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The detection of novel stimuli is critical to learn and survive in a dynamic environment. Though novel stimuli powerfully affect brain activity, their impact on specific cell types and circuits is not well understood. Disinhibition is one candidate mechanism for novelty-induced enhancements in activity. Here we characterize the impact of stimulus novelty on disinhibitory circuit components using longitudinal 2-photon calcium imaging of Vip, Sst, and excitatory populations in the mouse visual cortex. Mice learn a behavioral task with stimuli that become highly familiar, then are tested on both familiar and novel stimuli. Mice consistently perform the task with novel stimuli, yet responses to stimulus presentations and stimulus omissions are dramatically altered. Further, we find that novelty modifies coding of visual as well as behavioral and task information. At the population level, the direction of these changes is consistent with engagement of the Vip-Sst disinhibitory circuit. At the single cell level, we identify separate clusters of Vip, Sst, and excitatory cells with unique patterns of novelty-induced coding changes. This study and the accompanying open-access dataset reveals the impact of novelty on sensory and behavioral representations in visual cortical circuits and establishes novelty as a key driver of cellular functional diversity.

Diagnostic Radiography plays a major role in the diagnosis and management of patients with Covid-19. This has seen an increase in the demand for imaging services, putting pressure on the workforce. Diagnostic radiographers, as with many other healthcare professions, have been on the frontline, dealing with an unprecedented situation. This research aimed to explore the experience of diagnostic radiographers working clinically during the Covid-19 pandemic. Influenced by interpretative phenomenology, this study explored the experiences of diagnostic radiographers using virtual focus group interviews as a method of data collection. Data were analysed independently by four researchers and five themes emerged from the data. Adapting to new ways of working, feelings and emotions, support mechanisms, self-protection and resilience, and professional recognition. The adaptability of radiographers came across strongly in this study. Anxieties attributed to the provision of personal protective equipment (PPE), fear of contracting the virus and spreading it to family members were evident. The resilience of radiographers working throughout this pandemic came across strongly throughout this study. A significant factor for coping has been peer support from colleagues within the workplace. The study highlighted the lack of understanding of the role of the radiographer and how the profession is perceived by other health care professionals. This study highlights the importance of interprofessional working and that further work is required in the promotion of the profession. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2021 The College of Radiographers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.]

The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020 posed significant challenges to the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom (UK). Existing workforce shortages were further exacerbated with staff absence, and the need to redeploy staff into frontline clinical areas became a necessity.The exploration of the experiences of an Advanced Practitioner Radiographer volunteering in the Intensive Treatment Unit (ITU) during the Covid-19 pandemic.Interview using Microsoft Teams© involving one participant facilitated by two researchers using a semi-structured interview schedule.Redeployment to ITU has allowed individuals to work outside of their normal scope of practice. The non-hierarchical structure within teams, focussed minds and demonstrated interprofessional collaboration at its best, ensuring the best patient care was delivered to those critically affected by the virus.The interprofessional practice demonstrated in ITU during the pandemic should be applied to future learning and training opportunities, to develop individuals and prepare for future pandemics.

Marriage and family therapists are uniquely poised to work with entire families, including children. It is surprising then, that so few MFTs affiliate with play therapy. Many COAMFTE accredited mas...

Introduction In screening mammography, the radiographer should be responsible for providing mammograms of high diagnostic value, possibly without subjecting clients to a painful experience. This skill is demonstrated via the technique of breast compression and is explored in this study by analysing insights about methods and underlying principles in regards to this procedure. Methods One-to-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with radiographers who perform screening mammography in Malta. For data analysis, a descriptive phenomenological approach following a simplified version of Hycner's (1985) method was adopted. Results Five general themes were extracted from the data; meeting the client, preparing the client, the mammography procedure, pain from compression and client turnout. It was determined that the participants alter their breast compression technique according to the client rather than following a rigid step-by-step process and that explanation and requesting client feedback are essential to obtain cooperation. Additionally, mammography positioning and compression application are tailored in a way that encourage compliance, however not at the expense of degrading image quality. Ultimately, it is also believed that a proper breast compression technique positively influences client turnout. Conclusion The results of this study demonstrate that radiographers should be flexible in their approach in order to carry out a successful breast compression technique. However, it has also been shown that such effectiveness in practice is gained from experience rather than initial training. If exposed to this study's findings, new mammographers would be able to form a robust core of knowledge before embarking on the challenging specialisation of mammography.

