would be exonerated. We conclude that this is a conservative estimate of the proportion of false conviction among death sentences in the United States.
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