“Did I bring it on myself?” An exploratory study of the beliefs that adolescents referred to mental health services have about the causes of their depression

Background: The causal beliefs which adults have regarding their mental health difficulties have been linked to help-seeking behaviour, treatment preferences and the outcome of therapy; yet the topic remains a relatively unexplored one in the adolescent literature. Aims: This exploratory study aims to explore the causal beliefs regarding depression among a sample of clinically referred adolescents. Design: 77 adolescents, aged between 11 and 17, all diagnosed with moderate to severe depression, were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule, at the beginning of their participation in a randomised controlled trial. Data were analysed qualitatively using Framework Analysis. Findings: The study identified three themes related to causal beliefs: 1) Bewilderment about why they were depressed; 2) Depression as a result of rejection, victimisation and stress; and 3) Something inside is to blame. Conclusion: Although some adolescents struggled to identify the causes of their depression, many identified stressful life experiences as the cause of their current depression. They also tended to emphasise their own negative ways of interpreting those events, and some believed that their depression was caused by something inside them. Adolescents’ causal beliefs are likely to have implications for the way they seek help and engage in treatment, making it important to understand how adolescents understand their difficulties

The impact of temporal variability of biochemical markers PAPP-A and free β-hCG on the specificity of the first-trimester Down syndrome screening: a Croatian retrospective study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The variability of maternal serum biochemical markers for Down syndrome, free β-hCG and PAPP-A can have a different impact on false-positive rates between the 10+0 and 13+6 week of gestation. The study population comprised 2883 unaffected, singleton, spontaneously conceived pregnancies in Croatian women, who delivered apparently healthy child at term. Women were separated in 4 groups, dependently on the gestational week when the analyses of biochemical markers were performed. The concentrations of free β-hCG and PAPP-A in maternal serum were determined by solid-phase, enzyme-labeled chemiluminiscent immunometric assay (Siemens Immulite). Concentrations were converted to MoMs, according to centre-specific weighted regression median curves for both markers in unaffected pregnancies. The individual risks for trisomies 21, 18 and 13 were computed by Prisca 4.0 software.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>There were no significant differences between the sub-groups, regarding maternal age, maternal weight and the proportion of smokers. The difference in log₁₀MoM free β-hCG values, between the 11^thand 12^thgestational week, was significant (p = 0.002). The difference in log₁₀MoM PAPP-A values between the 11^thand 12^th, and between 12^thand 13^thweek of gestation was significant (p = 0.006 and p = 0.003, respectively). False-positive rates of biochemical risk for trisomies were 16.1% before the 11^thweek, 12.8% in week 12^th, 11.9% in week 13^thand 9.9% after week 13^th. The differences were not statistically significant.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Biochemical markers (log₁₀MoMs) showed gestation related variations in the first-trimester unaffected pregnancies, although the variations could not be attributed either to the inaccuracy of analytical procedures or to the inappropriately settled curves of median values for the first-trimester biochemical markers.</p

Heterochronic Shift in Hox-Mediated Activation of Sonic hedgehog Leads to Morphological Changes during Fin Development

We explored the molecular mechanisms of morphological transformations of vertebrate paired fin/limb evolution by comparative gene expression profiling and functional analyses. In this study, we focused on the temporal differences of the onset of Sonic hedgehog (Shh) expression in paired appendages among different vertebrates. In limb buds of chick and mouse, Shh expression is activated as soon as there is a morphological bud, concomitant with Hoxd10 expression. In dogfish (Scyliorhinus canicula), however, we found that Shh was transcribed late in fin development, concomitant with Hoxd13 expression. We utilized zebrafish as a model to determine whether quantitative changes in hox expression alter the timing of shh expression in pectoral fins of zebrafish embryos. We found that the temporal shift of Shh activity altered the size of endoskeletal elements in paired fins of zebrafish and dogfish. Thus, a threshold level of hox expression determines the onset of shh expression, and the subsequent heterochronic shift of Shh activity can affect the size of the fin endoskeleton. This process may have facilitated major morphological changes in paired appendages during vertebrate limb evolution

Vampires in the village Žrnovo on the island of Korčula: following an archival document from the 18th century

Središnja tema rada usmjerena je na raščlambu spisa pohranjenog u Državnom arhivu u Mlecima (fond: Capi del Consiglio de’ Dieci: Lettere di Rettori e di altre cariche) koji se odnosi na događaj iz 1748. godine u korčulanskom selu Žrnovo, kada su mještani – vjerujući da su se pojavili vampiri – oskvrnuli nekoliko mjesnih grobova. U radu se podrobno iznose osnovni podaci iz spisa te rečeni događaj analizira u širem društvenom kontekstu i prate se lokalna vjerovanja.The main interest of this essay is the analysis of the document from the State Archive in Venice (file: Capi del Consiglio de’ Dieci: Lettere di Rettori e di altre cariche) which is connected with the episode from 1748 when the inhabitants of the village Žrnove on the island of Korčula in Croatia opened tombs on the local cemetery in the fear of the vampires treating. This essay try to show some social circumstances connected with this event as well as a local vernacular tradition concerning superstitions

The sensitivity and specificity of hyperglycosylated hCG (hhCG) levels to reliably diagnose clinical IVF pregnancies at 6 days following embryo transfer

Objective To determine the sensitivity and specificity of hyperglycosylated hCG (hhCG) measurements for the diagnosis of clinical pregnancies in the IVF setting and how soon post embryo transfer (ET) a pregnancy can be detected using an ultrasensitive (hh

Failure of epicardial pacing leads in congenital heart disease: not uncommon and difficult to predict

AIMS: We evaluate the incidence of epicardial lead failure and try to identify risk factors in patients with congenital heart disease. METHODS: All patients with a congenital heart defect and an epicardial pacing system, implanted within a timeframe of 25 years, were included in this study. Patients' medical records and lead data were reviewed. Lead failure was defined as the primary endpoint. RESULTS: In total 198 active epicardial leads (atrial 40, ventricular 158) were implanted in 93 patients (median age at implantation 4.4 years (range 0-58.6)). During a total follow-up of 1235 lead-years, 29 lead failures (14.6%, 4 atrial, 25 ventricular) were documented in 22 patients (23.7%). Lead failure occurred at a median time period of 4.8 years (range 1.2-24.1) after implantation. Five-year freedom of lead failure was 88%. The only independent predictor for lead failure was the age at implantation (HR 0.44; 95%CI 0.20-0.97, p = 0.04), other characteristics failed to predict lead failure. Sudden cardiac death occurred in four patients (4.3%), in one a lead failure was documented. CONCLUSION: A high incidence of epicardial lead failures is found in patients with congenital heart disease. Unfortunately, it is difficult to predict this potentially life-threatening complication.status: publishe