by Fengxia Liang  , Qi Huang  , Rui Chen  , Song Wu  , Gary Lu  , Jianmin Liu  , Jia Li  , Lu Wang  , Hua Wang  and Gerhard Litscher

Received: 19 February 2017;  Published: 08 May 2017;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.1702002

Qigong is a form of traditional Chinese exercise combining breathing, movement, and meditation to improve fitness for the purpose of preventing disease and prolonging life. We review the clinical efficacy and underlying mechanism of the application of Qigong in the healthcare setting. In addition, we discuss topics such as the impacts on respiratory, cardiovascular function, and immune function, as well as studies of the influences on brain function and mental health. In summary, there is strong evidence of the cli [...]

by Im Quah-Smith

Received: 09 May 2018;  Published: 25 June 2018;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.1802012

The Auricular approach to diagnostics and therapeutics has gained momentum over the last 15 years. Battlefield Acupuncture has taken on a life of its own and has been adopted into NATO and even been introduced into neonatal intensive care. It is time to take on the challenge of Auricular Medicine - the application of the neurophysiological phenomenon referred to as the Vascular Autonomic Signal or VAS to identify active ear sites in Auricular interventions. It is time to utilize the VAS in therapeutics, recognizing [...]

by Jitu Mani Das  , Isha Behere  , Jnanendra Upadhyay  , Rajiv Borah  and Ganesh Ingavle

Received: 14 October 2022;  Published: 20 January 2025;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2501265

Regenerating injured nerves is difficult because they have little spontaneous regeneration potential. Advances in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine have emphasized the possibility of biomaterial-based methods for nerve healing. Natural protein-based biomaterials have benefits over synthetic ones, such as biocompatibility, non-immunogenicity, and biodegradability. Silk fibroin, generated from mulberry and non-mulberry silkworms, is especially promising because of its abundance, simplicity of processing in [...]

by Antonella Sansone  , Peta Stapleton  , Alan Patching  and Zoe Lawrence

Received: 06 July 2023;  Published: 02 January 2024;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.2401001

This feasibility study sought to investigate the impact of an online 9-session Prenatal Mindfulness Relationship-Based (PMRB) group treatment program upon maternal mental health (depression, anxiety, and stress), interoception, and mother-infant relationship during pregnancy and post-partum. The study was designed in two parts 1) a quantitative examination of pre, post-treatment and 10-12 weeks post-partum measures targeting 13 pregnant women from a non-clinical population and 2) a qualitative exploration of the sa [...]

by Zoi Portokalidou  , Anna Huysse-Gaytandjieva  and Madelon L. Peters

Received: 09 January 2022;  Published: 12 July 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.2203027

Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT) is an autoimmune disease affecting mainly middle-aged women. Hormonal replacement is the most common therapy; however, it tackles only the functionality of the thyroid and not the autoimmunity components. Thus, patients experience persistent somatic and psychological symptoms, thereby affecting their quality of life. The cause of HT remains uncertain. Primary evidence suggests that adverse experiences in childhood are associated with autoimmune disease manifestation in adulthood; therefor [...]

by Lindy A. Kilik  and Robert W. Hopkins

Received: 01 March 2019;  Published: 09 May 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.1902052

Background: Clinical studies have shown that caregivers of dementia patients often experience a great deal of stress related to caregiving. This paper examines caregiver stress within the context of behaviour change in dementia using the Kingston Caregiver Stress Scale (KCSS) and the Kingston Standardized Behaviour Scale (Community Form) (KSBA(comm)). Methods: Eighty patients with moderate dementia and their caregivers participated. Each patient was cognitively assessed with the Kingston Standardized Cognitive Asse [...]

by R. Paul Robertson

Received: 13 February 2023;  Published: 17 May 2023;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2302184

Pancreatic islet transplantation (ITx) has moved from the experimental phase of development to a position of an accepted and appropriate procedure to apply in clinical medicine. The primary indication for use of ITx is for management of dangerous and recurrent hypoglycemia secondary to use of exogenous insulin for management of hyperglycemia in people with type 1 diabetes. ITx involves procurement of a pancreas donated by a person who has died. The organ is taken to a specialized laboratory for isolation of islets [...]

by Pierfrancesco Morganti  , Gianluca Morganti  , Maria Beatrice Coltelli  , Wladimir E Yudin  , Hong-Duo Chen  and Alessandro Gagliardini

Received: 16 March 2022;  Published: 23 May 2022;  doi: 10.21926/aeer.2202021

Approximately 75% of textile waste is generated annually worldwide, as there is a dearth of viable recycling strategies. It has been estimated that textile industries can be responsible for approximately 20% of global water pollution. As a consequence, if not properly managed, the cost of waste management of textile waste will be trillions of dollars annually. Moreover, the generated wastes are detrimental to the environment and public health. On the other hand, there is a possibility that the majority of the waste [...]

by Brenda T. Mbibueh  , Reeves M. Fokeng  and Suiven J.P. Tume

Received: 29 September 2021;  Published: 30 December 2021;  doi: 10.21926/aeer.2104038

