Tracing the associations between sex, the atypical and the combined atypical-melancholic depression subtypes: A path analysis.

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have examined determinants leading to preponderance of women in major depressive disorder (MDD), which is particularly accentuated for the atypical depression subtype. It is thus of interest to explore the specific indirect effects influencing the association between sex and established depression subtypes. METHODS: The data of 1624 subjects with a lifetime diagnosis of MDD derived from the population-based PsyCoLaus data were used. An atypical (n=256), a melancholic (n=422), a combined atypical and melancholic features subtype (n=198), and an unspecified MDD group (n=748) were constructed according to the DSM-IV specifiers. Path models with direct and indirect effects were applied to the data. RESULTS: Partial mediation of the female-related atypical and combined atypical-melancholic depression subtypes was found. Early anxiety disorders and high emotion-orientated coping acted as mediating variables between sex and the atypical depression subtype. In contrast, high Body Mass Index (BMI) served as a suppression variable, also concerning the association between sex and the combined atypical-melancholic subtype. The latter association was additionally mediated by an early age of MDD onset and early/late anxiety disorders. LIMITATIONS: The use of cross-sectional data does not allow causal conclusions. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study that provides evidence for a differentiation of the general mechanisms explaining sex differences of overall MDD by depression subtypes. Determinants affecting the pathways begin early in life. Since some of them are primarily of behavioral nature, the present findings could be a valuable target in mental health care

Advanced Knowledge Application in Practice

The integration and interdependency of the world economy leads towards the creation of a global market that offers more opportunities, but is also more complex and competitive than ever before. Therefore widespread research activity is necessary if one is to remain successful on the market. This book is the result of research and development activities from a number of researchers worldwide, covering concrete fields of research

Proceedings of the GIS Research UK 18th Annual Conference GISRUK 2010

This volume holds the papers from the 18th annual GIS Research UK (GISRUK). This year the conference, hosted at University College London (UCL), from Wednesday 14 to Friday 16 April 2010. The conference covered the areas of core geographic information science research as well as applications domains such as crime and health and technological developments in LBS and the geoweb. UCL’s research mission as a global university is based around a series of Grand Challenges that affect us all, and these were accommodated in GISRUK 2010. The overarching theme this year was “Global Challenges”, with specific focus on the following themes: * Crime and Place * Environmental Change * Intelligent Transport * Public Health and Epidemiology * Simulation and Modelling * London as a global city * The geoweb and neo-geography * Open GIS and Volunteered Geographic Information * Human-Computer Interaction and GIS Traditionally, GISRUK has provided a platform for early career researchers as well as those with a significant track record of achievement in the area. As such, the conference provides a welcome blend of innovative thinking and mature reflection. GISRUK is the premier academic GIS conference in the UK and we are keen to maintain its outstanding record of achievement in developing GIS in the UK and beyond

Building dynamic spatial environmental models

An environmental model is a representation or imitation of complex natural phenomena that can be discerned by human cognitive processes. This thesis deals with the type of environmental models referred to as dynamic spatial environmental models. The word ‘spatial’ refers to the geographic domain which they represent, which is the two- or three-dimensional space, while ‘dynamic’ refers to models simulating changes through time using rules of cause and effect, represented in mathematical equations. Since these equations generally include complex interactions which can only be solved by numerical solution, dynamic spatial models are programmed and run on a computer. The aim of dynamic spatial environmental model building is to find the optimal representation of environmental processes in the numerical equations (and parameters) of a computer program of the model, for a given case study defined by the aim of modelling, the properties of the study site, the field data present, the software en hardware technology available to construct the model, and the researchers involved. Since most of these factors will be different for each case study, a new (or modified) model should be made for each case study, by executing the procedural steps of the model development cycle until the optimal model has been found. This thesis evaluates whether existing technology and/or science provide sufficient means to deal with relevant issues related to the model development cycle

The Association of Parent Factors with Bullying, Victimization and Bystander Behaviors

This study sought to examine two gaps in the field of bullying research – (1) the lack of clear cut theoretical underpinnings and frameworks for examining the process of bullying and (2) oversight of the parent context in studies on bullying. This two-study dissertation examined the role of parents in understanding bullying, victimization and bystander behaviors using Belsky’s parenting process model (1984) as a potential guiding framework. Study 1 relied on secondary analysis with three waves of longitudinal data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development to test the indirect effect of maternal depressive symptoms on bullying and victimization through mother-child relationship quality. Findings indicated that there was a small direct effect of maternal depressive symptoms at grade 3 on peer victimization at grade 5, but not bullying. Mother–child relationship quality at grade 5 negatively predicted bullying behaviors at grade 6, but not peer victimization. There were also small effects of bullying behaviors at grade 5 on increased maternal depressive symptoms and decreased mother-child relationship quality at grade 6. There were no significant indirect effects. Study 2, a cross-sectional study of N = 143 fourth and fifth graders and their parents, hypothesized indirect effects of parent’s general and specific self-efficacy related to bullying, peer victimization and bystander behaviors through parental monitoring and supervision. Parents’ self-efficacy beliefs related to knowledge of their children being victimized, and what to do about the victimization reports was directly and negatively associated with a reduction in bullying and victimization behaviors. Efficacy to know what to do was also negatively associated with negative bystander behaviors but positively associated with victimization in school. There were no significant indirect effects. Findings from both studies suggest that the parent context may play a limited role in processes of bullying during upper-elementary school. Secondly, parent functioning (i.e., maternal depressive symptoms, parental self-efficacy related to bullying) may have direct effects on bullying, victimization and bystander behaviors rather than indirectly through parenting as emphasized by Belsky’s model. Other findings, limitations and suggestions for future research and interventions are discussed

