While the mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the general U.S. public health workforce have been well described, the effects of the COVID-19 response on Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) working in public health have not been adequately characterized. BIPOC public health professionals may have suffered, potentially, greater stress and more negative health impacts during the pandemic due to being part of communities experiencing severe COVID-19 health inequities and the potential for racism-related stress in the workplace. This study utilized a cross-sectional design to investigate the associations between risk factors/predictors and higher levels of burnout among BIPOC public health professionals working during the COVID-19 pandemic. Survey data was collected using the Qualtrics survey platform and SPSS was used for data analysis. Survey items measured multiple domains including professional experience (i.e., years of experience, job functions, hours worked, volunteer work), mental and physical health status (i.e., co-morbidities, BMI, COVID-19 diagnosis, insomnia, anxiety, depression, trauma, burnout), professional and personal stress (before and during the pandemic), and racism-related stress (i.e., discrimination, harassment, heightened vigilance, cultural taxation). Of the total respondents (n = 486), 80% experienced insomnia, 68.5% experienced depression, 81.7% experienced anxiety and 61.3% experienced trauma. BIPOC public health professionals suffered a moderately high overall level of burnout (mean = 2.578, SD = 0.486, min = 1, max = 3.9) and a high level of exhaustion (mean = 2.744, SD = 0.532, min = 1, max = 4). Paired t-tests found respondents’ physical and mental health status were each significantly worse during the pandemic (p < .000). Respondents also had significantly worse professional and personal stress during the pandemic (p < .000). Backward stepwise regression found higher burnout significantly predicted by: not having sought counseling; lower rating of mental health during COVID-19; higher past year mental distress (i.e., depression, anxiety, insomnia and trauma); higher past month perceived stress; and higher vigilance. These findings emerge as important in informing the public health field regarding the current and future needs of BIPOC public health professionals during the pandemic and beyond.

Many research studies have analyzed the effect that whole-body vibration (WBV) has on sleep, and some have sought to use vibration to treat sleep disorders such as insomnia. It has been shown that low frequencies (f < 2Hz) are generally sleep inducing, but oscillations of this frequency are typically difficult to achieve using electromagnetic vibration drives. In the research that has been performed, optimal vibration parameters have not been determined, and the effects of multiple vibration sources vibrating at different frequencies to induce a low frequency traveling wave have not been explored. Insomnia affects millions of people worldwide, and non-pharmacological treatment options are limited. A bed excited with multiple vibration sources was used to explore beat frequency vibration as a non-pharmacological treatment for insomnia. A repeated measures design pilot study of 14 participants with mild-moderate insomnia symptom severity was conducted to determine the effects of beat frequency vibration, and traditional standing wave vibration on sleep latency and quality. Participants were monitored using high-density electroencephalography (HD-EEG). Sleep latency was compared between treatment conditions. Trends of a decrease in sleep latency due to beat frequency vibration were found (p ≤ 0.181 for AASM latency, and p ≤ 0.068 for unequivocal sleep latency). Neural complexity during wake, N1, and N2 stages were compared using Multi-Scale Sample Entropy (MSE), which demonstrated significantly lower MSE between wake and N2 stages (p ≤ 0.002). Lower MSE was found in the transition from wake to N1 stage sleep but did not reach significance (p ≤ 0.300). During N2 sleep, beat frequency vibration shows lower MSE than the control session in the left frontoparietal region. This indicates that beat frequency vibration may lead to a decrease of conscious awareness during deeper stages of sleep. Standing wave vibration caused reduced Alpha activity and increased Delta activity during wake. Beat frequency vibration caused increased Delta activity during N2 sleep. These preliminary results suggest that beat frequency vibration may help individuals with insomnia symptoms by decreasing sleep latency, by reducing their conscious awareness, and by increasing sleep drive expression during deeper stages of sleep. Standing wave vibration may be beneficial for decreasing expression of arousal and increasing expression of sleep drive during wake, implying that a dynamic vibration treatment may be beneficial. The application of vibration treatment as part of a heuristic sleep model is discussed.

