Water versus ice: The competing roles of modern climate and Pleistocene glacial erosion in the Central Alps of Switzerland

Recent studies have identified relationships between landscape form, erosion and climate in regions of landscape rejuvenation, associated with increased denudation. Most of these landscapes are located in non-glaciated mountain ranges and are characterized by transient geomorphic features. The landscapes of the Swiss Alps are likewise in a transient geomorphic state as seen by multiple knickzones. In this mountain belt, the transient state has been related to erosional effects during the Late Glacial Maximum (LGM). Here, we focus on the catchment scale and categorize hillslopes based on erosional mechanisms, landscape form and landcover. We then explore relationships of these variables to precipitation and extent of LGM glaciers to disentangle modern versus palaeo controls on the modern shape of the Alpine landscape. We find that in grasslands, the downslope flux of material mainly involves unconsolidated material through hillslope creep, testifying a transport-limited erosional regime. Alternatively, strength-limited hillslopes, where erosion is driven by bedrock failure, are covered by forests and/or expose bedrock, and they display oversteepened hillslopes and channels. There, hillslope gradients and relief are more closely correlated with LGM ice occurrence than with precipitation or the erodibility of the underlying bedrock. We relate the spatial occurrence of the transport- and strength-limited process domains to the erosive effects of LGM glaciers. In particular, strength-limited, rock dominated basins are situated above the equilibrium line altitude (ELA) of the LGM, reflecting the ability of glaciers to scour the landscape beyond threshold slope conditions. In contrast, transport-limited, soil-mantled landscapes are common below the ELA. Hillslopes covered by forests occupy the elevations around the ELA and are constrained by the tree line. We conclude that the current erosional forces at work in the Central Alps are still responding to LGM glaciation, and that the modern climate has not yet impacted on the modern landscape.

‘Idolatry’ and Religious Diversity: Thinking about the Other in Early Modern Europe

Idolatry is a key concept in the history of Western thinking about religion, as an all-encompassing category in which all religions more or less alien to the Christian tradition could be subsumed. From Late Antiquity to the Modern period, we can follow how the notion was put to work within Christian discourse to think about the religious “other. ” In fact, the word is almost ubiquitous in pre-modern debates on religion and the origins of religion. Theories on the nature and causes of “idolatry” framed much of the issue of “Religion” vs. the “religions,” and largely provided the conceptual space, in early modern Europe, in which religious anthropology would emerge. The present paper will investigate some aspects of the early modern discourse on idolatry, and its place in early modern discussions on the “diversity” of religions.

Pinus nigra (European black pine) as the dominant species of the last glacial pinewoods in south-western to central Iberia: a morphological study of modern and fossil pollen

Aim Our aim was to discriminate different species of Pinus via pollen analysis in order to assess the responses of particular pine species to orbital and millennial-scale climate changes, particularly during the last glacial period. Location Modern pollen grains were collected from current pine populations along transects from the Pyrenees to southern Iberia and the Balearic Islands. Fossil pine pollen was recovered from the south-western Iberian margin core MD95-2042. Methods We measured a set of morphological traits of modern pollen from the Iberian pine species Pinus nigra, P. sylvestris, P. halepensis, P. pinea and P. pinaster and of fossil pine pollen from selected samples of the last glacial period and the early to mid-Holocene. Classification and regression tree (CART) analysis was used to establish a model from the modern dataset that discriminates pollen from the different pine species and allows identification of fossil pine pollen at the species level. Results The CART model was effective in separating pollen of P. nigra and P. sylvestris from that of the Mediterranean pine group (P. halepensis, P. pinea and P. pinaster). The pollen of Pinus nigra diverged from that of P. sylvestris by having a more flattened corpus. Predictions using this model suggested that fossil pine pollen is mainly from P. nigra in all the samples analysed. Pinus sylvestris was more abundant in samples from Greenland stadials than Heinrich stadials, whereas Mediterranean pines increased in samples from Greenland interstadials and during the early to mid-Holocene. Main conclusions Morphological parameters can be successfully used to increase the taxonomic resolution of fossil pine pollen at the species level for the highland pines (P. nigra and P. sylvestris) and at the group of species level for the Mediterranean pines. Our study indicates that P. nigra was the dominant component of the last glacial south-western/central Iberian pinewoods, although the species composition of these woodlands varied in response to abrupt climate changes.

