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The significance and cause of the decline in biomass burning across the Americas after ad 1500 is a topic of considerable debate. We synthesized charcoal records (a proxy for biomass burning) from the Americas and from the remainder of the globe over the past 2000 years, and compared these with paleoclimatic records and population reconstructions. A distinct post-ad 1500 decrease in biomass burning is evident, not only in the Americas, but also globally, and both are similar in duration and timing to ‘Little Ice Age’ climate change. There is temporal and spatial variability in the expression of the biomass-burning decline across the Americas but, at a regional–continental scale, ‘Little Ice Age’ climate change was likely more important than indigenous population collapse in driving this decline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The active template synthesis of mechanically interlocked molecular architectures exploits the dual ability of various structural elements (metals or, in the case of metal-free active template synthesis, particular arrangements of functional groups) to serve as both a template for the organisation of building blocks and as a catalyst to facilitate the formation of covalent bonds between them. This enables the entwined or threaded intermediate structure to be covalently captured under kinetic control. Unlike classical passive template synthesis, the intercomponent interactions transiently used to promote the assembly typically do not 'live on' in the interlocked product, meaning that active template synthesis can be traceless and used for constructing mechanically interlocked molecules that do not feature strong binding interactions between the components. Since its introduction in 2006, active template synthesis has been used to prepare a variety of rotaxanes, catenanes and knots. Amongst the metal-ion-mediated versions of the strategy, the copper(I)-catalysed alkyne-azide cycloaddition (CuAAC) remains the most extensively used transformation, although a broad range of other catalytic reactions and transition metals also provide effective manifolds. In metal-free active template synthesis, the recent discovery of the acceleration of the reaction of primary amines with electrophiles through the cavity of crown ethers has proved effective for forming an array of rotaxanes without recognition elements, including compact rotaxane superbases, dissipatively assembled rotaxanes and molecular pumps. This Review details the active template concept, outlines its advantages and limitations for the synthesis of interlocked molecules, and charts the diverse set of reactions that have been used with this strategy to date. The application of active template synthesis in various domains is discussed, including molecular machinery, mechanical chirality, catalysis, molecular recognition and various aspects of materials science.

Challenges for the development of efficacious new superbases include their ease of synthesis, chemical stability, and high basicity, while minimizing nucleophilicity is important for reducing unwanted side reactions. Here, we introduce a new family of organic superbases, compact amine-crown ether rotaxanes, which show desirable characteristics in all these respects. Metal-free active template synthesis provides access to a range of rotaxanes with as little as three atoms between the stoppering groups, locking the location of a small crown ether (21C7 and 24C8 derivatives) over the amine group of the axle. The forced proximity of the interlocked protophilic components results in p K a H + values as high as 32.2 in acetonitrile, which is up to 13 p K a H + units greater than the p K a H + values of the non-interlocked components, and brings the free base rotaxanes into the basicity realm of phosphazene superbases. The rotaxane superbases are generally chemically stable and, in a model reaction for superbases, eliminate HBr from a primary alkyl bromide with complete selectivity for deprotonation over alkylation. Their modest size, ease of synthesis, high basicity, low nucleophilicity, and, in the best cases, rapid substrate deprotonation kinetics and excellent hydrolytic stability make compact amine-crown ether rotaxane superbases intriguing candidates for potential applications in synthesis and supramolecular and materials chemistry.

Despite advances in our understanding of the geographic and temporal scope of the Paleolithic record, we know remarkably little about the evolutionary and ecological consequences of changes in human behavior. Recent inquiries suggest that human evolution reflects a long history of interconnections between the behavior of humans and their surrounding ecosystems (e.g., niche construction). Developing expectations to identify such phenomena is remarkably difficult because it requires understanding the multi-generational impacts of changes in behavior. These long-term dynamics require insights into the emergent phenomena that alter selective pressures over longer time periods which are not possible to observe, and are also not intuitive based on observations derived from ethnographic time scales. Generative models show promise for probing these potentially unexpected consequences of human-environment interaction. Changes in the uses of landscapes may have long term implications for the environments that hominins occupied. We explore other potential proxies of behavior and examine how modeling may provide expectations for a variety of phenomena., (© 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Calcium (Ca 2+ ) dysregulation has been linked to neuronal cell death, including in hereditary retinal degeneration. Ca 2+ dysregulation is thought to cause rod and cone photoreceptor cell death. Spatial and temporal heterogeneities in retinal disease models have hampered validation of this hypothesis. We examined the role of Ca 2+ in photoreceptor degeneration, assessing the activation pattern of Ca 2+ -dependent calpain proteases, generating spatiotemporal maps of the entire retina in the cpfl1 mouse model for primary cone degeneration, and in the rd1 and rd10 models for primary rod degeneration. We used Gaussian process models to distinguish the temporal sequences of degenerative molecular processes from other variability sources.In the rd1 and rd10 models, spatiotemporal pattern of increased calpain activity matched the progression of primary rod degeneration. High calpain activity coincided with activation of the calpain-2 isoform but not with calpain-1, suggesting differential roles for both calpain isoforms. Primary rod loss was linked to upregulation of apoptosis-inducing factor, although only a minute fraction of cells showed activity of the apoptotic marker caspase-3. After primary rod degeneration concluded, caspase-3 activation appeared in cones, suggesting apoptosis as the dominant mechanism for secondary cone loss. Gaussian process models highlighted calpain activity as a key event during primary rod photoreceptor cell death. Our data suggest a causal link between Ca 2+ dysregulation and primary, nonapoptotic degeneration of photoreceptors and a role for apoptosis in secondary degeneration of cones, highlighting the importance of the spatial and temporal location of key molecular events, which may guide the evaluation of new therapies., (© 2019 The Authors. The Journal of Comparative Neurology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

