Psychological type and attitude towards Celtic Christianity among committed Churchgoers in the United Kingdom: an empirical study

This article takes the burgeoning interest in Celtic Christianity as a key example of the way in which churches may be responding to the changing spiritual and religious landscape in the United Kingdom today and examines the power of psychological type theory to account for variation in the attitude of committed churchgoers to this innovation. Data provided by a sample of 248 Anglican clergy and lay church officers (who completed the Francis Psychological Type Scales together with the Attitude toward Celtic Christianity Scale) demonstrated that intuitive types, feeling types, and perceiving types reported a more positive attitude towards Celtic Christianity than sensing types, thinking types, and judging types. These findings are interpreted to analyse the appeal of Celtic Christianity and to suggest why some committed churchgoers may find this innovation less attractive

Early years practitioner beliefs about digital media: from pedagogical incompatibility to new pedagogy

This dissertation reports research that investigated the integration of technology into early years pedagogy. The work contributes to knowledge about teaching and learning in the early years in the context of the pedagogical challenges practitioners face when integrating technology. The theoretical framework for the study combined theories of activity theory and learning ecologies. The methodology was framed by educational design research. Collaborative design was adopted by the researcher and a primary-school nursery teacher to develop and implement an intervention in her classroom, focussing on the integration of digital media in teacher-to-children, and peer-to-peer interactions. Ongoing reflective dialogue facilitated the collaborative nature of this study and supported the adoption of new practices. Research data included video observations of the children, the teacher and other practitioners. The data sets also included interviews and reflective discussions with the teacher, and scrutiny of classroom planning documents. Qualitative data analysis involved thematic analysis to identify key factors that were related to changes in teacher beliefs and pedagogy across the phases of the design research. Iterative cycles of the intervention were designed and implemented in collaboration with the teacher. This resulted in the development of teaching and learning strategies to integrate digital media into free-flow play and into directed teaching. The developments required the reconstruction of some practitioner beliefs about the value of digital technologies in early education. The study findings suggest professional development should address practitioner beliefs about digital media and early years pedagogy, and provide time and space for reflection. The research makes an original contribution to knowledge about the integration of digital media into early years classroom pedagogy, including in-depth understanding of the potential barriers and gateways between practitioner beliefs about new technologies and their uptake in the classroom, and the processes of bringing about change through appropriate intervention and reflection

Weight loss is coupled with improvements to affective state in obese participants engaged in behavior change therapy based on incremental, self-selected “Small Changes”

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a group behavior change intervention involving self-selected, contextualized, and mediated goal setting on anthropometric, affective, and dietary markers of health. It was hypothesized that the intervention would elicit changes consistent with accepted health recommendations for obese individuals. A rolling program of 12-week “Small Changes” interventions during 24 months recruited 71 participants; each program accommodated 10 to 13 adults (body mass index [BMI] ≥30 kg/m2). Fifty-eight participants completed Small Changes. Repeated measures were made at baseline, 6 and 12 weeks. Anthropometric measures included height and weight (to calculate BMI), body composition, waist circumference, and blood pressure. Affective state was monitored using relevant validated questionnaires. Dietary assessment used 3-day household measures food diaries with Schofield equations to monitor underreporting. Relevant blood measures were recorded throughout. Across the measurement period, Small Changes elicited a significant reduction in body weight (baseline, 102.95 ± 15.47 vs 12 weeks 100.09 ± 16.01 kg, P < .0005), coupled with associated significant improvements in BMI, body fat percentage, and waist circumference measures. There were additional significant positive changes in measures of affective state including general well-being (baseline, 58.92 ± 21.22 vs 12 weeks 78.04 ± 14.60, P < .0005) and total mood disturbance (baseline, 31.19 ± 34.03 vs 12 weeks 2.67 ± 24.96, P < .0005). Dietary changes that occurred were largely consistent with evidenced-based recommendations for weight management and included significant reductions in total energy intake and in fat and saturated fat as a proportion of energy. The Small Changes approach can elicit a range of health-orientated benefits for obese participants, and although further work is needed to ascertain the longevity of such effects, the outcomes from Small Changes are likely to help inform health professionals when framing the future of weight management. Long-term follow-up of Small Changes is warranted

