A Qualitative Comparison of Secular and Buddhist-Informed Mental Health Practitioners’ Perceptions of Non-Attachment

Objectives Buddhist non-attachment has been shown to be effective for improving mental health and wellbeing. Non-attachment refers to the ability to engage with phenomena without psychologically clinging to experiences or rejecting them. The present qualitative investigation sought to compare secular and Buddhist-informed counselors’ and psychotherapists’ perceptions of the non-attachment construct, including their views on its relevance for client-therapist practice. Method Two data sets were collected. In Sample 1, semi-structured interviews were administered to nine qualified counselors and psychotherapists with limited prior knowledge of non-attachment or related Buddhist principles. In Sample 2, five Buddhist-informed counselors and psychotherapists completed an open questionnaire. Both data sets were analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis. Results Analysis of the first sample generated four themes concerning participants’ understanding of non-attachment: (1) misunderstanding non-attachment, (2) who non-attachment might be useful for, (3) potential impact on the therapeutic relationship and (4) the importance of experiential understanding on the part of the therapist. The analysis of Sample 2 generated two themes: (1) considerations for assimilating non-attachment, and (2) positive experiences of applying the construct in client-therapist contexts. Conclusions The secular mental health practitioners in Sample 1 recognised the potential utility of non-attachment but harboured some misunderstandings as to its meaning as well as reservations regarding its suitability for all client groups. This was in contrast to Sample 2 participants, who felt that with appropriate therapeutic skill and discernment, non-attachment can be beneficial for a broad range of mental health conditions. Raising awareness of non-attachment amongst secular mental health practitioners is crucial to improving comprehension of the concept and its integration into client-therapist settings

The Role of Individual Variables, Organizational Variables and Moral Intensity Dimensions in Libyan Management Accountants’ Ethical Decision Making

This study investigates the association of a broad set of variables with the ethical decision making of management accountants in Libya. Adopting a cross-sectional methodology, a questionnaire including four different ethical scenarios was used to gather data from 229 participants. For each scenario, ethical decision making was examined in terms of the recognition, judgment and intention stages of Rest’s model. A significant relationship was found between ethical recognition and ethical judgment and also between ethical judgment and ethical intention, but ethical recognition did not significantly predict ethical intention—thus providing support for Rest’s model. Organizational variables, age and educational level yielded few significant results. The lack of significance for codes of ethics might reflect their relative lack of development in Libya, in which case Libyan companies should pay attention to their content and how they are supported, especially in the light of the under-development of the accounting profession in Libya. Few significant results were also found for gender, but where they were found, males showed more ethical characteristics than females. This unusual result reinforces the dangers of gender stereotyping in business. Personal moral philosophy and moral intensity dimensions were generally found to be significant predictors of the three stages of ethical decision making studied. One implication of this is to give more attention to ethics in accounting education, making the connections between accounting practice and (in Libya) Islam. Overall, this study not only adds to the available empirical evidence on factors affecting ethical decision making, notably examining three stages of Rest’s model, but also offers rare insights into the ethical views of practising management accountants and provides a benchmark for future studies of ethical decision making in Muslim majority countries and other parts of the developing world

What factors are associated with adolescents\u27 school break time physical activity and sedentary time?

Purpose Adolescents\u27 physical activity levels during school break time are low and understanding correlates of physical activity and sedentary time in this context is important. This study investigated cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between a range of individual, behavioural, social and policy/organisational correlates and objectively measured school break time physical activity and sedentary time.Methods In 2006, 146 adolescents (50% males; mean age = 14.1&plusmn;0.6 years) completed a questionnaire and wore an accelerometer for &ge;3 school days. Time spent engaged in sedentary, light (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during school break times (recess and lunchtime) were calculated using existing cut-points. Measures were repeated in 2008 among 111 adolescents. Multilevel models examined cross-sectional and longitudinal associations.Results Bringing in equipment was cross-sectionally associated with 3.2% more MVPA during break times. Females engaged in 5.1% more sedentary time than males, whilst older adolescents engaged in less MVPA than younger adolescents. Few longitudinal associations were observed. Adolescents who brought sports equipment to school engaged in 7.2% less LPA during break times two years later compared to those who did not bring equipment to school.Conclusion These data suggest that providing equipment and reducing restrictions on bringing in sports equipment to school may promote physical activity during school recess. Strategies targeting females\u27 and older adolescents\u27, in particular, are warranted.<br /

