The relationship between priestly motivational styles and personal wellbeing in ministry : exploring the connection between religious orientation and purpose in life among Catholic priests serving in Italy

This study examines the association between priestly motivation (accessed via the psychological notion of religious orientation) and personal wellbeing (accessed via the psychological notion of purpose in life) among a sample of 155 Catholic priests serving in Italy. The data confirm a positive association between intrinsic religious orientation and purpose in life, but a negative association between quest religious orientation and purpose in life. These findings are discussed in light of the expectations placed on Catholic priests by the Church and by society

Intervention effects of Ganoderma lucidum spores on epileptiform discharge hippocampal neurons and expression of Neurotrophin-4 and N-Cadherin

Epilepsy can cause cerebral transient dysfunctions. Ganoderma lucidum spores (GLS), a traditional Chinese medicinal herb, has shown some antiepileptic effects in our previous studies. This was the first study of the effects of GLS on cultured primary hippocampal neurons, treated with Mg2+ free medium. This in vitro model of epileptiform discharge hippocampal neurons allowed us to investigate the anti-epileptic effects and mechanism of GLS activity. Primary hippocampal neurons from <1 day old rats were cultured and their morphologies observed under fluorescence microscope. Neurons were confirmed by immunofluorescent staining of neuron specific enolase (NSE). Sterile method for GLS generation was investigated and serial dilutions of GLS were used to test the maximum non-toxic concentration of GLS on hippocampal neurons. The optimized concentration of GLS of 0.122 mg/ml was identified and used for subsequent analysis. Using the in vitro model, hippocampal neurons were divided into 4 groups for subsequent treatment i) control, ii) model (incubated with Mg2+ free medium for 3 hours), iii) GLS group I (incubated with Mg2+ free medium containing GLS for 3 hours and replaced with normal medium and incubated for 6 hours) and iv) GLS group II (neurons incubated with Mg2+ free medium for 3 hours then replaced with a normal medium containing GLS for 6 hours). Neurotrophin-4 and N-Cadherin protein expression were detected using Western blot. The results showed that the number of normal hippocampal neurons increased and the morphologies of hippocampal neurons were well preserved after GLS treatment. Furthermore, the expression of neurotrophin-4 was significantly increased while the expression of N-Cadherin was decreased in the GLS treated group compared with the model group. This data indicates that GLS may protect hippocampal neurons by promoting neurotrophin-4 expression and inhibiting N-Cadherin expression

Dynamic vibronic coupling in InGaAs quantum dots

The electron-phonon coupling in self-assembled InGaAs quantum dots is relatively weak at low light intensities, which means that the zero-phonon line in emission is strong compared to the phonon sideband. However, the coupling to acoustic phonons can be dynamically enhanced in the presence of an intense optical pulse tuned within the phonon sideband. Recent experiments have shown that this dynamic vibronic coupling can enable population inversion to be achieved when pumping with a blue-shifted laser and for rapid de-excitation of an inverted state with red detuning. In this paper we confirm the incoherent nature of the phonon-assisted pumping process and explore the temperature dependence of the mechanism. We also show that a combination of blue- and red-shifted pulses can create and destroy an exciton within a timescale ∼ 20 ps determined by the pulse duration and ultimately limited by the phonon thermalisation time

An in vitro spinal cord injury model to screen neuroregenerative materials

Implantable 'structural bridges' based on nanofabricated polymer scaffolds have great promise to aid spinal cord regeneration. Their development (optimal formulations, surface functionalizations, safety, topographical influences and degradation profiles) is heavily reliant on live animal injury models. These have several disadvantages including invasive surgical procedures, ethical issues, high animal usage, technical complexity and expense. In vitro 3-D organotypic slice arrays could offer a solution to overcome these challenges, but their utility for nanomaterials testing is undetermined. We have developed an in vitro model of spinal cord injury that replicates stereotypical cellular responses to neurological injury in vivo, viz. reactive gliosis, microglial infiltration and limited nerve fibre outgrowth. We describe a facile method to safely incorporate aligned, poly-lactic acid nanofibre meshes (±poly-lysine + laminin coating) within injury sites using a lightweight construct. Patterns of nanotopography induced outgrowth/alignment of astrocytes and neurons in the in vitro model were strikingly similar to that induced by comparable materials in related studies in vivo. This highlights the value of our model in providing biologically-relevant readouts of the regeneration-promoting capacity of synthetic bridges within the complex environment of spinal cord lesions. Our approach can serve as a prototype to develop versatile bio-screening systems to identify materials/combinatorial strategies for regenerative medicine, whilst reducing live animal experimentation.EPSRC Doctoral Training Centre in regenerative medicine (EP/F500491/1

Self-Reported Wisdom and Happiness: An Empirical Investigation

Possible tensions between wisdom and happiness have been extensively debated in philosophy. Some regard wisdom as the 'supreme part of happiness', whereas other think that a more accurate and wiser view on reality might reduce happiness. Analyzing a Dutch internet survey of 7037 respondents, we discovered that wisdom and happiness were modestly positively related. Wisdom, measured with the Three-Dimensional Wisdom Scale (3D-WS), explained 9.2% of the variation in hedonic happiness. The correlation with the reflective dimension of wisdom was the strongest. In addition, wisdom was more important for happiness among adults with only an elementary education. Our results suggest that happiness and wisdom do not conflict