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Non‐pharmacological interventions include physical activity, biofield energy therapy, reiki, Tai chi, and therapeutic touch. However, no reports analyzed the effectiveness of biofield therapy on cognition and motor function performance in adult subjects. The study aimed to investigate the impact of remote biofield energy healing therapy on cognition and motor functioning in adults with self‐perceived neuropsychological impairments. This was a randomized double‐blind clinical trial that involved 114 participants with self‐perceived neuropsychological impairments. The participants were divided into three groups (control, sham control, and biofield intervention). Cognitive and motor function scores were assessed using the NIH Toolbox at baseline (day 0), day 90, and day 180. The biofield treatment group showed significant improvements in language function (p < 0.0001), working memory (p < 0.0001), and episodic memory (p < 0.0001) scores. Other cognitive functions also improved, although not statistically significant. The biofield intervention group also demonstrated significant enhancements (p < 0.05 to p < 0.0001) in locomotion, standing balance, dexterity, grip strength, and muscle endurance. No adverse effects were reported. The results suggest that remote biofield energy therapy is a safe, noninvasive intervention that improves cognitive and motor functions in adults. Further research is needed to understand its clinical benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spirituality has been a core component of human existence from the very beginning of human life. From mysticism to healing to psychics, millions of people throughout history have explored their spiritual connections to something greater than themselves. We explore the nature of spirituality and why it is so hard for humans to understand its dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThe authors in this paper present several storied vignettes to argue for a feminist, posthumanist orientation to Leisure as a potentially transformative assemblage for healing of trauma. They draw on Peter Levine’s Somatic Experiencing alongside quantum understandings of the body and ancient wisdom and practices that inform Levine’s work such as breath work, movement, presence, gratitude, energy healing, nonduality, and the interconnectedness of all beings and forces to present the idea that posthuman “assemblages” produce healing and healing practices. They argue that Leisure is uniquely positioned as a space and a field where this transformative work can come to life, advocating for more just, ethical, and healing relational ways of being with the human and more-than-human world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis study explores well-being strategies and challenges for Black LGBTQ individuals in Montreal, Canada. Semi-structured interviews were conducted between March and May 2023 with key informants, or advocates and service providers for LGBTQ communities in the Montreal metropolitan area. Thematic analysis was used and involved transcription, memo-writing and a multi-step, inductive coding process using MAXQDA. The findings highlight three areas of well-noted challenges for Black LGBTQ individuals: systemic barriers; lack of targeted support; and challenges to accessing services. Two strategic domains emerged as innovative approaches to support well-being: transcendental practices and intersectional sociopolitical awareness raising. Transcendental practices, ranging from fine arts and dance to reiki energy healing, offered avenues for healing and community-building. Intersectional sociopolitical awareness was described as crucial in informing and contributing to existing efforts to improve well-being such as therapeutic engagement with clients and facilitating mutual aid. The identified transcendental practices and political awareness offer promising avenues for holistic well-being and comprehensive approaches to challenges such as inequitable HIV burden. Recognising the convergence of identities and social power axes can inform future interventions to foster more inclusive and empowering health strategies for Black LGBTQ communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The longer-lived excited nuclear states, referred as nuclear isomers, exist due to the hindered decays owing to their peculiar nucleonic structural surroundings. Some of these conditions, being exceptionally rare and limited to achieve, elevate certain isomers to the status of extreme and unusual isomers among their kin. For example, the E5 coupling of single-particle orbitals is rare and so are E5 decaying isomers. This review delves into some of such remarkable isomers scattered across the nuclear landscape while highlighting the possibilities to find more of them. Unique properties of some of them, harbor the potential for transformative applications in medicine and energy. An exciting example is that of the lowest energy isomer known so far in 229 Th, which may help realize the dream of an ultra-precise nuclear clock in the coming decade. These isomers also offer an insight into the extremes of nuclear structure associated with them, which leads to their unusual status in energy, half-life, spin etc. The review attempts to highlight isomers with high-multipolarities, high-spins, high-energies, longest half-lives, extremely low energy, etc. A lack of theoretical understanding of the decay rates, half-lives and moments of these isomers is also pointed out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Should you concentrate on building a strong client base on the foundations of injectable treatments? Or should you leverage an expansive offering early to bring more clients and increase their client value on a multimodal treatment plan? