Utilising the views of Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCos) and the findings of two case studies to explore the potential impact of how young people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) understand and perceive their diagnosis. A study on well-being.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is predicted to affect 5% of young people (APA, 2013) with increasing rates of diagnosis across the western world (Safer, 2018). Young Minds (2018) also report that one in four young people are experiencing mental ill health. High comorbidity rates have been identified between ADHD and negative mental health outcomes, which has sparked a wealth of research into this relationship (Roy, Oldenhinkel, Velhurst, Oreml & Hartman, 2013; Booster, DuPaul, Eiraldi and Power, 2012; & Becker, Luebbe & Langberg, 2012). With this in mind, the aims of this research were to explore the understanding, perceptions and experiences of young people with ADHD. Although this research employed a mixed methods design, utilising both qualitative and quantitative methods, it aligns with an interpretivist perspective, seeking the views and experiences of young people and those around them. There were two phases to the research; the first used an online questionnaire and semi-structured interviews to seek the views of Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCos) about young people’s experiences of ADHD. The second phase employed a case study design exploring the experiences of two young people with ADHD. Phase Two also sought to explore the use of tools derived from Personal Construct Psychology (Kelly, 1955) as a means to support young people with ADHD. The findings of this study are consistent with previous literature around the experiences of young people, their schools and their parents in that there may be a discrepancy between young people’s awareness of their needs and their understanding of their ADHD diagnosis. The findings also suggest that parents are not being adequately supported following their child’s diagnosis. Consistent with the literature, this thesis concluded that the ways in which young people perceive and understand their diagnosis is likely to affect their wellbeing

Bands on the Book- Themes Found in a Facebook Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Band Support Group

Bariatric surgery is a tool used when comorbidities and excess weight negatively impact the health of a patient. While there are several different bariatric procedures, the focus for this study are patients who had the laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding [LAGB]. This study examined a group on the social media format Facebook, the “Lapband Support Group� where members use the platform to communicate and offer support throughout their journeys. A literature review revealed common themes seen in this population and these were compared to posts found on the support group page. An IRB was obtained, and permission was given by the administrators of the group to monitor posts for three months. The posts from the members of the group were collected and analyzed for common themes and concepts. The research question that drove this study is, “What are the responses and themes found in a Facebook laparoscopic band support group of bariatric surgery patients�? The analysis was done with a team using Colazzi’s method. The concepts revealed were, “Fill fluctuations and frustrations�, “Life with a band�, and “Community collaboration�. These themes can drive a discussion about the journey bariatric patients face and how it impacts them mentally and physically. These findings can also be used by nurses and providers to offer patient specific care for all bariatric patients. They may be able to promote better use of social media platforms to reach patients and support them post operatively

Volume marker inaccuracies: a cross-sectional survey of infant feeding bottles.

A cross-sectional examination of the accuracy of volume markers on infant feeding bottles available for sale in Australia between December 2013 and February 2014 was carried out. Ninety-one bottles representing 28 different brands were examined. Eighty-eight bottles were hard sided. Volumes in these bottles were marked in a combination of milliliters and ounces. Thirty-six (41%) bottles claimed compliance with the European standard EN14350, five (6%) with non-existent Australian standards, and forty-seven (54%) bottles had no standard claim. Nineteen bottles (22%) had at least one measured marking outside the tolerance of EN14350. Bottles claiming compliance with EN14350 were not less likely to have inaccurate markings than those that made no claim. More expensive bottles did not have fewer inaccurate markings. Three bottles were disposable liner systems and had particularly large volume inaccuracies (up to 43% outside the marked volume). Inaccurate volume markers on infant feeding bottles are a previously neglected but potentially important source of error in the reconstitution of infant formula. Over-concentrated and under-concentrated infant formula can cause serious illness or malnutrition. Over-concentrated infant formula may contribute to obesity. Bottles with inaccurate volume markers are unfit for purpose; disposable liner bottles are particularly poor in this regard and should be prohibited from having volume markers on the bottle casing. To avoid individual or public harms, well-enforced standards are needed. Guidance for parents, carers, and health professionals is needed to ensure that infant formula is accurately reconstituted

Screening for Chlamydia trachomatis in Low-Risk Obstetric Patients

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis in our rural obstetric population and assess the appropriateness of selective vs. universal prenatal screening

A Trial-by-Trial Window into Sensorimotor Transformations in the Human Motor Periphery.

UNLABELLED: The appearance of a novel visual stimulus generates a rapid stimulus-locked response (SLR) in the motor periphery within 100 ms of stimulus onset. Here, we recorded SLRs from an upper limb muscle while humans reached toward (pro-reach) or away (anti-reach) from a visual stimulus. The SLR on anti-reaches encoded the location of the visual stimulus rather than the movement goal. Further, SLR magnitude was attenuated when subjects reached away from rather than toward the visual stimulus. Remarkably, SLR magnitudes also correlated with reaction times on both pro-reaches and anti-reaches, but did so in opposite ways: larger SLRs preceded shorter latency pro-reaches but longer latency anti-reaches. Although converging evidence suggests that the SLR is relayed via a tectoreticulospinal pathway, our results show that task-related signals modulate visual signals feeding into this pathway. The SLR therefore provides a trial-by-trial window into how visual information is integrated with cognitive control in humans. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: The presentation of a visual stimulus elicits a trial-by-trial stimulus-locked response (SLR) on the human limb within 100 ms. Here, we show that the SLR continues to reflect stimulus location even when subjects move in the opposite direction (an anti-reach). Remarkably, the attenuation of SLR magnitude reflected the cognitive control required to generate a correct anti-reach, with greater degrees of attenuation preceding shorter-latency anti-reaches and no attenuation preceding error trials. Our results are strikingly similar to neurophysiological recordings in the superior colliculus of nonhuman primates generating anti-saccades, implicating the tectoreticulospinal pathway. Measuring SLR magnitude therefore provides an unprecedented trial-by-trial opportunity to assess the influence of cognitive control on the initial processing of a visual stimulus in humans

