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A Pilot Study Investigating the Influence of Oxytocin on Attentional Bias to Food Images in Women with Bulimia Nervosa or Binge Eating Disorder
Get PDFThis is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Leslie, M., Leppanen, J., Paloyelis, Y., Treasure, J. (2020). A pilot study investigating the influence of oxytocin on attentional bias to food images in women with bulimia nervosa or binge eating disorder. Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 32(5), e12843, which has been published in final form at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jne.12843. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.Background: Previous research has found that exogenous oxytocin administration has the potential to modulate attentional biases in women with anorexia nervosa. Recent work has indicated that attentional biases to food may reinforce the recurrent binge eating behaviour which characterises bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder. To date, however, no study has yet investigated the effect of oxytocin on attentional biases to palatable food in women with bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder.
Methods: This study employed a single-session crossover design to test the hypothesis that a divided dose of 64IU intranasal oxytocin, administered as one intranasal dose of 40IU oxytocin followed by a top-up of 24IU oxytocin 80 minutes later, versus placebo administration administered in the same dosing schedule, would reduce attentional biases towards food images in a dot probe task. We hypothesised that oxytocin administration would reduce vigilance towards food to a greater degree in women with bulimia nervosa or binge eating disorder, versus healthy comparison women. Twenty-five women with bulimia nervosa or binge eating disorder and 27 comparison women without history of an eating disorder were recruited to take part in the study.
Results: Contrary to our hypothesis, there was no main effect of diagnosis on attentional bias to food (fixed effect = 5.70, p = .363), nor a significant interaction between diagnosis and drug condition (fixed effect = -14.80, p = .645). There was a main effect of drug condition, such that oxytocin increased vigilance towards food, versus neutral, images in the dot probe task (fixed effect = 10.42, p = .044). A correlation analysis revealed that this effect was moderated by attentional bias in the placebo condition, such that greater avoidance of food stimuli in the placebo condition was associated with a greater increase in vigilance induced by oxytocin.
Conclusion: The current findings add to a mixed body of literature investigating the therapeutic effects of oxytocin in women. Future research would benefit from dose-response studies investigating the optimal dose of oxytocin for modulating the attentional processing of palatable food in populations with eating disorders
New binary self-dual codes via a generalization of the four circulant construction
Get PDFIn this work, we generalize the four circulant construction for self-dual codes. By applying the constructions over the alphabets , , , we were able to obtain extremal binary self-dual codes of lengths 40, 64 including new extremal binary self-dual codes of length 68. More precisely, 43 new extremal binary self-dual codes of length 68, with rare new parameters have been constructed.https://www.mathos.unios.hr/mc/index.php/mc/article/view/352
Methadone‐Assisted Opiate Withdrawal and Subsequent Heroin Abstinence: The Importance of Psychological Preparedness
Get PDFThis is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Jones, S., Jack, B., Kirby, J., Wilson, T., Murphy, P. (2020). Methadone‐Assisted Opiate Withdrawal and Subsequent Heroin Abstinence: The Importance of Psychological Preparedness, 30(1), 11-20., which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/ajad.13062. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-ArchivingBackground and Objectives: Treatment guidelines emphasize
patients’ readiness for transitioning from opiate substitution
treatment (OST) to opiate withdrawal and abstinence. Psychological
preparedness indicators for this transition were examined.
Methods: Patients (all male) were recruited from three treatment
settings: prison, an inpatient detoxification unit, and an outpatient
clinic. Time 1 (T1) was admission to methadone‐assisted
withdrawal in all settings. Time 2 (T2) was a 6‐month follow‐up.
With n = 24 at T1 for each group (N = 72), a battery of instruments
relevant to psychological preparedness was administered.
Results: At T1, inpatients had higher self‐efficacy beliefs for
successful treatment completion than prison patients. For patients
contactable at T2, T1 self‐efficacy positively predicted T2 opiate
abstinence. No other variable improved prediction. T1
SOCRATES (Stages of Change Readiness and Treatment
Eagerness Scale) ambivalence scores, age, and lifetime heroin
use duration predicted maintenance of contact or not with
treatment services and contactability by the researcher.
