Adaptive Phage Therapy in the Treatment of Patients with Recurrent Pneumonia (Pilot Study)

Aim. To evaluate the safety and efficacy of the adaptive phage therapy technique in patients with recurrent pneumonia in neurological critical care.Material and methods. The clinical study included 83 chronically critically ill patients with severe brain damage. The bacteriophage cocktail selected against specific hospital strains was administered by inhalation to 43 patients. The control group included 40 patients who received conventional antimicrobial therapy. The changes in clinical, laboratory and instrumental parameters, levels of biomarkers, microbiological and PCR tests of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were assessed, including those in the «phage therapy with antibiotics» (n=29) and «phage therapy without antibiotics» (n=14) subgroups.Results. The groups were comparable in terms of basic parameters (age, sex, diagnosis, organ dysfunction according to APACHE II, use of vasoactive drugs) and the level of airway colonization with antibioticresistant bacterial strains. Good tolerability and absence of clinically significant side effects were observed during inhaled administration of the bacteriophage cocktail. Computed tomography on day 21 showed a significant reduction in lung damage in patients who received bacteriophages. Patients treated with bacteriophages without antibiotics had significantly lower need for mechanical ventilation. The mortality rate on day 28 did not differ significantly and was 4.7% (2/43) in the bacteriophage-treated group vs 5% (2/40) in the control group.Conclusion. The first experience of using the adaptive phage therapy technique in chronically critically ill patients in neurological intensive care demonstrated the safety of inhalational administration of the bacteriophage cocktail. The efficacy of the technique was confirmed by the treatment results obtained in the phage therapy group, which were not inferior to those in the group with conventional antibiotic therapy, while several clinical and laboratory parameters tended to improve even in patients who received bacteriophages and did not receive antibiotics.

Individual versus Sequential: The Potential of Comic Creation in Art Therapy

This research study explored the potential of comics within an art therapy and narrative therapy framework. The process of depicting a past problem as a single image was compared to the process of depicting the same problem as a comic. This study worked with 15 normally functioning adults to compare the effectiveness of the two formats (comics vs. single image) in processing a past problem or challenge. Participants evaluated these two formats through a survey and a brief verbal interview. The quantitative data from the survey and the qualitative data from the interview were analyzed to determine the effectiveness of the comic format as compared to the single image format. The art-based data collected from participants’ single images and comics was also analyzed for unique characteristics the comic format evoked. All interactions with participants took place virtually over Zoom to ensure the safety of participants and the researcher during the COVID-19 pandemic. Analysis of the quantitative and qualitative data indicated that participants responded positively towards the comic format. The comic format seemed especially effective at facilitating the narrative therapy technique of deconstruction. These results support the study’s hypothesis that the comic format is as effective or more effective than the single image format in eliciting a narrative from a past problem or challenge. The art-based data suggested that the comic format evokes unique representations of time and movement in participants’ narratives. The findings of this study strongly suggest that creating comics or sequential art has potential for use in an art therapy setting, particularly in helping clients process past problems or challenges.

Inter-Brain Synchronization During Sandplay Therapy: Individual Analyses

Interactions between the client (Cl) and therapist (Th) evolve therapeutic relationships in psychotherapy. An interpersonal link or therapeutic space is implicitly developed, wherein certain important elements are expressed and shared. However, neural basis of psychotherapy, especially of non-verbal modalities, have scarcely been explored. Therefore, we examined the neural backgrounds of such therapeutic alliances during sandplay, a powerful art/play therapy technique. Real-time and simultaneous measurement of hemodynamics was conducted in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of Cl-Th pairs participating in sandplay and subsequent interview sessions through multichannel near-infrared spectroscopy. As sandplay is highly individualized, and no two sessions and products (sandtrays) are the same, we expected variation in interactive patterns in the Cl–Th pairs. Nevertheless, we observed a statistically significant correlation between the spatio-temporal patterns in signals produced by the homologous regions of the brains. During the sandplay condition, significant correlations were obtained in the lateral PFC and frontopolar (FP) regions in the real Cl-Th pairs. Furthermore, a significant correlation was observed in the FP region for the interview condition. The correlations found in our study were explained as a “remote” synchronization (i.e., unconnected peripheral oscillators synchronizing through a hub maintaining free desynchronized dynamics) between two subjects in a pair, possibly representing the neural foundation of empathy, which arises commonly in sandplay therapy (ST).

Can Sunlight Revolutionize the Light Therapy Technique

Throughout human history, the role of sunlight to sustain life on earth has been recognized. The contribution of sunlight starts with photosynthesis, promoting the growth of plants and crops, which then feed the entire lifecycle, humans being an integral part of the natural process. Interestingly, over 100 years ago as the plastic revolution began and everything natural started to be replaced with their artificial version, sunlight didn’t lose its appeal. Only recently, scientists started to think of the sun as a liability.

Seeking Inspiration: Examining the Validity and Reliability of a New Smartphone Respiratory Therapy Exergame App

Background: Clinically valid and reliable simulated inspiratory sounds were required for the development and evaluation of a new therapeutic respiratory exergame application (i.e., QUT Inspire). This smartphone application virtualises incentive spirometry, a longstanding respiratory therapy technique. Objectives: Inspiratory flows were simulated using a 3 litre calibration syringe and validated using clinical reference devices. Syringe flow nozzles of decreasing diameter were applied to model the influence of mouth shape on audible sound levels generated. Methods: A library of calibrated audio inspiratory sounds was created to determine the reliability and range of inspiratory sound detection at increasing distances separating the sound source and smartphones running the app. Results: Simulated inspiratory sounds were reliably detected by the new application at higher air inflows (high, medium), using smaller mouth diameters (<25 mm) and where smartphones were held proximal (< = 5 cm) to the mouth (or at distances up to 50 cm for higher airflows). Performance was comparable for popular smartphone types and using different phone orientations (i.e., held horizontally, at 45° or 90°). Conclusions: These observations inform future application refinements, including prompts to reduce mouth diameter, increase inspiratory flow and maintain proximity to the phone to optimise sound detection. This library of calibrated inspiratory sounds offers reproducible non-human reference data suitable for development, evaluation and regression testing of a therapeutic respiratory exergame application for smartphones.

Drug Sensitivity Testing for Cancer Therapy, Technique Analysis and Trend

: The techniques and qualities of drug sensitivity testing (DST) for anticancer treatment grew rapidly in the past two decades worldwide. Much of DST progress came from advanced systems of technical versatility (faster, high-throughput, high-sensitive and smaller in tumor quantity). As the earliest drug selective system, biomedical knowledge and technical advances for DST are mutually supported. More importantly, many pharmacological controversies are resolved by these technical advances. With this technical stride, clinical landscape of DST was entering into a new phase (>500 samples per testing and extremely low quantity of tumor cells). As a forerunner of drug selection system, DST awaits new version that can adapt to complicated therapeutic situations and diverse tumor categories in the clinic. By upholding this goal of pathogenic and therapeutic diversity, DST could eventually cure more cancer patients by establishing high-quality drug selection systems. To smooth DST develop, it needs to increasingly understanding of cancer biology, pathology and pharmacology (cancer heterogeneity, plasticity, metastasis and drug resistance) with well-informative parameters before chemotherapy. In this Article, medicinal and technical insights into DST are especially highlighted.

Effect of muscle strength training in children and adolescents with spastic cerebral palsy: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis investigates the effects of strength training program in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy to improve function, activity, and participation. Data sources: Five electronic databases (MEDLINE-Pubmed, Cochrane Library, PEDro, CINAHL, and SPORTDiscus) were systematically searched for full-text articles published from inception to 30 June 2021. Review methods: Randomized controlled trials were included, who compared: (i) child population with spastic cerebral palsy population between 0 and 22 years; (ii) studies in which a muscle strength training program was performed and included dosing information; (iii) studies comparing strength training with other physical therapy technique(s) or untreated control group. Studies with similar outcomes were pooled by calculating standardized mean differences. Risk of bias was assessed with Cochrane Collaboration’s tool for assessing the risk of bias and PROSPERO’s registration number ID: CRD42020193535. Results: Twenty-seven studies, comprising 847 participants with spastic cerebral palsy. The meta-analyses demonstrated significant standardized mean differences in favor of strength training program compared to other physical therapy technique(s) or untreated control group(s) for muscle strength at the knee flexors, at the knee extensor, at the plantarflexors, maximum resistance, balance, gait speed, GMFM (global, D and E dimension) and spasticity. Conclusion: A strength training program has positive functional and activity effects on muscle strength, balance, gait speed, or gross motor function without increasing spasticity for children and adolescents with cerebral palsy in Gross Motor Function Classification System levels I, II, and III when adequate dosage and specific principles are utilized.