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: Guidelines have been created to improve the reporting of clinical trials of biofield therapies, e.g. External Qigong, Healing Touch, Reiki, and Therapeutic Touch. Appropriate use of these guidelines is likely to strengthen the evidence base for biofield therapies as well as increase their usage as stand-alone practices and as complementary therapies within mainstream healthcare. A set of guidelines has been developed to help improve reporting of clinical trials of biofield therapies. The need for enhanced transparency when reporting trials of this family of integrative health practices, e.g., External Qigong, Healing Touch, Reiki and Therapeutic Touch, has been advocated in systematic reviews of these studies. The guidelines, called Biofield Therapies: Reporting Evidence Guidelines (BiFi REGs), supplement CONSORT 2010 by including details of the intervention protocols relevant to biofield therapy trials. BiFi REGs evolved through a draft document created by a core group, two rounds of a Delphi process with an international group of subject matter experts and two panels, meeting via Zoom, which included editors of complementary and integrative medicine journals. BiFi REGs comprises a 15-item Intervention checklist. Modifications of two other CONSORT topic areas are also proposed to enhance their relevance to trials of biofield therapies. Included for each item are an explanation, and exemplars of reporting from peer-reviewed published reports of biofield therapy trials. When used in conjunction with all other items from CONSORT 2010, we anticipate that BiFi REGs will expedite the peer review process for biofield therapy trials, facilitate attempts at trial replication and help to inform decision-making in the clinical practice of biofield therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human experience of pleasure as a feeling is surprisingly evasive and poorly understood. While mental health practitioners often focus on symptoms of psychological disorders such as depression, compulsion, lack of meaning/purpose (emptiness), phobias and fears, and adverse physiological functioning of sleeping, eating, elimination and sexual activity/experience, the fundamental complaint of clients and patients is an inability to enjoy their lives with a sense of well-being. This article will attempt to show that enjoyment, well-being, and the experience of pleasure however are not determined either by cognitive activity (state of mind), nor by physiological factors of nutrition, fitness, or dietary supplements. Rather, pleasure and fear are best understood energetically. As Wilhelm Reich pointed out nearly 100 years ago, and as incorporated in the somatic psychotherapy of Bioenergetics, and dance/movement therapy (DMT), fear produces contraction while pleasure produces expansion, psychically and physically. It is a simple intuitive fact with broad and deep implications yet is unaccepted in academic psychology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An editorial is presented on articles and book reviews on safety, play and pleasure, connections with self and other, considerations around time and creativity. Topics include explores key therapeutic factors and thus delineates the rich tapestry of our practice; and physical presence of the therapist and the client bodies are clearly part of the co-created sense of safety.

Ageing and healing are both important characteristics of asphalt binder. The effect of ageing on healing is often studied, but the quantitative relationship between them is not clear. Thus, this study aims at explaining and formulating the inner relationship between healing and ageing based on a kinetics-based approach, expressed as healing and ageing activation energy, respectively. The healing activation energy is obtained based on the healing kinetics approach using recoverable strain energy (RSE). The ageing activation energy is calculated based on the kinetics-based ageing model. After that, further analysis is performed to explore the relationship between healing and ageing kinetic rates of asphalt binders, and the interpretation of the discovered relationship is proposed. The results indicate that the healing activation energy of aged asphalt binder has no big difference from the sum of ageing activation energy plus the healing activation