Measures of mood did not differ between groups at T1 or
predict T2 outcomes.
Discussion and Conclusions: Self‐efficacy beliefs are a potentially
useful indicator of readiness for transitioning from OST to a
medically assisted opiate withdrawal and subsequent abstinence.
Ambivalence regarding change, age, and lifetime heroin use
duration are potentially useful predictors of patients maintaining
contact with services, and of being retained in research.
Scientific Significance: These findings advance existing literature
and knowledge by highlighting the importance of self‐efficacy in
psychological preparedness for opiate abstinence, and the predictive
utility to clinicians of this and other variables measurable at
admission, in the clinical management of opiate user
"But I Still Read the Bible!” Post-Christian Women’s Biblicalism
No full textIn this chapter, I highlight post-Christian women’s biblicalism as a spiritual practice,
while raising two questions for gendered religious reading practices and religious feminism’s uses and approaches to literature, which might also help explain why the activity of
reading is underexplored. First, post-Christian women’s biblicalism crosses the distinction between sacred and secular literature sometimes assumed in religious feminism. In
the search for alternative textual sources for doing theology, an either/or separation
between sacred and secular has been presumed, which has not only set the Bible and
women’s writing apart, but also reading practices and processes. Second, experience has
been privileged in religious feminisms’ turn to literature as it seeks examples of women’s
spiritual encounters; while in biblical feminism, women’s voices are the standpoint from
which to examine scripture from a range of contextual positions. However, religious
feminism has tended to focus on the text to the extent that actual readers are usually
implied: everyday women’s experiences of reading have been passed over. Yet, by qualitatively interviewing post-Christian women readers to listen to their reading experiences,
biblical reading emerges as a spiritual practice amongst women identifying against the
Christian tradition. This troubles the assumption that women who use literature as a
spiritual resource are doing so because they have found the Christian testaments lacking
in opportunities to access the divine, and have therefore excluded them from their personal collections of spiritual texts. While post-Christian women readers in this study
are critical of the Bible and question its relevancy, they continue to read it.
I begin by briefly discussing the fieldwork upon which this chapter is based and my
use of ‘post-Christian’. I then point to the sacred and secular textual distinctions that
have occurred in religious feminisms, followed by discussing the preference for implied
rather than actual readers to suggest that post-Christian women’s biblicalism is an unexpected aspect of women’s spiritual reading practices. Finally, using examples from the
fieldwork, I illustrate one of the ways post-Christian women’s biblicalism emerges in this
research, as the women employ ‘filtering’ strategies to monitor their acceptance and use
of the biblical texts in their spiritual lives
Age-related degeneration of the lumbar paravertebral muscles: Systematic review and three-level meta-regression
No full textMorphological changes of the lumbar spine muscles are not well characterised with ageing. To further the understanding of age-related degeneration of the lumbar spine musculature, normative morphological changes that occur within the paravertebral muscles must first be established.
Methods
A systematic review and meta-regressions were conducted adhering to PRISMA guidelines. Searches for published and unpublished data were completed in June 2019.
Results
Searches returned 4781 articles. 34 articles were included in the quantitative analysis. Three-level meta-analyses showed age-related atrophy (r = −0.26; 95% CI: −0.33, −0.17) and fat infiltration (r = 0.39; 95% CI: 0.28, 0.50) in the lumbar paravertebral muscles. Degenerative changes were muscle-specific and men (r = −0.32; 95% CI: −0.61, 0.01) exhibited significantly greater muscle atrophy than women (r = −0.24; 95% CI: −0.47, 0.03). Imaging modality, specifically ultrasound, also influenced age-related muscle atrophy. Measurements taken across all lumbar levels revealed the greatest fat infiltration with ageing (r = 0.58, 95% CI: 0.35, 0.74). Moderators explained a large proportion of between-study variance in true effects for muscle atrophy (72.6%) and fat infiltration (79.8%) models.
