Pathological internet use and risk-behaviors among european adolescents

Risk-behaviors are a major contributor to the leading causes of morbidity among adolescents and young people; however, their association with pathological Internet use (PIU) is relatively unexplored, particularly within the European context. The main objective of this study is to investigate the association between risk-behaviors and PIU in European adolescents. This cross-sectional study was conducted within the framework of the FP7 European Union project: Saving and Empowering Young Lives in Europe (SEYLE). Data on adolescents were collected from randomized schools within study sites across eleven European countries. PIU was measured using Young's Diagnostic Questionnaire (YDQ). Risk-behaviors were assessed using questions procured from the Global School-Based Student Health Survey (GSHS). A total of 11,931 adolescents were included in the analyses: 43.4% male and 56.6% female (M/F: 5179/6752), with a mean age of 14.89 ± 0.87 years. Adolescents reporting poor sleeping habits and risk-taking actions showed the strongest associations with PIU, followed by tobacco use, poor nutrition and physical inactivity. Among adolescents in the PIU group, 89.9% were characterized as having multiple risk-behaviors. The significant association observed between PIU and risk-behaviors, combined with a high rate of co-occurrence, underlines the importance of considering PIU when screening, treating or preventing high-risk behaviors among adolescents

Revealing the band structure of ZrTe5_5 using Multicarrier Transport

The layered material ZrTe$_5$ appears to exhibit several exotic behaviors which resulted in significant interest recently, although the exact properties are still highly debated. Among these we find a Dirac/Weyl semimetallic behavior, nontrivial spin textures revealed by low temperature transport, and a potential weak or strong topological phase. The anomalous behavior of resistivity has been recently elucidated as originating from band shifting in the electronic structure. Our work examines magnetotransport behavior in ZrTe$_5$ samples in the context of multicarrier transport. The results, in conjunction with ab-initio band structure calculations, indicate that many of the transport features of ZrTe$_5$ across the majority of the temperature range can be adequately explained by the semiclassical multicarrier transport model originating from a complex Fermi surface.Comment: Main Text: 10 pages, 5 figures; Supporting Information: 10 pages, 7 figure

Spinal ultrasound – Identification of the normal structures

The incomplete ossification of the spinal processes allows the ultrasonographic evaluation of the spinal cord and the adjacent structures in neonates and small infants. The paper describes the ultrasonographic examination of the spinal structures and the normal appearance of the spinal cord, the structures within the spinal canal, and the bony and muscular adjacent structures. Sagittal and axial sections at cervical, thoracic, lumbar, and sacral levels are described. There are also mentioned findings in the M mode and Doppler examinations

Life-time prevalence and psychosocial correlates of adolescent direct self-injurious behavior: A comparative study of findings in 11 European countries

n/

The Saving and Empowering Young Lives in Europe (SEYLE) Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT): methodological issues and participant characteristics

Background: Mental health problems and risk behaviours among young people are of great public health concern. Consequently, within the VII Framework Programme, the European Commission funded the Saving and Empowering Young Lives in Europe (SEYLE) project. This Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) was conducted in eleven European countries, with Sweden as the coordinating centre, and was designed to identify an effective way to promote mental health and reduce suicidality and risk taking behaviours among adolescents. Objective: To describe the methodological and field procedures in the SEYLE RCT among adolescents, as well as to present the main characteristics of the recruited sample. Methods: Analyses were conducted to determine: 1) representativeness of study sites compared to respective national data; 2) response rate of schools and pupils, drop-out rates from baseline to 3 and 12 month follow-up, 3) comparability of samples among the four Intervention Arms; 4) properties of the standard scales employed: Beck Depression Inventory, Second Edition (BDI-II), Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (Z-SAS), Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), World Health Organization Well-Being Scale (WHO-5). Results: Participants at baseline comprised 12,395 adolescents (M/F: 5,529/6,799; mean age=14.9±0.9) from Austria, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Romania, Slovenia and Spain. At the 3 and 12 months follow up, participation rates were 87.3% and 79.4%, respectively. Demographic characteristics of participating sites were found to be reasonably representative of their respective national population. Overall response rate of schools was 67.8%. All scales utilised in the study had good to very good internal reliability, as measured by Cronbach’s alpha (BDI-II: 0.864; Z-SAS: 0.805; SDQ: 0.740; WHO-5: 0.799). Conclusions: SEYLE achieved its objective of recruiting a large representative sample of adolescents within participating European countries. Analysis of SEYLE data will shed light on the effectiveness of important interventions aimed at improving adolescent mental health and well-being, reducing risk-taking and self-destructive behaviour and preventing suicidality. Trial registration: US National Institute of Health (NIH) clinical trial registry (NCT00906620) and the German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS00000214)

Electrical diagnostic of high voltage discharges produced by a new spark-plug

International audienc

Electrical diagnostic of high voltage discharges produced in a new spark-plug

International audienc