Feasibility and acceptability of expressive writing with postpartum women: a randomised controlled trial

Abstract Background: Pregnancy, birth and adjusting to a new baby is a potentially stressful time that can negatively affect women’s mental and physical health. Expressive writing, where people write about a stressful event for at least 15 minutes on three consecutive days, has been associated with improved health in some groups but it is not clear whether it is feasible and acceptable for use with postpartum women. This study therefore examined the feasibility and acceptability of expressive writing for postpartum women as part of a randomised controlled trial (RCT). Methods: The Health After Birth Trial (HABiT) was an RCT evaluating expressive writing for postpartum women which included measures of feasibility and acceptability. At 6 to 12 weeks after birth 854 women were randomised to expressive writing, a control writing task or normal care, and outcome measures of health were measured at baseline, one month later and six months later. Feasibility was measured by recruitment, attrition, and adherence to the intervention. Quantitative and qualitative measures of acceptability of the materials and the task were completed six months after the intervention. Results: Recruitment was low (10.7% of those invited to participate) and the recruited sample was from a restricted sociodemographic range. Attrition was high, increased as the study progressed (35.8% at baseline, 57.5% at one month, and 68.1% at six months) and was higher in the writing groups than in the normal care group. Women complied with instructions to write expressively or not, but adherence to the instruction to write for 15 minutes per day for three days was low (Expressive writing: 29.3%; Control writing: 23.5%). Acceptability measures showed that women who wrote expressively rated the materials/task both more positively and more negatively than those in the control writing group, and qualitative comments revealed that women enjoyed the writing and/or found it helpful even when it was upsetting. Conclusions: The feasibility of offering expressive writing as a universal self-help intervention to all postpartum women 6 to 12 weeks after birth in the HABiT trial was low, but the expressive writing intervention was acceptable to the majority of women who completed it

Synthesis and biological evaluation of new simple indolic non peptidic HIV Protease inhibitors: The effect of different substitution patterns

New structurally simple indolic non peptidic HIV Protease inhibitors were synthesized from (S)- glycidol by regioselective methods. Following the concept of targeting the protein backbone, different substitution patterns were introduced onto the common stereodefined isopropanolamine core modifying the type of functional group on the indole, the position of the functional group on the indole and the type of the nitrogen containing group (sulfonamides or perhydroisoquinoline), alternatively. The systematic study on in vitro inhibition activity of such compounds confirmed the general beneficial effect of the 5-indolyl substituents in presence of arylsulfonamide moieties, which furnished activities in the micromolar range. Preliminary docking analysis allowed to identify several key features of the binding mode of such compounds to the protease

On the asymptotic behaviour of solutions to the fractional porous medium equation with variable density

We are concerned with the long time behaviour of solutions to the fractional porous medium equation with a variable spatial density. We prove that if the density decays slowly at infinity, then the solution approaches the Barenblatt-type solution of a proper singular fractional problem. If, on the contrary, the density decays rapidly at infinity, we show that the minimal solution multiplied by a suitable power of the time variable converges to the minimal solution of a certain fractional sublinear elliptic equation.Comment: To appear in DCDS-

Neuromuscular strategies in stretch–shortening exercises with increasing drop heights: The role of muscle coactivation in leg stiffness and power propulsion

When applying drop jump exercises, knowing the magnitude of the stimulus is fundamental to stabilize the leg joints and to generate movements with the highest power. The effects of different drop heights on leg muscles coactivation, leg stiffness and power propulsion were investigated in fifteen sport science students. Drop jumps from heights of 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 cm in a random order were performed on a force platform. During each drop jump, the ground reaction force, knee angle displacement, and synchronized surface-electromyography root-mean-square (sEMGRMS) activity (vastus lateralis, VL; vastus medialis, VM; rectus femoris, RF; biceps femoris, BF; tibialis anterior, TA and lateral gastrocnemius, LG) were recorded. The coactivation in the pre-contact phase, between VL and BF, VM and BF as well as RF and BF, was dependent on the drop height (p < 0.01; effect size (ES) ranged from 0.45 to 0.90). Leg stiffness was dependent on the drop height (p < 0.001; ES = 0.27–0.28) and was modulated by the coactivation of VM–BF (p = 0.034) and RF–BF (p = 0.046) during the braking phase. Power propulsion was also dependent on the drop height (p < 0.001; ES = 0.34); however, it was primarily modulated by the coactivation of LG–TA during the braking phase (p = 0.002). The coactivation of thigh muscles explains leg stiffness adjustments at different drop heights. On the contrary, the coactivation of shank muscles is mostly responsible for the power propulsion

Stochastic Reaction-diffusion Equations Driven by Jump Processes

We establish the existence of weak martingale solutions to a class of second order parabolic stochastic partial differential equations. The equations are driven by multiplicative jump type noise, with a non-Lipschitz multiplicative functional. The drift in the equations contains a dissipative nonlinearity of polynomial growth.Comment: See journal reference for teh final published versio

A single case report of granular cell tumor of the tongue successfully treated through 445 nm diode laser

Oral granular cell tumor (GCT) is a relatively rare, benign lesion that can easily be misdiagnosed. Particularly, the presence of pseudoepitheliomatous hyperplasia might, in some cases, lead to the hypothesis of squamous cell carcinoma. Surgical excision is the treatment of choice. Recurrence has been reported in up to 15% of cases treated with conventional surgery. Here, we reported a case of GCT of the tongue in a young female patient, which was successfully treated through 445 nm diode laser excision. Laser surgery might reduce bleeding and postoperative pain and may be associated with more rapid healing. Particularly, the vaporization effect on remnant tissues could eliminate GCT cells on the surgical bed, thus hypothetically leading to a lower rate of recurrence. In the present case, complete healing occurred in 1 week, and no recurrence was observed after 6 months. Laser surgery also allows the possibility to obtain second intention healing. Possible laser-induced histopathological artifacts should be carefully considered

Using concept mapping in the development of the EU-PAD framework (EUropean-Physical Activity Determinants across the life course): a DEDIPAC-study.

