Trainee therapists' experiences of supervision during training:a meta-synthesis

Purpose Supervision is typically mandatory for therapists in training and plays an important role in their professional development. A number of qualitative studies have considered specific aspects of supervision. This systematic review aimed to synthesize these studies' findings and explore the experience and impact of supervision for trainee therapists. Methods A systematic search of the literature was conducted, and inclusion/exclusion criteria were applied. This led to a sample of 15 qualitative studies, with which a meta-synthesis was conducted. Results The meta-synthesis led to four key concepts: supervision as a learning opportunity, the supervisory relationship, power in supervision and the impact of supervision. These themes explored helpful and unhelpful aspects of supervision, including some concerns regarding the evaluation of supervision. Conclusions Supervision can effectively support trainee therapists in their personal and professional development. However, it can also lead to feelings of distress and self-doubt. Supervisors need to consider the power differential within supervision and attend to different factors within the supervisory relationship.  Key Practitioner Message Supervision can encourage personal and professional development, but it can also have a detrimental impact on trainee therapists' well-being, and consequently their clinical work and clients' experiences. Supervisees may not disclose unhelpful events or impacts from supervision, for fear of negative evaluation. Evaluation of supervisors should be facilitated and encouraged, to maintain good practice

Clinical psychologists’ experiences of accessing personal therapy during training:a narrative analysis

The objectives of this study were to explore the experiences of trainee clinical psychologists who utilised therapy whilst training, and its role in their personal and professional development. Ten clinical psychologists were recruited, and asked to share their story of accessing personal therapy during training. Data were analysed using narrative analysis, which led to the development of four chapters: Chapter one explores the context of being a trainee clinical psychologist whilst experiencing therapy, including stressors encountered during training. In chapter two, participants discuss the stigma they felt in accessing personal therapy. Through chapter three, participants describe the journey of therapy itself, including difficult emotions they experienced and events such as ‘the ending’. Finally, chapter four details the personal and professional impact of their therapy journey. It is concluded that personal therapy can provide both personal and professional support to trainee clinical psychologists. However, some barriers may affect individuals seeking such support. The clinical and professional implications of these findings are discussed, in addition to recommendations for future research

Vascular endothelial growth factor can signal through platelet-derived growth factor receptors

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A) is a crucial stimulator of vascular cell migration and proliferation. Using bone marrow–derived human adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that did not express VEGF receptors, we provide evidence that VEGF-A can stimulate platelet-derived growth factor receptors (PDGFRs), thereby regulating MSC migration and proliferation. VEGF-A binds to both PDGFRα and PDGFRβ and induces tyrosine phosphorylation that, when inhibited, results in attenuation of VEGF-A–induced MSC migration and proliferation. This mechanism was also shown to mediate human dermal fibroblast (HDF) migration. VEGF-A/PDGFR signaling has the potential to regulate vascular cell recruitment and proliferation during tissue regeneration and disease

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy with severe bradyarrhythmia following epidural insertion

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Cell-matrix biology in vascular tissue engineering

We are developing biocompatible small-calibre vascular substitutes based on polymeric scaffolds that incorporate cell-matrix signals to enhance vascular cell attachment and function. Our graft scaffold comprises an outer electrostatically spun porous polyurethane layer seeded with smooth muscle cells, and a luminal polycaprolactone layer for endothelial cell attachment. Vascular cell adhesion properties of three vascular elastic fibre molecules, tropoelastin, fibrillin-1 and fibulin-5, have been defined, and adhesion fragments optimized. These fragments are being used to coat the scaffolds to enhance luminal endothelial cell attachment, and to regulate smooth muscle cell attachment and function. Tropoelastin-based cell seeding materials are also being developed. In this way, vascular cell-matrix biology is enhancing graft design

A taxonomy and comparison of parallel block multi-level preconditioners for the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations.

In recent years, considerable effort has been placed on developing efficient and robust solution algorithms for the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations based on preconditioned Krylov methods. These include physics-based methods, such as SIMPLE, and purely algebraic preconditioners based on the approximation of the Schur complement. All these techniques can be represented as approximate block factorization (ABF) type preconditioners. The goal is to decompose the application of the preconditioner into simplified sub-systems in which scalable multi-level type solvers can be applied. In this paper we develop a taxonomy of these ideas based on an adaptation of a generalized approximate factorization of the Navier-Stokes system first presented in [25]. This taxonomy illuminates the similarities and differences among these preconditioners and the central role played by efficient approximation of certain Schur complement operators. We then present a parallel computational study that examines the performance of these methods and compares them to an additive Schwarz domain decomposition (DD) algorithm. Results are presented for two and three-dimensional steady state problems for enclosed domains and inflow/outflow systems on both structured and unstructured meshes. The numerical experiments are performed using MPSalsa, a stabilized finite element code

Density of human bone marrow stromal cells regulates commitment to vascular lineages

Mechanisms underlying the vascular differentiation of human bone marrow stromal cells (HBMSCs) and their contribution to neovascularisation are poorly understood. We report the essential role of cell density-induced signals in directing HBMSCs along endothelial or smooth muscle lineages. Plating HBMSCs at high density rapidly induced Notch signaling, which initiated HBMSC commitment to a vascular progenitor cell population expressing markers for both vascular lineages. Notch also induced VEGF-A, which inhibited vascular smooth muscle commitment while consolidating differentiation to endothelial cells with cobblestone morphology and characteristic endothelial markers and functions. These mechanisms can be exploited therapeutically to regulate HBMSCs during neovascularisation

The Winchcombe meteorite, a unique and pristine witness from the outer solar system.

Direct links between carbonaceous chondrites and their parent bodies in the solar system are rare. The Winchcombe meteorite is the most accurately recorded carbonaceous chondrite fall. Its pre-atmospheric orbit and cosmic-ray exposure age confirm that it arrived on Earth shortly after ejection from a primitive asteroid. Recovered only hours after falling, the composition of the Winchcombe meteorite is largely unmodified by the terrestrial environment. It contains abundant hydrated silicates formed during fluid-rock reactions, and carbon- and nitrogen-bearing organic matter including soluble protein amino acids. The near-pristine hydrogen isotopic composition of the Winchcombe meteorite is comparable to the terrestrial hydrosphere, providing further evidence that volatile-rich carbonaceous asteroids played an important role in the origin of Earth's water