What contributes to good outcomes? The perspective of young people on short-term psychoanalytic psychotherapy for depressed adolescents

Depression is the fourth leading cause of adolescent illness and disability worldwide. A growing evidence base demonstrates that Short Term Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy [STPP] is an efficacious treatment for moderate to severe adolescent depression. However, with research in its infancy, key factors contributing to efficacy are unknown. Service users' lived experiences provide valuable insight in this area. This study aimed to elucidate what adolescents value in treatment by inductively exploring lived experiences of STPP. Five adolescents with the largest reduction in depressive symptoms scores between baseline and end of treatment, who had taken part in a large-scale randomized controlled trial, were sampled. In-depth interviews carried out soon after the end of therapy were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Three superordinate themes were identified: "Therapy as a Transformational Process", "Explorative and Exposing: The Therapeutic Space" and "Being Heard and Working Together: The Therapeutic Relationship". Adolescents valued a process of collaborative exploration with the therapist which when it was achieved was felt to facilitate a deep-rooted transformation in self-perception. Additionally, they described how an adjustment was needed to the particular frame of a psychoanalytic therapy. However, not all participants with a good treatment outcome experienced therapy in this way, suggesting a potential gap between the quantitative assessment of outcomes, and the way young people experience and understand the change process. Clinical implications and directions for research are discussed

Teenage Boys in Therapy: A Qualitative Study of Male Adolescents' Experiences of Short-Term Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy

Adolescent boys have the highest rates of disengagement and drop out from mental health services. Further, research suggests that when boys do enagage with services, they may value therapies that provide practical strategies rather than those that advocate the exploration of thoughts, feelings, and relationships. Research is therefore needed to gain a better understanding of teenage boys’ experiences of participating in such therapies. This qualitative study aimed to explore the therapeutic experiences of five male adolescents (aged 16 to 18 years) with moderate to severe depression, who engaged in Short-Term Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (STPP) as part of a randomized controlled trial. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of semi-structured interviews was used for an in-depth and idiographic exploration of their experiences. Three themes were identified: ‘Pain in therapy for a worthwhile purpose’, ‘A relationship unlike others: creating a space for reflection’, and “Ending with ‘a little bit of relief and a little bit of hope’”. The findings offer insight into factors that made it possible for these adolescents to engage in and benefit from STPP – a positive therapeutic relationship and gaining self-understanding – and, aspects that hindered their engagement and led to premature endings. This knowledge could inform clinical practice with depressed adolescent boys

Spectroscopy and Time Variability of Absorption Lines in the Direction of the Vela Supernova Remnant

We present high resolution (R~75,000), high signal-to-noise (S/N~100) Ca II $\lambda$3933.663 and Na I $\lambda\lambda$5889.951, 5895.924 spectra of 68 stars in the direction of the Vela supernova remnant. The spectra comprise the most complete high resolution, high S/N, optical survey of early type stars in this region of the sky. A subset of the sight lines has been observed at multiple epochs, 1993/1994 and 1996. Of the thirteen stars observed twice, seven have spectra revealing changes in the equivalent width and/or velocity structure of lines, most of which arise from remnant gas. Such time variability has been reported previously for the sight lines towards HD 72089 and HD 72997 by Danks & Sembach (1995) and for HD 72127 by Hobbs et al. (1991). We have confirmed the ongoing time variability of these spectra and present new evidence of variability in the spectra of HD 73658, HD 74455, HD 75309 and HD 75821. We have tabulated Na I and Ca II absorption line information for the sight lines in our sample to serve as a benchmark for further investigations of the dynamics and evolution of the Vela SNR.Comment: 8 pages of text, 4 tables, 16 pages of figures Accepted and to be published in ApJ

More than I expected: a qualitative exploration of participants’ experience of an online adoptive parent-toddler group

The question of how best to support adoptive parents has been attracting increasing attention in recent years. This paper aims to explore participants’ experience of a new online intervention for adoptive parents and toddlers, which was adapted from an existing psychoanalytic Parent-Toddler Group (PTG) model. Participants were recruited from the parents attending the intervention, and four took part in a semi-structured post-intervention interview, aimed at exploring their experience of the PTG. Findings showed that, despite difficulties with the online setting of this intervention, participants overall experienced it positively, and particularly valued the supportive element of the group and the improvements in the parent-child relationship. However, challenges included engaging toddlers in the online setting, and participants’ confusion over the expectations and outcomes of the group. Based on these findings, suggestions were made for further research and adaptations of this model for future adoptive parenting interventions and support