Conclusions
Lumbar paravertebral muscles undergo age-related degeneration in healthy adults with muscle, lumbar level and sex-specific responses. Future studies should use high-resolution imaging modalities to quantify muscle atrophy and fat infiltration
Pluralising practical theology: international and multi-traditional challenges and opportunities
Get PDFThis is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Practical Theology on 23/02/2020, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/1756073X.2020.1728960The entrance of international practical theologians of all faiths and none into the traditionally Western-centric, Christian-dominated field in the UK prompts the review of its scope and methodology. This paper argues for a shared conversation on how to achieve constructive and authentic participation for all. A recent survey of alumni from four UK-based Professional Doctorates in Practical Theology highlights omissions and opportunities, and points towards an agenda for intentional and effective pluralization. Evangelical principles and Christian liberation theology suggest internal strategies to counter possible resistance to undoing the Christian hegemony
The complex tapestry of relationships which surround adoptive families: A case study.
Get PDFThis is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Education 3-13 on 17/03/2020, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2020.1742186This small-scale study examines the experiences encountered by a group ofparentsintheirendeavourstosupporttheirchildrentosettleandthrive, both infamily lifeand school.The study identifies how a ‘complextapestry of relationships’ exists both within and beyond adoptive families, which influences children’s developmental and educational outcomes. Conflicting relationships emerged between: foster carers and adoptive parents, paired siblings, and adoptive parents and teachers. Enhanced understanding of the complexities and tensions which may exist will help school practitioners to identify approaches and strategies that can be used with children and families to promote adopted children’s self- identity, well-being and their capacity to function and learn inside classrooms
Factors that may continue to impact a mother’s emotional wellbeing once her child’s treatment for cancer has completed and their implications for ongoing support
Get PDFThis research explores factors that may continue to impact a mother’s emotional wellbeing once her child’s treatment for cancer has completed. Research indicates that, contrary to a general expectation of experiencing joy as treatment ends, some families experience very mixed emotions, with fear playing a large part, both leading up to treatment completion and, for some, continuing post-treatment. However, there is no literature that explores a mother’s emotional wellbeing after a number of years’ post-treatment. This research is a contribution towards addressing that deficit. Five mothers were interviewed using semi-structured questions to gather data relating to their specific lived experiences. These were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Results indicate that although end of treatment was longed for, there continues to be much uncertainty and fear post-treatment, and this can continue years after treatment has ended. Mothers described changes within themselves (e.g. new attitudes to living) and a need to adapt to a ‘new normal’. There were elements of grief for the loss of family life with which they were once so familiar. There was also a strong sense of wanting to support others, so that their own experiences weren’t wasted. All participants recognised that further counselling support for themselves would be beneficial
Higher order time stepping methods for subdiffusion problems based on weighted and shifted Grünwald–Letnikov formulae with nonsmooth data
Get PDFTwo higher order time stepping methods for solving subdiffusion problems are studied in this paper.
The Caputo time fractional derivatives are approximated by using the weighted and shifted Gr\"unwald-Letnikov formulae
introduced in Tian et al. [Math. Comp. 84 (2015), pp. 2703-2727]. After correcting a few starting steps, the proposed time
stepping methods have the optimal convergence orders and , respectively for any fixed time for both smooth and nonsmooth data. The error estimates are proved by directly bounding the approximation errors of the kernel functions. Moreover, we also present briefly the applicabilities of
our time stepping schemes to various other fractional evolution equations. Finally,
some numerical examples are given to show that the numerical results are consistent with the proven theoretical results
Finite-time blow-up of a non-local stochastic parabolic problem
Get PDFThe main aim of the current work is the study of the conditions under which (finite-time) blow-up of a non-local stochastic parabolic problem occurs.
We first establish the existence and uniqueness of the local-in-time weak solution for such problem.
The first part of the manuscript deals with the investigation of the conditions which guarantee the occurrence of noise-induced blow-up. In the second part we first prove the -spatial regularity of the solution. Then, based on this regularity result, and using a strong positivity result we derive, for first in the literature of SPDEs, a Hopf's type boundary value point lemma. The preceding results together with Kaplan's eigenfunction method are then employed to provide a (non-local) drift term induced blow-up result. In the last part of the paper, we present a method which provides an upper bound of the probability of (non-local) drift term induced blow-up
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