Modeling the Instantaneous Pressure–Volume Relation of the Left Ventricle: A Comparison of Six Models

Simulations are useful to study the heart’s ability to generate flow and the interaction between contractility and loading conditions. The left ventricular pressure–volume (PV) relation has been shown to be nonlinear, but it is unknown whether a linear model is accurate enough for simulations. Six models were fitted to the PV-data measured in five sheep and the estimated parameters were used to simulate PV-loops. Simulated and measured PV-loops were compared with the Akaike information criterion (AIC) and the Hamming distance, a measure for geometric shape similarity. The compared models were: a time-varying elastance model with fixed volume intercept (LinFix); a time-varying elastance model with varying volume intercept (LinFree); a Langewouter’s pressure-dependent elasticity model (Langew); a sigmoidal model (Sigm); a time-varying elastance model with a systolic flow-dependent resistance (Shroff) and a model with a linear systolic and an exponential diastolic relation (Burkh). Overall, the best model is LinFree (lowest AIC), closely followed by Langew. The remaining models rank: Sigm, Shroff, LinFix and Burkh. If only the shape of the PV-loops is important, all models perform nearly identically (Hamming distance between 20 and 23%). For realistic simulation of the instantaneous PV-relation a linear model suffices

Metabolic Regulation in Progression to Autoimmune Diabetes

Recent evidence from serum metabolomics indicates that specific metabolic disturbances precede β-cell autoimmunity in humans and can be used to identify those children who subsequently progress to type 1 diabetes. The mechanisms behind these disturbances are unknown. Here we show the specificity of the pre-autoimmune metabolic changes, as indicated by their conservation in a murine model of type 1 diabetes. We performed a study in non-obese prediabetic (NOD) mice which recapitulated the design of the human study and derived the metabolic states from longitudinal lipidomics data. We show that female NOD mice who later progress to autoimmune diabetes exhibit the same lipidomic pattern as prediabetic children. These metabolic changes are accompanied by enhanced glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, normoglycemia, upregulation of insulinotropic amino acids in islets, elevated plasma leptin and adiponectin, and diminished gut microbial diversity of the Clostridium leptum group. Together, the findings indicate that autoimmune diabetes is preceded by a state of increased metabolic demands on the islets resulting in elevated insulin secretion and suggest alternative metabolic related pathways as therapeutic targets to prevent diabetes

Heterozygous Loss-of-Function SEC61A1 Mutations Cause Autosomal-Dominant Tubulo-Interstitial and Glomerulocystic Kidney Disease with Anemia

Autosomal-dominant tubulo-interstitial kidney disease (ADTKD) encompasses a group of disorders characterized by renal tubular and interstitial abnormalities, leading to slow progressive loss of kidney function requiring dialysis and kidney transplantation. Mutations in UMOD, MUC1, and REN are responsible for many, but not all, cases of ADTKD. We report on two families with ADTKD and congenital anemia accompanied by either intrauterine growth retardation or neutropenia. Ultrasound and kidney biopsy revealed small dysplastic kidneys with cysts and tubular atrophy with secondary glomerular sclerosis, respectively. Exclusion of known ADTKD genes coupled with linkage analysis, whole-exome sequencing, and targeted re-sequencing identified heterozygous missense variants in SEC61A1—c.553A>G (p.Thr185Ala) and c.200T>G (p.Val67Gly)—both affecting functionally important and conserved residues in SEC61. Both transiently expressed SEC6A1A variants are delocalized to the Golgi, a finding confirmed in a renal biopsy from an affected individual. Suppression or CRISPR-mediated deletions of sec61al2 in zebrafish embryos induced convolution defects of the pronephric tubules but not the pronephric ducts, consistent with the tubular atrophy observed in the affected individuals. Human mRNA encoding either of the two pathogenic alleles failed to rescue this phenotype as opposed to a complete rescue by human wild-type mRNA. Taken together, these findings provide a mechanism by which mutations in SEC61A1 lead to an autosomal-dominant syndromic form of progressive chronic kidney disease. We highlight protein translocation defects across the endoplasmic reticulum membrane, the principal role of the SEC61 complex, as a contributory pathogenic mechanism for ADTKD