Mortality and morbidity in the city of Bern, Switzerland, 1805-1815 with special emphasis on infant, child and maternal deaths

This article contributes to the research on demographics and public health of urban populations of preindustrial Europe. The key source is a burial register that contains information on the deceased, such as age and sex, residence and cause of death. This register is one of the earliest compilations of data sets of individuals with this high degree of completeness and consistency. Critical assessment of the register's origin, formation and upkeep promises high validity and reliability. Between 1805 and 1815, 4,390 deceased inhabitants were registered. Information concerning these individuals provides the basis for this study. Life tables of Bern's population were created using different models. The causes of death were classified and their frequency calculated. Furthermore, the susceptibility of age groups to certain causes of death was established. Special attention was given to causes of death and mortality of newborns, infants and birth-giving women. In comparison to other cities and regions in Central Europe, Bern's mortality structure shows low rates for infants (q0=0.144) and children (q1-4=0.068). This could have simply indicated better living conditions. Life expectancy at birth was 43 years. Mortality was high in winter and spring, and decreased in summer to a low level with a short rise in August. The study of the causes of death was inhibited by difficulties in translating early 19th century nomenclature into the modern medical system. Nonetheless, death from metabolic disorders, illnesses of the respiratory system, and debilitation were the most prominent causes in Bern. Apparently, the worst killer of infants up to 12 months was the "gichteren", an obsolete German term for lethal spasmodic convulsions. The exact modern identification of this disease remains unclear. Possibilities such as infant tetanus or infant epilepsy are discussed. The maternal death rate of 0.72% is comparable with values calculated from contemporaneous sources. Relevance of childbed fever in the early 1800s was low. Bern's data indicate that the extent of deaths related to childbirth in this period is overrated. This research has an explicit interdisciplinary value for various fields including both the humanities and natural sciences, since information reported here represents the complete age and sex structure of a deceased population. Physical anthropologists can use these data as a true reference group for their palaeodemographic studies of preindustrial Central Europe of the late 18th and early 19th century. It is a call to both historians and anthropologists to use our resources to a better effect through combination of methods and exchange of knowledge.

[The image of dentistry. Part 2: The ideal dentist]

Our second part of the publication entitled "The image of Dentistry" discusses the properties that correspond to the ideal image of dentistry or even the ideal scientist such as the management of the dental practice, the dentist-patient relationship and the appropriate handling of the patient's emotions such as anxiety or pain. The quality of treatment and the friendly, honest and compassionate attitude of the dentist can immediately affect the image of dentistry. Therefore, the dental professional must try to keep the balance between practice profit, staffing and patient well-being in order to fulfill both social and public health responsibilities.

Chances and risks of publication of quality data - the perspectives of Swiss physicians and nurses

Background The release of quality data from acute care hospitals to the general public is based on the aim to inform the public, to provide transparency and to foster quality-based competition among providers. Due to the expected mechanisms of action and possibly the adverse consequences of public quality comparison, it is a controversial topic. The perspective of physicians and nurses is of particular importance in this context. They are mainly responsible for the collection of quality-control data, and are directly confronted with the results of public comparison. The research focus of this qualitative study was to discover what the views and opinions of the Swiss physicians and nurses were regarding these issues. It was investigated as to how the two professional groups appraised the opportunities as well as the risks of the release of quality data in Switzerland. Methods A qualitative approach was chosen to answer the research question. For data collection, four focus groups were conducted with physicians and nurses who were employed in Swiss acute care hospitals. Qualitative content analysis was applied to the data. Results The results revealed that both occupational groups had a very critical and negative attitude regarding the recent developments. The perceived risks were dominating their view. In summary, their main concerns were: the reduction of complexity, the one-sided focus on measurable quality variables, risk selection, the threat of data manipulation and the abuse of published information by the media. An additional concern was that the impression is given that the complex construct of quality can be reduced to a few key figures, and it that it is constructed from a false message which then influences society and politics. This critical attitude is associated with the different value system and the professional self-concept that both physicians and nurses have, in comparison to the underlying principles of a market-based economy and the economic orientation of health care business. Conclusions The critical and negative attitude of Swiss physicians and nurses must, under all conditions, be heeded to and investigated regarding its impact on work motivation and identification with the profession. At the same time, the two professional groups are obligated to reflect upon their critical attitude and take a proactive role in the development of appropriate quality indicators for the publication of quality data in Switzerland.