The anatomy of the mammalian visual system, from the retina to the neocortex, is organized hierarchically

Introduction This study explores the expectations and experiences of newly qualified diagnostic radiographers during their transition into practice. Methods This was a longitudinal study using interpretative phenomenological analysis methodology. Data were gathered from four students who participated in a focus group. This informed semi structured interviews with a further eight students who were interviewed prior to starting work and three times over the following twelve months. Results Themes generated from the data included; experience, fitting in, and identity. Conclusion This study brings to light the experiences of newly qualified diagnostic radiographers. The findings are open to theoretical generalizability and raise issues that may be used by academic staff in the preparation of students and managers who support newly qualified staff members.

Introduction This paper is an exploration of service user involvement in assessing first year diagnostic radiography students' ability to practise and interact with the public safely prior to attending placement. Service users took the role of patients during a simulation exercise undertaken in a general X-ray room. In recent years the importance of involving service users in all aspects of healthcare has been promoted; this includes being involved in the education of healthcare workers. The evaluation of service user involvement in the education of healthcare workers is limited, as is any literature about service user involvement outside nursing, mental health, and social work. Method Feedback was obtained via email and face to face via a focus group from academic staff, service users and students using open questions. Results The benefits of service user involvement were that it made the exercise more relevant and meaningful. It was perceived as a valuable exercise for the students to interact with service users in terms of developing, and for assessing, patient care, communication and positioning skills. The service users valued the experience. Issues highlighted include travel to the venue and the physical demands on the service user. Concerns highlighted by previous authors of preparation of the service users for their role, and remuneration had been addressed prior to the exercise. Conclusion There is increasing diversity in the ways in which service users are involved in education. Service user involvement as patients in a simulation exercise for student assessment was deemed successful in this setting.

Introduction\ud Failures in interprofessional communication are well-documented and are an established cause of medical error and negative health outcomes. Socio-historical issues like imbalances in power and status are particularly prevalent in the operating theatre environment, adding complications to interprofessional working. Simulation, used in healthcare education, may impact positively on interprofessional working.\ud \ud Methods\ud The aim of this action research study was to develop, pilot and run a simulation experience for Diagnostic Radiography (DRAD) students. Action research was used to structure this study.\ud The first phase of the action research was to look at the problem; this was undertaken using critical incident technique. Findings from the critical incident technique influenced the simulation event. A focus group was held immediately after the event for reflection. A second simulation using a cohort of 48 students and a reflection after a period of three months formed the second round of the project.\ud The simulation took place in a hi-fidelity simulated operating theatre. Thematic content analysis was undertaken of the focus group, data from the critical incident technique, and the reflections. \ud \ud Results\ud The findings are discussed under the themes; identification, clarity, preparation, and the expert.\ud Identification and lack of clarity in communication were seen as an important issue in the operating theatre. Lack of preparation of the working environment was also highlighted.\ud Lack of confidence in the operating theatre inhibits interprofessional working.\ud \ud Conclusion\ud Simulation can help prepare students for working in the operating theatre. Realism is important as is scheduling the event to ensure maximum benefit.

Perceiving abnormal regions in the images of different medical modalities plays a crucial role in diagnosis and subsequent treatment planning. In medical images to visually perceive abnormalities' extent and boundaries requires substantial experience. Consequently, manually drawn region of interest (ROI) to outline boundaries of abnormalities suffers from limitations of human perception leading to inter-observer variability. As an alternative to human drawn ROI, it is proposed the use of a computer-based segmentation algorithm to segment digital medical image data.Hierarchical Clustering-based Segmentation (HCS) process is a generic unsupervised segmentation process that can be used to segment dissimilar regions in digital images. HCS process generates a hierarchy of segmented images by partitioning an image into its constituent regions at hierarchical levels of allowable dissimilarity between its different regions. The hierarchy represents the continuous merging of similar, spatially adjacent, and/or disjoint regions as the allowable threshold value of dissimilarity between regions, for merging, is gradually increased.This chapter discusses in detail first the implementation of the HCS process, second the implementation details of how the HCS process is used for the presentation of multi-modal imaging data (MALDI and MRI) of a biological sample, third the implementation details of how the process is used as a perception aid for X-ray mammogram readers, and finally the implementation details of how it is used as an interpretation aid for the interpretation of Multi-parametric Magnetic Resonance Imaging (mpMRI) of the Prostate.

