Heating effects on water repellency in Australian eucalypt forest soils and their value in estimating wildfire soil temperatures

Wildfires can induce or enhance soil water repellency under a range of vegetation communities. According to mainly USA-based laboratory studies, repellency is eliminated at a maximum soil temperature (T) of 280–400°C. Knowledge of T reached during a wildfire is important in evaluating post-fire soil physical properties, fertility and seedbed status. T is, however, notoriously difficult to ascertain retrospectively and often based on indicative observations with a large potential error. Soils under fire-prone Australian eucalypt forests tend to be water repellent when dry or moderately moist even if long unburnt. This study aims to quantify the temperature of water repellency destruction for Australian topsoil material sampled under three sites with contrasting eucalypt cover (Eucalyptus sieberi, E. ovata and E. baxteri). Soil water repellency was present prior to heating in all samples, increased during heating, but was abruptly eliminated at a specific T between 260 and 340°C. Elimination temperature varied somewhat between samples, but was found to be dependent on heating duration, with longest duration resulting in lowest elimination temperature. Results suggest that post-fire water repellency may be used as an aid in hindcasting soil temperature reached during the passage of a fire within repellency-prone environments.

Physical functioning, emotional, and behavioral problems in children with ADHD and comorbid ASD : a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE: To examine (a) physical and daily functioning in children with ADHD and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared with ADHD alone and (b) whether decreased physical quality of life (QoL) is associated with increased emotional and behavioral problems in children with ADHD-ASD. METHOD: Cross-sectional study comprising 392 children with confirmed ADHD (ADHD-ASD, n = 93; ADHD alone, n = 299) recruited from 21 pediatric practices in Victoria, Australia. Data were collected via parent and teacher surveys. Key measures included the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL). RESULTS: Children with ADHD-ASD had poorer QoL across both psychosocial and physical health domains, and also had greater parent-reported behavioral, emotional, and peer problems, compared with children with ADHD alone. Poorer physical QoL partially mediated the relationship between comorbid ASD status and poorer emotional and behavioral functioning. CONCLUSION: The comorbid overlay of ASD in ADHD appears to influence not only problems in physical functioning but also the severity of problems relating to areas of emotional and behavioral functioning.

Internet-based treatment for panic disorder : does frequency of therapist contact make a difference?

Internet-based interventions with therapist support have proven effective for treating a range of mental health conditions. This study examined whether frequency of therapist contact affected treatment outcomes. Fifty-seven people with panic disorder (including 32 with agoraphobia) were randomly allocated to an 8-week Internet-based cognitive behavioural treatment intervention (Panic Online) with either frequent (three e-mails per week) or infrequent (one e-mail per week) support from a psychologist. Posttreatment, intention-to-treat analyses revealed that both treatments were effective at improving panic disorder and agoraphobia severity ratings, panicrelated cognitions, negative affect, and psychological and physical quality of life domains, with no differences between conditions. High end-state functioning was achieved by 28.6% of the frequent and infrequent participants, respectively. Therapist alliance, treatment credibility, and satisfaction also did not differ between groups, despite significantly greater therapist time invested in the frequent contact condition. The results provide evidence that the effectiveness of Internet-based mental health interventions may be independent of the frequency of therapist support and may, therefore, be more cost-effective than previously reported.

Self-perceived quality of life of children and adolescents with physical disabilities in Hong Kong

Although illnesses and diseases are thought to adversely affect quality of life (QoL), whether children who have physical disabilities (PD) from a young age adapt to the effect of developmental disabilities has rarely been investigated. This study attempted to assess the subjective wellbeing, and examine the correlation between objective and subjective QoL, of children with PD. Using a self-reported non-disease-specific questionnaire, the QoL of 72 young persons (13.5 ± 2.0 years) with PD was contrasted with those who do not have disabilities (n = 510; age-matched). MANOVA analyses revealed that the PD group had lower objective QoL score (63.0 ± 7.4 vs. 66.8 ± 5.7, p < 0.001) but the two groups were not significantly different in subjective QoL score (70.9 ± 11.4 vs. 69.6 ± 13.6, p = 0.466). No correlation was found between objective and subjective QoL in the PD group (r ranged from 0.06 to 0.19), while weak to medium correlations (r ranged from 0.03 to 0.41) were observed for the controls. The apparent detachment of subjective feeling and objective circumstances in the PD group may reflect adjustment to developmental disabilities.

Self-perceived quality of life for adolescents with physical disabilities - a preliminary study

The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of physical disabilities (PD) on the quality of life (QoL) of adolescents aged from 10 to 18 years. Sixty-three adolescents with PD (aged 14.9 ± 2.4 years) from primary (5th grade or above) to high schools in Kaohsiung City volunteered to participate in this research; 282 children without disability (aged 13.8 ± 2.3 years) attending schools in the same geographical region were recruited as controls. The Student Version of the Comprehensive Quality of Life Scale was used in this study. This is a multidimensional self-report, global measure of subjective and objective QoL. Multivariate analysis of variance revealed that the two groups were significantly different in objective QoL (F = 11.53, p < 0.001). Material wellbeing was substantially lower in the PD group when compared to the control group. In contrast, domains such as productivity, safety, and emotion were higher in the PD group. Among the subjective scales, the PD group showed higher productivity and better emotion when compared to the control group. No significant correlation was observed between objective and subjective overall QoL scores (r = 0.20, p = 0.12) in the PD group. These findings showed that subjects with PD in regular schools demonstrated different patterns in objective and subjective QoL when compared to those without PD. Both subjective and objective domains are important when measuring QoL of adolescents with PD.

Examination of a multi-factorial model of body-related experiences during pregnancy : the relationships among physical symptoms, sleep quality, depression, self-esteem, and negative body attitudes

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate relationships among women's body attitudes, physical symptoms, self-esteem, depression, and sleep quality during pregnancy. Pregnant women (N = 215) at 15–25 weeks gestation completed a questionnaire including four body image subscales assessing self-reported feeling fat, attractiveness, strength/fitness, and salience of weight and shape. Women reported on 29 pregnancy-related physical complaints, and completed the Beck Depression Inventory, Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. In regressions, controlling for retrospective reports of body image, more frequent and intense physical symptoms were related to viewing the self as less strong/fit, and to poorer sleep quality and more depressive symptoms. In a multi-factorial model extending previous research, paths were found from sleep quality to depressive symptoms to self-esteem; self-esteem was found to be a mediator associated with lower scores on feeling fat and salience of weight and shape, and on higher perceived attractiveness.

Morphometric vertebral fractures of the lower thoracic and lumbar spine, physical function and quality of life in men

The epidemiology and sequelae of morphometric vertebral fracture (MVF) are poorly documented. We found that MVFs of the lower thoracic and lumbar spine were associated with poor quality of life and impaired physical function in men. We recommend that morphometric X-ray absorptiometry be included in routine requests for bone densitometry.