Protocol for the Mindful Student Study: a randomised controlled trial of the provision of a mindfulness intervention to support university students' well-being and resilience to stress.

INTRODUCTION: Levels of stress in UK university students are high, with an increase in the proportion of students seeking help in recent years. Academic pressure is reported as a major trigger. Mindfulness training has been shown to reduce stress and is popular among students, but its effectiveness in this context needs to be ascertained. In this pragmatic randomised controlled trial, we hypothesise that the provision of a preventative mindfulness intervention in universities could reduce students' psychological distress during the examination period (primary outcome), improve their resilience to stress up to at least 1 year later, reduce their use of mental health support services and improve academic performance. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: At least 550 University of Cambridge students free from active crises or severe mental illness will be randomised to joining an 8-week mindfulness course or to mental health provision as usual (one-to-one allocation rate). Psychological distress will be measured using the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation Outcome Measure at baseline, postintervention, examination term and 1-year follow-up. Other outcomes are use of mental health services, inability to sit examinations or special circumstance requests, examination grades, well-being, altruism and coping measured with ecological momentary assessment. Outcome assessment and intention-to-treat primary analysis using linear mixed models adjusted for baseline scores will be blind to intervention allocation. We will also conduct per-protocol, subgroup and secondary outcome analyses. An Independent Data Monitoring and Ethics Committee will be set up. We will systematically monitor for, and react to, possible adverse events. An advisory reference group will comprise student representatives, members of the University Counselling Service and other student welfare staff. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Approval has been obtained from Cambridge Psychology Research Ethics Committee (PRE.2015.060). Results will be published in peer-reviewed journals. A lay summary will be disseminated to a wider audience including other universities. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ACTRN12615001160527; pre-results.University of Cambridge Vice-Chancellor’s Endowment Fund, University Counselling Service, National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) East of England, at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation TrustThis is the final version of the article. It first appeared from BMJ Publishing Group via https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-01230

Practical guidelines and recent advances in the Itrax XRF core-scanning procedure

XRF core scanning has evolved to become a standard analytical technique for the rapid assessment of elemental, density and textural variations in a wide range of sediments and other materials, with applications ranging from palaeoceanography, paleoclimatology, geology, and environmental forensics to environmental protection. In general, scanning provides rapid, non-destructive acquisition of elemental and textural variations at sub-millimetre resolution for a wide range of materials. Numerous procedural adaptations have been developed for the growing number of applications, such as analyses of unconsolidated, water-rich sediments, powdered soil samples, or resin bags. Here, practical expertise and guidance from the Itrax community, gained over 15 years, is presented that should provide insights for new and experienced users

Adolescent Self-Organization and Adult Smoking and Drinking over Fifty Years of Follow-Up:The British 1946 Birth Cohort

Variations in markers of adolescent self-organization predict a range of economic and health-related outcomes in general population studies. Using a population-based birth cohort study we investigated associations between adolescent self-organization and two common factors over adulthood influencing health, smoking and alcohol consumption. The MRC National Survey of Health and Development (the British 1946 birth cohort) was used to test associations between a dimensional measure of adolescent self-organization derived from teacher ratings, and summary longitudinal measures of smoking and alcohol consumption over the ensuing five decades. Multinomial regression models were adjusted for sex, adolescent emotional and conduct problems, occupational social class of origin, childhood cognition, educational attainment and adult occupational social class. With all covariates adjusted, higher adolescent self-organization was associated with fewer smoking pack years, although not with quitting; there was no association with alcohol consumption across adulthood (none or heavy compared with light to moderate). Adolescent self-organization appears to be protective against smoking, but not against heavy alcohol consumption. Interpretation of this differential effect should be embedded in an understanding of the social and sociodemographic context in which these health behaviours occur over time

The psychometric properties of the strengths and difficulties questionnaire in a multi-ethnic sample of young children

Objectives: Developed countries are becoming more multi-ethnic, with consequent problems of maintaining invariance of health questionnaires. We aimed to explore commonalities in the structure of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) completed for young children in a multi-ethnic English cohort while examining potential method effects and misfitting items. The secondary aim was to demonstrate the usefulness of bifactor modelling and exploratory structural equation modelling (ESEM) for kinanthropological research.Methods: We used SDQ data from 3,290 children enrolled in the Born in Bradford cohort, completed by parents (usually the mother) at child age 3 and 4 and teachers at age 5. The factor structure for 11 potential configurations was assessed in each age group using confirmatory factor analysis. ESEM was used to assess misfitting items under the best fitting configuration.Results: The best fitting configuration was a bifactor model of the 2 broader scales and a methods factor, using the 20 difficulties items. Generally, factor loadings increased between age 3 and age 5. Several items contributed to misfit.Conclusions: There was less support for the robustness and hypothesised structure of the SDQ in this sample. Bifactor scores that account for measurement error could be useful if carefully applied in epidemiological and kinanthropological studies in multi-ethnic and/or younger age samples

Provision of a mindfulness intervention to support university students' wellbeing and resilience to stress: preliminary results of a randomised controlled trial

