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Objective: Substance use has increasingly been linked to the onset of catatonic episodes; however, no large observational studies have examined this association. This study aimed to identify catatonic episodes temporally associated with acute intoxication, withdrawal or chronic substance use, investigate which substances were involved, and compare clinical characteristics of substance-related and non-substance-related catatonic episodes. Methods: This study retrospectively identified all catatonic episodes recorded in an electronic case register hosted at a large secondary mental health trust in London, UK. Episodes were categorized as substance-related if the clinical record reported either a positive urine drug screen, an ICD-10 diagnosis of a mental or behavioral disorder due to substance use, or documented substance use between two weeks prior to the catatonic episode and the date of the catatonic episode. Results: 108 of 2130 catatonic episodes (5.1%) were deemed substance-related. The number of contemporaneously reported substance-related episodes increased between 2007 and 2016 [r = 0.72, p = 0.02]. Episodes in the context of acute intoxication (n = 54) were most frequently related to cannabis (n = 31) or cocaine (n = 5) use, whilst those in the context of drug withdrawal (n = 8) were most commonly related to alcohol, opioids and benzodiazepines. There were 50 episodes of catatonia associated with chronic substance use without intoxication or withdrawal, of which the majority were related to cannabis use (n = 37). 21 episodes had overlapping intoxication, withdrawal and chronic use of different substances within an episode. Compared to catatonic episodes not related to substance use, episodes of substance-related catatonia occurred in individuals who were younger (mean age 31.3 years [SD 12.2] vs 35.7 years [SD 16.3], p = 0.01) and more likely to be men (74.0% vs 54.3%, p < 0.001). The clinical features of catatonia were similar between the two groups. Conclusions: A relatively small proportion of catatonic episodes were temporally associated with reported substance use within their electronic records. Substance-related catatonic episodes were mostly related to cannabis use, but other substances including cocaine, alcohol, opioids and benzodiazepines were sometimes implicated. This is likely an underestimate of substance-related catatonia use due to issues with documentation and appropriate investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For many years, a key driver for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) has been ensuring that students are prepared for employment post-graduation. This has often resulted in HEIs providing specific modules of study focussing on employability and soft skills. The existing research literature presents a variety of strategies for embedding employability within curricula, often focusing on frameworks to review the provision of employability opportunities within a degree programme. The authors have previously investigated an employability module within an Undergraduate Chemistry Programme at their UK HEI, particularly focusing on students' perceptions – these coalesced around the themes of personal progression, relevance of the module and interactions. However, before using these findings to further develop the module, it was deemed necessary to investigate the module in a different context. This study investigates the employability module in an Australian HEI and its delivery to undergraduate and postgraduate students from a range of different disciplines. Free text comments from questionnaires answered by 85 participants were subjected to thematic analysis in order to understand students' perceptions of the module in this new context. The new thematic map was compared to that from the original study to reveal several key similarities and differences between students' perceptions. However, the most important finding is thast employability modules should be tailored to a specific cohort to ensure they are aligned with their needs. This suggests that Central University employability module providers should work closely with individual departments to maximise the impact of these for students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recognising the importance of graduates being equipped with appropriate employability skills alongside their subject-specific skills, we have had transferable skills training embedded throughout our degree programmes for 30 years. More recently, a specific employability skills module for final-year honours students has been created. This module consists of a programme of activities supporting employability skills, which was delivered to final-year undergraduate students from 2012 to 2015. A key feature in the development and delivery of these activities was the involvement of external experts. Detailed questionnaires have captured student perceptions and thematic analysis has revealed key themes. The module has been perceived to be highly useful, resulting in significant increases in students' confidence across key areas of employability skills. Furthermore, students may hold skewed perceptions of the relevance of generic employability skills to their chosen career path. This fact should be considered when delivering employability skills programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Basic mathematical fluency is a prerequisite for success in a wide array of areas in biology and it has been noted that many students are deficient in this skill. In this paper, the use of asimulatedpeer-assessment activity is investigated as a method to improve performance in numerical problem-solving questions in high school biology. Additionally, the benefits of usingsimulated, rather than real, student’s answers in peer-assessment is discussed. The study involved a small cohort of students who carried out asimulatedpeer-assessment as a classroom activity and their improvement in performance and attitude towards the activity was measured. The results demonstrate that asimulatedpeer-assessment activity is suitable as a replacement for standard peer-assessment and that students’ attitudes favour the simulated approach. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The gastrointestinal tract represents the largest immune interface with the environment. Exposure to large numbers of dietary and microbial antigens requires complex and highly regulated intestinal immune responses by different immune cell types for the maintenance of oral tolerance. Defective immune homeostasis can cause gut barrier dysfunction and breakdown of tolerance, leading to chronic inflammation and autoimmunity. In this review, we summarize the key immune cell populations involved in oral tolerance. We also describe diet-modifiable aspects of gut immunity that alter the intricate balance between inflammatory and tolerogenic immune responses in the gut and contribute to disease development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study is a follow-up to the study by Coleman (1990), which found that the incidence of diabetes reduced in non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice when chloroform-methanol soluble substances were removed from a cereal-based diet. We used a 2:1 chloroform-methanol (C-M) mixture to extract C-M soluble sphingolipids and proteins from wheat gluten. The C-M extract was subjected to silica gel chromatography and saponification to remove triglycerides, glycolipids and phospholipids. This sphingolipid-enriched fraction from wheat gluten was subsequently incorporated into a BioBreeding diabetes-prone (BBdp) rat diet. Five diets were fed over a 120-day period to BBdp rats: a negative control hydrolysed casein (HC) diet, a positive control National Toxicology Program 2000 (NTP 2000) diet, a wheat gluten (WG)-based diet, a WGGSLF diet containing the WG residue remaining after chloroform-methanol extraction, and a hydrolysed casein plus sphingolipid-enriched fraction (HCGSL) diet. There was a significant increase in diabetes incidence in rats fed the HC + wheat sphingolipid diet versus the HC diet at days 70 and 80 of the feeding study, but not at the end of the study (120 days). There were no significant differences in diabetes incidence in rats fed the WG diet and WG diet with sphingolipids removed. There were no significant differences in pancreatic insulitis scores or in the numbers of jejunal CD4+ and γδTCR + T cells in BBdp rats due to the dietary addition or absence of CM soluble substances from wheat gluten. Sera IFN-γ levels were significantly higher in the sphingolipid-removed WG diet group compared to the BBdp rats in the other four diet groups. Overall, the results of this study provide some evidence for a slight promotional effect of C-M soluble sphingolipids and proteins in wheat gluten on the incidence of diabetes and up-regulation of immune responses in the BBdp rat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]