The relationship between exposure to trauma and the development of both Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and general distress has been widely discussed in the empirical literature. However, relatively little attention has been paid to the specific processes through which trauma exposure leads to distress. This lack of research is particularly apparent in research involving residential fire. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which the four types of resource loss (object resource loss, condition resource loss, personal characteristics resource loss, and energy resource loss) mediate the relationship between fire exposure and total distress (as well as intrusion and avoidance symptom clusters). Additionally, total resource loss (a sum of the four types of resource loss) will be examined as a fifth potential mediator. The sample consists of 120 children (mean age = 12.31, SD = 2.83) exposed to residential fire who were interviewed three months after their experience. The proposed mediational analyses were explored through use of regression techniques. With regard to the relationships that showed the necessary significant correlations to perform mediational analyses, the findings of the current investigation provided some preliminary evidence for the mediational role of object resource loss and total resource loss (though these results generally failed to retain significance under the Bonferroni correction). Furthermore, the role of resource loss in the development and maintenance of PTSD was supported. Implications for future research and clinical intervention are discussed. / Master of Science

Yes / Background: Multiple biomarkers have been associated with hair loss in women, but studies showed inconsistent results. Objective: We investigated the association between markers of cardiovascular disease risk (e.g., serum lipid levels and hypertension) and aging (e.g., 25-hydroxyvitamin D and insulin-like growth factor) with hair loss in a population of middle-aged women. Methods: In a random subgroup of 323 middle-aged women (mean age: 61.5 years) from the Leiden Longevity Study, hair loss was graded by three assessors using the Sinclair scale; women with a mean score higher than 1.5 were classified as cases with hair loss. Results: Every standard deviation increase in HDL cholesterol was associated with a 0.65 times lower risk (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.46–0.91) of hair loss; for IGF-1 the risk was 0.68 times lower (95% CI: 0.48–0.97) per standard deviation increase, independent of the other studied variables. Women with both IGF-1 and HDL cholesterol levels below the median of the study population had a 3.47 times higher risk (95% CI: 1.30–9.25) of having hair loss. Limitations: The observational setting limits causal inference of the findings. Conclusion: Low HDL cholesterol and IGF-1 were associated with a higher risk of hair loss in women. / This study was funded by the Innovation Oriented Research Program on Genomics (SenterNovem; IGE01014 and IGE5007), the Centre for Medical Systems Biology (CMSB), the Netherlands Genomics Initiative/Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (05040202 and 050-060-810, NCHA), Unilever PLC and the European Union-funded Network of Excellence Lifespan (FP6 036894).

