Keeping Us Grounded: Academic Staff Perceptions of Service User and Carer Involvement in Health and Social Work Training

Academic staff perceptions of the value and purpose of service user and carer (SUAC) involvement within a health and social work faculty in an English university were explored in this co-produced qualitative study. Relevant research findings over the past two decades were reviewed and two SUAC researchers, plus an academic member of staff, designed the study based around fifteen semi-structured telephone interviews. Findings were that staff were very positive about the benefits brought by SUAC involvement, in respect of their own grounding, knowledge, and continuing professional development (CPD), these findings not having previously been reflected in the literature. Barriers to involvement of SUACs were found to be negligible compared to those found in recent literature, and the input of SUACs appeared to be embraced by academic staff. This changing picture has emerged at a time when managerialism and marketization affect the working conditions of staff. In times of increasing workloads, this study suggested that academics find SUAC involvement both supportive and constructively challenging. SUACs were perceived to bring fresh interdisciplinary knowledge and challenges to staff value bases alongside constructs of professionalism that staff may not be able to access elsewhere. The encouragement of interdisciplinary ways of thinking was noted to have been a serendipitous consequence of SUACs from different backgrounds inputting on courses across the faculty. Recommendations are to better ensure consistency in the use of SUACs in terms of resourcing, support, and development if such involvement is to be meaningful rather than marginalised and de-valued

UFR2709, a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist, decreases ethanol intake in alcohol-preferring rats

Brain nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), a heterogeneous family of pentameric acetylcholine-gated cation channels, have been suggested as molecular targets for the treatment of alcohol abuse and dependence. Here, we examined the effect of the competitive nAChR antagonist UFR2709 on the alcohol consumption of high-alcohol-drinking UChB rats. UChB rats were given free access to ethanol for 24-h periods in a two-bottle free-choice paradigm and their ethanol and water intake were measured. The animals were i.p injected daily for 17 days with a 10, 5, 2.5 or 1 mg/kg dose of UFR2709. Potential confounding motor effects of UFR2709 were assessed by examining the locomotor activity of animals administered the highest dose of UR2709 tested (10 mg/kg i.p.). UFR2709 reduced ethanol consumption and ethanol preference and increased water consumption in a dose-dependent manner. The most effective dose of UFR2709 was 2.5 mg/kg, which induced a 56% reduction in alcohol consumption. Administration of UFR2709 did not affect the weight or locomotor activity of the rats, suggesting that its effects on alcohol consumption and preference were mediated by specific nAChRs

Crystal structure of (2R,13bS)-2,6,8,9-tetrahydro-2,12-dimethoxy-1H- indolo [1-α] isoquinolin-11-ol, C18H21NO3, Erysodine

C18H21NO3, monoclinic, P121l (no. 4), a = 14.169(7) Å, b = 8.533(4) Å, c = 19.86(1) Å, β= 104.79(2)°, V = 2322.0 Å3, Z = 6, Rgt(F) = 0.045, wRref(F2) = 0.164, T = 100 K. © 2014 Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag GmbH, Rosenheimer Str. 145, 81671 München. All rights reserved

Amphetamine derivatives as Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors

Amphetamine and its derivatives exhibit a wide range of pharmacological activities, including psychostimulant, hallucinogenic, entactogenic, anorectic, or antidepressant effects. The mechanisms of action underlying these effects are usually related to the ability of the different amphetamines to interact with diverse monoamine transporters or receptors. Moreover, many of these compounds are also potent and selective monoamine oxidase inhibitors. In the present work, we review how structural modifications on the aromatic ring, the amino group and/or the aliphatic side chain of the parent scaffold, modulate the enzyme inhibitory properties of hundreds of amphetamine derivatives. Furthermore, we discuss how monoamine oxidase inhibition might influence the pharmacology of these compounds.Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (CONICYT) CONICYT FONDECYT 1170662 1150615 115086

Crystal structure of (2R, 13bS)-2, 6, 8, 9-tetrahydro-2, 12-dimethoxy-1Hindolo[1-a]isoquinolin-11-ol, C18H2NO 3, Erysodine

C18H21NO3, monoclinic, .P1211 (no. 4), a = 14.169(7) Å, b=8.533(4)Å,c=19.86(1)Å,β=104. 79(2)°, V= 2322.0 Å3,Z= 6, Rgt(F) = 0.045, wRref(F2) = 0.164, T= 100 K. © by Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag

Crystal structure of isotetrandrine, C38H42N2O6

C38H42N2O6, orthorhombic, P212121 (no. 19), α = 12.024(2) Å, b = 15.637(2) Å, c = 17.553(3) Å, V= 3300.2 Å3, Z = 4, Rgt(F) = 0.041, wRref(F2) = 0.109, T= 293 K. © 2014, Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag München. All rights reserved

Geometrical isomerism in β-nitrostyrenes: Preferred conformations of (E)- and (E)-1-(4-methylthiophenyl)-2-nitrobutenes

Condensation of 4-methylthiobenzaldehyde with 1-nitropropane unexpectedly afforded separable amounts of both (E)- and (Z)-1-(4-methylthiophenyl)-2- nitrobutene. The 1H and 13C NMR spectra allowed the unequivocal assignment of all signals and their correlation with the preferred conformations adopted by these compounds as determined by NOESY experiments. Hartree Fock theory optimizations at the 6-311G(d,p) level were carried out for the stereoisomeric 4-methylthionitroethene, -nitropropene, and -nitrobutene pairs, and the relative energy differences between isomers were calculated in order to estimate approximate E/Z equilibrium constants. These energy differences decrease with the increasing number of side chain carbon atoms, explaining the possibility of separating (E)- and (Z)-nitrobutenes and the failure to isolate the (Z) isomers of the lower homologues under the usual thermodynamically controlled reaction conditions