Effects of virtual reality guided meditation in older adults: the protocol of a pilot randomized controlled trial.

Background: Virtual reality (VR) based meditation has been shown to help increase relaxation and decrease anxiety and depression in younger adults. However, this has not been studied in Randomized Controlled Trials (RCT) in the older adult population. The aim of this RCT is to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a VR-guided meditation intervention for community-dwelling older adults and its effect on stress and mental health.

As without, so within: how the brain's temporo-spatial alignment to the environment shapes consciousness.

Consciousness is constituted by a structure that includes contents as foreground and the environment as background. This structural relation between the experiential foreground and background presupposes a relationship between the brain and the environment, often neglected in theories of consciousness. The temporo-spatial theory of consciousness addresses the brain-environment relation by a concept labelled 'temporo-spatial alignment'.

Isolating together during COVID-19: Results from the Telehealth Intervention Program for older adults.

Background: A pressing challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond is to provide accessible and scalable mental health support to isolated older adults in the community. The Telehealth Intervention Program for Older Adults (TIP-OA) is a large-scale, volunteer-based, friendly telephone support program designed to address this unmet need.

Methods: A prospective cohort study of 112 TIP-OA participants aged ≥60 years old was conducted in Quebec, Canada (October 2020-June 2021).

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy vs. a health enhancement program for the treatment of late-life depression: Study protocol for a multi-site randomized controlled trial.

Background: Late-life depression (LLD) affects up to 18% of older adults and has been linked to elevated dementia risk. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) holds promise for treating symptoms of depression and ameliorating cognitive deficits in older adults. While preliminary findings are promising, a definitive RCT investigating its effects on late life depression and cognition have not yet been conducted.

Does agricultural development induce environmental pollution in E7? A myth or reality.

Environmental degradation caused by various human activities has been a subject of attention over the globe. There is a concern on how to maintain a clean environment and at the same time achieve optimum production of food and non-food products amidst global energy demand. To this end, this study examines the impact of agricultural development, energy use, and economic growth on CO emissions in the emerging seven countries that comprises China, India, Brazil, Mexico, Russia, Indonesia, and Turkey for the annual time frequency from 1990 to 2016.

Levothyroxine and the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes in women with subclinical hypothyroidism: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Levothyroxine replacement therapy may decrease the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes among women with subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH). The aim of this study is to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the risk of adverse pregnancy, perinatal, and early childhood outcomes among women with SCH treated with levothyroxine.

Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted using Ovid-Medline, Ovid-EMBASE, Pubmed (non-Medline), Ebsco-CINAHL Plus with full text and Cochrane Library databases.

Environmental implications of N-shaped environmental Kuznets curve for E7 countries.

The environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis is of great importance to understanding the relationship between economic activity and environmental degradation. Given the current wave of climate change and environmental crisis traced to rising environmental pollution from economic activities, it has become important to investigate the impact of economic expansion on the environment especially in the emerging-7 countries that are responsible for a large amount of global economic activity. This study investigates the N-shaped EKC for the E-7 countries using data spanning the period 1995-2018.

The impact of tourism arrivals, tourism receipts and renewable energy consumption on quality of life: A panel study of Southern African region.

Improving wellbeing and livelihoods exemplify the third Sustainable Development Goal. Literature related to the tourism-renewable energy-quality of life nexus is limited and lacks consensus. This study contributes to the debate and examines the influence of international tourism arrival (TA), real international tourism receipts (TR), and renewable energy consumption (REC) on quality of life (QoL) by using a panel of 8 Southern African countries spanning 1995-2017.

Renewable energy, non-renewable energy, and economic growth: evidence from 26 European countries.

This research work examines the nexus among renewable, non-renewable energy consumption, CO emissions, and economic growth in 26 European countries with data obtained from the World Bank database within the time period of 1990 to 2018. Firstly, unit root and panel cointegration approach analyses are conducted to test the stationary. The results indicate that there exists a long-run nexus among non-renewable, renewable energy, carbon-monoxide, and economic growth.

The contribution of the anthropogenic impact of biomass utilization on ecological degradation: revisiting the G7 economies.

The debate on ecological matters that relate to the biomass emissions nexus has gained prominence and different scholars have suggested various forms of policy directions to tackle the menace. This study seeks to contribute to this subject by examining the impact of biomass energy use on carbon dioxide pollution in the G7 economies context. Thus, to this end, we employed energy usage and GDP measured as economic growth which adds factors that can influence pollution for annual time-frequency between1995 and 2016 for the case of G7 economies.

The association between medical spending and health status: A study of selected African countries.

Background: The report from the World Health Organization (WHO) reveals that health spending worldwide remains highly unequal as more than 80% of the world's population live in low and middle-income countries but only account for about 20% of global health expenditure. Another report by the WHO on the state of health financing in Africa published in 2013 intimates that countries that are part of their member states are still on the average level in meeting set goals in financing key health projects.

Objective: The study set out to investigate the association between public and private spending and health status for eight selected African countries, namely Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.

Investigating the nexus between hydroelectricity energy, renewable energy, nonrenewable energy consumption on output: evidence from E7 countries.