För att värna om finansiell stabilitet utförs kontinuerligt bedömningar utav de risker och hot som återfinns mot det finansiella systemet, man granskar också det finansiella systemets motståndskraft emot dessa. För att förhindra att nya bankkriser uppstår införs med jämna mellanrum nya regleringar. Däribland skall en ny redovisningsmodell implementeras för redovisning utav kreditförluster – Expected loss model. Denna redovisningsmodell ger upphov till ett ökat inslag av bedömningar vid redovisning utav kreditförluster. Det blir därmed intressant att försöka förklara banktjänstemäns och revisorers uppfattningar angående subjektiva bedömningar och dess påverkan på en rättvisande bild vid redovisning utav kreditförluster. Genom att tillämpa en abduktiv ansats i studien har en växling mellan empirisk och teoretisk reflektion möjliggjorts vid skapande utav hypotesen. Med hjälp utav ett webbaserat frågformulär har man undersökt banktjänstemän och revisorers uppfattningar angående i vilken utsträckning subjektiva bedömningar leder till en rättvisande bild vid redovisning utav kreditförluster. Frågeformuläret tilldelades banktjänstemän som dagligen arbetar med förlustavsättningar och samtliga auktoriserade revisorer vilka är medlemmar i FAR. Empirin har sedan bearbetats statistiskt för att kunna testa den hypotes som tagits fram med bakgrund i studiens teoretiska referensram. Genom denna studie har man statistiskt kunnat säkerställa att det återfinns en skillnad i uppfattningar mellan banktjänstemän och revisorer angående hur subjektiva bedömningar speglar en rättvisande bild utav bankens kreditkvalitet. Man kan således i enlighet med studiens hypotes påvisa att banktjänstemän i större utsträckning anser att subjektiva bedömningar leder till en mer rättvisande bild utav bankens kreditkvalitet. Då bedömningar med stor sannolikhet förändras i samklang med rådande marknadsklimat och aktuella redovisningsstandarder anser man att studien fyller en kunskapslucka inom området. / To protect the financial stability, assessments of the risk and threats to the financial system are carried out continuously. Also, the financial system’s resilience against these risks and threats is reviewed. To prevent creation of new bank crisis new regulation are implemented continuously. Among these, a new accounting model is implemented for the accounting of credit losses - Expected loss model. This accounting model gives rise to an increase in the use of assessments in the accounting of credit losses. This makes it interesting to try explaining bank office workers and auditors’ perceptions regarding subjective judgments and their impact on a true and fair view in accounting of credit losses. The application of an abductive view in the study made it possible to switch between empirical and theoretical reflections to be used in the creation of the hypothesis. An investigation of bank office workers and auditors’ perceptions regarding the extent to which subjective judgments impacts a true and fair view in accounting of credit losses was carried out through a questionnaire. The questionnaire was handed to bankers who in their daily work are in contact with loss provision and to all certified public accountants that are members of FAR. The result was then statistically processed in order to test the hypotheses which have been created from the study’s theoretical framework. This study has statistically made it possible to show that there is a difference in perceptions between bank office workers and auditors’ regarding how subjective judgments reflect a true and fair value of the bank’s credit quality. Therefore it is possible in accordance with the study’s hypothesis to prove that bank office workers to a greater extent believe that subjective judgments lead to a more true and fair value in accounting for credit losses. Since assessments with high probability change in consistence with current market conditions and accounting standards, it is believed that the study fills a knowledge gap in the field.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2006. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Zugl.: Potsdam, Univ., Habil.-Schr., 2000.

Whenever we make a prediction we will make an error of a varying degree. What is worse,positive errors or negative ones? This question is important to answer before estimating amodel. When estimating a model a loss function is chosen, a function that gives an instruction of how to transform a particular error. Previous research hints at applications whereasymmetric loss functions provide more optimal models than using symmetric loss functions.Through a simulation study, this thesis highlights the consequences of using symmetric andasymmetric loss functions when assuming the actual problem is asymmetric. This thesis isconducted to cover a gap in literature as well as to correct a common statistical misunderstanding. Our core findings are that the models that take the asymmetry into account havethe lowest prediction errors, while also demonstrating that the larger the degree of asymmetry leads to a greater difference in performance between asymmetric and symmetric modelsin favour of the models estimated with asymmetric loss functions. This confirms what isdemonstrated in existing literature and what can be found in statistical theory.

Many standardized measures of cognition include items that must be seen or heard. Nevertheless, it is not uncommon to overlook the possible effects of sensory impairment(s) on test scores. In the current study, we investigated whether sensory impairments could affect performance on a widely used screening tool, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Three hundred and one older adults (mean age = 71 years) completed the MoCA and also hearing and vision tests. Half of the participants had normal hearing and vision, 38% impaired hearing, 5% impaired vision, and 7% had dual-sensory impairment. More participants with normal sensory acuity passed the MoCA compared to those with sensory loss, even after modifying scores to adjust for sensory factors. The results suggest that cognitive abilities may be underestimated if sensory problems are not considered and that people with sensory loss are at greater risk of cognitive decline.