Perceiving abnormal regions in the images of different medical modalities plays a crucial role in diagnosis and subsequent treatment planning. In medical images to visually perceive abnormalities' extent and boundaries requires substantial experience. Consequently, manually drawn region of interest (ROI) to outline boundaries of abnormalities suffers from limitations of human perception leading to inter-observer variability. As an alternative to human drawn ROI, it is proposed the use of a computer-based segmentation algorithm to segment digital medical image data.Hierarchical Clustering-based Segmentation (HCS) process is a generic unsupervised segmentation process that can be used to segment dissimilar regions in digital images. HCS process generates a hierarchy of segmented images by partitioning an image into its constituent regions at hierarchical levels of allowable dissimilarity between its different regions. The hierarchy represents the continuous merging of similar, spatially adjacent, and/or disjoint regions as the allowable threshold value of dissimilarity between regions, for merging, is gradually increased.This chapter discusses in detail first the implementation of the HCS process, second the implementation details of how the HCS process is used for the presentation of multi-modal imaging data (MALDI and MRI) of a biological sample, third the implementation details of how the process is used as a perception aid for X-ray mammogram readers, and finally the implementation details of how it is used as an interpretation aid for the interpretation of Multi-parametric Magnetic Resonance Imaging (mpMRI) of the Prostate.

Diagnostic radiography is a science based health course. Due to the variation in science background of the students at entry level the imaging science modules can be problematic. Enquiry based learning (EBL) was introduced as teaching strategy in an imaging science module in order to promote learner autonomy and enhance the student experience. The module was evaluated using a questionnaire containing both open and closed questions. The impact of working as a team was a strong theme emerging from the evaluation of the project, with the majority of students viewing teamwork as beneficial to their learning. It was identified that they gained support from the team, and this assisted their learning. The enhancement of transferable skills and the promotion of learner autonomy were achieved. Areas for further investigation are the utilisation of peer assessment and a science event for the summative assessment.

Over the past two decades, mental skills training (MST) has experienced a tremendous surge in popularity, yet MST is not without its critics, including some athletes and coaches. Additionally, a number of concerns have arisen about mental training effectiveness, and its ability to maximize athlete development, performance, and peaking. Periodization is a systematic program development and implementation strategy that holds promise for enhancing mental training effectiveness and combating some of the problems currently limiting MST interventions. Thus, the purpose of this conceptual paper was threefold. First, periodization concepts are introduced by demonstrating how they are utilized to systematically guide physical training. Second, strategies to adapt periodization concepts to enhance mental training programs are examined, along with techniques to integrate physical and mental training, including: mental training tool and skill periodization plans and mental training drill menus. Finally, a case study ...

Purpose There has been recent interest in National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) in the field of Radiography. The purpose of this analysis was to examine the positive and negative aspects of the NVQ, both the structural and the contextual, from the candidate's perspective and to generate hypotheses that can be tested by further research. Method Secondary sources such as personal accounts, or accounts of other people interviewing were used for this qualitative analysis. An extensive literature search revealed five articles containing comments both from assistants who have or are currently undertaking the NVQ in Care. Content analysis was undertaken on these comments. Triangulation of the results was obtained using a government report by Callendar (Individual take-up of NVQ/SVQs: stimuli and obstacles. Research Studies RS48. Department for Education and Employment; 1997) and from a satisfaction survey undertaken by South Nottinghamshire College. Results The analysis looked at five issues: how they valued the course, reasons for undertaking the course, comments on the structure of the course, the support needed and the issue of age and progression. Conclusion NVQs are viewed mainly in a positive light with the candidates gaining confidence and improving their skills at work. Motivation to undertake this qualification was the desire to improve and progress, there were however perceived barriers to progression from the NVQ in terms of age and financial implications. The fact that NVQs are work based was viewed as an advantage but the amount of work involved and the time consuming nature of this was highlighted. Support is vital to NVQ candidates, both in time and assistance.

