You will be presented with a collection of medical randomized controlled trial (RCT) reports addressing a shared clinical question -- for instance, the efficacy of a medical intervention on a disease or condition. Given the titles and abstracts of these reports, your task is to generate the conclusion of the systematic review article synthesizing the key findings. Your conclusion should be a few sentences long. In your response, include only the conclusion and no other text. The RCT reports are below.



Title 1:
Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation
Abstract 1:
Objective : The underlying changes in biological processes that are associated with reported changes in mental and physical health in response to meditation have not been systematic ally explored . We performed a r and omized , controlled study on the effects on brain and immune function of a well‐known and widely used 8‐week clinical training program in mindfulness meditation applied in a work environment with healthy employees . Methods : We measured brain electrical activity before and immediately after , and then 4 months after an 8‐week training program in mindfulness meditation .  Twenty‐five subjects were tested in the meditation group . A wait‐list control group ( N = 16 ) was tested at the same points in time as the meditators . At the end of the 8‐week period , subjects in both groups were vaccinated with influenza vaccine . Results : We report for the first time significant increases in left‐sided anterior activation , a pattern previously associated with positive affect , in the meditators compared with the nonmeditators . We also found significant increases in antibody titers to influenza vaccine among subjects in the meditation compared with those in the wait‐list control group . Finally , the magnitude of increase in left‐sided activation predicted the magnitude of antibody titer rise to the vaccine . Conclusions : These findings demonstrate that a short program in mindfulness meditation produces demonstrable effects on brain and immune function . These findings suggest that meditation may change brain and immune function in positive ways and underscore the need for additional research


Title 2:
Feasibility and Preliminary Outcomes of a School-Based Mindfulness Intervention for Urban Youth
Abstract 2:
Youth in underserved , urban communities are at risk for a range of negative outcomes related to stress , including social-emotional difficulties , behavior problems , and poor academic performance .  Mindfulness-based approaches may improve adjustment among chronically stressed and disadvantaged youth by enhancing self-regulatory capacities . This paper reports findings from a pilot r and omized controlled trial assessing the feasibility , acceptability , and preliminary outcomes of a school-based mindfulness and yoga intervention .  Four urban public schools were r and omized to an  intervention or wait-list control condition ( n = 97 fourth and fifth grade rs , 60.8 % female ) . It was hypothesized that the 12-week intervention would reduce involuntary stress responses and improve mental health outcomes and social adjustment . Stress responses , depressive symptoms , and peer relations were assessed at baseline and post-intervention . Findings suggest the intervention was attractive to students , teachers , and school administrators and that it had a positive impact on problematic responses to stress including rumination , intrusive thoughts , and emotional arousal


Title 3:
Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation
Abstract 3:
Recent studies suggest that months to years of intensive and systematic meditation training can improve attention . However , the lengthy training required has made it difficult to use r and om assignment of participants to conditions to confirm these findings . This article shows that a group r and omly assigned to 5 days of meditation practice with the integrative body – mind training method shows significantly better attention and control of stress than a similarly chosen control group given relaxation training . The training method comes from traditional Chinese medicine and incorporates aspects of other meditation and mindfulness training . Compared with the control group , the experimental group of 40 undergraduate Chinese students given 5 days of 20-min integrative training showed greater improvement in conflict scores on the Attention Network Test , lower anxiety , depression , anger , and fatigue , and higher vigor on the Profile of Mood States scale , a significant decrease in stress-related cortisol , and an increase in immunoreactivity . These results provide a convenient method for study ing the influence of meditation training by using experimental and control methods similar to those used to test drugs or other interventions


Title 4:
Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on Medical and Premedical Students
Abstract 4:
The inability to cope successfully with the enormous stress of medical education may lead to a cascade of consequences at both a personal and professional level . The present study examined the short-term effects of an 8-week meditation-based stress reduction intervention on premedical and medical students using a well-controlled statistical design . Findings indicate that participation in the intervention can effectively ( 1 ) reduce self-reported state and trait anxiety , ( 2 ) reduce reports of overall psychological distress including depression , ( 3 ) increase scores on overall empathy levels , and ( 4 ) increase scores on a measure of spiritual experiences assessed at termination of intervention . These results ( 5 ) replicated in the wait-list control group , ( 6 ) held across different experiments , and ( 7 ) were observed during the exam period . Future research should address potential long-term effects of mindfulness training for medical and premedical students