energy of unaged asphalt binder. Define the ratio of initial temperature kinetic rate to the final temperature kinetic rate of healing/ageing as the healing/ageing rate ratio. It indicates that the product of the healing rate ratio of unaged asphalt binder and the ageing rate ratio of the same binder is close to the healing rate ratio of aged asphalt binder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to describe the experience of energy healing practitioners (specifically, Healing Touch) use of distance healing to provide insight into the methods, practice, and experience from the providers' perspective. One hundred and fifty-three energy workers participated in the open-ended survey. Overall, the experience of using distance healing during the pandemic was positive for practitioners in both giving and receiving. Practitioners also reported primarily positive feedback from their patients. A few respondents reported feeling hesitant about using distance healing and preferred hands-on work. However, distance healing was generally seen as providing flexibility to the practitioners' work, connection, and enhanced understanding of the human energy field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction • The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes Reiki therapy as a form of therapy within the classification of alternative therapies. Recently, a growing interest regarding the implementation of Reiki therapy in patient care relating to the field of nursing has been detected; however, there are few scientifically rigorous studies that support this. Objective • To determine the effect of Reiki therapy on blood pressure (BP) and alcohol consumption in young adults with hypertension, in two urban communities in northern of Mexico. Methodology • A randomized and controlled clinical trial, with an equivalent experimental group (EG) and a control group (CG). Longitudinal design of repeated parallel measurements and triple-blind masking. Results • The averages of the Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) of EG. vs. CG in the test vs. retest were: 109.91±2.3 vs. 111.19±3.3 (P=.140) and retest: 97.00±4.9 vs. 110.94 ±2.9 (P=.001). In alcohol consumption at test: 11.00±2.9 vs. 11.54±2.8 (P=.527) and at retest: 8.83±1.02 vs. 11.83 ± 1.92 (P = .001). In the ANOVA analysis for the EG, the MAP decrease between measurements 1 and 2; and 1 and 3 (P=.001). Regarding alcohol consumption, there was no difference between measurements 1 and 2 nor in measurements 2 and 3. There was only a significant difference between measurements 1 and 3 (P=.015). Conclusion • The results obtained confirmed our hypothesis of the research, since the EG had a significant effect on the decrease of the MAP and alcohol consumption after 21 sessions of Reiki therapy intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Client experiences of virtual energy healing include embodied sensations, relaxation, release, sense of peace, and connection to self and others. • Clients reported increased relaxation, increased well-being, and decreased pain after virtual energy healing sessions via Zoom. • Clients reported they were surprised that virtual energy healing worked. During the COVID-19 pandemic medical and holistic health practitioners turned to utilizing virtual healthcare. As energy healing practitioners and educators who shifted to an online format, it seemed important to document descriptions of client experiences of virtual energy healing. To describe client experiences of virtual energy healing sessions. Descriptive pre-post intervention design. Two experienced and eclectic energy healing practitioners developed a protocol and conducted energy healing sessions via Zoom. A convenience sample of Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet (CSJ) Consociates, people of diverse life-styles and spiritual traditions who are committed to living the mission of the CSJs in the St. Paul Province. Pre-post 10-point Likert scale rating of relaxation, well-being, and pain. Pre-post primarily qualitative questionnaires. Results indicated significant pre-post differences: pre-session relaxation (M=5.036, SD = 2.9) and post-session relaxation (M=7.86, SD = 6.4): t(13)=2.16, p=.0017*; pre-session well-being (M=5.86, SD = 4.29); post-session well-being (M=8, SD = 2.31), t(13), p=.0001*; pre-session pain (M=4.0, SD = 6.15) and post-session pain (M=2.25, SD = 3.41), t(13)=2.16, p=.004*. Thematic analysis revealed six themes related to client experiences of virtual energy healing: 1) embodied sensations, 2) relaxation, 3) release - a letting go of tasks/anxieties/worries, 4) sense of peace/joy/calm, 5) connection to themselves, others, and something larger, and 6) surprise that virtual energy healing works. This was a descriptive study using a convenience sample, therefore, there was not a control group, a large sample size, and the sample might be more prone to report better results than the general population because of their spiritual perspectives. Results were not generalizable. Clients reported positive descriptions of virtual energy healing and say they would do it again. However more research is needed to understand the variables that influenced the results and the underlying mechanisms of action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, colorless and transparent Ce3 + activated borogermanate scintillating glass was prepared in air atmosphere by traditional melt-quenching method. The total content of GeO2 and Gd2 O3 in the borogermanate scintillating glass is 85%, and the measured density is about 5. 