Geomorphological and sedimentary evidence for late Pleistocene to Holocene hydrological change along the Río Mamoré, Bolivian Amazon

Aerial photography and satellite imagery reveal manifold geomorphological evidence of a dynamic evolution of past and present rivers in the Bolivian Amazon. Comparison of oxbow lake and meander scar dimensions along an inactive meander belt of the Río Mamoré (Llanos de Moxos, north-eastern Bolivia) and its modern counterpart suggests significant regional paleohydrological variability. We used these features as geomorphological and sedimentary archives to enhance our understanding of longer-term variations of the fluvial system. Late Pleistocene to Holocene hydrological changes of the Río Mamoré are inferred from: (i) the analysis of satellite imagery, (ii) discharge estimates from meander morphology, (iii) stratigraphic, and (iv) chronological information based on luminescence and radiocarbon dating. The combined data from three oxbows indicate that the now abandoned meander belt – the paleo-Mamoré – continued to be active at least until ∼5 ka, and likely even postdating 3 ka. An up to threefold increase in discharge is estimated for the modern Río Mamoré versus the paleo-Mamoré. The altered runoff regime may have triggered an avulsive shift towards the currently active Río Mamoré. The preceding increase in discharge in turn, was possibly related to a shift in climatic conditions, which changed markedly between the mid- and late Holocene in tropical South America. In addition, it may have been the indirect result of capturing the avulsive Río Grande system to the east of the Río Mamoré. Alternative explanations for the differences in dimensions of the paleo versus the modern Río Mamoré, i.e. contemporaneous activity of both rivers or alteration of site factors such as the channel/floodplain relationship, are considered to be unlikely.

Management of children with autism spectrum disorder in the dental setting: concerns, behavioural approaches and recommendations

OBJECTIVES This article reviews the present literature on the issues encountered while coping with children with autistic spectrum disorder from the dental perspective. The autistic patient profile and external factors affecting the oral health status of this patient population are discussed upon the existing body of evidence. MATERIAL AND METHODS The MEDLINE database was searched using the terms 'Autistic Disorder', 'Behaviour Control/methods', 'Child', 'Dental care for disabled', 'Education', 'Oral Health', and 'Pediatric Dentistry' to locate related articles published up to January 2013. RESULTS Most of the relevant studies indicate poor oral hygiene whereas they are inconclusive regarding the caries incidence in autistic individuals. Undergraduate dental education appears to determine the competence of dental professionals to treat developmentally disabled children and account partly for compromised access to dental care. Dental management of an autistic child requires in-depth understanding of the background of the autism and available behavioural guidance theories. The dental professional should be flexible to modify the treatment approach according to the individual patient needs.

Paleo erosion rates and climate shifts recorded by Quaternary cut-and-fill sequences in the Pisco valley, central Peru

Fluvial cut-and-fill sequences have frequently been reported from various sites on Earth. Nevertheless, the information about the past erosional regime and hydrological conditions have not yet been adequately deciphered from these archives. The Quaternary terrace sequences in the Pisco valley, located at ca. 13°S, offer a manifestation of an orbitally-driven cyclicity in terrace construction where phases of sediment accumulation have been related to the Minchin (48–36 ka) and Tauca (26–15 ka) lake level highstands on the Altiplano. Here, we present a 10Be-based sediment budget for the cut-and-fill terrace sequences in this valley to quantify the orbitally forced changes in precipitation and erosion. We find that the Minchin period was characterized by an erosional pulse along the Pacific coast where denudation rates reached values as high as 600±80 mm/ka600±80 mm/ka for a relatively short time span lasting a few thousands of years. This contrasts to the younger pluvial periods and the modern situation when 10Be-based sediment budgets register nearly zero erosion at the Pacific coast. We relate these contrasts to different erosional conditions between the modern and the Minchin time. First, the sediment budget infers a precipitation pattern that matches with the modern climate ca. 1000 km farther north, where highly erratic and extreme El Niño-related precipitation results in fast erosion and flooding along the coast. Second, the formation of a thick terrace sequence requires sufficient material on catchment hillslopes to be stripped off by erosion. This was most likely the case immediately before the start of the Minchin period, because this erosional epoch was preceded by a >50 ka-long time span with poorly erosive climate conditions, allowing for sufficient regolith to build up on the hillslopes. Finally, this study suggests a strong control of orbitally and ice sheet forced latitudinal shifts of the ITCZ on the erosional gradients and sediment production on the western escarpment of the Peruvian Andes at 13° during the Minchin period.