Title 5:
Statistical power analyses using G*Power 3.1: Tests for correlation and regression analyses
Abstract 5:
G*Power is a free power analysis program for a variety of statistical tests . We present extensions and improvements of the version introduced by Faul , Erdfelder , Lang , and Buchner ( 2007 ) in the domain of correlation and regression analyses . In the new version , we have added procedures to analyze the power of tests based on ( 1 ) single- sample tetrachoric correlations , ( 2 ) comparisons of dependent correlations , ( 3 ) bivariate linear regression , ( 4 ) multiple linear regression based on the r and om predictor model , ( 5 ) logistic regression  , and ( 6 ) Poisson regression . We describe these new features and provide a brief introduction to their scope and h and ling


Title 6:
Reducing stress in school-age girls through mindful yoga.
Abstract 6:
INTRODUCTION School-age children report much stress in their daily lives , which may lead to psychological and physical problems . Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction is a program of awareness-based practice s effective with adults . The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of mindfulness training through yoga with school-age girls to reduce perceived stress , enhance coping abilities , self-esteem , and self-regulation , and explore the relationship between the dose of the intervention and outcomes . METHOD Fourth- and fifth- grade girls were recruited from two public schools and r and omly assigned to intervention and wait-list control groups . The intervention group met 1 hour a week for 8 weeks and completed 10 minutes of daily homework . RESULTS Self-esteem and self-regulation increased in both groups . The intervention group was more likely to report greater appraisal of stress ( p < .01 ) and greater frequency of coping ( p < .05 ) . Homework accounted for 7 % of the variance in reported stress . DISCUSSION Consistent with reports of mindfulness training , greater awareness of the feelings associated with stress may enhance coping abilities . However , it is possible that the increasing awareness of stressors in itself increased stress , possibly as part of the process of developing mindfulness or related to cognitive , emotional , or social development . Mindfulness in children may differ from mindfulness in adults and warrants further investigation


Title 7:
Mindfulness-based stress reduction for urban youth.
Abstract 7:
OBJECTIVES The objectives of this study were to assess the general acceptability and to assess domains of potential effect of a mindfulness-based stress reduction ( MBSR ) program for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected and at-risk urban youth . METHODS Thirteen-to twenty-one-year-old youth were recruited from the pediatric primary care clinic of an urban tertiary care hospital to participate in 4 MBSR groups . Each MBSR group consisted of nine weekly sessions of MBSR instruction . This mixed- methods evaluation consisted of quantitative data --attendance , psychologic symptoms ( Symptom Checklist 90-Revised ) , and quality of life ( Child Health and Illness Profile-Adolescent Edition)-- and qualitative data --in-depth individual interviews conducted in a convenience sample of participants until interview themes were saturated . Analysis involved comparison of pre- and postintervention surveys and content analysis of interviews . RESULTS Thirty-three ( 33 ) youth attended at least one MBSR session . Of the 33 who attended any sessions , 26 youth ( 79 % ) attended the majority of the MBSR sessions and were considered " program completers . " Among program completers , 11 were HIV-infected , 77 % were female , all were African American , and the average age was 16.8 years . Quantitative data show that following the MBSR program , participants had a significant reduction in hostility ( p = 0.02 ) , general discomfort ( p = 0.01 ) , and emotional discomfort ( p = 0.02 ) . Qualitative data ( n = 10 ) show perceived improvements in interpersonal relationships ( including less conflict ) , school achievement , physical health , and reduced stress . CONCLUSIONS The data suggest that MBSR instruction for urban youth may have a positive effect in domains related to hostility , interpersonal relationships , school achievement , and physical health . However , because of the small sample size and lack of control group , it can not be distinguished whether the changes observed are due to MBSR or to nonspecific group effects . Further controlled trials should include assessment of the MBSR program 's efficacy in these domains
All in all , mindfulness-based interventions in children and youths hold promise , particularly in relation to improving cognitive performance and resilience to stress .