Biological endophenotypes of prodromal psychosis and depression

The identification of biomarkers to predict risk and clinical outcomes beyond clinical observation in psychiatry is a key priority in contemporary mental health research. Individuals at elevated risk for mental disorders have been the focus of such efforts as they represent a potentially viable target group for early intervention and indicated prevention. Early intervention and indicated prevention efforts for individuals at ultrahigh risk (UHR) for psychosis might benefit from such biomarkers to enable better risk prediction and to discern who will benefit from treatment. Alterations in neuroendocrine, immune and oxidative stress markers as well as abnormalities in lipid biology are robust findings in biological psychiatry. On the other hand, mounting evidence suggests that First Nations people including the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people of Australia have a higher risk for common and severe mental illness, most likely attributable to social and environmental health determinants. However the role of stress-related biomarkers in this context remains poorly understood. Consequently, the aims of this thesis were to examine (1) a multisystem biomarker index known as allostatic load in two high-risk populations and to (2) examine the role of lipid biology in these groups. The first part of this thesis explores the role of allostatic load (AL) and omega-3 (ω-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in two clinical studies of patients with schizophrenia, first-episode psychosis and individuals at UHR for psychosis. The second part explores the role of AL and dietary ω-3 PUFA in a community-based study of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, who are at increased risk for mental ill-health according to recent national reports. The above aims are achieved through meta-analysis of existing studies of cortisol in psychotic disorders, secondary analysis of two clinical studies, and in a cross-sectional multi-site community-based study of Aboriginal and/or Torres Straight Islander adolescents and young adults attending a health check. First, flattened cortisol-awakening response is reported in patients with schizophrenia and first-episode psychosis relative to controls, but not in UHR individuals, suggesting neuroendocrine dysregulation during some stages of the psychosis spectrum. Secondly, informed by these findings, a study of AL demonstrated elevated AL in patients with schizophrenia and first-episode psychosis that was positively correlated with positive psychotic symptoms and negatively correlated with functioning at trend level. No prospective association of AL and treatment response and symptomatic ix remission was identified. Next, secondary analysis of a multi-centre randomised controlled trial investigated AL in youth at UHR for psychosis. This study revealed prospective associations of high AL with impairments in social and occupational functioning. Next, the prospective association of PUFA status and clinical outcomes in a 12-month follow-up is reported, which demonstrated a selective relationship of low ω-3 PUFA levels with mood disorders and no association with psychotic or anxiety disorders. The second part of the thesis reports depression rates in three remote communities, explores the relationship of depression with hair cortisol and AL, and reports an association of low plasma levels of o ω-3 PUFA with depressive symptoms. Collectively, the data presented in this thesis demonstrate complex associations of a multisystem biomarker index and ω-3 PUFA with mental ill-health. Ultimately, multisystem indices like AL may be used in future research to establish their utility as a clinical prognostic risk index. By studying membrane lipids in an ethnic minority group, this thesis was able to show an association of high dietary intake of ω-3 PUFA and low levels of depression, which may serve as a protective factor

Analisis Pengaruh Kepemimpinan, Komunikasi Dan Motivasi Terhadap Kinerja Pegawai Negeri Sipil Sekretariat Daerah Kebupaten Maybrat

The results of this research showed that the leadership, communication, and motivation, together has an influence to employee performance, which will affect the performance of the organization in this case the performance of the Regional Secretariat Maybrat District. Leadership has an influence on employee performance, which will affect the performance of the organization in this case the performance of the Regional Secretariat Maybrat District. Communication has an influence to employee performance, which will affect the performance of the organization in this case, the performance of the Regional Secretariat Maybrat District. Motivation has an influence the performance of employees that will have an impact on the performance of the organization in this case the performance of the Regional Secretariat Maybrat District. Keywords: Leadership, Communication, Motivation, Performance, Civil Servant

ONRECHTMATIGE OVERHEIDSDAAD DALAM PRAKTEK PERADILAN NEGARA HUKUM INDONESIA (Studi Putusan Pengadilan Negeri Manado Nomor: 415/Pdt.G/2015/PN. Mnd Tanggal 19 Mei 2016)

Esensi konsep negara hukum adalah pembatasan kekuasaan negara (pemerintah) dalam menyelenggarakan urusan-urusan pemerintahan melalui hukum. Kekuasaan harus berada di bawah hukum, sesuai peraturan perundang-undangan. Kekuasaan politik dan birokrasi dibatasi selain dengan cara memisahkan kekuasaan negara (separation of power) dalam tiga bentuk yaitu legislatif (la puissance legislative), eksekutif (la puissance exececitive) dan yudikatif (la puissance de juger), juga melalui kontrol yuridis oleh pengadilan. Keputusan dan/atau ketetapan tidak otomatis menimbulkan sengketa Tata Usaha Negara (TUN). Sebab, disamping sengketa kepegawaian, syarat mutlak bagi adanya sengketa TUN adalah adanya Keputusan Tata Usaha Negara (KTUN) yang bersifat konkrit, individual dan final. Alinea ke-9 Penjelasan Umum Undang-Undang Nomor 5 Tahun 1986 tentang Peradilan Tata Usaha Negara yang terakhir kali diubah dengan Undang-Undang Nomor 51 Tahun 2009 tentang Perubahan Kedua atas Undang-undang Nomor 5 Tahun 1986 tentang Peradilan Tata Usaha Negara, menegaskan bahwa apabila ada sengketa TUN yang tidak menjadi wewenang PTUN, diselesaikan oleh Peradilan Umum. Penyalahgunaan kekuasaan (abus depouvoir, dĕtournement de pouvoir) atau sewenang-wenang (willekeur) atau melampaui wewenang (ultra vires) dapat diuji melalui gugatan onrechtmatige overheidsdaadKata Kunci: Negara hukum, Onrechtmatige overheidsdaad, Putusan

