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The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Management of the pandemic has relied mainly on SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, while alternative approaches such as meditation, shown to improve immunity, have been largely unexplored. Here, we probe the relationship between meditation and COVID-19 disease and directly test the impact of meditation on the induction of a blood environment that modulates viral infection. We found a significant inverse correlation between length of meditation practice and SARS-CoV-2 infection as well as accelerated resolution of symptomology of those infected. A meditation "dosing" effect was also observed. In cultured human lung cells, blood from experienced meditators induced factors that prevented entry of pseudotyped viruses for SARS-CoV-2 spike protein of both the wild-type Wuhan-1 virus and the Delta variant. We identified and validated SERPINA5, a serine protease inhibitor, as one possible protein factor in the blood of meditators that is necessary and sufficient for limiting pseudovirus entry into cells. In summary, we conclude that meditation can enhance resiliency to viral infection and may serve as a possible adjuvant therapy in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chronic pain is not a singular disorder and presents in various forms and phenotypes. Here we show data from a cohort of patients seeking treatment in a transdisciplinary pain clinic. Patients completed a multidimensional patient-reported battery as part of routine initial evaluation at baseline and at each of the four subsequent visits over 1-year follow-up (0, 1, 3, 6, 12 months). The goal of this work was to use unsupervised modeling approach to identify whether patients with chronic pain undergoing transdisciplinary intensive rehabilitation treatment: (1) can be derived based upon self-reported outcome measures at baseline (or before treatment initiation), (2) are clinically validated based on their clinical diagnosis and medication use, and (3) differ in treatment trajectories over 1 year of transdisciplinary treatment. We applied unsupervised clustering on baseline outcomes using nine patient-reported symptoms and examined treatment trajectories. The three-cluster solution was internally validated. Psychiatric diagnosis, chronic back pain-related disability and symptoms severity determined cluster assignment and treatment prognosis. Conversely, clinical pain severity had lesser effect. Furthermore, clusters showed stability over time despite symptoms improvement. The accurate and meaningful subgrouping of the underlying chronic pain phenotypes would greatly enhance treatment and provide personalized and effective pain management.

ObjectiveAlthough posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic pain frequently occur in tandem, the pathophysiological mechanisms mediating this comorbidity are poorly understood. Because excessive inflammation occurs in both conditions, we examined the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of inflammatory response mediators interleukin 1-beta (IL-1β), interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin 8 (IL-8), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα) and interleukin 10 (IL-10) after prolonged suprathreshold pain stimulus in 21 male combat veterans; 10 with PTSD and 11 combat controls (CC).MethodsAfter completing baseline quantitative sensory testing (QST) and psychological profiling, all patients received an injection of capsaicin into the quadriceps muscle. Spontaneously reported pain was measured for 30min after the capsaicin injection. The evoked pain measure of temporal summation was tested between 70 and 110min post capsaicin injection. Inflammatory (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8 TNFα) and anti-inflammatory (IL-10) CSF cytokines were measured before (baseline) and after capsaicin injection over a time frame of 110min.ResultsFollowing intramuscular capsaicin injection, pro-inflammatory cytokines [TNFα, IL-6, IL-8] significantly increased (percent rise from baseline) in both groups, whereas IL-1β significantly increased in the PTSD group only. The anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 showed an immediate (within 10min) increase in the CC group; however, the IL-10 increase in the PTSD group was delayed and not consistently elevated until 70min post injection.ConclusionThese findings show significant central nervous system (CNS) differences in the inflammatory response to a deep pain stimulus in combat veterans with and without PTSD. They support the concept that abnormally elevated neuroinflammatory response to pain stimuli may be one CNS mechanism accounting for the high co-occurrence of PTSD and pain.

Objective pain assessment methods pose an advantage over the currently used subjective pain rating tools. Advanced signal processing methodologies, including the wavelet transform (WT) and the orthogonal matching pursuit algorithm (OMP), were developed in the past two decades. The aim of this study was to apply and compare these time-specific methods to heart rate samples of healthy subjects for acute pain detection. Fifteen adult volunteers participated in a study conducted in the pain clinic at a single center. Each subject's heart rate was sampled for 5-min baseline, followed by a cold pressor test (CPT). Analysis was done by the WT and the OMP algorithm with a Fourier/Wavelet dictionary separately. Data from 11 subjects were analyzed. Compared to baseline, The WT analysis showed a significant coefficients' density increase during the pain incline period (p

BackgroundPost-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and pain have a well-documented high comorbidity; however, the underlying mechanisms of this comorbidity are currently poorly understood. The aim of this psychophysical study was to investigate the behavioral response to a prolonged suprathreshold pain stimulus in subjects with combat-related PTSD and combat controls (CC) for clinical evidence of central sensitization.MethodsTen male subjects with current PTSD related to combat and 11 CC male subjects underwent baseline quantitative sensory testing (QST), temporal pain summation, and psychological profiling followed by an intramuscular injection of capsaicin into the quadriceps muscle.ResultsThere was no significant between-group difference for the initial maximal pain response or an initial pain reduction for the first 15 minutes postinjection on QST or pain ratings. However, we observed significantly higher scores in the PTSD group for the second 15 minutes postinjection on both pain intensity and pain unpleasantness ratings. Assessment of temporal summation to repetitive pressure stimuli showed significantly higher subjective pain in the PTSD group.ConclusionThese findings are consistent with a significantly higher degree of acute central sensitization in individuals with PTSD. Increased acute central sensitization may underlie increased vulnerability for developing pain-related conditions following combat trauma.

