Predicting new major depression symptoms from long working hours, psychosocial safety climate and work engagement: A population-based cohort study

Objectives This study sought to assess the association between long working hours, psychosocial safety climate (PSC), work engagement (WE) and new major depression symptoms emerging over the next 12 months. PSC is the work climate supporting workplace psychological health. Setting Australian prospective cohort population data from the states of New South Wales, Western Australia and South Australia. Participants At Time 1, there were 3921 respondents in the sample. Self-employed, casual temporary, unclassified, those with working hours <35 (37% of 2850) and participants with major depression symptoms at Time 1 (6.7% of 1782) were removed. The final sample was a population-based cohort of 1084 full-time Australian employees. Primary and secondary outcome measures The planned and measured outcomes were new cases of major depression symptoms. Results Long working hours were not significantly related to new cases of major depression symptoms; however, when mild cases were removed, the 41–48 and ≥55 long working hour categories were positively related to major depression symptoms. Low PSC was associated with a threefold increase in risk for new major depression symptoms. PSC was not related to long working hours, and long working hours did not mediate the relationship between PSC and new cases of major depression symptoms. The inverse relationship between PSC and major depression symptoms was stronger for males than females. Additional analyses identified that WE was positively related to long working hours. Long working hours (41–48 and ≥55 hours) mediated a positive relationship between WE and major depression symptoms when mild cases of major depression were removed. Conclusion The results suggest that low workplace PSC and potentially long working hours (41–48; ≥55 hours/ week) increase the risk of new major depression symptoms. Furthermore, high WE may increase long working hours and subsequent major depression symptoms.Amy Jane Zadow, Maureen F Dollard, Christian Dormann, Paul Landsbergi

Aging in a topological spin glass

We have examined the nonconventional spin glass phase of the 2-dimensional kagome antiferromagnet (H_3 O) Fe_3 (SO_4)_2 (OH)_6 by means of ac and dc magnetic measurements. The frequency dependence of the ac susceptibility peak is characteristic of a critical slowing down at Tg ~ 18K. At fixed temperature below Tg, aging effects are found which obey the same scaling law as in spin glasses or polymers. However, in clear contrast with conventional spin glasses, aging is remarkably insensitive to temperature changes. This particular type of dynamics is discussed in relation with theoretical predictions for highly frustrated non-disordered systems.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Nonlinear magnetic susceptibility and aging phenomena in reentrant ferromagnet: Cu0.2_{0.2}Co0.8_{0.8}Cl2_{2}-FeCl3_{3} graphite bi-intercalation compound

Linear and nonlinear dynamic properties of a reentrant ferromagnet Cu$_{0.2}$Co$_{0.8}$Cl$_{2}$-FeCl$_{3}$ graphite bi-intercalation compound are studied using AC and DC magnetic susceptibility. This compound undergoes successive phase transitions at the transition temperatures $T_{h}$ (= 16 K), $T_{c}$ (= 9.7 K), and $T_{RSG}$ (= 3.5 K). The static and dynamic behaviors of the reentrant spin glass phase below $T_{RSG}$ are characterized by those of normal spin glass phase with critical exponent $\beta$ = 0.57 $\pm$ 0.10, a dynamic critical exponent $x$ = 8.5 $\pm$ 1.8, and an exponent $p$ (= 1.55 $\pm$ 0.13) for the de Almeida -Thouless line. A prominent nonlinear susceptibility is observed between $T_{RSG}$ and $T_{c}$ and around $T_{h}$, suggesting a chaotic nature of the ferromagnetic phase ($T_{RSG} \leq T \leq T_{c}$) and the helical spin ordered phase ($T_{c} \leq T \leq T_{h}$). The aging phenomena are observed both in the RSG and FM phases, with the same qualitative features as in normal spin glasses. The aging of zero-field cooled magnetization indicates a drastic change of relaxation mechanism below and above $T_{RSG}$. The time dependence of the absorption $\chi^{\prime \prime}$ is described by a power law form ($\approx t^{-b^{\prime \prime}}$) in the ferromagnetic phase, where $b^{\prime \prime} \approx 0.074 \pm 0.016$ at $f$ = 0.05 Hz and $T$ = 7 K. No $\omega t$-scaling law for $\chi^{\prime \prime}$ [$\approx (\omega t)^{-b^{\prime \prime}}$] is observed.Comment: 14 pages, 16 figures, and 2 table

Outstanding challenges in the transferability of ecological models

Predictive models are central to many scientific disciplines and vital for informing management in a rapidly changing world. However, limited understanding of the accuracy and precision of models transferred to novel conditions (their 'transferability') undermines confidence in their predictions. Here, 50 experts identified priority knowledge gaps which, if filled, will most improve model transfers. These are summarized into six technical and six fundamental challenges, which underlie the combined need to intensify research on the determinants of ecological predictability, including species traits and data quality, and develop best practices for transferring models. Of high importance is the identification of a widely applicable set of transferability metrics, with appropriate tools to quantify the sources and impacts of prediction uncertainty under novel conditions.Katherine L. Yates ... Alice R. Jones ... et al

Modelling the effects of bacterial cell state and spatial location on tuberculosis treatment: Insights from a hybrid multiscale cellular automaton model

This work was supported by the Medical Research Council [grant number MR/P014704/1] and the PreDiCT-TB consortium (IMI Joint undertaking grant agreement number 115337, resources of which are composed of financial contribution from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) and EFPIA companies’ in kind contribution.If improvements are to be made in tuberculosis (TB) treatment, an increased understanding of disease in the lung is needed. Studies have shown that bacteria in a less metabolically active state, associated with the presence of lipid bodies, are less susceptible to antibiotics, and recent results have highlighted the disparity in concentration of different compounds into lesions. Treatment success therefore depends critically on the responses of the individual bacteria that constitute the infection. We propose a hybrid, individual-based approach that analyses spatio-temporal dynamics at the cellular level, linking the behaviour of individual bacteria and host cells with the macroscopic behaviour of the microenvironment. The individual elements (bacteria, macrophages and T cells) are modelled using cellular automaton (CA) rules, and the evolution of oxygen, drugs and chemokine dynamics are incorporated in order to study the effects of the microenvironment in the pathological lesion. We allow bacteria to switch states depending on oxygen concentration, which affects how they respond to treatment. This is the first multiscale model of its type to consider both oxygen-driven phenotypic switching of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis and antibiotic treatment. Using this model, we investigate the role of bacterial cell state and of initial bacterial location on treatment outcome. We demonstrate that when bacteria are located further away from blood vessels, less favourable outcomes are more likely, i.e. longer time before infection is contained/cleared, treatment failure or later relapse. We also show that in cases where bacteria remain at the end of simulations, the organisms tend to be slower-growing and are often located within granulomas, surrounded by caseous material.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe