Influence of mental health literacy on help-seeking behaviour for mental health problems in the Swiss young adult community: a cohort and longitudinal case–control study

Poor knowledge about mental health disorders and their treatment likely contributes to the large treatment gap reported for mental health problems. Therefore, we studied the association between mental health literacy (MHL) and active help-seeking in a community sample. Participants were recruited from an add-on questionnaire study to the 'Bern Epidemiological At-Risk' (BEAR) study on 16-40-year-old community subjects of the Swiss canton Bern. At baseline, data of N = 1504, and at 3-year follow-up, data of N = 535 were available. Based on an unlabelled case vignette (on depression or schizophrenia), MHL was assessed by the questionnaire of Angermeyer and colleagues. Cross-sectional and longitudinal baseline predictors of help-seeking were analysed using path analyses. Additionally, sensitivity analyses of the prospective model were computed for sex, vignette, and baseline mental health problems/disorders. Cross-sectionally, help-seeking was associated with non-endorsement of biogenetic causal explanations, presence of mental health problems/disorders, help-seeking before baseline, poorer functioning, and lower health satisfaction. The prospective model was similar; yet, help-seeking at follow-up was associated with endorsements of the causal explanation 'biogenetics' and, additionally, 'childhood trauma' but not the presence of baseline mental health problems/disorders. Sensitivity analyses revealed a significant impact on sex, vignette, and mental health problems/disorders. For example, actual functional problems were predictive in males, while health satisfaction was predictive in females. Our findings indicate that future studies on drivers of help-seeking should assess very large community samples with case vignettes on different mental disorders to examine appropriate subgroups and their likely interaction to address group-specific factors in awareness campaigns

Identification of the slow E3 transition 136mCs -> 136Cs with conversion electrons

We performed at ISOLDE the spectroscopy of the decay of the 8- isomer in 136Cs by and conversion-electron detection. For the first time the excitation energy of the isomer and the multipolarity of its decay have been measured. The half-life of the isomeric state was remeasured to T1/2 = 17.5(2) s. This isomer decays via a very slow 518 keV E3 transition to the ground state. In addition to this, a much weaker decay branch via a 413 keV M4 and a subsequent 105 keV E2 transition has been found. Thus we have found a new level at 105 keV with spin 4+ between the isomeric and the ground state. The results are discussed in comparison to shell model calculations.Comment: Phys. Rev. C accepted for publicatio

Knowledge-based gene expression classification via matrix factorization

Motivation: Modern machine learning methods based on matrix decomposition techniques, like independent component analysis (ICA) or non-negative matrix factorization (NMF), provide new and efficient analysis tools which are currently explored to analyze gene expression profiles. These exploratory feature extraction techniques yield expression modes (ICA) or metagenes (NMF). These extracted features are considered indicative of underlying regulatory processes. They can as well be applied to the classification of gene expression datasets by grouping samples into different categories for diagnostic purposes or group genes into functional categories for further investigation of related metabolic pathways and regulatory networks. Results: In this study we focus on unsupervised matrix factorization techniques and apply ICA and sparse NMF to microarray datasets. The latter monitor the gene expression levels of human peripheral blood cells during differentiation from monocytes to macrophages. We show that these tools are able to identify relevant signatures in the deduced component matrices and extract informative sets of marker genes from these gene expression profiles. The methods rely on the joint discriminative power of a set of marker genes rather than on single marker genes. With these sets of marker genes, corroborated by leave-one-out or random forest cross-validation, the datasets could easily be classified into related diagnostic categories. The latter correspond to either monocytes versus macrophages or healthy vs Niemann Pick C disease patients.Siemens AG, MunichDFG (Graduate College 638)DAAD (PPP Luso - Alem˜a and PPP Hispano - Alemanas

Psychometric properties of the Kessler psychological scales in a Swiss young‐adult community sample indicate poor suitability for community screening for mental disorders

Aim The Kessler psychological distress scales (K10 and K6) are used as screening tools to assess psychological distress related to the likely presence of a mental disorder. Thus, we studied the psychometric properties of their German versions in a Swiss community sample to evaluate their potential usefulness to screen for mental disorders or relevant mental problems in the community and, relatedly, for low threshold transdiagnostic German-speaking services. Methods The sample consisted of 829 citizens of the Swiss canton Bern of age 19–43 years. K10/K6 were validated against mini-international neuropsychiatric interview (M.I.N.I.) diagnoses, questionnaires about health status and quality of life. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were used to test for general discriminative ability and to select optimal cut-offs of the K10 and K6 for non-psychotic full-blown and subthreshold mental disorders. Results Cronbach's alphas were 0.81 (K10) and 0.70 (K6). ROC analyses indicated much lower optimal thresholds than earlier suggested; 10 for K10 and 6 for K6. At these thresholds, against M.I.N.I. diagnoses, Cohen's κ (≤0.173) and correspondence rates (≤58.14%) were insufficient throughout. Values were higher at the earlier suggested threshold, yet, at the cost of sensitivity that was below 0.5 in all but three, and below 0.3 in all but six cases. Conclusions For the lack of sufficient validity and sensitivity, respectively, our findings suggest that both K10 and K6 would only be of limited use in a low-threshold transdiagnostic mental health service for young adults in Switzerland and likely other German-speaking countries

Exploring the complex relationships between coping strategies, locus of control and self-esteem with psychopathology: structural equation modeling with a special focus on clinical high-risk of psychosis.

