An exploration into the experiences of health visitors delivering listening visits to women as an intervention for mild to moderate postnatal depression or anxiety

This study explored the experiences of health visitors carrying out listening visits, an intervention used to support women suffering from mild to moderate depression and anxiety in the postnatal period. Methods Thirty three health visitors from one single trust were surveyed using an online questionnaire. Follow up interviews were also carried out. Quantitative data from the questionnaires was analysed using descriptive statistics, answers to semi-structured questions within the survey were analysed using content analysis. Interview recordings were transcribed verbatim and analysed using the constant comparative method

Transitions-felt: William James, Locative Narrative and the Multi-stable Field of Expanded Narrative

Edited version embargoed until 16.03.2018 Full version: Access restricted permanently due to 3rd party copyright restrictions. Restriction set on 16.03.2017 by SC, Graduate schoolThis thesis is about expanded narrative, a new field of experimental narrative practices that are not represented by single subjects or by categories such as ‘interactive’. It is defined by works that present a challenge to the form, fiction or nonfiction, in terms of the content, structure, style of writing or audience engagement. Extending the cognitive term ‘perceptual multistability’, that refers to switching between interpretations experienced when we look at an ambiguous figures, such as, the Necker cube, this thesis develops the position that expanded narrative practices and specifically locative narrative, a genera of expanded narrative, hold the potential to prompt the experiential effects of multi-stability. The metaphor of multi-stability introduced here stands in for three aspects of experience: language, perception and belief. While ambiguity and misperceptions have been recognised in the literature of experiential narrative practices, further exposition is required. The thesis asks what are the conditions in which the qualities of the metaphor of multi-stability may be prompted and what framework usefully articulates the parameters of experience? Drawing upon the writings of the philosopher William James, subsequent pragmatists, cognitive neuroscience and narratology, it explores how a radical empiricist perspective can form the basis of a non-foundational experiential framework that questions the status of knowledge and the problems of translation between experience and narrative interpretation. It suggests that the subjective classification of imagined and perceptual objects can be affected by the relations between the narrative form, the environment and the participant’s beliefs. The major contributions of the thesis are (1) the development of the Jamesian experiential framework that sets up cross-disciplinary parameters for the thematics of experience to engage with the ontological and epistemological challenges of evaluating and designing for multistability presents; (2) a relational approach to interpretation and coding participants’ feedback of locative narratives; (3) that is employed in the development of a collection of speculative strategies for evoking the effect of the metaphor of multi-stability, based on the development of four published locative narrative apps and ten prototypes. While highly contingent, participant introspective accounts of experience are central here to the methodology, the process of serial hypothesis forming and the iterative development of prototypes and locative narrative case studies. This research does not attempt to draw causal connections from science to that of narrative experience or vice versa. The thesis first considers the field of expanded narrative and the semantic and pragmatic framings of the term narrative and narratological framings of language as multi-stable. It goes on to examine the antecedent and coexistent practices of locative narrative. The epistemological implications for misperception, the function of representation and intentionality in perception are examined in relation to the environmentally situated perceptual, interpretative, aesthetic and emotional dimensions of experience. This research contributes to research in narrative and creative practices. It extends the form of locative narrative with the concept of multi-stability that has a wider application with the field of expanded narrative, creative practice and narratology

Maintaining standing stones benefits biodiversity in lowland heathland

The exploitation of natural resources by people generally has detrimental effects on nature but in some cases anthropogenic activities can result in changes to the natural environment that produce new habitats and increase biodiversity. Understanding and supporting such cultural aspects of land use is an important part of effective conservation strategies. The UK has a range of cultural landscapes that contribute to the landscape matrix and are often important for biodiversity. However, little research has been conducted on the relationship between various types of cultural landscapes or their effects on biodiversity. We examined the interaction between semi-natural sacred sites and lowland heathland in Cornwall, and the contribution these sites make to the overall biodiversity within the habitat. We found that semi-natural sacred sites had significantly higher levels of biodiversity compared to surrounding heathland; the existence and use of the sites created new and important habitats for rare and threatened heathland species; and the spiritual and cultural use of the sites aids the management of heathland. Promoting the use of semi-natural sacred sites could therefore contribute to biodiversity conservation. Furthermore, the cultural and spiritual importance of such sites potentially increases the availability of volunteer resources for their management. We highlight the importance of an integrated management approach for achieving effective biodiversity conservation in areas containing multiple types of cultural landscapes

W:Ti flexible transversal electrode array for peripheral nerve stimulation: a feasibility study

The development of hardware for neural interfacing remains a technical challenge. We introduce a flexible, transversal intraneural tungsten:titanium electrode array for acute studies. We characterize the electrochemical properties of this new combination of tungsten and titanium using cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. With an in-vivo rodent study, we show that the stimulation of peripheral nerves with this electrode array is possible and that more than half of the electrode contacts can yield a stimulation selectivity index of 0.75 or higher at low stimulation currents. This feasibility study paves the way for the development of future cost-effective and easy-to-fabricate neural interfacing electrodes for acute settings, which ultimately can inform the development of technologies that enable bi-directional communication with the human nervous system

Governing Parental Drug Use in the UK: What's Hidden in "Hidden Harm?"

