Your V.I.P.'s : very important pages

Date taken from stamp on the front page."File: Family Economics and Management"Charlotte George (Family Resource Management Specialist, Lincoln University

Folic acid in pregnancy and mortality from cancer and cardiovascular disease : further follow-up of the Aberdeen folic acid supplementation trial

Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions. Acknowledgements The authors wish to acknowledge Professor Marion Hall, who set up the original randomised trial of folic acid supplementation. The authors also thank Ms Katie Wilde and the Data Management Team, University of Aberdeen, for their help with the extraction and linking of data and the data analysts from ISD Scotland.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The Utility of Peer-to-Peer Practice for Teaching Speech-Language Pathology Students Transnasal Endoscopy

Introduction: Transnasal flexible endoscopy (TNFE) is necessary for multiple assessments in speech-language pathology (SLP), but it is generally considered an advanced practice technique to be learned during clinical practice. As such, there is no standardized way that it is taught in training programs, leading to a substantial knowledge gap for new graduates. Though peer-to-peer practice has been discussed as an important step in training, it is not clear whether it confers additional benefits above and beyond simulation. This study sought to answer that question in the areas of student confidence, endoscopy speed, and motivation to pursue further TNFE experiences. Methods: Thirty-six SLP graduate students completed TNFE training and one of two practice conditions: simulation only or simulation with additional peer-to-peer practice. Outcome measures included confidence and comfort surveys, intrinsic motivation to complete an additional TNFE experience, and speed of TNFE. Results: No significant differences were found between the two groups for any measure, and consistently low effect sizes indicated there was little difference between groups. Conclusions: These results indicate that teaching TNFE through simulation may provide similar outcomes to peer-to-peer practice during the initial training that an SLP graduate program can provide. This adds to the literature indicating that TNFE simulation is a worthwhile addition to SLP programs

Emotion Regulation, Parenting, and Psychopathology: A Systematic Review

The presence of a parental mental disorder can lead to adverse outcomes for children. Difficulties in emotion regulation are observed across a range of mental health problems and may play a crucial role in this context. Following PRISMA guidelines, we systematically searched Medline, PsycINFO, Embase, and Web of Science for studies examining the association between emotion regulation in parents with psychopathology at a clinical or subclinical level and their parenting. The protocol was registered with the PROSPERO international prospective register of systematic reviews (CRD42021224954; January 2021). A total of 23 studies were included in the qualitative synthesis. Emotion regulation was predominantly assessed using self-report on the general ability (e.g., Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale). The assessment of parenting encompassed a broad range of aspects and operationalizations. Across psychopathology in parents, several aspects of difficulties in emotion regulation were associated with unfavorable emotion socialization, more negative parenting, and partially with less positive parenting. Slightly different effects were observed for posttraumatic stress disorder and anxiety disorders. For parents with depressive disorders, specific emotion regulation strategies (suppression, reappraisal) seem to buffer against negative parenting. Since the majority of studies refer only to mothers, generalization to fathers is limited. Furthermore, conclusions are limited due to study heterogeneity and lack of prospective studies. Nevertheless, findings suggest that interventions should target the improvement of emotion regulation in parents with psychopathology

Investigating the DNA damage response in neurodegeneration

Elevated levels of DNA damage are found in neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Alzheimer’s Disease. It is not known whether the DNA damage is a cause or a consequence of the pathology. DNA damage in the nervous system has the potential to cause aberrant cell cycle re-entry, trigger apoptosis or induce Alzheimer’s disease-like pathological changes, including Tau phosphorylation and amyloid beta (Aβ) plaque deposition. Previous work has shown that knocking down key players involved in the response to DNA double strand breaks, including ataxia-telangiectasia-mutated kinase (ATM) and checkpoint kinase 2 (Chk2), elicits a neuroprotective in a Drosophila model of Alzheimer’s disease. Here, I investigated potential mechanisms downstream of the ATM-Chk2 signalling pathway to identify those that may contribute to the neurotoxicity in our Drosophila Alzheimer’s disease model. I demonstrate the involvement of p53, a key downstream target of ATM and Chk2 in the DNA damage response and show that blocking caspase activity protects against amyloid induced toxicity. Surprisingly, I was not able to find evidence of aberrant cell cycle re-entry or apoptosis in the brains of Drosophila expressing toxic Aβ, which indicates a potential non-apoptotic role for caspases in amyloid induced neurotoxicit

What are the perceptions of perfectionism is a Girls' Boarding house

My research aims to explore the perceptions of perfectionism among girls in Year 10 and 11, from the same boarding house. Perfectionism in children and adolescents is becoming a more thoroughly researched area, especially as media attention on the negative effects of perfectionism is increasing. My research seeks to develop a deeper understanding of how pupils perceive and experience perfectionism, whether this reflects the patterns found in the literature and to suggest improvements to professional practice based on my results. The data in my study was obtained through mixed methods; a quantitative account of the level and type of perfectionism show by my participants, using the Child and Adolescent Perfectionism Scale (CAPS; Flett et al, 1997) and a qualitative account of their perceptions of perfectionism through semi-structured interviews. The results suggest that although reported levels of perfectionism from the CAPS were not high in comparison with existing data, the overall perception of perfectionism was negative. Social difficulties attributed to perfectionism were also particularly noteworthy. My methods illustrated the difficulty in relying on quantitative methods alone when studying perfectionism, and the value of further exploration of these complex issues using qualitative means. Based on my results, suggested improvements for future professional practice include a series of intervention strategies, perhaps conducted in PSHE sessions, a reframing of perfectionism as a positive trait and effective communication with parents

Openness Disposition: readiness characteristics that influence participant benefits from scenario planning as strategic conversation

In this paper we examine the impact of participant readiness to engage with, perform and benefit from scenario planning processes. Central to our examination is the concept of ‘openness disposition’, which in the context of scenario planning refers to the tendency to seek either to hold open ambiguity, complexity and uncertainty, or look for closure, simplification and surety when engaging in strategic conversations. Readiness indicates the capacity of individuals and collectives to work with competing narratives, dilemmas, tensions and differences of opinion, as may occur in scenario work. A focus on readiness through openness disposition enables critical evaluation of the utility of scenario planning to different individuals and groups based on their capacity to engage with equivocality during structured, exploratory strategic conversations. Based on findings emerging from a longitudinal field study with ProRail N.V. Holland, we empirically identify three characteristics of participant readiness, which are theorised to extend understanding of how individuals and groups might engage in, cope and benefit from, scenario planning processes