Objective: To determine the impact ofpartner support in the treatment ofmothers suffering from postpartum depression (PPD).Method: Patients underwent a comprehensive psychiatric assessment and were enrolled in the study only ifthey met the DSM-IV criteria for major depressive disorder with postpartum onset. Patients with PPD (n = 29) were assigned randomly to 2 is a complex and challenging disorder that often takes a woman and her family by surprise. At a time normally marked by joy and happiness, the onset of depression can cause devastation and dissension in a woman's life. The consequences of depression during the postpartum period are considerably more deleterious than at another time because a woman faces the added responsibility of caring for her newborn infant. The demands of infant care alone are new and require time for adjustment. For a woman suffering from PPO, the whole experience ofmotherhood becomes overwhelming (1,2).PPO can manifest itself in a variety of ways. Superimposed on the typical symptoms of depression are such conditions as intruding thoughts ofharming the baby (3), psychotic depression that may lead tragically to infanticide (4), and pervasive thoughts of suicide (5). The prevalence of depression during the postpartum period is estimated to be between 10% and 28% (6-10). Typically, depressive symptoms appear within the first 6 postpartum weeks, and, in 60% of the cases, they represent the woman's first episode of depression.After the birth, the husband or partner also goes throughan adjustment period. For some couples, a baby strengthens the relationship, which leads to a supportive milieu for the infant's growth. The partner's role becomes even more crucial ifthe mother is afflicted with a major mood disorder. A stable marital relationship helps new parents adapt to the competing demands of marriage, infant, and family. In contrast, studies have shown that a poor marital relationship is the most consistent psychosocial predictor of PPO (11,12), and a review of antenatal psychosocial risk factors and adverse postpartum outcomes revealed that PPO was most strongly associated with poor marital adjustment, recent life stressors, and antepartum depression (10).Many women experience a great deal of stress in attempting to handle both maternal and marital roles (13,14). The presence of depression in the mother can cause significant complications in both marital and family relationships (15). In addition, a troubled environment can heighten existing depression during the postpartum period (16). In one study,researchers investigated 71 pregnant women to identify the influence of marital adjustment on maternal depressive symptoms (16). The participants were followed at 6,9, and 12 months postpartum. Results support the notion that a disruption in the marital relationship is a predictor ofmatemal PPD. Further, it was found that major psychosocial stresses occurred in postpartum marital adjustment when partners were not supportive and were not involved in child-rearing (11,17).Women who have hist...

The spectral induced polarization (SIP) technique is a promising approach for delineating subsurface physical and chemical property changes in a minimally invasive manner. To facilitate the understanding of position and chemical properties of reaction fronts that involve mineral precipitation in porous media, we investigated spatiotemporal variations in complex conductivity during evolution of urea hydrolysis and calcite precipitation reaction fronts within a silica gel column. The real and imaginary parts of complex conductivity were shown to be sensitive to changes in both solution chemistry and calcium carbonate precipitation. Distinct changes in imaginary conductivity coincided with increased hydroxide ion concentration during urea hydrolysis. In a separate experiment focused on the effect of hydroxide concentration on interfacial polarization of silica gel and well-sorted sand, we found a significant dependence of the polarization response on pH changes of the solution. We propose a conceptual model describing hydroxide ion adsorption behavior in silica gel and its control on interfacial polarizability. Our results demonstrate the utility of SIP for noninvasive monitoring of reaction fronts, and indicate its potential for quantifying geochemical processes that control the polarization responses of porous media at larger spatial scales in the natural environment.

Ureolytically driven calcite precipitation is a promising approach for inducing subsurface mineral precipitation, but engineered application requires the ability to control and predict precipitate distribution. To study the coupling between reactant transport and precipitate distribution, columns with defined zones of immobilized urease were used to examine the distribution of calcium carbonate precipitation along the flow path, at two different initial flow rates. As expected, with slower flow precipitate was concentrated toward the upstream end of the enzyme zone and with higher flow the solid was more uniformly distributed over the enzyme zone. Under constant hydraulic head conditions the flow rate decreased as precipitates decreased porosity and permeability. The hydrolysis/precipitation zone was expected to become compressed in the upstream direction. However, apparent reductions in the urea hydrolysis rate and changes in the distribution of enzyme activity, possibly due to CaCO3 precipitate hindering urea transport to the enzyme, or enzyme mobilization, mitigated reaction zone compression. Co-injected strontium was expected to be sequestered by coprecipitation with CaCO3, but the results suggested that coprecipitation was not an effective sequestration mechanism in this system. In addition, spectral induced polarization (SIP) was used to monitor the spatial and temporal evolution of the reaction zone.

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