Positive Technology Journal

Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on distressed (type D) personality traits: a randomized controlled trial.

J Behav Med. 2013 Aug;36(4):361-70

 Authors: Nyklíček I, van Beugen S, Denollet J

Abstract. Distressed ('Type D') personality, the combination of negative affectivity (NA) and social inhibition (SI), has been associated with adverse health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine if an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program could reduce Type D personality characteristics. Distressed individuals from the Dutch general population (N = 146; mean age = 46.07; 69 % female) participated in a randomized trial comparing the mindfulness intervention with waitlist control. Although change in Type D caseness did not differ between groups, the intervention group showed stronger reductions for both NA (p < .001) and SI (p < .05) dimensions, even when change in state negative affect was statistically controlled. These effects were mediated by change in self-reported mindfulness. In conclusion, MBSR may reduce characteristics of the distressed personality type, likely through the mechanism of increased mindfulness.

Mobile biofeedback of heart rate variability in patients with diabetic polyneuropathy: a preliminary study.

Clin Physiol Funct Imaging. 2014 Jan 20;

Authors: Druschky K, Druschky A

Abstract. Biofeedback of heart rate variability (HRV) was applied to patients with diabetic polyneuropathy using a new mobile device allowing regularly scheduled self-measurements without the need of visits to a special autonomic laboratory. Prolonged generation of data over an eight-week period facilitated more precise investigation of cardiac autonomic function and assessment of positive and negative trends of HRV parameters over time. Statistical regression analyses revealed significant trends in 11 of 17 patients, while no significant differences were observed when comparing autonomic screening by short-term HRV and respiratory sinus arrhythmia at baseline and after the 8 weeks training period. Four patients showed positive trends of HRV parameters despite the expected progression of cardiac autonomic dysfunction over time. Patient compliance was above 50% in all but two patients. The results of this preliminary study indicate a good practicality of the handheld device and suggest a potential positive effect on cardiac autonomic neuropathy in patients with type 2 diabetes.

The innovative system is described in a paper published in the journal Nature Communications, co-authored by MIT professors Marin Soljačić and John Joannopoulos, graduate student Chia Wei Hsu, and four others.

Abstract of Nature Communications paper:

The ability to display graphics and texts on a transparent screen can enable many useful applications. Here we create a transparent display by projecting monochromatic images onto a transparent medium embedded with nanoparticles that selectively scatter light at the projected wavelength. We describe the optimal design of such nanoparticles, and experimentally demonstrate this concept with a blue-color transparent display made of silver nanoparticles in a polymer matrix. This approach has attractive features including simplicity, wide viewing angle, scalability to large sizes and low cost.