A systematic review of the use of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) in chronic disease and long-term conditions

Many have proposed that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) may be particularly effective for improving outcomes in chronic disease/long-term conditions, and ACT techniques are now being used clinically. However, reviews of ACT in this context are lacking, and the state of evidence is unclear. This systematic review aimed to: collate all ACT interventions with chronic disease/long-term conditions, evaluate their quality, and comment on efficacy. Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE and Psych Info were searched. Studies with solely mental health or chronic pain populations were excluded. Study quality was then rated, with a proportion re-rated by a second researcher. Eighteen studies were included: eight were randomised controlled trials (RCTs), four used pre-post designs, and six were case studies. A broad range of applications were observed (e.g. improving quality of life and symptom control, reducing distress) across many diseases/conditions (e.g. HIV, cancer, epilepsy). However, study quality was generally low, and many interventions were of low intensity. The small number of RCTs per application and lower study quality emphasise that ACT is not yet a well-established intervention for chronic disease/long-term conditions. However, there was some promising data supporting certain applications: parenting of children with long-term conditions, seizure-control in epilepsy, psychological flexibility, and possibly disease self- management.<br/

Advances in optical sensing of explosive vapours

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under agreement no 284747, and the EPSRC under EP/K503940/1, EP/K503162/1, and EP/N509759/1. IDWS acknowledges a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award.Optical techniques for the detection of explosives are receiving increasing interest due to potentially fast responding, highly-sensitive systems. Conjugated polymers are suitable probe materials for this application since their fluorescence is quenched by electronegative materials including explosives. This can be used to make a sensor for explosive vapour, which can then give chemical information to help identify explosive devices, and complements other approaches such as metal detectors and ground penetrating radar. Whilst the principle has been known for some time, its practical implementation requires considerable development of instrumentation and materials, including preconcentration materials. This paper reports our current efforts to address these challenges, with particular emphasis on humanitarian demining and looking towards application in Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detection.Publisher PD

Moderating effect of IBS acceptance on psychosocial mediators of Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Background/Objective In this study a theoretically driven model is presented of how gastrointestinal anxiety, behavioural response, symptom severity, quality of life and IBS acceptance interact to determine how people cope and respond in IBS. Method Cross-sectional data from 166 outpatients attending a motility disorders clinic was used to test a model of moderated serial mediation. Results Gastrointestinal anxiety and behavioural response were found to serially mediate the relationship between symptom severity and quality of life; each step of this ‘indirect effect’ was significant at the p &lt; .001 level. The strength of the mediatory effect was linearly related to IBS acceptance; a significant interaction was found between IBS acceptance as a moderator at the level of the indirect effect (−0.0091, 95%CI = −0.0163 to 0.0019). Conclusions Findings suggest that the effect of multiple psychosocial variables in IBS experience and outcomes may be conditional on levels of IBS Acceptance. The theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed

Precision delivery of RAS-inhibiting siRNA to KRAS driven cancer via peptide-based nanoparticles

Over 95% of pancreatic adenocarcinomas (PDACs), as well as a large fraction of other tumor types, such as colorectal adenocarcinoma, are driven by KRAS activation. However, no direct RAS inhibitors exist for cancer therapy. Furthermore, the delivery of therapeutic agents of any kind to PDAC in particular has been hindered by the extensive desmoplasia and resultant drug delivery challenges that accompanies these tumors. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) is a promising modality for anti-neoplastic therapy due to its precision and wide range of potential therapeutic targets. Unfortunately, siRNA therapy is limited by low serum half-life, vulnerability to intracellular digestion, and transient therapeutic effect. We assessed the ability of a peptide based, oligonucleotide condensing, endosomolytic nanoparticle (NP) system to deliver siRNA to KRAS-driven cancers. We show that this peptide-based NP is avidly taken up by cancer cell

The impact of group emotion regulation interventions on emotion regulation ability:A systematic review

Emotional regulation (ER) as a concept is not clearly defined, and there is a lack of clarity about how individuals can improve their ability to regulate emotions. Nevertheless, there is increasing evidence of the importance of ER as a transdiagnostic treatment target across mental health problems. This review examines the impact of ER group interventions on ER ability compared with no intervention, other comparable group interventions, or control conditions. A systematic review was conducted, in which 15 studies were included. Although types of ER intervention were mixed, the interventions had a considerable overlap in skills taught and how ER was measured. In all but one study, the ER intervention improved ER ability. ER interventions were superior to waitlist or treatment as usual, but there was limited evidence to suggest they were superior to other active treatments. Data from some studies suggest that improved ER was sustained at follow-up. Across the studies, there was generally poor linking of theory to practice, which hampers understanding of how interventions were constructed and why different skills were included. Although the results need to be interpreted with caution due to issues with methodological quality with the included papers, there is promising evidence that ER group interventions significantly improve ER ability

Exploring the role of psychological flexibility in relationship functioning among couples coping with prostate cancer:A cross-sectional study

ObjectiveProstate cancer (PCa) is an external stressor that can affect both patients and partners, but dyadic research in this area is limited. This study, guided by the vulnerability-stress-adaptation model, examines how PCa distress affects relationship satisfaction through psychological flexibility and self-esteem.MethodsThe study used a cross-sectional design with a total sample size of 314 dyads. The actor-partner interdependence model was applied to examine both actor and partner effects. Covariates were also examined.ResultsPCa distress negatively predicted psychological flexibility in both patients ( = − .93, p &lt; .001) and partners ( = − 0.70, p &lt; .001). Psychological flexibility, in turn, positively predicted self-esteem in both patients ( = 0.19, p &lt; .001) and partners ( = 0.19, p &lt; .001). Self-esteem significantly predicted relationship satisfaction for both patients ( = 0.22, p &lt; .001) and partners ( = 0.22, p &lt; .001). The indirect effects of PCa distress on relationship satisfaction via psychological flexibility and self-esteem were significant for both patients ( = − .093, p &lt; .001) and partners ( = − .078, p &lt; .001). Additionally, a significant indirect effect of partners’ PCa distress on patients’ relationship satisfaction was observed ( = − .055, p &lt; .01).ConclusionThe findings highlight the critical role of psychological flexibility and self-esteem in mediating the impact of PCa distress on relationship satisfaction for both patients and partners. Tailored interventions aimed at enhancing psychological flexibility to support relationship functioning in couples coping with PCa may be effective