Studien ämnade att undersöka skillnader mellan olika klientgrupper i behandlingseffekt med avseende på ångest, depression, utbrändhet, sömn och stress efter deltagande i stress- eller sömnskola. Detta undersöktes genom att studera om bakgrundsfaktorer såsom sökorsak, tidigare behandling, hälsostatus före behandling samt demografiska faktorer har betydelse för behandlingseffekten. Stress- och sömnskolorna är manualbaserade gruppbehandlingar riktade mot antingen stressproblematik eller sömnproblematik som genomfördes inom primärvården av psykologstudenter under handledning av legitimerad psykolog. Skolorna baseras på kognitiv beteendeterapeutisk metod (KBT) och består av fyra träffar. Studien baseras på data från 95 personer som genomförde behandlingen samt deltog i för- och eftermätning. För att undersöka sambandet mellan bakgrundsvariabler och behandlingsutfall genomfördes i ett första steg bivariata korrelationsanalyser. Baserat på de signifikanta sambanden utfördes därefter regressionsanalyser för att undersöka bakgrundvariablernas prediktiva inverkan på behandlingsutfallet. Resultatet visade att få bakgrundsvariabler kunde predicera utfallet vilket indikerar att behandlingen är effektiv för en bred grupp av patienter. De variabler som kunde predicera behandlingsutfall med avseende på insomni respektive utbrändhet var att man hade angivit utbrändhet respektive insomni som sökorsak. Detta dubbelriktade samband mellan utbrändhet och insomni har även visats i andra studier. Studiens resultat ger stöd för att behandlingen har en kliniskt relevant effekt för en bred grupp av patienter, men den ger också en indikation på att de som sökt för utbrändhet- och/eller sömnproblematik kan behöva fler och längre insatser. / The study aimed to investigate differences between client groups in treatment effect with respect to anxiety, depression, burnout, sleep and stress after participating in stress or sleep group treatment. This was investigated by studying whether background factors such as reason for seeking medical treatment, previous treatment, health status before treatment and demographic factors are related to the treatment effect. The stress- and sleep group treatments are psychoeducative, manual-based, aimed at stress or sleep problems. The treatments were implemented in a primary care setting by psychology students under the supervision of a licensed psychologist. The group treatments are based on the cognitive behavioral therapy method (CBT) and consist of four meetings. The study is based on data from 95 individuals who completed the treatment and participated in pre- and post-measurements. To investigate the relationship between background variables and treatment outcome, bivariate correlation analyzes were performed in a first step. Based on the significant correlations, regression analyzes were then performed to examine the predictive effects of the background variables on the treatment outcome. The results showed that few background variables could predict the outcome, which indicates that the treatment is effective for a broad group of patients. The variables that could predict treatment outcomes with regard to insomnia and burnout, respectively, were that burnout and insomnia had been stated as the reason for seeking medical treatment. This two-way link between burnout and insomnia has also been shown in other studies. The results of the study provide support that the treatment has a clinically relevant effect for a broad group of patients, but it also gives an indication that those seeking treatment for burnout and/or insomnia may need additional and longer interventions.

Objective: To determine the feasibility of an online cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) in bereaved older adults. Participants: The study participants include adults aged 55 and older (N = 30) that lost a loved one within the past five years and are currently experiencing symptoms of insomnia. Methods: This study used an experimental design and was guided by the Transitions Theory developed by Meleis. Descriptive statistics and t-tests were used to measure changes within and between groups. Experimental arm had the CBT-I online treatment and the control arm had attention controlled online tasks. Intervention fidelity was measured. Results: The online CBT-I intervention is a feasible intervention for bereaved older adults with insomnia. High retention rates were shown in both groups, and both groups’ insomnia and mood symptoms improved at post- study measurement. There were no statistically significant differences seen in any measure between groups. Conclusions: Transitions in older adult life includes loss of friends and family as well as development of sleep issues. The Transitions Theory is useful for informing the design of behavioral interventions in this older population. Further research is needed to understand how sleep can be improved by cost effective online interventions that might not include solely CBT-I.