82 g/cm3. The linear transmittance of the glass scintillator is more than 80% in the wavelength range of 450 nm to 800 nm. A small amount of tartaric acid (C4 H6 O6) was added as a strong reducing agent to reduce the production of Ce4 +. The fluorescence decay characteristics of Ce3 + in the borogermanate scintillating glass at 340 nm excitation wavelength were studied under different dosage of tartric acid, and the optimal dosage of tartric acid was also determined. In addition, the light yield of borogermanate scintillating glass was rarely reported before. In this work, the light yield of the prepared Ce3 + activated borogermanate scintillating glass is measured as 27 ph/MeV, and the high density Ce3 + activated borogermanate scintillating glass has a minimum decay time of about 14. 40 ns. It can be predicted that the prepared borogermanate scintillation glass with high density and fast decay time has great development potential in the fields of high energy physics and medicine imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to rules, regulations, and legal ramifications informed consent is something that has entered into the healthcare arena to stay. This article seeks to discuss how the doctor can view informed consent as an ongoing process, before rendering care, during treatments, and following the office visit. With informed consent being an ongoing process it allows the doctor to continually check in with the patient and allow the patient to change their mind from day to day and moment to moment. By giving the patient the ability to be fluid and an active participant in the clinical encounter it allows their mind and body to feel safe so they can relax and have an optimal response to care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The idea of "life force" or "subtle pranic energy," sometimes referred to as prana, ki, qi, vital force, and scientifically accepted as biofield, is prevalent across many cultures. Objectives: This review's objective is to synthesize data from studies that looked at a range of physical, psychological, and biofield sensations while experiencing prana and receiving biofield therapies. Method: We looked for qualitative, exploratory, and mixed-method studies on subtle pranic energy perceptions, as well as the physical and emotional experiences connected to biofield therapeutic procedures, through searches in 3 electronic databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus. Based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, ninteen studies were appropriate for this review. The results were synthesized using the 6 steps of the thematic analysis approach. Results: The first concept, "energy experiences," comprises 4 themes that describe participants' sensations of prana (awareness of temperature variation; presence of energy; physical sensation of energy; and magnetic sensation). The second concept, "positive experiences," consists of 3 themes that describe the benefits of undergoing biofield therapy on the physical and emotional conditions of the participants (positive affective experiences; positive physical sensations; and positive valued experiences). The third concept, "experience of awareness," describes how participants become aware of their mental activities (awareness of mental activities). Conclusion: Our knowledge of perceptions and experiences related to biofield therapy is enhanced by this meta-synthesis. It gave a comprehensive picture of the enormous sensations and advantages that were felt when engaging in biofield practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hot-iron disbudding, the practice of cauterizing horn bud tissue to prevent horn growth in dairy calves, results in behavioral changes indicative of pain in the first few days after the procedure. However, few studies have quantified behavioral changes in the following weeks, while the burn wounds are still healing. Female Holstein calves were disbudded with a heated iron and pain relief (5.5 mL lidocaine cornual nerve block and 1 mg/kg oral meloxicam) at 4 to 10 d of age (n = 19) or not disbudded (n = 19). Calves wore ear tag accelerometers that reported the dominant behavior being performed at 1-min intervals from 3 to 21 d after disbudding. Compared with age-matched controls, disbudded calves tended to spend more time inactive throughout the observation period, ruminated less in the first 3 to 11 d after disbudding, and sucked more from a milk bottle beginning 5 d after disbudding until the end of the 21-d observation period. In addition to the accelerometer data, live observations of sleeping (using a