The long-term response of ancient societies to climate change has been a matter of global debate. Until recently, the lack of integrative studies using archaeological, palaeoecological and palaeoclimatological data prevented an evaluation of the relationship between climate change, distinct subsistence strategies and cultural transformations across the largest rainforest of the world, Amazonia. Here we review the most relevant cultural changes seen in the archaeological record of six different regions within Greater Amazonia during late pre-Columbian times. We compare the chronology of those cultural transitions with high-resolution regional palaeoclimate proxies, showing that, while some societies faced major reorganization during periods of climate change, others were unaffected and even flourished. We propose that societies with intensive, specialized land-use systems were vulnerable to transient climate change. In contrast, land-use systems that relied primarily on polyculture agroforestry, resulting in the formation of enriched forests and fertile Amazonian dark earth in the long term, were more resilient to climate change.

The main aim of present study was to develop a model that specifies the predictive effects of some character strengths in depression. Two hundred individuals with major depression were recruited from clinical psychology centers. Participants completed a battery of questionnaires measuring dysfunctional attitudes, basic emotions, character strengths, and depression. Seven character strengths of critical thinking, emotional intelligence, gratitude, forgiveness, hope, spirituality, and zest were selected to measure the latent variable of character strengths. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Normed chi-square, comparative fit index, incremental fit index, and other indices demonstrated an adequate fit for the model suggesting that character strengths had an indirect effect on depression through the mediation of dysfunctional attitudes, negative affect, and happiness. Character strengths had negative effects on dysfunctional attitudes and positive effects on happiness. The findings of present study have implications for practitioners and researchers to develop an integrative model for the treatment of depression.

Background: Previous cross-lagged studies on depression and memory impairment among the elderly have revealed conflicting findings relating to the direction of influence between depression and memory impairment. The current study aims to clarify this direction of influence by examining the cross-lagged relationships between memory impairment and depression in an Asian sample of elderly community dwellers, as well as synthesizing previous relevant cross-lagged findings via a meta-analysis., Methods: A total of 160 participants (Mage = 68.14, s.d. = 5.34) were assessed across two time points (average of 1.9 years apart) on measures of memory and depressive symptoms. The data were then fitted to a structural equation model to examine two cross-lagged effects (i.e. depressive symptoms→memory; memory→depressive symptoms). A total of 14 effect-sizes for each of the two cross-lagged directions were extracted from six studies (including the present; total N = 8324). These effects were then meta-analyzed using a three-level mixed effects model., Results: In the current sample, lower memory ability at baseline was associated with worse depressive symptoms levels at follow-up, after controlling for baseline depressive symptoms. However, the reverse effect was not significant; baseline depressive symptoms did not predict subsequent memory ability after controlling for baseline memory. The results of the meta-analysis revealed the same pattern of relationship between memory and depressive symptoms., Conclusions: These results provide robust evidence that the relationship between memory impairment and depressive symptoms is unidirectional; memory impairment predicts subsequent depressive symptoms but not vice-versa. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Objectives: The original 24-item Attitudes to Aging Questionnaire (AAQ) is well established as a measure of attitudes to aging, comprising domains of psychosocial loss (PL), physical change (PC), and psychological growth (PG). This paper presents a new 12-item short form Attitudes to Aging Questionnaire (AAQ-SF)., Methods: The original field trial data used to develop the 24-item AAQ (AAQ-24) were used to compare 6-item, 9-item, and 12-item versions of AAQ-SF (sample 1, n = 2487) and to test the discriminative validity of the selected 12-item AAQ-SF (sample 2, n = 2488). Data from a separate study reporting on the AAQ-24 (sample 3, n = 792) verified the analyses., Results: The 12-item AAQ-SF reported adequate internal consistency in both sample 1 (PL α = .72, PC α = .72, and PG α = .62) and sample 3 (PL α = .68, PC α = .73, and PG α = .61). The AAQ-SF functioned consistently with the profile of the AAQ-24 in that subscales in both formats of this measure discriminate between respondents on key parameters such as depression, subjective health status, and overall quality of life in sample 2. Sample 3 also demonstrated the AAQ-SF can detect the differences in attitudes toward aging between individuals experiencing anxiety and depression and those without psychological symptoms. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that the structure of the AAQ-SF mirrors that of the original 24-item AAQ., Conclusions: The AAQ-SF is a robust measure of attitudes toward aging, which can reduce respondent burden when used within longer questionnaire batteries or longitudinal research. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., (Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

