A Universal Live Cell Barcoding-Platform for Multiplexed Human Single Cell Analysis.

Single-cell barcoding enables the combined processing and acquisition of multiple individual samples as one. This maximizes assay efficiency and eliminates technical variability in both sample preparation and analysis. Remaining challenges are the barcoding of live, unprocessed cells to increase downstream assay performance combined with the flexibility of the approach towards a broad range of cell types. To that end, we developed a novel antibody-based platform that allows the robust barcoding of live human cells for mass cytometry (CyTOF). By targeting both the MHC class I complex (beta-2-microglobulin) and a broadly expressed sodium-potassium ATPase-subunit (CD298) with platinum-conjugated antibodies, human immune cells, stem cells as well as tumor cells could be multiplexed in the same single-cell assay. In addition, we present a novel palladium-based covalent viability reagent compatible with this barcoding strategy. Altogether, this platform enables mass cytometry-based, live-cell barcoding across a multitude of human sample types and provides a scheme for multiplexed barcoding of human single-cell assays in general

The neural mechanisms able to predict future emotion regulation decisions

Emotion regulation is crucial in maintaining healthy psychological wellbeing, and its dysregulation is often linked to a range of neuropsychiatric disorders including depression. The neurobiological underpinnings of cognitive reappraisal, an emotion regulation strategy, have been shown to include the amygdala and regions of the prefrontal cortex. A novel study by Doré, Weber, and Ochsner (2017) has demonstrated that neural activity in these regions during uninstructed visualization of affective stimuli can successfully predict which individuals are more likely to subsequently employ emotion regulation, and under what circumstances

A 'Divorce Blueprint'? The Use of Heteronormative Strategies in Addressing Economic Inequalities on Civil Partnership Dissolution

This article will explore data obtained through interviews with UK family law practitioners and clients with experience of financial relief on formalised same-sex relationship breakdown. It will focus on questions around how solicitors have approached and argued their dissolution cases (and the extent to which they have drawn upon heteronormative arguments and case law), and whether both they and the clients believed that civil partnerships are, and should be, treated similarly to marriages. Th e discussion will examine the different understandings of ?equality? employed, and question the ways that the participants relied on ideas of sameness and difference. It will be argued that the solicitors placed particular stress on sameness, and that heteronormative constructs of gendered inequalities have been transplanted into same-sex cases, in a system where practitioners? submissions are based on ?what works.? Th is is despite the fact that lesbian and gay couples do not map onto the ?template? under which the parties have been subjected to different gendered expectations. Conversely, the clients were less willing to take on the full legal implications associated with (heterosexual) marital breakdown and less receptive of the solicitors ?translating? their matters to pigeonhole them into the existing framework

An ethnographic study of psychiatric ward life: Exploring experiences of restrictive practices from the perspectives of patients and staff

Inpatient acute mental health services provide care for individuals experiencing a mental health crisis. Restrictive practices such as seclusion, physical restraint and forced medication are often used in this setting however, there is currently a focus within policy to reduce these practices due to the aversive impact they can have on patients and staff. // Part 1 of this thesis is a conceptual introduction which introduces key terms and concepts relevant to the study. It then provides a review of relevant literature exploring experiences of restrictive practices in the inpatient setting, including the environment of the ward; coercion; coercion and the therapeutic relationship; risk management; and positive experiences. The introduction highlights gaps in the literature, including a need for more UK based research and research that allows an inclusion of all practices that are experienced as coercive by patients, rather than focusing solely on the most restrictive of interventions such as seclusion, restraint and forced medication. It also provides a rationale for the study and methodological approach taken. // Part 2 is a qualitative study exploring the experience of restrictive practices from the perspectives of patients and staff situated within an adult inpatient acute mental health hospital. Ethnographic methods were adopted including semi-structured interviews, fieldwork observations and document analysis. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data gathered. Both patients and staff constructed restrictive practices as rationalised through the need to assess risk and ensure a safe environment. However patients and staff reported negative consequences in relation to the experience of restrictive practices on the ward, whereby both patients and staff experienced a transformation in their subjectivities, with patients feeling treated as ‘prisoners’ and staff feeling viewed of as ‘uncaring’ by patients. Staff were identified as attempting to adopt more humane approaches to reduce the need for restrictive practices, such as methods of de-escalation. However these techniques were experienced by patients as being coercive. Part 2 concludes that further research is required to understand this difference in the experience of de-escalation methods. Clinical and research implications are outlined, including the potential to inform future training programmes, for example through increasing transparency in the way in which staff deliver these interventions. Implications outlined also consider the role in shaping policies regarding the use of these interventions and the reduction of restrictive practices. // Part 3 is a reflective account of the process of undertaking the study that considers the background of the researcher and ethical dilemmas experienced during the data collection as well as reflections on the methodological approaches utilised in the study