Investigating the impact of a psychoanalytic nursing development group within an adolescent psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU)

Objective To evaluate the impact of an adapted psychoanalytic work discussion group for mental health nurses working in adolescent PICU. Background There is no prior research investigating interventions that effectively support and enable adolescent PICU nursing teams to sustain the therapeutic tasks of their work and their own sense of wellbeing. Methods A bespoke psychoanalytic work discussion group was implemented within an adolescent PICU. Data was collected using in-depth semi-structured interviews with participants, about the impact of the group upon their practice. Data analysis used thematic analysis. Results The group positively impacted upon participant knowledge and understanding, emotion management, personal efficacy, therapeutic relationship building, managing challenging behaviour, leadership, professional identity and team cohesion. Conclusion Mechanisms by which these outcomes were achieved are elaborated utilising the concepts of projective identification, emotional containment and ‘temporary outsider-ship’. There is a need to account for the interplay between adolescent defense mechanisms, nursing anxieties and setting-specific organisational dynamics, in the design of effective support interventions for adolescent mental health nurses

Cold Temperature Preference In Bacterially Infected Drosophila Melanogaster Improves Survival But Is Remarkably Suboptimal

Altering one\u27s temperature preference (e.g. behavioral fever or behavioral chill) is a common immune defense among ectotherms that is likely to be evolutionarily conserved. However, the temperature chosen by an infected host may not be optimal for pathogen defense, causing preference to be inefficient. Here we examined the efficiency of temperature preference in Drosophila melanogaster infected with an LD50 of the gram negative bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa. To this end, we estimated the host\u27s uninfected and infected temperature preferences as well as their optimal survival temperature. We found that flies decreased their preference from 26.3 °C to 25.2 °C when infected, and this preference was stable over 48 h. Furthermore, the decrease in temperature preference was associated with an increased chance of surviving the infection. Nevertheless, the infected temperature preference did not coincide with the optimum temperature for infection survival, which lies at or below 21.4 °C. These data suggest that the behavioral response to P. aeruginosa infection is considerably inefficient, and the mechanisms that may account for this pattern are discussed. Future studies of infected temperature preferences should document its efficiency, as this understudied aspect of behavioral immunity can provide important insight into preference evolution

Cold temperature preference in bacterially infected Drosophila melanogaster improves survival but is remarkably suboptimal

Altering one\u27s temperature preference (e.g. behavioral fever or behavioral chill) is a common immune defense among ectotherms that is likely to be evolutionarily conserved. However, the temperature chosen by an infected host may not be optimal for pathogen defense, causing preference to be inefficient. Here we examined the efficiency of temperature preference in Drosophila melanogaster infected with an LD50 of the gram negative bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa. To this end, we estimated the host\u27s uninfected and infected temperature preferences as well as their optimal survival temperature. We found that flies decreased their preference from 26.3 °C to 25.2 °C when infected, and this preference was stable over 48 h. Furthermore, the decrease in temperature preference was associated with an increased chance of surviving the infection. Nevertheless, the infected temperature preference did not coincide with the optimum temperature for infection survival, which lies at or below 21.4 °C. These data suggest that the behavioral response to P. aeruginosa infection is considerably inefficient, and the mechanisms that may account for this pattern are discussed. Future studies of infected temperature preferences should document its efficiency, as this understudied aspect of behavioral immunity can provide important insight into preference evolution