University of Bedfordshire

About: University of Bedfordshire is a education organization based out in Luton, Bedford, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 3860 authors who have published 6079 publications receiving 143448 citations. The organization is also known as: University of Luton.

Neuropsychological functioning in older people with Type 2 diabetes: the effect of controlling for confounding factors

Abstract: Aims and methods Neuropsychological functioning was examined in a group of 33 older (mean age 62.40 ± 9.62 years) people with Type 2 diabetes (Group 1) and 33 non-diabetic participants matched with Group 1 on age, sex, premorbid intelligence and presence of hypertension and cardio/cerebrovascular conditions (Group 2). Results Data statistically corrected for confounding factors obtained from the diabetic group were compared with the matched control group. The results suggested small cognitive deficits in diabetic people’s verbal memory and mental flexibility (Logical Memory A and SS7). No differences were seen between the two samples in simple and complex visuomotor attention, sustained complex visual attention, attention efficiency, mental double tracking, implicit memory, and self-reported memory problems. Conclusions These findings indicate minimal cognitive impairment in relatively uncomplicated Type 2 diabetes and demonstrate the importance of control and matching for confounding factors.

Psychoanalysis and Ethics in Documentary Film

Abstract: Psychoanalysis has been used extensively in film studies from the late 1960s and 1970s onwards. Inspired by Jacques Lacan, the work of Metz and Baudry in France and Mulvey and McCabe in the United Kingdom laid the foundations for film theory that explored the relationship between cinematic systems such as the apparatus and the screen on the one hand and the spectator on the other. The objects of these examinations were exclusively fictional texts. I use psychoanalysis differently through an interrogation of a largely untheorised embodied relationship between the documentary filmmaker and the subject of her or his film from a psychoanalytical perspective. There are many types of documentary film. I focus in this work on films in which a testimony, sometimes dealing with trauma, or an autobiographical account of the other, is gathered by the filmmaker. To this end I work with a number of documentary texts, including my own practice. I look at the potential tensions that these encounters might create between the need to gain as full a disclosure as possible, often fuelled by the filmmaker’s unconscious desire (which may or may not coincide with the consciously stated aim), and the ethical responsibility for the subject of the film. I suggest that a variety of unconscious mechanisms known from clinical psychoanalytical practice might be operating in the process of documentary filmmaking. These unconscious ‘hidden’ factors, notably transference, have a major influence on the decisions made in the creation of the final texts and therefore also have an impact on the future audiences of these films, which is why it is important to bring them to light. The thesis deals also with ethics of the documentary encounter. Apart from mainly Lacanian psychoanalytical thought, I draw on post-Second World War philosophy dealing with the relationship of the ‘I’ to the Other, led by Emmanuel Levinas, but including Althusser, Badiou, Butler, Derrida and others.

Gene Editing of Microalgae: Scientific Progress and Regulatory Challenges in Europe.

Abstract: It is abundantly clear that the development of gene editing technologies, represents a potentially powerful force for good with regard to human and animal health and addressing the challenges we continue to face in a growing global population. This now includes the development of approaches to modify microalgal strains for potential improvements in productivity, robustness, harvestability, processability, nutritional composition, and application. The rapid emergence and ongoing developments in this area demand a timely review and revision of the current definitions and regulations around genetically modified organisms (GMOs), particularly within Europe. Current practices within the EU provide exemptions from the GMO directives for organisms, including crop plants and micro-organisms that are produced through chemical or UV/radiation mutagenesis. However, organisms generated through gene editing, including microalgae, where only genetic changes in native genes are made, remain currently under the GMO umbrella; they are, as such, excluded from practical and commercial opportunities in the EU. In this review, we will review the advances that are being made in the area of gene editing in microalgae and the impact of regulation on commercial advances in this area with consideration to the current regulatory framework as it relates to GMOs including GM microalgae in Europe.

Facts, Patterns, and Principles in Drug Discovery: Appraising the Rule of 5 with Measured Physicochemical Data.

Abstract: The rule of 5 was designed to estimate the likelihood of poor absorption or permeation, noting the impact of poor solubility. This Perspective explores the impact of various physicochemical descrip...