BackgroundPost-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and pain have a well-documented high comorbidity; however, the underlying mechanisms of this comorbidity are currently poorly understood. The aim of this psychophysical study was to investigate the behavioral response to a prolonged suprathreshold pain stimulus in subjects with combat-related PTSD and combat controls (CC) for clinical evidence of central sensitization.MethodsTen male subjects with current PTSD related to combat and 11 CC male subjects underwent baseline quantitative sensory testing (QST), temporal pain summation, and psychological profiling followed by an intramuscular injection of capsaicin into the quadriceps muscle.ResultsThere was no significant between-group difference for the initial maximal pain response or an initial pain reduction for the first 15 minutes postinjection on QST or pain ratings. However, we observed significantly higher scores in the PTSD group for the second 15 minutes postinjection on both pain intensity and pain unpleasantness ratings. Assessment of temporal summation to repetitive pressure stimuli showed significantly higher subjective pain in the PTSD group.ConclusionThese findings are consistent with a significantly higher degree of acute central sensitization in individuals with PTSD. Increased acute central sensitization may underlie increased vulnerability for developing pain-related conditions following combat trauma.

BackgroundPost-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and pain are highly comorbid.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to examine the association of PTSD with specific pain complaints in veterans of Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF).MethodA total of 381 primarily male (88.5%) veterans with a mean age of 30 years completed a battery of self-report questionnaires. A positive PTSD screen was defined as a score of ≥40 on the Davidson Trauma Scale. Logistic regression was used to examine the association of positive PTSD screen with specific pain complaints.ResultsThere were no significant demographic or physical and mental health differences between veterans who screened positive for PTSD only and those with PTSD and at least one pain complaint, although differences on rates of combat injury and depression approached significance. Veterans who screened positive for PTSD were 2 to 3 times more likely to report abdominal pain, muscle aches or cramps, and joint aches, even after controlling for age, gender, combat injury, and depression.ConclusionsSimilar to findings in other populations, there is a relationship between PTSD and pain complaints in OEF/OIF veterans. Future research should examine the mechanisms that link PTSD with specific pain complaints, especially abdominal pain.

The performance of five hole‐transporting layers (HTLs) is investigated in both single‐junction perovskite and Cu(In, Ga)Se2 (CIGSe)‐perovskite tandem solar cells: nickel oxide (NiOx,), copper‐doped nickel oxide (NiOx:Cu), NiOx+SAM, NiOx:Cu+SAM, and SAM, where SAM is the [2‐(3,‐6Dimethoxy‐9H‐carbazol‐9yl)ethyl]phosphonic acid (MeO‐2PACz) self‐assembled monolayer. The performance of the devices is correlated to the charge‐carrier dynamics at the HTL/perovskite interface and the limiting factors of these HTLs are analyzed by performing time‐resolved and absolute photoluminescence ((Tr)PL), transient surface photovoltage (tr‐SPV), and X‐ray/UV photoemission spectroscopy (XPS/UPS) measurements on indium tin oxide (ITO)/HTL/perovskite and CIGSe/HTL/perovskite stacks. A high quasi‐Fermi level splitting to open‐circuit (QFLS‐Voc) deficit is detected for the NiOx‐based devices, attributed to electron trapping and poor hole extraction at the NiOx‐perovskite interface and a low carrier effective lifetime in the bulk of the perovskite. Simultaneously, doping the NiOx with 2% Cu and passivating its surface with MeO‐2PACz suppresses the electron trapping, enhances the holes extraction, reduces the non‐radiative interfacial recombination, and improves the band alignment. Due to this superior interfacial charge‐carrier dynamics, NiOx:Cu+SAM is found to be the most suitable HTL for the monolithic CIGSe‐perovskite tandem devices, enabling a power‐conversion efficiency (PCE) of 23.4%, Voc of 1.72V, and a fill factor (FF) of 71%, while the remaining four HTLs suffer from prominent Voc and FF losses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polycrystalline Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGSe) thin‐film solar cells exhibit gradual onset in their external quantum efficiency (EQE) spectra whose shape can be affected by various CIGSe material properties. Apart from influences on the charge‐carrier collection, a broadening of the EQE onset leads to enhanced radiative losses in open‐circuit voltage (Voc). In the present work, Gaussian broadening of parameters describing the EQE onset of thin‐film solar cells, represented by the standard deviation, 휎total, was evaluated to study the impacts of the effective band‐gap energy, the electron diffusion length, and the Ga/In gradient in the CIGSe absorber. It is shown that 휎total can be disentangled into contributions of these material properties, in addition to a residual component 휎residual. Effectively, 휎total depends only on a contribution related to the Ga/In gradient as well as on 휎residual. The present work highlights the connection of this compositional gradient, the microstructure in the polycrystalline CIGSe absorber, and the luminescence emission with the residual component 휎residual. It is demonstrated that a flat band‐gap with no compositional gradient in the bulk of the CIGSe absorber is essential to obtain the lowest 휎total values and thus result in lower recombination losses and gains in Voc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]