Rotifers as experimental tools for investigating aging

© 2014 The Author(s). This is an Open Access article. The definitive version was published in Invertebrate Reproduction & Development 59, Supple. 1 (2015): 5-10, doi:10.1080/07924259.2014.925516.Comparative biogerontology has much to contribute to the study of aging. A broad range of aging rates have evolved to meet environmental challenges, and understanding these adaptations can produce valuable insights into aging. The supra Phylum Lophotrochozoa is particularly understudied and has several groups that have intriguing patterns of aging. Members of the Lophotrochozoan phylum Rotifera are particularly useful for aging studies because cohort life tables can be conducted with them easily, and biochemical and genomic tools are available for examining aging mechanisms. This paper reviews a variety of caloric restriction (CR) regimens, small molecule inhibitors, and dietary supplements that extend rotifer lifespan, as well as important interactions between CR and genotype, antioxidant supplements, and TOR and jun-N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathways, and the use of RNAi to identify key genes involved in modulating the aging response. Examples of how rapamycin and JNK inhibitor exposure keeps mortality rates low during the reproductive phase of the life cycle are presented, and the ease of conducting life table experiments to screen natural products from red algae for life extending effects is illustrated. Finally, experimental evolution to produce longer-lived rotifer individuals is demonstrated, and future directions to determine the genetic basis of aging are discussed.We are grateful for the support of the National Institute of Aging, [grant number R01 AG037960-02] for this work and for a Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Ellison Medical Foundation/ American Federation for Aging Research to K. Gribble

Bacterial metabolite indole modulates incretin secretion from intestinal enteroendocrine L cells.

It has long been speculated that metabolites, produced by gut microbiota, influence host metabolism in health and diseases. Here, we reveal that indole, a metabolite produced from the dissimilation of tryptophan, is able to modulate the secretion of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) from immortalized and primary mouse colonic L cells. Indole increased GLP-1 release during short exposures, but it reduced secretion over longer periods. These effects were attributed to the ability of indole to affect two key molecular mechanisms in L cells. On the one hand, indole inhibited voltage-gated K(+) channels, increased the temporal width of action potentials fired by L cells, and led to enhanced Ca(2+) entry, thereby acutely stimulating GLP-1 secretion. On the other hand, indole slowed ATP production by blocking NADH dehydrogenase, thus leading to a prolonged reduction of GLP-1 secretion. Our results identify indole as a signaling molecule by which gut microbiota communicate with L cells and influence host metabolism.This is the final version. It was first published by Elsevier at http://www.cell.com/cell-reports/abstract/S2211-1247%2814%2900901-2

The gradient of the reinforcement landscape influences sensorimotor learning

© 2019 Cashaback et al. Consideration of previous successes and failures is essential to mastering a motor skill. Much of what we know about how humans and animals learn from such reinforcement feedback comes from experiments that involve sampling from a small number of discrete actions. Yet, it is less understood how we learn through reinforcement feedback when sampling from a continuous set of possible actions. Navigating a continuous set of possible actions likely requires using gradient information to maximize success. Here we addressed how humans adapt the aim of their hand when experiencing reinforcement feedback that was associated with a continuous set of possible actions. Specifically, we manipulated the change in the probability of reward given a change in motor action-the reinforcement gradient-to study its influence on learning. We found that participants learned faster when exposed to a steep gradient compared to a shallow gradient. Further, when initially positioned between a steep and a shallow gradient that rose in opposite directions, participants were more likely to ascend the steep gradient. We introduce a model that captures our results and several features of motor learning. Taken together, our work suggests that the sensorimotor system relies on temporally recent and spatially local gradient information to drive learning

A New Class of Inhibitors of the AraC Family Virulence Regulator Vibrio Cholerae ToxT

Vibrio cholerae is responsible for the diarrheal disease cholera that infects millions of people worldwide. While vaccines protecting against cholera exist, and oral rehydration therapy is an effective treatment method, the disease will remain a global health threat until long-term solutions such as improved sanitation and access to clean water become widely available. Because of this, there is a pressing need for potent therapeutics that can either mitigate cholera symptoms, or act prophylactically to prevent the virulent effects of a cholera infection. Here we report the design, synthesis, and characterization of a set of compounds that bind and inhibit ToxT, the transcription factor that directly regulates the two primary V. cholerae virulence factors. Using the folded structure of the monounsaturated fatty acid observed in the X-ray structure of ToxT as a template, we designed ten novel compounds that inhibit the virulence cascade to a greater degree than any known inhibitor. Our findings provide a structural and functional basis for the development of viable antivirulence therapeutics that combat cholera and, potentially, other forms of bacterial pathogenic disease