BACKGROUND: A large proportion of European children, adults and older adults do not engage in sufficient physical activity (PA). Understanding individual and contextual factors associated with PA behaviours is essential for the identification and implementation of effective preventative environments, policies, and programmes that can promote an active lifestyle across life course and can potentially improve health. The current paper intends to provide 1) a multi-disciplinary, Pan-European and life course view of key determinants of PA behaviours and 2) a proposal of how these factors may cluster. METHODS: After gathering a list of 183 potential PA behaviours-associated factors and a consensus meeting to unify/consolidate terminology, a concept mapping software was used to collate European experts' views of 106 identified factors for youth (<19 years), adults (19-64 years), and older adults (≥65 years). The analysis evaluated common trends in the clustering of factors and the ratings of the distinct factors' expected modifiability and population-level impact on PA behaviours across the life course. Priority for research was also assessed for each cluster. RESULTS: The concept mapping resulted in six distinct clusters, broadly merged in two themes: 1) the 'Person', which included clusters 'Intra-Personal Context and Wellbeing' and 'Family and Social Economic Status' (42 % of all factors) and 2) the 'Society', which included the remaining four clusters 'Policy and Provision', 'Cultural Context and Media', 'Social Support and Modelling', and 'Supportive Environment' (58 % of all factors). Overall, 25 factors were rated as the most impactful on PA behaviours across the life course and being the most modifiable. They were mostly situated in the 'Intra-Personal Context and Wellbeing' cluster. Furthermore, 16 of them were rated as top priority for research. CONCLUSIONS: The current framework provides a preliminary overview of factors which may account for PA behaviour across the life course and are most relevant to the European community. These insights could potentially be a foundation for future Pan-European research on how these factors might interact with each other, and assist policy makers to identify appropriate interventions to maximize PA behaviours and thus the health of European citizens

Differences in visceral fat and fat bacterial colonization between ulcerative colitis and Crohn&apos;s disease. An in vivo and in vitro study

Crohn's disease (CD) is notably characterized by the expansion of visceral fat with small adipocytes expressing a high proportion of anti-inflammatory genes. Conversely, visceral fat depots in ulcerative colitis (UC) patients have never been characterized. Our study aims were a) to compare adipocyte morphology and gene expression profile and bacterial translocation in omental (OM) and mesenteric (MES) adipose tissue of patients with UC and CD, and b) to investigate the effect of bacterial infection on adipocyte proliferation in vitro. Specimens of OM and MES were collected from 11 UC and 11 CD patients, processed and examined by light microscopy. Gene expression profiles were evaluated in adipocytes isolated from visceral adipose tissue using microarray and RTqPCR validations. Bacteria within adipose tissue were immuno-detected by confocal scanning laser microscopy. Adipocytes were incubated with Enterococcus faecalis and cells counted after 24 h. Morphology and molecular profile of OM and MES revealed that UC adipose tissue is less inflamed than CD adipose tissue. Genes linked to inflammation, bacterial response, chemotaxis and angiogenesis were down-regulated in adipocytes from UC compared to CD, whereas genes related to metallothioneins, apoptosis pathways and growth factor binding were up-regulated. A dense perinuclear positivity for Enterococcus faecalis was detected in visceral adipocytes from CD, whereas positivity was weak in UC. In vitro bacterial infection was associated with a five-fold increase in the proliferation rate of OM preadipocytes. Compared to UC, visceral adipose tissue from CD is more inflamed and more colonized by intestinal bacteria, which increase adipocyte proliferation. The influence of bacteria stored within adipocytes on the clinical course of IBD warrants further investigation

A Multi-method Assessment of Risk and Protective Factors in Family Violence:Comparing Italian and Migrant Families

Child maltreatment is a major public health issue, which threatens psychophysical well-being of almost 100.000 minors in Italy. The prevalence and social burden of this issue clearly indicate the need for preventive efforts, early identification of victimized children and a rapid risk assessment of families referred to Child Protection Services (CPS). The present chapter proposes an evidence-based multi-method assessment system, specific for highlighting risk and protective factors in family functioning. The assessment system is comprised of six modules: \u2022 one in-depth protocol for identifying proximate and distal risk and protective factors of maltreatment and recidivism against children; \u2022 one explorative tool for assessing the (residual) social capital in an at-risk family \u2022 four screening surveys for assessing parenting stress, parental child abuse potential, parents\u2019 resilience, and traumatic symptoms (in children). In our proposal, distal risk factors imply a condition of vulnerability but exert an indirect influence on the child\u2019s developmental trajectory, while proximate factors (both risk and protective) exert a direct influence on the adaptation of the child. Research foundations of the assessment system lie on several research carried out from 2008 to nowadays: the chapter proposes a brief review of main outcomes, focusing especially on the Factors of the Protocol of risk and protective factors (Di Blasio, 2005). A better comprehension of risk and protective factors in family violence may inform and guide preventive interventions on primary, secondary and tertiary level. Our assessment system is meant to assist professionals in both decision-making and protection of children in all of these levels