Real time analysis of β2-adrenoceptor-mediated signaling kinetics in Human Primary Airway Smooth Muscle Cells reveals both ligand and dose dependent differences

BACKGROUND: β(2)-adrenoceptor agonists elicit bronchodilator responses by binding to β(2)-adrenoceptors on airway smooth muscle (ASM). In vivo, the time between drug administration and clinically relevant bronchodilation varies significantly depending on the agonist used. Our aim was to utilise a fluorescent cyclic AMP reporter probe to study the temporal profile of β(2)-adrenoceptor-mediated signaling induced by isoproterenol and a range of clinically relevant agonists in human primary ASM (hASM) cells by using a modified Epac protein fused to CFP and a variant of YFP. METHODS: Cells were imaged in real time using a spinning disk confocal system which allowed rapid and direct quantification of emission ratio imaging following direct addition of β(2)-adrenoceptor agonists (isoproterenol, salbutamol, salmeterol, indacaterol and formoterol) into the extracellular buffer. For pharmacological comparison a radiolabeling assay for whole cell cyclic AMP formation was used. RESULTS: Temporal analysis revealed that in hASM cells the β(2)-adrenoceptor agonists studied did not vary significantly in the onset of initiation. However, once a response was initiated, significant differences were observed in the rate of this response with indacaterol and isoproterenol inducing a significantly faster response than salmeterol. Contrary to expectation, reducing the concentration of isoproterenol resulted in a significantly faster initiation of response. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that confocal imaging of the Epac-based probe is a powerful tool to explore β(2)-adrenoceptor signaling in primary cells. The ability to analyse the kinetics of clinically used β(2)-adrenoceptor agonists in real time and at a single cell level gives an insight into their possible kinetics once they have reached ASM cells in vivo

The Aims of the Criminal Law

Cu2ZnSnS4(CZTS) is an interesting material for sustainable photovoltaics, but efficiencies are limitedby the low open-circuit voltage. A possible cause of this is disorder among the Cu and Zn cations, aphenomenon which is difficult to detect by standard techniques. We show that this issue can beovercome using near-resonant Raman scattering, which lets us estimate a critical temperature of 533±10 K for the transition between ordered and disordered CZTS. These findings have deepsignificance for the synthesis of high-quality material, and pave the way for quantitative investigationof the impact of disorder on the performance of CZTS-based solar cells.kestCa

The percutaneous absorption of soman in a damaged skin porcine model and the evaluation of WoundStat™ as a topical decontaminant

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate a candidate haemostat (WoundStat™), down-selected from previous in vitro studies, for efficacy as a potential skin decontaminant against the chemical warfare agent pinacoyl methylfluorophosphonate (Soman, GD) using an in vivo pig model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An area of approximately 3 cm2 was dermatomed from the dorsal ear skin to a nominal depth of 100 µm. A discrete droplet of 14C-GD (300 µg kg-1) was applied directly onto the surface of the damaged skin at the centre of the dosing site. Animals assigned to the treatment group were given a 2 g application of WoundStat™ 30 s after GD challenge. The decontamination efficacy of WoundStat™ against GD was measured by the direct quantification of the distribution of 14C-GD, as well as routine determination of whole blood cholinesterase and physiological measurements. RESULTS: WoundStat™ sequestered approximately 70% of the applied 14C-GD. Internal radiolabel recovery from treated animals was approximately 1% of the initially applied dose. Whole blood cholinesterase levels decreased to less than 10% of the original value by 15 min post WoundStat™ treatment and gradually decreased until the onset of apnoea or until euthanasia. All treated animals showed signs of GD intoxication that could be grouped into early (mastication, fasciculations and tremor), intermediate (miosis, salivation and nasal secretions) and late onset (lacrimation, body spasm and apnoea) effects. Two of the six WoundStat™ treated animals survived the study duration. CONCLUSIONS: The current study has shown that the use of WoundStat™ as a decontaminant on damaged pig ear skin was unable to fully protect against GD toxicity. Importantly, the findings indicate that the use of WoundStat™ in GD contaminated wounds would not exacerbate GD toxicity. These data suggest that absorbent haemostatic products may offer some limited functionality as wound decontaminants.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Relationships between Motor Competence, Physical Activity, and Obesity in British Preschool Aged Children

