442 research outputs found
Transient simulations of the carbon and nitrogen dynamics in northern peatlands: from the Last Glacial Maximum to the 21st century
The development of northern high-latitude peatlands played an important role in the carbon (C) balance of the land biosphere since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). At present, carbon storage in northern peatlands is substantial and estimated to be 500 ± 100 Pg C (1 Pg C = 1015 g C). Here, we develop and apply a peatland module embedded in a dynamic global vegetation and land surface process model (LPX-Bern 1.0). The peatland module features a dynamic nitrogen cycle, a dynamic C transfer between peatland acrotelm (upper oxic layer) and catotelm (deep anoxic layer), hydrology- and temperature-dependent respiration rates, and peatland specific plant functional types. Nitrogen limitation down-regulates average modern net primary productivity over peatlands by about half. Decadal acrotelm-to-catotelm C fluxes vary between −20 and +50 g C m−2 yr−1 over the Holocene. Key model parameters are calibrated with reconstructed peat accumulation rates from peat-core data. The model reproduces the major features of the peat core data and of the observation-based modern circumpolar soil carbon distribution. Results from a set of simulations for possible evolutions of northern peat development and areal extent show that soil C stocks in modern peatlands increased by 365–550 Pg C since the LGM, of which 175–272 Pg C accumulated between 11 and 5 kyr BP. Furthermore, our simulations suggest a persistent C sequestration rate of 35–50 Pg C per 1000 yr in present-day peatlands under current climate conditions, and that this C sink could either sustain or turn towards a source by 2100 AD depending on climate trajectories as projected for different representative greenhouse gas concentration pathways
Cohort and Gender Differences in Psychosocial Adjustment to Later-Life Widowhood
Objectives. Despite the large body of literature on bereavement, little is known about the impact of sociohistorical context on individual reactions to spousal loss. This study examines the effect of marital status, time period and gender on physical and mental health, and whether reported difficulties following spousal loss differ at 2 distinctive time periods. Method. Two cohorts of older bereaved persons (n = 753) in Switzerland, surveyed in 1979 and 2011, were compared regarding their reports of difficulties related to marital loss. The bereaved spouses were also compared with a group of married contemporaries (n = 1,517) regarding subjective health and depressive symptoms. Results. Marital status and gender each have independent effects on subjective health and depressive symptoms. The effects of widowhood on subjective health differed significantly at both time points. Widowed individuals in 2011, especially women, reported fewer social and financial difficulties than their counterparts in 1979. However, the effect of widowhood on depressive symptoms and psychological difficulties did not differ significantly across time points. Discussion. Social changes in the late 20th century may be protective for older adults' physical, social, and financial well-being in the face of spousal loss, yet these changes do not alleviate widow(er)s' psychological distres
Persönliche Bilanzierung der Herausforderungen einer Verwitwung im Zeit- und Geschlechtervergleich
"Bisherige Forschung hat die Verwitwung entweder
primär als soziales oder als individuelles Ereignis
untersucht, selten jedoch wurden beide
Perspektiven verbunden. Zudem ist wenig darüber
bekannt, inwiefern bisherige Forschungsergebnisse
Perioden- oder Kohorteneffekte wiederspiegeln.
In diesem Beitrag wird die persönliche
Bilanzierung nach der Verwitwung älterer
Schweizer Frauen und Männer im Geschlechterund
Zeitvergleich untersucht1.
Die Datenbasis beruht
auf Befragungen von 1.197 verwitweten
Frauen und Männern (Alter: 65-102 Jahre), welche
1979, 1994 und 2011 durchgeführt wurden.
Während sich die wirtschaftlichen und sozialen
Rahmenbedingungen nach einer Verwitwung –
namentlich bei Frauen – im Zeitvergleich verbessert
haben, zeigen sich bezüglich psychischer
Herausforderungen einer Verwitwung keine periodenspezifischen
Veränderungen. Psychisch bleibt
der Partnerverlust auch bei günstigen Sozialbedingungen
ein kritisches Lebensereignis, das individualisiert
bewältigt werden muss." (Autorenreferat)"Research on bereavement has traditionally focussed
on widowhood as either a social or individual
event, but rarely under both perspectives.
Furthermore, little is known whether existing research
results mirror period or cohort effects. The
aim of this article is to investigate constancies and
changes in the retrospective perception of the
challenges of widowhood of elderly women and
men living in different decades in Switzerland.
Data stem from three questionnaire studies with
1.197 widowed men and women (aged 65-102
years) carried out in 1979, 1994, and 2011. Results
reveal that the subjective interpretations mirror
the significant improvement of the economic
and social situation of widowed individuals in
Switzerland over the last decades, particularly for
women. In contrast, no significant time effects
can be observed with regard to the psychological
challenges of marital loss in old age (redefinition
of sense of life, feelings of loneliness). These
findings suggest, that even in good socio-economic
conditions widowhood remains psychologically
a critical life event." (author's abstract
A Psychometric Study of a Trait and State Assessment of Sexual Pleasure - The Amsterdam Sexual Pleasure Inventory.
We studied the Amsterdam Sexual Pleasure Inventory's (1.0) psychometric properties. The ASPI, a revised self-report battery designed to measure domains of state and trait sexual pleasure in diverse gender, sex, and relationship populations, is based on a recently proposed conceptual framework of sexual pleasure. We collected quantitative (n = 1371) and qualitative data (n = 637) using a cross-sectional multi-method design targeting the general (German-speaking) population. After pre-processing, we conducted analyses on a sample of n = 706 participants. The theory-based 5-factor exploratory structural equation model and the principal component analyses of the two general exploratory index-scales showed good and acceptable structural validity evidence respectively. Measurement invariance was confirmed separately for male and female participants and for those with sexually functional-scoring and dysfunctional-scoring levels. Coefficient omega indicated that all scales, except those of one facet, showed acceptable to very good internal consistency. The ASPI's convergent and discriminant associations with sexological and psychological constructs demonstrated good overall construct validity. Participants understood the items as intended and felt that the ASPI covered relevant facets of sexual pleasure. The ASPI might help understand how individuals differ in experiencing sexual pleasure and how different contexts enable some people to experience pleasure while disadvantaging others
Corrigendum to "High-resolution interpolar difference of atmospheric methane around the Last Glacial Maximum" published in Biogeosciences, 9, 3961–3977, 2012
No abstract available
Psychological adaptation to spousal loss in old age: The role of psychosocial resources and loss context
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