No description available.

La population âgée est vulnérable face à des problèmes d’insomnie qui peuvent parfois être accompagnés d’anxiété. La thérapie cognitivo-comportementale pour insomnie (TCCi) est le traitement de première ligne pour l’insomnie mais reste peu accessible. Le développement d’une TCC pour l’insomnie et l’anxiété délivrée sur la plateforme en ligne e-SPACE fournit l’accessibilité d’une intervention novatrice pour les personnes âgées isolées. Les objectifs étaient : 1) d’évaluer la convivialité et l’acceptabilité de e-SPACE 2) vérifier l’efficacité de la TCC en ligne pour l’insomnie et l’anxiété. Ainsi, 92 participants âgés insomniaques répartis aléatoirement dans deux groupes (groupe 1 TCCi en ligne N = 47 et groupe 2 liste d’attente N = 45) ont complété : - Agenda de sommeil, Index de Sévérité de l’Insomnie (ISI) et Inventaire d’anxiété gériatrique (GAI) avant et après thérapie/attente pour vérifier l’efficacité - Questionnaire de satisfaction adapté de l’échelle de mesure de la convivialité (SUS) et du questionnaire du modèle d’acceptation technologique 2 (TAM-2), pour vérifier la convivialité et l’acceptabilité La moyenne de score SUS indique que la plateforme e-SPACE est conviviale. Les questions du TAM-2 confirment que son acceptabilité repose sur sa facilité d’utilisation, son utilité et la démontrabilité des résultats. La diminution significative des scores ISI (F = 19.855, p < 0.001) et GAI (F = 11.332, p = 0.001) uniquement chez le groupe 1 démontre l’efficacité de la thérapie. Cependant, il reste une marge d’amélioration afin que la plateforme soit plus adaptée et plus efficace à traiter les symptômes d’insomnie et d’anxiété pour les aînés. / The elderly population is vulnerable to insomnia problems that can sometimes come along with anxiety. Cognitive-behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBTi) is considered as the first-line treatment for insomnia but is still not widely available. The development of an internet-delivered CBT for insomnia and anxiety on the e-SPACE online platform provides accessibility to an innovative intervention for isolated seniors. The objectives were : 1) to assess the usability and acceptability of e-SPACE 2) to verify the efficacy of the online CBT for insomnia and anxiety. Thereby, 92 elderly participants with insomnia were randomised into two groups (group 1 online CBTi N = 47 and group 2 waiting list N = 45) and completed : - Sleep Diary, Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI) before and after therapy/waiting to verify efficacy - Satisfaction questionnaire adapted from the System Usability Scale (SUS) and the extension of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM-2) to verify usability and acceptability The means of SUS score indicates that the e-SPACE platform is user-friendly. The TAM-2 questions confirm its acceptability is predominantly based on perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and the result demonstrability. The significant decrease of ISI (F = 19.855, p < 0.001) and GAI (F = 11.332, p = 0.001) scores in group 1 alone confirms the effectiveness of the therapy. However, there is room for improvement so that the platform is more suitable and more effective in treating the symptoms of insomnia and anxiety for seniors.

To be able to sleep is vital for our existence. During the process of falling asleep, many people are struggling and as an outcome, various mental health problems and sleep disorders are occurring among them. Previous studies are blaming the spreading health problems on the smartphone users for bringing their phone into their bedroom. Simultaneously, studies are showing that nocturnal smartphone usage is extremely common, with a huge spike in use during nighttime. Also, findings in studies with a different area of focus are showing that people suffering from sleep difficulties and insomnia benefits from visual stimulation and focused attention during sleep onset. This study aims to find beneficial smartphone interactions for people who are currently experiencing sleep problems. By gathering information from literature and previous studies done in the fields of insomnia, mental health problems, smartphone usage, human-computer interaction and sleep in general, the theoretical foundation of this study is laid out. To verify the previous findings and find out more about nocturnal smartphone usage, interviews and exercises with both subjective good and bad sleepers are performed. Ideas are generated and extracted through a workshop together with the collaboration partners. Visualization of the possible solution is made as a hi-fi prototype, which is later tested upon the target group of bad sleepers for three nights. In combination, the solution concept is tested together with a secondary concept through the Wizard of Oz method. The evaluation of the concepts is collected as an online form through their smartphones and the feedback from the participants is leading to a final design suggestion. This study is presenting solutions for designing for nocturnal usage, which through this study has been proven decreasing the subjective sleep onset latency among the users and in the long run will improve the user's digital well being.