Land-use change is one of the main indicators of soil quality. Soil physical and chemical properties vary with land use change and altitude as inferred from transect surveys and toposequences. Soil nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) are essential macronutrients for plant growth and soil nutrient balance. Their presence in the soil in appropriate quantities is important for maintaining crop yields and farmers income, particularly in developing countries where resources of soil chemical additives may be limite [...]

by Laura Privalle  , Patricia Back  , Apurv Bhargava  , Zach Bishop  , Krystal Cisneros  , Isabelle Coats  , Ine Criel  , Lien Dhondt  , Travis Draughn  , Barb Fowler  , Brad Franklin  , Durba Ghoshal  , Jim Lor  , Jennifer Massengil  , Sofie Moens  , Tyson Mooney  , Dannyel Nelson  , Karolien Peeters  , Sashi Sathischyandra  , Caroline Staut  , Yoonhui Sung  , Ann Tuttle  , Annelies Van Hoecke  , Annelies Van Raemdonck  , Marie-Laure Verdegem  , Steven Verhaeghe  , Shane Walsh  , Ann Wierckx  , Qiang Zhao  and Rozemarijn Dreesen

Received: 11 September 2020;  Published: 02 December 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.2004120

Demonstration of the stability of traits newly introduced into a plant genome via genetic engineering approaches comprise a significant portion of the safety assessment that these products undergo prior to receiving the requisite regulatory approvals enabling commercial authorization. Different regions of the world have different regulatory requirements and many ask similar questions from multiple and overlapping perspectives. The entire central dogma, that is stability at the DNA level, mRNA level and protein leve [...]

by Stephanie Brown  , Catherine L Wall  , Chris Frampton  , Richard B Gearry  and Andrew S Day

Received: 11 February 2023;  Published: 29 June 2023;  doi: 10.21926/rpn.2302009

The low FODMAP diet (LFD) is a dietary intervention developed for and used particularly for the management of functional GI symptoms (FGIS) in adults with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). It has also been proposed to improve coincident functional gut symptoms in adults with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This report describes the outcomes of the LFD in a series of children with IBD with concurrent FGIS. This study included children aged between 7-14 years with quiescent IBD and overlapping FGIS. All participants [...]

by Yan Yang  , Gerhard Litscher  , Zemin Sheng  and Lu Wang

Received: 12 February 2020;  Published: 20 March 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.2001015

Pain could be directly related to autonomous imbalance. To date, only one scientific work examining heart rate variability (HRV) and heart rate (HR) as the important parameters of autonomous nervous system (ANS) in the context of clinical routine acupuncture treatments for lumbosacral pain conditions is available in the listed databases. The present study aimed to investigate the short-term effects of HRV and HR, during and after the acupuncture needle stimulation in patients with lower back pain. Eighteen patients [...]

by Udaya Kahangamage  , Yi Chen  , Chun Wah Leung  and Tung Yan Ngai

Received: 02 January 2022;  Published: 18 April 2022;  doi: 10.21926/jept.2202016

The lean-burning limits of hydrogen-enriched Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) have been studied using a Bunsen burner. The lean-burning limits under different conditions are important design considerations in developing gas-fired domestic appliances. In this study, the lean-burning limits of hydrogen-enriched LPG have been obtained across a wide range of Reynolds numbers (600 to 1800) and H2 volumetric fractions (0% to 25%). The results show that the lean-burning limit is increased, on average, by 4.0% to 7.2% for eve [...]

by Caroline Soares  and Paula Ministro

Received: 04 January 2024;  Published: 19 March 2024;  doi: 10.21926/rpn.2401003

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) affect primarily the bowel, but they are multisystemic diseases with a wide range of extraintestinal manifestations and complications. Nutritional imbalance occurs frequently in patients with IBD. The spectrum of malnutrition goes from undernutrition (low protein-caloric intake, disease-related malnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies) to overnutrition and obesity. The nutritional status of patients with IBD is increasingly recognized as a key aspect of the treatment and must be ad [...]

by Xiang Li  , Yuan Xue  , Ryan Dehoff  , Costas Tsouris  and Patricia Taboada-Serrano

Received: 09 April 2020;  Published: 09 May 2020;  doi: 10.21926/jept.2002007

Hierarchically-structured, electro-catalysts consisting of a titanium core with controlled macro-porosity and a thin titania surface-layer with controlled nano-porosity were synthesized via combination of additive manufacturing and in-situ anodization. The electrodes were tested for hydrogen evolution reaction and depicted competitive electro-catalytic activities, with Tafel slopes between 40 and 56 mV dec-1. The electrodes also depicted competitive onset and over potentials when compared with other electrode alter [...]

by Despina Vamvuka  , Maria Deli  and Antonios Stratakis

Received: 06 September 2021;  Published: 11 November 2021;  doi: 10.21926/jept.2104047

In this work, the conducted chemical, mineralogical, fusibility, and thermogravimetric analyses and calculated the slagging/fouling indicators for predicting deposition tendencies in boilers to study the ash fusibility behavior of selected agricultural residues and their blends with lignite. Two additives, bauxite, and clinochlore, were used at varying amounts to reduce ash melting, followed by examining their anti-fusion mechanisms. Initial deformation and softening temperatures of biomass materials were low for c [...]