behavioral proxy), lying, and ruminating were collected using instantaneous sampling at 5-min intervals for 24-h periods 3, 10, and 17 d after disbudding. Disbudded calves slept with their head down more on all live observation days and spent more time lying on the 17th d after disbudding, but ruminating did not differ compared with controls, in contrast to the accelerometer results. More time spent inactive, sleeping, and lying, and less time spent ruminating (as indicated by the accelerometer) can be interpreted as attempts to reduce painful stimulation of the disbudding wounds and allocate energy to healing. It is unclear whether the greater amount of sucking in the disbudded calves is nutritive (milk present) or non-nutritive (milk absent), as the algorithm did not distinguish the type of sucking, and further research is needed to explore the factors underlying this effect. We conclude that disbudding alters daily behavior patterns for at least 3 wk, far beyond the duration of recommended pain medication, raising additional welfare concerns about the procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the mortality, chronicity, and treatment drop-out rates observed among individuals with eating disorders (EDs), innovative approaches are needed. Ayahuasca, a psychedelic plant medicine from the Amazon, is currently being investigated. This study expands on prior exploratory research by describing the perspectives of ayahuasca ceremony leaders regarding their conceptualizations of EDs and the potential therapeutic mechanisms of action of ayahuasca for individuals with EDs. Qualitative content analysis of interviews with 15 ayahuasca ceremony leaders produced two main categories, with relevant subcategories. The first category encompassed the leaders' theories of EDs from a shamanic perspective, including that EDs are symptomatic of an underlying concern, serve a function and affect health in multiple domains. The second category described leaders' perspectives on the potential mechanisms of action of ayahuasca for EDs, including that ayahuasca facilitates "energetic healing"; helps identify, process, and integrate the "root" of the ED; promotes holistic healing; and enhances and/or reorganizes relationships. From the perspectives of ceremony leaders and consistent with previous exploratory research, ceremonial ayahuasca use may offer a potentially useful, novel and complementary intervention for EDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The story of energy as a focus of psychoanalysis began with Freud and was conceptualized further by C. G. Jung. For him, energy enlivens the human psyche, drawing people towards ideas and activities, forming and re‐forming us through the ways it moves and the content it carries. This article examines how psychological energy forms the experience of individuals, informing us about conscious and subconscious states of the human psyche as it engages with its environment. We examine how psychological energy forms the experience of groups, creating qualitatively linked behaviours, constraints and potentials that Jung and others conceived of as psychological 'fields'. The concept of energy as a property of psychological systems contributes to our understanding of the human experience. Though rarely conscious, it impacts the phenomenological experience of both individuals and groups, who cope with it in both generative and destructive ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to reliably measure electromechanical properties is crucial to the advancement of materials design for applications in fields ranging from biology and medicine to energy storage and electronics. With the relentless miniaturization of device technology, the ability to perform this characterization on the nanoscale is paramount. Due to its ability to probe electromechanical properties on the micro- and nano-scales, piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) has become the premier tool for piezoelectric and ferroelectric characterization of a new generation of smart, functional materials. Despite its widespread use and popularity, PFM is a highly nuanced technique, and measurements on similar samples using different machines and/or in different laboratories often fail to agree. A comprehensive protocol for accurate quantitative measurements has not been presented in the literature, slowing the general uptake of the technique by reducing the ability of research groups to take full advantage of PFM for their characterization needs. Here, we present a procedure for PFM measurements, which outlines the practical aspects of quantitative PFM, from sample preparation to probe choice and use of control samples, and we substantiate these steps with original data on lithium niobate control samples. This quantitative characterization protocol is critical as society looks to smaller, greener alternatives to traditional piezoelectric materials for applications such as drug delivery, bio-microelectromechanical system sensors and actuators, and energy harvesting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]