Anger, Quality of Life and Mood in Multiple Sclerosis

This research was funded by The Multiple Sclerosis Society (UK).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Multiple sclerosis, emotion perception and social functioning

Funding Information: This research was supported by a PhD studentship funded by the Economic and Social Research Council through the Scottish Graduate School for Social Sciences, and a grant from the UK MS Society.Peer reviewedPostprin

Redesigning the care journey for people with functional disorder

This report describes a collaborative project between The Glasgow School of Art (GSA), NHS Grampian and Robert Gordon University (RGU). The project sought to use the latest evidence and the experiences of people living with functional disorders and health and care professionals to rethink the care journey for functional disorders in NHS Grampian. This report aims to outline the proposed future pathway for functional disorders. It begins by summarising the need for innovation in care for functional disorders in NHS Grampian, followed by an overview of the participatory approach taken to engage with people with lived experience of functional disorders and health and care professionals to redesign the care journey. The report presents the proposed future pathway alongside the evidence generated throughout the project, concluding with a roadmap of the next steps and a call for action to work towards implementing the new pathway

Bacterial metabolite indole modulates incretin secretion from intestinal enteroendocrine L cells.

It has long been speculated that metabolites, produced by gut microbiota, influence host metabolism in health and diseases. Here, we reveal that indole, a metabolite produced from the dissimilation of tryptophan, is able to modulate the secretion of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) from immortalized and primary mouse colonic L cells. Indole increased GLP-1 release during short exposures, but it reduced secretion over longer periods. These effects were attributed to the ability of indole to affect two key molecular mechanisms in L cells. On the one hand, indole inhibited voltage-gated K(+) channels, increased the temporal width of action potentials fired by L cells, and led to enhanced Ca(2+) entry, thereby acutely stimulating GLP-1 secretion. On the other hand, indole slowed ATP production by blocking NADH dehydrogenase, thus leading to a prolonged reduction of GLP-1 secretion. Our results identify indole as a signaling molecule by which gut microbiota communicate with L cells and influence host metabolism.This is the final version. It was first published by Elsevier at http://www.cell.com/cell-reports/abstract/S2211-1247%2814%2900901-2

Fabriquer un culte ethnique. \uc9criture rituelle et g\ue9n\ue9alogies mythiques dans le sanctuaire des Paliques en Sicile.

The sanctuary of the gods Palikoi in Sicily offers a rich dossier addressing the role of writing in the definition of ethnicity. Although literary evidence attest to the \u201dnative\u201c nature of the gods, the presence of writing, inbedded in local culture through the Greek colonization, plays a curious role. It invites us to reflect upon contact processes and identity changes due to its appearance. The analysis focuses here on the ordeal oath (ritual writing) and on the mythical genealogies (discursive strategies): this set seems to be a "device" in many ways informed by the model of the "Middle Ground."Le sanctuaire des dieux Paliques en Sicile offre un dossier tr\ue8s riche \ue0 questionner pour ce qui concerne le r\uf4le jou\ue9 par l\u2019\ue9criture dans la d\ue9finition de l\u2019ethnicit\ue9. M\ueame si les t\ue9moignages litt\ue9raires reconnaissent la nature \uab indig\ue8ne \ubb des Paliques, la pr\ue9sence de l\u2019\ue9criture, qui a p\ue9n\ue9tr\ue9 dans les cultures locales par le biais de la colonisation grecque, exerce une fonction troublante et nous oblige \ue0 r\ue9fl\ue9chir sur les processus de contact et les changements identitaires que son existence provoque. L\u2019analyse se concentre ici sur le serment ordalique (\ue9criture rituelle) et sur les g\ue9n\ue9alogies mythiques (strat\ue9gies discursives) : cet ensemble semble constituer un \uab dispositif \ubb que le mod\ue8le du \uab Middle Ground \ubb permet d'\ue9clairer \ue0 bien des \ue9gards

Charge-transfer dynamics at the dye-semiconductor interface of photocathodes for solar energy applications

This article describes a comparison between the photophysical properties of two charge-transfer dyes adsorbed onto NiO via two different binding moieties. Transient spectroscopy measurements suggest that the structure of the anchoring group affects both the rate of charge recombination between the dye and NiO surface and the rate of dye regeneration by an iodide/triiodide redox couple. This is consistent with the performance of the dyes in p-type dye sensitised solar cells. A key finding was that the recombination rate differed in presence of the redox couple. This has important implications on the study of electron transfer at dye|semiconductor interfaces for solar energy applications

Investigating interfacial electron transfer in dye-sensitized NiO using vibrational spectroscopy

Understanding what influences the formation and lifetime of charge-separated states is key to developing photoelectrochemical devices. This paper describes the use of time-resolved infrared absorption spectroscopy (TRIR) to determine the structure and lifetime of the intermediates formed on photoexcitation of two organic donor–π–acceptor dyes adsorbed to the surface of NiO. The donor and π-linker of both dyes is triphenylamine and thiophene but the acceptors differ, maleonitrile (1) and bodipy (2). Despite their structural similarities, dye 1 outperforms 2 significantly in devices. Strong transient bands in the fingerprint region (1 and 2) and nitrile region (2300–2000 cm−1) for 1 enabled us to monitor the structure of the excited states in solution or adsorbed on NiO (in the absence and presence of electrolyte) and the corresponding kinetics, which are on a ps–ns timescale. The results are consistent with rapid (<1 ps) charge-transfer from NiO to the excited dye (1) to give exclusively the charge-separated state on the timescale of our measurements. Conversely, the TRIR experiments revealed that multiple species are present shortly after excitation of the bodipy chromophore in 2, which is electronically decoupled from the thiophene linker. In solution, excitation first populates the bodipy singlet excited state, followed by charge transfer from the triphenylamine to the bodipy. The presence and short lifetime (τ ≈ 30 ps) of the charge-transfer excited state when 2 is adsorbed on NiO (2|NiO) suggests that charge separation is slower and/or less efficient in 2|NiO than in 1|NiO. This is consistent with the difference in performance between the two dyes in dye-sensitized solar cells and photoelectrochemical water splitting devices. Compared to n-type materials such as TiO2, less is understood regarding electron transfer between dyes and p-type metal oxides such as NiO, but it is evident that fast charge-recombination presents a limit to the performance of photocathodes. This is also a major challenge to photocatalytic systems based on a “Z-scheme”, where the catalysis takes place on a µs–s timescale

Perspectives of practicing school psychologists during COVID-19: A multi-country, mixed methods investigation

COVID-19 presented a range of challenges to the delivery of school psychology services in countries around the world. The current study aimed to investigate the practices of school psychologists from the United States of America, Australia, Germany, Canada, and the United Kingdom, including changes to practice and exploration of the factors that supported the delivery of school psychology services during the pandemic. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 1,030 school psychologists and analyzed using a mixed methods, multiple case study design. Differing impacts of the pandemic on the working hours of school psychologists were reported across countries. Participants in all countries reported a shift to online working, with an increased focus on consultation and intervention and a reduction in psychoeducational assessments. School psychologists from all nations emphazised the importance of self-care strategies, social connections and physical activity and the role of support via supervision or professional networks. Access to appropriate technology and responsive workplace policies and procedures were also identified as important. Results have implications for the internationalization of the school psychology profession and can inform international school psychology planning in response to future crises

More, please, for those with less: why we need to go further on the Universal Credit uplift

Members of the ‘COVID-19 and low-income families: researching together’ Special Interest Group of the COVID Realities project explain why the government must go further in its provision of financial support for families with children in the light of the coronavirus crisis