We demonstrate how to optimize the performance of PAM-4 transmitters based on lumped Silicon Photonic Mach-Zehnder Modulators (MZMs) for short-reach optical links. Firstly, we analyze the trade-off that occurs between extinction ratio and modulation loss when driving an MZM with a voltage swing less than the MZM's V π . This is important when driver circuits are realized in deep submicron CMOS process nodes. Next, a driving scheme based upon a switched capacitor approach is proposed to maximize the achievable bandwidth of the combined lumped MZM and CMOS driver chip. This scheme allows the use of lumped MZM for high speed optical links with reduced RF driver power consumption compared to the conventional approach of driving MZMs (with transmission line based electrodes) with a power amplifier. This is critical for upcoming short-reach link standards such as 400Gb/s 802.3 Ethernet. The driver chip was fabricated using a 65nm CMOS technology and flip-chipped on top of the Silicon Photonic chip (fabricated using IMEC's ISIPP25G technology) that contains the MZM. Open eyes with 4dB extinction ratio for a 36Gb/s (18Gbaud) PAM-4 signal are experimentally demonstrated. The electronic driver chip has a core area of only 0.11mm2 and consumes 236mW from 1.2V and 2.4V supply voltages. This corresponds to an energy efficiency of 6.55pJ/bit including Gray encoder and retiming, or 5.37pJ/bit for the driver circuit only.

The New Multi-dimensional Depression Scale (NMDS) is one of the most comprehensive scales that measures depression symptoms in four domains, including emotional, cognitive, somatic, and interpersonal. This study aimed to evaluate the factor structure and psychometric properties of the NMDS in a group of Iranian inpatients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). At first, the scale was translated into Persian and used as part of a battery consisting of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), Oxford Happiness Inventory (OHI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). The battery was administered to 271 inpatients with MDD (90 men and 181 women) aged from 18 to 60 who had been referred to psychiatric hospitals in Tehran, Iran. Confirmatory factor analysis of the Persian version of the NMDS upheld its original four-factor structure. Moreover, the results showed its good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha coefficient ranging from 0.70 for the emotional subscale to 0.83 for the interpersonal subscale). In addition, the NMDS scores were correlated with other constructs in empirically and theoretically expected ways, which provides evidence for the convergent (positive significant relationships with anxiety and cognitive and somatic-affective symptoms of depression) and divergent (negative significant relationships with happiness and mental health and physical health) validity of the scale. These findings supported the Persian version of the NMDS as a reliable and valid measure for the assessment of depression symptoms in patients with MDD., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

South American seasonally dry tropical forests (SDTFs) are critically endangered, with only a small proportion of their original distribution remaining. This paper presents a 12 000 year reconstruction of climate change, fire and vegetation dynamics in the Bolivian Chiquitano SDTF, based upon pollen and charcoal analysis, to examine the resilience of this ecosystem to drought and fire. Our analysis demonstrates a complex relationship between climate, fire and floristic composition over multi-millennial time scales, and reveals that moisture variability is the dominant control upon community turnover in this ecosystem. Maximum drought during the Early Holocene, consistent with regional drought reconstructions, correlates with a period of significant fire activity between 8000 and 7000 cal yr BP which resulted in a decrease in SDTF diversity. As fire activity declined but severe regional droughts persisted through the Middle Holocene, SDTFs, including Anadenanthera and Astronium, became firmly established in the Bolivian lowlands. The trend of decreasing fire activity during the last two millennia promotes the idea among forest ecologists that SDTFs are threatened by fire. Our analysis shows that the Chiquitano seasonally dry biome has been more resilient to Holocene changes in climate and fire regime than previously assumed, but raises questions over whether this resilience will continue in the future under increased temperatures and drought coupled with a higher frequency anthropogenic fire regime.This article is part of the themed issue 'The interaction of fire and mankind'., (© 2016 The Author(s).)

We simulate and experimentally demonstrate a novel all-optical clock recovery technique for a BPSK OFDM superchannel. Four-wave mixing in SOAs is used to strip the modulation from the superchannel sub-carriers, two of which are filtered and beat together in a photodiode to recover the clock.

Background: Overall, people with chronic illnesses have lower life satisfaction compared to nonclinical populations. The objective of this international study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD)., Methods: PD patients (n = 350) were recruited and interviewed at different specialized services in the United Kingdom, Spain, Czech Republic, Italy, and The Netherlands. A questionnaire set including a measure of life satisfaction, quality of life (QoL), self-reported health and disability status, and sociodemographic information was used. Acceptability, reliability, and validity were examined., Results: The internal consistency was good ( α = 0.81). The scale structure was satisfactory (comparative fit index = 0.99; root mean square error of approximation = 0.08). The SWLS was able to discriminate between healthy and unhealthy, disabled and nondisabled, and those perceiving a more severe impact of the disability on their lives. Concurrent validity using multiple linear regression models confirmed associations between SWLS and QoL and age., Conclusions: This study is the first to report on the use of the SWLS in PD patients in different European countries. It is a useful tool in assessing satisfaction with life in PD patients through the continuum of care.