Abstract Background Coping strategies, competence, and locus of control (LOC) beliefs are important predictors of mental health (MH). However, research into their complex interactions has produced mixed results. Our study investigated them further in the previously unexplored context of clinical high-risk (CHR) of psychosis. Methods We tested six alternative structural equation models in a community sample (N = 523), hypothesizing a mediating role of coping and treating CHR symptoms as (i) an additional mediator or (ii) a specific outcome. Our measurement model included two latent factors of MH: (1) psychopathology (PP), consisting of presence of mental disorders, global and psychosocial functioning, and (2) self-rated health (SRH) status. Results In the model with the best Akaike Information Criterion and the latent factors as outcome variables, maladaptive coping completely mediated the impact of maladaptive LOC on PP and SRH. Additionally, CHR symptoms partially mediated the effect of maladaptive coping on PP and SRH in the community sample, as long as sex was not entered into the model. In the clinical sample (N = 371), the model did not support a mediation by CHR symptoms, despite significant pathways with both coping and MH outcomes; further, competence beliefs directly impacted SRH. Conclusions Coping strategies are an important intervention target for MH promotion, especially in the community. In clinical populations, interventions focusing on coping strategies may improve CHR symptoms, thus potentially supporting better MH, especially SRH. Additionally, due to their mostly cascading effects on MH, improving competence and LOC beliefs may also promote psychological well-being

The Epidemiology of Injury in English Women's Domestic Club Football: A Single Site Prospective Cohort Study

Background The epidemiology of injury at club level in the English Women’s Domestic Club Football League is unknown. The aim of this study was to estimate the incidence, prevalence, and nature of injury in a single women’s football squad over the course of one season. Study Design Prospective single site cohort study Methods Twenty-five female footballers competing in the English Women’s Championship were observed. Data collection procedures followed the UEFA consensus guidelines (2006). Individual player exposure was recorded for all football related activity and incidence of injury per 1000h was estimated for total, match, and training activity. Prevalence, site, and type of injury was recorded. Epidemiologic incidence proportions, clinical incidence and severity was calculated to provide measures of injury burden and resource management statistics. Results A total of 18 injuries including re-injuries were sustained in 11 players providing a clinical incidence of 0.72 injuries per player. Epidemiological incidence proportion was 0.44 (95% CI: 0.24 – 0.74), thus the average probability that any player would sustain at least one injury was 44% (95% CI: 25% to 63%). The total incidence of injury was 8.0/1000h, 30.6/1000h during match play and 2.2/1000h during training. The most common sites of injury were the knee (5/18, 28%) and thigh (4/18, 22%). There was two (11%) non-time loss and 16 (89%) time-loss injuries recorded. Of the 16 time loss injuries, there were three (19%) severe, five (31%) moderate and six (37%) minor severity injuries. Of the five knee injuries, two (13%) were major severity ruptures of the anterior cruciate ligament. Injury burden was estimated to be 468 days lost/1000h. Conclusions This is the first prospective investigation capturing women’s injury incidence data from a cohort of English domestic club players. Total, match, and training incidence rate estimates are comparable to rates of single site cohort studies in Europe. The days lost from knee injuries imposes an increased burden on a squad of this size. Multi-site prospective investigations of injury are required

First identification of large electric monopole strength in well-deformed rare earth nuclei

Excited states in the well-deformed rare earth isotopes $^{154}$Sm and $^{166}$Er were populated via ``safe'' Coulomb excitation at the Munich MLL Tandem accelerator. Conversion electrons were registered in a cooled Si(Li) detector in conjunction with a magnetic transport and filter system, the Mini-Orange spectrometer. For the first excited $0^+$ state in $^{154}$Sm at 1099 keV a large value of the monopole strength for the transition to the ground state of $\rho^2(\text{E0}; 0^+_2 \to 0^+_\text{g}) = 96(42)\cdot 10^{-3}$ could be extracted. This confirms the interpretation of the lowest excited $0^+$ state in $^{154}$Sm as the collective $\beta$-vibrational excitation of the ground state. In $^{166}$Er the measured large electric monopole strength of $\rho^2(\text{E0}; 0^+_4 \to 0^+_1) = 127(60)\cdot 10^{-3}$ clearly identifies the $0_4^+$ state at 1934 keV to be the $\beta$-vibrational excitation of the ground state.Comment: submitted to Physics Letters