Suicidal ideation and reported suicide attempts in Greece during the economic crisis

The financial crisis in Greece is largely impinging on the health and mental health of the population, raising concerns about a potential rise in suicide rates. The aim of this study was to explore changes in suicidal ideation and reported suicide attempts between 2009 and 2011 in a representative sample of the population and in several population subgroups. The socio‐economic predictors of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in 2011 were also investigated. Two nationwide cross‐sectional telephone surveys were conducted in 2009 and 2011 using the same methodology. A random and representative sample of 2192 and 2256 people, respectively, took part in the surveys. Between 2009 and 2011, there was a substantial increase in the prevalence of suicidal ideation and reported suicide attempts. People suffering from depression, men, married individuals, people experiencing financial strain, people with low interpersonal trust, and individuals with a history of suicide attempts were particularly vulnerable.     

Suicidal process,suicidal communication and psychosocial situation of young suicide attempters in a rural Vietnamese community

The study aimed to explore the suicidal process, suicidal communication and psychosocial situation of young suicide attempters in a rural community in Hanoi, Vietnam. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, in a community setting, with 19 suicide attempters aged 15-24 who had been consecutively hospitalized in an intensive care unit. In 12 of 19 cases, the first pressing, distinct and constant suicidal thoughts appeared less than one day before the suicide attempt in question. However, distress and mild, fleeting suicidal thoughts had been present up to six months before the suicide attempt in 16 cases. Five respondents had a suicide plan one to three days before attempting suicide. Altogether, 13 engaged in some form of suicidal communication before their attempt. This communication was, however, difficult for outsiders to interpret. Twelve of the respondents were victims of regular physical abuse and 16 had suffered psychological violence for at least one year before attempting suicide. Eighteen of the respondents used pesticides or raticides in their suicide attempts. None sought advice or consultation in the community despite long-standing psychosocial problems. The strategy of reducing the availability of suicide means (e.g., pesticides or raticides) in Asian countries should be complemented with a long-term suicide-preventive strategy that targets school dropouts and domestic violence, and promotes coping abilities and communication about psychological and social problems as well as recognition of signs of distress and suicidal communication.     

Association between AKT1 but not AKTIP genetic variants and increased risk for suicidal behavior in bipolar patients

We tested the hypothesis that the presence of AKT1 and AKTIP polymorphisms, target genes that encode key proteins in the signaling of dopaminergic and serotonergic systems, is associated with suicidal behavior in bipolar patients. The subjects were 273 patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder I or II (age = 41.4 ± 12.9). TaqMan single‐nucleotide polymorphism genotyping assays (AKT1: rs2494731, rs3803304, rs3730358, rs10149779, rs2494746, rs1130214 and rs249878; AKTIP: rs9302648 and rs7189819) were used. We found that the AKT1 marker showed an association with suicide attempts (rs1130214, P < 0.05) and attempted violent attacks (rs2494746, P < 0.05). One out of the seven tested markers of AKT1 attained significant genotype association with violent attempt (rs2494731; P < 0.05). A significant association was detected in the AKT1 haplotype test. We did not observe an association between suicidal behavior and AKTIP variants and also did not find an interaction between AKTIP and AKT1 polymorphisms. In addition, we found that demographic and clinical data are associated with lifetime history of suicide attempts. Our data suggest that demographic and clinical characteristics and AKT1 single markers and haplotypes, but not AKTIP polymorphisms or interactions between AKT1 and AKTIP, are associated with increased risk for suicidal behavior in bipolar patients.     