Purpose: To assess Life Satisfaction, using the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and to analyze its psychometric properties in Multiple Sclerosis (MS)., Method: Persons with MS (n = 84) recruited at the MS Centre of Catalonia (Spain) completed a battery of subjective assessments including the SWLS, the World Health Organization Quality of Life instrument and disability module (WHOQOL-BREF, WHOQOL-DIS) and the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale-Depression (HADS-D); sociodemographic and disability status data were also gathered. Psychometric properties of the SWLS were investigated using standard psychometric methods., Results: Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha coefficient) was 0.84. A factor analysis using a principal components method showed a one factor structure accounting for 62.6% of the variance. Statistically significant correlations were confirmed between SWLS with WHOQOL-BREF, WHOQOL-DIS and HADS-D. SWLS scores were significantly different between a priori defined groups: probable depressed versus nondepressed and participants perceiving a mild versus severe impact of disability on their lives., Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to report on the psychometrics properties of the SWLS in persons with MS. It might be a valuable tool to use in appraising persons with MS through the continuum of care., Implications for Rehabilitation: The Spanish version of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) is a reliable and valid instrument in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The SWLS is able to discriminate between participants with low or high scores on depressive symptoms or disability impact on life. SWLS might be useful through the continuum of care in persons with MS, including Rehabilitation Services.

We describe the first experimental demonstration of a novel all-optical phase discrimination technique, which can separate the two orthogonal phase components of a signal onto different frequencies. This method exploits nonlinear mixing in a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) to separate a 10.65 Gbaud QPSK signal into two 10.65 Gb/s BPSK signals which are then demodulated using a delay interferometer (DI). Eye diagrams and spectral measurements verify correct operation and a conversion efficiency greater than 9 dB is observed on both output BPSK channels when compared with the input QPSK signal.

Objective: The present study sought to investigate emotion regulation strategies in people with anorexia nervosa (AN) and whether the theoretical concept of 'emotion coupling' between anger and disgust could help to explain some of the specific eating disorder symptomatology in people with AN., Method: This 'emotion coupling' hypothesis was tested using a mood induction procedure within laboratory conditions, where individuals with AN (n = 22) were matched with control participants (n = 19). Participants completed a bank of different measures prior to the study, and these included measures of eating pathology, core beliefs about the self and others, and emotion regulation strategies. Within the experimental part of this study, anger, disgust and body size estimation were measured prior to and after an anger induction procedure (i.e., a repeated measures design)., Results: People with AN demonstrated a significantly more internal-dysfunctional way to regulate their emotional states, when compared with matched controls. Within the 'emotional coupling' part of the study, participants showed a significant increase in levels of disgust and body size estimation following an anger induction when compared with matched controls., Discussion: The significance of these results was considered in the light of the new Schematic, Propositional, Analogical and Associative Representation Systems in eating disorders model., (Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Background: Two studies are presented that highlight the role of emotion in PTSD in which we examine what emotions in addition to anxiety may be present., Aims: The first aim was to assess the overall emotion profile across the five basic emotions of anxiety, sadness, anger, disgust, and happiness in clients attending a stress clinic. A small pilot study was also carried out to see how the emotion profiles impacted on outcome for CBT., Method: In Study 1, 75 consecutive attenders at a trauma service who were diagnosed with PTSD were assessed with a number of measures that included the Basic Emotions Scale., Results: The results showed that less than 50% of PTSD cases presented with anxiety as the primary emotion, with the remainder showing primary emotions of sadness, anger, or disgust rather than anxiety. A second pilot study involved the follow-up across exposure-based CBT of 20 of the participants from Study 1., Conclusions: The results suggest that anxiety-based PTSD is more likely to benefit from exposure than is non-anxiety based PTSD. Implications both for the classification and the treatment of PTSD are considered.

Background: As ageing is a personal experience, an attitude to ageing questionnaire is essential for capturing the most realistic appraisal of this important stage of life. Our aim was to study the psychometric properties of the Attitudes to Ageing Questionnaire (AAQ) in a sample of Spanish older people., Methods: A total of 242 participants aged 60 years and older were recruited from community centers, primary care centers, and family associations for the mentally ill and dementia. In addition to the AAQ, participants provided information on demographics, self-perception of health, comorbidity, health status (SF-12), depressive symptoms (GDS-30), and quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF and WHOQOL-OLD). Analysis was performed using standard psychometric techniques with SPSS v15.0., Results: No floor and ceiling effects were found, and missing data were low. The internal consistency measured by Cronbach's alpha for AAQ subscales were 0.59, 0.70, and 0.73. Exploratory Factor Analysis produced a three-factors solution accounting for 34% of the variance. A priori expected associations were found between some AAQ subscales with WHOQOL-BREF domains, with WHOQOL-OLD, SF-12, and the GDS-30 indicating good construct validity. In general, AAQ subscales differentiated between participants with lower and higher levels of education, and between a priori defined groups of older people (non-depressed vs. depressed; those with higher vs. lower physical comorbidities, and non-carers vs. carers)., Conclusions: The Spanish version of the AAQ questionnaire showed acceptable psychometric properties in a convenience sample of Spanish older people. It is a useful measure of attitude for use with older people in social and clinical services.

