Working to feel better or feeling better to work? Discourse of wellbeing in austerity reality TV

By focusing on discourses within the ‘cultural economy’ of reality TV, the following considers the wider positioning of waged labor as essential for mental health during a period of austerity. The findings suggest that discourses of mental health and wellbeing construct figures of a ‘good’ welfare-recipient as one who achieves wellbeing through distancing themselves from the welfare state and progress toward waged work. Framed within the landscape of ‘psycho-politics’, wellbeing and unemployment are arguably entangled to legitimize current welfare policy, placing responsibility on individuals for economic and health security and dissolving concerns over austerity’s systemic impact

Exploring shared decision making in breast cancer care: A case-based conversation analytic approach

Shared decision making (SDM) is acknowledged as the gold standard of healthcare communication, particularly relevant to preference-sensitive care such as breast cancer treatment. However, research on patients’ experiences shows a misalignment between clinicians’ goals and the rhetoric regarding patients’ empowerment during SDM for this treatment. This warrants detailed examination on the conversational dynamics of SDM, and this study aims to identify interactional features and social practices through which SDM is achieved. Fifteen audio recordings from adjuvant treatment breast cancer consultations were examined using the methodology of conversation analysis (CA), and recurrent patterns relevant for understanding SDM were identified. Boundary markers, rhetorical questioning and epistemic markers discouraged a shared orientation to patient participation, reinforcing perceived imbalanced doctor–patient power relations. Cues for SDM such as multi-turn utterances and spaces for transition were presented but not recognised by patients, resulting in sub-optimal two-way discussions about decision making. The findings also reveal that interactional practices were deployed that theoretically should have enabled patients to contribute to SDM. However, in reality these did not result in extended sequences of reciprocated contributions from practitioner and service user. SDM did not happen with the ease implied by current models, and the resultant interactions bore more similarity to expert-led, rather than collaborative, decision makin

Natural history of Arabidopsis thaliana and oomycete symbioses

Molecular ecology of plant–microbe interactions has immediate significance for filling a gap in knowledge between the laboratory discipline of molecular biology and the largely theoretical discipline of evolutionary ecology. Somewhere in between lies conservation biology, aimed at protection of habitats and the diversity of species housed within them. A seemingly insignificant wildflower called Arabidopsis thaliana has an important contribution to make in this endeavour. It has already transformed botanical research with deepening understanding of molecular processes within the species and across the Plant Kingdom; and has begun to revolutionize plant breeding by providing an invaluable catalogue of gene sequences that can be used to design the most precise molecular markers attainable for marker-assisted selection of valued traits. This review describes how A. thaliana and two of its natural biotrophic parasites could be seminal as a model for exploring the biogeography and molecular ecology of plant–microbe interactions, and specifically, for testing hypotheses proposed from the geographic mosaic theory of co-evolution

The Wrong Kind of Noise: Understanding and Valuing the Communication of Autistic Children in Schools

As a result of the association of autism with speech and language difficulties, autistic school children can be subject to interventions ostensibly intended to remedy these problems. However, my study, based in five mainstream primary schools in England, which incorporated the views and experiences of school staff (n = 36), autistic children (n = 10), their parents (n = 10) and a sample of autistic adults (n = 10), suggests that these inputs do not always provide the children with the help they require. Indeed, notwithstanding some examples of effective assistance, the more evident communication of the autistic children, in its various manifestations, might be ignored and their wishes denied, if deemed not to correspond with the expectations or intentions of the supporting adult. Furthermore, their communication was also found to intersect with the issue of noise in schools, a complex phenomenon which can be an exclusionary factor for autistic children. Indeed, if some forms of noise were tolerated in school, the sounds emanating from autistic children might be disdained, while the communicative value of their silence was not evidently recognised either. Therefore, whether speaking, making noises or remaining silent, autistic children can be deemed to be making the wrong kind of noise. Elucidated via empirical examples from my study, the implications for research and practice are discussed, providing alternative perspectives on how to support the communication of autistic children, leading to greater agency, well-being and educational inclusion on their part

Accommodating a Non-Conservative Internal Mutation by WaterMediated Hydrogen-Bonding Between β-Sheet Strands: A Comparison of Human and Rat Type B (Mitochondrial) Cytochrome b5