The transition of most economies especially heavily industrialized nations like China, Turkey, Russia, India, Indonesia, Brazil, and Mexico fondly known as E7 are fast emerging economies with its impact on economic growth and ecosystem. On the above highlight, the present study explores the dynamic interaction between hydroelectricity energy, renewable energy consumption, nonrenewable energy consumption on economic growth over annual time frequency data from 1990 to 2018. To this end, Kao co-integration technique is adopted in conjunction with panel ordinary least squares, dynamic ordinary least squares, and fully modified ordinary least square estimators over the identified blocs while the heterogeneous causality test of Dumitrescu and Hurlin is employed to detect the direction of causality among the variables.

The relationship between good governance and CO emissions in oil- and non-oil-producing countries: a dynamic panel study of sub-Saharan Africa.

This study empirically examined the relationship between CO emissions and good governance in oil- and non-oil-producing countries in the SSA region. The findings from this paper revealed very interesting results proving that good governance has a negative relationship with CO emissions. Oil-producing countries have good governance system to help control and reduce CO emissions as compared to non-oil-producing countries.

The Impact of Healthcare spending on Life Expectancy: Evidence from Selected West African Countries.

Increasing healthcare expenditure in West African countries cannot be over-emphasized. There is need for urgent improvement of healthcare, healthcare equipment and facilities, and human resources with qualified healthcare givers. It is important to have clarity on which healthcare sector to invest in, to maximize impact, effectiveness and efficiency.

Healthcare spending and health outcomes: evidence from selected East African countries.

Background: Over the last decade, total healthcare expenditures, comprised of both public and private healthcare expenditures, have increased in most East African countries. At the same time, health outcomes such as infant mortality rates, life expectancy at birth and other health outcome indicators have improved.

Objectives: This paper examines the association between healthcare expenditures and health outcomes for eight East African countries: Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.

The secreted aspartyl proteinases Sap1 and Sap2 cause tissue damage in an in vitro model of vaginal candidiasis based on reconstituted human vaginal epithelium.

Secreted aspartyl proteinases (Saps) contribute to the ability of Candida albicans to cause mucosal and disseminated infections. A model of vaginal candidiasis based on reconstituted human vaginal epithelium (RHVE) was used to study the expression and role of these C. albicans proteinases during infection and tissue damage of vaginal epithelium.

The secreted aspartic proteinases as a new target in the therapy of candidiasis.

Secreted aspartic proteinases (Saps) are important virulence factors in different types of candidiasis caused by Candida albicans (C. albicans). The various isoenzymes are expected to fulfil different tasks during mucosal or disseminated infections.

Seasonal testicular function in male rhesus monkeys.

Some studies report seasonal patterns of testicular function in male rhesus monkeys even when they are housed away from females, while others suggest that exposure to sexually active females is essential for male seasonality. We conducted the present experiment (1) to test claims that seasonal testicular activation occurs in the absence of females and (2) to determine whether regular exposure to and copulation with females enhances, or is without effect upon, seasonal increases in testicular function. We studied two groups of male monkeys housed in a colony room containing no females.

Early intervention for human immunodeficiency virus in Baltimore Sexually Transmitted Diseases Clinics. Impact on gonorrhea incidence in patients infected with HIV.

Background: High incidences of sexually transmitted diseases (STD) after posttest counseling have been documented in patients diagnosed with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Baltimore STD clinics. In July 1991, the authors instituted an HIV early intervention program providing long-term medical care and social work services. This study compares the incidence of gonorrhea after post-HIV+ test counseling in patients diagnosed with HIV before and after the institution of the early intervention program.

Spontaneous regression of interval benign cysts of the breast.

Purpose: To evaluate the natural history of nonpalpable interval breast cysts detected at mammography and diagnosed at sonography in an asymptomatic female population.

Materials And Methods: The imaging records of 5,000 consecutive patients (aged 35-77 years [mean, 51 years]) seen in one breast center over a 6-month period were reviewed. Serial studies of those patients with documented evidence of interval benign breast cysts were evaluated for the subsequent course of such lesions with regard to regression, stability, or enlargement seen at mammography.

Prevalence and clinical correlates of pulmonary arterial hypertension in progressive systemic sclerosis.

Forty-nine patients with progressive systemic sclerosis who had undergone extensive studies including pulmonary artery catheterization as part of an ongoing prospective study of the natural course of progressive systemic sclerosis were evaluated. The overall prevalence of pulmonary arterial hypertension in this population of patients with progressive systemic sclerosis was 33 percent, and among 10 subjects with the CREST syndrome the prevalence of pulmonary hypertension was 50 percent. The relation between pulmonary arterial hypertension documented at catheterization and abnormal results of noninvasive studies suggesting pulmonary hypertension, including physical examination, chest x-ray, electrocardiography, echocardiography, single-breath diffusing capacity, and vital capacity, was studied.

Computed tomography of the anterior mediastinum in myasthenia gravis. A radiologic-pathologic correlative study.

Chest radiographs and computed tomographic (CT) scans of the mediastinum were correlated with pathologic findings of the thymus following thymectomy in 57 patients with myasthenia gravis. Based on the patient's age and the overall morphology of the anterior mediastinum, CT scans were assigned one of four grades in an attempt to predict thymus pathologic findings. Using this grading, 14 of 16 cases of thymoma were suspected or definitely diagnosed.

Benign molar pregnancies: pulmonary complications.

Cardiopulmonary dysfunction has been observed after the removal of benign hydatidiform mole. Of 60 cases reviewed with benign trophoblastic disease, five developed respiratory complications. Two patients developed pulmonary edema that progressed to adult respiratory distress syndrome.