Objectives: To test the psychometric properties of the EUROHIS-QOL 8-item index, a shortened version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument-Abbreviated Version (WHOQOL-BREF)., Methods: The sample consisted of 2359 subjects identified from primary care settings, with 1193 having a confirmed diagnosis of depression. Data came from six countries (Australia, Brazil, Israel, Russia, Spain, and the United States) involved in a large international study, the Longitudinal Investigation of Depression Outcomes. The structure of the EUROHIS-QOL 8-item index follows that of the WHOQOL-BREF assessment. Internal consistency was measured by using Cronbach's alpha. Convergent validity was assessed by using correlations with different measures for mental health (Symptom Checklist 90), physical health (self-evaluation), and quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF and short form 36 health survey). Discriminant group validity was assessed between diagnosed depressed and nondepressed patients. Differential item functioning and unidimensionality were analyzed by using Rasch analysis. Factor structure was assessed with structural equation modeling analyses., Results: Internal consistency was acceptable (ranged between 0.72 and 0.81 across countries), and the index discriminated well between depression (t = 6.31-20.33; P < 0.001) across all countries. Correlations between the EUROHIS-QOL 8-item index and different measures--Symptom Checklist 90 (r = -0.42), physical health (r = -0.42), WHOQOL-BREF domains (r = 0.61-0.77), and short form 36 health survey (r = 0.58)--were all significant (P < 0.001). The index is unidimensional with desired item fit statistics. Two items ("daily living activities" and "enough money to meet your needs") had residuals exceeding 4. Differential item functioning was observed with general quality of life, general health, relationships, and home items for age. A common one-factor structure with acceptable fit was identified in three out of six countries (comparative fit index = 0.85, root mean square error of approximation = 0.11)., Conclusions: The EUROHIS-QOL 8-item index showed acceptable cross-cultural performance and a satisfactory discriminant validity and would be a useful measure to include in studies to assess treatment effectiveness., (Copyright © 2012 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The nature and scale of pre-Columbian land use and the consequences of the 1492 "Columbian Encounter" (CE) on Amazonia are among the more debated topics in New World archaeology and paleoecology. However, pre-Columbian human impact in Amazonian savannas remains poorly understood. Most paleoecological studies have been conducted in neotropical forest contexts. Of studies done in Amazonian savannas, none has the temporal resolution needed to detect changes induced by either climate or humans before and after A.D. 1492, and only a few closely integrate paleoecological and archaeological data. We report a high-resolution 2,150-y paleoecological record from a French Guianan coastal savanna that forces reconsideration of how pre-Columbian savanna peoples practiced raised-field agriculture and how the CE impacted these societies and environments. Our combined pollen, phytolith, and charcoal analyses reveal unexpectedly low levels of biomass burning associated with pre-A.D. 1492 savanna raised-field agriculture and a sharp increase in fires following the arrival of Europeans. We show that pre-Columbian raised-field farmers limited burning to improve agricultural production, contrasting with extensive use of fire in pre-Columbian tropical forest and Central American savanna environments, as well as in present-day savannas. The charcoal record indicates that extensive fires in the seasonally flooded savannas of French Guiana are a post-Columbian phenomenon, postdating the collapse of indigenous populations. The discovery that pre-Columbian farmers practiced fire-free savanna management calls into question the widely held assumption that pre-Columbian Amazonian farmers pervasively used fire to manage and alter ecosystems and offers fresh perspectives on an emerging alternative approach to savanna land use and conservation that can help reduce carbon emissions.

A randomized controlled trial is reported in which three treatments were compared for the management of depression in Primary Care. The treatments were Treatment As Usual (TAU) carried out by the General Practitioners, Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy (CBT) or Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT). Measurements of depressive symptomatology were taken at Baseline (Time1), at end of treatment (Time2), and at 5-month follow-up (Time3). An initial analysis of the longitudinal data revealed that there were a significant number of missing values, especially in the Time3 follow-up for the TAU group. That is, the missing data were not missing at random within the dataset, which is one of the considerations for usual procedures for replacement of missing values (RMV). The paper presents, therefore, the outcome of different approaches to RMV and their consequences for conclusions about the relative efficacy of the treatment conditions. The results showed that clients in all conditions improved significantly, with at least some analyses showing superiority of IPT and CBT at end of treatment Time 2. However, by the follow-up clients in all conditions performed equally well., (Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Depression is a major problem for mental health. Empirical studies and clinical observations have shown that the symptoms of depression occur across four main domains-emotional, cognitive, somatic and interpersonal. However, commonly used depression assessment scales fail to address the evaluation of interpersonal symptoms, as summarized in this paper. Therefore, a new depression assessment scale, which aimed to evaluate all four domains of depressive symptomatology, was developed. In an initial analysis, a pilot 85-item questionnaire containing possible depressive symptoms was distributed for evaluation to experts from different mental health professions, from which 52 items were subsequently selected for the new multidimensional depression assessment scale. One hundred community participants completed the questionnaire along with the Beck Depression Inventory-II. The results indicated that the new depression scale had good psychometric properties. It was found to be reliable and valid for the assessment of depression severity and symptomatology, though it is emphasized that these data are only preliminary and based on a relatively healthy sample., (Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Understanding the causes and consequences of wildfires in forests of the western United States requires integrated information about fire, climate changes, and human activity on multiple temporal scales. We use sedimentary charcoal accumulation rates to construct long-term variations in fire during the past 3,000 y in the American West and compare this record to independent fire-history data from historical records and fire scars. There has been a slight decline in burning over the past 3,000 y, with the lowest levels attained during the 20th century and during the Little Ice Age (LIA, ca. 1400-1700 CE [Common Era]). Prominent peaks in forest fires occurred during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (ca. 950-1250 CE) and during the 1800s. Analysis of climate reconstructions beginning from 500 CE and population data show that temperature and drought predict changes in biomass burning up to the late 1800s CE. Since the late 1800s , human activities and the ecological effects of recent high fire activity caused a large, abrupt decline in burning similar to the LIA fire decline. Consequently, there is now a forest "fire deficit" in the western United States attributable to the combined effects of human activities, ecological, and climate changes. Large fires in the late 20th and 21st century fires have begun to address the fire deficit, but it is continuing to grow.