The past ecology of Abies alba provides new perspectives on future responses of silver fir forests to global warming

Paleoecology can provide valuable insights into the ecology of species that complement observation and experiment-based assessments of climate impact dynamics. New paleoecological records (e.g., pollen, macrofossils) from the Italian Peninsula suggest a much wider climatic niche of the important European tree species Abies alba (silver fir) than observed in its present spatial range. To explore this discrepancy between current and past distribution of the species, we analyzed climatic data (temperature, precipitation, frost, humidity, sunshine) and vegetation-independent paleoclimatic reconstructions (e.g., lake levels, chironomids) and use global coupled carbon-cycle climate (NCAR CSM1.4) and dynamic vegetation (LandClim) modeling. The combined evidence suggests that during the mid-Holocene (6000 years ago), prior to humanization of vegetation, A. alba formed forests under conditions that exceeded the modern (1961-1990) upper temperature limit of the species by 5-7°C (July means). Annual precipitation during this natural period was comparable to today (>700-800 mm), with drier summers and wetter winters. In the meso-Mediterranean to sub-Mediterranean forests A. alba co-occurred with thermophilous taxa such as Quercus ilex, Q. pubescens, Olea europaea, Phillyrea, Arbutus, Cistus, Tilia, Ulmus, Acer, Hedera helix, Ilex aquifolium, Taxus, and Vitis. Results from the last interglacial (ca. 130 000-115 000 BP), when human impact was negligible, corroborate the Holocene evidence. Thermophilous Mediterranean A. alba stands became extinct during the last 5000 years when land-use pressure and specifically excessive anthropogenic fire and browsing disturbance increased. Our results imply that the ecology of this key European tree species is not yet well understood. On the basis of the reconstructed realized climatic niche of the species, we anticipate that the future geographic range of A. alba may not contract regardless of migration success, even if climate should become significantly warmer than today with summer temperatures increasing by up to 5-7°C, as long as precipitation does not fall below 700-800 mm/yr, and anthropogenic disturbance (e.g., fire, browsing) does not become excessive. Our finding contradicts recent studies that projected range contractions under global-warming scenarios, but did not factor how millennia of human impacts reduced the realized climatic niche of A. alba.

A reconstruction of radiocarbon production and total solar irradiance from the Holocene ¹⁴C and CO₂ records: implications of data and model uncertainties

Radiocarbon production, solar activity, total solar irradiance (TSI) and solar-induced climate change are reconstructed for the Holocene (10 to 0 kyr BP), and TSI is predicted for the next centuries. The IntCal09/SHCal04 radiocarbon and ice core CO2 records, reconstructions of the geomagnetic dipole, and instrumental data of solar activity are applied in the Bern3D-LPJ, a fully featured Earth system model of intermediate complexity including a 3-D dynamic ocean, ocean sediments, and a dynamic vegetation model, and in formulations linking radiocarbon production, the solar modulation potential, and TSI. Uncertainties are assessed using Monte Carlo simulations and bounding scenarios. Transient climate simulations span the past 21 thousand years, thereby considering the time lags and uncertainties associated with the last glacial termination. Our carbon-cycle-based modern estimate of radiocarbon production of 1.7 atoms cm−2 s−1 is lower than previously reported for the cosmogenic nuclide production model by Masarik and Beer (2009) and is more in-line with Kovaltsov et al. (2012). In contrast to earlier studies, periods of high solar activity were quite common not only in recent millennia, but throughout the Holocene. Notable deviations compared to earlier reconstructions are also found on decadal to centennial timescales. We show that earlier Holocene reconstructions, not accounting for the interhemispheric gradients in radiocarbon, are biased low. Solar activity is during 28% of the time higher than the modern average (650 MeV), but the absolute values remain weakly constrained due to uncertainties in the normalisation of the solar modulation to instrumental data. A recently published solar activity–TSI relationship yields small changes in Holocene TSI of the order of 1 W m−2 with a Maunder Minimum irradiance reduction of 0.85 ± 0.16 W m−2. Related solar-induced variations in global mean surface air temperature are simulated to be within 0.1 K. Autoregressive modelling suggests a declining trend of solar activity in the 21st century towards average Holocene conditions.