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A deficiência auditiva constitui uma importante categoria de defeitos congênitos que podem se manifestar isoladamente ou fazer parte do espectro fenotípico de várias síndromes. O presente trabalho refere-se ao estudo genéticoclínico de pacientes portadores de deficiência auditiva não sindrômica, com os objetivos de estabelecer a razão sexual, tipo, grau, simetria, lateralidade e progressão da deficiência auditiva; determinar diagnósticos etiológicos prováveis da deficiência auditiva, estabelecendo, quando possível, o padrão de herança genética e fornecer meios para o aconselhamento genético. Foram avaliados 306 pacientes no serviço de Genética Clínica do Centro de Atendimento aos Distúrbios da Audição, Linguagem e Visão do Hospital de Reabilitação de Anomalias Craniofaciais-USP, no período de dezoito meses. Dos 306 pacientes avaliados, 278 eram portadores de deficiência auditiva, 27 portadores de distúrbio de linguagem e 1 portador de deficiência visual. De acordo com o critério estabelecido (presença de deficiência auditiva isolada), 144 pacientes foram selecionados para este estudo, através da história clínica, história familial, dados pré, peri e pós-natais e audiometria (dados de prontuário). A análise estatística não mostrou associação significativa entre a ocorrência de deficiência auditiva não sindrômica e o sexo dos propósitos. Dos 144 pacientes estudados, 95.8% dos casos tinham etiologia genética e 4.2% etiologia ambiental. Nos portadores de deficiência auditiva de etiologia genética, o padrão de herança indefinido (53.6%) foi o mais freqüente, seguido o de herança autossômica recessiva (23.9%) e autossômica dominante (22.5%); as anomalias maiores e menores associadas à deficiência auditiva não estavam relacionadas com esta deficiência. O tipo de perda auditiva predominante foi o neurossensorial (99.3%) e deficiência auditiva severa a profunda foi a mais freqüente (34.8%). Da amostra, 68.1% dos casos apresentaram perda auditiva pré-lingüística, 54.9% apresentaram perda auditiva assimétrica, 95.8% perda auditiva bilateral e 95.1% perda auditiva não progressiva. O estudo permitiu concluir que história clínica e familial são informações importantes no diagnóstico etiológico da deficiência auditiva; que as configurações da curva audiométrica são avaliações de apoio ao esclarecimento diagnóstico da deficiência auditiva; que o aconselhamento genético é dificultado nos casos com padrão de herança indefinido e que análises moleculares são dados subsidiários à definição etiológica da deficiência auditiva. / Hearing loss constitutes an important category of congenital defects that can be expressed isolately or making part of the phenotypical spectrum of several syndromes. The aim of this study is to establish the sex-ratio, type, degree, symmetry, laterality, progression , and to find out the etiology of non syndromic hearing loss, establishing, when possible, the inheritance pattern providing ways to genetic couseling. During 18 months, 306 patients were evaluated at Centro de Atendimento aos Distúrbios da Audição, Linguagem e Visão of the Hospital de Reabilitação de Anomalias Craniofaciais-USP. Nonsyndromic hearing loss was observed in 144 of them; syndromic hearing loss in 134; only speech impairment in 27, and only visual impairment in 1. According criteria only the 144 patients with nonsyndromic were selected for this study. There were 83 females (57.6%) and 61males (42.4%); genetic etiology was found in 95.8% of the sample and environmental etiology in 4.2%; major and minor associated anomalies were not related with hearing loss. Sensorineural hearing loss was found in 99.3% and severeprofound hearing loss was the most frequent (34.8%). Others results were: asymmetrical hearing loss in 54.9%, bilateral hearing loss in 95.8%, and non progressive in 95.1%. This study allow to conclude that the familial and clinical data were important to define etiological diagnosis; the shape of audiograms were evaluations that help to clarify, but not define, the diagnosis. Genetic counseling is difficult when the pattern of inheritance is unknown; and molecular studies are important subsidiary test to define the etiology of the hearing loss.