Background: The Rasch model prescribes procedures to ensure that a scale constructed from multiple items conforms to fundamental requirements of interval scales of measurement., Objective: To test the Rasch properties of the domains of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument-abbreviated version (WHOQOL-BREF) in depressed patients from primary care settings., Design: Cross-sectional, cross-national study., Setting: Primary care., Patients: The sample consisted of 1193 patients having a confirmed diagnosis of depression from 6 countries (Australia, Brazil, Israel, Russia, Spain, and the United States) involved in the Longitudinal Investigation of Depression Outcomes (LIDO) study., Measurements: The Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) diagnosed depression, whereas the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) assessed severity of depression. The WHOQOL-BREF measured generic quality of life (QOL)., Results: Three of the 4 WHOQOL-BREF domains (physical, psychological, and environment) conform to the Rasch model expectations, following adjustments required mainly because of individual item misfit or differential item functioning (DIF) due to age or country. The social domain showed relatively poor psychometric properties, as observed in previous studies., Conclusions: The Rasch analysis demonstrated that, with some modifications, all domains of the WHOQOL-BREF, except for the social domain, provide an interval scale measure of generic subjective QOL in the context of depressed primary care patients in 6 countries worldwide.

We report on the novel all-optical generation of duobinary (DB) and alternate-mark-inversion (AMI) modulation formats at 42.6 Gb/s from an input on-off keyed signal. The modulation converter consists of two semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA)-based Mach-Zehnder interferometer gates. A detailed SOA model numerically confirms the operational principles and experimental data shows successful AMI and DB conversion at 42.6 Gb/s. We also predict that the operational bandwidth can be extended beyond 40 Gb/s by utilizing a new pattern-effect suppression scheme, and demonstrate dramatic reductions in patterning up to 160 Gb/s. We show an increasing trade-off between pattern-effect reduction and mean output power with increasing bitrate.

Aims: The aims of this study were to investigate the basic emotions experienced within and between episodes of bipolar disorder and, more specifically, to test the predictions made by the Schematic, Propositional, Analogical and Associative Representation Systems (SPAARS) model that mania is predominantly characterized by the coupling of happiness with anger whereas depression (unipolar and bipolar) primarily comprises a coupling between sadness and disgust., Design: A cross-sectional design was employed to examine the differences within and between the bipolar, unipolar and control groups in the emotional profiles. Data were analysed using one-way ANOVAs., Method: Psychiatric diagnoses in the clinical groups were confirmed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID). It was not administered in the control group. Current mood state was measured using the Beck Depression Inventory-II, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Bech-Rafaelsen Mania Scale. The Basic Emotions Scale was used to explore the emotional profiles., Results: The results confirmed the predictions made by the SPAARS model about emotions in mania and depression. Outwith these episodes, individuals with bipolar disorder experienced elevated levels of disgust., Discussion: Evidence was found in support of the proposal of SPAARS that there are five basic emotions, which form the basis for both normal emotional experience and emotional disorders. Disgust is an important feature of bipolar disorder. Strengths and limitations are discussed, and suggestions for future research are explored., (Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Background: People are living longer and healthier than at any other time point in history. Therefore, in the last decade, international interest has focussed on the study of quality of life (QoL) in older people. Our aim was to study the psychometric properties of the generic QoL measure WHOQOL-BREF (WHOQOL, World Health Organization Quality of Life) and specific older adult module WHOQOL-OLD in a sample of 286 Spanish elderly., Methods: Participants were 60 years and older from community centres, primary care centres, family associations and nursing homes. The following information was collected: demographics, self-perception of health, depressive symptoms (Geriatric Depression Scale, GDS-30), functional status (SF-12) and QoL (WHOQOL-BREF and WHOQOL-OLD). Analysis was performed using classic psychometric techniques with SPSS v15.0., Results: We found no ceiling and floor effects, and missing data was low. The internal consistency measured by Cronbach's alpha was 0.90 for the WHOQOL-BREF total scale and 0.80 for the WHOQOL-OLD. A priori expected associations were found between WHOQOL-BREF and WHOQOL-OLD with the SF-12 and the GDS-30, indicating good construct validity. WHOQOL-BREF and WHOQOL-OLD domain scores differentiated between participants with lower and higher level of education, and between groups of older people (healthy vs. unhealthy; non-depressed vs. depressed; non-carers vs. carers and non-residents vs. residents)., Conclusions: The WHOQOL-BREF and WHOQOL-OLD questionnaires demonstrate acceptable psychometric performance in a convenience sample of Spanish older people. They are valuable measures of QoL for use with older people.