by Jenny Berrío  , Weiwen Wang  and Bart A. Ellenbroek

Received: 22 February 2019;  Published: 14 March 2017;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.1701001

Antipsychotics have been a pillar in the treatment of schizophrenia since their introduction more than 60 years ago. Their variety in structures and receptor binding properties confers on them a complex clinical profile of effectiveness and risk of adverse side-effects. Although antipsychotics are best known for their therapeutic effects in schizophrenia, these are limited to the positive symptoms, with much less influence on negative symptoms or cognitive deficits. Moreover, although the newer (so-called second-ge [...]

by Yassamine Bentata

Received: 24 January 2024;  Published: 25 July 2024;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2403221

Completely unknown before the 90s and exceptional up to the 2000s, BK virus nephropathy (BKvN), usually known as polyomavirus-associated nephropathy, has emerged as a significant and severe viral complication in kidney transplantation (KT). More than twenty years after Gardner's discovery of BKv in 1971, Purighalla described, in 1995, the first case of BKvN. Four years later in 1999, Nickeleit et al. published a first series of five cases of BKvN and made very precious and pertinent contributions to understanding t [...]

by James S. Powers  , Michelle Moseley  , Lovely Abraham  , Jennifer Buckner  , Nkechi Azubike  and Catherine Xie

Received: 21 May 2018;  Published: 13 August 2018;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.1803008

Background: A Veterans Health Administration (VHA) patient centered medical home, the Geriatric Patient- Aligned Care Team (GeriPACT). Methods: Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles regarding strategy, resource development, patient and caregiver experience of care, and clinical care process improvement. Stakeholder engagement for half-time operation with initial grant support for personnel who also had collateral duties. Tracking of operations data. Results: The clinic population grew from 200 to 627 over a 7-year period [...]

by H. Hakemi  , M. Khenkin  , R. Tamari  and D. Gal-Fuss

Received: 10 December 2019;  Published: 05 March 2020;  doi: 10.21926/rpm.2001006

In the present study, we report the experimental results related to the transient phenomenon, i.e., the time-dependent changes in the electro-optical properties of as-made polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) films prepared by the UV-curing phase-separation method. This phenomenon occurs explicitly via polymer-induced phase separation when the matrix curing is not complete, some liquid crystal plasticized in the matrix, and some uncured pre-polymer components remain in the liquid crystal droplets. The outcome is [...]

by Charlotte Grégoire  , Alexandra Paye  and Audrey Vanhaudenhuyse

Received: 16 October 2023;  Published: 09 January 2024;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.2401007

Self-compassion consists of an attitude of self-support and self-benevolence. In the general population, increased self-compassion has been associated with well-being and decreased psychopathology. In oncology, higher self-compassion has also been linked with various benefits, such as lower emotional distress, fatigue, body-image disturbances, and sleep difficulties. Self-compassion also seems to foster treatment adherence. Various interventions based on self-compassion have recently been designed and tested in dif [...]

by Jordi Faig Martí

Received: 04 October 2020;  Published: 30 December 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2004076

Neurological tissue along with the cartilage remains one of the tissues that escapes human efforts of regeneration after injury. The human body, after an injury, can repair its tissues only to a certain extent that can help in recovering the function of organs. However, this is not the case in some organs, such as the brain and spinal cord. For a long time, basic medical science has been investigating the regeneration process that helps the human body, which is mainly through the pharmacological agents, proteins/ot [...]

by Kristin Drexler  and Ed Boles

Received: 02 March 2024;  Published: 25 July 2024;  doi: 10.21926/aeer.2403017

Watershed health and integrity are essential to human and ecosystem health and well-being. New River watershed communities in northern Belize, Central America are vulnerable to annual ‘cultural eutrophication’ - natural eutrophication exacerbated by human activity. Human-caused pollution from agriculture, septic effluent, and industrial drainage, in combination with extended drought and the slow flow of New River, has caused more frequent and prolonged periods of eutrophication. In this qualitative study, 42 New Ri [...]

by Brandon M Menachem  , Sandrine Hanna  , Deepika Kulkarni  and Hakim Azfar Ali

Received: 08 June 2023;  Published: 21 November 2023;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2304202

Treatment options for end stage lung diseases are limited to stabilizing lung failure, decreasing disease progression, and symptom management, but significant reversal of lost lung function is often not possible. For well selected patients, lung transplantation may be a viable option to improve both longevity and quality of life. Though outcomes for lung transplant recipients have improved over several decades, long term survival still lags behind that of other solid organ transplant recipients. Longevity after lun [...]

by Stephanie Bryan  , Maryellen Hamilton  and Elizabeth Finn

Received: 21 February 2018;  Published: 15 May 2018;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.1802006

Purpose: High levels of mindfulness correspond with some positive health behaviors such as exercise participation, fruit and vegetable intake, and effective stress management. This study provided mindfulness meditation during an academic semester to a group of predominantly minority college students derived from a population in which 77.9% of the students are considered economically disadvantaged, to assess the effects of mindful meditation on various health behaviors and mindfulness to combat avoidable health ineq [...]