Mammalian type B (mitochondrial) cytochromes b5 exhibit greater amino acid sequence diversity than their type A (microsomal) counterparts, as exemplified by the type B proteins from human (hCYB5B) and rat (rCYB5B). The comparison of X-ray crystal structures of hCYB5B and rCYB5B reported herein reveals a striking difference in packing involving the five-stranded β-sheet, attributable to fully buried residue 21 in strand β4. The greater bulk of Leu21 in hCYB5B in comparison to Thr21 in rCYB5B results in a substantial displacement of the first two residues in β5, and consequent loss of two of the three hydrogen bonds between β5 and β4. Hydrogen-bonding between the residues is instead mediated by two well-ordered, fully buried water molecules. In a 10 ns molecular dynamics simulation, one of the buried water molecules in the hCYB5B structure exchanged readily with solvent via intermediates having three water molecules sandwiched between β4 and β5. When the buried water molecules were removed prior to a second 10 ns simulation, β4 and β5 formed persistent hydrogen bonds identical to those in rCYB5B, but the Leu21 side chain was forced to adopt a rarely observed conformation. Despite the apparently greater ease of water access to the interior of hCYB5B than of rCYB5B suggested by these observations, the two proteins exhibit virtually identical stability, dynamic and redox properties. The results provide new insight into the factors stabilizing the cytochrome b5 fold

The S4–S5 Linker Acts as a Signal Integrator for hERG K+ Channel Activation and Deactivation Gating

Human ether-à-go-go-related gene (hERG) K+ channels have unusual gating kinetics. Characterised by slow activation/deactivation but rapid inactivation/recovery from inactivation, the unique gating kinetics underlie the central role hERG channels play in cardiac repolarisation. The slow activation and deactivation kinetics are regulated in part by the S4–S5 linker, which couples movement of the voltage sensor domain to opening of the activation gate at the distal end of the inner helix of the pore domain. It has also been suggested that cytosolic domains may interact with the S4–S5 linker to regulate activation and deactivation kinetics. Here, we show that the solution structure of a peptide corresponding to the S4–S5 linker of hERG contains an amphipathic helix. The effects of mutations at the majority of residues in the S4–S5 linker of hERG were consistent with the previously identified role in coupling voltage sensor movement to the activation gate. However, mutations to Ser543, Tyr545, Gly546 and Ala548 had more complex phenotypes indicating that these residues are involved in additional interactions. We propose a model in which the S4–S5 linker, in addition to coupling VSD movement to the activation gate, also contributes to interactions that stabilise the closed state and a separate set of interactions that stabilise the open state. The S4–S5 linker therefore acts as a signal integrator and plays a crucial role in the slow deactivation kinetics of the channel

Allele-Specific Virulence Attenuation of the Pseudomonas syringae HopZ1a Type III Effector via the Arabidopsis ZAR1 Resistance Protein

Plant resistance (R) proteins provide a robust surveillance system to defend against potential pathogens. Despite their importance in plant innate immunity, relatively few of the ∼170 R proteins in Arabidopsis have well-characterized resistance specificity. In order to identify the R protein responsible for recognition of the Pseudomonas syringae type III secreted effector (T3SE) HopZ1a, we assembled an Arabidopsis R gene T–DNA Insertion Collection (ARTIC) from publicly available Arabidopsis thaliana insertion lines and screened it for plants lacking HopZ1a-induced immunity. This reverse genetic screen revealed that the Arabidopsis R protein HOPZ-ACTIVATED RESISTANCE 1 (ZAR1; At3g50950) is required for recognition of HopZ1a in Arabidopsis. ZAR1 belongs to the coiled-coil (CC) class of nucleotide binding site and leucine-rich repeat (NBS–LRR) containing R proteins; however, the ZAR1 CC domain phylogenetically clusters in a clade distinct from other related Arabidopsis R proteins. ZAR1–mediated immunity is independent of several genes required by other R protein signaling pathways, including NDR1 and RAR1, suggesting that ZAR1 possesses distinct signaling requirements. The closely-related T3SE protein, HopZ1b, is still recognized by zar1 Arabidopsis plants indicating that Arabidopsis has evolved at least two independent R proteins to recognize the HopZ T3SE family. Also, in Arabidopsis zar1 plants HopZ1a promotes P. syringae growth indicative of an ancestral virulence function for this T3SE prior to the evolution of recognition by the host resistance protein ZAR1. Our results demonstrate that the Arabidopsis resistance protein ZAR1 confers allele-specific recognition and virulence attenuation of the Pseudomonas syringae T3SE protein HopZ1a

Adaptation of One-Session Treatment for Specific Phobias for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Using a Non-concurrent Multiple Baseline Design: A Preliminary Investigation.

Anxiety disorders are among the most common co-occurring disorders for individuals with ASD. Several adaptations to cognitive behavioral approaches have been proposed for this population (Moree & Davis, 2010). The current study examined feasibility and preliminary efficacy of an ASD-specific adaptation of one-session treatment (OST) for specific phobia (SP). Standard OST consists of one 3-h session followed by four weekly phone calls. Modifications for ASD included increased parental involvement, use of visual aids, and inclusion of four 1-h booster sessions in place of the four weekly phone calls. Visual inspection and Friedman tests revealed significant reductions in fear ratings and phobia severity from pre- to post-treatment and follow-up assessments. Modest changes were observed in behavioral avoidance. These findings provide initial evidence that this treatment merits further study