We report remarkably fast and strongly wavelength-dependent gain recovery in a single SOA without the aid of an offset filter. Full gain recovery times as short as 9 ps were observed in pump-probe measurements when pumping to the blue wavelength side of a continuous wave probe, in contrast to times of 25 to 30 ps when pumping to the red wavelength side. Experimental and numerical analysis indicate that the long effective length and high gain led to deep saturation of the second half of the SOA by the probe. The consequent absorption of blue-shifted pump pulses in this region resulted in device dynamics analogous to those of the Turbo-Switch.

Background: This paper describes the development of an Attitudes to Disability Scale for use with adults with physical or intellectual disabilities (ID). The aim of the research was to design a scale that could be used to assess the personal attitudes of individuals with either physical or ID., Method: The measure was derived following standard WHOQOL methodology as part of an international trial. In the pilot phase of the study, 12 centres from around the world carried out focus groups with people with physical disabilities, people with ID, with their carers, and with relevant professionals in order to identify themes relevant for attitudes to disability. Items generated from the focus groups were then tested in a pilot study with 1400 respondents from 15 different centres worldwide, with items being tested and reduced using both classical and modern psychometric methods. A field trial study was then carried out with 3772 respondents, again with the use of both classical and modern psychometric methods., Results: The outcome of the second round of data collection and analysis is a 16-item scale that can be used for assessment of attitudes to disability in physically or intellectually disabled people and in healthy respondents., Conclusions: The Attitudes to Disability Scale is a new psychometrically sound scale that can be used to assess attitudes in both physically and intellectually disabled groups. The scale is also available in both personal and general forms and in a number of different language versions.

Purpose: This paper describes the development of an add-on module for the World Health Organization WHOQOL measures of quality of life for use with adults with physical or intellectual disabilities. The add-on module, known as the WHOQOL-DIS, was derived following standard WHOQOL methodology and is designed to assess people with disabilities., Results: In the pilot phase of the study, 12 centres from around the world carried out focus groups with people with physical disabilities, people with intellectual disabilities, with their carers, and with relevant professionals in order to identify gaps in the coverage of the WHOQOL-BREF that were relevant for their quality of life. Items generated from the focus groups were then tested in a pilot study with 1,400 respondents from 15 different centres worldwide, with items being tested and reduced using both classical and modern psychometric methods. A field trial study was then carried out with almost 3,800 respondents, again with the use of both classical and modern psychometric methods., Conclusions: The outcome of the two rounds of data collection and analysis is a 12-item module that can be used in conjunction with the WHOQOL-BREF or the WHOQOL-100 for assessment of quality of life in physically or intellectually disabled people. Further modifications are also proposed for the use of the WHOQOL-BREF with adults with intellectual disabilities, including simplification of wording of some of the items, the use of a three-point response scale, and the inclusion of smiley faces.

Objective: According to the attention network approach, attention is best understood in terms of three functionally and neuroanatomically distinct networks-alerting, orienting, and executive attention. An important question is whether the experience of emotion differentially influences the efficiency of these networks., Method: This study examines 180 participants were randomly assigned to a happy, sad, or control condition and undertook a modified version of the Attention Network Test., Results: The results showed no effect of happiness or sadness on alerting, orienting, or executive attention. However, sad participants showed reduced intrinsic alertness., Conclusion: This suggests that sadness reduces general alertness rather than impairing the efficiency of specific attention networks.

The present experiment examines the effect of fear on efficiency of three attention networks: executive attention, orienting and alerting, in a healthy female sample. International Affective Picture System (IAPS) images were used to elicit both a fear response and a non-emotional response in 100 participants. During the emotion manipulation, participants performed a modified version of the Attention Network Test (ANT). Results showed enhanced executive attention in the fear condition compared to the control condition. Specifically, during a fear experience participants were better able to inhibit irrelevant information resulting in faster response times to a target. There was no effect of fear on orienting while the effect of fear on alerting was inconclusive. It is suggested that enhanced executive attention in fear-eliciting situations may function to focus attention on a potentially threat-related target, thus facilitating subsequent rapid responding.

Background: Previous studies found that depression is associated with a broad impairment in quality of life (QOL). This finding might be associated to a measurement overlap., Methods: The objective of this study was to verify whether the items of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument-Abbreviated version (WHOQOL-BREF), a measure of generic QOL, are invariant among patients having a current major depressive episode who come from primary care services. We investigated data from primary care services from the 6 countries (Australia, Brazil, Israel, Russia, Spain, and the United States) involved in the baseline sample of the Longitudinal Investigation of Depression Outcomes. The Rasch model was used to analyze items exhibiting differential item functioning (DIF) as a way of assessing invariance in relation to a depression factor defined by the diagnosis of depression using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. In addition, the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D) score was correlated with the item and domain scores of the WHOQOL-BREF using the Pearson coefficient., Results: The sample consisted of 2359 subjects, of which 1193 had a confirmed diagnosis of a current major depressive episode. Of the 26 items of the WHOQOL-BREF, 11 showed DIF due to the depression factor, and the physical domain presented more items displaying DIF. All Pearson coefficients between the WHOQOL-BREF item and domain scores and the CES-D score were weak and moderate (r = -0.13 to r = 0.43)., Conclusions: Our findings indicate that most WHOQOL-BREF items do not exhibit DIF for a current major depressive episode and the variance associated with depression in this generic QOL measure is restricted to some facets of this construct. Thus, we recommend this restricted adjustment for depression in future analyses of this measure. Furthermore, our study indicates that researchers must measure QOL regardless of depression severity.