The USS Liberty Incident: Accident or Intentional Attack

My research examines the events surrounding the 1967 USS Liberty incident. In short, The USS Liberty incident was an attack by Israeli forces on a United States Navy technical research ship, USS Liberty, in international waters during the Six-Day War in 1967, leading to significant American casualties and controversy over the nature and motives of the attack. This incident has become rather controversial as many of the survivors of the Liberty, and US senior government officials involved share a differing view of the attack than the official explanation. When I first heard the story of the USS Liberty, I became extremely interested in learning more about the events that transpired and began reading about the incident in my free time. Thus, when I registered for Modern American Military History with Dr. David Snead, I was already eager to research this topic. After obtaining a general understanding of the incident I formed my research question, which is, “What are there differing accounts of the USS Liberty incident and what actually happened? In my research, I utilized both primary sources such as government documents and various statements from senior government officials involved. I also utilized many secondary sources, many of which disagree with survivors’ assessments. I was able to get in touch with multiple Liberty survivors including Philip Tourney and Ron Kukal. In the last year, Phil and I have been able to build a close friendship and we have communicated with one another often. In my research, I do not attempt to conclude a possible motive for the attack rather I describe the details of what happened and allow readers to draw their conclusions. My research is meant to showcase differing views of the incident while also providing an unbiased account of what transpired. In the future, I hope to continue to write more on the topic

The Colonial American Historical Significance of St. David\u27s Church

Undergraduate Textual or Investigativ

Critical Review of the Journey of Democracy in Indonesia: Functions and Authorities of the Regional Representative Council (DPD) in the Constitutional System

The aim of this research is to analyze and explain the function and authority of the Regional Representative Council (DPD) in the Indonesian constitutional system and to see objectively how the function and authority of the Regional Representative Council (DPD) is implemented according to the Indonesian constitution. This research uses descriptive normative law to explain the function and role of regional representative bodies in the constitutional system. Normative legal research only uses literature studies to collect data

Quandle Unification Reduces to Quandle Matching

The purpose of this project is to show that quandle unification reduces to quandle matching. We show that any unification problem $U$ can be embedded into a matching problem $M$. If a unifier exists for $M$, then the narrowing sequence $N$ of that unifier can be refactored to $N\u27$ such that all of its idempotence narrowing steps involving substitutions are done last. At the moment when the narrowing sequence $N\u27$ needs only to do idempotence steps to unify $M$, we show that this implies a form for the embedded matching problem $U$ such that $U$ is guaranteed to have a unifier. This result also verifies that a quandle unification algorithm which uses the embedding technique is solving unification and not just matching

Diversity Casting Within Reality TV Competitions

When it comes to casting in reality TV competition shows, many of the casts suffer from an imbalance in diversity, allowing majority white players to stick together and eliminate the few minority players every season. This paper deals with deconstructing how casting works as well as offering up solutions for change to the broken system

The USS Liberty Incident: Accident or Intentional Attack

When I first heard the story of the USS Liberty I became extremely interested in learning more about the events that transpired and began reading about the incident in my free time. Thus, when I registered for Modern American Military History with Dr. Snead, I was already eager to research this topic. While my primary fields of study are engulfed in the Colonial American period, I have had a strong interest in American military history since I was a child. This would especially be the case with the U.S. Navy as my father is a retired Naval officer and I grew up living on different military bases around the United States. Furthermore, I am ethnically half-Jewish and have relatives who have gotten citizenship to the state of Israel. The first time I heard of the USS Liberty incident I was shocked that I hadn’t heard of it before. A friend of mine who at the time was an active-duty sailor in the Navy had become acquainted with many of the survivors from the Liberty. Thus, I was able to get in touch with multiple Liberty survivors including Philip Tourney and Ron Kukal. In the last year, Phil and I have been able to build a close friendship and we have communicated with one another often. It has been an honor to have had Phil help me in my research. Finally, as a Christian, I believe we should continually seek for truth. Both Tourney and Kukal attest their survival to God’s Grace, and it has been an honor to develop a relationship with these strong Christians. When conducting this research, I often thought of Proverbs 18:15 which states, The heart of the prudent acquires knowledge, And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge