Search results for "relaxation"
showing 10 items of 1162 documents
Heart rate variability related to effort at work
2011
Changes in autonomic nervous system function have been related to work stress induced increases in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Our purpose was to examine whether various heart rate variability (HRV) measures and new HRV-based relaxation measures are related to self-reported chronic work stress and daily emotions. The relaxation measures are based on neural network modelling of individual baseline heart rate and HRV information. Nineteen healthy hospital workers were studied during two work days during the same work period. Daytime, work time and night time heart rate, as well as physical activity were recorded. An effort-reward imbalance (ERI) questionnaire was used to assess ch…
Identification of possible risk factors for alcohol use disorders among general practitioners in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
2012
QUESTIONS UNDER STUDY Research on alcohol use disorders among physicians has been scarce in Germany. The aim of our study was to identify possible risk factors for alcohol use disorders among general practitioners (GPs) working in the outpatient sector in the federal German state of Rhineland-Palatinate (RP). METHODS An anonymous survey was carried out between June and July 2009. 2,092 practice-based GPs in the federal German state of RP were asked to take part in the cross-sectional study via postal mail. The CAGE screening tool was used in its German version (CAGE-G) to screen for alcohol use disorders (AUD). Moreover, possible risk factors such as work stress (effort-reward imbalance), s…
Psychophysiological differentiation of deception: the effects of electrodermal lability and mode of responding on skin conductance and heart rate
2001
The differentiation-of-deception paradigm enables the examination of deception as a psychophysiological process by varying, within subjects, two conditions which differ only with respect to honesty and deception. The present experiment assessed the effects of two group factors - electrodermal lability and mode of responding - on the deception phenomenon in a situation with low emotional involvement and mental load. Skin conductance responses, phasic heart rate, self-rated relaxation, calmness, and concentration were the dependent variables. Twenty questions referring to general knowledge were presented on a monitor. The 88 male participants answered half of the questions deceptively and the…
Phantom Limb Pain in Daily Practice—Still a Lot of Work to Do!
2012
Objectives. Effective treatment of phantom limb pain (PLP, pain felt in the part of the body of an amputated limb) is still difficult to achieve, and improved treatment is needed. It is therefore of paramount interest to understand the current practice of PLP therapy outside pain centers. Design. As a part of a nationwide survey, 537 amputees were asked 11 questions related to their treatment experiences and the pain relief. Furthermore, the patients' opinion about the quality of medical care was also asked. Results. Five hundred thirty-seven out of 1088 amputees returned the questionnaire (49.4%). Four hundred (74.5%) suffered from PLP. The patients rated their caregivers' knowledge about …
Economic aspects of different muscle relaxant regimens.
2000
Objective At a time of cost reduction in medical care efforts to manage the ever-increasing costs of new pharmaceutical drugs become increasingly important. Costs of four different muscle relaxant regimens including the new intermediate-acting neuromuscular blocking drugs (NMBD) cisatracurium and rocuronium will be analyzed. Methods Eighty patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy were prospectively studied. All patients received standardized general anaesthesia with desflurane/fentanyl. Muscle relaxation was achieved with atracurium, cisatracurium, vecuronium, or rocuronium with 20 patients in each group. Intraoperatively muscle relaxants were added to maintain two twitches of the t…
Effects of vasopressin on human renal arteries
1996
The effects of vasopressin were studied in isolated rings from branches (2-3 mm in external diameter) of human renal arteries obtained from 18 patients undergoing nephrectomy for non-obstructive neoplasia. In arterial rings under resting tension, vasopressin produced concentration-dependent and endothelium-independent contractions with an EC 50 of 9.1 x 10 -10 mol L -1 . The vasopressin V 1 receptor antagonist d(CH 2 ) 5 Tyr(Me)AVP (10 -6 mol L -1 ) displaced the control curve to vasopressin 564-fold to the right in a parallel manner. In precontracted arterial rings and previously treated with the V 1 antagonist (10 -6 mol L -1 ) vasopressin caused endothelium-independent relaxation. The re…
Central and peripheral fatigue of the knee extensor muscles induced by electromyostimulation.
2005
The main purpose of this study was to characterise neuromuscular fatigue induced by 30 contractions of the knee extensor muscles evoked by electromyostimulation (EMS). Twelve healthy subjects were tested before and after a typical EMS session (frequency: 75 Hz, on-off ratio: 6.25 s on-20 s off) used for quadriceps femoris muscle strengthening. Surface electromyographic (EMG) activity and torque obtained during maximal voluntary and electrically evoked contractions were analysed to distinguish peripheral from central fatigue. Maximal voluntary torque of the knee extensor muscles decreased approximately 20 % (p < 0.001) following EMS. In the same way, peak torque associated to single (p < 0.0…
Effects of sildenafil on human penile blood vessels.
2000
Abstract Objectives. To investigate the effects of sildenafil on human penile blood vessels and evaluate the interaction of sildenafil with neurogenic-mediated responses. Sildenafil is currently used in the treatment of erectile dysfunction. Methods. Penile dorsal arteries and deep dorsal veins were obtained from 14 multiorgan donors. Vascular rings were suspended in organ bath chambers, and the isometric tension was recorded. We then studied the effects of sildenafil on precontracted vessels and the neurogenic (noradrenergic and nitrergic) responses. Results. Sildenafil (10 −9 to 3 × 10 −6 M) caused concentration-dependent relaxation and amplified the relaxation induced by sodium nitroprus…
Changes in neuromuscular performance and muscle fiber characteristics of elite power athletes self-administering androgenic and anabolic steroids
1984
The influence of androgenic-anabolic steroid-induced changes in measures of body composition, muscle fiber characteristics and various aspects of the neuromuscular performance of the leg extensor muscles was investigated in five experimental and six control power athletes during the 24-week programmed strength training followed by the additional six week training without hormone drugs. The mean values of the dosages of self-administration during the 24-week period were 31.0 +/- 14.3 mg/day for anabolic steroids (methandienone, stanozolol, nandrolone) and 178.4 +/- 82.7 mg/week for testosterone. During the 24-week hormone period the experimental group gained in fat-free weight (p less than 0…
Evaluation of esophagogastric junction relaxation by 4-second Integrated Relaxation Pressure in achalasia using High Resolution Manometry with water-…
2014
Background Relaxation of the esophagogastric junction (EGJ) is now evaluated calculating 4-second integrated relaxation pressure (4-s IRP) by high resolution manometry (HREPT). Solid-state catheters have been used to define abnormal values. Our aim was to evaluate 4-s IRP in esophageal achalasia using HREPT with perfused catheters. Methods From June 2009 to June 2013, 936 HREPT studies have been performed in our unit. Of these, 194 patients having treated achalasia were excluded. Control group was constituted by 695 patients without achalasia, and 47 patients with untreated achalasia constituted the study group. HREPT was performed with water-perfused catheters. To establish the cut-off val…