In 2003, the UK Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs published Hidden Harm, the product of an inquiry that exposed the ‘problems’ of parental drug use and its neglect by professionals. It outlined an extensive program of reforms designed to protect children from harm. Despite its far-reaching influence, it has rarely been subject to scrutiny, with analyses focusing on its impact instead. Drawing on Bacchi’s post-structuralist ‘What’s the Problem Represented to be’ approach, we examine problematizations within Hidden Harm and their implications for the governance of family life. We illustrate how Hidden Harm produced a simplified version of parenting and child welfare within the context of drug use by largely equating drug use with ‘bad’ parenting and child maltreatment and by ignoring the social determinants of health and the wider social ecology of family life. Using a tried-and-tested driver of policy change, Hidden Harm created a ‘scandal’ about the lack of intervention by professionals that was used to justify and legitimize increased state intervention into the lives of parents who use drugs. Hidden Harm proposed simplistic ‘solutions’ that centred on drug treatment, child protection and the responsibilization of professionals to govern ‘risky’ parents. We argue these rationalities, subjectivities and strategies serve to marginalize and stigmatize families further and hide alternative approaches to understanding, representing and responding to the complex needs of children and families who are disproportionately affected by health and social inequalities. By uncovering what is hidden in Hidden Harm, we aim to stimulate further research and theoretically informed debate about policy and practice related to child welfare, parenting and family life within the context of drug use. We conclude with some ideas about how to reframe public discourse on parents who use drugs and their children, in tandem with collaborative responses to alleviate child poverty and inequalities

Coordination complexes as molecular glue for immobilization of antibodies on cyclic olefin copolymer surfaces

A novel metal-based chelating method has been used to provide an order of magnitude increase in immunoassay performance on cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) plastics compared with passive binding. COCs are hydrophobic, and without surface modification they are often unsuitable for applications where protein adhesion is desired. When interacting with the bare plastic, the majority of the bound proteins will be denatured and become nonfunctional. Many of the surface modification techniques reported to date require costly equipment setup or the use of harsh reaction conditions. Here, we have successfully demonstrated the use of a simple and quick metal chelation method to increase the sensitivity, activity, and efficiency of protein binding to COC surfaces. A detailed analysis of the COC surfaces after activation with the metal complexes is presented, and the immunoassay performance was studied using three different antibody pairs

Low dose influenza virus challenge in the ferret leads to increased virus shedding and greater sensitivity to oseltamivir

Ferrets are widely used to study human influenza virus infection. Their airway physiology and cell receptor distribution makes them ideal for the analysis of pathogenesis and virus transmission, and for testing the efficacy of anti-influenza interventions and vaccines. The 2009 pandemic influenza virus (H1N1pdm09) induces mild to moderate respiratory disease in infected ferrets, following inoculation with 106 plaque-forming units (pfu) of virus. We have demonstrated that reducing the challenge dose to 102 pfu delays the onset of clinical signs by 1 day, and results in a modest reduction in clinical signs, and a less rapid nasal cavity innate immune response. There was also a delay in virus production in the upper respiratory tract, this was up to 9-fold greater and virus shedding was prolonged. Progression of infection to the lower respiratory tract was not noticeably delayed by the reduction in virus challenge. A dose of 104 pfu gave an infection that was intermediate between those of the 106 pfu and 102 pfu doses. To address the hypothesis that using a more authentic low challenge dose would facilitate a more sensitive model for antiviral efficacy, we used the well-known neuraminidase inhibitor, oseltamivir. Oseltamivir-treated and untreated ferrets were challenged with high (106 pfu) and low (102 pfu) doses of influenza H1N1pdm09 virus. The low dose treated ferrets showed significant delays in innate immune response and virus shedding, delayed onset of pathological changes in the nasal cavity, and reduced pathological changes and viral RNA load in the lung, relative to untreated ferrets. Importantly, these observations were not seen in treated animals when the high dose challenge was used. In summary, low dose challenge gives a disease that more closely parallels the disease parameters of human influenza infection, and provides an improved pre-clinical model for the assessment of influenza therapeutics, and potentially, influenza vaccines

Motivations, substance use and other correlates amongst property and violent offenders who regularly inject drugs

Objective: To examine the prevalence, correlates and motivations for the commission of property and violent crime amongst a sample of people who inject drugs (PWID)

Children and Young People with Long COVID—Comparing Those Seen in Post-COVID Services with a Non-Hospitalised National Cohort: A Descriptive Study

Background: Post-COVID services have been set up in England to treat children with ongoing symptoms of Long COVID. To date, the characteristics of children seeking treatment from these services has not been described. / Purpose: (1) to describe the characteristics of children aged 11–17 referred to the Pan-London Post-COVID service and (2) to compare characteristics of these children with those taking part in the United Kingdom’s largest research study of Long COVID in children (CLoCk). / Design: Data from 95 children seeking treatment from the Post-COVID service between May 2021 and August 2022 were included in the study. Their demographic characteristics, symptom burden and the impact of infection are described and compared to children from CLoCk. / Results: A high proportion of children from the Post-COVID service and CLoCk reported experiencing health problems prior to the pandemic. Almost all Post-COVID service children met the research Delphi definition of Long COVID (94.6%), having multiple symptoms that impacted their lives. Symptoms were notably more severe than the participants in CLoCk. / Conclusions: This study describes the characteristics of children seeking treatment for Long COVID compared to those identified in the largest longitudinal observational study to date. Post-COVID service children have more symptoms and are more severely affected by their symptoms following infection with COVID-19 than children in the CLoCk study. Research to understand predisposing factors for severity and prognostic indicators is essential to prevent this debilitating condition. Evaluation of short- and long-term outcomes of interventions by clinical services can help direct future therapy for this group