Clinical Subtypes of Depression Are Associated with Specific Metabolic Parameters and Circadian Endocrine Profiles in Women: The Power Study

Major depressive disorder (MDD) has been associated with adverse medical consequences, including cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis. Patients with MDD may be classified as having melancholic, atypical, or undifferentiated features. The goal of the present study was to assess whether these clinical subtypes of depression have different endocrine and metabolic features and consequently, varying medical outcomes.Premenopausal women, ages 21 to 45 years, with MDD (N = 89) and healthy controls (N = 44) were recruited for a prospective study of bone turnover. Women with MDD were classified as having melancholic (N = 51), atypical (N = 16), or undifferentiated (N = 22) features. Outcome measures included: metabolic parameters, body composition, bone mineral density (BMD), and 24 hourly sampling of plasma adrenocorticotropin (ACTH), cortisol, and leptin.Compared with control subjects, women with undifferentiated and atypical features of MDD exhibited greater BMI, waist/hip ratio, and whole body and abdominal fat mass. Women with undifferentiated MDD characteristics also had higher lipid and fasting glucose levels in addition to a greater prevalence of low BMD at the femoral neck compared to controls. Elevated ACTH levels were demonstrated in women with atypical features of depression, whereas higher mean 24-hour leptin levels were observed in the melancholic subgroup.Pre-menopausal women with various features of MDD exhibit metabolic, endocrine, and BMD features that may be associated with different health consequences.ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00006180

Booth-Kelly Mixed-Use District

51 pagesGraduate and undergraduate architecture students in Professor Brook Muller’s terminal studio during winter and spring terms of 2012 examined potential redevelopment scenarios for the Booth-Kelly site, located in downtown Springfield. The city anticipated redevelopment concepts and guidelines developed as part of the studio could potentially be adopted into the Downtown Refinement Plan and implemented in the future. Students identified several programmatic schemes that describe how the site could become a destination location with a pedestrian-friendly appeal. Seen as a collision of industry and nature, sharing multiple habitats and crossing paths, the site’s industrial beauty and rich history are ideal for unique design solutions that exemplify these characteristics. An in-depth focus on its ecology led many students to incorporate much of the surrounding context in a systems thinking approach. Many of the designs seek to interconnect various processes, from both onsite and offsite byproducts and resources, and to bridge natural and urban resource flows. Common themes emerged with different programmatic emphases, including: adaptive reuse, agricultural production and distribution, community education, linking downtown to industry, and adaptable piecemeal development. While each project holds a different focus, the studio collectively promoted many of the same design values