Background: Levels of stress in university students in the UK are high, with an increase in the proportion of students seeking help in recent years. Students report academic pressure as a major trigger. Mindfulness training has been shown to reduce stress and is popular among students, but its effectiveness in this context needs to be ascertained. We aimed to test the hypothesis that the provision of a preventive mindfulness intervention in universities could reduce students' psychological distress during the examination period. Methods: University of Cambridge students free from active crises or severe mental illness were randomised (1:1, automatic remote simple randomisation by random numbers, with automatic concealed allocation) to an 8 week mindfulness course or to mental health provision as usual. Primary outcome was psychological distress during the examination term as measured with the CORE Outcome Measure (CORE-OM). Other outcomes included CORE-OM at postintervention and 1 year follow-up, use of mental health support services, inability to sit exams or special circumstance requests, exam grades, wellbeing, altruism, and coping. At least 550 participants were required to detect a 0·3 SD change in the primary outcome with 90% power. Outcome assessment and intention-to-treat primary analysis with linear modelling adjusted for baseline scores were masked to intervention allocation. We systematically monitored for, and reacted to, adverse events. Independent data monitoring and ethics, and advisory reference committees were set up. This trial is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials registry, number ACTRN12615001160527. Findings: 309 students were randomised to mindfulness (median age 22 years [IQR 19·5–24·5], 59% women), and 307 to mental health provision as usual (22 [19·5–24·5], 65%). Students were more distressed (higher mean baseline CORE-OM score) than the average UK student but less so than those attending counselling sessions at the University Counselling Service. Collection of outcome data is continuing. Interpretation: This well-powered pragmatic randomised trial assessing a mindfulness intervention for university students is highly relevant to policy makers. Involving from its inception horizontal coproduction between researchers and stakeholders, it evaluates the provision of a service, and intends to inform student welfare policies in the global context of large increases in participation in higher education

Elevated morning cortisol is a stratified population-level biomarker for major depression in boys only with high depressive symptoms

Major depressive disorder (MD) is a debilitating public mental health problem with severe societal and personal costs attached. Around one in six people will suffer from this complex disorder at some point in their lives, which has shown considerable etiological and clinical heterogeneity. Overall there remain no validated biomarkers in the youth population at large that can aid the detection of at-risk groups for depression in general and for boys and young men in particular. Using repeated measurements of two well-known correlates of MD (self-reported current depressive symptoms and early-morning cortisol), we undertook a population-based investigation to ascertain subtypes of adolescents that represent separate longitudinal phenotypes. Subsequently, we tested for differential risks for MD and other mental illnesses and cognitive differences between subtypes. Through the use of latent class analysis, we revealed a high-risk subtype (17% of the sample) demarcated by both high depressive symptoms and elevated cortisol levels. Membership of this class of individuals was associated with increased levels of impaired autobiographical memory recall in both sexes and the greatest likelihood of experiencing MD in boys only. These previously unidentified findings demonstrate at the population level a class of adolescents with a common physiological biomarker specifically for MD in boys and for a mnemonic vulnerability in both sexes. We suggest that the biobehavioral combination of high depressive symptoms and elevated morning cortisol is particularly hazardous for adolescent boys

Multinomial logistic regression coefficients for odds of light to moderate and heavy smoking pack years (ref. = lifetime non-smoking)

<p>Multinomial logistic regression coefficients for odds of light to moderate and heavy smoking pack years (ref. = lifetime non-smoking)</p

Descriptive information (means and SDs or proportions) and corresponding p values for bivariate between-group tests for each health behavior.

<p>Descriptive information (means and SDs or proportions) and corresponding p values for bivariate between-group tests for each health behavior.</p

Multinomial logistic regression coefficients for odds of abstention and heavy alcohol consumption across adulthood (ref. = light to moderate).

<p>Multinomial logistic regression coefficients for odds of abstention and heavy alcohol consumption across adulthood (ref. = light to moderate).</p

The Belgammel Ram, a Hellenistic-Roman Bronze Proembolion Found off the Coast of Libya: test analysis of function, date and metallurgy, with a digital reference archive

The Belgammel Ram was found off the coast of Libya in 1964, and examined during 2008–9. The following techniques were used: surface non-contact digitizing using a laser scanner, reflectance transformation imaging using polynomial texture mapping and hemi-spherical harmonics, digital photogrammetry with dense surface modelling, structured light optical scanning, and X-ray fluorescence analysis. For internal structure the ram was examined by X-radiography and 3-D X-ray tomography. Metallurgical composition was studied by micro-drilling and subjecting the samples to scanning electron microscope X-ray micro-analysis, micro X-ray fluorescence and X-ray backscatter. The lead isotope composition was analysed.The alloy has average percentage composition Cu = 86.9, Sn = 6.3, Pb = 6.6, and Zn = &lt; 0.10. The Belgammel Ram is probably a Hellenistic-Roman proembolion from a small military vessel or tesseraria. The archived data are at the Faculty of Engineering and Environment, Engineering Sciences, Material Data Centre, University of Southampton ([email protected])