Expertise in Clinical Psychology. The Effects of University Training and Practical Experience on Expertise in Clinical Psychology

How do university training and subsequent practical experience affect expertise in clinical psychology? To answer this question we developed methods to assess psychological knowledge and the competence to diagnose, construct case conceptualizations, and plan psychotherapeutic treatment: a knowledge test and short case studies in a first study, and a complex, dynamically evolving case study in the second study. In our cross-sectional studies, psychology students, trainees in a certified postgraduate psychotherapist curriculum, and behavior therapists with more than 10 years of experience were tested (100 in total: 20 each of novice, intermediate, and advanced university students, postgraduate trainees, and therapists). Clinical knowledge and competence increased up to the level of trainees but unexpectedly decreased at the level of experienced therapists. We discuss the results against the background of expertise research and the training of clinical psychologists (in Germany). Important factors for the continuing professional development of psychotherapists are proposed.

The Evolution of Totalitarianism: From Stalin to Putin

The Soviet Union is commonly cited as "totalitarian." But just how totalitarian was the Soviet Union? The modern Russian Federation? There is an ongoing debate in Georgia about the Soviet past, the role of Stalin in Georgian history, an importance of Soviet legacies in shaping the nationalist discourse after independence and etc. Various roundtables and conferences reflecting on the historical, political and sociological contexts of the Soviet occupation are held in Georgian academic institutions and universities. On a discursive level, it is taken as a given that the „Evil Empire‟ was indeed totalitarian – brutally repressive, all-encompassing, and terrorizing. The term "totalitarian" embodies a multitude of concepts which we will try to discuss in a historical perspective, testing the extent of applicability and relevance of this term to modern-day Russia.

The Social Imaginary of Culture/Civilization in the Arabic Literary Tradition

Charles Taylor’s contribution to social imaginaries offers an interpretive framework for better understanding modernity as secularity. One of its main aspects is conceiving of human society in linear, homogenous time (secular time). Looking into the Arabic intellectual tradition, I will argue in my paper that Taylor’s framework can help us understand major social and intellectual transformations. The Ottoman and Arabic modernization process during the 19th century has often been understood by focusing on certain core concepts. One of these is tamaddun, usually translated as “civilization.” I will be mostly talking about the works of two “pioneers” of Arab modernity (which is traditionally referred to as an-nahḍa, the so-called Arab Renaissance): the Syrian Fransīs Marrāsh and the Egyptian Rifāʿa aṭ-Ṭahṭāwī. First I will focus on Marrāsh’s didactic novel “The Forest of Truth” (1865), as it offers a complex view of tamaddun, which has sometimes been construed as merely a social and political reform program. The category of "social imaginary,” however, is useful in grasping the wider semantic scope of this concept, which is reading it as a signifier for human history conceived of in secular time, as Taylor defines it. This conceptualization of human history functioning within the immanent frame can also be observed in the introduction to “The Extraction of Pure Gold in the Description of Paris” (1834), a systematic account of a travel experience in France that was written by the other “pioneer,” aṭ-Ṭahṭāwī. Finally, in translating tamaddun as “the modern social imaginary of civilization/culture,” the talk aims to consider this imaginary as a major factor in the emergence of the “secular age.” Furthermore, it suggests the importance of studying (quasi-) literary texts, such as historiographical, geographical, and self-narratives in the Arabic literary tradition, in order to further elaborate continuities and ruptures in social imaginaries.