The Moral Obligation to Prioritize Research Into Deep Brain Stimulation Over Brain Lesioning Procedures for Severe Enduring Anorexia Nervosa

Deep Brain Stimulation is currently being investigated as an experimental treatment for patients suffering from treatment-refractory AN, with an increasing number of case reports and small-scale trials published. Although still at an exploratory and experimental stage, initial results have been promising. Despite the risks associated with an invasive neurosurgical procedure and the long-term implantation of a foreign body, DBS has a number of advantageous features for patients with SE-AN. Stimulation can be fine-tuned to the specific needs of the particular patient, is relatively reversible, and the technique also allows for the crucial issue of investigating and comparing the effects of different neural targets. However, at a time when DBS is emerging as a promising investigational treatment modality for AN, lesioning procedures in psychiatry are having a renaissance. Of concern it has been argued that the two kinds of interventions should instead be understood as rivaling, yet “mutually enriching paradigms” despite the fact that lesioning the brain is irreversible and there is no evidence base for an effective target in AN. We argue that lesioning procedures in AN are unethical at this stage of knowledge and seriously problematic for this patient group, for whom self-control is particularly central to wellbeing. They pose a greater risk of major harms that cannot justify ethical equipoise, despite the apparent superiority in reduced short term surgical harms and lower cost

Global Saccadic Eye Movements Characterise Artists’ Visual Attention While Drawing

Previous research has shown that artists employ flexible attentional strategies during offline perceptual tasks (Chamberlain et al., 2018; Chamberlain & Wagemans, 2015). The current study explored visual processing online, by tracking the eye movements of artists and non-artists (n=65) while they produced representational drawings of photographic stimuli. The findings revealed that it is possible to differentiate artists from non-artists on the basis of the relative amount of global-to-local saccadic eye movements they make when looking at the target stimulus while drawing, but not in a preparatory free viewing phase. Results indicated that these differences in eye movements are not specifically related to representational drawing ability, and may be a feature of artistic ability more broadly. This eye movement analysis technique may be used in future research to characterise the dynamics of attentional shifts in eye movements while artists are carrying out a range of artistic tasks

Tree species, state of decay, and orientation in relation to woodpecker cavity nesting

Biology of BirdsMany bird species construct nests to protect and incubate their eggs. Woodpeckers construct their nests in tree cavities they excavate themselves, and therefore can control what type of tree they are nesting in and where the entrance is oriented. Unhealthy trees of softer wood may be easier to excavate than healthy hardwood, and sunlight may assist parents in keeping their young at a stable incubation temperature. Based on historical accounts at the University of Michigan Biblogical Station and current observations, we hypothesized that woodpeckers favor dead or dying aspen trees, and their morning activity indicates that eastward facing holes would be the most favorable for sun exposure. We searched several northern Michigan forests for woodpecker nesting cavities and recorded the tree's state of decay and direction. Through our observations we determined that woodpeckers favor dead aspen trees, but there was no discernable preference for cavity direction. This data can inform future studies about the reproductive behavior of northern Michigan woodpeckers.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/147895/1/Hines_Clemons_Maternowski_Park_2018.pd

Strategies for the production of cell wall-deconstructing enzymes in lignocellulosic biomass and their utilization for biofuel production

Microbial cell wall-deconstructing enzymes are widely used in the food, wine, pulp and paper, textile, and detergent industries and will be heavily utilized by cellulosic biorefineries in the production of fuels and chemicals. Due to their ability to use freely available solar energy, genetically engineered bioenergy crops provide an attractive alternative to microbial bioreactors for the production of cell wall-deconstructing enzymes. This review article summarizes the efforts made within the last decade on the production of cell wall-deconstructing enzymes in planta for use in the deconstruction of lignocellulosic biomass. A number of strategies have been employed to increase enzyme yields and limit negative impacts on plant growth and development including targeting heterologous enzymes into specific subcellular compartments using signal peptides, using tissue-specific or inducible promoters to limit the expression of enzymes to certain portions of the plant or certain times, and fusion of amplification sequences upstream of the coding region to enhance expression. We also summarize methods that have been used to access and maintain activity of plant-generated enzymes when used in conjunction with thermochemical pretreatments for the production of lignocellulosic biofuels

Mindfulness-Based Strengths Practice: A 'Toolbox' for Self-Efficacy in Higher Education