Background: This cross-sectional study aimed to examine associations between motor competence, physical activity, and obesity in British children aged three to five years. Method: Motor competence (MC) was assessed using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2. Physical activity (PA) was assessed using triaxial wrist-worn accelerometers. Children were assessed on compliance to current PA recommendations of &#8805;180 min of total PA (TPA) and &#8805;60 min of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) for health benefits. Associations were explored with Pearson&#8217;s product moments and weight-status, and sex-differences were explored with independent t-tests and chi-squared analysis. Results: A total of 166 children (55% males; 4.28 &#177; 0.74 years) completed MC and PA assessments. Associations were found between PA and MC (TPA and overall MC, TPA and object-control MC (OC), MVPA and overall MC, and MVPA and OC). This study suggests that good motor competence is an important correlate of children meeting physical activity guidelines for health

Stressfreie Bestrahlung: Gestalterische Interventionen für den Therapieraum

Bestrahlungssitzungen werden von Patient:innen als belastend empfunden. Während dieser befinden sie sich allein in einem abgeriegelten Raum. Deshalb sollen Möglichkeiten einer stressreduzierenden Gestaltung des Therapiebereiches untersucht werden. Diese konzentrieren sich auf drei Themenbereiche: soziale Unterstützung durch medizinisches Fachpersonal und Begleitpersonen, Raumorganisation des Therapieraumes sowie Naturbezug. Ziel ist es, Planungshinweise zu stressreduzierenden gestalterischen Interventionen im Therapiebereich zu entwickeln. Dafür wurde eine Onlineumfrage durchgeführt und die Antworten von 15 Teilnehmenden ausgewertet. Die Ergebnisse zeigen einen Bedarf der Patient:innen, an den Bestrahlungsterminen Fragen mit dem medizinischen Fachpersonal zu klären. Zudem wirkt für einige Patient:innen die Begleitung zum Bestrahlungstor durch Angehörige stresssenkend. Weiterhin kann die Sichtbarkeit des Bestrahlungsgerätes beim Betreten des Therapieraumes das Stressempfinden beeinflussen. Ein naturinspiriertes Gestaltungselement könnte den Stress der Patient:innen reduzieren. Die Ergebnisse wurden in Gestaltungsempfehlungen überführt. Ein Vorschlag ist eine Wandgestaltung, die die Aufmerksamkeit der Patient:innen beim Betreten des Therapieraumes auf sich lenkt. Des Weiteren könnte eine Nische in der Nähe des Bestrahlungstors eingerichtet werden, die für Gespräche mit dem medizinischen Fachpersonal und als Wartemöglichkeit für Begleitpersonen dient

Differential gaze behavior towards sexually preferred and non-preferred human figures

The gaze pattern associated with image exploration is a sensitive index of our attention, motivation and preference. To examine whether an individual’s gaze behavior can reflect his/her sexual interest, we compared gaze patterns of young heterosexual men and women (M = 19.94 years, SD = 1.05) while viewing photos of plain-clothed male and female figures aged from birth to sixty years old. Our analysis revealed a clear gender difference in viewing sexually preferred figure images. Men displayed a distinctive gaze pattern only when viewing twenty-year-old female images, with more fixations and longer viewing time dedicated to the upper body and waist-hip region. Women also directed more attention at the upper body on female images in comparison to male images, but this difference was not age-specific. Analysis of local image salience revealed that observers’ eye-scanning strategies could not be accounted for by low-level processes, such as analyzing local image contrast and structure, but were associated with attractiveness judgments. The results suggest that the difference in cognitive processing of sexually preferred and non-preferred figures can be manifested in gaze patterns associated with figure viewing. Thus, eye-tracking holds promise as a potential sensitive measure for sexual preference, particularly in men