Objective: The national breast screening quality assurance (QA) guidelines state that medio-lateral oblique mammograms (MLO) should achieve the pectoral muscle to nipple level in 75% of cases using a line parallel to the horizontal edge of the film (PL). An alternative method would be to use a line at 90 degrees to the tangent of the breast at the point of the nipple (TM). The aim of this study was to evaluate these methods. Method: Questionnaires were sent to all breast screening units requesting that 50 randomly selected technically adequate MLOs be evaluated using the PL and TM. Results: From 54 replies (52%) the mean percentage for the PL was 40.5% (range 19–89). Only one unit achieved the QA objective. The mean percentage for the TM was 93% (range 83–100). P Conclusion: The PL method for assessing the pectoral muscle to nipple level is reproducible but cannot be achieved in the majority of cases. The QA guidelines' target would be achievable if the TM was used to assess the pectoral muscle to nipple level. However some doubts have been raised as to the reproducibility of this method. As all the mammograms were deemed technically adequate the indication is that the QA guidelines are unachievable rather than there being a short fall in the quality of the mammograms.

We feel honored to be selected to react to the competitive anxiety portion of Lew Hardy’s Coleman Grif6th Address from the 19% AAASP Conference. Not only have we long considered Lew one of the brightest and most prolific scholars in our field, but he is also an independent and creative thinker who has pioneered several new approaches to the conceptualization and measurement of anxiety. In reacting to Hardy’s first myth that cognitive anxiety is always detrimental to sport performance, we must first acknowledge that we have many more areas of agreement than disagreement with his major points about competitive anxiety. First, we agree that many ideas about competitive anxiety are outdated and need to be overhauled. particularly how the construct is defined and measured. Second, we acknowledge that as currently measured (e.g., CSAI-2, Martens, Burton, Vealey, Bump & Smith, 1990). competitive anxiety can be both facilitative and debilitative to performance. Third, we concur that anxiety researchers should spend less time looking at the individual effects of multidimensional anxiety components and spend more time investigating the interaction between cognitive and somatic anxiety and their joint impact on performance. Finally, we are in general agreement with Hardy’s implications for practitioners, even though we recommend modifying these suggestions somewhat to be consistent with the definitional and psychometric points that this reaction addresses. Nevertheless, the focus of our reaction is centered around two major areas where we disagree with Hardy, specifically: (a) how he defines competitive anxiety

The costimulatory molecule CD27 is constitutively expressed on the majority of mature T cells, memory B cells, and a portion of NK cells. The interaction of CD27 with its ligand CD70 plays an important role in effector capacity and memory in T cells; in clonal B cell expansion and germinal center formation; and in NK cell cytolytic activity. Agonistic anti-mouse CD27 mAbs have been shown to have potent anti-tumor activity. A panel of fully human antibodies recognizing human CD27 was generated and we have previously shown that our lead clone (1F5) can mediate anti-tumor effects using the BCL1 B-lymphoma line in human CD27-transgenic (hCD27-Tg) mice. In order to further investigate the mechanism of this anti-hCD27 monoclonal and its activity in a therapeutic setting we assessed anti-tumor activity using the CT26 murine colon carcinoma line. CT26 cells were delivered s.c. to hCD27-Tg animals and five doses of 1F5 were delivered to mice i.p. beginning on days 3, 5, or 7. In multiple experiments, tumor growth in mice treated with 1F5 was substantially delayed or prevented compared to that of control-treated mice. When 1F5-treated surviving mice were rechallenged with CT26 cells, without additional anti-CD27 antibody treatment, tumors did not grow in most animals. These data support the continued clinical development of this anti-CD27 mAb to enhance immune responses in cancer therapy. Investigations of immune cell subset depletions and combination therapies are ongoing.