Psychotic experiences as a predictor of the natural course of suicidal ideation: a Swedish cohort study

Psychotic experiences are far more prevalent in the population than psychotic disorders and are associated with a wide range of depressive, anxiety and behavioral disorders, as well as increased risk for psychotic disorder. Recently, psychotic experiences have been highlighted as a potentially valuable clinical marker of risk for suicidal behavior. There have been few studies to date, however, to assess psychotic experiences as a predictor of suicidality over time. We wished to assess whether young persons with suicidal ideation at baseline assessment who reported psychotic experiences were at higher risk for persistence of suicidal ideation at follow‐up than young persons who also reported suicidal ideation at baseline but who did not report co‐occurring psychotic experiences. A total of 2,263 adolescents were assessed at age 13 to 14 years for psychotic experiences, suicidal ideation and internalizing and externalizing psychopathology. Participants were re‐assessed at ages 16 to 17 years and 19 to 20 years. Among 13‐ to 14‐year olds with suicidal ideation, co‐occurring psychotic experiences did not predict an increased odds of persistence of suicidal ideation to age 16 to 17 years (OR=0.94, 95% CI: 0.19‐4.78). Among 16‐ to 17‐year olds with suicidal ideation, however, co‐occurring psychotic experiences predicted a 6‐fold increased odds of persistence of suicidal ideation to age 19 to 20 years (OR=5.53, 95% CI: 1.33‐23.00). Psychotic experiences are an important but under‐recognized marker of risk for persistence of suicidal ideation, in particular from mid‐adolescence. An increased emphasis on the clinical assessment of psychotic experiences in mental health services should be a priority.     

Sexy thoughts: effects of sexual cognitions on testosterone, cortisol, and arousal in women

Previous research suggests that sexual stimuli increase testosterone (T) in women and shows inconsistent effects of sexual arousal on cortisol (C), but effects of cognitive aspects of arousal, rather than behaviors or sensory stimuli, are unclear. The present study examined whether sexual thoughts affect T or C and whether hormonal contraceptive (HC) use moderated this effect, given mixed findings of HC use confounding hormone responses. Participants (79 women) provided a baseline saliva sample for radioimmunoassay. We created the Imagined Social Situation Exercise (ISSE) to test effects of imagining social interactions on hormones, and participants were assigned to the experimental (sexual) or one of three control (positive, neutral, stressful) conditions. Participants provided a second saliva sample 15 min post-activity. Results indicated that for women not using HCs, the sexual condition increased T compared to the stressful or positive conditions. In contrast, HC using women in the sexual condition had decreased T relative to the stressful condition and similar T to the positive condition. The effect was specific to T, as sexual thoughts did not change C. For participants in the sexual condition, higher baseline T predicted larger increases in sexual arousal but smaller increases in T, likely due to ceiling effects on T. Our results suggest that sexual thoughts change T but not C, baseline T levels and HC use may contribute to variation in the T response to sexual thoughts, and cognitive aspects of sexual arousal affect physiology.     

师范院校生物教育实习现状调查与思考

通过对师范院校生物教育实习现状调查,了解基础教育改革深化背景下的生物教育实习模式、实习学校生物教育状况及生物教育实习生存在的问题和困惑等,并对高师院校课程设置、教育实习管理等问题进行反思,为高师院校生物教育实习和课程设计提供一些借鉴。     

Early childhood sexual abuse increases suicidal intent

Childhood sexual abuse has been consistently associated with suicidal behavior. We studied suicide attempt features in depressed individuals sexually abused as children. On average, sexual abuse started before age 9. It frequently coexisted with physical abuse. Suicide attempters more often had personality disorders and had endured abuse for longer, but did not differ in terms of other clinical characteristics from non‐attempters. Earlier onset of sexual abuse and its duration were associated with more suicide attempts. However, when personality disorders were included in the regression model, only these disorders predicted number of attempts. The severity of sexual abuse and the coexistence of physical abuse were correlated with age at first suicide attempt. However, only severity of sexual abuse was marginally associated with age at first suicide attempt in the regression model. Finally, the earlier the age of onset of sexual abuse, the higher the intent, even after controlling for age, sex and personality disorders. This suggests that the characteristics of childhood sexual abuse, especially age of onset, should be considered when studying the risk for suicidal behavior in abused populations.     