This paper examines the relationship between emotions, depression and eating disorders. Initially, a review is undertaken of the current state of the research and clinical literature with regard to emotional factors in eating disorders. This literature is then integrated within a version of the multi-level model of emotion proposed by Power and Dalgleish. The aim of this paper is to incorporate a basic emotions, multi-modal perspective into developing a new emotions-based model that offers a theoretical understanding of psychological mechanisms in eating disorders. Within the new Schematic Propositional Analogical Associative Representation System model applied to eating disorders, it is argued that the emotions of anger and disgust are of importance in eating disorders and that the eating disorder itself operates as an inhibitor of emotions within the self. It is hoped that the development of a multi-levelled model of eating disorders will allow for the construction of number of specific testable hypotheses that are relevant to future research into the psychological treatment and understanding of eating disorders.

It is widely accepted, based on data from the last few decades and on model simulations, that anthropogenic climate change will cause increased fire activity. However, less attention has been paid to the relationship between abrupt climate changes and heightened fire activity in the paleorecord. We use 35 charcoal and pollen records to assess how fire regimes in North America changed during the last glacial-interglacial transition (15 to 10 ka), a time of large and rapid climate changes. We also test the hypothesis that a comet impact initiated continental-scale wildfires at 12.9 ka; the data do not support this idea, nor are continent-wide fires indicated at any time during deglaciation. There are, however, clear links between large climate changes and fire activity. Biomass burning gradually increased from the glacial period to the beginning of the Younger Dryas. Although there are changes in biomass burning during the Younger Dryas, there is no systematic trend. There is a further increase in biomass burning after the Younger Dryas. Intervals of rapid climate change at 13.9, 13.2, and 11.7 ka are marked by large increases in fire activity. The timing of changes in fire is not coincident with changes in human population density or the timing of the extinction of the megafauna. Although these factors could have contributed to fire-regime changes at individual sites or at specific times, the charcoal data indicate an important role for climate, and particularly rapid climate change, in determining broad-scale levels of fire activity.

The purpose of the studies reported in this paper was to evaluate the function of counterfactual thinking (CT) in depression. In Experiment 1, depressed and non-depressed participants were asked to imagine themselves as the protagonist of a hypothetical situation, and to think counterfactually about three different scenarios. The results showed that there was a similar CT style (in terms of direction, structure and focus of mutation) for the depressed and the non-depressed groups. It was also found that the perceived preparation for a future similar situation increased after CT and, contrary to our hypotheses, this effect was observed in both groups. In Experiment 2, a real-life situation was used (a course examination) in which participants experienced a negative outcome (a poor score on the test). Again, it was observed that depressed and non-depressed participants showed the same CT style, but non-depressed participants were more likely to use CT spontaneously. In addition, the second study showed further differences between the two groups: depressed participants not only showed a lack of cognitive benefits from thinking counterfactually (i.e., after CT they do not feel more prepared for future similar events, nor able to avoid a similar bad outcome, in contrast to the non-depressed participants), but also show a lack of behavioural changes (both intentions to change and actual changes over the subsequent week). In conclusion, these results provide evidence about the function of CT both in depressed and in non-depressed thinking, and highlight both the similarities and differences for these two groups., (Copyright (c) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Cognitive performance and the relationship between theory of mind (TOM), weak central coherence and executive function were investigated in a cohort of young people with additional learning needs. Participants were categorized by social communication questionnaire score into groups of 10 individuals within the autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) range, 14 within the pervasive developmental disorder range and 18 with few autistic traits. The ASD group were significantly poorer than the other groups on a test of cognitive flexibility. In the ASD group only, there was a strong relationship between executive performance and TOM which remained after controlling for IQ. Our findings suggest that the relationship between cognitive traits may more reliably distinguish autism than the presence of individual deficits alone.

This paper uses a palaeoecological approach to examine the impact of drier climatic conditions of the Early-Mid-Holocene (ca 8000-4000 years ago) upon Amazonia's forests and their fire regimes. Palaeovegetation (pollen data) and palaeofire (charcoal) records are synthesized from 20 sites within the present tropical forest biome, and the underlying causes of any emergent patterns or changes are explored by reference to independent palaeoclimate data and present-day patterns of precipitation, forest cover and fire activity across Amazonia. During the Early-Mid-Holocene, Andean cloud forest taxa were replaced by lowland tree taxa as the cloud base rose while lowland ecotonal areas, which are presently covered by evergreen rainforest, were instead dominated by savannahs and/or semi-deciduous dry forests. Elsewhere in the Amazon Basin there is considerable spatial and temporal variation in patterns of vegetation disturbance and fire, which probably reflects the complex heterogeneous patterns in precipitation and seasonality across the basin, and the interactions between climate change, drought- and fire susceptibility of the forests, and Palaeo-Indian land use. Our analysis shows that the forest biome in most parts of Amazonia appears to have been remarkably resilient to climatic conditions significantly drier than those of today, despite widespread evidence of forest burning. Only in ecotonal areas is there evidence of biome replacement in the Holocene. From this palaeoecological perspective, we argue against the Amazon forest 'dieback' scenario simulated for the future.