Mindfulness-Based Strengths Practice (Niemiec, 2014; MBSP) is an eight-week programme which is unique in its combined teaching of mindfulness and character strengths. In previous literature participants in the programme reported increases in psychological wellbeing, strengths use and employee performance (Ivtzan et al., 2016; Pang & Ruch, 2019a; Wingert et al., 2020). This thesis identifies the consistent outcomes of MBSP by replicating and extending the previous single-cohort studies into several iterations of the programme, and measuring changes in mindfulness, strengths use, self-efficacy, resilience, work engagement, wellbeing, depression, anxiety and stress. Qualitative accounts of the programme were also elicited to further elaborate participants’ experience of the programme and identify additional themes not otherwise measured. The thesis also reports the development of a 6-week adaptation of MBSP, which addresses the requirement for shorter character development programmes in education contexts, while retaining the effectiveness of the original programme. In addition, this thesis explores which of the proposed active components of MBSP (mindfulness, character strengths and their mutual integration) contribute most to the elicitation of specific outcomes. Multiple controlled intervention studies were conducted. In studies 1, 2 and 3, participants reported consistent increases in mindfulness, strengths use and self-efficacy in both the original structure of MBSP (MBSP-8) and the 6-week adaptation (MBSP-6). Increases in wellbeing and resilience were also observed with some study cohorts within Study 1 and Study 3, but not others. No increases in work engagement, depression, anxiety or stress were recorded. Qualitative analysis in Study 2 from MBSP participants highlighted the superordinate theme of ‘the toolbox effect’, in which participants reported using exercises from MBSP as coping strategies up to a year after completing the programme. Study 3 developed and validated a 6-week adaptation of MBSP which retained the same effects as MBSP-8 and produced marginally stronger effects. Study 4 identified a structural equation model presenting the ‘Strengths over Mindfulness’ theory, which identified strengths education (over mindfulness) as the most active component of MBSP. Study 5 aimed to test this empirically, by directly comparing interventions for each component of MBSP. Unfortunately, this chapter yielded disappointing results and further exploration is required. Overall this thesis makes several unique contributions to the MBSP literature. Firstly, the finding iii that MBSP (both MSBP-8 and MBSP-6) increases not only strengths use, but also mindfulness and self-efficacy. These novel findings are replicated throughout all trials of MBSP within this thesis. Secondly, the thesis presents some understanding of the active components of MBSP, conceptualised as the ‘toolbox effect’, and the ‘strengths over mindfulness’ theory, suggesting that it is the character strengths taught in the programme that are largely responsible for the increases in self-efficacy and wellbeing reported. Thirdly, a novel, validated six-week adaptation of the intervention was presented (MBSP-6) which demonstrated clear increases in mindfulness, strengths use and self-efficacy, but also in resilience and wellbeing. The thesis therefore provides good support for the use of MBSP in higher education to promote self-efficacy among students, which may additionally improve wellbeing longitudinally, and offers MBSP-6 as a validated alternative where longer programmes may not be appropriate. Future research should look to empirically test the ‘strengths over mindfulness’ theory

The Influence of Teacher-pupil Relationships on the Social Adjustment of Homemaking Students in a Small Rural High School

The present study purposes to determine whether or not teacher-pupil relationships bring about improvement in the social adjustment of homemaking students in a small rural high school. It further purposes to determine the nature and extent of any measurable improvement

Screening for type 2 diabetes is feasible, acceptable, but associated with increased short-term anxiety: a randomised controlled trial in British general practice.

BACKGROUND: To assess the feasibility and uptake of a diabetes screening programme; to examine the effects of invitation to diabetes screening on anxiety, self-rated health and illness perceptions. METHODS: Randomised controlled trial in two general practices in Cambridgeshire. Individuals aged 40-69 without known diabetes were identified as being at high risk of having undiagnosed type 2 diabetes using patient records and a validated risk score (n = 1,280). 355 individuals were randomised in a 2 to 1 ratio into non-invited (n = 238) and invited (n = 116) groups. A stepwise screening programme confirmed the presence or absence of diabetes. Six weeks after the last contact (either test or invitation), a questionnaire was sent to all participants, including non-attenders and those who were not originally invited. Outcome measures included attendance, anxiety (short-form Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory-STAI), self-rated health and diabetes illness perceptions. RESULTS: 95 people (82% of those invited) attended for the initial capillary blood test. Six individuals were diagnosed with diabetes. Invited participants were more anxious than those not invited (37.6 vs. 34.1 STAI, p-value = 0.015), and those diagnosed with diabetes were considerably more anxious than those classified free of diabetes (46.7 vs. 37.0 STAI, p-value = 0.031). Non-attenders had a higher mean treatment control sub-scale (3.87 vs. 3.56, p-value = 0.016) and a lower mean emotional representation sub-scale (1.81 vs. 2.68, p-value = 0.001) than attenders. No differences in the other five illness perception sub-scales or self-rated health were found. CONCLUSION: Screening for type 2 diabetes in primary care is feasible but may be associated with higher levels of short-term anxiety among invited compared with non-invited participants.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are

The Role of Culture, Family Processes, and Anger Regulation in Korean American Adolescents’ Adjustment Problems

Using an ecologically informed, developmental psychopathology perspective, the present study examined contextual and intrapersonal predictors of depressive symptoms and externalizing problems among Korean American adolescents. Specifically, the role of cultural context (selfconstruals), family processes (family cohesion and conflict), and anger regulation (anger control, anger suppression, and outward anger expression) were examined. Study participants were N = 166 Korean American adolescents ranging from 11-15 (M = 13.0; SD = 1.2) years old. Results showed that depressive symptoms were significantly associated with lower levels of perceived family cohesion, higher levels of perceived family conflict intensity, and higher levels of anger suppression. Externalizing problems were associated with male gender, a weaker interdependent self-construal, higher levels of perceived family conflict, lower levels of anger control, and higher levels of outward anger expression. The distinction between specific vs. common factors associated with depressive symptoms and externalizing problems was discussed with an eye towards prevention or intervention strategies targeting specific coping mechanisms (e.g., generating alternatives to anger suppression) or developing psychoeducational approaches to facilitate family processes