A newly identified group of adolescents at “invisible” risk for psychopathology and suicidal behavior: findings from the SEYLE study

This study explored the prevalence of risk behaviors (excessive alcohol use, illegal drug use, heavy smoking, reduced sleep, overweight, underweight, sedentary behavior, high use of Internet/TV/videogames for reasons not related to school or work, and truancy), and their association with psychopathology and self‐destructive behaviors, in a sample of 12,395 adolescents recruited in randomly selected schools across 11 European countries. Latent class analysis identified three groups of adolescents: a low‐risk group (57.8%) including pupils with low or very low frequency of risk behaviors; a high‐risk group (13.2%) including pupils who scored high on all risk behaviors, and a third group (“invisible” risk, 29%) including pupils who were positive for high use of Internet/TV/videogames for reasons not related to school or work, sedentary behavior and reduced sleep. Pupils in the “invisible” risk group, compared with the high‐risk group, had a similar prevalence of suicidal thoughts (42.2% vs. 44%), anxiety (8% vs. 9.2%), subthreshold depression (33.2% vs. 34%) and depression (13.4% vs. 14.7%). The prevalence of suicide attempts was 5.9% in the “invisible” group, 10.1% in the high‐risk group and 1.7% in the low‐risk group. The prevalence of all risk behaviors increased with age and most of them were significantly more frequent among boys. Girls were significantly more likely to experience internalizing (emotional) psychiatric symptoms. The “invisible” group may represent an important new intervention target group for potentially reducing psychopathology and other untoward outcomes in adolescence, including suicidal behavior.     

共表达PRRSV GP5蛋白和CSFV E2蛋白的“自杀性”DNA疫苗在小鼠体内诱导的免疫应答

为了获得新型双价"自杀性"DNA疫苗,将猪繁殖与呼吸综合征病毒(Porcine reproductive and respiratorysyndrome virus,PRRSV)GP5基因克隆于此前构建的表达猪瘟病毒(Classical swine fever virus,CSFV)E2基因的甲病毒复制子载体疫苗pSFV1CS-E2中.为了增强免疫效果,在密码子优化的GP5基因中插入了泛DR表位(PADRE),在CSFV E2基因后融合伪狂犬病病毒(PrV)UL49基因,获得了6种重组质粒.间接免疫荧光试验显示,PRRSV GP5和CSFV E2基因在瞬时转染的293T细胞中得到同时表达,将6种重组质粒和空载体pSFV1CS分别免疫BALB/c小鼠,用间接ELISA方法检测血清抗体水平,通过基于CSFE/WST-8的淋巴细胞增殖试验和细胞因子ELISA评价疫苗诱导的细胞免疫.结果显示,除pSFV1CS组外,从各疫苗组小鼠血清中均可检测到低水平的针对GP5和E2蛋白的抗体;各疫苗组小鼠脾细胞经CSFV和PRRSV刺激后均能诱导特异性的淋巴细胞增殖:部分疫苗组小鼠脾细胞经CSFV和PRRSV刺激后可分泌较高水平的IFN-γ和IL-4;引入UL49的疫苗组细胞免疫应答显著高于其它疫苗组.结果表明,这些共表达GP5和E2蛋白的自杀性DNA疫苗可以诱导体液免疫和细胞免疫,PrV UL49可以增强其细胞免疫应答.     

The Effects of Upright and Slumped Postures on the Recall of Positive and Negative Thoughts

This study assessed whether it was easier to generate positive and negative thoughts in either an upright or slumped position. Twenty-four participants, who reported no clinical depression or anxiety, completed the Tellegen absorption questionnaire and a self-assessment of imagery ability. Surface electromyography (sEMG) of zygomaticus major, heart rate, and respiratory rate were assessed across four 1-min counterbalanced conditions of either upright or slumped posture and either positive or negative thought generation. Posttrial checks of compliance were completed. At the end of the study, participants rated which thought was easiest to generate in the two postures. Significantly more participants (22), or 92%, indicated it was easiest to generate positive thoughts in the upright position. ANOVA of sEMG activity significantly distinguished positive and negative thoughts in both positions. Significant correlation coefficients were observed between scores on the Tellegen scale of absorption and the ability to generate thoughts quickly and between self-perceptions of imagery ability with the maintenance of thoughts across time. This study supports the finding that positive thoughts are more easily recalled in the upright posture.