Solvothermal routes to new chalcogenide materials

Chapter 1 reviews the literature on the use of solvothermal methods for synthesising metal chalcogenide materials and the structures of copper containing metal chalcogenide materials based on tetrahedral bonding motifs. Chapter 2 contains details of the structural characterisation, physical property measurements and synthetic methods used throughout this work. Chapter 3 summarises work on ways of modelling preferred orientation and anisotropic peak broadening in powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) data using spherical harmonic functions; these are applied to data from compounds discussed elsewhere in this thesis. Chapter 4 discusses the synthesis of Cu(_2)MX(_4) materials (M = W or Mo; X = S, Se or S/Se) and PPh(_4)CuWSe(_4) using a solvothermal method. The effects of synthesis temperature and pressure on the structures of the materials formed have been investigated. The materials have been characterised by PXRD, the structures of ICu(_2)WS(_4) and PPh(_4)CuWSe(_4) have been solved from powder diffraction data; the structures of other materials have been determined by Rietveld refinement. Variable temperature diffraction experiments and physical property measurements have been performed on selected materials. Chapter 5 describes structural studies on (PPh(_4))(_2)M(WS(_4)(_2))(M = Co, Ni, Zn) materials. Single crystal diffraction has been used to further investigate the complex superstructure of the known polymorph of the zinc material. A new zinc polymorph has been discovered and its structure studied by PXRD. The structure of the Ni containing material has been determined directly from powder diffraction data. Chapter 6 outlines preliminary work on materials which are tentatively described as M(_x)WS(^2) intercalates. X-ray diffraction, magnetic measurements and Energy Dispersive-ray Analysis have all been used to probe their properties. Chapter 7 is a discussion of the structure solution of (NH(_4))2WS(_3)O from powder diffraction data and a variable temperature diffraction experiment on the same material

Impact of a person-centred dementia care training programme on hospital staff attitudes, role efficacy and perceptions of caring for people with dementia: A repeated measures study.

Background: People with dementia occupy up to one quarter of acute hospital beds. However, the quality of care delivered to this patient group is of national concern. Staff working in acute hospitals report lack of knowledge, skills and confidence in caring for people with dementia. There is limited evidence about the most effective approaches to supporting acute hospital staff to deliver more person-centred care. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a specialist training programme for acute hospital staff regarding improving attitudes, satisfaction and feelings of caring efficacy, in provision of care to people with dementia. Design: A repeated measures design, with measures completed immediately prior to commencing training (T1), after completion of Foundation level training (T2: 4-6 weeks post-baseline), and following Intermediate level training (T3: 3-4 months post-baseline). Setting: One NHS Trust in the North of England, UK. Participants: 40 acute hospital staff working in clinical roles, the majority of whom (90%) were nurses. Methods: All participants received the 3.5 day Person-centred Care Training for Acute Hospitals (PCTAH) programme, comprised of two levels, Foundation (1/2 day) and Intermediate (3 days), delivered over a 3-4 month period. Staff demographics and previous exposure to dementia training was collected via a questionnaire. Staff attitudes were measured using the Approaches to Dementia Questionnaire (ADQ), satisfaction in caring for people with dementia was captured using the Staff Experiences of Working with Demented Residents questionnaire (SEWDR) and perceived caring efficacy was measured using the Caring Efficacy Scale (CES). Results: The training programme was effective in producing a significant positive change on all three outcome measures following intermediate training compared to baseline. A significant positive effect was found on the ADS between baseline and after completion of Foundation level training, but not for either of the other measures. Conclusions: Training acute hospital staff in Intermediate level person-centred dementia care is effective in producing significant improvements in attitudes towards and satisfaction in caring for people with dementia and feelings of caring efficacy. Foundation level training is effective in changing attitudes but does not seem to be sufficient to bring about change in satisfaction or caring efficacy

What do patients with diabetes and providers think of an innovative Australian model of remote diabetic retinopathy screening? A qualitative study

Background: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the commonest cause of preventable blindness in working age populations, but up to 98% of visual loss secondary to DR can be prevented with early detection and treatment. In 2012, an innovative outreach DR screening model was implemented in remote communities in a state of Australia. The aim of this study was to explore the acceptability of this unique DR screening model to patients, health professionals and other key stakeholders. Methods: This descriptive qualitative study used semi-structured interviews with patients opportunistically recruited whilst attending DR screening, and purposefully selected health care professionals either working within or impacted by the programme. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed and analysed using NVIVO. An iterative process of thematic analysis was used following the principles of grounded theory. Results: Interviews were conducted with fourteen patients with diabetes living in three remote communities and nine health professionals or key stakeholders. Nine key themes emerged during interviews with health professionals, key stakeholders and patients: i) improved patient access to DR screening; ii) efficiency, financial implications and sustainability; iii) quality and safety; iv) multi-disciplinary diabetes care; v) training and education; vi) operational elements of service delivery; vii) communication, information sharing and linkages; viii) coordination and integration of the service and ix) suggested improvements to service delivery. Conclusions: The Remote Outreach DR Screening Service is highly acceptable to patients and health professionals. Challenges have primarily been encountered in communication and coordination of the service and further development in these areas could improve the programme's impact and sustainability in remote communities. The service is applicable to other remote communities nationally and potentially internationally