本研究嘗試檢視原發性失眠 (Primary insomnia) 患者在接受完認知行為治療後，其生理激發系統與恆定系統相關生理指標的改變，並探討其主、客觀睡眠改善與生理指標變化之間的關聯，藉以瞭解不同的生理系統在影響原發性失眠患者其主、客觀睡眠改善程度上可能的重要性。本研究透過醫師轉介，共18名原發性失眠患者 (男5人，女13人，平均年齡37.4歲) 接受7週6次的失眠認知行為治療，在接受治療的前後，分別進行一個晚上的多頻道睡眠記錄檢查與主、客觀睡眠評估。再進一步分析高頻率腦波Beta波 (14~35Hz) ，用來反應其中樞神經系統的激發，低頻率腦波Delta波 (0.5~2.5Hz) 則用來反應個案的恆定系統；另外，透過心跳變異率分析得出的參數，包括低頻率 (Low frequency，簡稱LF) 功率與高頻率 (High frequency，簡稱HF) 功率，以LF/HF的比率值測量其交感神經系統的活動，而HF/ (LF+HF) 則是測量副交感神經系統的活動。研究結果顯示個案的失眠問題在主觀睡眠評估指標上有顯著改善，而客觀睡眠評估指標與睡眠結構於入睡時間與入睡後清醒時間有顯著降低，其餘則無顯著改善。而各項生理系統指標，僅後半夜階段二的腦波的Delta波有顯著上升，其餘均無顯著地改善，而LF/HF的下降與失眠嚴重度的下降有顯著地關聯。因此，本研究顯示原發性失眠患者接受認知行為治療前後，其交感神經系統的下降與失眠嚴重度之改善有明顯關聯，推論失眠認知行為治療對於原發性失眠患者的交感神經活動的改善，可能是使其失眠嚴重度改善的關鍵。 / The present study evaluated the changes in beta and delta ranges of electroencephalogram (EEG) power and heart rate variability (HRV) after cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) to understand the effect of CBT-I on arousal system and homeostatic system. The study also examined the correlations between change of sleep measurement and the physiological index to clarify underlying mechanisms of sleep improved by CBT-I. Eighteen primary insomnia patients (5 males, 13 female, mean age = 37.4) participated in this study. The participants were scheduled to come to the sleep laboratory for polysomnographic (PSG) recording twice, one prior to CBT-I and one following CBT-I. A course of 6-session CBT-I was conducted during a period of seven weeks. Subjects’ changes in subjective ratings of sleep quality and quantity and sleep parameters in PSG were calculated. Spectrum analyses were conducted for their EEG and electrocardiogram (EKG). Beta EEG activity (14~35 Hz) was used to indicate the central nervos system (CNS) arousal level and Delta EEG activity (0.5~2.5 Hz) for the intensity of homeostatic system. Low frequency power (LF) and high frequency power (HF) of the R-R interval were calculated for heart rate variability (HRV). LF/HF ratio was used as a index of sympathetic nervous system activity and the HF/ (LF+HF) ratio as a index of parasympathetic nervous system activity. The results show subjective sleep quality of subjects were significantly improved after CBT-I. PSG shows shortened sleep onset latency and decreased wake time after sleep onset, but not in the other measures. For EEG spectrum and HRV parameters, only Delta EEG activity in stage2 of the second half of the night was significantly improved. In addition, the decrease of LF/HF significantly correlated with the improvement of the insomnia severity index. Thus, the results suggests that sleep improvements by CBT-I may be associated with the reduction of sympathetic arousal.