The anomalous Cepheid XZ Ceti

XZ Ceti is the only known anomalous Cepheid in the Galactic field. Being the nearest and brightest such variable star, a detailed study of XZ Ceti may shed light on the behaviour of anomalous Cepheids whose representatives have been mostly detected in external galaxies. CCD photometric and radial velocity observations have been obtained. The actual period and amplitude of pulsation were determined by Fourier analysis. The long time scale behaviour of the pulsation period was studied by the method of the O-C diagram using the archival Harvard photographic plates and published photometric data. XZ Ceti differs from the ordinary classical Cepheids in several respects. Its most peculiar feature is cycle-to-cycle variability of the light curve. The radial velocity phase curve is not stable either. The pulsation period is subjected to strong changes on various time scales including a very short one. The ratio of amplitudes determined from the photometric and radial velocity observations indicates that this Cepheid performs an overtone pulsation, in accord with the other known anomalous Cepheid in our Galaxy, BL Boo (V19 in the globular cluster NGC 5466). Continued observations are necessary to study the deviations from regularity, to determine their time scale, as well as to confirm binarity of XZ Ceti and to study its role in the observed peculiar behaviour.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures. accepted for Astron. Astrophy

Transient neurological symptoms (TNS) following spinal anaesthesia with lidocaine versus other local anaesthetics in adult surgical patients : a network meta‐analysis

Copyright © 2019 The Cochrane Collaboration. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

First results on bathymetry, stratification and physicochemical limnology of a small tropical African reservoir (Malilangwe, Zimbabwe)

The study provides a 9-month record of Malilangwe Reservoir water chemistry periodicity, for the period between February and October 2011. Malilangwe Reservoir is a small (211 ha), shallow (mean depth 4.54 m) reservoir situated in the south-eastern lowveld of Zimbabwe. The reservoir has not spilled in nearly 11 years, which makes it a unique system as most reservoirs of comparable size spill annually. This is the first bathymetric and limnological study of the reservoir where the morphology and physicochemical quality of the water body were examined. The reservoir was not strongly stratified during the hot-wet and hot-dry season with oxygen depletion of < 2 mg·ℓ-1 DO being observed in the bottom layers (<6 m depth). Nutrient concentrations varied throughout the seasons. The reservoir exhibited marked seasonal fluctuations in water level, which decreased by over 149 cm between February and October. The N:P ratio rose to as high as 10.9 and generally reflected high levels of phosphorus in the reservoir. There were significant differences (p<0.05) in Secchi depth transparency between the study sites. Differences observed in water quality were due to water level fluctuations, with poor water quality conditions being experienced during the hot-dry season and the cool-dry season when water levels were low. The reservoir was classified as being mesotrophic. Therefore, there is a risk of eutrophication, especially since the reservoir is currently merely a sink for nutrients

When phenology matters: age–size truncation alters population response to trophic mismatch

Climate-induced shifts in the timing of life-history events are a worldwide phenomenon, and these shifts can de-synchronize species interactions such as predator–prey relationships. In order to understand the ecological implications of altered seasonality, we need to consider how shifts in phenology interact with other agents of environmental change such as exploitation and disease spread, which commonly act to erode the demographic structure of wild populations. Using long-term observational data on the phenology and dynamics of a model predator–prey system (fish and zooplankton in Windermere, UK), we show that age–size truncation of the predator population alters the consequences of phenological mismatch for offspring survival and population abundance. Specifically, age–size truncation reduces intraspecific density regulation due to competition and cannibalism, and thereby amplifies the population sensitivity to climate-induced predator–prey asynchrony, which increases variability in predator abundance. High population variability poses major ecological and economic challenges as it can diminish sustainable harvest rates and increase the risk of population collapse. Our results stress the importance of maintaining within-population age–size diversity in order to buffer populations against phenological asynchrony, and highlight the need to consider interactive effects of environmental impacts if we are to understand and project complex ecological outcomes

La binaria de eclipse GG Carinae

Han sido analizados 20 espectros tomados en Córdoba, Sudáfrica y Cerro Tololo, estudiándose las mediciones efectuadas en relación con el período fotométrico aceptado hasta el presente.Asociación Argentina de Astronomí

La binaria de eclipse GG Carinae

Han sido analizados 20 espectros tomados en Córdoba, Sudáfrica y Cerro Tololo, estudiándose las mediciones efectuadas en relación con el período fotométrico aceptado hasta el presente.Asociación Argentina de Astronomí