Requirements for a software maintenance support environment

This thesis surveys the field of software maintenance, and addresses the maintenance requirements of the Aerospace Industry, which is developing inige projects, running over many years, and sometimes safety critical in nature (e.g. ARIANE 5, HERMES, COLUMBUS). Some projects are collaborative between distributed European partners. The industry will have to cope in the near and far future with the maintenance of these products and it will be essential to improve the software maintenance process and the environments for maintenance. Cost effective software maintenance needs an efficient, high quality and homogeneous environment or Integrated Project Support Environment (IPSE). Most IPSE work has addressed software development, and lias not fully considered the requirements of software maintenance. The aim of this project is to draw up a set of priorities and requirements for a Maintenance IPSE. An IPSE, however can only support a software maintenance method. The first stage of this project is to deline 'software maintenance best practice' addressing the organisational, managerial and technical aspects, along with an evaluation of software maintenance tools for Aerospace systems. From this and an evaluation of current IPSEs, the requirements for a Software Maintenance Support Environment are presented for maintenance of Aerospace software

Semantic discovery and reuse of business process patterns

Patterns currently play an important role in modern information systems (IS) development and their use has mainly been restricted to the design and implementation phases of the development lifecycle. Given the increasing significance of business modelling in IS development, patterns have the potential of providing a viable solution for promoting reusability of recurrent generalized models in the very early stages of development. As a statement of research-in-progress this paper focuses on business process patterns and proposes an initial methodological framework for the discovery and reuse of business process patterns within the IS development lifecycle. The framework borrows ideas from the domain engineering literature and proposes the use of semantics to drive both the discovery of patterns as well as their reuse

Discussing Changes in Historical Human–Environmental Dynamics Through Ecosystem Services Interactions and Future Scenarios in a Rural-Mining Region of Central Appalachians

The aim of this dissertation was to investigate how recent processes of land-change induced by humans contributed to the shaping and alteration of the current landscape in a headwater system of Central Appalachians in West Virginia (US), to understand the interactions and tradeoffs among ecosystems services and address potential solutions for targeting more sustainable human-environment interactions in a region that is deeply grounded on extractive economies. The multitiered objective was addressed through different research phases in order to unfold and disentangle a series of complex problems that the study area presents. Three main phases were used; they corresponded to distinct chapters within this study. The first paper analyzed land-cover transitions, from 1976 to 2016, using Multi-Level Intensity Analysis and Difference Components methods. Two land cover classifications were derived explicitly for this study using remote sensing methods and obtained with segmentation analysis and machine learning algorithms from historical high-resolution aerial images (1-2 meters) and ancillary data. Results allowed the author to distinguish between surface mining areas produced before and after the enactment of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA, 1977), discuss differences among distinct socio-technical phases, and differentiate the main drivers and outcomes of landscape change processes in the area. The historical information and knowledge gained in the first step were used to inform the second chapter, whose objective was to analyze the interactions among ecosystem services and derive their bundles. Ecosystem services models were obtained using InVEST, and a custom model was explicitly defined to link water quality changes to freshwater ecosystem services. The results identified significant losses of carbon sequestration, habitat quality, and freshwater ecosystem services in areas subjected to Mountaintop Removal mining. The findings spatially located different ecosystem services bundles characterized by distinct human-environment relationships and complex anthropogenic drivers not limited to coal mining processes. The study identified the appropriate spatial scale for targeting specific management actions and implementing conservation, as well as development-restoration strategies, in areas characterized by similar social-ecological processes and deeply altered ecosystems. In the third essay, the identification of ecosystem services bundles allowed the author to delineate two distinct social-ecological systems characterized by surface coal extraction and reclamation processes produced during different historical phases. These areas were discussed as separate case studies within a time interval of seventy years, from the recent past (1976) to future scenarios (2045). The scenarios were based on a backcasting approach integrated by ecosystem services models and the analysis of functional changes within the two social-ecological units analyzed. The results highlighted differences in the flow of ecosystem services due to the intensity of mining and the different and incremental reclamation approaches used in the scenarios. The comparison of threats and opportunities within each scenario, identified, in the discussion section, a range of plausible hypotheses and solutions the stakeholders and communities of the region should face if they want to rehabilitate the social and ecological conditions to promote a more sustainable approach for the future of these places