Evidence for early dispersal of domestic sheep into Central Asia.

The development and dispersal of agropastoralism transformed the cultural and ecological landscapes of the Old World, but little is known about when or how this process first impacted Central Asia. Here, we present archaeological and biomolecular evidence from Obishir V in southern Kyrgyzstan, establishing the presence of domesticated sheep by ca. 6,000 BCE. Zooarchaeological and collagen peptide mass fingerprinting show exploitation of Ovis and Capra, while cementum analysis of intact teeth implicates possible pastoral slaughter during the fall season. Most significantly, ancient DNA reveals these directly dated specimens as the domestic O. aries, within the genetic diversity of domesticated sheep lineages. Together, these results provide the earliest evidence for the use of livestock in the mountains of the Ferghana Valley, predating previous evidence by 3,000 years and suggesting that domestic animal economies reached the mountains of interior Central Asia far earlier than previously recognized.

Validation of the Italian version of the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation Outcome Measure (CORE-OM).

UNLABELLED: The Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation--Outcome Measure (CORE-OM) was translated into Italian and tested in non-clinical (n = 263) and clinical (n = 647) samples. The translation showed good acceptability, internal consistency and convergent validity in both samples. There were large and statistically significant differences between clinical and non-clinical datasets on all scores. The reliable change criteria were similar to those for the UK referential data. Some of the clinically significant change criteria, particularly for the men, were moderately different from the UK cutting points. The Italian version of the CORE-OM showed respectable psychometric parameters. However, it seemed plausible that non-clinical and clinical distributions of self-report scores on psychopathology and functioning measures may differ by language and culture. KEY PRACTITIONER MESSAGE: *A good quality Italian translation of the CORE-OM, and hence the GP-CORE, CORE-10 and CORE-5 measures also, is now available for use by practitioners and anyone surveying or exploring general psychological state. The measures can be obtained from CORE-IMS or yourself and practitioners are encouraged to share anonymised data so that good clinical and non-clinical referential databases can be established for Italy.

Seasonal affective disorder and latitude of living.

AIM: Since the importance of latitude of living for the prevalence of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is unclear, the study aims to test the latitude hypothesis by comparing SAD in two rather similar groups of students living at latitudes far apart. METHODS: Two groups of students, 199 in Tromsø, Norway (690 N) and 188 in Ferrara, Italy (440 N) were asked to fill in the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire. RESULTS: Global Seasonality score (GS-score) was significantly higher in Italian than in Norwegian students, in females and in students with sleeping-problems. Norwegian students had significantly higher SAD prevalence in winter and in spring. Most people in both countries felt worst in October and November, and the prevalence of Autumn SAD was not significantly different between the two countries. CONCLUSIONS: The hypothesis that SAD is linked to amount of environmental light and latitude of living was not supported.