A novel stable isotope tracer method to simultaneously quantify skeletal muscle protein synthesis and breakdown

Background/Aims: Methodological challenges have been associated with the dynamic measurement of muscle protein breakdown (MPB), as have the measurement of both muscle protein synthesis (MPS) and MPB within the same experiment. Our aim was to use the transmethylation properties of methionine as proof-of-concept to measure rates of MPB via its methylation of histidine within skeletal muscle myofibrillar proteins, whilst simultaneously utilising methionine incorporation into bound protein to measure MPS.Results: During the synthesis measurement period, incorporation of methyl[D3]-13C-methionine into cellular protein in C2C12 myotubes was observed (representative of MPS), alongside an increase in the appearance of methyl[D3]-methylhistidine into the media following methylation of histidine (representative of MPB). For further validation of this approach, fractional synthetic rates (FSR) of muscle protein were increased following treatment of the cells with the anabolic factors insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and insulin, while dexamethasone expectedly reduced MPS. Conversely, rates of MPB were reduced with IGF-1 and insulin treatments, whereas dexamethasone accelerated MPB.Conclusions: This is a novel stable isotope tracer approach that permits the dual assessment of muscle cellular protein synthesis and breakdown rates, through the provision of a single methionine amino acid tracer that could be utilised in a wide range of biological settings

Animal, Plant, Collagen and Blended Dietary Proteins: Effects on Musculoskeletal Outcomes

This is the final version. Available from MDPI via the DOI in this record.Dietary protein is critical for the maintenance of musculoskeletal health, whereappropriate intake (i.e., source, dose, timing) can mitigate declines in muscle and bone mass and/orfunction. Animal-derived protein is a potent anabolic source due to rapid digestion and absorptionkinetics stimulating robust increases in muscle protein synthesis and promoting bone accretion andmaintenance. However, global concerns surrounding environmental sustainability has led to anincreasing interest in plant- and collagen-derived protein as alternative or adjunct dietary sources.This is despite the lower anabolic profile of plant and collagen protein due to the inferior essentialamino acid profile (e.g., lower leucine content) and subordinate digestibility (versus animal). Thisreview evaluates the efficacy of animal-, plant- and collagen-derived proteins in isolation, and asprotein blends, for augmenting muscle and bone metabolism and health in the context of ageing,exercise and energy restriction.Medical Research Council (MRC)National Institute for Health Researc

Mathematical modelling of bacterial mercury resistance

A mathematical model of mercury resistance was designed which describes the following reactions: the cellular uptake and volatilisation of Hg2+, binding of the DNA by the regulator, mer protein synthesis, and dilution of quantities by cell growth. A total of 66 biological experiments were then selected from the scientific literature from studies of Tn21 and Tn501 in E. coli at 37 °C. These experiments were repeated in the computer simulation and the information from their 489 data points was incorporated into the 16 parameters of the model using the Metropolis-Hastings algorithm. This model is very useful biology for four reasons. Firstly, it shows whether the data from existing biological experiments are consistent with each other or not. Secondly, it predicts the previously unknown concentrations of mer proteins in cells of each mercury phenotype. In addition, it challenges the hypotheses that the rates of uptake and volatilisation are always equal in resistant cells and that the plasmid copy number effects replicated by the model are caused by the saturation of MerT in the membrane. Thirdly, the model can guide the design of future experiments. This guidance can minimise the use of laboratory resources and will ensure that sufficient data are created for every parameter in the model under standardised conditions. Finally, the modelling has identified many areas for future biological research: the absolute concentrations of mer proteins, the significance of MerC and MerD, plasmid copy number effects and substrate inhibition, the three uptake processes (non-mer import, MerA transport, and non-MerA transport), the order of DNA + MerR + Hg2+ binding, the nature of toxicity, and the concentrations of mercury in each of the five cellular binding sites

A statistical and biological response to an informatics appraisal of healthy aging gene signatures

Jacob and Speed did not identify even a single example of a ‘150-gene-set’ that was statistically significant at classifying Alzheimer’s disease (AD) samples, or age in independent studies. We attempt to clarify the various misunderstandings