No description available.

Prionkrankheiten sind übertragbare, tödliche neurodegenerative Erkrankungen beim Menschen und bei Tieren. Sie basieren auf der Konversion des zellulären Prion-Proteins (PrPC) in seine pathogene Form (PrPSc). Durch diese Konversion sind Prionkrankheiten pathogen und übertragbar. Bis heute ist weder der dem zugrunde liegende Mechanismus verstanden noch eine Behandlung gefunden worden. Die sichere Diagnose einer sporadischen Prionkrankheit ist ausschließlich mittels Gehirnbiopsie möglich, weswegen zu Lebzeiten des Patienten häufig nur die Diagnose einer wahrscheinlichen Prionkrankheit erfolgt. Zusammen mit der klinischen Heterogenität der Prionkrankheiten weisen neueste Erkenntnisse auf das Vorhandensein mehrerer humaner Prionstämme hin. Für die Suche nach Medikamenten fehlt ein geeigneter Wirkstoff-Suchtest, der auf der humanen Pathogenese basiert, für einen hohen Durchsatz geeignet und gut reproduzierbar ist. Die real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC), eine neu entwickelte in vitro-Methode, erlaubt den Nachweis von bisher nicht messbaren Mengen an PrPSc in humanem Liquor cerebrospinalis (Liquor). Dazu werden die selbst-replizierenden Eigenschaften des PrPSc genutzt. Erste Untersuchungen weisen auf distinkte Eigenschaften humaner Prionkrankheiten in der RT-QuIC hin. Zum Einsatz in Diagnostik und Forschung bedarf es jedoch einer umfassenden Validierung der Methode für die Anwendung mit humanem Liquor. In dieser Arbeit beträgt die Sensitivität der RT-QuIC 85,5 % und die Spezifität 99,5 % für humane Prionkrankheiten. Die Reproduzierbarkeit im Ringversuch ist gut bis exzellent. Die Kurzzeitlagerungen der Liquorproben bei Raumtemperatur und +4°C sowie die Langzeitlagerung bei −80°C und das wiederholte Einfrieren und Auftauen haben keinen Einfluss auf die Testergebnisse. Jedoch führt die Kontamination mit Blut zu falsch-negativen Resultaten. Diese Ergebnisse weisen auf eine Eignung der RT-QuIC zur sicheren Diagnose von Prionkrankheiten zu Lebzeiten der Patienten hin. Zur Charakterisierung des Reaktionspotentials möglicher humaner Prionstämme wurden Liquorproben von verschiedenen humanen Prionkrankheiten wie bspw. der sporadischen und der genetischen Form mittels RT-QuIC untersucht. Die Auswertung der Daten zeigt distinkte Eigenschaften des PrPSc im Liquor, die moduliert werden durch die Form der Prionkrankheit, den Prnp Codon 129-Genotyp und die Krankheitsdauer. Diese Ergebnisse zeigen das Potential der RT-QuIC, die selbst-replizierenden Eigenschaften des PrPSc im Liquor zu untersuchen, womit erstmals eine Methode zur Verfügung steht, um diese Effekte in Patienten während der symptomatischen Phase zu studieren. Zur Nutzung der RT-QuIC als neuartige Methode zur Wirkstoffsuche wurde die Wirkung mehrerer Stoffe auf die RT-QuIC-Reaktion untersucht. Doxyzyklin inhibiert diese Reaktion sowohl in Korrelation mit der Dosis als auch mit dem Zeitpunkt der Zugabe. Diese Ergebnisse weisen auf eine Eignung der RT-QuIC zur Suche von Stoffen hin, die den PrP-Konversionsprozess inhibieren und zeigen die inhibierende Wirkung von Doxyzyklin auf die in-vitro-Amplifikation von PrPSc.